LTJG Josh Herrick: Thar she blows! [Shore Leave]

[Mark P]

((Deck 15 Corridor, USS Octavia E Butler))

 

Josh and Julien had left the Jefferies tube, and as the hatch sealed, the other officer patted it as if to double check that it was sealed and turned to him. With the Level 10 forcefield in place, they were ready to test their hypothesis on the transporter system.

 

Herrick: =/\= Alright Nilsen, energize the site to site. =/\=

 

Nilsen: =/\= Energizing site to site transport now. I’m sending it to our testing rooms =/\=

 

There was a period of ominous silence while Nilsen worked the controls at the other side of the comms. Josh glanced around the corridor, the usually bustling space now eerily quiet. After a few uncomfortable moments, Julien checked in.

 

Paradi: =/\= How's it looking? =/\=

 

Nilsen: =/\= Okay right, it’s in the buffer, making it’s away around and like Houdini it’s right…ern…standby =/\=

 

As Josh rubbed the back of his head, Julien shuffled his feet nervously, and with Nilsen’s pause, it seemed like all three men were on edge.

 

Paradi: =/\= Sir? =/\=

 

A large crashing sound came in over the comms, making the men wince.

 

Nilsen: =/\=Erm…folks…=/\=

 

Julien shot a glance to Herrick as Nilsen continued.

 

Nilsen: =/\=It’s here…but…we might need to pull double shift to clean Tobat’s office.=/\=

 

Paradi: =/\= That really doesn't sound good..... =/\=

 

Herrick: =/\= Did the canisters make it? =/\=

 

Nilsen: =/\= Yeah, they’re intact…it’s just the rest of his office. They didn’t arrive smoothly. =/\=

 

Silently, Josh thanked the gods that they hadn’t written off the reading — something that would be coming up in a briefing with the rest of his team. While Tobat’s office was in shambles, it was better than a transporter room being painted in red and likely a bit of karma for the man.

 

Julien seemed determined to be a tube dweller, jerking his thumb back to the Jefferies tube with a facial expression that read ‘let’s get out of here’. He wondered how often the man might spend hiding out there if this was a reaction to a bad day at work.

 

Herrick: =/\= We’ll grab the tricorder ::looking at Paradi, smiling:: and then head back to Engineering to pour through the data. I’d like you to put a full blackout on the transporters until we figure it out as it might not be isolated to the ventral emitters. (beat) Feel free to join us. =/\=

 

Josh wasn’t optimistic that they’d be able to nail down the issue before the mission started, but only time would tell.

 

Herrick: ::patting Julien on the back:: Let’s get a move on!

 

[End Scene for Herrick]

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Lieutenant JG Josh Herrick

Acting Chief Engineer

USS Octavia E. Butler

O240005JH3

he/him/his (player/character)