[sb118-gorkon] Ensign Ethan Espinoza - Green Behind the Ears
Ethan Espinoza
(( USS Gorkon ))
When Ethan received word of his first assignment, he was ecstatic. Few ensigns - fewer still helmsmen - could boast that their first posting was aboard a vessel as renowned as a Sovereign-class starship, and more than that, the USS Gorkon. Its prestige was well earned, and even a cursory review of the mission debriefs available to him told Ethan he was in safe hands with this crew.
And yet, when he was transferred aboard for a mission that required additional hands and was fully briefed on their latest quandary, a sinking feeling settled in his gut - prevalent, to say the least. It had seemed thrilling, once, to read about their exploits. Now, however, talk of a “dimensional gate” and “deadly xenoflora,” among other horrors the mind struggled to comprehend, left him weighing the consequences of committing grand theft auto on the nearest shuttle and booking it back to… well, anywhere.
It pained him to imagine the “pride” his father must feel for having pushed him headlong into this career. What a joke. As he was frog-marched toward the transporter room to join his assigned team, Ethan wondered bitterly whether the old man would still be beating that drum when his youngest son inevitably ended up as plant food in some interstellar Little Shop of Horrors.
An idle nod gave the transporter operator leave to send him on his way, and with the familiar swell of blue, matter reformed around him, his brain lagging a few paces behind as he comprehended his surroundings. The sensory overload was instantaneous.
Neathler: Ensign Ethan Espinoza, welcome to the team. I’m Samira Neathler.
Neathler: This is our Second Officer Doz Finch, Chief Engineer, and Lieutenant Commander Naledi, who normally serves on the Thor but is currently helping us out.
The anxious ensign's gaze swept from head to head, regarding his colleagues with a lazy nod, stowing away names that he’d almost certainly forget in ten minutes flat. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, he’d imagined initial introductions to his new crew being marginally more comfortable than this.
Naledi: Crick Pop Snap Chirp… It is pleased to meet you, ensign
Espinoza: Pleasure’s all mine. Couldn’t imagine a better place to meet y’all.
He couldn’t have hidden the dryness in his tone if he’d tried. His eyes finally adjusted to the new environment, slowly inspecting it while he listened to Neathler, who was already providing a crash course in field briefings.
Finch: Response
Neathler: As you know from your briefing, we have several teams in the facility, our job is to secure a pathway towards the gate. So far those plants, ::She nodded towards the vines.:: have left us pretty much alone. Although they do respond to touch and do not like subsonic pulses.
Naledi: Pop Snap Pop Crick… You are receiving transmission of our intel. What we have learned.
Espinoza: Appreciate it, Lieutenant Commander.
Finch : Response
Steeling his nerves, he detached the PADD from his belt at the sound of a delicate little chime. His thumb swiped across the screen as his eyes drifted over the information provided. The Chief Security/Tactical Officer’s reassurance was welcome at that moment. So was the fact that she was probably excellent with a phaser.
Neathler: That's our next target.
Naledi: Crick Pop Snap… Understood
Finch: Response
Ethan stalked after his team, his eyes assimilating the information on his PADD at what he optimistically considered a breakneck pace. In hindsight, he felt faintly stupid for questioning Lieutenant Commander V’Nille about the ridiculousness of their exam simulations. This situation really took the cake.
Naledi: Pew Crick Chirp… Can it have help with this?
Espinoza: Yeah. I got you. Here…
Eyes raised, Ethan joined the Lieutenant Commander, gripping the opposite side of the door and heaving. The sharp screech of metal rebelling against their efforts was uncomfortable, and the suddenness of the Lieutenant Commander’s retreat did not go unnoticed. What were they, anyway? There was probably a better time to ask.
Finch / Neather: Response
Ethan’s gaze swept along the length of the door, trying his best to identify the source of the tension.
Naledi: Chirp Snap Pop Pew Crick… It apologises for the noise. Stopped fearing that plant life would respond as a threat.
Espinoza: How do these things ::he gestures idly to the bulbous, vine-like xenoflora:: attack, anyway?
Finch / Neather: Response
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… It cannot find a chemical to soothe the doors noise. Does team have alternating suggestions to proceed?
Ethan’s lips pursed in contemplation, then, with a steadying intake of breath, gestured somewhere to the top of the door.
Espinoza: There’s usually failsafes in place to stop these things jus’ being yanked open in the event of power failure, right?
Finch / Naledia / Neather: Response
Espinoza: Yeah… well, could we, uh… ::he hesitates:: just cut the lockin’ bolts? Low-power phaser bursts, enough to not stress ‘em ::he gestures to the nearest writhing mass:: and see if that eases up on the resistance?
Finch / Naledia / Neather: Response
He didn’t have the chops for thinking on the fly just yet, but sometimes, the simplest answer would do just fine.