Lieutenant Doz Finch - Old Habits
Doz Finch
((Main Engineering, Deck 16))
Losing Murphy was a turning point in Doz Finch’s life…no…perhaps, it was the turning point in Doz Finch’s life.
Every bit of her soul had been pooled into his, so that when he died, it had felt as though she had died too. And everything that came afterwards…the denial, the anger…the bargaining and…perhaps…some version of depression, had been a weight she’d never expected to bear.
Acceptance. It was there…its hands flat and upturned, in an unspoken gesture of welcome. It was time. Time to accept that he was gone, and that she was permitted to go on without him. Permitted to carry on. Permitted to start again, as old as she was. Hands that were just close enough to touch.
Except now she’d lost everyone. Murphy was gone there…yes...but here, now…they all were. Wallace and his sparking robots. Quiet little Arthur. Ernie and Merilia and their lot. And she could feel it. Brimming under her nails. Behind her teeth. Beneath her skin…in her ribs.
Those old habits creeping in.
Gnaxac: The G-G-Gorkon is such a great ship and the c-c-crew is second to none.
zh’Tisav: True, it is a good ship and crew. But still… our best chance at survival is avoidance. So let’s put a team on extending our sensor range. If we can see them before they see us…
Gnaxac nodded enthusiastically, and so Doz did too, her rosy cheeks and wide smile paving the way forward, in that need-to-be-distracted fashion of hers.
Gnaxac: I’ll g-g-get started on it.
Finch: Nice one, Mister Gnaxac! Get the sensor range extended, and we'll find our brainiacs later on. A bit of physical graft is good for the soul in any situation.
zh’Tisav: Plus, it’s something to focus on, instead of the what ifs…
The Andorian turned her attention to the thrum of the warp core, its melody, Doz noticed, strangely morose compared to its usual vigorous vibe, and a brief silence followed. One where she could hear her own thoughts splitting and splitting again, arguing with one another over what to feel and how to feel it. The what ifs...as Vylaa had put it.
What if she thought about everyone she’d lost?
But what if she didn’t?
Gnaxac: We’re living a what if, Lieut-t-tenant. B-b-but we’ll get through.
Finch: Well, come on then! Let’s crack on with it. I’m not getting any younger, you know.
There it was—distraction. Staying busy. The unfeeling. An old woman caught up once again in her old habits. But how bad were they really if they inspired hope in others and pushed for action. Gnaxac was such a soft and innocent young man—he’d need her strength! Tahna would too. And Vylaa needed a deputy engineer she could fully depend on. Fully depend on.
zh’Tisav: response
Gnaxac headed to the nearest available console and started up the power distribution screen, his big ears a massive comfort to see in the sea of engineers flowing around and through the place. All of those busied hands, running a bit of this and a bit of that, working steadfast to reinforce and quadruple check the ships many systems.
It was enough to give her goosebumps.
Gnaxac: B-b-best place to start would b-b-be d-d-distributing more power to the sensors, then seeing what else we can d-d-do to extend their range.
Finch: Exactly, love. But the question is whether we try to find some way to boost the power, or whether we take it from somewhere else.
zh’Tisav: response
She found a station near Gnaxac and started scouring through various subsystems across the ship. Lesser used rooms and machines during a crisis: the holodeck, certain replicators, even superfluous lighting. Tiny incremental changes she could make to the power distribution, in order to steal them away for their master plan.
Finch: We could always divert a bit of power temporarily! Call it a day or two while we figure things out and see if there’s a way to really ham up the power output. I'm all about safety, and since we’re not currently under attack, maybe we have that sort of time at least. Better that than attempting an untested boost. Seen a few dodgy ones in my time.
Gnaxac/zh’Tisav: Response
A nervous engineer appeared to Doz’s side with a report that contained compiled data from his scans on the energy flow rate throughout the major decks. Eyebrows kissing, she focused on the information with her mechanical-grey eyes, and noticed the report shaking in his hand. So she held it with him, nodding gently in understanding.
Finch: I remember years ago, on the Marigold, we’d found ourselves in such a pickle that we ended up having to divert power from the showers. We did it unannounced as well—it was almost worth it until our first officer stormed in ten minutes later sporting the wet look. Hah! God that woman loathed us after that.
Gnaxac/zh’Tisav: Response
Finch: You wouldn’t believe half the stories. But I’ve plenty of them!
Gnaxac/zh’Tisav: Response
Lieutenant Doz Finch
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Gorkon NCC-82293
C239809SH3