Capt. Shayne: Wincer Is Coming
Randal Shayne
((Deck 1, Conference Room, USS Khitomer))
Shayne: Get that Vulcan to help- the designer. What’s her name…?... T’morrow? She’s still aboard, isn’t she?
They’d not seen much of her, that was for sure. Whether that was because of typical Vulcan discretion, a deep and unabating humiliation for the usurpation of her project, or a simple desire to recuperate from profound injury, neither Shayne nor anyone without some psychic capacity could say. But so long as she was fit enough to be aboard, Shayne would value her insights- if only because no one aboard his ship was a passenger. Even the microbes served a purpose- to keep the janitorial staff employed.
Dewitt: Yeah. She never disembarked. I’ll check in with sickbay to see if she’s well enough to consult.
Shayne: Consult her anyway- ask if she’s fit to put on a uniform and join you.
Dewitt looked down, reviewing information and chewing on a question again.
Dewitt: Do I have your go-ahead to start the work? Just the Dispersion Array, isolated from everything else.
Why did he feel like either order he gave would be the death of them? From above, a narrator seemed to be carving the scene into a reality; start the work and render them at risk of Sencha absurdity, or don’t start the work and leave them vulnerable to everything else that might happen, Sencha absurdity included.
Shayne: Do it. Carefully.
Dewitt: We’ll keep controls manual, run everything from deflector control. Somebody needs to be down there to activate the system and to stop it again. That way we don’t have to tie it into the main system architecture. Saves us integration time, and if something goes sideways… we’re not taking the whole ship with it.
Shayne nodded, half in approval, half in processing. Dewitt, as always, made sense; it was a pleasant boon of support, knowing that his chief engineer possessed an innate skill for crisis mitigation.
Dewitt: I’ll install a local kill switch. If the array detects any feedback stronger than baseline tolerances, it auto-isolates the navigational deflector. Cuts power cold.
Shayne: Don’t make it too fancy, Con- we shut off the deflector, we’ll shut down a lot more than that.
Shayne was once again reminded of how dependent they were upon the almighty deflector dish. How did any starship make it into deep space without one?
Dewitt: ::nodding:: That’ll take out the deflector shields too, but I’d rather lose some particle integrity than the whole EPS grid.
Shayne: Agreed. Just do the best you can.
The chief turned to leave, but he stopped suddenly, and smirked at the captain.
Dewitt: ::chuckling:: One of my Academy professor’s always said that diamonds are created under pressure. ::pause:: If Starfleet would be less creative, I might get more sleep.
Shayne: Oh, I’ve no doubt, Commander- but you’d be way less shiny.
Dewitt: Fair point.
In the captain’s head, the diamonds they had been forced to become probably started with clenching their rear ends like vices- but why not both?
Dewitt: I’d better get to work before that creative spark burns a hole through the power grid. And I guess you're needed on the bridge?
Shayne: By now? I guarantee it.
He shot the engineer another small smile as he exited.
((Timeskip))
Ohnari: Oh, hey there Sir. ::hiss, turning back:: Alright there you go Lieutenant, thanks for your cooperation.
Shayne stood, eyes lidded, utterly motionless. Korras for his part didn’t seem to be enjoying this any more than the captain, but there was a sparkle of professional mischief in Ohnari’s eyes that Shayne’s small but ever-present dictatorial side screamed at him to stamp out. He drowned it with a small exhalation from his nostrils.
Korras/Any: Response
The small partition was almost cute, the table near it charming. But now the captain was faced with a conundrum. Did he push his luck? And if so, how far?
Shayne: Doing alright, Mr. Korras?
Asking the Klingon how he felt was not likely to earn the human any points, should Korras be a traditionally stoic warrior. But he’d talk about the challenges of properly filing the paperwork on spent injector casings if it meant he could delay the inevitable.
Korras: Response
Ohnari: Response
Shayne glanced towards the Halian, and he could feel her amusement and good cheer withering. Or maybe that was just what he wanted to see. No, he realized; pain though she could often be, he liked her sprightly, committed attitude. Besides, when her joy fell away, she had a habit of leaving verbal scars- of a kind that no dermal regenerator could remove the sting from.
Shayne: …disappointed…
Shayne: May I speak to you in private, Doctor?
There was no rage, or even coldness in his voice. There would be time for both, he was sure.
Ohnari: Response
He moved quickly to his spartan, but no longer entirely empty, ready room. Years of slow, whittling progress on his curt, barebones approach to the world had allowed for a small number of personal touches to appear in the area. He waited until the door shut before speaking.
Shayne: I trust your judgement. If the medication is needed, it’s needed. I trust your instinct. If you feel the crew won’t come to you, you’ll come to the crew. But…
He held out an open hand in the rough direction of Korras’ administration.
Shayne: …on the bridge? Seriously?
Ohnari: Response
The captain folded his arms together, sitting slightly upon the smooth edge of the desk.
Shayne: We could be in a firefight, and the only warning we’d get is a torpedo up our chuff amidship. We could be hailed by diplomats, or Starfleet, or merchants. Is it really wise to have people’s butts on Broadway? I mean, for Christ’s sake, Talia, we have a…
He gestured to the surroundings, but stopped short and suddenly, reconsidering his words.
Shayne: …first officer’s Ready Room. We have options for privacy- at least, more privacy than the damned command deck.
His voice still wasn’t angry, or even accusatory. He really was just lamenting.
Ohnari: Response
Shayne: Insult to injury, I now get to decide whether I go out there, drop trow and get the same treatment as Mr. Korras, or whether I hole up in here, and allow you to treat me here. What do you recommend?
He stared at her from lidded eyes.
Ohnari: Response
Tag/TBC…
Captain Randal Shayne
Commanding Officer
USS Khitomer
NCC 62400