Ensign Thomas Melville-Kilpatrick - Worse things than dust bunnies
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Sarah P
Apr 17, 2026, 12:12:33 AM (6 days ago) Apr 17
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((Airlock, Deck 16, USS Khitomer))
Melville-Kilpatrick: And we're sure it's not going to ::fumbling for words:: reconstitute itself? Try and capture someone else?
El'Heem: That’s what we aim to discover ensign. ::stepping out of the airlock and setting the PADD in an open locker just outside the door:: let’s get suited up, we don’t want to find out what it does when it touches bare skin.
Thomas could agree with that. He eyed the suits and took a few steps towards the one that was clearly meant for him, trying to keep an ear on the conversation while he calmly went over the list of the ways that the dust could be dangerous to his health. He knew emergency medicine, which meant he knew exactly what could go wrong.
El’Heem: I understand why you won’t let me go over. Male and all. And I trust you’re not going to leave Rich- uhh ensign Matthews to be eaten by the black widows, but…
Naxell: But you’d like me to reconsider.
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::quietly:: We do have capable female officers...
He could tell that Lieutenant El'Heem wasn't likely to back down just because of that.
El’Heem: Ensign Matthews, though he has been an ensign for as long as I’ve been a member of Starfleet, is an important member of this crew.
Naxell: I don’t disagree, but so are you, Lieutenant, and I can’t say what these people will do if they see you.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Didn't Matthews say they...they ate people?
Thomas hadn't believed Matthews at the time--who would? The claim had seemed a little outrageous. And he wasn't suggesting that Matthews should be eaten, just that maybe there were people who were a little better qualified to fight him out of a dangerous situation.
El’Heem: Diplomatic nightmare aside, we cannot lose him….::turning to MK:: hand me the canister and zip me up please ensign ::taking the canister from MK and turning to face Naxell:: I can’t lose him. It was under my direction that he went out there. And….and….and that’s going to be a lot of PADDwork, frankly. I can’t have that on my record. And…and given the unknown technological element of ::looking around at the splatters of pink:: of the nature of the matriarchal society, I believe we need a science officer on the away team.
Thomas followed the lieutenant's instructions and zipped him up, then got his own suit on, now that his hands were free. Having experience with zippers and also hesitating to interrupt the conversation, he did his best to zip himself up, which did mean a little bit of extra jumping around.
El’Heem: Now you, MK. ::turning to the captain:: I urge you to reconsider, respectfully ::beat:: sir.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Should I hold the canister, then, sir?
He turned around so that Lieutenant El'Heem could make sure that his zipper was done up properly, negating the need for the previous jumping around.
Naxell: Lieutenant, I recognize that you are very new to the role of department head, so If you’ll permit me, I’d like to offer you some advice. ::pause, gentle nod:: The relationship between a Captain and his Chiefs is dependent upon trust, and the strength of that relationship is more important to the ship’s function than any individual choice the Captain may make.
Thomas considered this. It seemed like sage advice.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe it's for the best if we can solve this together, so that when they get Matthews out of there we can escape if we need to.
El’Heem: Response
Naxell: You are asking me to give a… suboptimal order to assuage your personal feelings of guilt. ::gesturing at the three of them:: We all know that. By all rights, I should have security hold you at phaser-point until the shuttle departs to ensure you don’t get on it. The only way I can say yes is if I have your assurance—as Chief Science Officer—that you’re going to become a better bulshitter.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Wait, what?
El’Heem: Response
Naxell: Good. Ensign? You and I will wrap this up. ::to El’Heem:: The explosion in here means the “black widows” as you called them are using a great deal of force to keep this cloud together. Take Lieutenant Michaels from Engineering and report to Lieutenant Semara in the shuttlebay. She’ll be lead on your team, but you’ll be responsible for figuring out how they do it, so we can undo it if they won’t.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Yes, sir
El'Heem: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: Good luck, Lieutenant.
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: Alright, sir. How would you recommend we start here?
Thomas did value the experience that came from some scientific background, as much as he did dislike the idea of putting people at risk. Some things had to be explored, and it was best to do it safely.
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: I imagine we'd want to keep it contained as much as we could. That doesn't give us a ton of options for testing. Does it?
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
TAG/TBC
Melville-Kilpatrick: And we're sure it's not going to ::fumbling for words:: reconstitute itself? Try and capture someone else?
El'Heem: That’s what we aim to discover ensign. ::stepping out of the airlock and setting the PADD in an open locker just outside the door:: let’s get suited up, we don’t want to find out what it does when it touches bare skin.
Thomas could agree with that. He eyed the suits and took a few steps towards the one that was clearly meant for him, trying to keep an ear on the conversation while he calmly went over the list of the ways that the dust could be dangerous to his health. He knew emergency medicine, which meant he knew exactly what could go wrong.
El’Heem: I understand why you won’t let me go over. Male and all. And I trust you’re not going to leave Rich- uhh ensign Matthews to be eaten by the black widows, but…
Naxell: But you’d like me to reconsider.
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::quietly:: We do have capable female officers...
He could tell that Lieutenant El'Heem wasn't likely to back down just because of that.
El’Heem: Ensign Matthews, though he has been an ensign for as long as I’ve been a member of Starfleet, is an important member of this crew.
Naxell: I don’t disagree, but so are you, Lieutenant, and I can’t say what these people will do if they see you.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Didn't Matthews say they...they ate people?
Thomas hadn't believed Matthews at the time--who would? The claim had seemed a little outrageous. And he wasn't suggesting that Matthews should be eaten, just that maybe there were people who were a little better qualified to fight him out of a dangerous situation.
El’Heem: Diplomatic nightmare aside, we cannot lose him….::turning to MK:: hand me the canister and zip me up please ensign ::taking the canister from MK and turning to face Naxell:: I can’t lose him. It was under my direction that he went out there. And….and….and that’s going to be a lot of PADDwork, frankly. I can’t have that on my record. And…and given the unknown technological element of ::looking around at the splatters of pink:: of the nature of the matriarchal society, I believe we need a science officer on the away team.
Thomas followed the lieutenant's instructions and zipped him up, then got his own suit on, now that his hands were free. Having experience with zippers and also hesitating to interrupt the conversation, he did his best to zip himself up, which did mean a little bit of extra jumping around.
El’Heem: Now you, MK. ::turning to the captain:: I urge you to reconsider, respectfully ::beat:: sir.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Should I hold the canister, then, sir?
He turned around so that Lieutenant El'Heem could make sure that his zipper was done up properly, negating the need for the previous jumping around.
Naxell: Lieutenant, I recognize that you are very new to the role of department head, so If you’ll permit me, I’d like to offer you some advice. ::pause, gentle nod:: The relationship between a Captain and his Chiefs is dependent upon trust, and the strength of that relationship is more important to the ship’s function than any individual choice the Captain may make.
Thomas considered this. It seemed like sage advice.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe it's for the best if we can solve this together, so that when they get Matthews out of there we can escape if we need to.
El’Heem: Response
Naxell: You are asking me to give a… suboptimal order to assuage your personal feelings of guilt. ::gesturing at the three of them:: We all know that. By all rights, I should have security hold you at phaser-point until the shuttle departs to ensure you don’t get on it. The only way I can say yes is if I have your assurance—as Chief Science Officer—that you’re going to become a better bulshitter.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Wait, what?
El’Heem: Response
Naxell: Good. Ensign? You and I will wrap this up. ::to El’Heem:: The explosion in here means the “black widows” as you called them are using a great deal of force to keep this cloud together. Take Lieutenant Michaels from Engineering and report to Lieutenant Semara in the shuttlebay. She’ll be lead on your team, but you’ll be responsible for figuring out how they do it, so we can undo it if they won’t.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Yes, sir
El'Heem: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: Good luck, Lieutenant.
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: Alright, sir. How would you recommend we start here?
Thomas did value the experience that came from some scientific background, as much as he did dislike the idea of putting people at risk. Some things had to be explored, and it was best to do it safely.
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: I imagine we'd want to keep it contained as much as we could. That doesn't give us a ton of options for testing. Does it?
Naxell/El'Heem(?): Response
TAG/TBC
Ensign Thomas Melville-Kilpatrick
Medical Officer
USS Khitomer – NCC62400
K240210TM2
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