Ensign Herrick & Ensign Kovacs: Tight spaces
Mark P
OOC: There are Sickbay tags at the end of this, anyone can feel free to hop in.
((Jefferies Tube, Deck C, USS-‘Oumuamua))
Josh was almost finished his shift,, he had pulled the short straw of crawling through the Jefferies tubes in the sensor pods and run a more in-depth diagnostic on the circuitry paths after they were pushed past recommended maximums while the ‘Oumuamua tried to glean more information about that nebula.
He had been maintaining his breathing, and for the last 7 hours it had done the trick. It was difficult, but manageable. He finished up with the last panel, and crawled to the end of the tube and touched the control to open it up. But, he was met with a stubborn buzz and no movement from the doors.
His structured breaths became a bit shaky as he pushed the panel a few more times; a bit more aggressively each time it didn’t perform its function. BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ. He closed his eyes, trying to regain some composure and think clearly in this situation.
Herrick: oO The emergency hand actuator Oo
He looked to his left, nothing. Then, as he looked to the right, he saw it nestled into the wall. He grabbed the small barbell-like device and attached it to the door. He had to lean into it to get it to budge, and finally it gave way and opened. After it opened a few inches, he grabbed each side and pushed them the remaining distance. As he was trying to get out, a bit too enthusiastically, his foot caught the engineering kit that he had crawled over. Out the man tumbled on the floor, with his engineer kit tumbling on him.
He groaned a bit before picking himself up and grabbing the kit. He stepped out of the small closet-like room, bent down, placed the kit on the floor, and then placed his hands on knees. This was the worst panic attack he had since the accident with the Chief when he first boarded the vessel. His nostrils were flared, his breathing heavy. After several minutes, he felt mostly himself again.
((Corridor, Deck C, USS-‘Oumuamua))
Elijah Kovacs always tried to get an early morning jog in before his shift began, however running around the same deck had gotten tiresome. Given most engineering functions happened below deck 6, as were his quarters , he’d never really gotten to see the ‘sights up top.’ He was dripping with sweat when he rounded a corner and almost smacked right into an ensign, bent over gripping his knees.
Kovacs: Hey… are you alright? oO That’s kind of a dumb question Eli, obviously not. Oo Are you hurt?
Herrick: ::looking up, his face turning red and feeling hot from embarrassment:: Uh… um… yeah yeah. It’s not a big deal.
Kovacs: ::raising his eyebrow:: What happened? You look like you’ve been put through the wringer.
Herrick: (beat) It was just… a surprise while I was doing maintenance. ::he offered a reassuring smile:: It’s nothing. I’m just closing out my shift, I just need a bit of rest and I’ll be fine. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got to drop this off ::motioning to his kit:: before I can head home.
The breathing had gotten better, and while the raggedness had mostly gone away, it was still noticeable to Eli. Concern was etched into Kovacs face, was the man covering something up? There was a moment of silence as each man looked each other up and down.
Kovacs: Well… you’re in luck. My next leg is down on Deck 11. Let’s head down there together.
Herrick: oO That doesn’t seem like a coincidence but now it’s too awkward to give him the shove off. Oo Sure, I guess?
Josh grabbed the handle of the kit and headed towards the turbolift; the upper decks were quite small in comparison to the rest of the ship and took less than a minute for him to get to there. The awkward silence stretched out the perception of time and hung between them as they waited for the turbolift to arrive.
Finally, the lift arrived and the doors whisked open. The claustrophobic officer was thankful that it was empty. The two men stepped in, each standing on opposite sides of the lift.
Kovacs: Main Engineering.
The computer chimed, and the lift started its descent. After only a few moments, the small capsule opened on Deck 3 and several marines stepped in. Josh felt the wall of the lift push into his back as he tried to make as much room between the gaggle of people that just stepped in. His breathing started to become laboured again.
Marine: Deck 7.
Once again the lift started to descend. Eli had been watching from across the turbolift. He was sure that something was wrong with the other engineer, was there some lingering effect from the nebula? It reminded him of how one of his Academy bunkmates acted after some of his exams — overwhelmed by stress. When Josh wiped his brow, Eli realized that the man was sweating profusely.
The turbolift came to a gentle halt and the doors whisked open, with the marines stepping off. Just as the door closed, Eli called for a change to the turbolift’s next destination.
Kovacs: Deck 8. I think you need to get checked out buddy.
Herrick: oO Buddy? Oo No, I really am fine. I just-
Kovacs: Look, either you voluntarily get checked out and cleared that this isn’t some after effect from what happened when we first enter the nebula or I report it. ::watching the doors open, and then outstretching his hand towards them:: The choice is yours.
Both Eli and the turbolift were waiting for him to decide. Who was this guy to give him an ultimatum? He’d already been in enough trouble in his short stint, and while the Commodore and first officer seemed like understandable individuals, he didn’t want to get the wrong type of attention.
Herrick: Seems like you win, Ensign…?
Kovacs: Elijah Kovacs, but you can call me Eli. That sounds like a smart decision. Hope you don’t mind that I make sure you get there. And, you are?
Herrick: Herrick, and (beat) whatever you want Kovacs.
The pair made their way towards Sickbay, the same awkward silence from 10 decks above them now down here with them again. The doors slid open and a friendly face opened.
((Sickbay, Deck C, USS-‘Oumuamua))
Any: Response
Herrick: I’m fine really. This guy ::sticking a thumb out towards Kovacs:: seems to think that I need to be here.
Any: Response
Kovacs: Well, ‘this guy’ found you bent over and breathing quite erratically and practically had to drag you here. So, perhaps some sort of routine check up might give me some peace of mind. What do they say again… better safe than sorry?
Any: Response
Josh begrudgingly climbed on to the bio-bed. He hadn’t yet bumped into the other engineer face to face in his whole stint aboard, so maybe it would be several months before he’d have to see him again.
Any: Response
----
Ensign Josh Herrick
Engineering Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
O240005JH3
he/him/his (player/character)
&
Ensign Elijah Kovacs
Engineering Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
he/him/his (character)