Lt JG Tess Evinrude - The Current Predicament

[Tess Evinrude]

((Stellar Cartography, Deck 10, USS Ronin))

The operations officer's eyebrows raised, and he gave the little bot a smile.

oO Woah! Compact little thing...look at the articulation! Oo

Evinrude: Ensign, you...really outdid yourself there. ::He turned to the little bot, waiting patiently for orders.:: Remy, I know you only have six legs, but some members of our crew will need to adjust to your shape. I'm assuming your spider-like design is convergent evolution, and not Consortium influence?

He gave Wren a mock suspicious look for just a moment, before softening to show that he was clearly joking.

Wren:I didn’t know you’d fought those things.

Evinrude: That's right. I have fought one, and it was...damaged. They aren't pleasant, and some of our crewmates have seen swarms of them.

He decided to leave out the fact that the spiderbot was a prototype cyborg plague-carrier model, organic limbs grafted onto a machine body.

oO A story for another day. Oo

Wren: Well…. ::trying not to brag:: Remy was designed as a multi-purpose tool for multiple departments. He can act as an engineering aid, but he has six different functions that include medical and science as well. And…. a seventh function, but that just makes him do a little dance, and he doesn’t really like it.

Tess was glad to learn that the junior officer hadn't built in a "murder death kill" function.

Evinrude: Wren, if this.. ::He pointed at Remy.:: ...is the result of your work at the Academy, then we're lucky to have you. I can't wait to see what you can do! Now let's remove these damaged wall panels so we can see what's going on behind.

Wren:::flustered:: R-Right, of course.

Delphina worked a panel apart with Remy's aid - the little bot had gone into some kind of torch mode, lit up like a tiny moon. Tess meanwhile worked at another, appreciating the helpful glow once he needed to peer into the cramped space behind the wall.

The comfortable silence was broken up only by the occasional request for tools, or comment on the state of the gel packs.

Wren: Hang on…. I think that there’s actually a loose wire. I think somehow the knife missed all the gel packs and tore through a-GAH

The ensign's body suddenly jerked, and she slammed forward against the wall. Immediately Tess put aside his wall panel and moved up next to her, preparing to use his uniform-covered arms to pull her away from the source of the shock. He balled his hands up tightly and tried to pull them inside the fabric, hoping it would be insulation enough. But just before executing the bear-hug tackle maneuver, Wren seemed to pull free from the wire and waved him off.

Then, as if timed for maximum chaos, the officers' combadges chirped out an incoming call.

Shortrith: =/\= Shortrith to Evinrude, any chance you could come down to my office? My replicator isn't working and my notes from today deleted themselves! =/\=

Tess barely registered the counselor's words. His face showed intense concern for his crewmate who just received a nasty shock, but her body language indicated that she was fine. He slid his hands out of his sleeves and tapped the combadge to reply, tone of voice obviously distracted.

Evinrude: =/\= Counselor? Slow down, you said something is going on with the forcefields in your office? =/\=

From the tone of their voice, it had sounded urgent. To tell normally-calm Shortrith to slow down was unusual indeed.

Shortrith: =/\= ::almost snappish:: No, I said my replicator wasn't working, and my notes from today deleted. =/\=

Internally, Evinrude bristled, but quickly found his calm again.

oO Shortrith has no way of knowing that someone might be hurt. And losing a day's worth of records would be a huge blow to morale. Oo

Still, the juxtaposition of the request, compared to the repairs they were making and the recent injury, caused a controllable amount of simmering frustration.

Wren: ::shaking her head a little to clear it:: =/\= Sorry, Counselor. We’re dealing with some issues with the gel packs. Evinrude and I are working on it. =/\=

Wren donned a pair of insulated gloves and started to reach back into the open wall panel. Tess' instinct was to jump in and tell her to wait, and to escort the ensign to sickbay for a quick checkup. But she was lucid and moving normally, so there didn't seem to be an immediate emergency.

Evinrude: Ensign! Just...take it easy.::He tapped his combadge again.:: =/\= What's wrong with your replicator? =/\=

His mind jumped back to the ship-wide replicator issues from around a year ago. The waves of sticky, toxic sludge, spewing forth...

Shortrith: =/\= The files must have corrupted or something. I don't know what happened to my replicator. =/\=

oO "I don't know what happened" is better than "I'm drowning in poisonous buttercream"... Oo

Evinrude: Ensign, do you think the damaged conduit here could be affecting medical?

Wren: ::working with Remy to fix the wire:: I think this is a separate issue, there’s no way this should be affecting them over in their office. This wire is almost fixed, and I’m restarting the system on this section.

Evinrude: ::Thoughtfully.:: =/\= It seems unlikely that those systems are affected by our work here. =/\=

Shortrith: =/\= Any chance you could come down and help? =/\=

oO Actually, that's perfect! Oo

Evinrude: =/\= We need to visit deck ten anyway. Will keep you posted, Counselor. =/\=

As Evinrude closed out his end of the comm channel, he watched the nearby illumination flicker to life.

Wren: Alright, that’s all fixed. We can head…::realizing the next step is to go to sick bay:: on over….

Evinrude: ::With a small smile, Tess saw realization dawn on her face.:: That's right, we've got two tickets to sickbay. Shortrith can wait until you've got the all clear.

Wren: No, no! It’s okay, they need help, so we should head…. On over… ::patting Remy gently:: Though if it’s not related to the torn wire, I’m wondering if there’s a problem with the ship’s computer overall… it’s being unusually resistant to accepting the fact that the captain’s still alive.

Evinrude: ::To Wren.:: It's an old system, upgraded many times over the years. I'm sure it will cooperate, once we find the right leverage.

Tess leaned the wall panels up against the wall, out of the way of foot traffic. He pushed a few small equipment boxes beside them, and then glanced upwards, speaking to a vague point two-thirds of the way up the wall.

Evinrude: Computer, establish a level one forcefield around wall panel junction A-Three-R-Seven-Zero-Nine. Engage audio and visual cautions. ::He turned back to Wren as holographic caution lines appeared around their worksite.:: Once we're finished on deck ten, I'd like to run a broad diagnostic on the systems here in stellar cartography, even if that sliced conduit was the root cause. And it will be good practice to review some primary system logs as well; that will tell us if others are having computer issues.

Wren: It’s working in my quarters, but I’ve adjusted it to my personal preferences. Have you heard anything about other people having problems?

Tess started moving towards the turbolift, beckoning Wren to follow with Remy as passenger.

Evinrude: Nothing that would indicate a trending problem with the main computer. Isolated issues with legacy systems, some cases of user error. ::He smirked as he added that last example.:: But we should check on those forcefield malfunctions in sickbay. After sickbay checks on you!

Shortrith: =/\= Response =/\=

Wren: =/\= We’ll be right down, counselor, one second. =/\=

With an exasperated smile, Tess ordered the turbolift to their destination.

Evinrude: Deck ten, sickbay. ::He turned to Wren once the lift started moving.:: The life of a goldshirt, eh? A never-ending to do list. ::A beat.:: What made you choose engineering, Delphina?

Wren: Response

Evinrude: Oh, I see. And has the Ronin been what you expected?

Wren: Response

((Scene Change - Sickbay Complex, Deck 10 - USS Ronin))

The turbolift doors swished opened quietly. Tess held up a hand, face apologetic for interrupting their current conversation topic.

Evinrude: =/\= Evinrude to Shortrith. Could you join us for a moment in the medical wing? We need to...check something out here, and I'd like to hear more about what's going on in your office. =/\=

Shortrith/Wren: =/\= Response =/\=

[Tags/TBC]

--

Lieutenant J.G. Tess Evinrude

[he/him]

Operations Officer

USS Ronin

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