Checking In

Posted on Thu Aug 18th, 2022 @ 2:15am by Lieutenant JG Taina M'Tras

Mission: S1 Episode 3: Phage
Location: Shuttlebay
Timeline: Mission Day 10 at 1100
2618 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Taina approached. 'Warrant Officer, I'm going to be doing some maintenance on the shuttles. It was originally supposed to be earlier but there's still a lot to be done in engineering." She was sure he was aware of what a rough time the ship had had in the last few days. Hell, since they'd come to this Quadrant.

Samuel looked up from the te hnical manual that he was studying and smiled a friendly smile to the Catian. "Yes, Ma'am " He said respectfully. "Is there anything I can help you with? Also, may I ask which shuttle you will be working one today? They both need some maintenance. If you are working on one, I'll focus on the other."

"I have to certify both," she said. "So let's go look at them and see which one will need more work before that can happen, but maybe you could assist me working on them consecutively? We shouldn't have both out of service at the same time, even if it's just a few hours."

Nodding in agreement, Samuel stood and moved over, grabbing his tool box as he did so. "Sounds good to me, Ma'am," he replied with a smile. If he had any issue with a non-Terran being of a superior rank to him, it didn't register anywhere on his person. "Sooner we get these birds fully operational, the better," he replied earnestly.

"It's possible they might need little to no work and we have an easy job," Taina said hopefully as she walked with him towards the first. "In that case, we have an easy day. We still have to look regularly. It's better to check and not need it than need it and not check."

"Hey," he chuckled softly as they approached the shuttles. "I'd rather check these birds over a dozen times and find nothing, than not check once and we have a catastrophic failure." He got a little quiet as his eyes moved over the CEO. His smile softened slightly when he silently admired the color of her fur. It's radiance reminding him of the flowing locks of his childhood sweetheart's hair.

Taina smiled to him, though she didn't seem to notice the softening of his gaze. Or, if she did, she didn't let on just yet. She opened the first of the shuttles and walked to the console, activating it. She started the shuttle's own diagnostic program. "We're going to physically double-check but it's always good to see what the computer says first," she commented.

Samuel nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ma'am. I'll take a look at the impulse flow regulators." He knelt down at the rear of the shuttle and removed an access panel that allowed direct contact with the specified system.

After a few moments, he spoke up. "Looks like there's a bit of blockage leading into the port assembly."

"It's not showing on the diagnostic," Taina said worriedly. "Either a problem with the program itself or the internal sensors need recalibration. Let's fix the blockage itself first." She walked back to him, taking a knee examining the impulse flow regulator with eyeball and tricorder. She double-checked that power was cut to the system, despite several automatic protocols that theoretically made it unnecessary. After all, there was already a computer glitch. "All right. Let's clear this out."

He nodded then laid down on the shuttle deck plating, reaching down into the assembly.

After a few moments of hard work, Samuel had started to work up a sweat, his preference of sandlewood-scented antiperspirant started to become apparent.

"I think..." he grunted slightly as he struggled to clear the system. Finally, there was an audible click and their open tricorders pinged a notice that the blockage had been cleared.

"Good work," Taina said. She was fairly new to being an officer. Just supervising while someone else did something was still not the most natural thing to her. And, yes, she did smell the sandalwood. She pushed back to her feet and turned to the console again. "That still leaves us with why it didn't show on the diagnostic. That's actually about the most dangerous system to be malfunctioning because we depend so much on it to identify other dangers." She walked back to the console and began rapidly working it. "First, let's see if we can eliminate a problem in the program itself."

As she moved forward, Samuel sat up on his knees and took put a rag to wipe the grime from his face and hands. "It could be a short in the circuitry itself? Something possibly damaged by our transition out here? The shuttles were knocked around pretty heavily that day."

"It's probably more recent or we would have caught it before," she said. "But, you're right. It could be. But let's check the program first." She waited a minute or two and then walked back to crouch next to him. "It's not the program. You might be right about the circuitry." She took a device from her toolkit and plugged it into the innards of the shuttle, near where the blockage had been. "This should show us where the signal is breaking down."

When she knelt next to him, Samuel could feel the body heat radiating from her. He also thought he was smelling something pleasant. But wasn't sure what it was. He had to clear his throat and blink to shake him from his thoughts.

"Um..yeah..yeah! If the programming is faulty, we might have to do a full rebuild of the diagnostic systems." His eyes caught hers and he froze briefly, before blushing slightly and he tried to regain his senses.

He stood up and moved back to the front of the shuttle, removing another access hatch leading to the computer core. After laying down on his back, he reached in with both hands and started to check for any obvious physical damage.

"Wait a minute," Taina said as he started to do that, instinctively putting a hand on his to stop him and then hastily pulling it back, slightly embarrassed. "Don't let anything interrupt it while the signal runs through."

Samuel felt his pulse skip a beat when the Lieutenant touched him. "Oh! Um...y-yes, Ma'am.." he pulled his hands out and interlocked his fingers on his chest. He couldn't help but think about how soft her touch was. It was almost like feeling silk gently rub across his skin. He looked up into her eyes and gave her a bashful grin. "S-sorry."

"It's all right. Wanting to always be working isn't the worst instinct," she said with a smile. Then she frowned and put the device away. "The signal was fine, so it must be the internal sensors themselves." She traded her tool for another and then smiled at him again. "Help me recalibrate these?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am!" He found that when she smiled at him, he felt a thrill run up and down his spine, much like when Samantha uses to smile at him.

He sat up, however, he was distracted and didn't realize how close she was to him and they nearly collided and kissed, though both moved and froze, their faces a few bare inches from one another. For several seconds, they stayed there, eyes locked on one another, while Samuel could feel goosebumps start to form on his exposed skin.

Taina was aware of how close Samuel's face was and also that their knees were lightly touching. Her vertically slit eyes met his but, when she looked down, she didn't mention it. She just smiled. "Careful," she reminded him as she proceeded with the rather delicate work. "I'll start from the right end. You work from the left."

It took a moment for Samuel to clear his head. There was definitely something in the air that was effecting him. He coughed and cleared his throat. "Ahem...uh...y-yeah...I mean...yes Ma'am! I'll start on the left." He then blushed some more and turned to his side to start his half of the work. As they worked, a few times, he stole a sideways glance at Taina, feeling a warmth in his chest each time he did so.

Taina completed the work, her hand nearly bumping his as they met in the middle. "Now we just have to do the rest of the shuttle." She opened the next panel systematically and began to examine it. "So how are you holding up? Given, well, everything."

Samuel paused to look over at Taina as he replied. "Well, truthfully, it has been lonely, more than anything else. I..uh..left someone...back home." He flushed again, wondering if the Chief Engineer was really interested in his sob story.

"Oh?" she asked gently, even as she closed the panel. "No issues in here." And to the next, still listening for his answer.

"This one is clear too." He replied as he closed one hatch and opened another. "I..uh..left my childhood sweetheart, Samantha, to come on this mission. We were told that it would only last a few weeks, then we'd be back home. I was going to propose to her when we got back, though...." he sighed softly, as he paused in his work and stared down through the deckplating, a look of sadness crossing his features. "I suppose that chapter is closed now. I'm sure she has been informed that we are listed as presumed dead by now. While I know she will grieve, a part of me hopes that she gets on with her life."

"And another part of you in insanely jealous at the thought?" she asked as she worked.

He paused to consider her question, then his shoulders sagged ightly. "Truthfully? No. She is a good person, better than me. I would only want happiness for her." He got a little quiet then, thinking that he'd probably never see Samantha's face, hear her laugh, feel her laying against him...ever again.

He looked over at Taina, his heartbreak clear in his eyes. "Barring a miracle, we probably won't see Terra again in our lifetimes."

She paused then and looked at him. "We might not, but the very fact we're here proves it's possible to move such distances. We just need to obtain the technology for ourselves."

He nodded, suddenly ashamed that his feelings of loss caused him to doubt their Captain. "You're right, Lieutenant. I just need to stay positive about the whole situation." He gave her a soft grin. "Thank you. And...thank you for listening. Aside from Lieutenant Anderson and Chief Finley, I haven't really talked much to anyone since we arrived here." He shrugged and chuckled, showing her his perfect teeth again. "Been a bit too busy fixing the damage down here to do much of anything else."

She laughed at that. "Lieutenant Anderson is a friend of mine. He's an issue man to talk to." She had no trouble imagining Samuel found it easy to share with him. "As for confidence, we all know it's an uphill battle. But pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we act on the assumption we're stuck here, we definitely will be. So we're going to try like hell to beat those odds." She laughed again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give a speech."

Bringing up his lect knee, Samuel hugged it loosely as he smiled at Taina. "He is a good officer, especially for one as young as he is." He then gave her a more directed gaze. "Please, no apology needed. I'm just glad to be talking to an attractive woman..." as soon as the words left his mouth, he turned beet red and stammered slightly.

"I-I I mean...!" He closed his eyes and shook his head as he clamped his mouth shut. He was sure that either two things would happen. One, she would laugh at him and leave, or two, she would reprimand him and send him to the agonizer booth for disrespecting a senior officer.

"It was the only asset I had when I was a slave," she said and then looked sharply at him as if bothered she'd told an NCO that. It had sort of slipped out. She went silent for a moment. Just working on the next panel.

Without thinking, Samuel first looked over, then moved over to sit next to Taina. He reached down and gently took hold of her hands. "Hey," he spoke softly, as he slowly turned her to face him. "I'm sorry that you had to experience that side of life, Ma'am. Truly I am. While I know that slavery is a constant in this universe, I personally have never had a use for it. My parents actually ran a group that helped slaves that had been abused and discarded by their lazy, reprehensible owners."

He reached up with his right hand and gently caressed the left side of her face. There was an honestness to his voice and tenderness to his eyes and touch. "I think you are amazing, to become who you are today. I'm actually honored that you would want to talk to someone like me as we have today." He took in a shallow breath and said, "Thank you."

"Did they?" She sounded genuinely surprised. She froze as he caressed the side of her face. She honestly wasn't sure how to respond to this. "I wasn't discarded. I was quite pleasing. I was given my freedom and I earned where I am today." She reached up and gently touched his right hand, wrapping her fingers around it but gently pushing it down. She took a moment to pull back. "You flatter me."

Samuel gave her a soft, lop-sided grin. "I only speak the truth, Ma'am. I am glad that we were able to talk. I hope we can do so more later." He wasn't trying to force the issue, he was always taught to was treat a woman with respect, no matter her species. He then glanced back to the situation around them.

"We..uh..should probably find that faulty circuit?"

"It was the sensors," she reminded him gently.

He gave her a quick grin and soft chuckle. "Oh yeah...sorry." He then turned and tried to change the subject. "So, Ma'am...did you..um...do you...uh...have anything to go back to?"

"I have a bit more to do in engineering after we do the other shuttle," she said.

Samuel nodded, realizing that he had overstepped himself. "O-of course, Ma'am! My apologies!" He they got back to work, hoping he didn't say or do anything else that would make him look like an idiot.

"There's nothing to apologize for," her smile more gentle than predatory for once.

He paused in his work and looked over at her, seeing that smile of hers. It caused him to have to catch his breath a little.

"So," he began after a few minutes of quiet working. "I know you're a senior officer and all, but...um...I was wondering if, uh...I mean...if you're into that kind of...ummm..." he was feeling like a teenager, asking a pretty girl to the holovids for the first time.

"Into what?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment anew. It took him a few beats to find his tongue. "Would you...be willing to... take a walk on the beach...with me?"

"Maybe I'll show..."

Suddenly, Samuel's commbadge beeped and his presence was requested down in shuttlebay storage.

"I'll be right there," he said with a sigh. He then looked back at Taina as he stood. "Sorry that I have to leave, Ma'am. Talk later?"

"Yeah, later," she said, a little embarrassed.