Unnecessary Risks

Posted on Thu Oct 31st, 2024 @ 6:08pm by Lieutenant Commander Gulati & Captain Tyler Driskill & Lieutenant Makai ("Kai") Nokamura

1,214 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 2 - Death is Only the Beginning
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: After "Not Enough Time"

No response. While checking in with the departments to assess the damage the USS Concord had endured from the explosion of the alien starship, Lieutenant Gulati had received nothing from Lieutenant Chaika, the Asobi Chief Engineer assigned to the USS Concord. It was unusual. If anything, the annoying Chaika was usually running amuck across the starship and causing a ruckus as she reported about this and that needing repairs. Several attempts to contact her directly yielded no change in results causing Gulati to contact Concord's Engineering room. A young junior grade lieutenant responded.

"She was here...then she wasn't" reported lieutenant junior grade Jane Goodwin, a structural engineer. Great. Where the hell did she go? thought Gulati as she walked into the starship's main engineering. The starship had taken significant damage. Consulting the computer did not necessarily help as internal sensors were down in several areas of the starship. So, when the computer gave a report that "Lieutenant Chaika is not aboard," Gulati was uncertain how true that was. Nevertheless, Engineering needing guidance and structure until its Chief Engineer could be located.

Gulati was just a mission specialist, but the Captain had turned to her and placed her in charge. So, she did what was necessary. She reached out to an experienced engineer to assist. Undoubtedly wide awake from riding the shockwave of another starship, Gulati opened a channel to Lieutenant Nokamura. "Engineering to Nokamura. This is Lieutenant Gulati, lieutenant we need you down here. The Chief Engineer is...she's somewhere."

"Mahalo," Kai said as he accepted a mug of hot coffee. The youngest member of his team of young, less experienced, gamma shift engineers had taken it upon himself to fetch coffee for everyone. The Chief, who hadn't yet forgotten the incident, would be handling the bigger problems and wouldn't want his input but that didn't mean he was going to sit on his hands. So, they'd been tracing power conduit issues ever since the explosion that had rocked the Concord.

Surprised that anyone on the Bridge even knew his name, Kai answered promptly. "Nokamura here. On my way." He shared a look with his second who was muttering, "probably wandering through a conduit somewhere. Want me to track her down?"

"No," Kai said. "I"ll find one of her minions and send them. There's a couple of devotees who will know how to do it. You stay on this. You run into any issues, let me know as soon as possible. Dead in the water is not a good look for a starship, brah." Laughter followed him out of the Jeffries tube and once in the corridor, Kai closed his eyes for a moment, envisioning the fastest route to Main Engineering, and then took off.

[Short While Later]

He entered Main Engineering a short while later, surprised at the lack of focus, and headed over to the ship's First Officer. Delicate situation, he reminded himself. Don't be shooting yourself in the foot now. Keep quiet about the Chief and just do what you can. With a PADD in hand, he stopped in front of the diminutive Benzite. "Ma'am," he said and then, seeing her somewhat blank expression (which was no surprise given the situation), added. "Lieutenant Nokamura reporting."

"Lieutenant," Gulati addressed the man. His skin tone was warmer than some of the paler Humans on the crew. "Chief Engineer Chaika is not here and nowhere to be found. I understand you are the ranking officer for your usual shift?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Kai said. "I run Gamma Shift." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the Chief's minions edge forward. She'd been the most outspoken after the 'incident' and the one most likely to make his life difficult.

"Then you are more than capable and qualified to hold Engineering down until we locate.." Gulati's attention was drawn away momentarily by a frantic looking ensign at a console. "What's this about," added Gulati as both she and Nokamura headed towards Ensign O'Mara.

Gulati looked at the ensign. "You have our attention. What is it?" The Benzite let our a puff of vapor. Her tone firm, steady, and straight to business.

Ensign O'Mara was uncertain who to report to but they both were there. "An energy reading from one of our cargo transporters. It happened a few minutes before the alien vessel went kaboom."

Lieutenant Gulati gently yet in an assertive manner brushed aside O'Mara. "It seems the whereabouts of your Chief Engineer are known," Gulati said looking up at Nokamura as she pulled up the log of latest users of the cargo transporters, one name firmly standing out.

Nokamura, who had been reading over her shoulder, shook his head, muttering to himself, "No ke aha ʻo ia e... ?" But he knew, even as his brain was reflexively asking the question, he knew. No wasn't a word she accepted into her reality, was it? "A hui hou, Chief."

The minion edged closer still, shock registering, her hands covered her mouth, as though preventing an outcry. "Oh no," she said softly. "She will be missed ..." She sniffed loudly. "By some of us at least."

"All of us," Gulati stated. "We should have taken on more damage than we did. Lieutenant Chaika managed to put more distance between the aliens vessel and us before it went up."

Heroics. They were reckless, but that was Lieutenant Chaika. She believed in herself and her ability to anything and everything. Gulati tapped her communications badge. "Captain, it's Gulati. Lieutenant Chaika is unaccounted for but we've found her trail of breadcrumbs. I believe she used the cargo transporters to beam aboard the alien ship and sacrificed herself trying to prevent the explosion. It looks as though she may have managed to give us more distance at least."

“An unfortunate sacrifice” Tyler replied over the comm system.

Gulati was in agreement. "She took unnecessary risks. It's not surprising" noted Gulati. The alien ship was destroyed. It was nothing but dust and debris. There was no body to recover, but all indicators pointed to Chaika having been aboard when it blew.

She looked to Nokamura. "Lieutenant, we'll want a report on damages by the top of the hour. Do the best you can. Pull personnel from other departments if needed. Engineering is yours."

"Yes, Ma'am," Kai said and then, in the way of engineers everywhere, dismissed her from his mind. The ship came first. He crossed to the Main Engineering console and started studying the readouts while the engineers gathered around him. There were of course priorities. Life support. Main power. Shields. Engines. Weapons. Life support was always first for obvious reasons. "Gamma shift is tracing the problems in the power conduit so we'll focus on the rest."

Lieutenant Gulati gave a nod of approval. Clearly Nokamura was able to lead these engineers if need be. "If you need anything, reach out. For the time being we're going to mark Chaika as missing until the Captain rules otherwise."

"See you at the 'top of the hour', Kai said over his shoulder and then, at a nudge from one of the enlisted technicians added, "Ma'am."

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No ke aha ʻo ia e... >> Why would she?
A hui hou >> Until we meet again

 

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