What Do We Need?

Posted on Sun Oct 29th, 2017 @ 4:28pm by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke
Edited on on Thu May 31st, 2018 @ 11:28am

1,147 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 1 - Pioneering Spirit
Location: Captain's Quarters - Deck 3 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1100 Hrs
Tags: SD 71364.1100

It wasn't hard to find the commanding officer's quarters; Thalk had become accustomed to the way Federation vessels seemed to guide their crews towards a central location. It was as if the very corridors of the ship knew who was in command. Lieutenant Commander Malbrooke was the name of his new CO, and Thalk had absolutely no idea who the man was- or even that he was- before he received notification that he'd been offered a position on the USS Pioneer. Motives aside, the Intrepid class was a phenomenal upgrade compared to the Miranda, and the opportunity to work with unfamiliar technology as far from Klingon space as possible was one he could not pass up. He'd arrived, and paged Lt. Commander over the coms as he waited patiently to be ordered in. “Sir, Chief Engineer, reporting in as ordered."

Tyler had been unpacking and settling in he also had found some time to unwind with his wife. The chime to his quarters went off. The doors swished open and there stood a Klingon who wore a leather apron over his Starfleet uniform. Tyler knew exactly who it was, he picked the Klingon himself. "Come in Lieutenant and welcome, welcome. Have you just arrived or have you had time to settle into your quarters?" Tyler motioned to the living room area of his quarters.

Thalk surveyed his new commanding officer and his quarters, trying to get a feel for the kind of man he'd be serving under. He was so taken aback by the immediate hospitality, however, that he had little capacity left to analyse the his surroundings. “Just arrived, Sir." The Klingon carefully entered the living quarters, and stood near where Lt. Commander Malbrooke had motioned. "I thought it proper to make introductions before I moved my personal tools into my quarters and my spare cot into Engineering."

Tyler chuckled at the thought that everything he read about the Engineer was true. "Well welcome aboard and I appreciate your attention to protocol. About those tools, Lieutenant, your team may not know even what they are let alone how to use them. So please make sure that you take your time with them. Well, Main Engineering is on deck 11 and you will be assigned quarters on deck 2. For your actual quarters assignment please see the XO. Can I get you anything?"

Thalk nodded, understanding that the rest of his day would be spent justifying his existence and experience to the rest of the new crew. “My personal effects and pursuits will not limit my ability to cooperate with my team in more conventional ways. I would, however deeply appreciate a water. There are some questions I have for you, if you deem now the proper time and place for them."

Tyler went to the replicator and retrieved a glass of water and a coffee. "Of course Lieutenant, of course now is the perfect time. I want all my officers to be as candid with me as they can. So shoot..."

“Very well, Sir. We've never served with each other. As far as I'm aware, we've never even crossed paths. Your ship-" he looked around at the hull of the quarters- "Is a far cry from the decommissioned and retrofitted vessels I've cut my teeth on. Why choose me? What is our mission that you've selected a salvage specialist as your CEO? What do we need that I am the best tool for the job?"

Tyler knew that Klingons had a reputation of being straight forward and this was right to it. "Well you may view yourself as a salvage expert, but I view you as an engineer, an improviser. I read your service record in detail and I know about your invention. That is what I need here, I need someone who will think for themselves and not just blindly follow orders. Someone who will do what is best for the ship as a whole. Our mission here is one of patrol and rebuilding. We are assisting the CDF while they are reconstructing after the Dominion War. So a salvage expert would be prudent, as the Cardassians seek to salvage what they have left." Tyler smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"My question to you Mr Thalk is why come out from behind those derelicts. According to your record you worked in the salvage yards and liked it. But then suddenly you went out on ship duty. Why?" Tyler looked the burly Klingon right in the eyes, and he saw the honor, and if Tyler dared to think it some pain back there.

It took a brief moment for the engineer to focus on formulating a response. He covered his hesitation by taking a long pull from his glass of water, and willed his mind to focus on the conversation at hand. Memories of a fierce woman who believed that waste aboard a starship was the greatest sin in the galaxy, the way her shoulders would shift as she bristled at the thought of someone calling her husband a "graveyard mechanic". He buried it- he was good at that.

“They weren't derelicts, Sir. They still had use and service left in them. Broken, damaged, missing peices, certainly. But still of use to the Federation and its people. The Evangelist was written off. An old Miranda class ship couldn't be expected to keep up with the fleet. I did not appreciate that sentiment. If a resource has survived great hardship, that should be reason to keep it around, not to get rid of it." Thalk hoped he was still talking about ships.

Tyler laughed "And now Mr Thalk you have answered your own question. I chose you for that reason. You believe that everything survives not merely gets old. Any person who believes that is the person I want keeping my ship together. Heh, that and my wife thinks you are the second best engineer in the fleet. Seconded of course by her, and believe she would have had my hide if I did not ask you to come aboard." Tyler took a sip of his coffee.

No sense arguing with other people against your own merit; this was a lesson the Empire drilled into its non-combatant personnel through their training. “Thank you sir, for the words and the water. At your leave, it is best that I introduce myself to the XO and the COO. Then, I'll have to convince the rest of the entering team that a pressurised container of combustible gas is perfectly safe."

"Indeed Mr Thalk you are dismissed. ...And Lieutenant welcome aboard." Tyler said with a broad smile.

A Joint Post By:

Lieutenant Commander Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer

Lieutenant Thalk
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer

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