Engineering Encounter

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 4:13am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Mindo
Edited on on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 7:34am

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Engineering
Timeline: Current

ON

Mindo walked into Engineering aboard his new assignment, the USS Pandora. It was a larger ship than the Rhode Island Class starship from which he had just transferred, and Engineering looked a bit bigger to him. Recognizing a familiar face, Mindo approached Petty Officer Zo.

Zo came from the planet Ba'ku in the Briar Patch, and though he was sixty-seven years old, he looked like he was still in his twenties. He had been one of the people captured during the skirmish caused by the Federation and the Ba'ku's genetic brothers, the Son'a.

During captivity, he had the chance to observe the leadership and bravery of one Jean-Luc Picard, a Federation captain. It was the nobility of this man that inspired Zo to leave his home world and pursue a life in Starfleet. He was happy when his family and friends supported his decision.

Mindo wanted to hug Zo when he saw him. The man had been a very good friend on the Tornado. Instead he approached and shook his hand.

"Officer Zo, it's good to have you here," said Mindo.

Zo smiled and took Mindo's hand. "Thank you for recommending me, sir! I heard you had some sort of injury..."

Mindo nodded. "A minor concussion. I think I'm fine now. I haven't even unpacked. At least I had time to put on my LEGs."

Mindo was referring to the apparatus he wore on his legs that allowed him to hover up to thirty yards, something useful for an engineer tending to a giant warp core. It also helped put him face to face with his fellow officers. Being from Feseria, Mindo was barely three and a half feet tall.

"Have any senior staff stopped by?" Mindo asked, looking around.

"None that I can tell," Zo said.

"Well we better get started on repairs," said Mindo. "How bad off are we?"

Zo put his hands on his hips. "We're almost done fixing a minor hull breach. Our engines are down to 75 percent. Shields are quickly being repaired. No damage to the core. Life support is stable, all other systems functional."

Mindo nodded. "Good."

Commander Temple had been making the rounds throughout the Pandora since her skirmish with the Tzenkethi. It wasn't usually a Captain's prerogative to personally visit the departments, but it was their first major test of the ship's capabilities under pressure and he also wanted to thank the crew for working so effectively to deal with the crisis.

Arriving in the Engineering Bay, he greeted several of the crew with a warm hand shake and smile, working his way up towards the Core in his usual casual way. As he approached, he was curious to see two unfamiliar new officers in discussion.

Mindo turned and saw the familiar uniform and pips of a commanding officer. He straightened and activated his LEGs, hovering at face level.

"May I help you, sir?" Mindo asked. Behind him, Zo picked up a PADD and went back to work.

Nyx didn’t have to search his memory for long to recall the name of the Pandora's new Chief Engineer, such a unique officer was hard to forget, especially with a reputation that proceeded him. He put a friendly hand to the Feserian's shoulder, the other reached out to shake with his.

"Lieutenant Mindo, I presume?" Nyx smiled, "So glad you could join us on the Pandora. Apologies for the rough welcome though."

"Just a scrape and a bump on the head," said Mindo. "I'm doing much better. We've got a few issues down here in the core and my people are already on it..." he looked around. "At least I hope they are. I've only talked to Crewman Zo over there and he got here just a little before I did."

"Life on the outskirts of the Federation," Nyx remarked, not sure whether to laugh at that thought or not. "You're going to be kept busy here, Lieutenant, but should you both require any assistance please don't hesitate to get in contact."

"Thank you, sir," said Mindo. "The last two ships I've been on have been quite an adventure. I'm eagerly anticipating the challenges I'll face here. The Pandora's a good ship. I'll keep her flying for you."

"Aye, you have my confidence, Lieutenant," The captain replied with a smile, "Once our current crisis has been averted, I hope we can have a proper introduction. With yourself, and all the new Pandora crew. Assuming we can get these Tzenkethi off our tails."

"I'm afraid I've never even heard of the Tzenkethi," said Mindo. "And I haven't had time to read any mission reports. Just came aboard and inherited this mess. Care to tell me what's going on?"

Nyx nodded and explained, "The Tzenkethi are a warrior race of lizard-like bipeds, one of the two major powers in the Inconnu region. The other being the Talarians, a militaristic but technologically undeveloped humanoid species. The Tzenkethi have been growing in strength and aggression, pushing into the narrow corridor between their two borders. The Talarians had been meeting with the Federation in response to the growing threat.

"We were requisitioned into finding a missing Talarian vessel by one of their ambassadors, a Colonel Sevros," Nyx sighed, "He believed the Tzenkethi had violated their space, as indicated by one of their border beacons. However, we discovered the beacon had in fact malfunctioned, and travelled into Tzenkethi territory. The Tzenkethi had already destroyed the drone and killed the crew, then came after us after we showed up to find the ship."

Nyx shrugged, "We managed to fight our way into a stalemate, and they've given us an hour to investigate what has happened and prove this wasn't an act of war. Of which we currently have about fifteen minutes remaining."

Mindo's eyes widened. Fifteen minutes! "Then I better get going," he said. "The sooner I can fix shields and our engines the better."

"I'll leave you to it," Nyx replied, as he started to walk away. He stopped and called back over his shoulder, "Welcome to the Pandora."

Mindo nodded. "Thank you, sir."

After Nyx had left, Zo approached Mindo and quietly said, "He seems friendly."

"They all do," said Mindo. Mindo turned around to face Zo. "We have fifteen minutes," he said. "Make them count."

Zo nodded and headed toward the central console while Mindo went to his office. Zo was right, the CO seemed friendly enough, but Mindo had been fooled... more than once. Not just on starships, but at the Academy, heck even on his own home world. People didn't like Mindo. So Mindo had learned to not trust anyone.

He set his bag down and looked at his desk. He would have to make a few adjustments (like lowering both desk and chair), but otherwise the space was perfect. Even a bit bigger than the Tornado.

As Nyx walked back to the Turbo Lift, his impromptu tour now complete, he gave a wry smile. The crew that had come together on the Pandora was certainly unique, and not without their faults, but their professionalism itself could not faulted. He hadn't had enough time to dig deeply into Lieutenant Mindo's history, but he assumed if the Task Force had seen fit to transfer him to the Pandora, it would be with good reason and a healthy dose of confidence in the Engineer's abilities. Still, he couldn't help but recall a need to watch that man, and Nyx decided he would have to have a chat with some of Mindo's former ship-mates from the Tornado.

OFF