Quick Hands

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2020 @ 12:29pm by Captain Nycolas Temple & Ensign Ian Milkovich

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Deck 1 - Bridge
Timeline: 0400

ON:

The Captain sat in the command chair overlooking a quiet and somber Pandora Bridge at this early morning hour. A small contingent of crew worked in the background, tapping away at their consoles, reading off maintenance progress reports in dulcet tones. The gentle hum of the impulse engines was a soothing, constant sound within the cool ambience of a ship operating ordinary, perfunctory tasks. Nyx could have given this shift to another officer, it was Delta Bridge Watch after all, but he was relishing the chance to sit and bask in the relative calm of this morning. After what had been a stressful and trying mission, he was savouring these moments of near-solitude.

The Pandora was still orbiting Hesiod Blue, with teams monitoring the settlements of Hesians on their new home, while repairing and fixing the ship once again after their tumultuous visit to Hesiod Green. There wasn't much to do now but wait to see if the fledgling species were able to adapt to their new planet, before the Pandora sailed back to it's own home. Their duty of care to the Hesians had been fulfilled for the most part, having transported them off the dying planet and into the idyllic shores of the tropical world, with enough supplies and tools to rebuild their homes and society. Nyx felt it would soon be time for them to leave the region, albeit with a small team monitoring and protecting the planet to ensure no further undue influence occurred.

So transfixed with the quiet ambience, Nyx didn't notice Crewman Milkovich when he first appeared by the side of the Captain's chair. Milkovich had to clear his throat loudly before Nyx responded. The Captain looked up, saw the junior officer, and jumped. Milkovich had arrived for his Secondary Ops shift - manning the Bridge's outer Ops station and working as back-up operator to the main console. It was a much-maligned, drudge duty on the Delta shift hours starting from 4am, given very little else was happening onboard at the moment.

"Ah, yes. Hello there." Nyx said with a start.

"Latnum for your thoughts, Captain?" Ian asked, eyebrows raised.

Nyx tried to affix a serious gaze, "I would hope a young officer like yourself would not be carrying a foreign entity's currency on a Starfleet vessel in service, Crewman. You know that's a court martial offence."

Milkovich gulped. "It's just a saying, sir. Or... or... at least Petty Officer Volk told me it was."

Nyx was not surprised to hear the name, but it brought a wry grin to the corner of his lips. He was starting to get a picture of why young Milkovich was standing by his side.

"Volk is a deft poker player, as she likes to tell me, perhaps you shouldn't always believe what she tells you?" Nyx replied.

"No, sir, I definitely won't, sir." Milkovich nodded, his cheeks starting to glow as red as his hair.

Breaking into a knowing smile, Nyx gave a laugh, "Relax, Crewman. You'll have to learn to indulge your Captain's poor attempts at humour when you're on the Bridge."

"I will." Ian said earnestly.

"Speaking of Volk," Nyx continued, "I believe she usually has the Delta Secondary Ops shift, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Milkovich nodded, "But we swapped... I mean, I had to do it."

"How come?"

At this Milkovich looked down at his shoes and sighed. "She beat me at poker."

Nyx let out a raucous laugh. "That sounds about right. What hand?"

The poor young officer was being tortured by his Captain and he knew it, but he couldn't help but respond. "Royal flush. I thought I had the high card and I just kept upping the stakes. One minute I thought I was getting a premium steak dinner, the next I have her early morning starts for the rest of the week!"

"Always quit while you're ahead, Milkovich, especially when playing a card shark like Volk." Nyx smirked, "She's gotten out of more drudge shifts through poker than any officer I've ever known. Hence why I've never challenged her to a game."

"That advice would have been useful before I played, sir." Ian responded, trying not to let too much sarcasm show.

"Now you know." Nyx shrugged. "To answer your initial question, Crewman. I was merely enjoying the serenity of a quiet Pandora."

Milkovich looked around, seeing there wasn't much going on except standardised maintenance, but he didn't seem daunted. He was glad to be on the Bridge again, and even more so seeing that the Captain was on duty as well. "Sounds good. I'm keen to clock as much practical Ops time as I can."

"Is that so?" Nyx asked curiously. Deciding to take pity on the Ops junior for his earlier teasing, Nyx suddenly stood up. "Come with me, Crewman. You may have lost the hand and your sleep-schedule for the week, but you will gain some experience instead."

Nyx didn't wait for a reply as headed out the door, knowing Milkovich would follow. And he quickly did.

[Sensor Pod - Moments Later]

Above the main hull of the USS Pandora, Nyx and Ian appeared inside the Sensor Pod in a flash of blue swirls. The only way to gain access to the Luna Class' special attachment was through transporters, and as the two beamed in, overhead lights silently and automatically started to come to life, illuminating the area section by section.

"Ever been in the Sensor Pod, Milkovich?" Nyx asked as he jogged off the transporter pads and into the corridor.

"No." Ian replied hurriedly, eagerly following the Captain.

"Few have." Nyx said with a shrug. "I've given it a tour now and then but apart from general maintenance, this place is rarely visited."

The two walked alone through the narrow corridors, first coming into the small Operations department with its two rows of silent consoles. Milkovich looked around in quiet excitement. The Sensor Pod was usually unmanned, with most functions being controlled by the Bridge or Science departments. As such, they were the only ones present. Comprising three tight decks across a forty-five metre, oval-shaped facility, the Sensor Pod was the Luna Class's super power. It helped the Pandora's long-range scanning, tactical prowess, probe proficiency, and even operated as a Lifeboat as required. Despite this, it was rare for officers to ever step foot in the annex decks unless required and so the Pod was completely empty most of the time.

Moving through the corridors and into the Command Room, which looked like a compact version of a tactical Bridge, Nyx took a seat at the Engineering Station. He indicated for Ian to sit at the Operations station. Tentatively, the young officer swivelled the chair around and lowered himself into it. Nyx was already tapping away at the console, bringing the room's few stations to life.

"Diverting power to long-range sensors." He mumbled as he worked.

Snapping to attention, Ian's hands ran over the screen as he started to follow the Captain's movements. He was quick to navigate through the ship's various systems. He saw the request for a power relay and he executed the necessary commands. "Power established." Milkovich reported.

"We're looking for a specific target, Milkovich, what do you recommend?" Nyx asked, not looking away from his console.

Ian furrowed his brow before nodding, "Narrow sensor field, constant focused beam, recommend forward sensors arrays set at a constricted spectrum."

"What adjustments do we have to make?" Nyx immediately returned.

"Increase the Pod's bow shielding, modulating for high-energy scanning beam, regulate power supply and focus computer processing on relaying the reports?" Milkovich suggested more than answered.

"Show me those steps." Nyx said as he took his hands off the console.

Taking a breath, Ian returned to the station in front of him and started making the adjustments. His hands danced over the screen as he pulled up the necessary functions and gave the Sensor Pod his commands. The Bridge below them chimed in requesting to assist but Nyx dismissed the offer; he wanted Milkovich to have this opportunity. The junior officer was loving this moment - alone time with the Captain, one of the few to have actually sat in the Sensor Pod and worked its consoles. It was like having his own private tutoring sessions with a new toy and he was trying very hard not to show his nervous energy.

After a few moments, a question popped into his mind and Ian paused. "Sir... Where or what are we detecting?"

At this, Nyx smiled. He tapped his console and the view screen appeared on the wall in front of them, showing the vast array of space ahead of the ship. There wasn't much in the Hesiod Region - two planets surrounding a single star, a storm of dark gravitational clouds in the visible distance. As first adventures into long-range scanning goes, it wasn't much of a choice. But enough to whet the appetite.

"Take your pick." The Captain responded.

Ian nodded as he stared at the view screen, then down below at his console. Finally he looked up again and asked, "What about the dark matter?"

Nyx wasn't surprised by this but he nodded. "If you wish." He said simply.

"We'll have to compensate for spacial density." Ian said immediately, returning to his console. "Can we move the Pandora closer?"

Nyx smiled, "No."

Ian tried not to frown but he kept working. After a few more adjustments, his quick hands left the console and he smiled. "I think I'm ready?"

"One hundred percent?" Nyx asked.

Ian felt a swell of unsure doubt. "I... compensated for the atmospheric conditions, ensured power was stable, eliminated unnecessary functions to increase computer processing... I believe so, yes."

Feeling the Captaincy voice taking over, Nyx raised an eyebrow, "On the Bridge, we often don't have time for guessing and double-checking. The computer will tell us if something is a very bad idea, but sometimes we're trying something new. Like you are today."

"I understand." Milkovich nodded eagerly, though he wondered where this was going.

"How do we know if something's going to work?" Nyx asked plainly.

Ian thought about it for a moment and he shrugged, "We don't?"

Nyx shook his head at this. "Repetition. Learning your commands. Knowing instinctively that if you're using a forward sensor array in a narrow-spectrum beam, that you will need to factor for heat intensity." He tapped his screen, and the computer showed an alert code. He had turned off the visible warnings to give Milkovich the opportunity to discover the problem first for himself. "It would have over-heated in two point five seconds. Not catastrophic, but damaging to the Pod."

Ian sunk a little, "I'm sorry, I didn't see that." He sighed heavily.

"Of course not, that takes experience and practice." Nyx replied, now his tone was reassuring. "I don't expect a Crewman level Ops officer to do that yet, but the fact that you were able to command the majority of the sequence with ease is very promising."

Hearing this gave Milkovich cause to straighten his back up again. He gave a smile in response, taking in the Captain's compliments. "I'm keen to learn this, sir."

"You want to be Bridge Ops? Even... a Chief Ops one day?" Nyx asked, staring intently at the young man.

"Yes." Ian nodded, a small glimmer in his eyes now.

"Then you practice. Up here." Nyx said emphatically. "In fact, we have a stowaway from Pithos that may be able to help you. Lieutenant Roderick. I think you should try to learn everything you can from everyone you can. That's how you make it to the Bridge and Senior staff."

"Yes, sir, I will, sir." Ian positively beamed.

Nyx relished the opportunity to bring some training and experience to a younger officer. It was part of the reason why he wanted to be Captain. If he could nurture the talent and skills in junior crew like Milkovich, and guide him to others onboard who could do likewise, they would ensure that this ship became a vessel of coaching and teaching. The Pandora would be known for delivering talented officers with real capabilities into Starfleet; Nyx deeply wanted that to be part of the ship's reputation and legacy. He needed to commit himself and his senior staff to making it happen.

Clapping his hands together with excitement, Nyx returned to their task, "Alright, Crewman Milkovich. Adjust for heat intensity and let's get this Pod going!"

"Aye, sir!" Ian responded, jumping back on to the console.

OFF