Engineering Howdy

Posted on Thu May 13th, 2021 @ 9:08am by Captain Kelly O'Connor & Lieutenant Glenn Radars

968 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 8 - A Blast from the Past
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: 2296/03/02 1200

Archie Gates strolled into Main Engineering as he continued his self tour of the America. She was a fine ship, albeit starting to show her age. No matter, there was plenty of life left in the old girl which made Archie pleased. He’d been delighted to get the chance to serve on a Constitution Class vessel.

He saw an passing engineer and collared them, “I’m looking for Lieutenant Radars?” He asked. The engineer point out the Lieutenant before carrying on his duties.

Archie headed over to the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant Radars?” He asked, making sure he had the right person.

Glenn, who was sat back in a chair, his feet up on the engineering console, cup of black coffee in one hand and the latest issue of "Starship Engineers magazine" in one looked up at the Commander. "Yeah that's me" he said taking a sip of his coffee. "Woah, now she's nice" he said referring to the engineer on the magazine in the skirted variant of the uniform.

Gates raised an eyebrow at the Engineer’s casual demeanour. “Commander Gates, America’s First Officer. A pleasure to meet you, Mr Radars.” He said offering the Lieutenant his hand right hand to shake.

Glenn took his hand lazily. "I wouldn't call meeting me a pleasure. Usually people want to throw me out of the nearest airlock" he explained. "So, what can I do for you, not guaranteed it'll get done however..."

“Excuse me?” Archie replied, he was more surprised by the engineer’s casual stance and lack of discipline than anything else.

Glenn sighed as he stood up lazily with a slight slouch. "I'm not much liked around these parts it seems" he said simply as he took the mans hand and shook it. "However, if the top people leave me alone things down here get done" he explained simply. "This fleet has far too many damn rules"

“That’s generally how fleets are run, Lieutenant.” The First Officer replied, annoyance clearly in his tone of voice. “Why did you join Starfleet if rules and regs are so much of a burden to you?”

"Never asked to be here," Glenn said. "I got pushed into it by those pushy parents of mine. But if I left, they would only go on and on about it. I can't be bothered listening to that" he paused. "Plus, from what people tell, I'm quite good at this Engineering thing"

"Are you still a mummy's boy? The door is open, I won't force you to stay and neither will Captain O'Connor." Gates asked, in a serious tone.

"Nah" Glenn replied. "You guys need me here right"

"Doing your job and following orders, yes. If not, I'd rather find someone who can." The Commander said.

"Don't need to worry. It'll all be fine" Glenn replied.

"If you don't want me to be worried then I suggest you straighten yourself up and do your work in a professional manner." Gates replied unimpressed with the Lieutenant's tone.

A smile crept across Glenn's face. "Oh I do. I just like a more relaxed way of doing things..." he replied with a stretch. He sat up in the chair. "We're in an Engine Room Commander. This ain't a bridge, so I don't treat my people like it is" he told him. "When the time comes, I have faith in their abilities and their skills. You guys up there can do all the scanning, and the orders and stuff. We'll keep the lights on"

"I'd prefer you to keep the lights on in a professional manner. I don't mind relaxed ways, I just would like the chief engineer to be upright and not laying down on the job, so to speak." Gates replied.

Sighing Glenn took his feet down off the console and stood up. He slouched slightly. "Tell me something" he said simply as he used his hand to gesture to the room. "Does it look like anything Exciting is happening here today? Does anything look like its broken or not working?" he asked.

"Whether anything exciting is happening or not, I expect my staff to be ready for anything that might be coming. Acting in this manner will cause slower reaction speeds for whenever something DOES happen."

Glenn smiled. "I don't mean any disrespect Commander. But we're engineers down here. We keep this ship running smoothly, and every now and again when things are nice and quiet and we're not called to work miracles we like to have a nice easy day so to speak," he explained simply. "Below deck if things are quiet and easy, then its a good day, because it means we've done our job right."

"And if something should go wrong in this instant? Then what? IT will take you an extra second or two to get out of your relaxed positions and that could be the difference between life and death."

Glenn laughed. "Trust me, if it was that urgent. A second or two wouldn't matter" he said. "You need to R.E.L.A.X. Commander. There's more to life than rules and regs. Open your eyes, look up to the sky and see.... wait, no that's Bohemian Rhapsody... Oh well, you get the idea."

"I don't like your attitude," the XO responded. "A second or two might make the difference between life and death. To say otherwise tells me that you've never experienced a life and death situation. How in the world did you get through the Kobashayi Maru?"

"Simple" Glenn said. "I didn't take the test. I'm not a Starship Commander. I'm an Engineer" he replied.

Gates opened his mouth and then closed it. "Well, Lieutenant Radars, if you don't get your act together and behave like a proper officer, you may not even be that."

 

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