[Round 2] Monkey Work

[Garlone 301]

(( MAIN ENGINEERING ))

:: Ethan looked up from the console. The Engineers in the pit had

done nothing but slog themselves over what was going on outside.

While whatever being had disrupted their STI and sent them hurtling

through a wormhole the size of a suppository, odd things had been

happening all over the ship. Lights were blowing, gel packs were

malfunctioning and with those micro fractures in the hull, they were

staring Death in the face; full on, without being able to blink.::

Reed: It's... It's repaired.

:: Ethan frowned.:: Brice: What's repaired?

:: Sarah looked up and stuttered. Not like her. She was straight on

the ball whether she was wrong or right. It wasn't in her to be

confused.::

Reed: The hull – it's repaired.

:: The young Chief [...]ed an eyebrow.:: Brice: How in the... did that

happen?

:: She couldn't give him an answer. Her brain was trying to select

between random occurrence, the Alien did it or, the more possible, how

the heck should I know?::

Reed: It happened while I was checking for seizures in the

fractures... It's just repaired.

:: Another voice from behind.:: York: I'm reading increased levels of

tetraburnium and victurium in the hull composite.

Brice: Which would account for the repair work – someone's repaired

them hook, line and sinker.

Reed: With materials we don't have, which is even more...

Brice: ...disturbing. ::he lifted an eyebrow.:: Just for a change?

:: Sarah smiled slightly. Ethan whistled loudly to the rest of the

Engineering crew stuck in Main Engineering with the best of them.::

Brice: Right, monkeys; listen up! Upstairs, no one cares what's going

on down here as long as we're getting a job done. We're stuck in the

middle of nowhere with a gel pack between us so understand this

clearly – every iota of the energy produced goes on sustaining

essential systems, weapons, shields and communications.

::his eyes fell on Cameron:: Mister York, get on the long-range

sensors, we want something we can work with.

::back to Sarah:: Reed, find out what the heck happened to the hull

and quickly then get on sensors. If we can get something going a long

way, we can transmit by bouncing.

::and then everywhere:: One team of Alphas up deck doing chit repairs

and one team of Betas doing bit work down here. Keep gel packs; all

of them. Understood?

:: A mulled number of replies came back before Ethan rolled his eyes

and looked to the console. Where was the morale? Back in Wheeler

Colony, no doubt.::

(( FLASHBACK ))

:: On the Bridge, Ethan had sat in the Captain's Chair for a split

second. His hands had barely graced the computer panelling on the arm

when whatever had happened, had happened. Right before their eyes,

the ship had been thrown into the blackness of the wormhole with

barely a second's notice, catapulting them across the galaxy, far from

the reaches of the Away Team.::

:: Ethan jumped from the chair, his heart following suit. His brain

could hardly believe his eyes as he watched the wiry veins of the

wormhole, the rift in space to send them lightyears away from their

friends and their home, leaving them in the middle of unknown

territory, unchartered space.::

:: His mind ran over the possibilities in the few seconds it took for

everyone else to react. The Away Team, Captain Mar... Karynn... on

the Colony. His fist slammed into the arm of the Captain's Chair.

Time stood still. A fraction of a moment when everything bolted into

slow motion – the reports flying in from Helm, Tactical,

Engineering... the questions; where were they, what happened, what was

going to happen, what could they do... Ethan stared at the

viewscreen, hoping it was a mistake, it was a practical joke, it was

Mar's way of letting him know he wasn't ready to be sitting there,

making decisions, even polishing the chrome.::

:: Then all too quickly it came flooding back. Ethan turned his head;

Ben had come rushing in, the CO shouting his orders, knowing what to

do. One last look at the screen, at the blackness of space on the

other side... they'd get home; Karynn would be safe and they'd get

home.::

(( PRESENT ))

:: The young Engineer drilled his fingers on the console. The missing

link was still missing. The wormhole had dragged them in; some kind

of alien had done this to them; for what purpose they didn't know. He

chewed the inside of his cheek. What would Mar be doing? She was the

CEO of the Indy – what would she be doing in his situation? If they

could boost the long-range sensors that much and focus on their point

of origin into the system, there might be a way providing the Away

Team are thinking about how to get home.::

:: Immediately he walked to Reed's console and began tapping away.

She gave him a look, as if to ask what he was doing but he simply

smiled.::

Brice: Six hands are better than one.

TBC

Lt. Ethan Brice

Chief of Engineering

USS Ronin