Work Distraction

Posted on Sun 23rd Dec, 2018 @ 9:31pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Ensign Joshua Schwartz
Edited on on Tue 25th Dec, 2018 @ 3:29am

924 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Deck 14, Main Sensor Maintenance
Timeline: MD 16 1400

Pressing his combadge, "Alright, let's launch the third probe," Andrew announced without looking up from his controls. He was assisting his team in installing and testing the new Station defenses Captain Suzuki had ordered in response to the cloaked pirates in the area. Andrew was also ordered to make preparations for the Besm civilian arrivals. The major items were already taken care of and he had every confidence the more detailed items could be handled without his supervision until the day of their actual arrival drew closer. Additionally, as far as he was concerned, this was the more pressing of the two tasks anyway.

The response to his order came shortly after, "Aye, sir. We are launching it now." As the unmanned probe was launched, Andrew and Josh monitored the progress on their respective stations.

"Alright," Andrew began, "We have a few minutes before the probe is in position. Let's make sure the first two are tied into the sensor grid and are functioning properly."

Josh only hesitated momentarily before nodding and looking back down but it was enough to catch Andrew's attention. Wryly smiling as he coordinated his console with Josh's, Andrew continued, "Something on your mind, Ensign?"

Looking back at him, Josh shrugged, "Honestly, just that we don't have to keep double checking the probes that are in position to pass the time before the next one is in position. There's a lot of them left."

Andrew smiled wider and nodded his head, "Remind me again why I told you that you could speak honestly all the time?"

Josh just shrugged again and smiled, "I can't answer that, sir."

"Fair enough," Andrew replied, "And do you want to tell the Captain why one of the probes maintaining the tachyon grid suddenly malfunctioned and left a gap in our early warning system?" There was no response and Andrew finished, "I didn't think so. We have a little down time between setups. I want to make sure this system is operating at peak efficiency when we bring it online."

Again, there was a silent nod from the man, "Well looks like the connection to our sensor grid is strong. Power systems on both are stable and both are emanating tachyon particles. "

"Good," Andrew responded, "We've got a long way to go but this is a good start." Looking up, he saw Josh hesitate again, "Don't worry about an attack. This is only to solidify defenses around the Starbase to deter anybody who gets it in their heads it'll be a good idea to attack a Federation Starbase."

This caused an audible laugh from the Ensign that Andrew was not expecting. Raising an eyebrow and staring, Andrew assumed an explanation would follow.

"I know, sir. And I'm glad we are putting this system in as a precaution," pausing again, "But that wasn't what was on my mind just now."

Andrew nodded, "Well something was on your mind. Care to share?"

Josh didn't make eye contact and stared back at his console. Andrew grinned, "Interesting. Well, as long as whatever is on your mind doesn't affect your work, you're within your rights to keep it to yourself."

He looked up at Andrew again and asked, "Sir, permission to speak freely?"

This time Andrew laughed, "Isn't that what we've been doing, Josh?" shaking his head, he continued, "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Well, sir. I was at Pearl with a Chainsaw last night and I saw--"

Andrew quickly cut him off, "Well, I assume you had a good night out with friends," looking directly at him, "Right?" There was a pause as they both waited on Josh's answer, knowing that he was referring to Andrew's impromptu date.

Josh face hardened and shrugged again, "Of course, sir. Yes. It's a great place to go to if you ever feel like being social."

"Are you insinuating I'm not social?" Andrew asked, knowing full well that most of the time he was not.

"No, sir. Sorry I brought it up," glancing back up, Josh added, "I was just going to say it's a good place for a social gathering. Or a date. That's all."

Andrew saw on the man's face that he was expecting another dress down from him and Andrew stared a few moments before answering, "Good to know, Ensign. Thanks for the tip." His combadge went off again, signaling that the probe was in position.

He continued, "Alright, Josh. Let's get back to work. Make a direct connection to the probe and I'll initiate the program and the tachyon particles."

Both men nodded and proceeded to carry out the same procedure as was done previously. Josh announced the standard order of contact and finally confirmed the Station established a solid lock with the new probe.

"Probe establishing connection with the first two. Starting the process of emanating the particles," Andrew reported. After a few moments, he nodded, "Stream stabilizing and is in line with normal parameters. Looks like we have a third probe in place. Only a few more to go."

Josh looked at him somewhat annoyed, "A few?"

He replied grinning and teasingly answered, "Yes, a few. And let's keep the idle chat between probes to a minimum from here on out, okay? Or I could just leave you by yourself to make sure the rest of these things get where they need to be."

Josh quickly shook his head, returning the smile, "No, sir. I appreciate the help. And don't worry, sir. Message received."

Both men nodded and proceeded to continue with the task at hand.

 

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