Duel of the Engineers

Posted on Sun Mar 12th, 2023 @ 10:21pm by Lieutenant Sultana Wolff & Lieutenant Jera'turak Ros

973 words; about a 5 minute read

Sultana kept her hands clasped behind her back as she walked into engineering and glanced around. The massive compartment that housed the primary engineering control systems of the Endeavour was one of the most impressive she had ever seen, and not easily matched by much in Starfleet. Designed and built with all of the centuries of experience that Starfleet had learned, the Endeavour stood alone in her class, which was an impressive feat on its own. The low hum of the warp core at standby could not only be heard but felt, even at the doorway, and Sultana couldn't help but be somewhat in awe.

Jera was frustrated at having to learn not only the newer systems on board the Endeavour but an entirely new generation of computer and interface software as well. It was made even more aggravating by the fact that she had no one to teach her, instead she was literally being thrown to the sharks, or wolves, or any other wild dangerous beast and forced to figure it out. Needless to say she was not in a good mood, and looking up and seeing someone she didn't know standing in her engineering room staring off into space didn't help. "Hey, if you're going to stare take a picture, otherwise get out of the way," she said, somehow managing to keep her voice somewhat civil.

Pulling her attention away from her day dreaming, Sultana turned towards the officer who had spoken and recognized the woman from the manifest she had read on her way to the Endeavour. "Sorry, it's my first time on a Sovereign," she said.

"Well, I can't really fault you on that account," Jera said as she made an accepting shrug. "I've served on a Galaxy and a Nebula, but this beast is completely different so I guess I can forgive you."

"I'm Lieutenant Sultana Wolff, I've been assigned as chief engineer to the Endeavour for the time being," Sultana said.

"Oh?" Jera blinked. "That rascal captain of ours was supposed to let me know when you came on board. Just wait until I get my hands on him for not telling me."

"That's probably because I haven't reported in yet," Sultana said. "I have until tomorrow morning to do so, and I decided to settle in and get a feel for the ship and the crew."

"I thought it was standard procedure to report in right after you came on board," Jera said as she narrowed her eyes towards the other woman.

"It's more of a tradition to report in as soon as an officer comes aboard for the first time, but I sometimes like to bend the rules just a little," Sultana said as she watched Ros very carefully. She had of course read the crew records for every engineer on the Endeavour, and Ros had a very colorful one at best. It was best to go ahead and put this working relationship to the test here and now, just in case.

Jera felt her temper rise at the outward attitude of the other woman, and instead of giving in to her usual demons she narrowed her eyes and glared towards the other lieutenant. "Maybe you think it's a tradition that you can ignore at your will, but on this ship everyone should report in as expected," Jera growled. "And until you're logged in as an active serving officer assigned to this ship, your presence in this compartment is technically by Starfleet regulations impractical and illegal. As such, I'm going to have to ask you to leave until such time as you've reported for duty and have been added to the ship's manifest roster, or I can ask the nice friendly security officer standing by the door to drag you to security and you can explain why you're in a brig cell once his report finds its way to the captain."

Sultana nodded her head in appreciation as she considered her next move. Finally, she decided to simply be honest. "I fully plan to report to the captain in the next twenty minutes, the truth is that I wanted to see what type of officers I would be working with," she explained. "I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, going by the personnel records that I read on my way here. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I needed to know."

Jera felt her temper rise, threatening to unleash on the woman before her and place them both in the brig. Swallowing hard, she forced the outburst down and took a deep breath, keenly aware of just how closely everyone in the compartment was watching them. "So you just violated regulations, procedures, and security measures just so you could test me?" she growled. "And for right now, you can get out of engineering if you please."

"If you can give me one reason why I should leave engineering, when I am an engineer assigned to this ship, I will do so until my next assigned shift," Sultana said.

"Because by technical standards, until you've reported to the command staff and officially reported for duty on board this ship, you're a visiting officer with no true clearance to enter restricted areas of the ship. Which, engineering is a highly restricted part of the ship, and I'm bound to observe all security measures. I will state as much in any report that I need to write as a result of this incident," Jera said.

Sultana nodded. "Very well, Lieutenant Ros," she said. "I apologize for my actions, and I will willingly leave until I have officially reported in and have been added to the ship's manifest. I will leave you to your duties." Without another word, she nodded towards the other woman and headed out of engineering. Her next stop would need to be the bridge.

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