Tinkering With Tesla

Posted on 28 Mar 2016 @ 6:29pm by Lieutenant Parisa Rykov DCS

1,047 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: USS Black Hawk - Deck 7 - Shuttle Maintenance Hangar
Timeline: Unspecified

There were a lot of strange things occurring aboard the USS Black Hawk and even stranger things happening within the quadrant. Good Starfleet Officers were turning their backs on their careers, records and logs were being altered, and the command structure aboard the Black Hawk had been turned inside out with Commander Kos having been tossed in a holding cell for crimes which Dr. Rykov did not believe her capable of. To make matters worse, the Captain was 'not to be disturbed' according to the Security Chief who had taken over as acting First Officer.

Parisa had asked around about the Captain, but nobody really could give her a clear answer as to where he was. The ship's computer had only told her that he was in his Ready Room. She had been able to get some shut eye during her break, but she was back up only a couple hours later to work the Gamma shift. She had been putting in extra hours in addition to her regular Gamma shift.

There were some good engineers aboard the Black Hawk, but there were also some that Dr. Rykov wanted to just toss out the nearest airlock. She lost track of how many mistakes she had to fix. As much as she respected and appreciated the Chief Engineer, she truly questioned the engineers under him. Parisa truly believed that she was better suited for the job than he was or at the very least could bring something different to the table. It was why she had filed several complaints about the engineering staff aboard and officially seeking the Captain's consideration of making her Chief Engineer.

She did not truly expect to get the job as it was already taken. Parisa also knew that her attempts to 'over throw' the Chief Engineer would probably earn her a bad reputation, some enemies within the Engineering Department, and yet potentially some allies as well. Parisa was already gaining a reputation for being 'bitchy' and 'bossy' but also determined and hard working. She, herself, only wished to work with the best. So, when she was tasked with solving a power issue on the shuttle pod, Tesla, Dr. Parisa Rykov selected her partner wisely.

Rykov was already in Deck seven's Hangar, where the Tesla sat for maintenance work. Dr. Rykov had an engineering kit slung over her shoulder and a mug of hot coco with chocolate whip in her hand, pressing the rim of the mug to her mouth. She took a sip as the doors to enter the hangar opened. "Ah, Lieutenant Kashmira" said Rykov as she greeted the woman. "It looks like we have our work cut out for us. The Tesla's that one over there" added Rykov gesturing towards the type 18 craft in question.

Revati was more than used to her Gamma shift assignment. She was bright-eyed and awake and a touch of red flushed her cheeks since, given the opportunity of deserted corridors, she'd jogged to the hanger from her quarters. As she stepped into the bay she took a drink from a bottle of bright pink liquid that had a similar, if better tasting, effect of human coffee. "Good evening, Lieutenant Rykov," she said cheerily. "Tesla... Tesla," she repeated, liking the sound of the name, "Yes, I read the error report on my way here. Seemingly random yet brief power failures across its systems. Sounds like a loose... Oh, what's that?" Revati had caught sight of Rykov's mug.

"Hot coco" replied Rykov simply. She extended her arm and pushed the mug towards the other woman. "A hot drink from earth made with chocolate. It is typically quite sweet" she said with an odd politeness. Rykov was not known for being warm or polite, but she knew Revati's work to be good and through it, Revati had earned some respect from Rykov.

Looking back at the shuttle pod, The half-Romulan engineer added "The irony of fixing electrical and power issues aboard a craft bearing the name Tesla" joked Dr. Rykov. "I am ready to get to the bottom of our little mystery" she said heading towards the craft.

"Sweet, hot coco. It smells divine. I'll remember that," Revati smiled as the two made their way towards the shuttle. As they walked, the Edo engineer cast a contemplative glance at the other woman. She'd heard some complaints around their department about the crabby Parisa Rykov. That she was pushy and not much of a team player were some of the rumors. Yet Revati chose to hold her own judgement in reserve until she knew more about her. As long as Rykov made sure to return any tools, she was sure the two of them would get along just fine.

"Tesla created the ancient Earth device for lighting up things, right?" Revati asked, drawing on her limited knowledge of Earth history. She opened her tricorder and began scanning the shuttle from the outside. "I'm not immediately reading anything from here. How about powering her up and testing systems one at a time?"

Rykov nodded "Ah yeah, sorry. He invented alternating current electricity" replied the doctor as she sat her engineering kit down. "I've got plenty of time. I'd rather be in here than in the more populated areas of the ship with all the scuttlebutt going around...Commander Kos in the Brig and all that" commented Rykov.

The woman entered the shuttle pod and began firing up some basic systems. "Systems firing up, Lieutenant" she said as she made a note to look to see if she could see anything wrong initially.

Dr. Rykov stood behind a nearby console which was providing her with the power readings from the shuttle pod's start up procedures. "Good...good...so far so...No, no,no. Not good" said Rykov aloud. "Fire her down, Lieutenant" ordered Rykov.

After the Lieutenant had cut the systems and everything died down, Dr. Rykov let out a heavy and seriously frustrated sigh. Parisa shook her head side to side as she made notes on a PaDD readily available. "Better clear your schedule for the next day or two. There's some serious gremlins in this shuttle pod, Lieutenant" added Rykov. It was becoming quite evident that the two women had a good many of hours of work ahead.

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