Black Out Repairs

Posted on 06 Apr 2016 @ 6:59am by Captain Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant Parisa Rykov DCS
Edited on on 07 Apr 2016 @ 6:34am

1,230 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 2

Harvey stood in his sonic shower, allowing the pulsing waves to remove the sweat, grime and blood from the previous night. He would have used Doctor Kij's but their schedules had a bit of a conflict this morning. He had an early morning meeting with Commander Xiao, reviewing changes to the duty roster and selecting the first round of crew who would be able to enjoy New Risa. Had he showered in her quarters, it was likely he would have been late.

He smiled, thinking of the previous night.

Darkness immediately consumed his vision as the sonic waves abruptly ceased. "What the hell?" he muttered, staggering out of the shower in the darkness. "Computer, lights!" The computer did not respond.

Harvey managed to find his way to the main cabin where natural starlight made a feeble attempt to illuminate the room through the windows. Fortunately, he remembered where he left a towel and a combadge. Wrapping the towel around his waist, Harvey navigated the dark room to the entrance to his quarters, only to find that the sensors were not working either. He used the manual release to open the door, revealing a darkened corridor, save for a section off in the distance which had power.

Cursing, he tapped the badge. "Geisler to Rykov. Looks like Deck Two, Sections Three through Six have lost power."

In the darkened corridor Dr. Rykov, stood a few inches from the Captain before turning on the light strapped to her wrist and shining it upward on a low setting towards her head, gently illuminating her face and bringing it out of the black abyss. "Boo" she said with her eyes wide and a small cackle.

She then turned the light on the Captain's torso and a small smirk swept across her face. "No need to use the comm system to call me...I'm already here" added the Chief Engineer with a small sigh. "I have teams already on it, Captain. Something that wonderful Efrosian had done no less" quipped Rykov.

Harvey was surprised to be so quickly illuminated, and to not hear Rykov's voice distorted and compressed by the comm system. "Your confidence in your predecessors is comforting," he replied, gripping the towel a bit tighter to keep himself from being exposed.

"By all means Captain, at ease" she said, looking down at the man's tight grip on the towel. "After all, I used to be a nurse and you used to be a Doctor...we've seen our fair share of the anatomy" she joked as she fiddled around with some tools in her kit.

Rykov then smiled and looked at the Captain. "My confidence in my predecessors is well placed. I wouldn't be where I am now if you didn't allow...this to happen" she said with a well placed double meaning.

"It's not either of our benefits," Harvey commented, referring to his grip on the towel. Besides letting word get out of his relationship status, he didn't want Jayla to hear he'd been found naked in the corridor.

"Speak for yourself" she said with a stiffened laugh. "I'll have power restored within the hour, Captain. I do want to thank you for naming me Chief Engineer, or at least allowing me to hold this position for the time be. Not many would give an old ex nurse such an opportunity."

"And not many in the medical field trade their uniform for crimson," Harvey quipped. "Backgrounds aside, what you've performed with your hands is extraordinary. It's your current performance that earned your promotion, though I might be forced to reconsider if this goes beyond an hour."

Rykov glared at the Captain. "Careful, Sir...I can easily have the transporter room beam that towel off into space" she teased. "Besides, you know any other Chief Engineer wouldn't be fixing these power issues at this hour when she is supposed to be off duty and having a nice date."

Harvey grunted in reply, though an image of his own personal affairs flashed in his mind. "Oh?" he asked, not really intending to pry into her private life. He did, however, adjust the towel so that he no longer had to hold it in place.

"Yes" she said with a scoffing. "Believe it or not, I do have a life beyond fixing other lesser engineer's problems and mistakes" she said quite confidently. Albeit my date is a fully Himalayan-Persian that plays with balls of yarn and makes a mess of his litter box she thought to herself, but didn't feel it necessary to explain her rather pathetic personal life to the Captain.

The Captain nodded. "Then I suppose I'll leave you to it." It was rather drafty out in the corridor after all. Sooner or later, another crewmember was about to come down the corridor, and though this deck was primarily limited to the senior staff, not one person needed to see a mostly-naked Captain. Well, maybe just one...

Rykov cackled and shook her head. "Enjoy your evening, Captain" she said as she took out a few tools from her kit. "I need to get back to work if you are going to have power up here again."

"Then I'll have to do more than suppose," Harvey replied. "Miss Rykov," he said with a nod before slipping back into his quarters.

And then, after looking around his darkened room, Harvey frowned. His eyes closed, followed by an inaudible sigh. He turned around, and walked back towards the open doorway. "Lieutenant," he asked, trying to mask the embarrassment in his voice. "Do you have a spare flashlight?"

Rykov was crouching near an access panel when she heard the Captain call out to her. She smirked and shook her head as she retrieved an extra light from her bag. "Yes, I do. Here you go, Captain" she said turning it on and tossing it in his direction.

"Thank you," Harvey said, having to to stretch just a little bit to catch the light. He nodded another thanks and slipped back inside. A few minutes later, he emerged fully clad in his uniform. Rather than make her stand, he crouched beside her and extended to her the flashlight.

She was taken aback when he crouched beside her and handed the flashlight back to her. "Thank you" she said in a quick reply. She was expecting him to up and leave, but he remained crouched at her side. "Don't tell me you wore a yellow uniform in your past as well" she said teasingly. "Heading to the Bridge, Captain?"

"Of course," he promptly replied. It was, after all, where he expected to find his temporary Executive Officer. "Certainly can't stay here, can I?" Harvey possessed very little engineering ability, so he doubted he would be any help to the engineer.

Rykov shook her head "I prefer to work alone" she replied. "No offense. You are probably more useful on the Bridge right now anyways" she said as she continued working. "Ah, but give me a second and I'll have...yep" she added a bit cheerfully. A few moments of darkness followed but soon the corridor was fully illuminated once again. "Power restored" she said triumphantly.

Harvey smiled. "Good, good." He rose to his feet and said, "I'll leave you to finish up, Lieutenant. Enjoy your date."

"Thank you, Captain" replied Rykov as she started packing up her equipment.

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