Cascade – Open Mouth, Insert Foot
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
ON:
Ever since his meeting with the Captain, Wyman felt foolish. The last thing he wanted to do was dredge up any horrible memories for her, yet he had. How could he have possibly known that she was widowed? Yet not knowing wasn't an excuse.
So while he intended to greet the third shift crew and introduce himself in his normal gregarious and genial manner, he instead found himself wanting to crawl into a Jefferie's tube and hide. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
No sooner than he entered the cavernous chamber in the bowels of the station which comprised main engineering, than he was stopped by a petty officer of about the same age. "Excuse me, sir. Can I help you with something?" the man asked, physically placing himself between Steve and the rest of the room.
"Lieutenant Wyman, new chief engineer. Just got on board about and hour and a half ago and wanted to check in on things." he explained, extending a hand in greeting.
The enlisted man was a bit taken aback - he hadn't expected Starfleet to send a replacement for Commander Freeman so quickly. Nobody in the department did, for that matter. Once the surprise settled, he took Wyman's hand and shook it firmly. "Welcome aboard, sir. Sorry the place isn't all decked out for you, but we figured it would be weeks before a new chief was either assigned or appointed."
"Perfectly fine. I didn't know I'd be coming here until a couple of weeks ago. My family and I spent the last month and a half in assignment purgatory on starbase 66, then out of nowhere we got the orders to get out here to the boonies." Steve explained as he looked around the facility which would be his home away from home for the foreseeable future.
It looked very much like the engineering compartment on any starship built in the last half century. The only major difference was the lack of a warp core. Indeed, Steve found it almost off putting to not hear the rhythmic thrumming of the matter/antimatter reaction assembly at work.
"Sir, your office is right off to the side there. You'll find it a bit more spacious than you're probably used to. The duty officer's station is adjacent, and each of the console banks is primarily dedicated to monitoring a specific system. But, each can be reconfigured as needed - all standard stuff." the other man explained, gesturing around to the various LCARS displays which lined the walls (as well as the larger free standing consoles which dotted the interior of the facility).
Wyman took it all in. He knew everything which was being explained to him, but in the interest of politeness he didn't cut his impromptu tour guide off. "Thank you. If you folks ever need anything, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Though I will make a point of stopping by each shift regularly. So, on that note I'm off to check in on the repairs to a hanger bay the Captain was telling me about."
"Of course, sir. And again - welcome aboard."
OFF
Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineer
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
| Title | Open Mouth, Insert Foot | |
| Mission | Cascade | |
| Author(s) | Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman | |
| Posted | Thu Feb 14, 2013 @ 1:34am | |
| Location | Main Engineering | |
| Timeline | SD 71 0015 |
Ever since his meeting with the Captain, Wyman felt foolish. The last thing he wanted to do was dredge up any horrible memories for her, yet he had. How could he have possibly known that she was widowed? Yet not knowing wasn't an excuse.
So while he intended to greet the third shift crew and introduce himself in his normal gregarious and genial manner, he instead found himself wanting to crawl into a Jefferie's tube and hide. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
No sooner than he entered the cavernous chamber in the bowels of the station which comprised main engineering, than he was stopped by a petty officer of about the same age. "Excuse me, sir. Can I help you with something?" the man asked, physically placing himself between Steve and the rest of the room.
"Lieutenant Wyman, new chief engineer. Just got on board about and hour and a half ago and wanted to check in on things." he explained, extending a hand in greeting.
The enlisted man was a bit taken aback - he hadn't expected Starfleet to send a replacement for Commander Freeman so quickly. Nobody in the department did, for that matter. Once the surprise settled, he took Wyman's hand and shook it firmly. "Welcome aboard, sir. Sorry the place isn't all decked out for you, but we figured it would be weeks before a new chief was either assigned or appointed."
"Perfectly fine. I didn't know I'd be coming here until a couple of weeks ago. My family and I spent the last month and a half in assignment purgatory on starbase 66, then out of nowhere we got the orders to get out here to the boonies." Steve explained as he looked around the facility which would be his home away from home for the foreseeable future.
It looked very much like the engineering compartment on any starship built in the last half century. The only major difference was the lack of a warp core. Indeed, Steve found it almost off putting to not hear the rhythmic thrumming of the matter/antimatter reaction assembly at work.
"Sir, your office is right off to the side there. You'll find it a bit more spacious than you're probably used to. The duty officer's station is adjacent, and each of the console banks is primarily dedicated to monitoring a specific system. But, each can be reconfigured as needed - all standard stuff." the other man explained, gesturing around to the various LCARS displays which lined the walls (as well as the larger free standing consoles which dotted the interior of the facility).
Wyman took it all in. He knew everything which was being explained to him, but in the interest of politeness he didn't cut his impromptu tour guide off. "Thank you. If you folks ever need anything, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Though I will make a point of stopping by each shift regularly. So, on that note I'm off to check in on the repairs to a hanger bay the Captain was telling me about."
"Of course, sir. And again - welcome aboard."
OFF
Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineer