Highland Engineering

Posted on 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:29am by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Riley Cameron & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

1,721 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1- Ready Room
Timeline: MD12 - 0930hrs

[ON]

Silently streaking through space, the small shuttlecraft from the Venture made it's way towards the Galileo. Although a small starship, the Nova-class was still large enough to dwarf the tiny shuttle. Eventually, she landed herself in the Galileo's shuttlebay, and her passenger disembarked.

With steely brown eyes and a shock of auburn hair, Riley Cameron was one of many Starfleet engineers serving throughout the fleet. More concerned with how gel packs interfaced with power relays than the political situation in the far flung Beta Quadrant, the Scot had no desire to waste time on his new posting. Heading straight out of the doors he bundled towards a turbolift and made his way to the Bridge.

He was used to the red hair getting people's attention, for centuries the Scottish and Irish of Earth had been identified by their rather unusual trademark, and the few sideways glances towards the Warrant Officer were nothing he hadn't seen before. Eventually, he found his way to the Ready Room and slapped his hand against the chime.

Inside her office, Lirha's green fingers flew across the LCARS keypad as she tediously filed her most recent morning report to Starfleet HQ. This report would make it the twenty-ninth one she had submitted since her ship arrived in the Rojar system, and by now she had optimized the task with peak efficiency.

Her work was interrupted by the sound of the door chime - something she had also become very familiar with - and she absentmindedly called out while keeping her focus on the report in front of her. "Enter." she replied in a soft voice.

With the response through the door, Riley thumped the release panel and walked into the room, hoisting his duffel bag strap further up his shoulder as he came to attention just in front of the Captain's desk. He had never seen an Orion before, outside of his Xenobiology courses in the first year of Starfleet Academy. They were certainly an interesting looking species, and were famous for their many talents.

"Cap'n Saalm - Warrant Officer Riley Cameron reportin' as ordered."

Reaching into his bag, the young Scot removed his transfer orders and held them out for his new CO's attention.

Lirha looked up from her screen in time to see a red-haired, gold-collared man enter her office with his belongings slung over his shoulder in a large duffel. He was about average height and a bit on the skinny side, and his accent was all-too-familiar. Based on her Academy studies of Starfleet history, she identified his particular manner of speaking to be very similar to Montgomery Scott, the original USS Enterprise's first chief engineer who hailed from Scotland, Earth. Tapping her screen to pause her work, she straightened up in her seat and gave the man a polite smile, then took the PADD from him and set it down on her desk.

"Welcome aboard, Mister Cameron. Please, have a seat." she offered with a motion of her green hand towards the vacant chair across from her. "I had put in a request for an additional engineer but I did not realize you would be arriving so quickly." she added with a sideways grin. "I trust your journey to Galileo was uneventful?"

Grateful for the chance to sit down, Riley dropped the duffel bag from his shoulder onto the floor and settled himself into the seat - crossing his arms and leaning back after shaking the hand of his new captain.

"Aye well they were overstaffed back on the Venture, and I had better things to do than sit looking at coil interlocks day after day - this posting came up so I thought, why the hell not....if you'll pardon the turn of phrase Ma'am."

The young engineer had certainly had enough of his time on a Galaxy class - too big, too complicated and far too many people yelling orders for his liking. At least a little ship like a Nova might give him a chance to get up to something a little more interesting.

"A quick jaunt in a shuttle and here I am -ready to go at a moment's notice."

"Excellent." the captain replied with a bit of relief in her voice. "We have been understaffed in the Engineering department since the beginning of the Rojar survey and I believe Ensign Peers will be grateful to have some additional help around the ship." she explained. "Will this be your first time serving aboard a Nova Class starship?"

"If ya mean a real one then aye this will be the first - I spent hours in a simulator of the warp propulsion systems of a Nova class at the Academy - I could probably tell you every conductor relay between here and deck 5 if you needed me to."

The engineer appeared almost cocky with his knowledge of the Galileo's systems. truth be told, he was simply pleased to be aboard a ship where his knowledge of the existing infrastructure would be on par with any other engineer that had been with her since launch.

"She's a compact design - rated for exploration more than speed - but she's sturdy. That's all that matters in my opinion Cap'n."

"I couldn't agree more. A bit too compact at times in my opinion, but we are not exactly a luxury cruiser like the larger Galaxy and Sovereign." she mused with a slow nod. She was grateful to know that this new engineer was already very familiar with her ship's systems, which would hopefully help eliminate the learning curve as he adjusted to his new posting.

Resting her hand on the man's PADD, Lirha proceeded to the next order of business - the personal kind. "So Mister Cameron...can you tell me a bit about yourself and your past history in Starfleet? I suppose I could read about it in your file, but I would much rather have you explain in your own words."

"I never pass up the chance to talk about myself Ma'am - not too much to say on the matter though. I grew up, I joined the Academy, I graduated and came out here to help keep these starships of ours running. I've been into tinkering with equipment since I was a wee lad - barely old enough to hold a coil spanner."

Cameron let himself laugh for a moment, he could remember the photos his parents held at their house in the Highlands back on Earth of their little red headed boy toddling around with his fingers in every appliance he was tall enough to reach. By the time he was a teenager he had already taught himself the fundamentals of Federation electronics engineering, and the Academy was the logical next step.

"I could have signed onto a civillian freighter, but I'd much rather be tinkering with the latest and greatest Starfleet has to offer - freighters are nice, but when the engine is fifrty years old and held together by string, it's just not the same experience."

A soft chuckle escaped Lirha's lips when she thought back to Jesra Moore, the freighter captain who had towed Galileo to the safety of Vega Colony several months ago. Indeed, engine problems had been persistently plaguing her business, and usually only the most dedicated and credit-seeking mechanics chose to maintenance civilian freighters. "I can not fault you for that decision." she replied with a knowing look, then subtly changed the subject to a more practical question.

"I know you mentioned earlier the compact nature of Galileo as well as your experience working with Nova Class systems in a simulation environment...but do you think you will be comfortable spending an extended period of time aboard such a small and often-cramped starship?"

"Och well, when you spend as much time crawling around Jeffries tubes and access conduits as I do on a daily basis, you get used to being in a confined space pretty quickly."

Riley knew from the moment he accepted this transfer that the relative luxury of his quarters aboard a Galaxy class starship would be the first sacrifice he would have to make. Instead he would be thrown into a melting pot of cultures and ideas with no way of escaping even for a short while. Even so, the idea of a new challenge had been enough to make him sign the transfer request right on the dotted line.

"I can't see it being a problem - if the worst comes to the worst ma'am I'll just move my bunk into a maintenance hatch!"

Lirha smirked at the idea. "Well...let us hope it does not come to that." she said in a light voice, then proceeded to pick up the man's PADD and quickly browse through it. She didn't notice any reprimands or abnormalities on his record, and so far he seemed to be a competent engineer. Pressing her green thumb into the signature box, she accepted his transfer and handed the slim silver device back to him.

"I see no issues here, so I have approved your transfer. Welcome to Galileo, Mister Cameron." she said with a small, friendly smile. "Do you have any questions for me before you begin your assignment?" she offered.

"Aye, just one - where's the warp core?" He replied with a wry smile, before collecting back the PADD from his new CO. He didn;t have much experience with Orions but this one seemed to be on the level. Most other commanding officers he had seen were far too uptight for his liking.

"Engineering is on Deck Seven down the corridor from the main turbolift." she answered. "Ensign Peers is your department head so I recommend you check in with her at your earliest convenience. And Lieutenant Amril, our operations chief, can help you get your belongings squared away in your bunk." she added. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

"Yes ma'am!" The Scot replied with an energetically loud voice, springing from the chair and bounding for the turbolift. If there was anything an engineer wanted to see, it was the blue shimmer of the warp core.

[OFF]

WO Riley Cameron
Engineer
USS Galileo
pNPC Holliday

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

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