It Ain't As Easy As You Think (Part 2/3)

Posted on 18 Sep 2012 @ 5:21pm by Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Crewman Aurangzeb Ameen & Lawrence Gibbs & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Arthur Willis

2,632 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo: Main Engineering/Various Locations, Deck 7
Timeline: MD 08 - 0600-0900 hrs

Deck 5
TIME: ~0600 hrs

=^= "It's not a body, Ameen. It's cargo. Say it with me: it's cargo." =^=

He hesitated, words faltering once or twice before he felt confident enough to speak; "It's cargo, it's cargo... it's just cargo." Each time he spoke, the words instilled a level of courage that only strengthened with each utterance. "Right, it's just cargo... precious cargo." He finally breathed, feeling brave enough to open both eyes.

Tentatively, he looked towards the face of the dead body; he glanced upon it for a long moment, the image searing into his subconscious. This person had been in their quarters, undoubtedly resting, when the Klingon's attacked; and in one foul swoop, life had been thieved away rather effortlessly. Aurangzeb had considered the body tainted, a frightening nightmare pulled straight from an overactive imagination when in reality this person had been no different than he, just at the right place at the wrong time. They would have had family and friends who cared and loved for their mind, body and soul, many of whom Aurangzeb could only venture also served on board Galileo, that would experience anguish at the loss of this person. It then made him wonder what the person's name was and about their life. Where he once before looked at the corpse in fear, he now looked upon it with sadness.

=^= "Now, listen, you're not stuck. You're my guy up there. You've got tools in your belt. Explain the situation to me." =^=

Willing his eyes away from the dead person's face, Aurangzeb inspected the rest of the body.

"I'm tangled, ma'am. It looks like whoever this was had tied themselves off;" A last, desperate attempt to save their own life when the breach had occurred. "... It looks like they used isolinear cord, maybe from the damaged workstation." He blushed in embarrassment, now realizing how very stupid and naive he'd been during the earlier struggle. "When I... um... yeah, when I tried to get away, I must have snagged the wire on my suit and got my legs and arms tangled in it." He explained, inwardly chiding himself for being so weak... so scared; had he not panicked, all of this could have been easily avoided--including his looking like a complete and utter inexperienced newb amongst many of his superiors.

Lilou glanced at the readings for his suit. None of the data registered damage or pressure loss, although his oxygen was running on the low end. =^= "Right. I want you to carefully disengage by loosening the cord. If it looks like you're going to cause a tear in your suit, stop, and I'll send someone to you. And if it's possible to maintain the cargo to bring in, that would be a good thing, Ameen, but not at risk to yourself. Understood?" =^=

"Yes, ma'am." Aurangzeb replied quietly as he removed a cutting beam from his tool belt. Gauging the most advantageous place to start, Aurangzeb directed the cutting beam and began to delicately untangle the wiring from his EVA suit. A short time had passed as he worked in relative silence, yet the same question plagued him over and over again. "Who, um, I mean... what was their name?" He wondered, eyes flickering for the briefest of seconds from cutting away the wire to the face of the dead person still anchored to his limb.

A positive identification had been made while Peers spoke to calm Aurangzeb; Ensign Stajek Lovak, a recent Academy graduate who'd been assigned to Galileo's support services department.

Asa had already read through Lovak's brief biography and gestured towards a picture he'd pulled from Lovak's file, one taken by his parents shortly after graduation ceremonies back on Earth. There was a significantly stark contrast between the two pictures as they sat side by side on the screen. Lovak's emerald green eyes could be described as nothing less than radiant; his youthful appearance gave way to a goofy upward turn of the lips that was personable and enigmatic. Over all, the kid was a handsome fellow who seemed friendly and engaging. Academy Instructor's had described him a jokester, but exceptionally bright; one who would have led a very long and promising career in Starfleet. Asa remained silent, unsure of how to proceed and awaited Peers to approach the question in whatever way she deemed appropriate.

Lilou bit her lip. She'd never been trained for command. She'd meant to spend the rest of her years working on prototypes and building ships. Assistant Engineer... That had been as high on the totem pole as she'd ever wanted to go. Being right hand to a brilliant engineer, learning everything she could, that was all. To have this kid listening to her, to have Asa looking up at her like she knew the right way to handle this... She didn't. She was flying entirely by the seat of her pants. Ameen had been panicking thinking about the dead man tangled with him; now he was asking the man's name. Part of her wanted to tell him, but another part registered that he had a cutting beam very close to his suit and even a tiny jolt would release the little oxygen he had left and then she'd be the one pulling two corpses off deck five instead of one. =^= "Eyes on that beam, Ameen," =^= she said quietly. =^= "I'll tell you everything you need to know once you're down here again." =^=

"Aye, ma'am." He replied almost immediately. Aurangzeb benefited from a meticulous eye for detail; even with speed, the manner in which he worked was done so in an organized fashion that left the finished product cleanly conditioned. He had a way of scrutinizing a project, prioritizing the needs involved in said project and then implementing the necessary repairs in an expedited manner; this remained true whether he was repairing a burned out relay, a damaged command console or unbinding himself from isolinear wiring. In all aspects of his professional work, he strived for perfection.

It took him another moment, but before long, the console wiring released its constricting hold from the EVA suit. The way in which Aurangzeb had worked on releasing himself had ensured that the precious cargo remained tethered and in hand.

"I'm free... and I have the precious cargo." He breathed a deep sigh of relief, adrenaline dissipating as calm seeped into every poor of his body. Not awaiting further instruction, Aurangzeb immediately started towards the quarters' open doors, the body in tow.

Lilou nodded, patting Asa on the shoulder. =^= "Nice work, Ameen. Bring him to deck four. I'm sending Rothgra to you to take care of the cargo. You need an oxygen refill. Need more than a basic ten?" =^=

Aurangzeb shook his head in the helmet, not immediately remembering that Peers couldn't see the gesture. "No Chief, I think ten is just fine." He replied with a bit more confidence.

Asa turned to glance up at Peers, "Do you mind if I go down and swap out his oxygen refill?" He asked just soft enough so that Aurangzeb wouldn't hear him over the open communications link.

"Go ahead," she agreed. "Be quick. I can man your station until you get back, but I need your eyes on survey."

He nodded to Peers, "Aye. I'll be back shortly." Asa already knew that he had almost ten minutes, as that had been the break afforded to Aurangzeb.

Entering one of the storage compartments ancillary to main engineering, Asa retrieved the necessary equipment to recharge the EVA's oxygen tank and then navigated towards the nearest turbolift.

The precious cargo had been removed at almost the exact moment the turbolift doors had opened to reveal deck four. Rothgra and an assistant had been exceptionally prompt in placing the body on a hover stretcher with tender care before slowly traversing the length of corridor, heading in the direction of sickbay. There were no words exchanged between them, merely silent action and in less than a minute, it was over.

Releasing the clasps securing the EVA's helmet in place, Aurangzeb threw the object away in frustration; it knocked against a nearby bulkhead before rolling to a stop just a few feet away. He did the same with either glove as he laced fingers through sweat soaked locks of hair as he audibly sobbed. He gently kicked back against the bulkhead several times before sliding to the floor. Placing his head between bent knees, tears started to fall as his back heaved.

Asa had passed Rothgra en-route, exchanging a curt nod as he walked at a steady pace towards the turbolift. Drawing near, what he thought to be sobbing could be heard echoing against the nearby bulkhead. Coming to a complete stop, his head cocked to the side, listening intently; the sound was indeed crying. In that moment of realization, Asa felt an overwhelming physical reaction in the pit of his stomach, a tugging at his heart. Almost immediately he felt an inherent need to lend comfort and support; he was well aware that Aurangzeb had no friends on board, the kid was something of a loner... sort of hanging out on the sidelines just... waiting, for what, Asa couldn't be certain. Casting a quick glance over a shoulder to ensure there would be some privacy, Asa turned the corner only to see Aurangzeb resting on the floor, face planted in his hands, unloading.

Without hesitation, Asa went to Aurangzeb, taking a seat beside him. "Mouse... come on man, it's okay." He spoke in a soft voice, barely above a whisper, with an authority of support as he wrapped an arm around Aurangzeb's shoulder in a gesture of comradery.

The Crewman shook his head from side to side, wiping away the tears, cheeks red with irritation. "It's not okay... I'm not okay, what happened down there is not okay." He countered just as softly, sniffling as more tears beaded down flushed cheeks; the feeling of being so open and vulnerable, of being a complete failure encapsulated him.

There was a silence that lingered momentarily. Asa flexed his muscles around the kids upper torso, willing him to relax. "Look," he finally said, searching for the appropriate words that might instill a small seed of encouragement. "We all have moments like these... we think we have it all together, that we're grounded and invincible; and then something like what happened down there hits you so hard, you can't breathe... everything is ass over head." He wrapped the fingers of his other hand around Aurangzeb's arm. "It's a wake-up call that reminds us to not become too comfortable." He paused for a moment and then added, "We've been through absolute hell as of recently, give yourself a break... we're all on edge."

Aurangzeb didn't say anything right away, but then turned to look up at Asa, eyes red and watery. "I don't think I can do this." He confessed in betrayal of his own self-perceived limitations; he genuinely felt this way, that he was completely lost and alone.

Asa shrugged, "And neither can I."

He looked up at the older man with confusion besetting the handsome features of his face; his head slowly shook from side to side, squinting at the perplexing logic of the man's statement.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't question what it is I do; I constantly wonder if the decisions I make or the orders I follow without question, without regard... are the right ones. Of course, we're trained not to think like this, but I believe it's okay to second guess yourself from time-to-time." He shrugged again, "I don't know, I think it just helps to put things into prospective and allow me to focus on one day at a time... otherwise it can be rather overwhelming. You're human Mouse, allow yourself to be vulnerable from time to time."

Aurangzeb considered his words carefully. They didn't make much sense, and yet strangely they did. As an enlisted crewman, you're trained to implicitly follow orders without ever questioning their purpose and validity; you do what you're told, plain and simple... you never argue, you never debate, you never question. Yet Asa openly admitted to inwardly questioning these orders and his own decisions, possibly shaking any semblance of self-confidence he may have had... though it seemed to work for Asa. Maybe it could also work for him.

"Look, just, take it one day at a time... do the absolute best you can and accept the fact that you're going to make mistakes and that you're going to have moments like these... many of them in fact. You're a very bright kid, Mouse; I know you'll figure it out."

He nodded, sniffling once more before completely drying his eyes.

In seeing this, Asa instructed Aurangzeb to turn around; releasing the cover seal to the EVA mounted oxygen tank, he then connected the equipment and started to recharge the device. It only took a minute or two, but in that short passage of time, Asa could physically feel the air change around them, as if merely through a change in attitude, Aurangzeb affected the space between them.

"Alright, you're good to go. Get suited up and I'll head back to engineering so we can finish up this damned survey." Asa helped Aurangzeb to his feet, retrieving the two gloves as they ascended. Handing the garments to the Crewman, Asa cast a kind smile towards Aurangzeb and gently squeezed a clothed bicep. "Just, take a deep breath and chin up... remember, you're only human... we're not infallible."

Aurangzeb nodded, sniffling before forcing a half-hearted grin.

Asa returned the gesture, turning away and walking in the direction he'd previously come.

Turning away, Aurangzeb retrieved the helmet and placed it back on, unaware that the video link had been active the entire time.

Lilou rubbed a hand over her face, making sure she was away from the console before Asa returned. She thought again to the morning's meeting and sighed. Maybe she should encourage him to meet with one of the counselors. She needed her people on their game and she couldn't hold his hand through the next few days. She could tell from his work that he could hold his own, but panicking in the course of working could get him killed or worse. As Asa floated back into Main Engineering, she nodded a welcome to him. "All set?"

Asa nodded before taking a seat behind his duty-station. "Alright Mouse, all gauges read as fully charged and your suit has a positive seal... I think we're ready to continue unless our esteemed Chief here has anything before we dig in."

He glanced over a shoulder, smirking mischievously.

Lilou shook her head once. "Go ahead and finish the survey. I'll be updating the damage board." She met Asa's gaze seriously, 'Keep an eye on him.'

'Of course'. He mouthed, an expression of understanding clearly evident. "Alright, we're ready to resume when you are, Mouse." Asa tapped delicately at the surface of the console interface, switching between camera views prior to lending a suggestion. "Why don't we start with the astrophysics and stellar cartography labs this time around and then finish up with the crew quarters." Drawing up a schematic of the deck, Asa touched the screen with a finger, initiating a three dimensional shift in the display that showcased the finite details of either laboratory.

=^= "Aye." =^= Came the short response, the sound of the turbolift descending listed in the background.

On to Part 3.

[OFF]

MWO Lilou Peers
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

CN Aurangzeb Ameen
Damage Control Specialist
USS Galileo

Lawrence Gibbs
Encryption Specialist
USS Galileo

Chief Petty Officer Arthur Willis
Engineering Computer Specialist
USS Galileo

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