Joyride (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on 22 May 2024 @ 5:09pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor

3,488 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 04, 1902 hrs

[ON]

The bowels of the Mark II Nova-class starship Galileo-A were a place Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius rarely visited. Except, of course, to the vessel's small gym which was located within the same deck as his present destination and tucked away into small room bordering the main turbolift shaft. But main engineering - the true soul of the ship - was an operational chamber he hadn't entered in several years. Why would he have? Darius was a conn officer who spent the majority of his time either manning the bridge's helm station or performing maintenance and repairs in the shuttlebays on decks 3 and 4. When he arrived at the large double doors with their distinctive markings, he nervously scratched his dark goatee before entering as the doors parted then closed behind him.

The room was...small. Well, smaller than he'd expected for such a facility which housed the ship's warp core. The same warp core he suddenly noticed was not longer present in its interlocking chamber. It really was true, he thought to himself, as if the captain's confirmation on the bridge earlier in the day hadn't been enough. Ever so slowly, he walked deeper into the engineering bay, head slowly turning around his torso to take in the various LCARS displays and unique configuration. He almost felt like a duck out of water being in this place.

The last few days had not been 'kind' to the engineering team aboard Galileo. The repair list continued to grow even as her team furiously tried to complete their assignments. Sera, too, found that her cup overfloweth. For every critical order completed two took its place, and over the course of this shift that hadn't ended since the beginning of this 'systems' test,' her eyes had grown more distant as her mind tackled numerous problems while her body fought for a moment's respite. Her body was losing...badly.

Her normally crisply tuned awareness would have noted the rather obvious 'outsider' walking through engineering, but even the glaring red of his uniform didn't alert her initially that main engineering had a 'visitor.'

However, eventually that recognition did come. A stranger, wearing the colors command was standing, looking like he was preparing for his first cadet's review.

"Do you require assistance?" Her tired voice droned to the stranger.

The arrival of a tall yellow-collared Vulcan engineer shouldn't have come as a surprise to Darius. And it didn't in the sense that he'd seen her - Ensign Sera - before during the officer briefing several days ago. But it to see her up close and personal, including her lithe body form and striking blue eyes...that was certainly different.

"Uh, yeah, I do," he answered, his hands lightly clasped in front of his waist. "I need a J-type phase coil resonator and was hoping you got one to spare somewhere around here? Or one you can replicate for me?" the taller man asked. He then remembered his manners, though those had been in short supply throughout the past 96 hours. "Sorry. I'm Lamar. Chief Warrant Officer Darius, from conn. Don't think we've formally met since...you know, we traveled through time," he politely extended a large dark-skinned hand in greeting for the woman to shake.

Sera looked down to his outstretched hand and then back to his face. She made no move to take it. "Are you aware Mr. Darius that one of the strongest taboos in Vulcan culture is making uninvited physical contact?"

Belatedly realizing she had not reciprocated, which was considered good manners, Sera quickly responded in kind. "Ensign Sera. Why do you require a resonator? That is a rather specialized piece of engineering equipment."

He slowly lowered his hand. It'd been a long time since his original foreign species introductory course back at the enlisted Academy, and the verbal rebuke was strangely fitting given their current collective predicament. "Right. I'm," he tried to phrase it in a way which wouldn't make him sound like a stereotypical uneducated pilot, "performing maintenance on a couple of our Type 6s and trying to increase the maximum power generation output across the local C and D bands. Which means 'tinkering' with their warp cores' magnetic constrictors. But I don't want to start the re-calibrations without the right tools...or expertise?" It was a subtle invitation and call for assistance.

What he was proposing was not simple maintenance...more like modification. Why was it that non-engineers seemed to think that this type of work was rudimentary? Although time was something Sera had in short supply, she would be negligent to allow this 'redshirt,' to perform these re-calibrations alone.

"One does not simply 'tinker' with the warp core magnetic constrictors. Do you have certifications to perform maintenance on this?"

"Sure. I'm qualified to service any Class 1 through 5 shuttle. Wouldn't be much of a conn officer if I wasn't," he smirked with jest to her. Of course, the definition of 'servicing' was probably much different than one any engineer would accept as far as matter/anti-matter applications were concerned.

Sera tilted her head a manner akin to a German shepherd canting it's head at sound of a delicious bone being crunched. "You have requested a J-type phase coil regulator...are there concerns for micro-fractures in the dilithium crystal matrix? Are you capable of re-compositing the crystals within the articulation frame?" Her brow might have risen quite imperiously at end of her statement. She couldn't help it. Warp cores were kind of her 'thing.'

Darius' dark brown eyes sort of glazed over while he thoughts spun in a futile attempt to ascertain exactly what sort of engineering voodoo she was talking about. He opened his mouth and was about to nod affirmative, but then closed it and glanced from side to side with a confused frown. "Uh...what? I mean no, I don't think there's any microfractures - the shuttles' computer would report that in its diagnosis, right?" This was sounding so complicated all of a sudden. "I don't need to re-composite the thing inside the thing. I don't think."

The Chief Warrant Officer's tone of voice shifted, indicating...concern...worry? Sera tilted her head further, expressing curiosity and perhaps just a small bit of schadenfreude. Although she was fiercely deny the latter. That would be illogical.

"I have...concerns, Mr. Darius. Given our precarious positioning, perhaps it would be prudent to have assistance performing this maintenance?" It was Sera's way of saying, "Well, that does it. I am coming along to make sure you don't do anything...foolish."

She did not understand why she wasn't generally understood better when she spoke. Sera was a quite straightforward individual. What an irreverent thought, given the circumstances.

His handsome features appeared to brighten following the Vulcan engineer's suggestion. "Assistance? Thought you'd never ask. As long as you're not too busy right now...seeing as the," he gestured to the large and vacant warp core assembly at the heart of the room and was about to make a comment about the ejection sequence before he deliberately curtailed his train of thought to not exacerbate a potentially sore issue.

"Let us not discuss that." Sera said sharply. She definitely had an opinion on the state--or lack thereof--of the warp core. It was a sore subject. "I would not have offered if I were 'too busy' to assist." Which wasn't exactly accurate. Sera was already pulling time from other tasks--such as eating, or engaging in the ever illusive meditation--but these were not 'usual circumstances.' Flexibility and compromise were the words of the day.

"Allow me a moment to gather my tool satchel." She did not wait for a response but walked back to her office to pick up her 'tools of the trade.' It took under a minute. Upon returning she made a small gesture with her hand indicating that he could take the lead.

"Is this scheduled maintenance or do you have any concerns?"

Darius began a quick turn toward main engineering's exit with the ensign in tow. "Started as an after-action inspection. We took a couple hits during the battle and it's standard procedure to perform diagnostics on all support craft to make sure they didn't take any damage we don't know about," he began to answer as they exited the room and walked at a fast pace to the nearby turbolift. Its door hissed open then he gestured for her to enter first. "Once I finished that, figured I had a few hours to kill before the end of my shift so I decided to do some preemptive maintenance...and that's when I started thinking about optimizations. Type 6s are an old shuttle design and inherently under-powered."

Sera kept up with the conn officer's ground eating stride, but only through the graces of being about as long limbed as he was. He was quite expedient in ambulation...for a komihn.

"And you hoped to accomplish these optimizations with a coil regulator?" So far Chief Warrant Officer Lamar Darius was not winning any points with Sera from an engineering standpoint.

He shrugged at the question, not seeing why not. "Well, yeah. And my PADD," he tapped the slim silver administrative device clipped to his belt's holster. "The computer has instructions for everything. Can't be any harder than re-calibrating phase modulations for our old pulse rifles back during the war, right?" The turbolift quickly ascended from Deck 7 up to Deck 4 then slowed before the door swished open to deposit them at their new destination. The main shuttlebar wasn't far - nothing in the small Nova-class was usually more than a 60-second transit.

"Your...padd." Sera said very slowly. First she learned that obeying regulations were subject to instance and interpretation, and now her job could be performed simply following computer instructions with no understanding of theory or tangibility?

The nerve. "The optimizations you are considering are much different than re-calibrating phase modulations in the previous generation's pulse rifle..." Her voice trailed off. What she had said what not incorrect, however her tone of voice was most decidedly not placid.

Fvadt. She should not have taken that 'tone.' Unfortunate. Redirect.

"I praise your industry, Mr. Darius, however I would appreciate the opportunity to assist you in the future should you choose further...innovations."

He glanced over to her when they arrived in front of the large structurally-reinforced double-doors to the main support craft hangar. We was about as far from an expert of Vulcan culture as could possibly exist, but he'd served with enough of them in the Corps to pick up on her disapproval of his idea which was followed by a polite reprimand. "That's why I came and found you," he replied. A lie? Yes. The covert truth? Also yes.

Sera did not have to say anything but let her brow do all the 'talking.' It could make her look rather imperious.

The shuttlebay entrance parted with a whirling mechanical moan to present the inside of the expansive bay and its smooth tarmac. Situated within the center of the pad was the silver chalice hull of a Type 6 shuttle, in all of its small glory. It was parked backward with the cockpit directly facing them and the three large and black-tinted windows highlighted by Galileo's registry number on the hood. Below both lateral viewports read the name Virginia, christened in honor of one of Galileo Galilei's daughters.

"Beautiful gal, right?" he complimented.

"It is a typical example of a standard shuttlecraft inventory present on most Starfleet vessels. To call it...beautiful? I believe that is a matter of personal aesthetics."

Darius suddenly snapped out of his private thoughts which had intruded into his conscious brain for several brief moments. Shortly after the ensign had walked into the shuttle bay and moved slightly in front of him, he'd momentarily focused his attention on her long and elaborate dark brown braided hair as well as her tall lithe and athletic body frame.

"Hm? Oh...no, I was talking about you," he sheepishly admitted with a small grin followed by a half-wink.

Sera spun around, her normally schooled expression slipped. She would deny it if ever questioned, of course, but Sera looked utterly surprised.

"I am Vulcan."

That was the response? Of the innumerable word combinations Sera could have chosen in response to his...subjective observation, that was the rejoinder? And why did her face feel suddenly warm?

"I'm Lamar," he replied in kind, trying to suppress the friendly grin from his lips. Though not versed in Vulcan traditions, he dipped his head then raised his chin to formally introduce his intentions. Was that how it was done in their culture? He tried to recall the firepit stories with his fellow Vulcan SFMC troops during the war, but for some strange reason, he couldn't remember any of them speaking about their spouses or families even during the most casual of times. It was probably best to not push his luck even further.

"So..." his eyes raised up to the rafters of the shuttlebay to avert Sera's intense eyes for a short reprieve, "let's look at the old gal then? Not you, of course. I mean, I know you're probably older than me - I'm talking about the shuttle. No, don't mean you're older than the shuttle..." Shit. Shut up, Darius.

Sera stilled in a manner which was quite alien. She did not speak for a few seconds longer than what was generally considered appropriate. It was just...Never before had she observed a human make such a head gesture. It was quite a specific overture to a Vulcan. Clarification was required.

"Are you demonstrating amorous intentions?"

Leave it to a Vulcan. They had no issues asking pointed questions because satisfying curiosity was far more important than any temporary personal discomfort.

"Well, yeah..." he admitted with a covert brightening of his dark brown irises. "Is that, um, acceptable?" He really hoped he hadn't crossed some sort of cultural line of no return, and had no idea if Sera was even interested in such a concept between her and someone not from her own species. The uncertainty which followed waiting for her next reply was almost more exciting and nerve-wracking than being shelled from orbital artillery fire in front line trenches.

"It is not...unacceptable. Simply unexpected." Sera said hesitantly. She had never contemplated pursing a sexual relationship with a human. There had never been any need to consider such a scenario as she was bonded. But she wasn't. Not anymore.

"I know very little about human sexuality other than a personal observation that many of your kind have an overreaching preoccupation with that aspect of biological functioning."

"Um," he semi-nervously reached up with his free hand to absentmindedly scratch the back of his neck while averting her gaze for a short moment. She was a very forward individual and intimidating with her tall Vulcan presence, even more so than he'd expected. "Yeah. I guess we do. When we see something we like, it's hard to keep our mouths shut. And since we're all about to die here in this future - or already died...why not make the best of it?" He then motioned to Virginia which was on the launch pad. "Want to see my shuttle? I mean, our shuttle?"

Surak's words droned in her mind. "Wide experience increases wisdom, provided the experience is not sought purely for the stimulation of sensation." Yet, this human male's proposition would most likely be just that. They did seem to have a propensity for curiosity in numerous aspects of their lives and appeared to engage in many temporary physical unions...at least if her observations at the Academy were accurate and up-scalable.

"I am considering your proposition, Mr. Darius..." Her voice trailed off. Wait, what?

She took a step forward towards the conn officer and in doing so stepped well within his personal space. The differences in their heights were negligible--a mere 2 inches--so Sera did not have to do much more than tilt her eyes slightly up to look directly into his. They were a dark brown, darker than Viruk's...but softer as well in an immeasurable way. Vulcans did agree with the human sentiment that eyes were the windows to the soul...the difference was humans rarely felt the need to shutter them in the manner Vulcans did.

Her eyes darted from his and landed on the juncture where his neck met his shoulder. The color of his uniform mirrored the color of his blood which pulsed through vessels underneath the rich umber skin. Sera leaned in and breathed in deeply, taking in his scent in a distinctly alien manner.

He smelled of citrus, clean and bright, with nuances of cedar and cinnamon...and of course the pervasive undertone of Human pheromones that many of her kind found overwhelming. It wasn't bad, per say...just overpowering at first. Humans could not help that their natural scent reeked of sex. It was one of those unspoken secrets that all Vulcans were aware of at this point. Sera simply used a nasal numbing suppressant that took the edge off. Hence having to step in closer...

"And, Yes. That is why I am here, Mr. Darius." Sera responded after taking a step back.

Darius had just experienced both extreme curiosity and private excitement when the engineer had stepped so close to him. So close, in fact, he hadn't been sure whether or not she was inviting a kiss, but he'd quickly realized she was performing some form of...Vulcan probe on him. Judging him. Evaluating him. Smelling him? As her species was fond of saying, it was fascinating. And she hadn't said 'no' to his advances. Not yet.

He cleared his throat with a closed fist in front of his mouth after she mentioned their original purpose within the shuttlebay. "Right, um, I guess I'll run you through a quick visual inspection." He held his eyes on hers for a long moment before turning away and walking over to Virginia. He unclipped his PADD from his belt during the short journey then queued up the support craft's history before handing the tablet to Sera.

"She's an older class of shuttle but still pretty fresh off the production line at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Been in service since '85 which makes her only seven years old - in our timeline." He looked over to her then pointed to the PADD's screen, "You can see all the maintenance logs and minor repairs we've done since she was re-designated here and brought on board. Not a lot more than a few minor scratches with the occasional stellar debris collision. We've been taking good care of her."

He continued his walk-around with her while pointing to different areas of interest along the outer hull. "Two Type IV phaser emitters here on the bow and a 2,200 millicochrane warp engine good for warp 1.5 for 48 hours. Twelve DeFI 3334 microfusion RCS thrusters give her some pretty good maneuverability. All together? Not bad for a light short-range warp-capable shuttle."

The switch came over the warrant officer almost effortlessly. It was quite efficient. Sera took the proffered padd and began reviewing the maintenance data as he explained various aspects shuttle.

"The maintenance and repair logs are satisfactory, Chief Warrant Officer." Almost high praise from a Vulcan.

Sera then walked around to the stern of the shuttle and tilted her head in a silent invitation towards the shuttlecraft door. "Would you care to show me to the magnetic constrictors and further expound what specific optimization goals you were considering? Perhaps I could show you to the correct...video?"

He grinned at her, revealing a portion of his pearly white teeth. "Now we're talking." He tapped a simple command into the shuttle's discreet access panel then stepped back as the aft hatch unlocked and descended into a ramp to present the immaculate and sterile interior of a typical Federation shuttlecraft. Darius ducked his head while stepping inside then came to a stop next to one of the two rear couches lining each side of the occupant section.

"Got a hyperspanner?" he asked, glancing to Sera's toolkit.

Sera followed and stopped short two paces behind him when he halted by the rear seating. Her attention remained on Lamar - she had seen enough shuttlecraft interiors that it held no specific interest for further inspection at the moment. The human male did, however.

"Of course. You did request one to affect modifications...unless this was a ruse?"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Tarin]

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