Stardate: 70216:1740
Title: A Rocky Start
Author: Ensign Robert Browning
Time: During/After "Coupling Link Destroyed"
Scene: Personal Quarters/Engineering


Slumping into the sofa in his quarters, Robbie sighed deeply. The CEO had left him to liaise with Starbase 9 personnel about the ablative armour technology, this wasn't the problem... dancing round the subject of Relly's offensive systems was. No matter how hard he tried to keep the topic on track, one of the engineers always asked a question that related to the weapons systems.

=/\= Earlier in Engineering =/\=

Robbie was stood with three of the Starbase’s engineers, showing some simulations of the armour's effectiveness. Occasionally one of them gave him a sidelong look, usually at his scar. As always, when stressed he rubbed the scar by his left eye with a finger.

"As you see, the hull armour can withstand some very heavy amounts of firepower with little damage to the ship itself." Browning had motioned to certain specs now displayed on the screen.

"So, when deployed could this armour defend against some of your offensive systems?"

"That's not really what this is all about..." He had replied with a sigh.

"But what power output could your weapons produce in an effort to pierce the armour?"

~

It had gone on and on; his head was starting to ache. All the conniving was clouding his empathic senses to the rest of the ship. At one point he had made the excuse of running a diagnostic on the armour generators and slunk off into a Jeffrey's tube for some peace. He had sensed the ‘little black cloud’ approaching well before he had appeared at the access junction, this time with more questions.

*Don't they ever get tired?*

By some grace his shift had ended and he'd passed the responsibility over to another engineer and made for his quarters. He didn't have the energy to eat in the mess; instead he came and crashed out on the sofa. Winchester, as always, bounded up the sofa and onto his shoulders, looking into his eyes with that enquiring ferret face of his.

"Sorry 'Ches, not right now... I'm too tired."

Winchester bounded back to his run, rather crestfallen.

*Great, the cold shoulder from him too... can this get any better?*


===================
Ensign Robert Browning
Engineer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
===================