Stardate: 70227:2147
Title: Five More Minutes...Please? (Part 1)
Author: Ensign Robert Browning
Time: After "A Day in the Life"
Scene: Main Engineering/Corridors


Tricorder in hand, Robert walked along the corridor on Deck 4 with Lt. Vilmer, the device making the quiet murmuring as it swept the deck for the remaining bugs. It had been a long day, since the alarm early in the morning to spending the afternoon in and out of power conduits. It had been fun for the most part; as an engineer it was his job to know the ship inside and out... he didn't think it was meant literally!

He looked over at his superior - he didn't appear like the typical engineer. Kal was built like a soldier and had the balanced walk he had seen marines have. Still, he was one of the best grease monkeys he'd served with, and an even better superior officer. 

"Sir.. err... Kal, do you think we're doing the right thing, with the armour I mean. As much as I want to help ourselves in this universe, the way the war is going for them... they aren't us anymore." 

Kal stopped and went into a reverie, mulling over what he'd said.

Yawning hard, Robbie couldn't help but think about the day as he waited for a reply...


=/\= Earlier in Browning's Quarters =/\= 

Winchester was sleeping soundly on a pillow of the bed, happy that things were quiet... until the comm system opened with a voice. 

[Beta shift, you’re needed for immediate systems check of the entire ship. Report to your duty stations for further instructions and assignments] 

Winchester landed back on the pillow with a thump, hissing slightly at the interruption of his sleep.

"Five more minutes... please?" Came Robbie's murmur from beneath the duvet. With a sigh he resigned himself to his fate - it had to be important to wake the whole of Beta shift after only a couple of hours downtime. 

" 'Ches, combadge" 

Winchester sprang from the bed and picked up the badge from the nightstand in his mouth, wandering back with the usual annoyed gait he used whenever he didn't get his way. Padding heavily along the duvet up to the top, he vanished underneath. 

“Browning to Engineering – acknowledged. Be there in ten minutes.”

Getting out of bed and sitting on the side of the bed, Robbie sat Winchester on his lap and started to scratch behind his ears. He mewled happily to show his contentment for the time being. 

"This isn't our day is it Winchester?" 


=/\= Later - Deck 4 =/\=

Robbie was hidden, head and shoulders into an access port for one of the main EPS relays on this deck. As uncomfortable as it was there was nonetheless a peace about it. As he worked his way over the relay there was something in the back of his mind. His empathic senses could feel a presence, not the crew, something more... fluid yet constant. He knew of Relly's sentience of course and had sensed her presence like a number of the crew with extrasensory abilities, but this was something more. 

As he lay there his mind began filling with feelings and ideas not his. Like oil on water, they never appeared to stay firm in his mind. Just at the moment he thought he was understanding someone fell on the deck just outside the access port. Their exclamation tore his mind awake again and he extracted himself from the wall. 

Seeing the young Ensign pull herself up from where she'd tripped over an easily noticeable panel cover, he couldn't help but grin a little. 

"Your new aren't you?" he questioned her, the smile gone now because he felt she didn't approve. 

"Yes I am... I'm the new tactical officer," she replied to him, she seemed to be pleased with this fact. He couldn't blame her for that; there were plenty of good chances onboard. 

The Ops Chief was only an ensign not long ago, now he was a Lieutenant. A Lieutenant with a bee in his bonnet... Earlier he had been quite hurried when checking the progress he'd made on this deck. He could sense there was severe concern about the problems at hand within him. He had been put on Robbie's list of "black clouds" because of it. Those on the list were the ones most likely to give him a headache if he was around them too long in certain situations. Fortunately the list wasn't too long. 

Smiling at her, he welcomed her aboard. "Well then, welcome to the USS Relentless." 

"Thanks. That is the first formal greeting I've gotten... Now, about this corridor; what are you guy's doing to it?" 

"We were given orders to debug the ship.” Not so much ‘debug’ as ‘tear apart’ he thought to himself.

"Ah... okay... Carry on." And off she went. Robbie laughed to himself because he sensed she thought he was a crewman. His pips had been hidden from her with his position on the ground. 

Standing up and stretching his legs he felt something in his hand. Looking at his palm he found one of the small bugs there. Thinking back he realised his hand had moved while he was in the "trance" of sorts. It seemed someone wanted to help clean the ship... he hoped it was Relly - they didn't need anymore malevolent presences aboard. 


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