New Ship, New Crew

Posted on Mon Mar 16th, 2020 @ 10:17pm by Lieutenant Junior Grade Amanda Turell & Commander K'Niras Sh'howul
Edited on on Mon Mar 16th, 2020 @ 10:26pm

Mission: S01E05 ConQstador
Location: Transporter room 1, Main engineering

Amanda tugged down at the short skirt of her uniform as she stood alongside a kit bag waiting on the transport pad of the courier ship taking her to her new assignment, she hated having to wear this uniform but thought she'd best look the part at least for now.

"Ready to go Lieutenant?" Asked the man at the transporter console.

"I'm ready, thank your Captain for bringing me here." Amanda told him.

"Good luck, energizing." The man activated the transporter and in a moment Amanda and her bag disappeared from the pad.

==== transporter room ====

K'Niras stood in the transporter room, waiting to meet their newest crew member and hopefully a good addition to his staff. He straightened his uniform, finally feeling that he had a size of uniform that fit him. It had been a struggle. He looked over at the transporter operator, his tail bouncing back and forth behind him. "Any news from the other ship?"

It was the second time the Executive Officer had asked if they had heard from the other ship, as if he would not be informed immedately. The operator tipped his head, trying to be patient. "No, Sir. Not..." The console beeped. "They are ready for teleport."

K'Niras nodded. "Great! We're ready on this end." He tucked the PADD he was carrying under one arm and watched the teleporter pad.

The transporter whirred and a few moments later Amanda rematerialized on the deck of the Musashi. She looked around the walls of the squeaky clean ship and then saw to her surprise a Caitian, it had been some time since she'd met a Caitian, then she saw the Lieutenant Commander rank insignia on his cuffs. "Lieutenant Turell reporting for duty, Sir."

K'Niras stepped forward, tail waving back and forth and one clawed hand out, offering to shake. "Welcome aboard the USS Musashi, Lieutenant Turell." He grinned, just showing his front teeth, as was Caitian custom. It was rude to show your canines unless you were trying to be rude and start a fight. "We're glad to have you aboard. Hopefully, your journey was comfortable?"

Amanda stepped down off the pad and took K'Niras' hand though she held it gingerly not wanting him to shake it too vigorously. "The ride was bumpier than a starfleet ship but it was alright," she replied.

"Well, that's good, I suppose." He shook her hand carefully and kept the handshake short. "If you'd like, we have quite a bit to cover and I'd like to get started. You'll need to know where your quarters and a tour of the ship... as well as a good look at Engineering." He started slowly towards the door.

"Lead the way, Sir," Amanda replied, reaching down she picked up her bag, there wasn't much in it but it still sent a twinge through her weak arm.

K'Niras set off down a hallway towards a turbolift at the end of it. He looked briefly at the PADD and then tucked it back under his arm. "Quarters first? Then you won't have to carry the bag around. Crew quarters are on deck five and Engineering is on decks six and seven." He waited for her to step onto the turbolift when it arrived, before stepping on behind her. "Do you have any questions for me?" he asked, his golden green eyes studying her. "Deck five..."

"This ship looks considerably more advanced than anything I've served on in the past, I could use a little time to study the ships blueprints," Amanda replied as the turbolift started to move.

K'Niras tapped at his PADD, grinning. He was glad to hear her ask about the blueprints. "They are sent to your PADD. I'm very glad to have you aboard. I know you're not far off of medical leave, but I'll try not to run you ragged. With this being a brand new ship... we shouldn't have too many problems. At least not right away..." There was a hint of humor in his tone and he continued to grin a little.

Amanda smiled, slightly glad he knew it would take a little while for her to get back in the swing of things. "How long do we have before we're due to leave here?"

"We don't have any time. At all. What is it that humans say... balls to the wall?" He chuckled. "But seriously, even though we have a tight schedule right now, I don't expect a lot of problems. I'm not opposed for you taking time to study and I'll call you if I need you sort of thing... if you like." The turbolift came to a halt and the doors opened. K'Niras waited for her to step out before following and then leading the way down a corridor.

"In that case I can be ready whenever you need me," Amanda said understanding the situation, 'assuming medical even let's me work' she stepped out the turbolift and followed him down the corridor. "I can find time to study later."

He stopped in front of a door and tapped a code into the keypad. "So you can reset the code, as usual. I wanted to mention one other thing, not that I'm sexist in any way or that I'm suggested anything. I just think it might be notable. You are currently the only female engineer." His tail bounced and he grinned. "Welcome to the boy's club," he joked.

Amanda paused for a moment, "That is a surprise, but not uncommon, I can work with that." Female engineers weren't common, but to have not even a single one in the whole department was unusual.

K"Niras looked a tiny bit uncomfortable. "I didn't plan it that way, I promise you. I'll make sure they don't harass you too much. Please let me know if anything is weird. I know sometimes that human men can be rather... sexist? Is that the right term?" Caitians didn't really have sexism. Women were just as valued as the men for much the same reasons.

"It's... an appropriate term," Amanda told him. "My hope is they'll lose that attitude when they see how hard I can work, even with a busted arm." She mentally face-palmed when she realised what she'd just told him about her condition.

K'Niras chuckled. "I'm sure they will. Do you need to see medical before you begin?" His tail was bouncing behind him. "Not that I'm concerned about your ability. Our doctor is very good." He smiled a little.

"I should stop by there at least, to let them know I'll be checking in soon." Amanda opened the door to her quarters and dropped her bag inside, letting the door close she set the entry code for it.

"That'll be easy," K'Niras replied. "Sick Bay is just down the hall... then we can see Engineering?" he queried, his tail bouncing. He turned and led the way towards the medical bay.

Amanda followed on as K'Niras led her through the halls of the ship, soon they reached the double doors to sickbay, as the doors opened a nurse looked up from a storage cupboard. "Commander, Lieutenant," she greeted them.

"I'm Lieutenant Turell," Amanda told the nurse. "Will you let the chief know that I will come by for my on-boarding medical shortly, if she is available."

"Yes ma'am, I'll let Dr. Seleya know you're coming," the nurse replied.

With that, Amanda turned back to face K'Niras. "Lead the way, Sir."

K'Niras chuckled, having watched the entire interaction with fascination. "You are a very efficient person, aren't you?" he asked as he turned away and headed back to the turbolift. "Now, all we have left is the fun part. Are you looking forward to seeing Engineering? I had to update a lot of my knowledge while we were down."

"Blame my parents they were both retired military, they used to run our home like a regiment, he didn't like inefficiency, it can sometime be hard to get out of saying only what is needed and nothing more." Amanda followed on as he led the way. "As for engineering, I'm looking forward to seeing that heart of this ship and learning how this much newer ship compares."

"This one has quite a few more armaments then our last ship. I can't really say that its weapons are any better, but its speed and defense capabilities have definitely improved." It didn't take them long to reach Engineering. It was a short ride to the correct deck and down a hallway to double doors. Before they arrived at the double doors, K'Niras turned a little and grinned. "It has two levels. This is the lower level."

"Two engineering decks," Amanda said slightly surprised. "This ship must have a strong heart if she needs that much space."

The double doors to Engineering slide open and Amanda could now see the two decks. K'Niras stepped into the room and waited for her to join him, his tail flicking back and forth. "And here we are."

"Impressive," Amanda remarked, she walked further in and looked around seeing many engineers scurrying about trying to get the ship ready for its rapidly approaching departure. "What does she top out at? Warp 7?"

K'Niras nodded. "Yep, warp 7, although I've been told if pushed it can hit warp 8 and at 804 feet in length, she features the latest in circumferential warp technology with twin PB-52 Mod 2 drives." He pointed into engineering as he spoke. "She's armed with four banks of MK VII-B phaser emitters, three photon torpedo launchers, 2 forward, 1 aft, and CRM-114 countermeasures. She has shown to perform well in combat." He grinned, just showing his front teeth. "She's also equipped with extensive hangar and cargo facilities, has twin utility bays, located amidships. Those are supported by a shuttlecraft maintenance bay below, capable of storage for two standard shuttlecraft and two Type N shuttlecraft, with a larger primary hangar which services guests."

"Not bad," Amanda said though that was quite the understatement, compared to her first posting this ship was a vast improvement. "Sounds like she can give quite the punch."

K'Niras nodded, his tail swishing back and forth rapidly in excitement. It was always great to have another engineer on board. "Have a look around. Take your time." He grinned, knowing how important it was that she familiarize herself as soon as possible.

Walking around the engineering bay Amanda looked around at the various stations and features, the fundamentals looked the same as the older style warp engines but there looked like a few minor changes she'd have to read up on when she got the time. She saw many of the men spare several glances her way, the first directly at her, the second as she invariably knew would happen; at her long legs emphasised by the tights of the officer uniform.

"Eyes front!" K'Niras growled loudly.

"Impressive," Amanda said as she made her way back to K'Niras. "I look forward to getting my hands on her."

"I'm glad. I'm glad to have you aboard, Lieutenant. It's not that these people don't know what they're doing... I just need someone that's just as motivated as I am." He grinned.

Amanda smiled slightly. "The chance to finally get back out there and do some real work is all the motivation I need."

"Excellent! Good to hear. I don't really have anything else to show you, unless you need an escort to sickbay?" K'Niras chuckled. "It's okay if you need to pointed in the right direction."

"I think I can manage Sir, thank you for showing me around." With that Amanda came to attention for a moment before turning away towards the main doors and back down the corridor towards sickbay.