Stardate:70604.1600
Title: Tools of the Trade
Author: Lt. Commander Lair Kellyn and Ensign Xhian ( Formerly 2 of 8 )
Scene: Engineering
Time: After "Wishful Thinking" by Zanh Liis and before "Down to Bajor" by Jariel Camen
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After a few weeks of duty and spending a lot of time alone in the bar and the holodeck to help him get used to his new surroundings, Xhian had made a lot of notes on how to modify the ship's systems, weapons, and shields for their utmost peak performance. He was anxious to get to work on developing these improvements, but had been asked to perform much more menial tasks for the moment.
"Ensign Xhian," Lair Kellyn motioned to the newest member of their engineering team from across the room, where she stood sorting a pile of tools.
Xhian looked at her for a moment as she worked, and he thought to himself, *I see now why I was sent here. For this ship to be the pride of the fleet, it seems to be highly inefficient.*
As they were packing kits for the away teams, Xhian again began looking over the tools more carefully, He observed each tool as he was putting it into its designated slot. They had to be sure to send as many items as they could fit into the small cases to prepare the teams as well as possible for their mission. Xhian again found himself thinking as he did when part of the Collective.
*How inefficient*
Again, Lair called his name, trying to get his attention away from the tools.
"Yes, Lt. Commander?" Xhian looked up to acknowledge the commander's presence as he continued to assembling the kit with amazing skill and frightening speed.
"Please double check that all of the electromagnetic decouplers are properly charged. I don't want them running out of power at an inopportunemoment."
"Done, Sir. And if we, I mean, I, might suggest," Xhian hated it when he slipped back into the Borg phrasing, referring to himself in plural. "We could improve the life of the auxiliary batteries in them by 24% with a few simple modifications."
"Hold your horses, there, Mr. New and Improved. I know that your highly technical brain is thinking a bit faster than my ol' Bajoran one can go, and it's cool that you have ideas and all. But unfortunately we don't have the time to fine-tune anything right now. They have to grab these and go."
"If I might offer my opinion, Sir, it seems like there is a lot of room for improvement here. Things could be-"
"Oh, brother. Just wait until I get you and Salvek into a room together for any length of time." Lair groaned. "You won't have to doubt his level of efficiency, believe me. If you think that things can be improved around here, you're welcome to run your ideas by him and I when he gets back from this Away mission. But I warn you, he's Vulcan and the very model of modern efficiency. The rest of us can only hope to keep up with him. But we do try."
"Perhaps, my history with the Borg allows me a different perspective," Xhian stopped, uncertain if she would be uneasy with his remarks.
"Ensign," Lair approached him, and put a friendly hand on his shoulder. He stared at it, unused to such gestures. "Someday, I will tell you about experiences that Commander Salvek and I have had with the Borg. But for now, you're going to have to trust me when I say that faster is not always best on Starfleet ships."
Confused still by the fact that she disagreed with his assessment of the department over all as inefficient, Xhian decided for the moment it was better to defer to her rank and experience with this particular ship
and leave it at that. He returned to his work assembling tool kits.
"Still, there's no reason we can't try to work on your idea for the decoupler power supply while everyone is gone- it should be quiet aboard ship. I hope." Lair offered.
"Thank you, Lt. Commander." At least she had an open mind to his ideas. "It won't take me long to have a working prototype constructed."
Xhian informed her, his cranial antennae rotating toward her as the plans for the device already came together in his head.
"How long, you suppose?"
"Twenty-two minutes, and ten seconds." he watched her eyebrow elevate, and added hastily, "Time estimated." He was trying so hard to shed the exact manner that the Borg influence had branded him with, but it was not easy at all.
"You almost sounded Vulcan yourself for a moment there." Lair said with a shake of her head. "My husband, he-" she stopped mid-thought as she saw Commander Salvek appear in the room.
"Speak of the XO. I'll be right back, just keep doing what you're doing."
Xhian nodded and returned to assembling the tool kits. He realized that if he switched position on three of the ODN relay enhancers that he could add ten percent more space to the interior of the case. . .room for one more instrument that way.
Kellyn nodded to Salvek, the closest thing that she ever did to greeting him warmly while on duty and in the view of their officers.
"Ready to go?"
"Almost. Our team is assembled, we will depart momentarily. I had hoped to speak with Arie before we leave."
"That would be a good idea. That way, she'll hear from your own mouth that you won't be gone long this time." Kellyn felt sad, the way that she did every time that they parted for any length of time, even though it was necessary. She also felt guilty. "I should be going with you."
"You will be needed here, should anything go wrong Kellyn there is no one else who knows this ship as well as you do, save myself." Salvek's vote of confidence in her had ever been the thing that kept her on an even keel.
"Still this world is your home,"
"I feel sorry for what has happened to the people," she interrupted, "but for me, well, Bajor ceased to be my home a lifetime ago."
He nodded, and he allowed his hand to just brush against hers as they stood side by side.
"I will inform our daughter that she is to choose between Standard, Bajoran, or Vulcan languages during my absence, unless she is speaking to a Klingon."
"I appreciate that, thank you." Kellyn said with a smile. She watched as he walked away, calling after him as he moved through the door and into the hall.
"May the Prophets guide your steps, Commander Salvek."
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Lt. Commander Lair Kellyn
Acting Chief of Engineering
USS Independence NCC-90791
AND
Ensign Xhian (2 of 8)
Engineering Officer
USS Independence NCC-90791
