Posted by Lieutenant Harry Archer (Chief Engineer) in Pre-sim CE’s Office

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Lisa Caldwell (Engineer) in Pre-sim CE’s Office

Posted by Lieutenant Harry Archer (Chief Engineer) in Pre-sim CE’s Office
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

Lisa smiled back and nodded.
“It does take a while to get used to. That feeling that people will now do what you tell them and are fully reliant on your decisions. It was…” Her voice trailed off as she fought back the memories of being Chief Engineer. The pride she felt when she got the job, the anxiety of her first day as Chief and then her disciplinary and sadness. She got lost in her thoughts before she realised she was mid sentence.
“…Special. It was special.” She added and then.... What happens if you don’t drink?
“The warpcore will explode.” She murmured to herself and coughed trying to cover and desperately hoping Harry had missed it. Since the incident she developed an annoying tick. Sometimes she was aware of it happening, other times, mostly when she was distracted, not.
“Coffee, black would be lovely. Thank you sir.” She replied.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

Harry didn’t catch what Lisa had said, but knew she had muttered something under her breath. He chose to let it slip, but thought he should at least reference her time as Chief Engineer.

“Coffee, black, and English breakfast tea, with a dash of milk,” he said to the replicator. It hummed into action, and the two drinks materialised. He placed the drinks down on the coffee table by the chairs in his office.

“I did see from your file that you were previously the Chief Engineer on the USS Mckoy,” he started, before pausing. “Do you want to talk through what happened?” he asked, with a sympathetic voice.

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa felt relieved that Harry hadn’t heard anything. She needed to be more careful but she couldn’t help herself. Why do I have to say it out loud EVERY time? She thought to herself. She fought down the frustration. She picked up the cup of hot coffee and took a sip sighing slightly and placed the cup back on the table.
“Thank you.” She said as she paused taking time to respond.

She thought back to that day. The day she regretted immensely. If only she could change things. Her heart began to race as she remembered what happened, seeing her injured team, the Klaxons ringing loudly and the panic she had felt. She had the thousand yard stare as she remembered.
“I....I.” she began then stopped and clenched her fists under the table. She took a deep breath.
“I nearly blew up the ship.” She stated, her voice trembling.
“I had completed research for months on increasing the efficiency of the warpcore. It would have meant that we could’ve increased the time taken to get to warp, increased the range and warp speed. It should have worked, it was going to work! I…” She paused to control herself before continuing.
“I nearly killed everyone. I couldn’t stop it. One of my team managed to shut the core down, but not before several were injured, one, almost died because of me.” There was a deep sadness and regret to her voice as she explained the events, somewhat sporadically to Harry.
“It should have worked.” She stated, tears had started to fom in her eyes but she fought them back.

Lt (j.g.) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

Harry puzzled for a moment. “Do you mind if I ask whether there was an investigation done afterwards?”

Whilst he wasn’t one to approve of modifications without referring back to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, the ship’s safety systems should have prevented such an occurrence from happening, even if there had been an error with the calculations.

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa frowned confused. She tried to think back to after the incident. It had all been a blur and she had been confined to her quarters and then the tribunal happened. That was all a blank too, she hadn’t had any time to process what had happened and her memory was, at best hazy, at worst blank. She tried to push the tribunal out of her mind. It had been a truly horrible experience.
“I…I don’t remember. It was all a blur. I was confined to my quarters almost instantly and I wasn’t told about any investigation.”
“There could have been?” She shrugged.
“All I know is I’m lucky to be here.” She added fighting back the shame and despair.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

<bump>

“Hmm,” Harry said, more to himself than anyone else. He decided to leave the line of questioning there, but would make enquiries at Starfleet Engineering. “Well, let me know if there is anything you want me to take a look at. Something doesn’t feel quite right.” he stated, before continuing.

“So, tell me then, why did you join the Asimov?”

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa nodded appreciatively and was very grateful that Harry hadn’t judged.
“I… I don’t think I’m ready to dig too deep yet. It is still weighing on me. But when I am I will be sure to ask.” She replied.
“I was ordered to join. I was demoted and given another chance, it was a punishment and a blessing all in one go. I got the feeling that the wanted someone responsible to oversee me.” She stated with a very slight smile.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

Harry almost snorted into his tea. The fact that he was being considered responsible amused him slightly.

“Well, for what I can tell, the Asimov is a good ship to be on. Certainly our missions are going to be interesting,” he mused.

Lisa nodded, she had been apprehensive about the forced transfer to the Asimov. She had though her new Chief would judge her, but that hadn’t been the case.
“It definitely won’t be boring and I could use something to keep me busy.” She replied.

“So what would you like from me?” He asked, allowing Lisa the opportunity to set out where she needed or wanted his perspective.

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa considered this for some time. What did she need from Harry? She pondered for a moment.
“Your trust. I know it has to be earned and I’m going to earn it. Despite my reputation I’m a good Engineer. I won’t do anything rash. The warpcore won’t explode on my watch.” She replied not realising she’d mentioned the warpcore.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

“Well, that’s a good start,” Harry said, in jest. “All I ask is that any modifications are done by the book,” he stated. “And that’s more to protect you as an individual being blamed if anything goes wrong,” he continued. “I’m all for developing concepts and improvements, and running simulations, but the moment we put them into practice, then they need to go back to Starfleet Engineering for their blessing,” he explained calmly. “And when we’re in a life-or-death situation that requires us to implement changes without Starfleet Engineering’s input, then that’s for the Captain to decide.”

His demeanour was still friendly, but it was clear that Harry was setting out what he expected of Lia.

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa went a bit red with embarrassment at the jest. Stop mentioning the warpcore! She screamed internally. She just couldn’t help it. Sometimes she was fully aware, others, not so much. She nearly kicked herself again but took a breath and tried to re-focus. She nodded at Harry.
“Aye Chief, I will do that. I have.....learned my lesson. It should have worked though.” But it didn’t, did it? You failed. Failed your crew, yourself and your Captain. You’re just failure.She tried to shrug off the thoughts. She was clear in his expectations and certainly wasn’t going to try anything and had been sincere when she said she’d learned her lesson.
“Is there anything else you wish to know?” She asked.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

Bump

“I still think we should take a more detailed look at what happened on your previous assignment,” he said, matter of factly. “Something doesn’t seem to add up; as you say, your theory should have worked. How do you feel about exploring it a bit more?” he asked, somewhat sensitively.

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa sucked in a breath and let it out. As she did she closed her eyes. She could hear the klaxons again, loud and intrusive. She really didn’t want to re-visit the incident but Harry seemed insistent. She weighed up the pros and the cons in her mind, fighting hard to snap defensively. Everything within her wanted to tell him to stop prying and just leave it be. She opened her eyes and against her better judgement, against everything that told her no she nodded.
“Okay.” She stated meekly almost trembling. “I....I think that would be alright. I had hoped to just move on. But if you think there’s something to investigate then lets do it.” She added, her voice becoming stronger and more confident with each word.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)

“I think it would be prudent,” Harry said, recognising that Lisa was uncomfortable. “And thank you, it takes a lot of courage to revisit demons. Assuming you are content, I will get this files from Starfleet Engineering and have a read through.”

Lt. Archer
Chief Engineer

Lisa nodded distractedly, her thoughts immediately returned to the incident. She fought hard against them, trying to stem the tide. She clenched her eyes shut and breathed hard. Her hands clenched tightly into fists at her side. The warpcore will explode. Her thoughts said, over and over again. Despite this she managed to open her eyes and nod to Harry.
“Thewarpcore....” She began without thinking. She caught herself this time, just.
“Thank you Chief.” She replied gratefully.
“Is there anything else?” She asked.

Lt (j.g) Lisa Caldwell (Eng)