Snip

“Have a seat. Can I get you something from the replicator before we get started?”

-Mark Pierce, CE

“Uh… Tea. Green tea, with milk, no sugar please,” Scott said tapping his tummy as he did so. “I am trying to watch my weight.”

Lt. Woods
Egineering

Mark returned with their respective green tea and black coffee. “So, Lt Woods, I have you here as an experienced environmental engineer, with some medals to show for your time. Top 10% of your class at the Academy. Good stuff.” The only decoration in Mark’s office was a shadow box with his Marine stripes and medals in it, and a handmade Caitian dagger. “Tell me what that-“ He pointed to the medals “won’t. What’s so great about Lt Scott Woods?”

-Mark Pierce, CE

“Experience mostly,” Scott said after a long silence while his hands wrapped around the mug. “I am something of an anomaly I suppose. I was assigned to special projects right out of the academy and spent a good amount of time there. I was… very engaged there and excited about my work but Fleet Captain K’hal said I needed to get experience on a ship or a base. When this opening presented itself I took the opportunity.”

Carefully he put his lips to the rim of the mug and pulled back a large mouthful of tea before swallowing it. “I am not a, uh, seasoned fleet engineer if that is what you are driving at.”

Lt. Woods
Engineering

“Doesn’t matter where you started, you’ll learn your way around. Woods, you’re going to find that one thing is different here. Even when your work orders come from me, it’s a 70% chance someone in another department complained. There’s a lot more interplay here. And they’re going to be staring over your shoulder while you work. Especially the doctors. You don’t get many chances to invent out here. The flip side of that is that when you do- it counts. Independence is down, stakes are up.”

-Mark Pierce, CE

The engineer grimaced at that revelation but then nodded. Silently he took another sip of his tea, slurping it to introduce air and cool down the liquid. “I don’t mind my work being checked but… are they aware of the risks? We hear about conduits exploding every few months in the safety briefings…” his voice faded out as he considered the stakes a moment. “I think it would be unwise for doctors to die doing my job when they should be saving other people by doing theirs.”

Lt. Woods
Engineering