Posted by Lieutenant Gage Whitney (CE) in Pre Sim: CE’s Arrival - Shuttlebay

Posted by Captain Chris Taggart (Captain) in Pre Sim: CE’s Arrival - Shuttlebay

Posted by Lieutenant Gage Whitney (CE) in Pre Sim: CE’s Arrival - Shuttlebay
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Children…

They had stuck him with a ship full of children…

Not a one over 35 years old, with the exception of the Captain…

Still, it was his own fault. He was the one that has waited until he was nearly 40 to enlist. Though if he hadn’t, the ship he was about to board may not even exist to be crewed by children. He once again mused at the wisdom of his decision to transfer to an active-duty vessel. He’d have likely been content to while away the rest of his career at Utopia Planitia and been all the happier for it. The engineer he’d nearly decked three weeks ago was right though… Who was he to decide the best way to operate and refine a design without serving on her himself? That reality may have been a painful pill to swallow, but it was all too true that for nearly 30 years he’d been designing and building ships and equipment for other people without ever actually spending a moment more than he had to aboard one.

He still remembered the rather abrasive cut down he’d gotten from Admiral Holson for even suggesting he get a transfer. They’d build 32 Kurtzman Class ships in a little over 10 years, it’s not like they were running short. He had no doubt he’d be missed, but this was more important. Spending a few months operating one of these ships after a long run in space was key to ensuring that the coming refit was everything that it could be. The Chernov had been the first Kurtzman off the line at Utopia Planitia, third in its class. That was just about a decade ago to the day. He’d watched it roll out of spacedock, the umbilicals falling away as hatches closed and it cleared moorings. A view he’d had many many times over the years. That was the first out of Starfleets newest orbital shipyard though. It had been a heady experience. New construction teams, untested engineers and staff. They’d come together beautifully over the last decade, but that first one, the Chernov… He’d half expected it to burst into flames the second it cleared dock and the warp drive came online.

Here he was again though, looking out through a shuttle window now as he cam astern of the ship he hadn’t seen in a decade. He’d studied her current specs, engineering reports, mission logs and notes, and he’d made similar trips to inspect drydocked ships dozens of times over the years. This was different though. There really was a certain extra sense of proprietorship that came with being a Chief Engineer. He hadn’t really appreciated that until now.

As the shuttle passed through the nacelle corridor and through the atmospheric shield protecting the Chernov’s shuttle bay, he felt a thrill of excitement at being here. Now. In this place. Maybe there was something to this line officer malarky after all…

Gage Whitney (CE)

OOC: Very nice post!

Krys

Lol! I agree. Nice post!

There was a man waiting for him to take his things and show him to his quarters and around the ship. The man was wearing an engineering shirt with no stripes on the sleeves. He was enlisted. With a smile he waved at the new Chief. “Hello Chief! Welcome aboard! My name is Petty Officer Lance. I’m here to show you your quarters and around the ship. Pleased to meet you. How was your trip sir?”

PO Lance

OOC: Oooh, CO/NE’s :)

:)

IC:

He happily handed over his kit bag and the grav cart he had loaded his cases on as he raised his voice slightly to be heard over the hum of noise in the shuttlebay “Good to know you Mister Lance. I’ll take the company, but if I don’t know my way around a Kurtzman Class ship after a decade of building them, I should probably just step back on that shuttle.”

Lance chuckled. “That’s a truer statement as any I’ve heard.”

He took the lead, tracking them out of the lower shuttlebay door and immediately set off at a brisk pace towards the turbolift “Tell me, Mister Lance, what do you make of the team we have here?”

Whitney (CE)

Lance pondered for a bit as they walked then decided to be truthful. “Well Chief. The usual lot. You know. A couple great ones, a couple bad ones but mostly good ones, with just a few that only do the bare minimum as to stay off the radar. But I’m sure you will be pleased nonetheless. They mostly work hard. We have drills but I think more would be good. At least two in a quarter. But we get a lot of practice because of the battles we have been in. Anything else Chief?”

PO Lance NE

The turbolift doors parted as they were released and he continued “Not until I’ve had a chance to run an eye over the engineering deck and primary systems”.

They arrived at the door to his quarters and the doors parted at his touch. Dumping his duffel on the nearest couch, he gestured vaguely towards the center of the room “Anywhere there should do, Mister Lance”

Whitney (CE)

Lance nodded. “Yes sir. ” Lance took the grav cart to the area where the chief pointed and powered it down. He then turned to face the chief. “Do you want me to help you with this or leave you to your new task as Chief.... Chief?”

PO Lance NE