Posted by Ensign Kristiana O’Larria (Engineer) in Presim- Wrenches everywhere (Attn: Stone)
Kristi was in the little used hall on a lower deck hardly anyone used. It was places like this that she liked to work, despite there rarely being a reason to. Today she was cleaning and replacing a slew of circuits, conduit junctions, and plasma switch spots because it hadn’t been done in ages. She had spent last night going thru maintenance records and discovered several inspections that had been ignored, overlooked, or just written off as ‘done’ despite there being no work actually done. With everyone else doing routine stuff in Engineering, she had grabbed box and taken off for a quiet place to work while she considered what was going on between her and Mike.

Before his last away, he had kissed her and confessed a secret that had shook her to the core. He wasn’t supposed to be there… in engineering. He doubted his abilities to work and lead. But he had been bold and sure in his affections for the engineer who saw him as a mentor. Her hand rose absently to her lips where he had kissed her. It was foolish move and she quickly reached back down to grab a wrench and reach back into the space she was working on. “A moment of weakness, Kristi. He’s hardly gone out of his way to be with you, since. So let it go.”

Anyone coming down the ball would see someone on their back, legs sticking out of the hole in the wall, and tools spread over the hallway in a haphazard way that would make someone wonder if the person in the wall was even aware what tool was where.

Ens Kristi O’Larria
Engineer

There was a knock on the wall just outside. “Hey Kristi… I thought i might find you here.” Mike of course knew exactly where she was, as he only asked the computer about her location 3 times before getting here. He peeked into the jefferies tube, where she was tinkering with… well he didn’t know exactly what, but he was sure it was important somehow.

He imagined what he’ll say to her when he met her but at that moment everything just went blank for him. Why she had this odd effect on him, he wasn’t sure. Normally he hadn’t had trouble fitting in into any kind of crowd, be it a low ranking or leadership bras.

They were planing a dinner to talk things through. Mike hopped it would turn into a romantic dinner even, but their plans fell through since suddenly an issue with the colony on the verge of destruction popped up. That was it, he remembered.

“I know I said some stuff I shouldn’t have, and I hoped we could still talk it over.. you know over some food perhaps.”

Still a bit nervous, he fidgeted with a bolt cap on the wall. The rusty cap however didn’t seem to like the attention. With a loud ping it fell to the floor, rolled away for a bit and fell through a mashed gutter.

Lt. Mike Stone, CE