Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Main Engineering - Meeting with the CE (tag Ducote)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mathys Ducote (Chief Engineer) in Main Engineering - Meeting with the CE (tag Ducote)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Main Engineering - Meeting with the CE (tag Ducote)
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Having completed check-ins with a couple of the other department heads, Stephen felt ready to move on to the Chief Engineer, the only DH who shared Stous’s rank. In his brief overview of Ducote’s file, Stephen had been a bit perplexed by the man’s… presence. Reassignment was a normal occurrence in Starfleet, but generally it was listed alongside a reason of some kind. Ducote’s file simply listed the reassignment order, with not justification.

As Stous made his way into Main Engineering, he had already decided not to bring the matter up directly. Still, can’t hurt to casually drop something about it, he thought.

An NE near the space’s primary entrance stood as Stephen approached, eyes slightly widening as she quickly tried to wipe a grease stain off her forehead. Greeting her with a smile, Stous asked, “Where might I find Lieutenant Commander Ducote?”

~ Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Stous - XO

Mathys’s hand held steady and shined his light down the dark shaft. Wires collected on the side with flickering lights barely illuminating the path. So far, it appeared there wasn’t any signs of chewing or scat. He frowned and questioned where the little critter went as he leaned back. Hanging upside by his lanky legs on the top bar, Mathys turned to his right. His voice addressed NE Amber as he dangled from the ceiling.

“No sign of the rascal here. We might need to sweep closer to the labs. Can you please send a message to keep the Science department updated?”

She nodded and then gestured to the XO, “Yes, Chief. Also.. umm, Lt. Commander Stous is looking for you.”

As she retreated to type on her PADD, Mathys blinked and twisted his attention onto the XO.

“Umm, sorry. Give me a moment to right myself.” Mathys immediately curled back inside and pulled up with his arms. Slowly, his feet then his legs lowered to the ladder. Without much haste, he climbed down to solid floor.

“What can I help you with, Sir?” Oil and grit stains covered his uniform, seeing like he came from the depths of some machine.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

Stephen watched bemusedly as the man made his way down the ladder, marveling at his nimbleness. In the Academy and during his early Fleet days, Stous had been one of the engineers sent into the depths of the ship due to his slight build. However, as it became clear that his skills were better used on a PADD than on a pipe fitting, he’d gradually spent less and less time doing the work of a traditional engineer. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d so much as ventured into a Jeffries Tube in the past year.

“Chief.” He offered a nod of greeting. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I was just hoping to introduce myself and, well, that’s it.” Hoping to alleviate some level of awkwardness, he glanced up at the shaft Mathys had emerged from, and with a smile he added, “Though perhaps I can be of some help in the critter department as well.”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“No apology needed, no harm done. Also got to stretch my legs after crawling around the jefferies,” Mathys brushed off the apology.

While he appreciated it, he didn’t find it necessary. The critter had been missing for only a few hours based on the last check-in. This meant the damage kept his officers on their toes while they searched for it. He immediately noted the awkwardness and attacked it in the way he knew: humor.

“Since I’m not fond of looking like a dust bunny, I’ll take your offer of help. More eyes looking for the little escape artist, the quicker we can find him. I don’t want to think about the danger it might be in.” A hint of worry entered Mathys’ voice as he considered the horrible ways an animal could die on the ship.

Retracting from the thoughts, his attention returned to the XO.

“So, what’s your experience with engineering?” It was clear where they had to search, but the last thing Mathys wanted was to stir up some uncomfortable fears.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

[snip]
“Of course. These things are death traps for little things if they don’t know where they’re going. I’m an engineer by training, actually. Been doing it for… oh, going on eleven years now. Similar to you, if I remember right.” He paused, trying to think of the best way to describe his specialty. “I was mostly clerical, but I did my fair share of hands-on work.”

Stephen glanced around, looking for… well, I’m not sure, he realized. “What exactly are we looking for, by the way?”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

When Mathys heard the number, his fingers clicked across his PADD screen. Immediately he pulled up an image of the creature from the Science department. First glance made it look like a naked molerat, but the body was nearly the length and size of a weasel. Long whiskers mounted the side of its face with oversized incisors. Its smooth, eyeless face turned to the view showing it has evolved without the need for such features.

Offering the PADD to the XO, Mathys smiled.

“Cute, isn’t he? Something new one of the colonies found and wanted us to study.” With his lighthearted tone, it was challenging to tell if he was serious or being humorous.

“According to the Science department, they underestimated the claw strength. Torn through the metal in the habitat and vanished into the vents. Now, based on its movement speed, they estimated a range for us to check. So far, no luck.”

-CE, Mathys Ducote

Stephen grimaced at the image, then laughed. “Classic science. I’d like to take a look at their estimate, if you have it. If it’s an animal that’s actively being studied, they might not have included a proper standard error.”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“Don’t judge them too hard, we all make mistakes,” Mathys mused as he took back the PADD when the XO finished. He set it into his belt and hoisted himself back into the tubes.

“There’s no harm in adding a few meters onto the range for the search. Better safe than sorry, right?” He turned back and offered his hand to help Stous up.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

“Indeed, and yes. I just wouldn’t feel a proper engineer without the occasional jab at Science.” He accepted the Chief’s boost up into the tube. “As this seems a tedious task, can you remind me how long you’ve been on the ship?”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

Leaning back, Mathys brought the XO up. Once secure on solid ground, he pulled out a light and glanced down the tunnel. Nothing moved as he swept the spotlight along. The CE paused thoughtfully at the question before giving his best guess.

“I believe it has been a little over two months or so. Time flies by when you’re having fun and start to fall into a pattern. The old gal is pretty good shape for all the years she’s been exploring space.” His free hand patted the hull, the echoes drifted quietly off the interior.

“The senior staff are pretty friendly and unique, makes assignment here interesting.”

-CE, Mathys Ducote

Stephen brought himself up to a partial crouch, eyes following the beam of light as the Chief guided it along the walls. He took a moment to contemplate his response. “So I’ve noticed. I’ve never before been remotely a part of so many unique perspectives meshing together like they do here. Makes me even happier for the transfer.”

He eyed what he could make out of Ducote’s face as he added, “Come from anywhere interesting before your transfer?”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“Yeah, the crew’s really diverse. I think we all make a pretty good team because of it.” Mathys didn’t spot any movement as he retracted his light.

“I came from the USS Dresden before that, USS Zeus. It wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t feel like I was doing much good.” He slide the light to the other end. This time something shifted into the shadows.

“Did you see that?”

-CE, Mathys Ducote