Snip

“But you know as well as I, naive Ensigns and lower decks redshirts will get themselves killed. It’s their duty to be a warning so that the more valuable crew members and the captain avoid danger. If he’s giving us responsibilities, then he thinks we are valuable. Then we might get to survive the next landing party!” Guy told Richard.

Sharp wasn’t so convinced ,his brain decided to put a picture of him in the morgue . ‘’ On every mission all are armed not just us , em excluding Hunter don’t know why that doctor does not carry a phaser maybe he has a dead wish’’ .

Guy turned back to the other officers, “Ahem! …Remember, we often go unseen but you are essential personnel, and your dedication makes the Merrimack safer. We are frontline ambassadors; the first point of contact for visitors, both friends and foe alike! Your vigilance, proactivity and alertness enables us to spot trouble before it even starts. And your work is about protecting the crew and allowing them to live and work without fear. Never forget how important you all are!”

Sharp clapped ‘’ That’s what we need to say on the comm Guy ,the security where ever they are will know and we would not need to call them and by the way I have checked all the weapons and everything is in order in our dept ‘’.

“I read that in the Academy manual somewhere,” Guy replied. “I guessed some motivational speech was needed now, among all the doom and gloom about the next mission… and that’s good work on the weapons lockers!”

That way he figured he would grab something to eat and hopefully lay down in his cabin…if he was lucky.

“We can move on to the next place now,” Guy said, reading down his PADD. “The Brig!! Let’s see who pulled that short straw today and go and motivate them!”

’’ You are’’ he replied without any hesitation ‘’ Just remember the speech and don’t forget your phaser. We need to act professional , since the big heads are over there ‘’ .
Sharp ran his fingers through his hair , guess without a brush he had to improvise and straightened his uniform....ready when you are ‘’ the security told Guy.

Sharp sec.

“You liked my speech, heh?” Guy asked.

The Brig was located 6 decks below the torpedo launch tubes, on Deck 14, so Guy made his way to the nearest turbo lift. “I never understood why the deigned this ship with the Brig on almost the lowest deck,” Guy told Richard. “if anyone breaks out, then they have immediate access to the Armory, to phaser arrays, and to shield and Tractor beam emitters.”

• Guy, Sec

The turbo lift jolted violently as the half-strength shot struck the Merrimack. Structural flex from the starboard impact sent the lift car lurching against its rails. The lights flickered, then dimmed to a shaky amber glow as the emergency power struggled to stabilize.

Guy and Sharp were slammed against opposite walls of the car. The handholds rattled in their grip, and Sharp’s forehead scraped along the edge of the polished duranium panel, leaving a faint streak of blood. Guy’s shoulder took a sharp knock from the railing; his forearm throbbed where he’d braced himself.

The lift slowed abruptly—then stopped entirely between Deck 5 and Deck 4. The hum of the drive motors dropped to a low, irregular vibration, punctuated by sparks arcing from the ceiling panel near the control console. Emergency lights cast long, distorted shadows of the two ensigns across the small space.

The walls of the lift car groaned as residual torsional stress from the ship’s structural flex pressed unevenly on the car frame. Both men struggled to maintain their footing as the deck beneath them subtly pitched in micro-vibrations.

A faint smell of ozone filled the lift, curling from scorched insulation near the drive coils. The control panel flickered intermittently; the indicator for the brig floor glowed blank, then jumped erratically between other decks. The lift’s doors refused to open fully, wedged tight by the slight misalignment of the hull.

Every movement from them sent small jolts through the car, reminding them that the ship’s climb along the gradient was far from over.

They were trapped for now, confined to the vibrating, dimly lit box as the Merrimack rode the turbulent Expanse, the unseen Shiarian threat looming above. Each shudder of the turbo lift echoed the tension of the channel outside, leaving the two ensigns bracing for whatever would come next.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare