(Previous Post: Tiffany's 'Peculiarly Strange')
Stardate: 60298.2100
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Upper Warp Core, Engineering Deck
David was looking over the latest report on engine efficacy as his assistant came up the lift and handed him another padd.
"Please tell me not another headache." David grumbled rolling up his sleeves on his tunic.
"I am pretty sure this will ease some of your...'pains' Lieutenant" she said as he looked it over.
"Did Ken put you up to this" David asked with a scowl as he heard snickering from the main deck.
"I am sorry David... they assured me that you would... get a laugh out of this" she replied in her cool, stoic Vulcan tone.
David sighed. "The main deflector... what now?"
Ken came up the lift still laughing until her saw the CEOs face and he cleared his throat. "That last little shock wave put us off balance on the deflector sir. I'm still trying to figure out how it filtered its way through the ablative system."
David squeezed the padd until it burst into a shower of sparks. "The damned ablative system is going to be the death of me" he said throwing the broken padd across the deck.
The lift doors opened and Serrena stepped through just as the padd skidded to a stop at her feet. The Romulan/Terran hybrid sighed.
"Still having trouble with that temper Lieutenant?" she said as she approached.
"Look...I don't need a lecture from *you* Serrena" David huffed and handing her a padd, "these modification requests you sent me a hour ago are going to have to wait. The main deflector is down *again* and that's where I'm headed next."
Serrena dreaded what she was about to do..so she let out a breathe slowly and just said it. "David... I need your help."
David stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the second officer. "Run that by me again?"
"*Don't* make me repeat..."
"Oh no you don't" David said with a smirk, "the *other* ice queen is requesting assistance from me? Wow..this really must be my year."
"And just what the *HELL* is that supposed to mean!" Sererna snapped and glanced in the direction of Ken and T'reni... "Problems?!"
They both turned and David blocked their path.
"Don't bark at them..." and he chucked his thumb at himself, "that's my job" then he looked at them, "dismissed" and they left.
"Now... about this help?" he asked again.
"Captain Simmons has asked me to devise a plan to... shake up the mountain where Enaii and Nikita were before the returned..."
David's brows knitted together, "Enaii is back?"
"What have you been?" she asked and David glared at her.
"OK..stupid question" she replied.
"Yes... *very* stupid" he said grabbing a engineer's kit, "Come on..you can fill me in on the way to deflector control."
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Stardate: 10298.2100
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deflector Control
David and Serrena entered the control room and Ensign Burke approached.
"Is there something..." he asked.
"Yes... leave" Serrena said with a scowl and he quickly left the COO and CEO alone.
"Now..let me get this straight" David said as he opened a panel and took out a laser torch, "James wants the mountain shaken... but not demolished."
"Yes" Serrena replied.
"But he doesn't want to give away the ANUBIS' position"
Serrena rolled her eyes, "Yes"
"And he expects you..along with me to pull off a impossible feat without dropping the..."
"YES!" Serrena snapped, "did you *not* hear anything I said to you while we were headed down here?!"
David slammed his hand on the console. "Listen dammit... I didn't come bothering you in the middle of all hell breaking loose asking asinine questions on something that isn't possible to pull off! Secondly... I didn't *heap* a week's load of work on your shoulders telling you it has to be done in a matter of days. So if you aren't looking to change your nasty ass attitude... GET THE HELL OFF MY BACK!" the CEO bellowed as he glared down at the second officer who returned the glare.
"If it weren't for the fact..."
David held up a finger, "Don't pull that sanctimonious bullshit with me Serrena. If you feel that I've been insubordinate... write it up. If not... I'm busy."
Serrena scowled at him. "You bastard" she said and stalked off.
Like a striking cobra, David grabbed the COOs arm... laughing.
"Did you call me a bastard?!" David asked.
"I did" Serrena replied dryly... then for the first time since David knew she existed in the universe... laughed. And he noticed that she had a pretty smile.
"Serrena... I'm going to forget that you called me that because I needed a good laugh. But to answer your question, inform the captain that all we need to do is create a continual sonic resonance that would eventually trigger the avalanche without destroying the mountain."
Serrena arced a eyebrow at him. "I thought you said it was impossible."
A few bleeps and the lights brightened in the control room. "It would have been if the deflector wasn't working. Now... it is."
"So... you mentioned we. Who's we?" the COO asked.
"You... me..." and David shook his head dreading the 3rd party.
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Setting: Captain Simmons' Ready Room
"Me?!" the CSciO asked, "I mean... why?"
"David has theorized that you could help him..." and David nudged the COO in her arm.
"Apologies... *us* because you're the resident wavelength specialist."
"Wavelength specialist?" James said, "how so?"
It was David's turn. "We're going to have to *seriously* monitor the resonance beam Captain. I'm going to catch enough hell modulating the ablative armour so that the beam can pass through without giving away our position. Serrena will be my eyes and ears... and feeder. Too much power can overload the deflector and knock the ablative generators offline exposing our asses for the known galaxy to see."
"Well... I guess good things do come in small packages" Maya added.
"Not so fast there" David replied crossing his arms across his barrel chest, "too little power and given enough time..whoever is in the mountain... or on it... can trace where the beam came from. Even if we move the ANUBIS after that... with too little power they can still trace us."
"Even with all the systems operating at peak?" James asked.
"The designers of *your* lovely ship Captain weren't perfect. Yes... we can hide... but she still leave residual trails of plasma vented from the nacelles... only in this vein... when everything pops off right... the ANUBIS remains a mystery."
James stroked his face...which was starting to show signs of a shadowy beard. He looked at Maya. "Well Lieutenant?"
"Um...I'll need about a hour to get things ready...and to test David's theory."
David glared at the small Shillian scientist. "My word isn't;t good enough for you?!"
"Oh no..please don't take that as being offensive...its just that I've never attempted something like this before. To cause a avalanche from way up here...."
"Take the time you need Lieutenant" James said standing to his feet, "as long as its within a 2 hour window..that might be sped up do to our company."
"Understood Captain" Maya said.
"Anything else?" he asked looking at Serrena and David who both nodded no.
"Well..Serrena...this is your baby. David, Maya...keep the second officer posted. Dismissed." as they all exited the ready room. As they exited, David saw Enaii's image standing over the intel station. She saw him looking at her and he nodded to the rear of the bridge by the doors to the observation lounge where the senior staff meetings are held.
=/\= Can I help you Lieutenant? =/\= Enaii asked.
"Yes..you can Commander" David said above a whisper, "is Sabrina still up there?"
Enaii turned her head and David guess she was looking at her wife.
=/\= She is. Why? =/\=
"Tell her to go to bed. She hasn't slept much since you departed...and she won't listen to me."
=/\= As she should =/\= Enaii's image glared at the CEO.
David leaned in closer, "Remember our deal Commander" David said then returned to the full extent of his height, "or should I inform your wife of the deal we made."
Enaii glared at him with a look that could kill 1,000 men. ""You wouldn't""
David smiled...then dropped it. "Try me" and with that he headed to the lift.
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Julian Knight (d_dawson_1@yahoo.com)
as
Lieutenant David Dawson
Chief Engineer
USS ANUBIS NCC 18501
"I'm a Starfleet officer. That's all I am and that's
all I'll ever be." - Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin
Sisko, Commanding Officer of the Federation
Spacestation Deep Space 9
