Help Wanted

Posted on Sun Jan 1st, 2023 @ 4:55pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Lieutenant Thraxina
Edited on on Mon Jan 16th, 2023 @ 8:35am

801 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 20: Shuttle Maintenance
Timeline: M1 MD02 (2268.16.05) 1300

Unlike some women in Star Fleet, Thraxina had no problem with the minidress and jackboots uniform that had been imposed on female crewmembers a couple of years before. Then again, she had the legs and the figure to carry it off. She was happy to look attractive, which was unsurprising for someone from a planet where the admiration of beauty trumped all other considerations.

However, when crawling around the shuttle-bay decking, and actually sliding underneath a Class F Shuttle on her back, she had opted to don a set of musty green technician overalls. Not really her job, specifically, fine tuning and signing off the Midway's four Class F Shuttles, but the ship was short on time and short on crewmembers and this seemed a better use of time than sitting in the rec room looking down her nose at her fellow crewmembers.

Thus it was that a passing member of the crew, or rather his visible boots, were hailed by a pair of unidentifiable legs sticking out from under Shuttle #2.

"Hey you!"

It was a female voice: despite being hidden under the small boxlike spacecraft, her tone clipped and her enunciation clear.

"Yes, you with the feet. I need you to pass me a size three hyper-spanner."

From under the shuttle, Thraxina could see that the boots had stopped, at least. She decided to encourage the unseen crewmember.

"Come along, chop chop! I haven't got all day, you know!" she ordered.

"Coming right up sir," the young man responded before kneeling down and handing her the hyper-spaner, "Find something up with the shuttle craft?" He was wearing a similar set of green coveralls. The blonde pompadour ontop of his head was a greasy mess.

"Sir? Oh yes, I'd forgotten that Federation equality-speak nonsense!" the unseen woman huffed, as a slim white hand reached out for the tool. "On my planet, we'd say Ma'm to a female superior. We're proud to be women, not want-to-be men. And no, there's nothing wrong with it, it just needs checking before becoming operative... the Captain should have sorted this out before anything else. If the transporters go down... oh, no, this is a 3.5, I need a 3.0!" she chided, thrusting the hyper-spanner back out. "Do try and pay attention!"

"Yes ma'am," the young man responded before grabbing the correct tool although the tools were out of order in the tool. Hest. "The Captain had a lot to take care of since the ship was launched weeks early. The shuttlecraft were barely delivered before the ship launched," he said.

With the new tool, she was able to complete the tests and close the panel.

"Thanks, that's better. You can pull me out now." she instructed, waiting for him to grab her ankles and slide her from under the craft. "You don't have to stick up for the Captain" she announced, this guy was evidently a bit of a suck up. "When I finally get to meet him, I'll give him a piece of my mind, believe me." she boasted a little.

The young man wiped his brow, "I have to stick up for him," he responded with a smirk, "Captain Faust, pleasure to meet you Lieutenant. Now what piece are you going to give me?

It took a second for Thraxina's eyes to adjust to the light as she was pulled from under the shuttle and she recognised the Captain's face at the same time as he announced his identity. She sat up like a shot and banged her head on the support brace of the shuttle with an audible "DING!"

"Ow! Oooh-hooo" she groaned, rubbing her head as her hair tumbled into her eyes "I think I just knocked that piece of my mind clear back to the Beta Quadrant!"

"Good," Tristan responded, "I hope you'll learn the old Human proverb if you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all. Now that's out of the way, what's wrong with shuttle 2?"

She pushed the hair out of her eyes and clambered to her feet. "Nothing Sir. She's in perfect order and ready to go, they all are. I've given each one a full diagnostic check." she reported efficiently, hoping to claw back some semblance of credibility with the top man on the ship.

"Excellent," Tristan responded, "I've read your service record, you have a high reputation to maintain from what I have read. Keep it up and you and I will have no problems." He relaxed for a moment and chuckled, "I am not too thin skinned and I do get my hands dirty," he added.

She stood up straight and gave a rare, small smile "Yes Sir, thank you Sir." Well, surely things could only get better from here on in, she considered, as she blew the hair out of her eyes.

 

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