=/\= USS Charon, Auxiliary Maintenance Room =/\=
Jack looked at the tricorder. He was still masked. He had managed to
reconfigure the circuits inside to mask his life signs from internal
sensors. As he finished the work, he suddenly winced as a second set
of screams echoed through. He did not want to know. He gulped and
continued working. Sweat beaded and his hair was looking a little more
unkempt than usual.
He still wasn't sure if he had been a coward or attempting to be a
hero when he ran. He was scared shitless. No doubt about that.
However, he did know that if he managed to get away, he could be of
some help. And where he ended up was this auxiliary maintenance room.
He had found a tricorder to work with. That wasn't all he found. He
also found corpses, but he tried to ignore those, as much as he could.
Along with the screams, it was crystal clear the situation was dire
and he was experiencing a day the instructors warned them about. A day
where you realize just how easy it is to die. A day where you just
have to buck up and do what you can. Lock away the fear and emotions
to deal with later.
"Easier said than done," he muttered at the memory. His teachers
taught him a lot, but it was reiterated time and time again that the
real learning happened on assignment. With each crisis, you become a
better officer, or you crumble. He betted himself he was the going to
be the former.
He had the engineering down. He was even a good officer, so he liked
to think. Dealing with battle was a whole new monster to deal with. He
just hoped his skills would help. No one came in and shot him or
anything yet, so he must be doing ok.
He looked at the bodies around him and swallowed. These were the first
dead bodies he'd seen. His grandfather's casket had been closed when
he died. He walked over to the Marine and knelt down, "You fought
well. May your soul find peace." He then closed his eyes for a few
moments, honoring the fallen man.
To the other bodies, he snarled, but kept silent. He went back to the
tricorder and tried to concentrate, despite the screams. It was hard,
though. One would think you would eventually get used to it and it
would fade into the background, but no. It just fed the fear.
Then the most obvious thing came to him and he cursed himself for not
thinking of it before. Savant. He swallowed as he carefully configured
another tricorder to send a signal to her only. It helped that he had
read up on the fascinating AI. Hopefully the frequency would be like a
hum in her ear, so to speak. Like that ringing in your ear after a
loud concert.
His eyes were constantly darting to the door. The screams made it hard
to listen for people entering the room. The few friends he had made
since being aboard crossed his mind as he gripped the tricorder. Time
passed painfully slow as he waited for the AI to answer or appear.
=/\=
Jack Fellos II, Engineer, USS Charon
