SIM:Lt. Ethan Brice - Monkey Work

This SIM reflects the work done in Main Engineering during an outside attack. It also shows Ethan in his first session in the Captain's Chair.

(( MAIN ENGINEERING ))

:: Ethan looked up from the console. The Engineers in the pit had done nothing but slog themselves over what was going on outside. While whatever being had disrupted their STI and sent them hurtling through a wormhole the size of a suppository, odd things had been happening all over the ship. Lights were blowing, gel packs were malfunctioning and with those micro fractures in the hull, they werestaring Death in the face; full on, without being able to blink.::

Reed: It's... It's repaired.

:: Ethan frowned.:: Brice: What's repaired?

:: Sarah looked up and stuttered. Not like her. She was straight on the ball whether she was wrong or right. It wasn't in her to be confused.::

Reed: The hull – it's repaired.

:: The young Chief cocked an eyebrow.:: Brice: How in the... did that happen?

:: She couldn't give him an answer. Her brain was trying to select between random occurrence, the Alien did it or, the more possible, how the heck should I know?::

Reed: It happened while I was checking for seizures in the fractures... It's just repaired.

:: Another voice from behind.:: York: I'm reading increased levels of tetraburnium and victurium in the hull composite.

Brice: Which would account for the repair work – someone's repaired them hook, line and sinker.

Reed: With materials we don't have, which is even more...

Brice: ...disturbing. :: he lifted an eyebrow.:: Just for a change?

:: Sarah smiled slightly. Ethan whistled loudly to the rest of the Engineering crew stuck in Main Engineering with the best of them.::

Brice: Right, monkeys; listen up! Upstairs, no one cares what's going on down here as long as we're getting a job done. We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with a gel pack between us so understand this clearly – every iota of the energy produced goes on sustaining essential systems, weapons, shields and communications.

:: his eyes fell on Cameron:: Mister York, get on the long-range sensors, we want something we can work with.

:: back to Sarah:: Reed, find out what the heck happened to the hull and quickly then get on sensors. If we can get something going a long way, we can transmit by bouncing.

:: and then everywhere:: One team of Alphas up deck doing chit repairs and one team of Betas doing bit work down here. Keep gel packs; all of them. Understood?

:: A mulled number of replies came back before Ethan rolled his eyes and looked to the console. Where was the morale? Back in Wheeler Colony, no doubt.::

(( FLASHBACK ))

:: On the Bridge, Ethan had sat in the Captain's Chair for a split second. His hands had barely graced the computer panelling on the arm when whatever had happened, had happened. Right before their eyes, the ship had been thrown into the blackness of the wormhole with barely a second's notice, catapulting them across the galaxy, far from the reaches of the Away Team.::

:: Ethan jumped from the chair, his heart following suit. His brain could hardly believe his eyes as he watched the wiry veins of the wormhole, the rift in space to send them lightyears away from their friends and their home, leaving them in the middle of unknown territory, unchartered space.::

:: His mind ran over the possibilities in the few seconds it took for everyone else to react. The Away Team, Captain Mar... Karynn... on the Colony. His fist slammed into the arm of the Captain's Chair. Time stood still. A fraction of a moment when everything bolted into slow motion – the reports flying in from Helm, Tactical, Engineering... the questions; where were they, what happened, what was going to happen, what could they do... Ethan stared at the viewscreen, hoping it was a mistake, it was a practical joke, it was Mar's way of letting him know he wasn't ready to be sitting there, making decisions, even polishing the chrome.::

:: Then all too quickly it came flooding back. Ethan turned his head; Ben had come rushing in, the CO shouting his orders, knowing what to do. One last look at the screen, at the blackness of space on the other side... they'd get home; Karynn would be safe and they'd get home.::

(( PRESENT ))

:: The young Engineer drilled his fingers on the console. The missing link was still missing. The wormhole had dragged them in; some kind of alien had done this to them; for what purpose they didn't know. He chewed the inside of his cheek. What would Mar be doing? She was the CEO of the Indy – what would she be doing in his situation? If they could boost the long-range sensors that much and focus on their point of origin into the system, there might be a way providing the Away Team are thinking about how to get home.::

:: Immediately he walked to Reed's console and began tapping away. She gave him a look, as if to ask what he was doing but he simply smiled.::

Brice: Six hands are better than one.

TBC

Lt. Ethan Brice Chief of Engineering USS Ronin