SIM:Lael Rosek - Bringing Back the Humor (Veritas)

Previous sim "Checking In With the First Officer, Part II"	Lieutenant Lael Rosek Engineering Officer Starbase 118 USS Veritas NCC 95035	Next sim N/A
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((Science Lab, USS Veritas))

Lael entered the Science labs to find Sepek cleaning and organizing the equipment that she assumed worked. She hadn't been in here since the mission with no reason really to come. Engineering had its own set of labs where she spent most of their time.::

Sepek: Hello Lieutenant.

Rosek: ::smiles:: Lieutenant Sepek. What can I do for you?

Sepek: The computer seems to have been shot by a phaser. My guess is they tried to get into our systems, but failed and got angry.

Lael bit back a grin at Sepek's colorful characterization. She was slightly surprised at the Vulcanoid's sense of humor. Granted, she hadn't been around many Vulcans, but it had been her experience that their humor was often rather dry.::

Rosek: ::murmurs:: An interesting way of putting it, Lieutenant. ::grins:: And likely very accurate.

She pulled the decoupler out of her kit and removed the cover for the panel covering the computer station conduit. Her brow furrowed as she scanned the optic cables and the motherboards. The damage was easily identified. Digging in her kit, she found the hyperspanner and got to work replacing both the motherboard and the damaged optic cables.::

Rosek: So...is it just the computer you think they shot to hell or are there other things?

Sepek: I'm sure I will find more. I have a few tricorders that need a few repairs.

Rosek: ::chuckles:: I wouldn't be surprised. Intruders don't tend to be the kindest to the property they destroy while raiding ships.

Sepek: ::Shaking his head:: I'm glad the people out here are not too interested in our science equipment.

Lael grinned wryly. She hadn't been in this region but a week or two and she was coming to learn that most of the people here struggled with basic needs. It was one of the rougher areas she'd worked in since joining Starfleet...far less developed than the expansive Men'thar Corridor and other regions near large empires.::

Rosek: ::murmurs:: I've noticed.

Sepek: So how bad is it?

She jumped, biting back a curse as a spark from the damaged console singed the tip of her finger. Her brow furrowed as she again ran the decoupler over the damaged circuits.::

Rosek: Well, it's going to take a bit of time. Several of the optic cables are going to need to be replaced completely, but I need to check the supplies to see if we have them. Might have to just bypass a couple for now.

Sepek: At least you won't run out of work around here.

Rosek: ::grins wryly:: And here I was looking forward to a reasonably relaxing time between missions.

Sepek: I'm afraid this might be as relaxing as it gets.

She rolled her eyes. It certainly sounded like she’d gotten the luck of the draw with this ship. On the plus side, her colleagues were nice and she was starting to feel more comfortable around them. One of her biggest worries in transitioning to a new ship had been starting over with building those relationships. Other than the conference room situation with Commander Walker, she thought she was doing a reasonable job at it. Though she was beginning to suspect that her connection to Chythar had some of his social anxieties bleeding over. She’d become a bit of a hermit these last couple of weeks in particular.::

Rosek: What about you? Do you have any specific plans?

Sepek: Not really. Just normal life with more time to meditate really. What about you?

Rosek: ::shrugs:: I was mostly hoping for some time to get to know some of my new colleagues. I was thinking about pitching to Commander Walker a little get together with a few of the Engineering team. Team-building.

Sepek: I am sure all kinds of chaos and destruction will erupt at that get together.

Lael grinned wryly. As long as that chaos didn’t involve medical emergencies, ship battles, or intruder alerts, she was certain she could handle it. A break from the day to day job of saving the ship or the universe would be welcome. Even routine repairs and maintenance she could deal with. Most of her apprenticeship aboard Starbase 118 had been similar--routine repairs with the rare drama of a malfunctioning main computer. That had been a cakewalk compared to the last few years.::

Rosek: ::mumbles:: I’ll take that kind of chaos over mission drama any day of the week.

Sepek: From what I hear Walker is the ship's wild card. Well, I'm sure every engineer is a wild card. There is no telling what will happen.

Lael snorted. Given her confrontation with Commander Walker in the conference room, it wasn’t news. In fact, Lael expected that they’d butt heads fairly often...though hopefully in a more private setting. She had no desire to be dragged up in front of Rahman again for unprofessional conduct. The woman could be downright scary when she was pissed. The whole situation had made Lael feel like a kindergartener called to the principal’s office. She visibly shuddered.::

Rosek: o0No thank you.0o I’d noticed...about Commander Walker, that is.

Sepek: I mean it in a good way though. Just let me know what deck it will be on so I can avoid it.

She happened to be looking at the Vulcanoid and noticed the subtle twitch of his lips, the movement causing her to arch an eyebrow. She didn’t consider herself an expert in Vulcanoid non-verbal cues by any means, but she could have sworn he was fighting a smile. Was he making a joke? The deadpan way the statement was said would indicate no, but the subtle shift in expression screamed yes.::

Rosek: ::smirks:: I don’t know...maybe you could crash it. It would sure confuse some of the staff and might even encourage them to be on their best behavior.

Sepek: I doubt a science officer would make them act better.

Rosek: ::smiles:: You know I never have believed that bull about Vulcans not having a sense of humor, right?

Sepek: I wasn't aware we did.

Rosek: ::laughs:: Biased idiots.

Lael pulled some parts from her kit, glancing at Sepek.::

Rosek: I hope you’re not conducting any important experiments that would require the use of this terminal...because this could take awhile.

Sepek: Luckily it takes a while to get from point A to B here.

With a chuckle, Lael studied the damaged parts, cutting power to the console and began replacing them one by one. It would take awhile, but it needed to be done and she was certain the console would function much better once she had.::

Sepek: If you could let me know when it is complete it will be appreciated.

Rosek: ::smirks:: You'll know the second you can have your precious computer back. ::expression softens, smiling::

Sepek: Ok, I'm going to let you work. Thank you for coming up to fix it.

Rosek: ::laughs:: Besides the fact that it's my job, I'm happy to help.

He turned to take care of another task presumably outside of the lab as he stepped through the doors that opened when they sensed his desire to leave. Until now, she'd only had minimal interaction with the Vulcanoid science officer. And damn if it hadn't been fun teasing him. A smirk again crossed her lips. It had been awhile since she'd been able to joke with someone like that. These days, her attempts with Chythar fell flat most of the time. She hadn't been sure if her sense of humor had been getting stale or if it was him.::

Rosek: o0That answers that question, I suppose.0o

Shaking her head, she made a mental note to talk to her counselor about it. Maybe there were ways she could bring the humor back into her and Chythar's friendship. They'd both certainly been moping enough lately. When they'd been Over There in the other universe, she'd been his pick-me-up and he'd been hers. It was about time that they both stopped mourning what could have been and started moving forward. They both had a life to live...him with Alex and her hopefully with her own someone special. With a sigh, she returned her focus to her work.::

END

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Lieutenant Lael Rosek, Eng.D. Engineering Officer USS Veritas NCC-95035 Podcast Team Facilitator Training Team Member I238110RH0 https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Lael_Rosek