Re-engineering Engineering

Posted on 31 Mar 2020 @ 2:46pm by Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd
Edited on on 01 Apr 2020 @ 4:37pm

742 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: S03 Ep 02 Trouble in the Sticks (Incidentals) Galen IV Phase 1
Location: Engineering/Chief Engineers Office
Timeline: After the briefing

[ON]

=/\= Lieutenant Taggert, could you please meet me in my office? =/\= Dodd requested via his Commbadge.

=/\=Taggert here, chief. On my way=/\= she replied with a tap of her badge. She left her station in the upper engineering section, calibrating the two new warp coils. She could leave it to be done manually, but she preferred doing it herself. It kept the mind sharp, she thought, not relying on machines for everything.

"Great to see you." Dodd replied as his assistant chief entered his office. "I wanted to work it out with you to rearrange our team to allow any engineering staff that want to work in another department during this mission when not needed in engineering the ability to do so. Do you think we can make this happen?"

"Theoretically we can afford to do so," she said, thinking about it. "With most all the repairs finished, all we need to do is just software tweaks and calibrations, and if we really wanted, it can be automated to let them help out other departments. Are we short staffed elsewhere or is this more of a 'let folks explore their other interests?' "

"I am not seeing any situations that are short of staff, but I wanted to make sure the departments that are most affected by this mission have all the help they need. So it would be a 'let folks explore' sort of thing. I know that Nelson and Pril each have an interest in other parts of the ship so, I figured since this mission is not heavy on the engineering side, we could afford offer assistance." Dodd replied. "I do think that our systems could do a little automated action in the mean time. I know I would be up to figuring out a method to detect the Bluegills and or disrupt their influence over a host, myself."

"Likewise, chief," she said in response. "If you're alright with it, I'd like to work with the science department, maybe head out on an away mission and see if we can find a way to detect these creatures, and dissect them and figure out what makes them tick so we can prevent them from infiltrating Starfleet again."

"I have no issues with you getting involved with another department on this mission. to I actually encourage you do so, but if you can give me your recommendations for who you feel should oversee the key areas of engineering based upon your opinions from the last mission, that would be great." Dodd replied. He would enjoy staying on the ship for a change unless it was necessary for him to be on an away team. "Just send me the list on my PADD when you can. I am happy to release you from engineering for this mission."

"Thanks, Chief, I appreciate it. I'll send you a list within the hour," Nicci said with a smile and a nod to her chief of engineering. "I'm looking forward to getting in on some genetic decoding in Sciences. I studied up a little after returning to Starfleet, so it'll be good to get back into it."

"Great, go ahead and take the jump." Dodd replied. "I hope you have a chance to expand yourself on this mission. You are dismissed."

"Yes sir," she said with a salute. Force of habit, even though Starfleet didn't always require it.

After Taggert departed, Dodd then took his jacket off and sat down to review the staff roster as he had it and started to tentatively place the staff where they would do the best while other members of the staff were working elsewhere on the ship. He was surprised that not too many of the engineering staff wanted to work elsewhere. He knew he had a devoted staff who were proud of their duties.

About ten minutes later, Dodd got Taggert's recommendations. He was able to make the alterations to the duty roster and it all made perfect sense. Taggert was a huge benefit to him in his role and he was truly happy to let her explore other interests during this mission. Dodd was actually looking forward to doing what was needed for the success of the mission but he was worried about Walon, and the rest of the crew that would likely be part of any away team that went to the planet.

[OFF]

LT Remington Dodd
Chief Engineer

LT JG Nicole Taggert
Assistant Chief Engineer

 

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