Under the Wire

Posted on Fri Mar 27th, 2026 @ 2:18am by Lieutenant Varkl Brukh & Lieutenant JG T'Vei

1,244 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Echos on the Deck
Location: Pylon C Phase Cannon Turret
Timeline: 4 Hours Before Nausicaan's Arrival

The Nausicaan ships loomed closer on the long range sensors as T'Vei returned to the armory and pulled up the tactical station's status report. She opened a com line to Rik'koshvar.

"Long range sensors operational. Primary and secondary shield generators holding at full capacity. Dorsal turret calibration complete. Running simulation...."

Down the list she went, but as she reviewed the torpedo launchers, a status of Pylon C shifted from steady green to a sullen, blinking red. The phase canon turret failed its simulation. T'Vei ran it again. The red light flashed back at her, more insistent this time.

"Rik'koshvar, Pylon C's turret has failed simulation. Calibration is complete and power levels are nominal. Further investigation is necessary," T'Vei explained.

"You will have to investigate," Rik'koshvar said over the com. "I have arrived at the Frontier and still need to review its systems."

"Acknowledged," T'Vei said and cut the com.

T'Vei paused, evaluating her options. If the fault was mechanical, she might be unable to complete repairs alone. Her familiarity with Starfleet systems was limited. She could wake Chief Truman or another member of the armory team ahead of the scheduled 0500 briefing, but fatigue was a critical factor for her team and it would degrade their efficiency in the event of combat.

She pressed the com button. "Sublieutenant T'Vei to Main Engineering. I require an engineer to meet me at Pylon C's phase cannon turret. That system is reporting an anomaly."

Brukh was deep in reviewing files for Engineering personnel and making assignments when the comm call disrupted his focus. "Message received. Will meet you shortly, Engineering out." He briefly tapped his fingers on the desk contemplating who among the staff he could send before deciding that he could actually use a little stretch of the legs.

"I'll be in Pylon C tending to the error. Call me if there's any problems here." He called out while shouldering a tool kit. Minutes later he stepped off the slide-way at the end of Pylon C, found the access hatch to the secure tactical area and opened the hatch to the crawlspace leading to the turret.

"All right I'm here what's the prob...." he cut off coming face to face with a Vulcan woman. "By the moons of Rigel, when did Vulcans arrive on this station?"

T'Vei looked up from the schematic she was reviewing. "Twelve hours, eighteen minutes ago," she said as a matter of fact.

She studied the Tellarite, noting the Starfleet design and operations red of his uniform. She had almost exclusively interacted with humans thus far but knew other species were aboard the station. She tried to recall information on Tellarites but, in the moment, could only come up with: a.) They are covered in an abundance of hair and b.) Are prone to raising their voice. The person before her checked both categories.

"You are the engineer I requested?" She asked at a reasonable volume.

"I was told Vulcans prided themselves in logic. Perhaps I was wrong to think that. otherwise you would have deduced that since I am here answering your call, AND I am wearing the uniform colors for a Engineering." Brukh quipped tersely. "But we can save the debate for when we have more time, those toothy buggers on route won't wait for polite discourse. What's the trouble?"

T'Vei controlled the feeling of irritation, the only outward sign a measured exhalation. "My assessment is that we are experiencing a communication failure between this turret and its control console. This system displays adequate power, and I detected no damage to the conduit. However, the turret's local control processor is not executing issued commands."

Brukh contemplated her assessment while pulling out a diagnostic scanner. "Very curious indeed," he grumbled while conducting his own scans. "The ODN lines are indeed undamaged, and the control processor also appears to be receiving the command." He wrapped his meaty hand around one of the turret control arms and yanked it forward. The turret gave an audible 'CLACK' as it hit resistance to the movement. "Sounds like the mechanism is jammed. Run a scan of the housing while I get some tools out of my kit."

T'Vei drew her scanner and swept it around the rotational servo, tapping through the incoming data. "The actuator ring is not warped. It is--"

She stopped, her jaw tightening almost imperceptibly as she climbed into the assembly and shone a light into the gear track. "A retaining bolt has sheared," she said. "The access panel it secured has slipped into the track and is now obstructing the mechanism."

"That would do it," mumbled Brukh as he replaced the laser cutter back into the kit. T'Vei climbed back out allowing Brukh access to the assembly - which he very snugly fit into. He grunted while trying to maneuver inside the narrow space, and reached up into the gear assembly. He blindly fumbled around feeling for the bolt that must be somewhere in the gear track, after some minutes he located the rough edge, but couldn't grasp it. Crawling back out he went to rummaging inside the bag, "There should be a magnetic grabber in here somewhere... I need to make sure these bags are organized better..."

"That would be a prudent course of action," T'Vei said dryly. "Given our timeline, might I attempt to retrieve it?"

"You've worked on similar systems before?" Brukh asked, T'Vei gave a slight nod in response, "Well you are better able to fit inside there, and your fingers would probably be able to get a hold of the bolt... Let me pull the mechanism back again."

Brukh grabbed the control arm again and pushed it back to it's original position with another CLACK, then nudged it slightly forward again. "That should do it, the bolt is on the left side above the lateral support arm."

T'Vei nodded again and crawled back inside, carefully contorting her long limbs to fit. Blindly, she reached out to her left, slender fingers slipping in between the track's teeth to grab a hold of the bolt. Once it was secure in her grasp she was able to tear it free with only a bit of effort.

She slipped back out and dropped the bolt into Brukh's hands. "The panel will require replacement. Is there any danger in waiting to do so after the Nausicaans have departed?"

"It should work for now, we can pull the full assembly to replace the bolt and find out if anything else is wrong. While we're at it we should probably check all the other turrets to make sure the same thing won't happen with them. Brukh quipped while repacking the toolkit. "Nice work. You should switch to engineering, being able to get into tight places is a benefit."

T'Vei looked down at the Tellarite and raised an eyebrow. "I am certain there is more to being an engineer than manual dexterity. Your assistance was appreciated, Lieutenant...."

"Chief Engineer Varkl Brukh."

"Sublieutenant T'Vei," the Vulcan said. Then she walked past him and began to restore power to the turret, ending the conversation.

The Tellarite hefted the bag to his shoulder and exited the crawlspace, he replaced the hatch cover, looked briefly over at the control console where T'Vei was working, silently nodded and left her to work.

Lt. Varkl Brukh
Chief Engineer
Sentinel Station

Sublieutenant T'Vei
Acting Chief Armory Officer
Sentinel Station

 

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