High Demand

Posted on Tue May 19th, 2020 @ 10:40pm by Lieutenant Callum McDowell

809 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: New Beginnings
Location: Main Shuttlebay Control Room

Lieutenant McDowell wanted to get to work right away. As soon as he was in the turbolift following his meeting with the Captain, he tapped his commbadge and requested the Shuttlebay Manager and Chief Shuttle Pilot meet him in the control room that overlooked the main Shuttlebay.

McDowell arrived in the control room a few minutes later, the first to arrive. With time to kill, he slowly approached the large console that overlooked the flight deck. Sitting there were three of the five Danube-class Runabouts that Starfleet had assigned them.

Danube-class Runabouts were the most recent addition to Starfleet’s auxiliary craft fleet. Larger than a shuttle, with a longer range and a modular design that made it configurable for a number of different mission specifications. The runabouts were currently configured for standard operations, but Starfleet had provided cargo modules, giving them addition space for retrieving equipment from what was left of the Enterprise. The Ermiana’s compliment of shuttles would be used to handle the smaller pieces.

The gentle hiss of the door opening behind him alerted Callum to the arrival of at least one of the summoned officers. As it happened, both had arrived at the same time. Lieutenant Junior Grade Heather Jones and Senior Chief Petty Officer Eric Wise introduced themselves before quickly getting down to business.

“The Ermiana is being tasked with recovering equipment from the crashed saucer section of the Enterprise. This is going to involve constant shuttle sorties transporting personnel and materials. Optempo on this one is going to be intense. Lieutenant, you’ll need to make sure your pilots are fully rated on the Danube-class and that they’re getting enough rest between flights.”

He turned to the Senior Chief. “That means all three Shuttlebays will be in high demand. Your deck staff will need to be ready for that and I want you ensure your people are getting enough rest too. I don’t want anyone burning out on our first mission.”

“Before that, we need to swap out the mission modules currently installed on the Runabouts with the Cargo modules we’ve been supplied with. I want all flight staff; flight controllers, shuttle pilots and Shuttlebay deck staff working on this.” He received nods of acknowledgment from both of them. “I’m going to speak to the Chief Engineer and see if we can get any additional help with that but with us preparing to depart Utopia Planitia I doubt he could spare many people.”

The Senior Chief folded his arms and nodded. “We’ll get it done, sir.”

“I believe that we will. Any more questions?” Both officers shook their head. “Then you’re both dismissed.”

Lieutenant Jones quickly took her leave, but Senior Chief Wise remained behind and waited until the doors closed again before he spoke. “How’s the old man, sir?”

“He’s doing great, Eric.” Callum’s father had once commanded an old Excelsior-class ship converted into a hospital ship and Senior Chief Wise had been a shuttle pilot before becoming the Captain’s Yeoman after impressing Captain McDowell. “Enjoying private practice. Mom’s nearing her retirement and I don’t know how dad’s going to handle retiring for the second time. The transition from Starfleet to private practice was bumpy enough.”

Wise cracked a smile. “Some people like to be kept busy, sir. If I didn’t have this job, I dunno what I’d do. Go crazy probably, or at the very least I’d be driving my wife and kids crazy.”

“How are the kids?” Callum asked, leaning against the console.

Wise’s smile widened at the mention of his kids. “Rachel, the oldest, is getting ready to take the Academy Entrance Exam. I tried to convince her to enlist instead of becoming one of you lazy ass officers,” the comment drew a chuckle from both of them, “but her heart is set on being a Science Officer. Thomas, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Starfleet. He’s got his eye on being a professional musician. Every spare minute of his time is spent playing the violin. Kid’s determined to play with the London Symphony Orchestra. But he has a few years of school ahead of time before he makes a decision.”

“Well, I’ve taken enough of your time, sir. We’ll make a start on swapping out those mission modules.” The Senior Chief began moving towards the door. “It’s good to be serving with you, Lieutenant.”

Callum smiled and pushed himself off the console. “You too, Senior Chief.”

Once the Senior Chief had left, Callum turned around and looked down on the Runabouts once more. He was looking forward to getting behind the controls of one of them once they arrived at Veridian III. This was going to be an interesting mission.

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