Power Line’s Hum

Posted on Thu Mar 12th, 2020 @ 11:25pm by

Mission: Cruel Meridian
Location: USS Majestic; Deck 10
Timeline: Docked at Starbase 50
352 words - 0.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Douglas glanced around the corridor and hesitated before he moved down the hallway away from the turbo lift. The Majestic was bigger than he was used to. And newer. The hallways were strangely smaller; a hold over from the Dominion War era of starship design. But Douglas found it oddly comforting. He passed an Ensign in the corridor and tried to straighten his back and walk with more purpose towards where he thought Engineering was. His first day on the Majestic and he was ashamed to say he was a little bit lost.

He’d come aboard from Starbase 50 yesterday and stowed his gear in his quarters, but the debriefing file and assignment log had taken up almost all of his evening. His train of thought was shaken up as he almost collided with two crewmen heading the opposite way. He murmured an apology at them as they, panicked, checked he was alright. Douglas nodded at them almost absent-mindedly.

He should have left for his shift earlier. He should have memorised the route to Engineering more thoroughly. He definitely shouldn’t have dawdled to take in the view out of the lounge on deck 3. He walked briskly as he continued to find his way towards the Engineering room, trying not to grin as he heard the thrum of the power relays through the walls.

Douglas stopped at a wall panel and tapped the screen, tugging at his shirt, then highlighting Main Engineering. He pulled up the route and breathed a sigh of relief. The blinking route showed he was on the right course. He pulled the end of his shirt again and set off on the path. He’d be damned if Chief Engineer Murphy had anything to pull him up on, on his first day. He gritted his teeth but as Douglas stepped round a corner he saw the door to Main Engineering and let out a hushed whisper of relief. For a brief moment an old holo vid of a song recording flashed through his mind but he shook his head and smiled as he walked into his new post.