Darned thing

Posted on Thu Jan 31st, 2019 @ 2:01pm by Commander Caressa Melanick & Lieutenant Dived Dumet

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Shore leave

Caressa kicked the control panel door. She started to let loose with a string of profanity then she realized the pain in her toes. "Melanick to engineering, Please get someone up here to fix this frickin medical replicator before I loose my mind! Melanick out" She was so frustrated she didn't even wait for a response.

She went to the nearest bio-bed with a osteogenic simulator to repair her broken toe. Muttering under her breath as she did so.

A few minutes later, a Cardassian strode through the doors dressed in a jumpsuit and tool belt. He immediately stopped when he saw the Bajorn woman sitting on a bed. He had no problem with Bajorans, but they tend to get uncomfortable around him. He couldn't blame them either as his people had destroyed their world and hurt the people beyond imagination. He could have tapped his commbadge and summoned another engineer, but he refused to make someone to do his work. “Uh, I was notified that you are having some equipment problems.”

She looked up from repairing her toe, and did a slight double take. A Cardassian Chief Engineer, interesting she thought to herself. She refused to pass judgement, but the ones she knew of were not nice and that was putting it mildly. "Its that medical replicator." ::pointing to the replicator in question:: "Its been giving me a fit for weeks. Your the third one to try and fix it. I hope you can. I only have a certain number of toes."

Dived was confused, what did her toe have to do with the replicator? “I’ll see what I can do.” He immediately dropped to his knee in front of it and went to work. He first removed the panel from the front using a EJ-7 Interlock from his tool belt and took a few scans with his tricorder. “What problems have been experiencing?”

"Well, to start with if you ask for a Neural Caliper, a Neural Implant is replicated. Then I may get nothing at all but a blob of metal. Its has been worse with each repair. I tried kicking it, but that seemed not to have any effect on it other than breaking my toe." She stood up from the bio-bed and walked over to the replicator and leaned against the wall looking at him while he worked.

Dived was incredibly annoyed by the readings he was receiving. “Looks like you have a couple of problems here. The voice recognition programming has been corrupted, the matter-energy converter is completely misaligned, and the most of power regulators have been bypassed. Who repaired this thing, a tribble?”

"Well he was furry, but not as cute as a tribble!" She smiled and relaxed a bit. " No offense but most Cardassin's have no sense of humor, at least the ones I know. Is it fixable Lieutenant? ::peering into the equipment with a inquiring look::

Dived looked up from his work with haunted eyes. “They don’t, they sold that, their souls, and our world to the Dominion. I fear they will never get it back” Desperate to distract himself from the ghosts of his past, Dived plugged a cable from the replicator into a PADD and went to work. His fingers were a blur as he wrote entirely new lines of code to replace the damaged ones. It would take only a minute before he moved onto the next task. A minute of work with the Phase Matrix Recalibrator from his tool belt brought the converter back into operation. The finishing touch was using a Hyperspanner to repair the power system before replacing the outer panel.

He replaced the tools in his belt and stood back up. “That should do it, ma’am.”

"Thanks, but lets just make sure that it is working properly before you leave so I do not damage any more toes." She smiled at him and winked. "Computer one Neural Caliper, 12 gauge please." The typical tingling noises came from the control panel and a Caliper appeared as requested. " Well, Lieutenant, looks like you know your stuff. My toes and I thank you. I am also sorry if I brought up any bad memories, our people need healing." smiling with a doctors bedside manner.

Dived did his best to return her smile. “Your welcome ma’am, I have always had a knack for fixing things..” He pulled a tool from his belt and waved it as a conductor would a baton to emphasize his words. “Toes are rarely a substitute for a good Hyperspanner.” His demeanor darkened as he returned it. “The bad memories are always there doctor, no matter where I turn they are there. The only people that my people hurt more than themselves is you Bajorans. Our selfishness drove us to steal your world and our fear made us sell ours. The Cardassian people need to heal themselves before they can even begin to repair the damage they caused.”

Dived for clenched his fist and his voice became harsh. “But instead of acknowledging their failings, they hunt down anything that even reminds them of their shame.” He suddenly regretted his outburst. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

She felt every word that he was saying, he was truly heart sick over what his people had done, even though he had nothing to do with it. " Dived, you need not own what was done. Why don't we set an example for both of our peoples. Let us forgive and maybe even be friends. Learn to trust again." She used his first name she hoped that it did not offend him, but she thought it more friendly. Her face showed that she honestly meant it.

Dived was confused, a Bajoran wanting to be friends with Cardassian? He smiled warmly at the doctor. “I would really like that doctor. It's been awhile since I had a friend. I tend to get too wrapped up with work. Every time I fix something, it feels like I am atoning for crimes that I never committed but still feel a debt to.”

"Well, while you may repair the ship, I repair broken people. I too, also tend to hide in my work." She offered her hand, a human gesture but a sincere one. "Friends it is!"

Dived took the offered hand. “I might be broken beyond repair, doctor. Can I get you a drink after the shift is over?”

"That would be wonderful! I was going to suggest coffee in the morning." Smiling. " I have a cup every morning at 0600 before I head to my office. It's my routine."

“0600 it is.” Dived smiled, maybe life aboard the Mercutio wouldn't be so bad. He started walking out the door but paused. “What is coffee?”

"Its a human drink that is a bit bitter but great with sugar, flavoring and a bit of creme." She said as she walked along. "Its not bad"

“I look forward to trying it, I'll see you in the morning.”

"Excellent, see you then" and she strolled back into her office smiling


LTC Caressa Melanick
Chief Medical Officer
USS Mercutio

LT Dived Dumet
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Mercutio