(Untitled)

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

Who: Montgomery Scott, Open
Where: Engineering
What: Scotty and his crew must find a way to combat the effects of the anomaly and restore full power to the engines... but how

Comments

[ensign_singh]

Sanjay was the opposite of Mr. Scott. While Scotty was shoved out of Medical and threatened action against him if he came back, Sanjay was so distraught over Charlene's coma-like nature, he more or less refused to leave the engine room. Although some might be confused by this, he was reverting back to something familiar to him and trying to take his mind off this puzzle.

When Scotty came around to where he was, Sanjay was sitting on the floor in the middle of piles of PADDs surrounding him. With a panicked, and obviously sleep deprived face, he looked up to the chief engineer, "I-I CAN'T DO THIS BY MYSELF!" He held up a PADD, "What does this readout even mean?" A good 50-60% of the engineering crew had been affected by whatever this anomaly was, leaving the engine being supervised by an overworked skeleton crew, and most of them ensigns.

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

After he'd been forcibly ejected from Medical, Scotty had taken refuge in the engine room as well, and he was every bit as overworked and sleep-deprived as the rest of his crew. His rationalization for it was that since they were severely understaffed, it was up to him to keep morale up and to let his crew know that no matter what, he was right there with them, trying to work through this just like the rest of them. For his crew's sake, he was trying desperately to keep a good face on things, because sometimes, personal wasn't the same as important

[ensign_singh]

Sanjay blinked. "What do you mean 'what's this suppose to be'?" He didn't normally work with the electrical network of the engine, so he wasn't entirely comfortable trying to interpret data with such limited experience. Sanjay should've just stuck with the repairs and pressure systems...

"It's the data for the computer and electrical output. I-is there something wrong?" He tried to sit up and look to see what the chief engineer was doing. "Oh God, something's wrong isn't it?" He groaned and rubbed his face with the palms of his hands. "Unnnggghhh! I can't do all this by myself!"

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

Glancing up from the PADD, Scotty realized that he'd have to take a different approach here. Singh was clearly reaching the end of his rope, but there was no way Scotty could afford to cut him loose, even for a few hours. He needed every engineer who was still awake, and he needed them to focus, in spite of the fact that all of them were being run ragged. "Ensign," he said evenly, squatting down next to Singh, "Look at me, Ensign." He waited until Singh looked at him, and continued, "Why are you tryin' tae do all this yourself?"

He knew that Singh didn't have enough experience in electrical engineering to be looking over these readouts. He'd picked up a bit himself, but only because being the head of the entire engineering department aboard the ship meant all aspects of engineering, and not just mechanical, which was his own specialty. Even so, there was a reason he had someone working under him whose job it was to oversee the electrical engineering. Unfortunately for him and Singh, the officer in charge of electrical was

[ensign_singh]

"Why? Why?" Oh this was bad... almost just as bad as when the disaster occurred, but at least when that happened there were more higher ranked/knowledgeable engineers around. "Charleneissickordying. Isuckatreadingtheseprintouts. Ihaven'tsleptin3days...." And then Scotty raised his hand up to cut him off from ranting anymore. "I'm sorry, sir." He didn't mean to dump on him. Having his girlfriend in some strange coma and lack of over-seeing lieutenant made him feel insecure with so many ensigns scrambling around.

He was nearly ready to tear out his hair in frustration, but had now started calming down with the appearance of the chief engineer. "Lt. Russ is also in sickbay... and I don't think those read-outs look right. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I think our circuit boards are almost completely blown out for some reason."

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

Scotty's expression softened when Singh blurted out that Charlene was one of those currently in Medical. And to have not slept in three days... Admit it, he scolded himself. You haven't slept properly in a week. This sort of situation just wasn't one that anyone could train for. He couldn't afford to spare Singh, but at the same time, he couldn't afford to keep working the man, not if he hadn't slept. That little voice in the back of his head whispered that he needed to sleep, and by the way, how long had it been since his last meal? He ignored it. There was work to be done.

"Look, lad," he told Singh, reaching over to gather up the scattered PADDs. "You've got tae get some sleep. I'll find someone who knows electrical tae look over these--" If they're not all in Medical... "--an'... How long have you been on shift?" He'd been too busy running around trying to fill in all the gaps left by his absent crew to keep an eye on the hours his remaining crew had been working.

[ensign_singh]

Sanjay quieted when he saw Scotty's demeanor change. This was why he respected the man so much - in times of crisis (even though this wasn't one per say) he had a calming effect. Perhaps it was his previous experiences that told him how to react or deal with freaking out crew members such as Sanjay at this moment.

"I, um..." He helped collect the PADDs before using the console next to him to help himself up to his feet. "I really don't know... What day is it?" He had been in there for hours; there was just too much that needed to be done and so little crew.

Realistically, he should go, he needed a break and get some food in him as well as sleep. But he just couldn't see that happening, not with Charlene in Medical and their own staff not knowing what's going on.

Shaking his head, "I'm fine, sir. Really."

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"You're takin' a break, lad, an' that's an order," Scotty replied firmly, moving the pile of PADDs to one arm so he could help the man stand up. "I can spare you a couple hours, so you go an' get yourself somethin' tae eat, an' for God's sake, Singh, get some rest." Singh might insist that he was fine, but Scotty could tell the man was exhausted. They all were, and none of them were getting enough sleep

[ensign_singh]

That's an order.

Oh how Sanjay hated that sentence at times. Really, he was fine and should be used for work. So what if he was sleep deprived, starved, and about ready to have a panic attack? The engine didn't run itself.

He wanted to protest, to insist he was fine. Charlene was right about at least one thing - he was stubborn and too loyal to his job sometimes. "I-I'll go..." It was a less than enthusiastic reply.

He didn't want to leave, not at all, but maybe a break through had occurred in sickbay (and why they hadn't paged anything was beyond him), and Charlene would be awake and fine. Maybe... Just maybe.

"I-I'll be back in a few hours." He lingered awkwardly a few more moments before finally being shooed away by the chief engineer.

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

Scotty sighed, watching Singh as the younger man walked off. He was grateful to his crew for being so loyal to him and to their duties, but men like Singh needed to learn that there were limits, and that regulations regarding the health and safety of crew members were in place for a reason. Of course, Singh would eventually learn that sometimes it was allowable to bend the rules under the provision of It's Me That's Doing It, a privilege reserved for higher-ranking officers.

Another sigh, and he scrubbed a hand over his eyes, and set off in search of other crew members who were in desperate need of taking a break.