Nice Legs

Posted on Mon Dec 14th, 2020 @ 1:01pm by Ensign Kevin Ibanez & Lieutenant Yousef Syed

Mission: 28 Days
Location: Port Thruster Quadrant
Timeline: Mission Day 2 at 1430

[Deck Four Port Thruster Quadrant]

Yousef, engineering kit in hand, quietly made his way through the ship's corridors from the upper level of Main Engineering to one of the ship's thruster quadrants. A notice from the Ulysses' Chief Helmsman, Rosk, that one of the thrusters was sticking on had landed on Syed's work order for the day, which was how he found himself staring at a pair of uniformed legs stretching up into the Jefferies tube. Figuring the copper-colored accents meant it was another Engineer, he called out, "Did this task get double-booked, or are you trying to earn extra credit?"

Ensign Kevin Ibanez, now acting Chief Helsman since Rosk had taken ill, was taking his new temporary promotion in position quite seriously and was being proactive about his department head's concerns regarding thruster problem. So he found himself after a duty shift - and running on little sleep - crawling into a Jefferies tube near the port thruster quadrant himself to see if he could figure out what the problem was before meeting with the engineer... who was now standing below.

Startled by the lieutenant's voice, Kevin accidentally bumped his head against the inside of the narrow tube. dropping the hyperspanner he held in his hand. It went clanging down the ladder, landing at the feet of Lieutenant Syed as Kevin sheepishly pulled the rest of his body out of the tube and looked down.

"Er... sorry, sir. My mistake. I came around to see if I could get an accurate reading from the diagnostic panel," Kevin apologised, slowly decending the ladder.

Syed chuckled as he bent to retrieve the spanner, "No problem Ensign, and sorry, I assumed you were another engineer." The engineer took a moment to look over the other man as he slowly appeared from the tube. He wagged the spanner at the Ensign, "Did you find anything that would account for our sticky situation? You're the new helmsman, right, Ibanez?"

Kevin stepped off the ladder and as he glanced up at the engineer, looked a moment too long into Syed's dark brown eyes before he realised he was being asked a question. "Uh, yes sir, that's correct. I transferred aboard at Proxima." He paused a moment, recalling the diagnostic readout. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it looked like there was a slight delay in plasma delivery to the thruster, according to the readings. A few microseconds, but it could be enough to cause the problem Lieutenant Rosk reported?"

Yousef pulled a corner of his mouth up and into his cheek, "That certainly could cause such an issue." He returned the spanner to the Ensign and stepped around to the ladder, leading up into the angled shaft. Pausing, hands on the rungs, Syed turned his head back to the Human. His smile still more of a smirk, he asked, "Care to give me a hand? It is a little cramped up there, but I think we can squeeze in." Without waiting for an answer, the engineer started climbing and quickly disappeared from view.

The helmsman gripped the spanner tightly as he watched the engineer climbing up the ladder, affording Kevin the same view Yousef had earlier. The engineer had caught Kevin's eye shortly after he transfered aboard the Ulysses... he was undeniably attractive, but also a senior officer who outranked him and Kevin did not want to start off his new assignment by barking up the wrong tree. Putting a foot on the first rung of the ladder, he climbed up next to the engineer, squeezing into the tube. Kevin's shoulders barely fit in on their own and with the two of them in there they were definitely up close and personal. He quietly thanked his lucky stars that he'd chewed a breath mint after lunch.

"These tubes definitely weren't designed for two grown men," Kevin quipped.

Yousef smirked at the helmsman, casting a wink as he tapped on the small console in the bubbled area at the top of the shaft, "Oh, I don't know. I imagine that's a matter of perspective, Ensign." The console trilled and displayed the diagnostic results, confirming Ibanez's theory, "I think you might be right about that plasma delay. Probably a misaligned flow regular. We just have to remove the twenty fasteners in this panel to access it." Chuckling, he nodded towards the spanner in the other's hand, "I'll take port. You take starboard?"

Kevin felt his ears turn red at the wink and hoped it wasn't too obvious in the light of the Jefferies tube. "Got it," he replied with a nod at Yousef's instruction. He wiggled his right arm upwards between the titanium shaft and his body, maneuvering his hand and the spanner in place in order to access the fasteners properly. "Have you ever been to Denobula before, Lieutenant?"

"The planet? No, but I've been to Starbase 15 twice before," Yousef smirked, noticing the color change on the Ensign's handsome face. "I've always wanted to visit, but it looks like we won't have the time yet again. What about yourself? Ever made it to the planet?"

"Once, yeah... we made a stop there while I was on the Mariner," Kevin replied as he removed another fastener. "It was an interesting experience, for sure. I didn't know Denobulan culture had always been so open about polyamory and, uh, sexuality."

"Oh, is that so?" The Engineer replied coyly. Yousef pried the now unfastened cover loose and began tinkering with the regulator, "I may have heard something about their culture here and there. You know our Ship's Historian is a Denobulan, nice guy, more reserved than I expected, though. So, did you, uh, enjoy yourself on Denobula when you were there?"

"Lieutenant Relix? Yeah, he doesn't seem like your typical Denobulan," Kevin mused as he watched Yousef adjust the regulator. When the engineer mentioned his trip to Denobula, he tried to hide a coy smile. "Oh yeah... I had a great time. The Kaybin District could give Suraya Bay on Risa a run for its money." Before he could elaborate, Kevin's communicator issued two short chirps. "Ah, that would be my reminder to return to the bridge. How's the regulator coming along?"

The Engineer smiled as he lifted the cover back into place, "All is well. Your thruster should be functioning regularly now. I'll close this up and let you get back to work, Ensign." He began fastening the cover for a moment before pausing, "There is a bar on Starbase 15 I enjoy. I won't say which one, but if you find me, join me." Nibbling his lip, the senior Engineer winked at the departing Helmsman.

Kevin cleared his throat, the invitation having caught him by surprise, but was nonetheless a welcome surprise. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll take you up on that offer... if I find you," he said before he slid down the ladder and out of the hatch. As Yousef winked at him, he smiled slightly and admired the view from his angle, thinking to himself... Nice legs.