A frustrated Ensign

Posted on Mon May 29th, 2017 @ 5:59am by Lieutenant Beowulf "Wulf" Byrnes

Mission: Down on the Upside
Location: main engineering
Timeline: somewhere in-between

ON:

Coming back into engineering, clean and in a fresh uniform and engineer's vest, Wulf saw Sicily standing bent at the waist at the main table. The 'pool table', as it was affectionately known by engineers throughout Starfleet, gave up to the moment reports on systems and problems detected. He could tell that Sirico had been stressed over being put in charge, and he knew the common mistake. He had done the same thing as a Lt.(jg), never having seen ensign since his academy scores provided him with a promotion right out of the gate. He strolled on over and saw a lock of black hair hanging down in front of Cristina's left eye, which she kept blowing out of the way every few seconds. "Well, we're all still here. Glad you didn't blow anything up, Sicily."

Sirico stood up straight, looking him straight in the eye. "That was a shitty thing to do to me, Sir."

"What, put you in charge?" Byrnes gave a stern look. "Welcome to Starfleet, and the life of an engineer. When shit goes down we're expected to fix it, no matter what. When I go down I like to know that those beneath me can take the reins and win the day. I suggest you park the attitude, Ensign."

Sirico gave a sigh, the shoulders visibly relaxing. "Apologies, Sir. Just a tad frustrated. This isn't as easy as I expected."

Byrnes grinned. "That right there is your problem. You have expectations as to how things should go. The thing that screws us up most in life is how things are SUPPOSED to be, not how they are." Dropping the lecture and changing direction, he asked. "So, what has your panties in a bunch?"

"I can't seem to stay caught up," replied Sirico. "I get one thing fixed and another pops up. This place is one giant headache."

Wulf gave a chuckle as he moved around beside her, pointing to the readouts on the table. "Okay, now you will learn how to prioritize. See this?" He got a nod so continued. "That's a personal replicator for someone's quarters." He swiped it off to the side. "Personal shit comes last. It has no bearing on our readiness. EPS and the Tachyon grid need to be maintained. If those Tachyons get inside the station we're gonna have people dropping left and right. Matthews is the OPS chief, so over here," he pointed to a section. "This is the OPS panel for power allocation and resources. That's her job, resource management, and why they too wear gold. Operations is all of us together."

"I get all that, Sir." Sirico was looking anxious again.

"Relax, Sicily." Wulf put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly as he looked her in the eyes. "You held it down, Sirico. You had too many teams out fixing minor problems, but you had it covered. Weapons, shields, EPS, and life support. Those take priority. Everything else can wait. In the academy our training is mainly in starships. Bases are a whole different animal. You'll get the hang of it as we go. Find your confidence, know you can do the job, and you'll be able to relax and think on your feet."

Sirico had been staring into his eyes, completely attentive to what he had to say. Once he paused she blinked her eyes and gave a grin. "I'll improve, Sir."

Byrnes grinned in return. "I have no doubts. Now, go relax and enjoy your time off."

"Thanks, Sir," said Sirico as she spun on her heel. Getting over to the main entry she suddenly half-turned, looking back. "And they're ladies boxer briefs, just so you know."

Wulf had been looking at a data readout, half listening, looking up at her. "What?"

Sirico poked her right butt cheek with her index finger. "I don't wear panties while in uniform." With that said she stuck her tongue out playfully and walked out.

Byrnes shook his head, chuckling as he looked back to his work. "The people I work with, I tell ya..."

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