Makan Me (Backpost)

Posted on Monday October 20, 2025 @ 11:03pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Makan & Lieutenant Michael Caulfield

705 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Frontier
Location: Engineering
Timeline: After Reporting In

Michael walked into Engineering with a spring in his step. He loved stepping into a new engine room, taking a breath and seeing what the new place had to offer. This one had recently been cleaned, so it was mostly solvents and that odd, almost cinnamon scent that the designers of the solvents thought would mask the aroma of their product, instead just making it smell like solvent with cinnamon. He shrugged, knowing that scent would fade away in a week, especially with a few dozen people milling about.

He stopped an ensign passing by and asked where he could find Officer Makan. The ensign pointed him in the direction of one of the rear stations by the warp core and Michael made a bee-line for it.

As he approached, he saw someone working there, breathing apparatus on his back. Michael walked up and cleared his throat politely. "Officer Makan?"

The Zanarite turned and looked at the man that approached him. The Boatswain was Acting Chief Operations Officer and was in charge of the operations department. Until that moment, he was awaiting the Chief Engineer to arrive so he was also helping run engineering to get the ship ready. He faced the man, whom he knew was the new Chief Engineer. "Yes?"

"Michael Caulfield. I'm the ship's new Chief Engineer. I understand you've been helping to give me a head start on things," he said, grinning.

"Yes." Makan nodded as he punched in another commander into the console. "Warp core is at 97.9845% efficiency. The impulse engines could use some work. only at 92.3274%. That could be because of the mass of this ship." The Zanarite handed a PADD to the Chief Engineer, "Your crew is very efficient. I wouldn't worry about how they are going to do for you."

"High praise," Michael said, nodding and looking over the padd. "I'll have a look through the impulse engines shortly. I need to assemble a team and do a crawl through of some of the finer points on the ship. Any surprises so far? Screens not displaying, power fluctuations, doors not opening, that sort of thing?"

"Sickbay reported a biobed not scanning properly. The cargo transporter in Cargo Bay 5 was experiencing intermittent power loss. Security reported a phaser locker not... unlocking. A door on deck 32 was opening and closing very fast and I quote 'Like a Klingon eating heart of Targ.'" The Zanarite did air quotes with his fingers.

"Well, there's a mental image," Michael said with a wry grin. "All right, I'll add those to my honey-do list. I really appreciate your help," he said. "If you need anything, just ask."

"Same to you Lieutenant. I am here if you need something." The Zanarite said. "I am leaving engineering...." An alarm started blasting from the panel that Makan was standing at. Turning around, he looked to see what it was. "What the... There is a plasma leak in section 4."

Michael looked over his shoulder and quickly tapped his combadge. "Computer, evacuate Deck Four, Section Three and shut down power to that section."

"Acknowledged," the computer said.

Michael speed walked to a tool locker and grabbed a repair kit. "All right, teambuilding exercises will have to wait. I'll be on deck four getting this thing locked down before we get a fire on our hands."

Makan nodded as the man ran off. He went back to monitor the situation.

Michael put his fingers to his mouth and let out a whistle. "Heads up! I'm Michael Caulfield, new Chief Engineer. Good to meet you all eventually. I need two volunteers," he shouted as heads turned towards him. Two hands went up and he pointed at the first one. "Grab a station. There's a plasma leak on deck four. I'm heading up before it gets out of hand. Monitor from down here. If you notice anything else in that section, let me know," Michael said, then pointed at the second guy. "Start a deck-by-deck scan. I want to know if we're going to have any more leaks to plug. I'll be on deck four." His attention now focused on the task at hand, he crossed Engineering and stepped into a turbolift. "Deck four," he said as the doors closed.

 

RSS Feed