Stopping the Rain (part 1)

Posted on Thu Sep 3, 2020 @ 9:28am by Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca

1,213 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Arboretum
Timeline: MD06 1600 hours

ON

Brianthe and her team did as much as they could to repair the damage from the power failure, but there were problems with the irrigation system that needed ops. "Oaxaca to Wells. I'm calling in ops to fix the pipes. Thought you should know."

Alanna was grateful for an excuse to leave her office for a while. "Go ahead. I'll be right there." Since she knew the arboretum was in good hands, she'd focused on other parts of science. But this was a good opportunity to see what was going on and to disappear for awhile.

"Good. I'll bring out the cookies. Oaxaca out."

Ten minutes later, Alanna walked in and began to look at the damage and what had clearly been done to make repairs.

"The trees are fine, but we lost a third of the flowers and smaller shrubs," Brianthe said, walking up to her. "I'll show you what we've done."

She took Alanna around, pointing out what had been changed in the past few days.

Ace was not thrilled that he was being forced to work. Never mind that it was his job, he just would rather be pursuing anything else. But, if he wanted to have credits to either spend at the Box of Delights or do anything that resembled fun, he better at least put in the requisite effort. He strolled into the Arboretum casually, wondering what could be so vital to do here. It was just a bunch of plants. "Someone call for repairs?" Ace called out in a bored tone.

"Over here," Brianthe called from over near a bulkhead.

"Good. Even with the soaking, some rain would be nice," Alanna said, bending down to check the mulch.

When Ace got called over to the bulkhead, he had to stop for a moment and take in the beauty that was Brianthe. Well, perhaps this job will not be a complete loss, after all. He also took a look at Alanna, who was no slouch in the beauty department either. Perhaps I will have to visit the Arboretum more often. He gave the women a dashing smile. "How can I help you ladies today?"

Brianthe gave him one look and laughed, quickly taking his measure. Her laugh had a clear, bell-like ring to it. "I think a pipe is broken in the irrigation system. Could you take a look?"

Alanna tried very hard not to laugh, although her eyes sparkled with merriment at the roguish smile. "It happened when the station lost power."

Ace had to admit that he enjoyed Brianthe's laugh. Perhaps he would have to give her more to laugh about. "I would be happy to take a look for you." He then turned his gaze towards Alanna, "How long ago did the station lose power? I'm new here and it has not been out since my arrival. Also, generally a pipe does not break when there is a power loss. Something more would likely be wrong." He stretched his arms out and elongated himself, feeling very comfortable with these women. "I suppose that I should get up there, huh? I'll need one of you to be my assistant."

"It was four days ago. The entire station lost power," Alanna said.

"I am not sure what broke," Brianthe added. "It rained and we had to manually shut off the water. We've spent the past few days taking care of the plants."

"What sort of assistance do you need?" Alanna wasn't sure who would be better for the job. It would depend on what type of assistance was needed. Brianthe was better with plants and the irrigation system itself, but Alanna had worked in the field and was better at the more general repairs.

"Four days ago? Why did you wait so long to call? This should have been looked at long before I got here." Hastily he added, "Not that I mind." Ace looked at the women and asked, "Do you have a map of the system? Can you tell me the points where the problems start and end? I do not want to turn the water back on until the repair is complete."

"We waited this long because the station had a higher priority than we did," Alanna said.

"And we weren't sure of the extent of the damage until we'd taken care of the plants first," Brianthe continued. She pulled a PADD out of her pocket and handed it to Ace. "This shows the entire irrigation system and where the breaks are."

Ace listened somewhat astonished. They took care of the plants before asking for repairs? Whatever! "I see." He took the proffered PADD and looked at the irrigation system. "Breaks at junction L3, K4, K7, and M5." He told the girls, "Well, I'm going to get dirty. I'm going to need one of you to make sure that I don't hurt your plants and maybe the other to hold my tools. I may have to replicate some more hose and wires. Who knows until I get into it?"

"Whatever you need," Brianthe said.

Alanna nodded.

"Whatever, huh?" Ace asked. "I will keep that in mind." He gave Brianthe a sly smile and promptly wandered to where he believed that L3 was. There were plants all over this area. Ace asked, "What are these and how can I dig around them? Or do one of you want to do that?"

"I'll do it," Brianthe said, quickly moving in to protect her plants from potential damage. "That's a Kandalian blue loring." She gently moved the leaves aside to reveal the access panel on the wall. "You should be able to go in there. I've made sure there's enough space for you to work." A half meter of dirt lay between the plants and the bulkhead.

"I guess that means I hand him the tools," Alanna said.

Ace looked over at Brianthe and told her, "I appreciate your making space. I enjoy working in tight spots. Thank you for the access." Before slipping in, he then turned to Alanna who he decided was either clueless, dead, or taken. Either way, it really did not matter to him. "Yes, the tools are your department. Find a bipolar torch and a laser welder."

Brianthe was trying hard not to laugh. "Just be careful. Some of the plants will give you a nasty rash."

Alanna laughed as she pulled out the tools and handed them to Ace. "I hope they're good for you."

Ace smiled at Brianthe and replied, "That's why one always uses protection." He held a gloved hand out of the access panel just in time to receive the tools from Alanna, "We shall see if we can work the plumbing together. If not, I may have to take another approach."

"Oh, honey, where's the fun if you cover everything?" Brianthe said, laughing.

"My hand is everything?" Ace asked incredulously. "Funny, I never thought so," he told Brianthe playfully. He popped out of the access panel briefly and continued, "I will tell you what. At 1800 we can continue this riveting conversation at Giuliani's."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon
Hopeful Assistant Chief Operations Officer
Deep Space 5

 

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