Stopping the Rain (part 2)

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

1,209 words; about a 6 minute read

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

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

"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."

[NEW]


"Who said I was talking about your hand?" she replied coyly. "Dinner will depend on how well you perform on the pipes."

"Should I start quoting Shakespeare?" Alanna asked. "This is beginning to remind me of a scene from Taming of the Shrew."

"I can assure you, I know how to handle the pipes and how to plug leaks," Ace shot back from behind the panel. Alanna and Brianthe could hear the hum and feel heat coming from behind the panel as Ace worked.

The two women looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Ace popped out and said to Alanna, "I need a duonetic coupler. I have to adjust the piping a bit more to make sure that everything meshes."

"Yes, I would definitely prefer that things mesh well," she said dryly, handing him the coupler.

From behind the panel, Alanna and Brianthe could hear some more noises, smell some heat, and then it all stopped. "One down, three to go." He gave the women a smile and handed all the tools to Alanna nonchalantly. "So, lead me on," he told Brianthe.

Brianthe smiled blithely. "I thought I was." She turned and headed for the next break.

Alanna laughed as she gathered the tools and followed.

Ace shrugged at Brianthe and simply replied, "Perhaps you should think again." He gave her a devil-may-care grin and asked Alanna, "Still with us?"

Unfortunately. "Oh yes, I'm keeping up."

Wishing that Alanna was not, he merely remained silent and asked, Brianthe, "So, I need another access panel. Do you have it nearby so I can make the next repair?"

"Right here." Brianthe indicated a small opening between two trees. "The panel is on the bulkhead. "You should be able to get both K4 and K7 from here."

Brianthe was like a cat playing with a mouse. Alanna wasn't sure how long it would be before her friend grew bored with the game. Still, it was amusing to watch; and, since Erich's departure, her friend had been too somber.

"So, this time I do not have to have you move bushes for me," Ace told Brianthe. "That's convenient." He then gave a smile and a wink at Alanna and said, "Two for one. Not a bad deal, huh?" He kept his back to Alanna as he maneuvered to the access panel and finally pushed it aside with a loud grunt of effort.

"Sounds like it's too much for you," Brianthe said, grinning at Alanna.

"Hardly. It was just stuck from disuse. I should have given it a little lubricant before I tried to force it," Ace shot back. He looked at Alanna and said, "Stand by. I'm sure I'll have some use for you in a moment." He ducked back in the access panel and started rooting about inside.

"It gets used at least once a week," Brianthe said. "It never gave me issues until the other day."

Refusing to allow the opportunity to go by, Ace popped back out and told Brianthe, "Sounds like it might need some special attention. I'll carefully inspect it for you."

"Thanks, but I can assure you that it's fully functional."

"I think a second opinion is warranted. After all, you said it never gave you issue until the other day." He clucked once and told Alanna, "Alright, give me what you got."

Alanna handed him one of the tools he used before. "I think you can only handle one at a time."

"I'm extraordinary at multitasking," Ace replied giving Alanna a knowing wink.

She shook her head. "I'll take your word for it."

Mentally shrugging off Alanna blowing him off, he gave Brianthe another wink before disappearing behind a console again. He called out to Alanna, "I need the other tools. Don't leave me hanging here. I need you to come in."

"Any specific tools?" she asked, "Or do I just start handing them to you?"

"Just give me what you got," Ace replied in retort. "Can you handle it?" he asked.

"Oh, I can handle it," she said, laughing. "I'm not so sure you can." She handed him one tool, then another.

Brianthe just shook her head and laughed.

"Doubt me? Try it," Ace replied with a grin, as he reached to take a tool. When he saw that he had a laser welder, he put it to the side, shaking his head. He then took the bipolar torch that was proffered him and focused his concentration as he cut through a bad section of the piping. Water then came gushing out of the now exposed pipe and fell on his head. "Now, just to replicate this junction..." he said to nobody in particular as he came out of the access panel and started to look around for the closest replicator.

"No, thanks. I have a wonderful man in my life. Besides, it appears you have trouble dealing with your tools."

Ace gave Alanna a smirk. "This is what happens when you have a backup. Someone lets it loose and gets it all wet." He then turned to Brianthe and gave her a smarter grin. "Though, a towel might be nice. Think you could replicate one of those while I replicate the junction pipes?"

"I'm not really sure,," Brianthe said, her tone dry. "But I'm sure if I push enough buttons, I'll figure it out." She grinned at Alanna and telepathically wished her luck as she headed to the workroom for a towel.

Silently, Ace chastised himself. He should have sent Alanna for the towel but alas, he was left with Alanna who seemed quite attached to whatever guy she had around this station. At least he had a hook up scheduled with Brianthe later in the evening. He told the computer to replicate the appropriate junction pipes. It took more than the usual second, but eventually they materialized. "I might have to look at that later, too," Ace complained. Well, there was no work order in for that, so he was not about to do it right now. "So, what's your story?" Ace finally asked Alanna as he was heading back to the troublesome K4 and K7 with a large cross section of pipe.

"My story?" She shrugged. " I was born on a small Betazoid colony, I grew up on earth, studied history and archaeology and then joined Starfleet. What about you?"

"Nothing special. Terran, middle child, got bored and joined Starfleet," Ace returned with a shrug as he went back to the access panel.

Bet he's still bored, Alanna thought. "What part of earth?"

Right? came the lighthearted reply from Brianthe as she returned. "Here," she said, handing Ace the towel. Why he didn't use the one here, I don't know. she thought to Alanna.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Deep Space 5

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

 

RSS Feed