=Deck 12= =U.S.S. Chimera= Rick watched as the base engineering team did their work. While he didn’t approve of the modifications, he was impressed with their efforts and efficiency. They had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in. “Baby sitting?” came a voice from behind Rick, who was studying some schematics of the lower shield controls on a data padd. Rick was so involved in the work at hand that he didn’t hear anyone approach. He spun his head around to see Hector Gomez. “What are you doing here?” Rick said. “I thought you were working on tuning the sensors in with the modifications.” “We finished 10 minutes ago,” Hector said with a smile. “I thought you’d be done down here a half hour ago.” Rubbing his eyes, Rick returned the smile to his old friend from the academy. So far, it had been a long day and it wasn’t even halfway finished. “We’ll wrap up here in a couple minutes,” Rick said, looking over his padd once more. “While we’re in a hurry, we’re trying not to rush things. Taking a few extra minutes could be a big difference down the road.” Rick deactivated his padd and focused on Hector. “Besides, I’m going to be on this ship when these modifications are put to the test for real,” Rick continued. “It would be a bad ride and make for an even worse day if anything went wrong.” “Oh, I couldn’t agree more,” Hector said. “I’d hate to be on this ship if there was even a minor problem with our work.” “Well, fortunately for you, you won’t have to ...”Rick said, before catching Hector grinning in a way that he hadn’t saw since Rick’s second-year at the academy. “What? What are you up to?” “I will be on this ship,” Hector said, almost laughing at Rick’s confused look. “I’ve been trying to get transferred to starship duty since I arrived at Bragg. My orders came through a couple of days ago.” “You mean ...” “You betcha,” Hector said. “There was an opening on the Chimera so, since I had a couple of years already under my belt, my transfer request was finally accepted.” Rick considered this for a moment. “You said a couple of days ago,” Rick said. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner.” Hector laughed. “I wouldn’t have missed this look on your face for all the ale on Romulus,” Hector explained. “Waiting a day before we shipped off seemed to be a better time to break the news. Of course, not telling you until after we shipped off would’ve been better. But, you would’ve probably found out on your own and what would’ve been the fun in that?” “I’ve been so busy the past couple of days, I probably wouldn’t have noticed for a couple of month,” Rick said. “I doubt that,” Hector said, before changing the subject. “Hey, I’m taking one of the bees out in a couple of minutes to check the work being done to the nacelles. You want to tag along?” “I don’t know,” Rick said. “We’re beginning work on the field coils in an hour and ...” “Don’t worry,” Hector said. “We’re be done with our trip well before then.” Rick watched as the last of the work on the lower shield controls were finished. They wrapped up and headed for lunch, not paying Rick any mind. They exchanged pleasantries with Hector before leaving. “Sure,” Rick finally said. “But I’m driving. If I recall, during our training exercises on the bees back at the academy, you were a terrible pilot. You kept bumping into the ship.” “Hey, I’ve gotten better,” Hector said, acting hurt. “But, if you want to fly us around, fine. It will allow me to focus more on the nacelles.” With that, they headed for the starbase to find a free worker bee. Ensign Rick Rodgers Assistant Engineering Officer U.S.S. Chimera Ensign Hector Gomez (npc) Assistant Engineering Officer U.S.S. Chimera