Unexpectedly Out of Bounds

Posted on Tue Jun 3rd, 2025 @ 1:48am by Chief Petty Officer Chloe Delacroix & Lieutenant Commander Clay McEntyre

735 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X01: Bound for Cold Frontier
Location: Maintenance Tube 4-A
Timeline: Late Evening

Cid was halfway up a tube, humming to herself. She had had a difficult time getting a particular hatch open, but had managed to work around the obstruction and gotten it open. She was about to log it as "no longer jammed" when she heard someone scuffling inside the tube. Again? she thought to herself, shaking her head, figuring it was the Chief Engineer again.

She tucked her tablet into the front pocket of her coveralls, tightened her toolbelt, and turned, sliding down the ladder back to the deck, coming to a stop in front of a pair of unfamiliar knees. She looked up, up, up, up and up until she finally saw what appeared to be a face in the distance. "Hi! Geez, you're tall," she said, tilting her head all the way back.

Clay looked down. A stern look to his face. He was already physical imposing but the Security Armor he wore just made him even more intimidating as he looked down at this small woman crawling out of the maintenance tube.

"Name and Rank?" He asked in his "Command" tone. His Officer voice.

Cid stood up to her whole 4'10" height and gave a quick salute. "Damage Control Specialist, Chief Petty Officer Chloe Illaria Delacroix," she said. "But call me Cid, it's easier." She smiled up at him. "Good to meet you, Commander....?" she paused hoping he'd share his name.

"McEntyre." Clay replied, returning the salute and shifting to a more relax stance...well maybe less stern would be the correct turn of phrase as he crosses his arms. "What are you doing in this section?" He inquired.

"Finishing up my visual MAP inspection," Cid said, happily. "I told the Chief Engineer I'd be done before bed, and I pretty much am." She pulled her tablet out of her coveralls. "Just have to log in a stuck hatch I managed to unstick a minute ago, and then I can take one last looksie around the recreation areas and I'm done for the night."

"Which Hatch?" Clay asked, sternly. "You logged it on your tablet?" He further asked.

"Of course! All repairs require detailed notes about when and where so I know what's been patched and what needs it." She handed him the tablet. "It was port side, by the phaser banks. Someone, I think, decided to put a new hatch cover on some time ago, but the securing mechanism wasn't installed right on the spare hatch cover, so it wouldn't open. I managed to crack it though, and it works fine now. Although, given it's near the phaser banks, I should probably put in a work order to have a lock put on it."

Clay glared down at her, menacingly. "That was the security hatch for the phaser array service junction. Your "Repairs" triggered the internal security net. That lock worked as intended, only Authorized phaser crews are allowed to effect repair on any Phaser service junctions."

Cid stared at him as what he said processed. "Ohhhhhhhhh....." she said slowly. "Oops. In the blueprints back at U.P. that hatch is four meters further up." She gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry about that," she said, then lit up with a smile. "Oh! I should design a new locking mechanism, then! If I can make one that even I can't crack, I guarantee an intruder can't either," she said, excitedly.

Clay gave her a glare like a father would give a wayward child. "Still, I would insist you get permission from the Chief Engineer and Security before you go poking around Phaser Controls." Clay reminded.

"Roger that," Cid said, snapping a salute. She looked up at him with her brown eyes big and pleading. "So...as the official Security representative....is that a yes to a new locking mechanism?"

Clay gave the young chief “the look” again.

“If you clear it with the chief engineer first,” he said with a stern tone of seriousness.

Cid lit up like a table-top Christmas tree. "Deal!" she said, grinning. She held out a hand for her tablet. "Permission to return to work more carefully, Sir," she said, smiling.

The security officer nods. "Granted." He said before he turns on his heels and leaves the bouncy engineer to her work.
---
Lieutenant Commander Clay McEntyre
Chief of Security
U.S.S. Ark Royal

CPO Chloe Delacroix
Repair Specialist
U.S.S. Ark Royal

 

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