How Bad Was The Boom?

Posted on Sat Nov 18th, 2023 @ 7:41am by Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII

Mission: Character Development
Location: Deck 1 :: Ready Room
Timeline: Late morning, after "Slap on the Wrist"
1110 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

It took little effort to figure out that Finn was inspecting the ready room, so Zade headed up to the bridge to get the verdict from her. The Trill was still a bit flustered from this morning, and she downed enough coffee to keep a migraine at bay, but there was still an air of seriousness around her as she exited the turbolift.

The gaping hole in the side of the bridge reminded her of the boarding parties, but she never actually saw the extent of the damage, just the destroyed wall. The debris that had flown onto the bridge had long been cleaned up, and there was a new door leaning against a still-standing part of the wall. Spotting Finn coming out of the room with something in her hands, Zade gave her a brief nod and approached the hole in the wall. "Hey," Zade said, when Finn got closer. "How bad is it?"

"Not so bad, we'll have it fixed up in another day or two," Finn smiled. "I see there's been a jail break? Or did you get out early for good conduct?"

"It wasn't for long. It was basically a warning." Accepting a PADD from a security officer, Zade skimmed the report. It was stuff she could read during her shift, since being on the bridge while at spacedock was, well, pointless. If anything, she wanted to work somewhere that wasn't in her office, not after the tension left behind from the last security meeting with Zora. Simply put, she wanted to be available yet out of the way, and her post on the bridge seemed like the best place to do it. Looking back up, her eyes stopped on the object in Finn's hands hands before looking up at her quizzically. "What even is that?"

"Sub-micron scanner. We just finished putting in new power cells in the room and this sucker," she held up the device, "ensures that they're all working properly. What are you doing up here on the bridge? Don't you usually take most of your shift from security?"

"Wanted a change of scenery," the Trill replied simply. It was a succinct reply, prompting an air of silence for a moment before she continued. "I can do what I need to from my station on the bridge." Zade's gaze went past the engineer, toward the hole in the wall. "I also never got a chance to see the damage after the explosion, and I got curious."

Finn watched as Zade looked at the damage, noting what looked like a possible hint of remorse. "Don't worry about it, seriously," Finn smiled. "I was mostly joking when I said an idiot blew up the ready room. Honestly, I'm glad for the work. It keeps me busy." The engineer shrugged. "Wanna lend a hand?" She threw a scanner towards Zade without waiting for a response and started back to scanning. "How are you doing after your ordeal with Zora? I imagine whatever beating you got couldn't have been easy to deal with."

Zade tensed when she saw a scanner coming at her, frowning when her reflexes reached out to catch it but missed, the tool instead bouncing off her fingers. Another attempted reach for the tool ended with it on the floor, and Zade sighed before kneeling to pick it up. She followed Finn and looked around the room. There was a radial scorch mark on the carpet near the window that hinted to the resting spot of the explosive. Several wall panels were open, exposing power cells and other wiring. Against the far wall was a new desk, waiting to be put in place. "Not as bad as I expected it to be," Zade responded. It was unclear if she was responding to the state of the ready room or to Finn's question about Zora. Following Finn's lead, the Trill began scanning as well, "what am I looking for?"

"Power emissions at one hundred percent. Anything less would indicate an issue. "So clearly you lot had fun while I was away?" She raised a brow at the damage in the room. "What exactly happened?"

With a brief nod, Zade adjusted the settings. "We were sent on a mission to investigate pirate raids to a station, then fought the pirates. The Alpha section got boarded, and one of the bridge intruders had a photon grenade that activated while I was securing them. There wasn't enough time to transport it off the ship, so I used the ready room to dispose of it." The Trill ventured into the room, letting the scanner hover along the power cells. "It was better than it going off on the bridge."

"I guess you're right," Finn finished scanning her set of power cells and replaced the panel in the wall. "I'm a little jealous that I wasn't there for the action."

"Shouldn't have run off, then."

Normally, Zade would have had the better judgement to think about her words before saying them, but with the mood she was in this morning, it escaped her. She cringed when she realized what she said, and more specifically how she said it. Sharp. "Sorry, Commander," Zade added, eyes still focused on the scanner.

"Fair play," Finn shrugged it off even though the comment had actually struck deep. She wondered how many more thought she'd just run off and abandoned them.

"Well," Finn turned off the scanner. "I think I'm about done here for now. Those power cells should be good if you haven't gotten an abnormal reading yet." She half smiled. It was clear that Zade wasn't in the best of moods and after that verbal jab, Finn decided she wasn't terribly interested in continuing conversation either. At least the timing had worked out well enough for an exit.

Zade finished scanning the power cells before deactivating the device and returning it to Finn, opting to hand it to her instead of toss it. "Glad I could help." The guilt from the jab settling in the Trill's stomach prompted her to add, "I do mean my apology, Commander. I don't know why you left, and it's wrong of me to assume."

"It's not undeserved," Finn shrugged, hiding any unease that she felt. "Besides, I'm sure there are much worse thoughts out there on my departure," she half chuckled, hoping to put the Trill at ease even if it wasn't entirely truthful. Regardless, she felt desperate to get out. She somehow felt claustrophobic at thought of remaining in the room and confronting further allegations or questions. "Have a good afternoon, Zade." Finn half waved and exited without wasting any time or waiting on a response.