"In Case of Alien Incursion"

[Mark Garrison 0]

"In Case of Alien Incursion"

 

 

Deck Five, Section 25, near Jefferies hatch 11

 

 

Mark crouched over, examining the small entry into the ships Jefferies network. He slid his hand against the metal, comparing his notes. This one would have to be reinforced as well. The Lieutenant stood and turned a corner, heading to his next destination, Jefferies hatch 12. Four and a half decks of complete survey and coverage including counter boarding plans weren't bad for the two weeks he'd already been on the ship. Starfleet of course had its own plans and methods for defending against hostile boarder, but from what Mark had seen in his time with the Fleet, these plans were often inefficient and wasted valuable man power.

 

 

Hence, Mark had spent every moment that wasn't filled by sleeping and shift duty to walking the ship, learning its finer nuances, and figuring out how to defend them. He walked past his quarters as he reached hatch 12, examining it for a second before writing something down in his notes. Deck 5 hadn't raised any flags yet, mainly because there was little of vital importance on this level besides secondary Cargo Bays. Decks 6 through 9 would be a different story however. The primary computer core took up those three decks, along with the primary cargo bay and stellar cartography. These three decks had already been labeled primary targets and would have to be treated as such when he made his rounds.

 

 

Even more important however were decks 14 through 16 and deck 18 as well. Decks 14 through 16 held engineering in all its glory, and destructive capabilities. Within were contained all three levels of engineering, all of the ships fusion reactors, all her armories excluding the marines, deflector and tractor control, environmental control and the secondary computer core. There was little that couldn't be used there to control or destroy the entire ship. Deck 18 also contained secondary environmental controls along with deuterium and anti matter storage, which was always useful if you wanted to put a large dent in the ship, to put it lightly.

 

 

He rounded another corner to find two engineers debating about the handling of some technical issue. A perfect opportunity for the second phaser of his research.

 

 

"No Dawkins, I'm telling you it can't be the gel packs, there's no way they could do something like this."

 

 

Mark slid up besides the two, with his command face on. "Ensigns."

 

 

The both of them, a Human and an Andorian both snapped out of their two person universe. Ensign Dawkins, the Human was quicker to react however. "Lieutenant, what can we do for you?"

 

 

Mark suppressed a smirk as he put on his best face of embarrassment and confusion. "Well. This is a little difficult to admit, but…I'm lost. I'm trying to get to main engineering; I have a few papers to deliver to Commander Admiran." He quickly gestured his notes. "I've only been here a little while and I have to admit I'm not familiar with the Akira Class…"

 

 

For being such young officers they held their faces well. Mark had observed that a large majority of engineers considered themselves Lord and Master of their ships, regardless of rank or position. They knew where everything was, how it worked, and how to put it back together. A full Lieutenant asking for directions probably made their day.

 

 

Dawkins spoke up first. "Well the easiest way would be to use the main turbo lift, which is back that 'a ways." He gestured behind his shoulder with this thumb.

 

 

Before Mark could say anything the Andorian officer spoke up. "No no, that won't work at all; he'll spend at least ten minutes waiting for a lift this time of day. Sir, what you'll want to do is head down this corridor, there's a secondary lift access there. Take that to deck 10 where it ends. Then head over to section 12, there's another lift there that can take you down to deck 15 where main engineering is located. Commander Admiran should be there."

 

 

Garrison nodded. "Alright, I should be able to manage that. Thank you Ensigns, as you were."

 

 

He walked down the hall the Andorian had instructed him to until he was out of eye sight, and began to jot in his notes. This was the second part of his research, alternate routes through the ship. While the main turbo lift was the most direct way to anything on the ship, it was also the least convenient because everyone in their right mind used it. Everyone with half a mind developed their own ways of getting where they needed without waiting a lifetime for a lift like the Andorian had said. So every once in a while he would stop and ask random crewmen their opinions on how to reach key areas in the ship from where they were. It would help him form routes of defense, and what path intruders might take to avoid detection.

 

 

He had to admit, it was slightly amusing as well. As far as those unsuspecting crew were concerned he owed all the department heads a plethora of status reports and other odd papers, Medical might think he was walking around with three broken bones and a hang nail, but none of that topped science. Commander Teykier was probably still waiting for his report on a class II comet the Excalibur had passed two days ago. The young science officer had given him very good directions, and had even said he'd tell the Commander to expect Garrison a little late. The young man had obviously either ignored or didn't notice that Mark was, in fact a security officer.

 

 

He chuckled as he made another turn, instead deciding to head to the officers lounge for a small meal before bed. Heck, maybe there was someone there he could convince he was the Captain, fangs and all. And if he was really lucky he could find an excellent route to the waste management systems.

Edited December 14, 2007 by Mark Garrison