Minor Malfunction, Major Problem

[Pace 0]

Minor Malfunction, Major Problem

 

John stayed at his console in sickbay, monitoring the life signs of the away teams. Given his background in cellular studies, he yearned to observe the nanites at work repairing the Scorpiad vessel. But he had his orders. He was keeping close watch on all the away team personnel.

 

He could not believe that he was in the Gamma Quadrant, on a ship studying a completely organic vessel. He made a mental note to himself to begin writing a letter to his family and friends when his shift ended. Just as he was imagining how proud his parents would be, his console beeped in alarm.

 

Looking down, John watched as his readings showed Commander JoNs blood pressure sky rocket, and Lieutenant Garrison's readings cut out completely. John's jaw dropped, and before he could yell out to the rest of the Medical team, he noticed the yellow "error" warning flashing at the top of his console. Sighing with relief, he realized that his console was malfunctioning.

 

John reached up to tap his combadge and alert engineering/ops about the problem, but stopped at the last second. "I can fix this" he thought to himself, "I just need to stop, and think." John felt very aware that he was green, and everyone on the ship knew it. He wanted to prove to himself that he was a capable officer, and not just a kid with brains.

 

He began a quick diagnostic on the console. The computer quickly identified that two subroutines were causing a conflict. John realized that one of the parameters he had set up to alert him when something changed in the status of the away team was conflicting with an automatic subroutine with the same purpose. He quickly fixed the problem, and rebooted his console. "There, mini crisis averted" he said to himself, although very quietly so the counselor would not over hear.

 

John winced at his own foolishness for making such a rookie mistake. "Why do I make such dumb mistakes? I know I'm better than this!" The argument in his head continued a few seconds longer, until he snapped back to reality as Dr. Wydown walked past him. John decided that his new goal was to prove himself to his colleagues and his superiors. No matter how long it took.

 

Edited August 3, 2009 by Pace