Just Another Day

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11309.21)

 

 

John awoke from a deep sleep in his bed in his cabin. He looked at the chronometer,

and was a little startled to see he had slept nearly 10 hours. 'Man, I needed the rest,

though,' he thought to himself. He got out of bed, stretched, took off his pajamas, and

strode to the head to take a shower.

 

Some 20 minutes later, he finished his shower, stepped out, toweled off, and went back

to the bedroom to put on a duty uniform. He then went to the small galley, took his

breakfast drink out of the mini-fridge, poured a glass, and drank it down. He replaced

the concotion back into the mini-fridge, and strode to the door of the cabin. It swooshed

open as he approached, and he strode down the corridor to the turbolift. The car arrived,

and he stepped in. "Deck 12," he said, and the lift whisked him away.

 

The lift arrived, and he stepped out, striding down the corridor to the engineering door. It

whisked open as he arrived, and he strode into engineering. He acknowledged the hails

from his fellow engineers, and headed for the chief's office. He sat down at the desk, and

activated the computer, pulling up the reports that had accumulated while he was away.

 

He frowned at one report that said the radiation outside the ship was higher than normal;

he remembered they had gone into a nebula to look for a planet that was reported to be

there. It could have been the destination of the ship they were trying to find: the USS

Copernicus. He reached over, and thumbed the 'comm button. "Engineering to bridge,"

he said. He waited a few seconds, getting no answer, and tried again. A few seconds passed,

and there was still no answer. He shook his head, got up out of the chair, and exited the

office, heading for the main console.

 

His friend Jeff Michaels was there, and he sat down next to his friend. "Hey, Jeff," he said, and

his friend turned to acknowledge him, smiling. "Have you tried to contact the bridge?" John

asked. Michaels nodded. "Yeah, tried to about an hour ago," he replied. "Didn't get a response,

they must be working on the 'comm, or something." Randall nodded. "Well, I hope they've noticed

the increased radiation outside the ship," he said. "If it begins to leak through, the doctor is

gonna become busy."

 

Michaels nodded. "Yeah, but when the 'comm's down, it's hard to tell anybody," he said. John

nodded. "Yep, know what you mean," he said. "What's been going on down here?" Michaels

started to answer, and the 'comm crackled with a very faint transmission. "Well, well," said the

ensign. "Go ahead, Lieutenant, I can wait," he finished. John thought the transmission had

come from the bridge, but, as he started to punch the button to try to answer, a roar of static

came over the 'comm, and he pulled his hand back, looking wryly at Michaels. "Hm, maybe

not," he said, and both men grinned. "Well, let's see what you got, ensign," John said.

 

Michaels nodded, and pulled up the reports on his monitor. John moved his chair over to have

a look, and saw one or two that hadn't made it to the chief's computer yet, and he read those.

As he finished, his communicator chirped; he reached around, and brought it out, flipping it

open. "Randall here," he said, and the voice of his friend Steve Davis came over the speaker.

"Hey, Lieutenant," he said. "I'll be on duty in a few, sir," he finished. "Take your time," replied

Randall. "No rush. Randall out." He flipped the communicator shut, and looked at Michaels.

"Well, the communicators seem to be working, anyway," he grinned, and Michaels grinned back.

 

"Yeah, must just be us," the ensign replied. Randall returned the grin, and said, "I guess they've

got it took care of on the bridge. Oh well," and he trailed off as he suddenly thought of something.

He reached over, and activated the department 'comm. "This is Randall," he said, and the

engineering crew looked up from their stations. "Be careful, everyone, about getting too close to

the outer hull walls. There is increased radiation outside, so try to stay as much to the interior of

the ship as you can. If you have to be near the outer hull wall, it might be a good idea to put on a

rad suit. That is all, Randall out."

 

He then looked at Michaels. "Is there any indication that the shields have been raised, Jeff?" he

asked. The ensign pulled up a program on his monitor, and, a few seconds later, nodded. "It says

here that the shields are at 95%, John," he reported. "Maybe they did raise them." Randall nodded,

and shrugged. "Well, with the 'comm down, we're in our own little world down here," he said.

"Tell you what, I'm gonna grab my kit, and go check the generators. When Steve gets here, send

him to the warp core panel, all right?" "Will do, Lieutenant," replied Michaels, and John nodded

at him. He got up from his chair, and went to his locker to grab his toolkit. He strapped it on, and

went to the warp core elevator. He ascended to the top deck of engineering, and went out into the

narrow corridor. He strode down it to the generator room, used his engineering card to gain access,

and went inside.

 

He approached the port side generator, and studied the panel for a few seconds. He then selected

some tools from his kit, and bent down to the generator. About 30 minutes later, he straightened,

and looked at the panel. He nodded, and walked over to the starboard generator. He repeated the

same procedure, and, another half hour later, straightened to look at the panel. He started to push

the 'comm button, then realized he probably wouldn't get through to the bridge, and shook his head.

He whipped out his communicator, and turned the dial slightly. "Randall to Michaels," he said. A few

seconds later, his friend answered. "Michaels here." "How's the shield efficiency now, Jeff?" asked

the lieutenant. "It says 98% now, sir," replied Michaels. John nodded to himself. "All right, Jeff, that's

all I can do here," he said. "Returning to the main console. Randall out."

 

He flipped the communicator shut, replaced hs tools, and exited the room. He strode down the

corridor to the elevator. He stepped in, and descended to the ground floor of engineering. He then

made his way back to the main console.

 

 

END LOG