Title: S310A Simile Author: ZenosParadox Rating: PG
Summary: RS. Reed and Sato obtain samples from substance attaching to the hull. Missing scene for Similitude, Episode 10, season 3.
Notes: Mild spoilers for Similitude. Written November 26, 2003. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
SIMILE
"It looks ugly, doesn't it?" asked Ensign Sato as she approached Lieutenant Reed. She had found him staring out the window of the observation lounge. The particulate matter that was attaching to the hull could clearly be seen on the nacelles from his vantage.
"It's like an invasion of Trip's territory," responded Reed quietly. He bowed his head as the phrase escaped him. He thought of Trip Tucker, the Chief Engineer, who was barely alive in sickbay. "He'd be upset to see his ship's beauty marred like this. He works so hard to keep her pristine."
"It reminds me of the cancer that killed my grandfather. It made me feel helpless to watch him fade away, but I still went to sit by his side every day." Sato's voice held no censure, although she knew Reed had stubbornly avoided sickbay since Trip had been injured.
"But does it help to watch someone you--you love die?"
"You're feeling helpless about Trip?" asked Hoshi and Malcolm responded with an immediate nod. That was all he could do at the moment.
"Not as bad as the Captain or T'Pol, but with all my crew working on the engines, there's not much for me to do. We can't simply blast our way out of this."
"Do we even know what's out there attaching to the ship? Hasn't T'Pol--"
"She's been too preoccupied with the engines to think about doing more than superficial scans of the substance. Same with the Captain."
Sato was quiet for just one moment as she realized the grief these people carried was like a dark cloud affecting the judgment of her superior officers. She gave a sideward glance to Reed and straightened her shoulders. If he lashed out, she would just have to take it--and put extra salt in his soup the next time they had dinner.
The Ensign adopted a soldier's posture and tone of voice. "Forgive me for speaking freely, sir, but what the hell are you doing brooding in here when you could be out there taking scans and getting a sample? You have the authority to order your own investigation I believe."
Reed turned to look at the insubordinate officer with a reprimand on his lips, but she met his steady gaze. Her words sunk in and he could have kicked himself. He folded his arms across his chest and had the barest hint of a smile on his face.
"You're right, Ensign, and thank you for volunteering. Suit up and meet me in 30 minutes. We'll investigate the hull. Dismissed."
Sato closed her mouth, gave a quick nod and walked away. Leave it to Reed to turn the tables on her, but her step was sprightly. The sense of purpose washed over her.
-----
"It's a very strong magnet, but what about this section? It doesn't look as thick," said Sato through the comm link in her EV suit. She and Reed had been on the hull for the past 15 minutes and had completed their detailed scans. When it came time to collect an actual sample, they had been frustrated, however.
Reed tapped at the bulge that rested on the hull with the small hammer. He took out his laser and tried to cut it. It remained stubbornly inert. "It might be thinner, but it's not budging, either."
Sato approached the protuberance and kicked at it. She saw Reed's helmet turn her direction from where he knelt by their intended specimen. Reed could see her shrug through the EV suit as her voice said, "It was worth a try."
"I'd like nothing better than to blast it with a phase rifle," muttered Reed as Sato knelt by his side.
"I'll go get one if you think there's half a chance of it working," offered Sato offhandedly.
"Very well. I'll stay here and see if I get any further. Be sure to get one that's fully charged."
"You really think it will work? I was just joking."
"Even if we don't get a sample, I'll feel better," said Reed honestly.
"All right, but I get to take a shot at it, too, sir."
"Request granted, Ensign, now hurry up."
-----
"Travis checked it out. It's fully charged."
Sato appeared by Reed with the rifle in her hands. Mayweather had procured it from the Armory and met her at the hatch with a word about taking a shot for him.
"Good, now stand behind me and hold on to me. The phase blast is likely to send me backwards even with the magnets on our boots."
Sato took a firm hold of Reed's EV suit and felt the recoil as he blasted the sample.
"It worked!" The officers were elated.
"Sort of," added Reed.
Sato peeked around his shoulders to see the piece settle again against the hull.
Reed muttered, "Damn magnet."
"If one of us catches it when it becomes detached--"
"That could work. All right, you get to take your shot," said Reed as he gave Sato the weapon.
Sato took the rifle and swallowed as she realized what she had to do. "Sir, you're sure about this?"
"It's a stationary target, Ensign. Your marksmanship easily qualifies you for the task," said Reed as he pulled the retracting line from the legs of her EV suit. "We'll anchor you to the hull to account for the recoil, though."
Reed quickly had Sato's lines tied to bolts on the hull. As he assumed his position on the other side of the intended sample, he said, "By the way, if I ever did anything to offend you, please forgive me."
Sato nodded inside of her helmet, but before she raised the rifle to take the shot, she asked, "Was my soup really salty when I helped Chef out last year?"
She could see Reed's helmet turn up to her, although she didn't see his face clearly.
"You know, I don't really remember. Perhaps you should make the recipe again and I'll try it."
"Good enough," responded Sato as she quickly made her shot. The Lieutenant has excellent hands, she thought as he quickly captured the specimen.
"Nice work, Ensign. Uh, you can put the rifle away now," said Reed.
"Travis wanted me to take a shot for him."
"Well, we could use another sample. Aim at this one here. Good, now let's--" Reed was interrupted again.
"Don't you think I should take a shot for the Captain and T'Pol?"
"No, I think I should take a shot for the Captain and T'Pol."
"All right. And one for Porthos, too."
"And I think we each need to take one for Trip," said Malcolm. He could see Hoshi grinning her approval. The Chief Engineer would have liked the tribute.
The officers went about collecting their samples. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.
*****
If I have strayed from the details about the specimen collection, the forgive me. I just remembered that Reed had been in charge of acquiring the sample and that a rifle had been used. Hope it works.
Thanks for reading. No reviews are necessary.
Summary: RS. Reed and Sato obtain samples from substance attaching to the hull. Missing scene for Similitude, Episode 10, season 3.
Notes: Mild spoilers for Similitude. Written November 26, 2003. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
SIMILE
"It looks ugly, doesn't it?" asked Ensign Sato as she approached Lieutenant Reed. She had found him staring out the window of the observation lounge. The particulate matter that was attaching to the hull could clearly be seen on the nacelles from his vantage.
"It's like an invasion of Trip's territory," responded Reed quietly. He bowed his head as the phrase escaped him. He thought of Trip Tucker, the Chief Engineer, who was barely alive in sickbay. "He'd be upset to see his ship's beauty marred like this. He works so hard to keep her pristine."
"It reminds me of the cancer that killed my grandfather. It made me feel helpless to watch him fade away, but I still went to sit by his side every day." Sato's voice held no censure, although she knew Reed had stubbornly avoided sickbay since Trip had been injured.
"But does it help to watch someone you--you love die?"
"You're feeling helpless about Trip?" asked Hoshi and Malcolm responded with an immediate nod. That was all he could do at the moment.
"Not as bad as the Captain or T'Pol, but with all my crew working on the engines, there's not much for me to do. We can't simply blast our way out of this."
"Do we even know what's out there attaching to the ship? Hasn't T'Pol--"
"She's been too preoccupied with the engines to think about doing more than superficial scans of the substance. Same with the Captain."
Sato was quiet for just one moment as she realized the grief these people carried was like a dark cloud affecting the judgment of her superior officers. She gave a sideward glance to Reed and straightened her shoulders. If he lashed out, she would just have to take it--and put extra salt in his soup the next time they had dinner.
The Ensign adopted a soldier's posture and tone of voice. "Forgive me for speaking freely, sir, but what the hell are you doing brooding in here when you could be out there taking scans and getting a sample? You have the authority to order your own investigation I believe."
Reed turned to look at the insubordinate officer with a reprimand on his lips, but she met his steady gaze. Her words sunk in and he could have kicked himself. He folded his arms across his chest and had the barest hint of a smile on his face.
"You're right, Ensign, and thank you for volunteering. Suit up and meet me in 30 minutes. We'll investigate the hull. Dismissed."
Sato closed her mouth, gave a quick nod and walked away. Leave it to Reed to turn the tables on her, but her step was sprightly. The sense of purpose washed over her.
-----
"It's a very strong magnet, but what about this section? It doesn't look as thick," said Sato through the comm link in her EV suit. She and Reed had been on the hull for the past 15 minutes and had completed their detailed scans. When it came time to collect an actual sample, they had been frustrated, however.
Reed tapped at the bulge that rested on the hull with the small hammer. He took out his laser and tried to cut it. It remained stubbornly inert. "It might be thinner, but it's not budging, either."
Sato approached the protuberance and kicked at it. She saw Reed's helmet turn her direction from where he knelt by their intended specimen. Reed could see her shrug through the EV suit as her voice said, "It was worth a try."
"I'd like nothing better than to blast it with a phase rifle," muttered Reed as Sato knelt by his side.
"I'll go get one if you think there's half a chance of it working," offered Sato offhandedly.
"Very well. I'll stay here and see if I get any further. Be sure to get one that's fully charged."
"You really think it will work? I was just joking."
"Even if we don't get a sample, I'll feel better," said Reed honestly.
"All right, but I get to take a shot at it, too, sir."
"Request granted, Ensign, now hurry up."
-----
"Travis checked it out. It's fully charged."
Sato appeared by Reed with the rifle in her hands. Mayweather had procured it from the Armory and met her at the hatch with a word about taking a shot for him.
"Good, now stand behind me and hold on to me. The phase blast is likely to send me backwards even with the magnets on our boots."
Sato took a firm hold of Reed's EV suit and felt the recoil as he blasted the sample.
"It worked!" The officers were elated.
"Sort of," added Reed.
Sato peeked around his shoulders to see the piece settle again against the hull.
Reed muttered, "Damn magnet."
"If one of us catches it when it becomes detached--"
"That could work. All right, you get to take your shot," said Reed as he gave Sato the weapon.
Sato took the rifle and swallowed as she realized what she had to do. "Sir, you're sure about this?"
"It's a stationary target, Ensign. Your marksmanship easily qualifies you for the task," said Reed as he pulled the retracting line from the legs of her EV suit. "We'll anchor you to the hull to account for the recoil, though."
Reed quickly had Sato's lines tied to bolts on the hull. As he assumed his position on the other side of the intended sample, he said, "By the way, if I ever did anything to offend you, please forgive me."
Sato nodded inside of her helmet, but before she raised the rifle to take the shot, she asked, "Was my soup really salty when I helped Chef out last year?"
She could see Reed's helmet turn up to her, although she didn't see his face clearly.
"You know, I don't really remember. Perhaps you should make the recipe again and I'll try it."
"Good enough," responded Sato as she quickly made her shot. The Lieutenant has excellent hands, she thought as he quickly captured the specimen.
"Nice work, Ensign. Uh, you can put the rifle away now," said Reed.
"Travis wanted me to take a shot for him."
"Well, we could use another sample. Aim at this one here. Good, now let's--" Reed was interrupted again.
"Don't you think I should take a shot for the Captain and T'Pol?"
"No, I think I should take a shot for the Captain and T'Pol."
"All right. And one for Porthos, too."
"And I think we each need to take one for Trip," said Malcolm. He could see Hoshi grinning her approval. The Chief Engineer would have liked the tribute.
The officers went about collecting their samples. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.
*****
If I have strayed from the details about the specimen collection, the forgive me. I just remembered that Reed had been in charge of acquiring the sample and that a rifle had been used. Hope it works.
Thanks for reading. No reviews are necessary.