"Listen up my little worker bees!"
Having received official confirmation that he was now indeed Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise 1701, Montgomery Scott set about selecting a team of stellar engineers. Though he did not have access to those interested who were currently serving in the Laurentian system, he did have the cadets at hand.
Early on a sunny Saturday morning, Scotty was holding court outside Tucker hall, surrounded by the young men and women he had offered postings. Not one of them had declined the offer. Though the majority of them were human, a Deltan, and Andorian and an arboreal Xindi sat in their midst.
Keenser, who had arrived on Earth with the elder incarnation of Commander Spock, sat on a low hanging branch, Pavel's little friend Jazmine beside him. She had proven to be a creative and industrious young lady on the return voyage, plus she was tiny and slight, which Scotty viewed as a definite positive, as she would be able to fit into the smallest, most cramped Jefferies tubes without much fuss.
Rory Speedle, a quiet, dark eyed young man who specialized in antimatter conversion technology, was leaning against the base of the tree. He hadn't moved in almost fifteen minutes and, were his eyes not cracked open and following the movements of the others, Scotty would have though him asleep. His laconic nature belied a sharp mind, which had been quite focused and brilliant when set to a task.
Conversely, Danny Giovinazzo hadn't stopped moving. The tough little blond guy with the thick Staten Island accent had a boundless reserve of energy, something Scott wholeheartedly appreciated. He wasn't a complainer, just a hard worker who had done his tasks thoroughly and then looked for more to do.
With wide eyes, Matt Middler watched Danny buzz around, never relaxing his ramrod straight posture. The gelled hair and old fashioned, clean cut looks weren't the norm amongst this group, but his skill and work ethic were. During the trip home, he had spent a whole day aboard ship scraping disgusting burnt plasma out of vents with nary a gag or a cross word.
Sitting on a small blanket, as he was allergic to grass, something he was quick to inform everyone of, Rodney Hewlett had not stopped his litany of sarcastic observations or complaints. He was loud, cranky, never shut up and, according to his file and professors, did have a penchant for experiments that occasionally blew up a lab or small building, but he was a brilliant young mind. He'd managed to reroute several central power lines around damaged hubs through redundant systems, an achievement without which they would not have made it home.
Kelly Reed, daughter of Space Dock's commander, looked ready to kick Hewlett. Either that or build an explosive device that would make her ancestor Malcolm Reed proud and stick it down his throat.
Looking out at their eager young faces before him, Scotty said, "Now, I know you boys and girls don't graduate for another few weeks, nothing to be done for that, and I know it's tradition for a months leave to be granted before one takes their first assignment, but Enterprise is in desperate need of some TLC. Not the kind those Space Dock butchers, no offense Ms. Reed, dispense, but love from her own people. So, I'm asking if any of you would….."
He didn't even get to finish his sentence when every hand was up and waving.
Of course it was Rodney the loudmouth who scoffed, "What, like we weren't hopping the first shuttles up to Space Dock after commencement? Come on."
"It's true," Jazmine said, allowing herself to hang backwards off of her branch. "She's our ship. We wanna fix her up."
Their nodding, serious faces were enough to bring a teat to Scotty's eye.
TBC
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