Belated Apologies, Part I
Posted on Sat Mar 21st, 2026 @ 9:28pm by Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva & Josef Forstinger
1,787 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Shuttle Engineering / Mechanics Lab, Deck 28
Timeline: MD012, 1015 Hours
It had taken some very deep, intricate research for Josef to come across the information he needed, and by that time, he was figuring out how the damned voice-activated computer system worked, and then forgetting Tenzi's name having called her "Bluey"- but after some trial and error, he finally had it. She was on Deck 28!
Taking a quick turbolift ride after cleaning up a bit that is, splashing his face with cold water from the sink and wearing the same clothes he always did, arrived on the deck, taking a step out of the turbolift, trying to seem confident.
Only to realize he should probably have asked to specify where on deck 28 she actually was. For it was huge, well, the entire ship was to begin with, and while a specific Deck did narrow things down, well, with a quick side step, he found one of those panel thingies, taking a second to remember how to activate and work them, he actually managed to bring up a map of the deck.
"Operations Station 1... 2... 3--okay, uh, deu--deuterium storage? Fuck's a deuterium... okay no--uh..." The man mumbled to himself, following the different options and their paths with his finger. Good God, he felt like a child lost on his first day of school. It shouldn't be that hard to find her. People found each other on this ship all the time! Plus, she's blue! Already got an advantage with her sticking out. But then again, probably not the only blue woman aboard this ship.
Well, trial and error it was. The strangely-dressed man, noticeably without a badge, went door to door, and those he could open quickly stuck his head inside. Looked around, before ducking out again. If anyone ever did see him--and a few young engineers certainly did--they simply got a dumbfounded smile and a quick, "Sorry."
And so it was, until finally, after a few more doors and questionable looks, he finally found the one--or at least, he thought was the right one.
The sign by the door--or above it--said that it was "Shuttle Engineering 4". Josef did not have a clue what they meant by a shuttle, but nevertheless entered. And there she was--well, he thought it was her. There was only one figure in the room, lying under what he now assumed was one of those shuttles. Working underneath it, probably on some insides. But how did he know it was her?
Well, if it wasn't for the very long legs and boots to go off of alone, there was an occasionally blue-coloured feminine hand poke out from underneath the craft. Grabbing at some tools that lay nearby, exchanging a used tool now and again for another.
And so, with nothing much more to lose than another deck he couldn't access without 'direct supervision and oversight' or 'prior notification,' he approached. Though very silently. Not on purpose--it was simply his manner of walking that he had picked up from the war. His steps barely made any sound on the metal panels that made up the floor.
He stopped by the tools. Waited a few seconds to see if the figure underneath noticed his presence before giving a light tap with the tip of his boots to the left boot of the engineer.
"Tenzi?" he asked, but a second after, probably would've been better to just ask before all this, nothing he could do about it now. Not that he was thinking straight anyway.
The thruster housing above Tenzi's head let out a soft metallic trrrrink as she tightened the last microfastener.
She lay flat on her back beneath the Type-11 shuttlecraft, one long leg hooked casually over the creeper's brake bar. The shuttle loomed large over her like some aquatic sea creature with belly panels open and wiring circuitry exposed. The thruster's main assembly was partially disassembled in a neat semi-circle close to her ankles.
Tools were scattered across the floor plating--but Tenzi knew exactly where everything was as a good engineer always did.
Her antennae twitched as she reached out blindly for the plasma torque wrench beside her.
Her hand brushed empty air.
Then--
A light tap against her boot.
And a voice.
"Tenzi?"
Her entire body jolted.
"SH--"
CLOINK.
Her forehead met the shuttle's hull with a solid little impact that echoed under the vehicle.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Tenzi's voice came from beneath the shuttle, loud enough to carry halfway across the mostly-empty bay.
"OW."
She rubbed her head and checked that her antennae were still intact.
"Okay--first of all--whoever that is just attempted a very effective assassination by surprise engineering."
The creeper wheels squeaked as she shoved herself out from under the shuttle, one boot kicking against the deck to gain momentum. She rolled clear of the shuttle and in one practiced motion that demonstrated just how fit she was, sat up. Her long legs unfolded beneath her like terrestrial landing gear.
Her silver-white hair had escaped its tie and was now messily dangling in front of her face. Her antennae were angled forward, offended but curious.
She blinked at the figure towering over her and then recognition landed.
"Oh."
Her expression shifted, surprise suddenly giving way to a crooked grin that slowly spread across her face.
"Well look who crawled out of the brig."
Tenzi pushed herself to her feet, which took a few seconds because she was tall and the creeper tried to fight her halfway up. She rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, then pointed accusingly at Josef.
"You." She snorted. "You boot-tapped me."
"At least I crawled out of it. What are you doing crawling under this--uh... thing. All by yourself nonetheless."
Josef gave her a questioning look as she emerged and sat up. Taking a small step back to give her some space to adjust, he watched her reaction and eventually returned the smile.
"What? Want me to just grab you by those legs and yank you out next time? I don't got antennas, so I can't send a signal. So thought I'd speak your other language, Long Legs. Boot-to-boot communication." He exhaled at his own joke. He shook his head a little. "But I am not going to take responsibility for that little mishap as well. I had to comb eight other rooms on this deck before I found you. Doesn't make me a very effective would-be assassin now does it?"
Tenzi folded her arms and furrowed her brow.
"That sounds like the least efficient search algorithm I've ever heard of."
She jerked her thumb toward the shuttle next to them.
"Anyway. Welcome to Shuttle Engineering." She glanced back at the exposed thruster assembly. "I'm currently upgrading the vector thrusters on this Type-Eleven. They were due to be upgraded about three months ago but, you know, shit happens."
Tenzi looked back to Josef and noticed none of what she had just said had registered with him.
"Right," she said, snapping her fingers as though remembering something important. "You're temporally-challenged." She patted the hull of the shuttle with an open palm and continued. "It's basically a people-mover. It has warp drive... you know what that means, right?"
He smirked and wagged his finger at the blue woman, as if in response to her crossed arms. "Ah, but you have heard of it. And I'd call... dedicated or do you just want me to yell your name down the hallways while running through the deck at full sprint?"
And indeed. Nothing Tenzi had said about shuttles had made even a lick of the sense to the man. Well except that shit happens--which was true for any time period.
"Yes, its a spaceship. I got that far, Captain Obvious." He furrowed his brow a little at the other word she said right after. " Warp Drive... thats, uh, something important. Right?"
Tenzi stared at him for a long moment with one antenna slowly tilted sideways.
"... You're serious."
Josef's face didn't seem to change an iota.
Tenzi let out a long breath through her nose and looked up at the shuttle's open belly and silently mouthed a prayer to the universe for patience.
"Okay," she said finally, rolling her sleeves a little higher. "Right. Temporal refugee orientation. Let's do this."
She grabbed a small spanner from the tool pile and crouched beside the shuttle's landing strut. Then she drew a circle on the deck plating with the greasy end of it.
"Pretend this is space."
She tapped the circle.
"Inside here is Earth."
She tapped again.
"And over here--" she stretched her arm wide and poked the deck several feet away "--is another star. Let's call it... Vulcan."
She glanced up at him.
"You know what a star is, right? Big ball of angry fire. Been around a while."
At the refugee comment, Josef raised his finger as if about to interject. Though quickly stopped as she began her explanation.
Josef nodded, having followed along her stretched out arm. "Yes, Tenzi--I am aware of the concept of astronomy, the Universe and celestial bodies. I finished high school. I'm not a caveman." He sort of grinned at his comment. "So Vulcan is where those pointy-eared folk are from, right? They share that name I think. Guess I gotta be glad not be called Earth... or would it be Earthling?"
"Terran," she corrected, with a raised eyebrow. "But Terrans tend to refer to each other as 'humans'."
"Terrans? Really? Guess some of those sci-fi books were right about at least something then," he mused, scratching his chin, before looking back at her. "But, lemme guess, you're not a Martian, are you? Not grey nor small with big black eyes. But then again, you look very similar to those other ones. Except those weren't blue. And you're not out to conquer Earth." He threw her a belated grin, while maybe being slightly genuine, he was clearly messing with her.
"Martian?" Tenzi squinted at Josef, searching his face for any sign he might be teasing. "I'm Andorian."
To Be Continued: Belated Apologies, Part II
Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva
Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Josef Forstinger
Civillian
USS Astrea
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