Main Engineering, Alert Status: Auvray, Part I
Posted on Thu May 7th, 2026 @ 12:36pm by Captain Philippe Auvray & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Commander Eirly Andersen & Ensign Kash th'Kaasniik & Ensign Scout
Edited on on Sat May 9th, 2026 @ 2:00pm
2,120 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 11, 1300 Hours [concurrent with A Matter of Trust]
* * * Corridor, Deck 13 * * *
Captain Philippe Auvray's jowly cheeks shook as he jerked his head sideways to address the Astrea's Second Officer. He had been aboard the ship for nearly two days since delivering the preliminary report to Captain Johansen and the senior staff, his request for quarters having been grudgingly accepted. In that span of time, he had found himself becoming acquainted with Astrea as well as finding more ways of injecting himself into the ship's ongoing investigation into the assassination of Ambassador T'Varel.
Today, it was now the unenviable task of Eirly Andersen to escort the ignominious and pompous Frenchman, and he had decided a visit the Main Engineering to follow-up on what was quickly becoming a very sophisticated and technical investigation.
"I must once again lament that I am perfectly capable of finding Engineering on my own," he said, his Parisian accent highlighting every vowel. With a mischievous grin, he leaned toward Eirly and added, "Though I have never been one to refuse the company of a beautiful woman."
Eirly inclined her head slightly and felt her cheeks redden slightly at the compliment. She had cleared her schedule to be available to be his escort for the afternoon and was caught off guard slightly at his forwardness. "Thank you for the compliment, Captain. You're very charming yourself. Shall we make our way down to Engineering so you can go and meet Commander Winters?"
His grin softened into something a little less theatrical before falling into step beside the brownish-blond beauty, his hands clasped behind his back. Auvray was drawn to her Dutch braids and there was almost a light in his eyes as he regarded her.
"Enchanté, Commander Andersen," he said, his name lingering on his lips longer than necessary. "But now I find myself at a disadvantage. You know precisely who I am--my reputation, my sins, and my unfortunate fondness for good coffee..." He glanced sideways at her, amused. "And I know only that Captain Johansen has seen fit to place you in a position of considerable trust."
They passed a crewman who straightened instinctively as they went by. Auvray acknowledged him with a tiny dip of his chin, then returned his attention to Eirly.
"Tell me," he continued, as though they were strolling a boulevard at sunset instead of a starship corridor. "Where does one begin a journey that ends as Second Officer aboard a ship like Astrea?"
"Well," Eirly began as they continued to walk, "I started out my career in Security of all places, which is odd considering I was a qualified baker prior to joining Starfleet but it is what it is, and I came on board the Astrea as the Assistant Chief of Security."
She mused briefly over the events that led her to be where she was, yet omitted a number of details in the summary she gave him, "Through a series of events, the former Chief of Security was dismissed, I was promoted to be an interim Chief and gained my own assistant, the now Lieutenant Commander Xalanth. He showed a lot of promise and Captain Johansen and I discussed it that he would be best suited to my position while I took up the vacant position of Second Officer."
Auvray listened without interruption, which for him was a kind of discipline.
"Ah," he said at last, softly. "Security... and baking."
He let that remain somewhere in the air between for a step or three before he spoke again.
"There is something delightfully honest about that combination," he went on. "One learns to measure precisely, to anticipate failure before it occurs... and to recover gracefully when it does. A burned crust, a breached perimeter--both are, in their own way, unforgivable."
"I like to think that, when you put it like that Captain, some skills are completely interchangeable," Eirly admitted, even though she got the feeling it wasn't a compliment she'd just been given. "Although a breached perimeter is something I've not had the misfortune of experiencing yet, touch wood." She smiled and held up her crossed fingers.
He gave her a questioning look.
"And yet," he said, "you stepped aside. Interim Chief to Second Officer. Authority gained, then... redistributed."
"Can you please elaborate on how you think it's been redistributed, Captain?" Eirly replied with her own questioning look.
His eyes slid toward her again.
"You were given the security department, yes? Even if only interim--a word Starfleet uses in the same way an nervous old woman uses an umbrella: for comfort and not necessity." He glanced away as another crewmember dodged them. "In that moment, authority would have gathered around you. Decisions and consequences. The position would be yours."
Auvray tapped two fingers against his own chest. "And so our Dragonian friend gains the title, the department, and the visibility. But you--" he looked at her again. "You move into the position of Second Officer. You gain the proximity to command, thereby moving from the door... to the room in which doors are decided."
Eirly nodded in agreement again, "And it's a position I'm hoping to remain in for quite a while, if I'm being honest. I enjoy the role immensely."
He issued something that passed for a grunt that possibly expressed his agreement, possibly announcing an end to the current topic of discussion. A few moments passed before they stepped into the turbolift one after the other.
"Main Engineering," the Frenchman commanded and within seconds the lift was moving to its destination.
Through the reflection of the brushed metal door frame, he could see Andersen's distorted reflection and his heavyset body. He studied himself for a long moment before speaking.
"You enjoy the role," he repeated, carefully turning her words over in his own mouth. "As Second Officer, I mean."
Without hesitation, he moved directly into an overly-honeyed line of inquiry. "And what do you think of the man standing between yourself and Captain Johansen?"
"Commander Spello is an excellent First Officer," Eirly commented with a nod, her brow raising at the question. "He's passionate when it comes to El Aurian affairs, has stepped up on various occasions to keep things running when the Captain wasn't in a position to do so, and is a good guy. I haven't interacted much with him outside of being on shift though, unfortunately. Why do you ask that?"
Auvray's expression shifted from attentive to suspicious to amused--all in the space of two seconds. There were reasons beyond coordinating the investigation which brought him aboard Astrea.
"Why do I ask?" he echoed, the words arranged in such a way as to seem almost like a small indulgence.
The turbolift continued.
"My dear Commander," he went on, folding his chubby hands over his midsection, "I have spent a great many years among Starfleet officers who share space with one another and barely acknowledge each other's presence outside of duty shifts." His eyes jumped again to her reflection in the paneling. "It is a professional deformity. One begins to wonder about.. alignments. Where the currents run strongest... and where they resist."
Philippe smiled at her. "You speak well of him."
* * * Main Engineering * * *
Kash had the sleeves his operations coveralls rolled up to his elbows. The heat from the engineering equipment really wore on him, especially by the end of his shifts. At the rate he'd been working down here he wouldn't be surprised if he started showing up on the roster.
"Hey Moxx, haven't seen you out in a while," Kash mentioned as he worked an access panel loose. "Scout, what sort of things do you do in your spare time?"
Nash couldn’t help but overhear the casual banter between the junior officers. He entertained himself just observing, leaning against a bulkhead and not letting on that he was eavesdropping. He wished he was that young again.
“Pardon for interrupting, but I’m glad you’re here. We’ve got a mystery out there to solve and it’s our job to solve it. Kash, I see you have your hands dirty and that’s a good thing. As a matter of fact, I have a special project for you.”
He turned to his young Bolian ensign. “Moxx, I want you to work on the sensor waveguides. I want to be able to see a flake of dandruff on a Markofian flea. Kash, come with me. Thanks, everyone!”
Scout looked up momentarily from the master systems display--a.k.a., the "pool table"--where he was working. Winters had interrupted before he could tell Kash about his collection of spores, mold, and fungus. Well, maybe later. He went back to his maintenance diagnostic on the magnetic containment rings.
"Uh, yeah, sure boss. Lemme just..." Kash finished getting the panel out of the way. "Sorry guys. Catch up with you later."
Nash led the Ops Officer to an auxiliary maintenance console on the upper level adjacent to the to the warp core.
“Our job, as it currently stands, is to pinpoint what’s been eluding us for several days. I’ve set up a template to create a new sensor pallet. We need to dig through subspace, run through the frequency spectrum to detect anything out of the ordinary. Is it a ship, a weapon, some source of energy or radiation. Now you have to be careful as to not tap into some subspace domain that is foreign to our space-time continuum. That comes with its own set of problems. Hopefully, we can avoid that. You’ve got my whole team available. Use them. Call me if you need anything. I do mean anything. Any questions or concerns?”
"You know I'm barely a year out of the Academy right, sir?" Kash asked nervously. "You are talking about space-time continuums, like we're doing something that might accidentally punch into one? I think you need Commander Ral. I'm not sure I'm qualified."
“Oh ye of little faith….you’re an officer on this ship, Kash. That’s what matters. The Captain believes in you, as do I. And yes, I was talking about punching into other continuums. We just have to take extra care to not do so. Just do the scans and see what you come up with. I’ll be here if you need me. You’ve got this, Ensign,” Nash said, trying to reassure the young officer.
Auvray and Eirly rounded the corner, arriving at Main Engineering proper. The warp core pulsed blue just a few meters ahead of them while several officers remained embroiled in conversation.
"Ah," Auvray breathed, taking in the beating heart of Astrea. He scanned the room with its numerous consoles and technical displays, his eyes falling upon Nash Winters and without missing a beat, strode forward until he occupied the edge of the Chief Engineer's personal space.
"Commander," the Frenchman said with a patronizing lilt, "c'est merveilleux de te revoir." ("How wonderful it is to see you again.")
“Welcome to Main Engineering. Commander Andersen, it’s always a pleasure to see you. Um….Phil, as you see, were rather busy down here. I’ll try to put this in the least offensive way as possible. Try not to get in the way, bubba. Is there something specific you need while you’re here?”
Before Auvray got the chance to answer, Nash scratched his chin and spoke. “You know what? Hold that thought. Come with me. Let me get you a cup of sunshine.”
As the Chief Engineer walked away Kash watched him with a quizzical look on his face, turning his palms upward in a helpless fashion, an operations officer in engineering without orders silently asking no one in particular, What do I do now?
~tbc~
Lt. Commander Eirly Andersen
Second Officer
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Nash Winters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
Ensign Kash th'Kaasniik
Operations Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of Remy Johansen)
Ensign Scout
Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of Sakkar)
Captain Philippe Auvray
Senior Starfleet Security Liaison
Starfleet Security
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
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