Waterlogged (Part I)

Posted on Wed Jul 3rd, 2024 @ 9:10am by Lieutenant Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Stormy Knight & Ensign Robyn Loxley

1,506 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Quasinon Gambit
Location: Arboretum

ON

Stormy walked into the arboretum to see how the new plants were adapting. She didn't expect to see a muddy botanist.

"I was just about to call you." Robyn took off her boots and socks so she didn't track mud any further. "There's a leak in the irrigation tubes."

"Did you turn off the water?" Stormy asked, looking around. The far side of the arboretum looked more like a swamp.

"Can't. It's not responding to anything I tried." She held her hands out to her side. "At least it's not flooding. Yet."

"Okay. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, use the back room to get cleaned up and changed." Without waiting for Robyn's response, Stormy headed for the bypass panel. If she couldn't shut off the water, she could at least keep people from being electrocuted.

There was definitely something wrong and the controls weren't working, either. It was time to call in the cavalry. She tapped her combadge. "Arboretum to operations. We've got a water leak. Could you please send someone to help?"

Tyler had been on the Bridge at his station. It seemed that with new ships came bugs and kinks various systems that were not foreseen. it seemed that that the Arboretum was one of those kinks. He tapped his comm badge. "I am on my way Lieutenant. Malbrooke out."

She took off her uniform jacket, boots, and socks, and set them on a bench. Then she rolled up her pant legs and waded into the mud and water to see if she could find a way to slow the leak.

Within short order Tyler arrived at the Arboretum with a technical kit in hand. What greeted him was slightly unexpected. Both the flood, mess and the beautiful woman. He smiled as he walked over. "It seems that your garden wants to be a swamp." He laughed as he assessed what he looked at. "So, what happened here?" Tyler always thought it best to hear what happened from the person involved rather than assume.

Stormy recognized Tyler from the luau. This was not how she wanted to see him again, but she'd try to forget that she looked like a mess. "Robyn says there's a leak in the irrigation tubes, but neither of us can bypass or turn off the water." She looked around and chuckled. The room really was a sight. "So, we either need a miracle worker or we turn the place into wetlands." She hesitated, then had to grin. "Okay, either way, we're going to need help. Feel like being a knight in shining armor?"

"Hey that is what I signed up for." Tyler said with a slight smirk. He looked around and found a large watering can laying on a table. With a deft movement he filled the can with water as it spurted from the irrigation tubes. "Here in case the plants need to be watered. Now computer... cut power to the irrigation pumps." A slight chime and the water slowed from a gush, to a trickle, and then to nothing. "There now that we have the water stopped we can see what the main problem is. But first if you wouldn't mind giving me a hand clearing the muck so I can get to the access panel."

Stormy hadn't actually asked the computer to shut off the water, but she was pretty sure Robyn had. She just tried to use the controls for the irrigation system, and those weren't responding. So why was it that Tyler was able to get the computer to comply so easily? "Thanks," she said, taking the watering can.

She took the can into the workroom and set it on a table with the sprouts.

"How'd he manage to stop the flood?" Robyn asked, coming into the workroom. She'd cleaned up and was now wearing a fresh uniform.

"No idea. He just asked the computer to turn off the water, and it did." Stormy shook her head. She got herself a towel and began to dry off. She personally suspected the computer wanted her to look like an idiot in front of Tyler. Or the universe was laughing at her.

"Must be a random failure," Robyn said. "The first thing I did was ask the computer to turn off the water."

"That, or ops magic." Stormy tossed the towel into the replicator and recycled it. "I'm going back out to see how he's doing. And to rescue my boots. I left them on a bench with my socks." Unless it was still muddy. If it was, she'd stay barefoot for now.

The botanist waived. "Give him a kiss for saving us."

"Maybe." She turned her back to hide her blush as she went back out to see how Tyler was doing.

Tyler had laid down in the muck after he cleared enough of it to get to the access hatch. He opened the hatch and after searching through he found the problem. It was defective wires that were used in the system's construction. He noticed two feet standing near him. "Just going to stand there and watch me take a mud bath are you?"

"Well, I could get down there with you, but I kinda like the view from here," she teased. "Do you need any help?" she added a moment later. She really should do more than just stand there, as much as she was enjoying watching him work. If he didn't need help, she could always start to clean up the worst of it. The good thing about it being in the arboretum is that most of the mud could simply be pushed back under the plants and trees. Then they could turn on the sprinklers and let the rest rain off the walking paths.

Tyler slid out from the panel and looked up at her. "Well, in a moment I am going to have to rewire your pump. It seems that there is a defect in the replication process, and the wires that supply power to it simply blew out..." His voice trailed off as he realized that he was about to go off on a technical tangent that would bore her to tears. "...Someone is going to have to hand me tools. Real delicate work." In truth it was an excuse to get close to her. Something he had wanted since the luau.

"I can handle the tools, if you let me watch so I'll know what to look for next time." Although she doubted there wouldn't be a next time. Still, it was always good to know what to look for.

"Yeah no problem, let me shove over. You are going to have to get a tad muddy to wedge in here." Tyler wiggled his body some to his left as he made room. Fact was no matter what he did it would be a tight fit for the two of them in there. As much as he enjoyed the prospect of being close to her he hoped she understood that he wasn't just trying to make a move. He actually needed the help.

"Sure." Enjoying the outdoors meant you had to be prepared to get dirty, so she wasn't concerned about the tight space, or the muck. She carefully positioned herself where she could best assist him and grinned. She was enjoying this far more than she should--mostly because of the person she was assisting. "So, what do you want me to hand you first?"

"The hyperspanner please." Tyler replied. "I have to remove and spread the corroded parts of the of the wiring before we put in a patch. We should also check the electric load of the circuit. We need to make sure that the ship did not inadvertently cause this problem by overloading the circuit." Tyler thought that he'd take this time of closeness to get to know her a little better. "So, what made you so interested in plants anyway? I mean it is not often that an archeologist is interested in plants." Tyler had read up on her service record. He hoped that taking the time to read her file would show her his interest.

"I grew up in the wilds of Montana and spent a lot of time outdoors. I still love trees and mountains." She poked around his tools until she found the hyperspanner and handed it to him. "And, when you study ancient civilizations, you also learn a bit about how they lived, what they wrote, what they ate, what they wore, and some of the plants that grew around them. You find detritus in their garbage pits, too. But I think it's more because we all need some time with growing things, especially in space." She waved her hand to the plants clinging to the mud. "Like these. They air is cleaner here, and it just...feels better. You know?"

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant JG Robyn Loxley
Botanist

Lieutenant Stormy Knight
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Tyler Malbrooke
Chief Operations Officer

 

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