<> "A long and boring shift" by Ensign T'Kang Assistant Engineer - USS Intrepid The Klingon bared his teeth as the turbolift doors parted and he stepped out onto the bridge of the Starship Intrepid. Across the command center of the ship, "Captain" Celchu gave the engineer a quick glance as T'Kang moved to the engineering station on the bridge. Chief Hannoyh had asked T'Kang to man the station since she was busy with a project of her own, though she seemed to deliberately avoid elaborating on what that was to the Klingon. The assignment had annoyed T'Kang, since it required that he had to return to his quarters and change into a regulation uniform. All so he could monitor the power output of the warp engines while the Intrepid completed the simple task of sustaining a planetary orbit around Frainar III. Not exactly glamorous work. As T'Kang reached the engineering station, he keyed in his access code to activate the station. Glancing around the bridge while the computer verified his identity and clearance, he notice Ensign Reese stretching at his station and trying to hide a yawn with a hand over his mouth. This was going to be a long and boring shift. Not that the last assignment Hannoyh had gave the Klingon was any better. The Chief Engineer had asked T'Kang to go down to the shuttle bay and run flight checks on the two shuttles the away team were to use for the mission to Frainar III. When he arrived, both away teams were already loading up the shuttles with their gear. T'Kang and Doctor Desmond butted heads as usual. The Chief Medical Officer's views of the burly Klingon had no doubt been tainted by Jezra Donal's report of the incident with crewman O'Donald. Of course it could also have just been T'Kang's wonderful charm and personality when he demanded that the Doctor get out of his way so he could service the Deuterium tanks on the shuttles. Thankfully Lieutenant' Calenzie was there to keep T'Kang from head butting the Doctor into submission, even if Nal had rubbed in the bat'leth lesson he'd given the Klingon a few days earlier. In the end, both the Pathfinder and the Explorer received the Assistant Engineering Officer's approval as being flight ready,. . . despite the distractions. Now, hours later, T'Kang was manning the Engineering station on the bridge, while "Captain" Celchu and the bridge crew tried to reestablish communications with the away team after their shuttles passed through a fierce electromagnetic lighting storm. So far, they'd had little luck.