"Back to work" by Lieutenant Jg T'Kang Chief Engineer - USS Intrepid http://come.to/tkang.html The witch doctor had finally seen fit to release T'Kang from sickbay after treating him for several days for acute radiation poisoning. The Klingon wasn't certain if it was because his body was finally purged of the radioactive contamination that was polluting his blood thanks to Doctor Desmond's efforts, or if T'Kang's sour demeanor had finally gotten intolerable with the personnel in sickbay. All T'Kang knew for certain was he was glad he'd been released by medical. During the Chief Engineer's several day absence from duty, Ensign Salek, the Intrepid's astute Assistant Engineer, had been overseeing all of the repair efforts throughout the ship. The Vulcan engineer was an asset to the ship, and T'Kang noted, he was the only officer that had bothered to visit him during his stay in sickbay. T'Kang was grateful that when Salek did visit him, there was almost no small talk. Simply status reports and efficient discussions of the ship's repair status. Other than a curt, "I look forward to your return to Engineering." Salek did nothing to make the Klingon feel socially inept. Something T'Kang appreciated most of all about the Ensign. The O'Donald incident in the escape pod had been investigated by security. At first everyone was jumping on the bandwagon, assuming T'Kang had used excessive force is subduing Darla when she suffered her claustrophobic attack and nearly blew the hatch to the escape pod, which would have killed all hands that were inside. But the other seven crewmembers who were also in the pod had confirmed the Klingon's account of the incident, vindicating his actions. Miss O'Donald had since started regular sessions with the ship's counselor to try and deal with her claustrophobic tendencies. It was beginning to look like Darla was not going to be cut out for serving on board a starship in the capacity as engineer, since Jefferies' tubes and confined spaces were a common day thing in that line of work. T'Kang pressed through the sliding doors to the main engineering deck. He knew there was a lot of work to be done to the ship, even though she was now safely docked at Starbase 438. Manufacturing and installing a complete warp core assembly in a Prometheus class starship was not an everyday occurrence. T'Kang still cursed the thought of having to eject the core to defeat the Panther's time weapons. A full spread of quantum torpedoes might have done the same job, and saved the third Vector from the embarrassment of having to abandon ship in the heat of battle. "Lieutenant T'Kang. I am pleased to see you are back." Salek greeted the Chief Engineer. "It is good to be out of sickbay." T'Kang grumbled. "Report?" Handing the Chief Engineer a data padd, Salek explained, "Damage to decks 3, 6, 12 and 15 has been taken care of. I have been working with Lieutenant Commander Charleston on Starbase 438 to arrange for the fitting of the new warp core tomorrow at 08:00 if that fits your schedule sir?" T'Kang's eyes narrowed as he snatched the padd away from Salek in a rather rude fashion typical for the Barbarian Chief Engineer. "Where did you locate a warp core to fit the Intrepid?" he growled skeptically, expecting it to be a couple of months to manufacture a brand new one. "We were most fortunate that Starbase 438 had a complete warp core assemble standing by in their reserve warehouse facility. A few adaptations will be required to fit it to the Intrepid, but otherwise it should serve as an adequate replacement." Salek explained. T'Kang let out a grumble while looking over the data padd report. Evidently, the warp core was meant for an upgrade to the USS Scobee, which was destroyed at the end of January. T'Kang was not pleased about receiving a warp core intended for another, fallen starship, but was glad that the Intrepid would not have to sit around idle in spacedock for an extended period of time. "Yes. 08:00 will be fine Ensign. See to it that a full crew of engineers are standing by to aid in the warp core installation tomorrow morning." T'Kang ordered. Salek gave the Chief a quick glance. "What is it Ensign?" the Klingon practically growled. "Captain Celchu has authorized shore leave to Starbase 438 to all personnel. I believe the engineering staff might take objection to being excluded from the leave sir." "That is not my concern. Repair of this vessel is our top priority. Not recreational activities. . . ." The Klingon grumbled back. Taking a small step forward, Salek injected, "Captain Celchu insisted that all personnel should spend time in leisurely activities while at Starbase 438 sir. I do believe that was inclusive of the engineering department as well. Lieutenant Commander Charleston will be providing the engineering crew to install the warp core from the Starbase 438 staff." T'Kang regarded Salek for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should be annoyed with the Vulcan or thanking him for taking care of all of the details while he was incapacitated in sickbay. Not being one to be gregarious, the Klingon chose to be annoyed. "Well I will be staying to oversee the warp core installation." T'Kang growled. Salek nodded. "I will be staying too if that is your wish. Vulcans do not require the many `vacations' that humans commonly partake in. The Captain's orders did seem to indicate that all personnel were to take some form of leave of the ship however." The Vulcan stated with a timed rise of his Vulcan brow. "Humm. Perhaps later, when our work is finished." T'Kang relented in a huff. "But for now, I have too much catching up to do." Pausing, the Klingon regarded Salek for a moment and added in a softer, more humble tone, "Thank you for attending to things while I was away Salek." With the subtle hint of Vulcan surprise, Salek nodded. "It was my pleasure Lieutenant." The two engineers then began to get to work on the remaining odds and ends that needed to be taken care of before tomorrows scheduled warp core installation.