What's the Damage?

Posted on Sat Nov 1st, 2025 @ 1:19am by Captain Andre Hunt & Lieutenant Commander Mattys Plaatjes

763 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Trillius Prime
Location: Engineering

Andre Hunt walked into engineering. The crew of the Meridian had succeeded in capturing Captain Tur, the three pirate ships were now under the custody of the Trill government. And now hopefully there would be no issue going to warp. The ship had suffered some damage, but nothing that he wasn't certain the engineering team couldn't handle. Before taking off, he wanted to get the assessment of the damages since it had been about three hours after their battle concluded. "Mattys what's the damage looking like?"

He waggled his hand, 'so-so Captain.' Plaatjes smile was grim, 'there was more damage than expected - we can achieve Warp One if we left now, but it'll take a few more hours to get the engines and core back up to full capacity.' The South African shrugged, 'we're going as fast as we can.'

"How many hours until warp five?" Hunt inquired. "Trying to get the Meridian to the L'Dira homeworld before anything else can go wrong."

'Five hours max,' Plaatjes replied confidently, doing the math in his head. 'You have impulse now, so we can at least get underway at that speed.' Consulting his mental catalogue, and looking through the PADD he held, he shrugged, 'weapons are fine - one of the photonic launchers is offline, but that won't be the case for long. Phased energy weapons are good too.'

Andre placed a hand on the Chief Engineers shoulder and nodded. "That sounds good. Appreciate you holding this place together during the battle."

Plaatjes shook his head and shrugged. 'Any half-decent Engineering department would have done the same. It's the rest of you that got us out of the scrap, eh.' He looked on as his subordinates got to their tasks, beavering away industriously to get the job done as quickly as was safe. 'So, the pirates are done with now?'

"The Trill authorities confirmed that these were rather three ships they have had issues with, Hunt answered. "Now we drag Tur back to the L'Dira Homeworld and come to some kind of agreement. Don't want other pirates showing up, now that there is a vacuum."

'It would be a waste of time otherwise,' Plaatjes replied with a nod. 'Don't want the Meridian taking a beating for nothing, you know?' Folding his arms, he looked a little thoughtful, 'I'm glad that we've managed to nip this in the bud. Getting into something protracted like the War isn't really what I'm planning to do for the next few years. How long has this been going on? And we just drop in and bosh! We sort it out.' Shrugging he trailed off. 'It makes you think. Maybe we can do some real good for a change.'

"Been an issue for a little over a year now. From what I have learned about the Trill, they typically isolate themselves for the most part. So showing up to the world of those who were attacking them was not an option. The Trill were aware of other life in the galaxy based on their advanced communication. But they typically avoided going out to make first contact. They knew we existed way before we knew about them."

Shaking his head in response, Plaatjes huffed another laugh. 'Well, what a strange arrangement. It makes you wonder who else knows about us, but doesn't want to show their face just yet. Imagine it, probably some civilisation with more stringent rules than Vulcans.' He leaned towards the captain. 'So, will we be allowed the honour of going to the Trill homeworld?'

"That was the original plan, but this pirate issue has diverted us from the primary mission," Hunt admitted. "But the scientist was delivered, so that covers that task. Not really sure if we'll double back that way."

'Onwards, then!' Plaatjes replied with relish as a panel sparked out behind them. Turning on his heel, he barked at the nearest damage control specialist, 'Trevelyan, get that panel sorted - can't have the antimatter intermixer shorting out on us now, can we, eh?'

"Hopefully the remainder of this mission won't involve having to put out fires down here." Looking at the various engineers at work, he knew the ship was definitely in good hands. "When we arrive, I want you to accompany the away team. The experience will be good for you. In the meantime, I'll leave you to it here Commander."

=================
Captain Andre Hunt
Commanding Officer
USS Meridian

Lt. Commander Mattys Plaatjes
Chief Engineer
USS Meridian

 

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