Run Fitzgerald Run!

Posted on Wed Aug 3rd, 2022 @ 2:35am by Captain Devin Hadenbeer & Ensign Manamea Toelau & Ensign Aakan Jun & Ensign Jor Jaxur & Lieutenant JG Alia Fitzgerald

589 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: Bridge and elsewhere
Timeline: Into the void

Alia felt a wave of relief at the cessation of the red alert and the move to yellow. Under normal circumstances, a yellow alert would drive her to panic but now it was a welcome change. *I wonder what we'll find on the station? Nothing good but the question is HOW bad.*

*Funny, I'm still feeling sweaty. Even the few minutes of terror are over so I shouldn't be THIS panicked. Am I really that easy to scare?* The warm feeling went from mildly disconcerting to mildly uncomfortable in a matter of less than a minute.

"Envirosuit, lower ambient temperature 10 celsius."

"Acknowledged." Supplemental fans kicked in but she didn't notice any decrease in temperature. In fact, it went up!

*Oh, no! Not this again!* Since being cleared by the doctor, she didn't need the suit but hadn't had the opportunity to change. She immediately removed her helmet to reveal her sweating face and let some cool air help but the suit seemed to view this as an affront (or at least something to be dealt with) and ratcheted up the heaters.

"Is there a problem, lieutenant?" Mell'a inquired, feline eyes staring. She had just begun settling into the Captain's chair and savoring the sensation.

"My enviro-suit is malfunctioning!" Normally she would excuse herself to deal with it but even a Yellow Alert took precedence over most things. Unfortunately, the choice was soon out of her hands. The skyrocketing heat crossed into painful territory and she made the snap decision to remove it. "Envirosuit, emergency release!" Thankfully, THAT was still working even if nothing else was in the device. The pieces of the suit fell off of her like a collapsing house of cards.

Unfortunately, for convenience, what she wearing underneath was minimal... if one stretched the definition of that word to its utmost boundaries. Alia prioritized comfort in her clothing and she had not expected to become LESS clothed so dramatically. Certainly, her blushing now had nothing to do with the temperature! "Permission to leave the bridge." she said mustering every bit of dignity she could manage.

Mell'a blinked, "Well, if-"

"Yes, ma'am!" She walked towards the turbolift with a measured and unhurried pace...

And Devin, Junix and Ull exited the ready room.

"And where is lieutenant Fitzgerald going?" Devin inquired mildly.

"Malfunctioning suit," Mell'a explained.

"Ah," Devin said in a tone that sounded as if she understood perfectly, although her expression implied otherwise, "Commander, you have the bridge, I am going to Sickbay to see the status of our guests."

Snapping out of her mortification, Fitzgerald hurriedly commanded the computer, "Override turbolift controls until I exit, do not allow anyone to open the doors until I exit the lift! Plot me a path from here to my cabin that involves encountering no crew members or going into restricted areas."

"Working... completed. Route is completed, minimal crewmember path calculated."

"I notice you didn't say 'NO crewmembers'," she muttered. "Okay, tell it to me." She quickly memorized the route and prepared for the sprint of her life.

With her plan in place, she race through some of the most obscure and least-traveled areas of the ship, taking nearly thirty minutes in what would normally take five while walking at a brisk pace. Sweaty again and finally within sight of her quarters, she let out a sigh of relief.

After that day, there was a persistent rumor about a red-headed ghost that haunted the back corridors and Jefferies tubes of the Lionheart, a subject on which Alia maintained a strict neutrality.

 

RSS Feed