Looking for answers in the wrong place

Posted on Mon Oct 5th, 2026 @ 8:47pm by Lieutenant Commander Maximo (Max) Vero & Lieutenant Syvar MD & Lieutenant JG Charlie Johnson & Lieutenant JG T'Chiara MD

1,842 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Episode 2: The Garden at the Edge of Night
Location: USS Genesis
Timeline: Back post set between seconds from disaster and failure point

ON:

Max was sure she would go to ten forward. When one had such a shocking day as today was turning out one would reach for a drink. However he did not find her in the main lounge. He was looking through the computer at some of the smaller lounges trying to work out how to get to them when someone saved him the trouble.

The Comm system beeped. "Ensign Phillips to Commander Vero. Could you please come to the crew lounge on deck 21 section 5? We have a situation here...."

“I have a situation also. I am trying to locate the chief engineer,” the XO stated. His back was still hurting from being stuck in. Turbolift earlier.

“I may be able to help you with that sir if you can get down here,”

“Acknowledged,” Max said quickly recognising that as code for he had eyes on her.

Ensign Phillips was standing just outside the door with a concerned look on her face. "Commander, It's Lieutenant Johnson. I was making repairs to the power grid in the lounge when she came in. She looked like she'd been crying, and she's not wearing her communicator. I tried to talk to her, but she completely ignored me.

She went over to the replicator, and I'm not sure how, but she managed to disable the synthahol subroutine and replicate a large bottle of genuine alcohol. She didn't even bother with a glass. She drained half the first bottle in under 2 minutes before she replicated a second. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks and smells like it could strip the paint from the hull. She's now just sat staring out of the window, taking a swig from that bottle now and then; she won't speak to me. I thought I'd best tell someone; she looks terrible. I thought she was on duty in engineering, after what just happened."

“She should be on duty in engineering. Thank you for your discretion Ensign; leave it with me.”

Max walked over to the replicator and ordered a large glass of water, then marched over to where she was sat placing it in front of her. He sat down opposite and pulled the offending second bottle of pure alcohol towards him sniffing.

“I see you are very capable of doing things without the manual when you consider it necessary. That pleases me BUT finding you running away and getting yourself in this state is helping no one. I need you to pull it together Lieutenant.”

Charlie didn't resist when he took the bottle from her. After a moment, she spoke, but her voice was flat, completely devoid of emotion, if slightly slurred due to the alcohol. There was a hollow look behind her eyes as she continued to stare out into space, as if she knew what was to come and had resigned herself to the inevitable.

"You know I almost killed everyone and reduced this ship to a cloud of dust. I'm responsible; everything was set as per my orders, and it was perfect. Every parameter was precisely set, everything by the..." She stopped, as if unable to bring herself to say the word. She gulped, as if she was about to vomit, but she overcame the sensation and then continued.

"And look what it got me. It did not work. I know nothing. It's... It's not like the classroom out here. Since my career is now over, I thought I'd have a drink before I tender my resignation to the cap.. captain, and then I thought I'd throw myself out of the nearest airlock." It was the cold, casual nature of how she spoke now that was most disturbing.

"I'd throw myself in the nacelle plasma stream, but the warp core is offline..."

“First up, no one’s accepting a resignation today, and second up, your career's only over if you step away from it. You didn’t need the book to Jerry rig the replicator, did you? I’m pretty sure they didn’t teach you that trick in the classroom. Third, you’re not throwing your life away on my watch, and before you say I have no idea and I don’t understand, I do. Not so long back I was contemplating dark thoughts like that.

So I do understand. Imagine being thrown nearly 100 years into the future and losing everything you held dear. Every person? That happened to me but people made me see I could still make a difference. So I’m paying it forward Lieutenant, come on get up,” he told her firmly.

She looked at him through her drunken haze "You don't look over a hundred." She sighed. Not totally convinced by his words, but she was beyond putting up a fight at this point.

She stood up and predictably her legs gave out. “Okay,” Max sighed. He managed to catch her before she fell completely. Grabbing the bottle again he took large swig and winced. But this was going to hurt. “We need to sober you up, and as I don’t fully trust the transporters right now,” he hauled her up over his shoulder and winced a second time as the smash to his back earlier pushed back.

“I’m taking you to sickbay,” he said carrying her past Ensign Phillips. “Ensign, forget this ever happened and when you get a chance, repair that replicator and dispose of that bottle please.”

With the head now hanging down over his back and the large quantity of alcohol she had consumed, Charlie now groaned and, unable to stop herself, threw up right down the Commander's back.

Ensign Phillip's eyes went wide as she realised what had just happened, and then she pulled a sour face as the smell of vomit hit her nose.

“Thank you Lieutenant, thank you very much for that,” Max stated as he felt her throw up on him. He knew she had passed out now as she seemed to get heavier and started snoring.

A little while later Max walked into sickbay.”I need a doctor,”he ordered placing the chief down on nearest bio bed, “and a fresh uniform. She needs sobering up doctor as quickly as you can so we can get her back in Engineering” he said spotting Syvar.

“And if anyone’s got a moment to look at my back, I’d sure appreciate it Si.”

"I shall tend to it," T'Chiara said, approaching the unconscious chief engineer. "Doctor Syvar is injured and I have not yet had the chance to tend to him or other injured staff." The Vulcan/Orion hybrid picked up a tricorder and started scanning. "Biobeds see not functional since the last surge, a tricorder and manual examination will have to suffice."

Cradling his fractured and dislocated arm to his chest, a pale-faced Syvar approached, albeit somewhat unsteadily. "A nurse will get you a new uniform sir," he stated, his voice laced with agony, "as for your back... Doctor T'Chiara will see to you after she has tended to myself and Lieutenant Johnson."

Max nodded. The wetness of the chiefs vomit and the smell was really getting to him. “I apologise everyone for this but I just cannot have it on me any more,” he explained unzipping his jacket and shrugging it off, then pulling the shirt underneath where it had also seeped through up and over his head. “I will be in the bathroom for a moment,” he said walking past them all now shirtless in that direction. Luckily his trousers had been missed.

Syvar merely nodded.

Max washed himself and walked out again a couple of minutes later to be met by a nurse holding a clean T-shirt and jacket. “Thank you,” he said then repeated it when the brave women reached out and took the offending soiled one off him to dispose of. Max pulled the new t-shirt over him as he walked back to Syvar. The other doctor was working on treating the chief.

“What happened to you?” Max asked.

"The systems going nuts happened," Syvar answered as he watched the time displaced doctor work her magic on the chief engineer. "One second I'm instructing T'Chiara, the next I'm thrown right across sickbay. I hit something, and I think I broke my arm. I can't move it and my fingers feel a little funny."

"Seems to be a lot of it going round," Max muttered.

"I shall be with you shortly doctor," the hybrid woman promised, "meanwhile commander, tell me what ails you while I wait for these scans to finish."

"The same. The systems going nuts," Max said. "Gravity lost in the Captains ready room earlier. Then it came back 5 times heavier as I fell and landed on my back, and then was attacked by my breakfast," he pointed to the colourful bruise that was coming out on his cheek.

"Then the turbo lift malfunctioned, and again I was thrown to the deck. Then I had to crawl through a malfunctioning turbo lift hatch and help get Lieutenant Beaumont free again.Got thrown around on the bridge and I've just had to carry Lieutenant Johnson as no way right now do I trust the transporters. We would probably have been beamed outside the ship."

"I was there when the gravity failed," Syvar recalled, then suppressed a chuckle and winced visibly as a result. "Ow oh laughing hurts," he commented, "sorry commander, but I couldn't help it. That must've been very difficult."

As T'Chiara finished with Johnson, she turned to Max. "Syvar, sit on that bed and do not move," she instructed her boss. "Commander, as you have a back injury, and you are needed on the bridge, I will see to you first. Sit in the bed there please and tell me if you find any hindrances in moving about."

Max did as he was told and sat on the bio bed. “Will Lieutenant Johnson need to sleep it off doctor?” Max asked as she started treating him.

"That would be wise," Syvar answered, "she's going to suffer a massive headache when she wakes and won't byin any condition to function for several hours."

Max nodded, “I had hoped we could get her back in engineering. We need all hands but ….” He shock his head. “If you can sort me, I will get back up to engineering as soon as possible.”

"Yes, of course commander." Syvar ran a regenerator across the afflicted areas. "Take it easy for a few hours, it'll remain sore for a little while but it should be alright tomorrow."

"I can make no promises. We do not know what is going on with all these system failures," Max commented but tentatively moved and twisted. "Yes its feeling much better already. Thank you. Can you keep me updated on the the Lieutenant and let me know when she awakens?"

"Yessir," Syvar answered dutifully. "Provided Comms remains functional.'

Max nodded. "See you later. No one use a turbolift or try to beam anywhere till we know its safe."

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