The detached panel and the lower legs sticking out of the maintenance crawlspace should have been the only indication of a maintenance task taking pace in this particular lounge. On the other side of the bulkhead, Charnack, the operations office in question wiped his forehead with the back of hand, in this instance out of habit rather than clearing away any perspiration. He grab a Hypospanner placed it over a locking mechanism and activated, causing a dull whine that took on a higher pitch in few seconds, Charnack grimaced but kept the tool going, until the pitch changed again. He put down the tool, seized the relay with both hands and pulled. “Come on you stubborn thing!!!!” He finally called out, a little louder than he intended, but not to concerned about that.

A hiss of chastising whispers raced through the lounge, as observers of the delicate space ballet outside the tall windows were interrupted by the raised voice. A young Bolian couple chattered disapprovingly through cerulean lips as the voice continued to undercut their romantic rendezvous. On a nearby sofa, a tall Naussican trader, clad in thick leathers and gilded brocade, flexed his mandibles in frustration as the disembodied pair of legs continued to berate the reluctant bolt. From her standing position next to an ornate planter, a young Vulcan diplomat’s ear twitched minutely as she drew on her deepest reserves of calm, lest she leap upon the man’s prone figure in a rage.

The disruptive and repetitive cries of the engineer were certainly not the underscore any of the collected audience had been expecting to accompany the ornate performance of Gomthree, who tangoed nimbly with the shuttle craft nearby.

“You need to use the low torque setting, whilst also moving the tool head in the opposite direction,” the disembodied voice of Log whispered from his leaning position just beyond the opening panel.

“Oh good! Unsolicited advice just what every techie wants.” Charnack muttered, however the chamber effect of the small space served to amplify and make his comments heard by whoever was on the other side. There was a shift and clunk from the relay he was working with as it partly came away. That small bit of progress buoyed his confidence for the moment, enough for him to respond. “Thank you for your concern, i’m almost done however. That and i am sure the view is much more interesting than my activities.” Now placing the spanner behind the component, with the idea of using it as a lever to completely dismount it.

“I can look at the view and help you fix the relay.” Beyond the small aperture Log smirked at the man’s brusque attitude  it was almost like being back on Tellar Prime

As Gomthree took another pass over one of the star bases landing platforms, narrowly avoiding a departing runabout with a flick of its hind quarters, Log lifted a small triangular device from the engineers kit by his feet.

“I’ve had to do that relay before, you might need the micro degausser.  I’ve never managed to stop the fixing points from building up with a slight charge.”

A stubby hand appeared alongside Charnack’s hip, the triangular device pinched between two sausage like fingers. It trilled with a low and not unpleasant hum.

“Maybe you should take a break?” Log suggested, partly in the hopes of sating the shortening tempers of his cabin mates who eyed the pair with frustrated eyebrows

There was a dull clang as the improvised lever actually worked. Charnak’s smile was short-lived, just as the uninvited assistant passed comment on a charge build up, his hand passed close enough to the mounting points. “Ahhgh!!” A dull drumming followed, before grasping the offered device. “Thank you. A little late but thank you.”

Tapping each of the mounting points, a brief white glow formed as they came into contact, the charge being attracted and dissipated by the harmonics. He dragged himself from the crawlspace, intent on confronting the officer who seemed to think it was his purpose to offer advice and critique his performance. “Look I’m sorry for the disturbance to your quiet time with the latest beverage the replicator has to offer, but.” He faltered on seeing just how many persons were on the deck, and equally how many were looking in his direction rather than the performance outside. “Ohhh that’s a lot of people, a lot of displeased people.” He scooted to one side of the open panel and leaned back against the bulkhead. “Maybe now’s as good a time as any to take five.”

Log helped the lieutenant to his feet with a muscular arm, as the assembled critics turned their gaze back to the large windows where Gomthree continued their celestial dance, lolling in wide orbits around the station.

“You don’t want to miss the performance, Lieutenant.” Log whispered out of the minute gap in the corner of his mouth. “Nisha down in xeno-biology thinks it’s a learning activity, you know, like a puppy? Almarida over in communications is sure it’s some complicated message.”

Log lifted a small handful of wrapped sweets from his pocket where an extended crinkle betrayed the prescene of several more empty wrappers. With stubby fingers, he offered the man a small purple sweet, twirled with ornate, golden-edged plastic.

“What do you think it’s doing, Lieutenant?”

Charnack paused as he palmed the offered sweet. This really was a show, treats and all. His attention turning to the creature beyond the bulkhead as it came back into view. Watching on as it twisted over once more, then half circled a workbee, before continuing on. “Could it be both? Or most of one and a bit of the other, learning activity while learning to send a message, albeit a simple one?” His response less of a response more of a further question, it did however feel good to speculate .

“I think it’s just play, really. No ulterior motive.” Log smiled as Gomthree took another tight spin and chased the workbee across the vista towards the small landing platform several decks down. “And I think he likes being watched.”

Suddenly, the pine cone shape sharply turned and raced back towards the lounge, where it hovered several hundred meters away, tantalisingly close to the base. Log felt the powerful urge to reach out and touch it through the ether. Across a dozen other lounges, other watchers shared his urge.

“I think he enjoys us watching as much as he enjoys doing it.” Log observed with an ever-growing smile.

Log subtly slid the panel closed with the heel of a foot and knocked the engineering kit closed before leaning in to Charnack conspiratorially.

“I think you deserve a break, it’d be a shame to miss the performance,” he whispered.

Noting the dull thud of the kit case closing, Charnack twerled and teased the wrapper away from the gifted treat, finally trying to be discrete. Glancing across and down at Log, he offered a grin. “You make a convincing argument Ensign.” His attention now back on the creature out there, he popped the sweet in his mouth, and settled himself to enjoy the performance.