T’Keterk and Joci had entered Main Engineering after attending the crew meeting. “I believe I now have time for that tour.” T’Keterk raised an eyebrow at the Bajoran walking beside him. 

“Way ahead of your Lieutenant.” Joci replied. “Once the tour is complete we will meet the rest of the crew then get down to business. I imagine we will be working quite closely together for this assignment.”

“Agreed, Ensign.” T’Keterk replied. “I look forward to seeing what we can do.”

The pair spent the better part of two hours going over all the facilities and surprises the ship had to offer before they reached their final destination: Main Shuttlebay and the main cargo bays which also included the ship’s onboard fabrication units. “And welcome to my home when I’m not pottering about Main Engineering.” Joci smiled as she directed T’Keterk inside. 

“Cargo Bay 1 holds all our additional raw materials and components requires for the fabrication units, Cargo Bay 2 has been earmarked for Isolation and Quarantine protocols if the mission necessitates it.” Joci explained as they walked. “Cargo Bay 3 holds food and medical supplies while Cargo Bay 4 is not regularly used as it is configurable into emergency accommodations, however if there is cargo specific to the mission at hand, it will be stored here if we can’t secure it elsewhere.”

Taking it all in, T’Keterk had noticed they had reached the Fabrication Labs. By the looks of it, several programs were running. “What is currently being fabricated?” He asked as he looked toward Joci.

“Up until now they have been fabricating ship components such as EPS manifolds, plasma injectors and shuttle components.” Joci replied. “Im sure you noticed the small fleet of them as we passed main shuttlebay?”

T’Keterk had indeed noticed around sixteen shuttlecraft and just as many auxiliary craft to ensure the Auckland was prepared no matter the assignment.. “Bit hard to miss.” he replied in jest as Joci led the pair back toward Main Engineering. 

Back in Main Engineering and taking up positions near the warp core, Joci caught everyone’s attention. “Alright, listen up everyone, with me is Lieutenant T’Keterk. He joins us from the USS Corax and has been assigned as our new Chief Engineer.”

Joci waited a moment for the noise to reach an acceptable level again before continuing. “I will hand over to T’Keterk and he will fill you all in on our new assignment.”

“Thank you, Ensign.” T’Keterk replied with a nod before facing the rest of the engineering crew. “As Ensign Malra mentioned, I am Lieutenant T’Keterk, newly assigned Chief Engineer and it is a privilege to be here.” 

There was a general murmurs of greetings and welcomes before T’Keterk continued. “I’m sure you are all anxious to hear about our next assignment, so please if you can, hold all questions until the end.”

Murmurs of acknowledgment were returned as T’Keterk consulted his padd. “Let me preface this by saying now, this current assignment will have us operating outside of Federation space. Territories inside the former Romulan Star Empire have formally called for aid to quell an outbreak of Terrellian Plague.”

Taking a moment to let everyone absorb this, T’Keterk continued. “We are being urgently assigned to provide humanitarian aid to the Proteus System, a former mining colony that liberated itself after the collapse of the empire. We will be assisting with infrastructure and defensive upgrades, emergency shelters and fabrication and synthesis of supplies due to supply chain constraints.”

“This is a chance to make a difference to the lives of these colonists and improve relations between the Reman’s and the Federation. I have uploaded all relevant information into the ships computer and would ask if you are not up to date with your inoculations, please arrange a booster regimen with Doctor Yates.” Turning to face Ensign Malra he muttered. “Can you think of anything I have missed.?” With a slight shake of her head, T’Keterk refocused on the gathered crew.

“I now open up the floor to questions.”

The next half hour had T’Keterk adding additional information and filling in some blanks including the Fenris Rangers, possible conflicts and additional functions the Auckland may be required to undertake. T’Keterk was pleased with the questions and how they all fit into the wider scope of the mission. He had some good crew operating under him and Ensign Malra would be an invaluable asset to the department and assisting T’Keterk as needed.

He was going to miss not being present on the bridge the majority of the time, but on a ship this size, the Engine Room was where he was meant to be. Although he had the stoicism and logic of a Vulcan, he couldn’t help but smile a little.