Jeden sat in Ten Forward as she waited for her shift to start enjoying a Deka Tea. As she sipped the hot tea she casually scrolled through her PADD look-up details on Outpost Galen Four. She knew they were en route to the remote outpost after it was hit by a neutronic storm but hadn’t been told much else.

Putting the PADD down she tilted her head back and stared off into the distance and ran through the possible issues the ageing station would have following the impact with a neutronic storm and how best to fix them. Muttering to herself she rattled them off in her head, “Hull damage though if their shields held….., power disruptions, possible radiation damage…” Her line of thought was interrupted as she felt the subtle shift within the ship as it dropped out of warp into orbit around Outpost Galen Four. 

Her eyes instantly jumped to the station trying to make out any details but they were too far away to make out much beyond several docked ships.

Before she could think on it her commbadge chimed and her direct CO’s voice came over it, “Ensign Sonia, report to transporter room 2 in 20 minutes, you are heading to the station to assist with repairs. They will send you where needed once you arrive. The rest of your team will meet you in the transporter room.”

Quickly replying with her confirmation she took one last sip of her tea before scoping up her PADD and running down to the main equipment lockers to grab whatever she could think of. As she ran she couldn’t help but smile, she always enjoyed diving into a problem when it came to fixing it. 

Nineteen minutes later she ran into the transporter room gasping for air slightly as she lugged a large duffle bag over her shoulder filled with two standard repair kits and a couple of extra components she thought may have been burned out on the station. As she entered she looked around and tried to hide her rapid breathing before realizing she was the only one in the room, “Guess I am the first one here.”

She wasn’t for long, however, as a petite figure bounced into the transporter room, engineering kit in hand and a smile that would brighten the moons of Qo’nos. “So, who’s leading this shindig?” the green-skinned beauty smirked, hoping her colleague would understand the irony of the fact there were only the two of them in the room.

Jeden turned around and smiled back, “Oh, hey.” She made a mock glance around the room and shrugged, “At the moment, both of us, neither of us, who knows.” As she finished, she glanced over the Orion and tilted her head as she thought back to her friend Veeda. After a moment she let out a little laugh and held out her hand, “I am Sonia Jeden by the way, I don’t think we have met yet.”

“Dalaa,” the young Orion returned the greeting, taking the offered hand and shaking it for a moment. “What are we even doing when we get over there?” she asked when the pleasantries were over.

“Honestly, my CO was a bit vague, they told me to report here and beam to the station and we would be told where to go. I figure, we just work as a pair and go from there.” Jeden said with a shrug as she quickly entered the coordinates for the transport.

“Well let’s get over there, then…” Dalaa shrugged, climbing the few steps onto the transporter pad and waiting for her new friend.

Jeden skipped onto the pad and smirked at Dalaa, “You took the words right out of my mouth.” Looking toward the console she tapped her combadge, “Energize.”

In a swirl of blueish light, the transporter room vanished from before them before being replaced with a dark room illuminated by only a couple of emergency lights. Jeden looked around and easily recognized the layout and design of an older-model transporter room just before the door opened and a young Bolian, not much older than herself, stepped in.

The Lieutenant, based on his dirty and stained uniform barely glanced up at them from a PADD he was busy working on, “Right, Ensigns…Sonia and Dalaa,” he said after quickly flicking through his PADD. Stifling a yawn he turned and quickly, “Follow me.”

Jeden glanced at Dalaa and shrugged, “Off we go then, I guess.”

Exchanging glances with her Columbia colleague, the Orion shrugged her shoulders and hopped off the transporter pad, following closely behind the Lieutenant.

Following the Lieutenant down the corridor Jeden couldn’t help but notice that the station looked worse for wear with multiple damaged power junctions and signs of old age at almost every turn. What did catch her attention as they passed the mess hall, by the looks of it, was a large number of young Talarian. 

Quickening her pace she fell in line beside the Lieutenant, “How many Talarians are on the station, Lieutenant?”

He shrugged, “Too many.” 

Before she could push any further he turned down another corridor which was marked with a sign saying Docking Clamps A. “Ok,” he began, “Here we are, you two are to assist the crew of the Q’Nair in getting their systems fixed. Their commander…ah…Xindar requested help as the ships were on a training mission and they did not have enough people who knew what they were doing. Their initial reports indicate their power relays took a hit during the storm and are causing fluctuations throughout the ship and interfering with their gravity as well. Questions?”

Jeden looked over at Dalaa before glancing towards the docking clamps, “How have the Talarians been? I have heard they are, um, rather aggressive towards the Federation?” She was sure there wouldn’t be any issues as they were there to help after all but she hated the thought of having to fight if it came to it.

The Bolian sighed but nodded in understanding, “We have been at peace with them, for decades, Xindar has been nothing but formal and respectful towards us.”

“No two people are the same,” the Orion told with wisdom far belying her years. “We should show caution in our dealings with them.” 

Jeden glanced at the Orion and nodded, “Always a good idea.” With that, she turned and walked to the airlock as her mind started to focus on the work while pushing any concerns she had to the background, “I do love working in zero-g but it can get so messy if the ship isn’t well kept.”

Stopping and glaring at the entrance, the Orion took several deep breaths in order to compose herself. “I… I’m no fan of zero-g.” But seeing her companion happily going about her business made her competitive streak show, pushing herself to get in the airlock.

Before stepping into the airlock Jeden glanced at the panel and confirmed there was a hard seal with the Talarian ship, “Seal is good. Guess I should knock.” Without pause, she quickly tapped the console letting the crew of the Q’Nair know that they had guests. 

After pressing the comms panel and not getting a response for 30 seconds Jeden began to rock back and forth on her toes, “Wonder if no one is h….”

A crackle of static came over the speaker and a young voice responded, “What do you want Federation?”

“Uh.., we have been told to help you with the repairs to your power systems and hopefully sort out your gravity,” glancing back at Dalaa she shrugged, “May we come aboard?”

There was a moment where the silence hung in the air until the airlock before they clicked and slid to the side. “Fine.”

“Aren’t they a welcoming bunch,” Jeden mused as she stepped inside and stumbled forward as the gravity shifted between the station and the ship.

Dalaa watched and listened to the exchange, hoping it wouldn’t be long until they were out of the airlock one way or another.

After the airlock closed behind them the inner door opened revealing a large middle-aged Talarian, “Welcome to the Q’Nair, I am Xindar the Captain. I am glad that we finally have some assistance with our repairs.” He cast an eye over the two ensigns before sighing, “I hope you do not mind knocking the heads of thick-headed trainies together, you may need to. I will have a word with them but they may not respond well to instructions from women.” 

Jeden inhaled slightly, she had hoped the Talarian society may have changed since but it appeared not. With a shrug she smiled, trying to hide her discomfort, “Their loss then.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to look out for ourselves,” the Orion smiled, folding her arms across her chest.

“Very well, I will take you the main power relays that were damaged. If you can repair them and sort out this gravity issue it would be appreciated. I would prefer it to be off rather than having these fluctuations,” Xindar said. With that, he turned and led them through the ship. As they made their way through the vessel the extent of the damage became clear as consoles and various secondary systems showed signs of power overloads. The few Talarians they passed turned their heads to watch them pass with suspicious, if not hostile, expressions. 

On more than one occasion Xindar had to bark orders to get them to return to work before they reached the main power relay. “A power surge from the storm overloaded the relay, my engineer is in your station’s medical bay after being seriously injured and the trainees on the ship cannot tell one end of a self-sealing stem bolt from another.  I will have two, somewhat competent ones, join you shortly though as every opportunity to learn should be utilized, their names are Jerom and Kelteh. If you need anything you can reach me with your com badges, the station’s commander looped me into the network.”

Dalaa watched as Xindar went to go about his business, sharing a glance with her colleague before going about her business herself.

Jeden let out a breath she had been holding for a while as her excitement to work on the systems increased, overshadowing her concerns, “Best get to it then, shall we Dalaa? Who knows how much use Jerom and Kelteh will be?”

With that, she slid a hair tie off her wrist and tied her hair back into a short ponytail as she knelt before the access panel and quickly opened, “Let’s see what the damage is….” 

As she pulled the panel away a shower of sparks jumped from the console to her side causing her to shift away from it and put the access panel’s hatch between her and the console. With a chuckle, she put the hatch aside and peered into the main workings of the power relay, “Well….this is a mess. I see several fused power switches and burned our cabling.” She reached for her tool bag and slid it in before her before she began to pull herself through the small opening. After a minute of wiggling through the cramped access tunnel, she pulled herself into the central chamber which was just big enough for a few people to work without physically standing on top of each other she smiled and began to sort out the puzzle before her.

“Whole bloody thing’s a mess,” Dalaa moaned, reaching into her repair kit to pull out a plasma torch and begin melting the welded seams to a console hatch that contained the unit she needed to access. 

After ten minutes of finding a seemingly endless amount of destroyed equipment Jeden looked back at Dalaa, “It might be easier to just rebuild it, this is a mess.” 

Before she could continue a head popped into the opening below beside Jeden’s foot, “Glad to see the Federation isn’t against getting their hands dirty. I’m Jerom, I was told to come help you.”

“You guys really need to learn a thing or two about maintenance,” Dalaa shot the guy a look of disgust. “Nothing on this ship seems to work right, things are jury-rigged that shouldn’t be and don’t even get me started on the EPS relays here…” With that, the young Orion moved away, shaking her head in frustration.

Jeden unsuccessfully suppressed a laugh causing her to snort at Dalaa’s comment, “You could say that again.” Glancing down at Jerom she shifted her feet so he would have to crawl between her legs to get into, “Best get up in here, another pair of hands will be helpful.” 

Jerom pulled himself in and opened his tool kit as she glared at Dalaa, “And what is wrong with the EPS relays? Sure they took some damage but they were working.”

“Barely,” the Orion frowned, drawing his attention to several fused couplings. “If these break down, you’ll lose power across half the ship. You need to get to a repair facility and have the entire ship overhauled,” she went back about her work, utilizing her plasma spanner to help her release some fused components, “…or scrapped entirely.” she added somewhat snidely.

Jeden rolled her eyes as she disconnected and replaced yet another fused power switch, “Wasn’t there meant to be someone else helping?”

Jerom laughed under his breath, “You mean Kelteh? He is Xindar’s son, I would be surprised if he shows up, if it isn’t a weapons system or fighting he doesn’t care. Not to mention…” Jerom glanced at the two ensigns before sighing, “He is, um, well… rather old fashioned, when he heard the Federations send to women to repair the ship he may have said some unpleasant things….”

Before either could respond Jerom continued, “I know how my people are, where, well still are, I guess, in regards to gender. It is antiquated. I figure you two are here to help and can teach me something, so why not learn.”

Jeden smiled, “Glad to hear that Jerom. I am sure it goes both ways.”

“I’m not…” Dalaa muttered from inside a nearby console, shaking her head in a rather convincing fashion.

Jeden turned slightly, gave Dalaa a sideways glance and rolled her eyes, “Ignore that.”

Over the next two hours, they worked carefully at striping out and replacing all the burned-out and damaged equipment, twice having the gravity cut out completely causing their tools and themselves to float dangerously close to some of the still-live power conduits. 

“I think that is it,” Jeden said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Dalaa, can you reactivate the relay?” she asked gesturing to the console beside her colleague.

“I could do it in my sleep,” the cocksure Orion scoffed, downing her tools and tapping away until the relay was once again active, power surging through the conduits.

Jeden smiled as the system came alive around her and she felt the subtle increase in gravity as it stabilized. “Best get out of here now.” she said as she nodded to Jerom, “You first, don’t want to climb over you in here.”

He nodded, tossed his toolbox through the opening and began to make his way through the crawl space; after a moment he disappeared. “Guess I will go next.”

Jeden crouched down and began to pull her way through the small crawl space. After a moment she let a little curse in Bajoran and she hit her hip on a pointlessly placed support. “Why would that have a sharp edge,” she muttered to herself, feeling the sting of a cut.

As she got to the opening she let out a gasp as she saw Jerom unconscious on the floor in the corridor. Just as she let out a shout of warning a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her out of the crawl space and found two young Talarians standing before her.

“Looks like the Federation finally finished the job, though we will likely need to get one of the male engineers to go and fix their mistakes,” sneered the first. “Maybe I should have supervised but I had better things to do.”

The second one let out a laugh, “You’re likely right on that Kelteh.”

“What happened to Jerom?” Jeden asked already knowing the answer.

“Oh, he must have fallen and hurt himself. Happens to him all the time, he doesn’t deserve to be here. Not like the rest of us.” Kelteh sneered with a short laugh.

Dragging herself out of the crawl space, the young Orion brandished her plasma spanner at the two men. “These Federation women are among the team who have saved your lives, the lives of your friends, and your ship. Show some god damn respect or I’ll damn well crawl in there and undo everything we just did. I have no problem watching you floating in space when the hull breaches and your power systems can’t establish the necessary forcefields,” she warned them, almost out of breath by the time her words had stopped.

Kelteh glared at Dalaa and then back at Jeden as she regained her feet. He wasn’t used to people talking back to him and he stuttered for a moment as his anger increased. “I, well, you…” he stammered as he clenched his fist. 

Before he could say anything footsteps could be heard in the hallway and Xindar stepped into the room. “I have to say, job well done, I hope that…” he stopped when he saw Jerom on the floor and the scene before him. “What is going on here?” 

“According to Kelteh here, Jerom fell and hurt himself while we were still in the access corridor,” Dalaa snitched, folding her arms across her chest and giving the best smug smile she could muster.

Jeden cast an irritated eye at Kelteh while Xindar bent down beside Jerom as he started to stir while looking back at Kelteh. “We all know that isn’t what happened is it Kelteh. Did you at least try to learn something while working with the two ensigns?”

Kelteh looked to his father, “I, well, I got….got caught up with other repairs and only just arrived. Isn’t that right?” He glanced at his friend for support before looking back to Xindar.

His friend started to speak but was cut off, “Enough with the lies, I know you were in the mess hall on the station, their security contacted me when you tried to start a fight with them. You are a disgrace, you were given a chance and chose to squander it.” Xindar looked back at Dalaa and Jeden, “Thank you for repairing the power relays, if it isn’t too much of an imposition could you help Jerom to the medical centre on the station? I have to deal with Kelteh.”

Jeden looked at Dalaa and then to Jerom and nodded, “Not a problem, happy to help.” As she moved to help Jerom up and put one of his arms around her shoulder she looked at Kelteh and shook her head slowly showing her irritation with him. “Dalaa grab his other side, let’s see if we can beam him directly and save the walk.”

Huffing, the Orion did as she was told and dutifully helped the downed Talarian. But inside, she couldn’t help but wonder if all this was worth it. It wasn’t as if the Talarians were ever going to be a threat to the Federation, or an ally, so why were they putting all this effort into assisting them?

Jeden tapped her combadge and a moment later they found themselves standing in the station’s main medical centre which was full of injured Federation and Talarian personnel. As they appeared two nurses ran over and helped Jerom onto a bed before ushering them to the door. Jeden back before turning to one of the nurses, “Let me know how he is, he took a knock to the head.”

With that, they were pushed out the door as the nurse muttered about the lack of space. “Well, that was an eventful day.”