Lieutenant Commander Lorra Niala dragged herself from the bed, her muscles protesting the movement. The weight of the last few days pressed down on her, the issue with the Valkyrie’s deflector dish gnawing at her thoughts. It had burrowed into her mind, a puzzle she couldn’t put down, even in her sleep. Her hands still ached as if they’d been working on it all night, trying to solve something that kept slipping just out of reach.

She shuffled toward the sonic shower, the hum of the vibrations massaging her scalp and shoulders, but it did little to ease the exhaustion. The mirror reflected the tiredness in her eyes, the subtle lines of frustration etched into her face. With a sigh, she slipped into her uniform, the fabric feeling stiff against her skin. She didn’t have time to linger; the problem still loomed, waiting for her in the mess hall, where a quick breakfast was the only thing standing between her and another day spent battling the deflector.

As she walked down the corridor, the rhythmic sound of her boots echoed in the quiet ship, each step heavy with the weight of responsibility. Just as she rounded the corner, another set of boots clicked, sharp and purposeful, and a voice broke the silence.

It was the Valkyrie’s Astrobiologist, Lieutenant Junior Grade Tanna Irovin.

“Good morning, Commander” she said in a cheery voice, “headed for the mess hall too?”

“Hey, Lieutenant, I am,” Lorra said, her voice distant as she strode toward the turbolift, boots striking the deck in a steady rhythm. Her fingers twitched at her sides, as if already working through the problem she had spent the night unraveling.

The turbolift doors slid open with a quiet hiss. She stepped inside without hesitation, her gaze unfocused, lost in the storm of calculations spinning through her mind.

Tanna sped up to match her speed. “You look like you’ve got something on your mind. Can I help?” She asked, pausing a step behind as they made it to the Turbolift. The doors hissed open and Tanna followed Lorra inside.

Niala met the Lieutenant’s gaze, forcing a brief smile before shaking her head. “The main deflector’s giving us trouble,” she said. “We’re seeing unstable resonance feedback in the EPS grid, and the quantum stabilizers keep falling out of phase. We tried recalibrating the adaptive subspace relays, ran a level-four diagnostic—twice—but the field harmonics keep slipping. It’s almost like there’s an external disruption at the quantum level, but we haven’t pinpointed the source yet.” She crossed her arms, tension flickering across her face. “If this keeps up, we might have to take the dish fully offline to isolate the issue.”

“Wow, that does sound like a problem,” Tanna said thoughtfully. “Have you already tried cycling the main power couplings? That always seems to work for me when my VCR acts up.”

Niala exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple as a sense of déjà vu settled over her. “Oh, trust me, we’ve been down this road before,” she said with a dry chuckle. “I lead a team of top-notch engineers—you think we didn’t try that? Twice, actually. And for good measure, we even smacked the damn thing.”

She arched a brow and added, “Though I have to say, it’s a little insulting that you assumed we hadn’t thought of that. You don’t see me barging into your lab, poking at your experiments like some clueless cadet, do you? So maybe—just maybe—consider that we actually know what we’re doing.”

Tanna crossed her arms and fell back against the turbolift wall, a scowl now playing at her face. “I’m only trying to offer a different perspective, no need to be so catty.”

Niala rolled her eyes, her tone heavy with sarcasm. “If you’re so eager to help,” she muttered, “feel free to swing by Engineering sometime and give it a shot.” Without waiting for a response, she turned away, arms folding tightly across her chest.

“Well, you’re the Chief Engineer aren’t you? Can’t you get it going again?” Tanna asked sarcastically.

Niala turned, exhaling sharply. “Yes, I’m the Chief Engineer, but my expertise is in warp-core mechanics and a handful of other systems—the Deflector isn’t one of them. Turns out, no one on my team specializes in it either. So, believe it or not, your ancient VCR experience is probably just as good as anyone’s.”

Before Tanna could get a word out, the turbolift lurched beneath them, sending a tremor through the floor. The sudden jolt threw Niala off balance, and she barely managed to catch herself against the wall as the entire cabin ground to a halt with an unsettling screech. The lights flickered, casting brief shadows across the startled faces inside.

Tanna picked herself up from the floor of the turbolift, where she had been thrown by the sudden stop. She straightened her uniform and turned to face Niala. “Oh boy, a chance to watch the Chief Engineer work her magic.” she said sarcastically.

Niala snapped her gaze to Tanna, one brow arched as a wry smile tugged at her lips. “Well, Lieutenant, it looks to me like this is your chance to work that VCR sorcery.”

Tanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Do you have any ideas as to why we’ve stopped, Commander?”

“I have no idea,” Niala muttered, tapping her combadge. “Lorra to Engineering—can someone explain why my turbolift just stopped?”

Only silence answered.

Her brow creased. She tapped the badge again, firmer this time. “Lorra to Engineering, report.”

Nothing.

She turned to Tanna, eyes sharp. “Something’s not right.” Her fingers hovered over her combadge before she dropped her hand. “Could be a disruption field. I can’t assess it from here.”

“I wish I had my tricorder on me.” Tanna said, ” I left it in the lab last night.” She shifted from one foot to the other, feeling suddenly sheepish at her indignant tone. “Apologies, Lieutenant Commander,” she said “I’ve been told I’m a bit of a bear before I have my morning coffee. So, how are we going to get out of here?”

Niala’s eyes swept the dimly lit space, her gaze narrowing. “First things first—we need to figure out where we are.”

Tanna looked up at the hatch in the roof of the turbolift. She looked over at the Chief Engineer, who was still studying the access panel. “Give me a boost, and I’ll open that hatch and check which deck we’re at. Then, at least we’ll have a better idea of how long we’re going to fall before we hit the sudden stop at the bottom.”

Niala flashed a quick smile. “There should be a service ladder around here. We can use it to reach the nearest Jefferies tube.”

She crouched slightly, planting her feet as she cupped her hands together. With a steady glance at Tanna, she smirked. “Well? Up you go.” Her fingers tightened, ready to give her a boost.

Tanna placed her foot into the Lieutenant Commander’s entwined fingers gently, and then pushed off upwards with her leg, although the speed at which she ascended towards the ceiling of the turbolift took her by surprise. Wow, this woman is strong. She thought to herself as she twisted the emergency latch and pushed the hatch open. A rush of cool, fresh air hit her face as she pulled herself up so her head and shoulders were above the top of the lift.

“It looks like we are between decks Four and Five” she called down to Niala. “Quite a ways to fall if we’re that unlucky. Okay, I’m coming back down.” She lowered herself back into the turbolift, hand on Niala’s shoulder as her foot made contact with the floor. “Thanks for not dropping me, are your hands okay?”

“Why would I drop the one person who’s supposed to fix my Deflector?” Niala quipped, smirking. “But yeah, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Her expression sobered as she glanced upward. “Now we just need to figure out how to get us both up there.”

Tanna pulled off her tunic. The cramped space of the turbolift was getting warmer, and she wasn’t very keen on being in small spaces for long. She sat down onto the floor, and pulled a small antique pocket knife out of her right boot. She pulled off her combadge and stuck it to her uniform undershirt, and clicked the pocket knife open. “It was my grandfather’s.” she said, noticing the quizzical look on the Chief Engineer’s face, “Never know when you’ll need it.”

She stabbed it through her tunic and began tearing the fabric into strips. “I think,” she began, “If you boost me up again, I can climb onto the roof, and then pull you up after me.”

Niala’s eyes flicked to Tanna, then down to the discarded tunic. Her brows lifted, and a slow smirk curved her lips. She let the moment hang before exhaling a soft chuckle.

“Well, Lieutenant, I have to say—I appreciate the show,” she murmured, tilting her head as she gave Tanna an amused once-over. “I do have an eye for the female form”

Tanna noted her bemused expression, and the quick once over. “Careful Commander, look too long, and you’ll owe me a drink.” she said with a wink, as she tied two of the strips together at the ends.

A grin spread across Niala’s face. “But,” she said, glancing back at Tanna, “I think you just solved our problem.”

Tanna stared down at the makeshift rope, which was already several feet long. “We’ll tie it between ourselves.” She said, resuming the work. “That way, if one of us slips, we have a chance to catch them.” She finished tying the strips together and stood, tying one end of the length tightly around her waist before passing the other end to Niala. “Don’t worry Commander, I won’t drop you either,” she said with a smirk.

Niala crouched down, her fingers swiftly grabbing the makeshift rope. The coarse material scraped against her skin as she tied it tightly around her waist, the knot secure but uncomfortably tight. She rose back to her feet, feeling the weight of the rope settle against her. Her legs shifted slightly apart, grounding herself as her hands curved into a supportive cup, eyes locked on Tanna.

She gave a quick, confident glance and said, “Well, I’m ready if you are.”

Tanna once again stepped into Niala’s strong hands, and was again hoisted towards the hole. She grabbed both sides with her arms, and pulled herself up until she was halfway out onto the top of the turbolift. She lifted her free leg and her knee landed on the cold metal, finally clambering the rest of the way out. She quickly turned around and poked her head back down into the turbolift, stretching an arm out towards Niala. “Was the second show as good as the first?” she asked with a smile.

“Maybe throw in a third one?” Niala drawled, one brow arched as she folded her arms. “You know, for a proper comparison.” Her smirk deepened, sarcasm lacing every word. She tilted her head slightly, but didn’t bother waiting for a response.

Instead, she grabbed hold of the rope and hoisted herself up, muscles tensing as she pulled her body upward. Her free hand shot out toward Tanna, fingers reaching. “Come on,” she said, her breath steady despite the strain. “Let’s get moving.”

Tanna held Niala’s hand tightly as she lifted her, pulling hard until Niala’s free hand made contact with the rim of the hatch. Once Tanna was sure the Commander wouldn’t fall back down, she shifted her grip to the makeshift rope, keeping tension in case Niala slipped.

Niala grunted softly as she pulled herself out of the lift, her hands gripping the cold metal edges of the shaft. She paused for a moment, catching her breath, then stood tall, scanning the stark, uniform walls of the shaft. The low hum of the ship’s systems seemed to vibrate through the walls, but there was little else to break the stillness.

Her gaze moved upward, flicking across the shaft’s height, until her eyes settled on something above. After a few seconds, she pointed, her finger steady. “That square hatch,” she said, her voice measured. “That’s the access point. From there, we can get into the Jeffries Tubes.”

Tanna’s head tilted back to look where the Lieutenant Commander’s hand was pointing. “That’s not too far.” She said, hoping she sounded confident. “Would you like to go first, or shall I?”

“Well, go ahead,” Niala said, her smirk stretching as she shifted her weight onto one leg. She tapped her fingers against her arm, her gaze flicking upward with feigned curiosity. “Strictly for the sake of a third comparison, of course.” Her voice dripped with amusement, but the glint in her eyes made it clear—she was enjoying this far too much.

Tanna smiled, despite herself. She hadn’t had this kind of banter in a while, and it was nice to have fun again. “Alright Commander, I’ll go first, but I’ll hold you to that drink.” She gave Niala a wide smile, turned on her heel, and began to climb the ladder.