<USS Avalon> Restless Culmination - Ensign Kyle Fenner

Restless Culmination
By Ensign Kyle Fenner

The yolk slowly seeped into the sea of potatoes and
gravy, but Kyle wasn?t paying attention.  The pair of
fingers had slowly worked themselves halfway around
his ears before, following his throaty sigh of
pleasure, he realized his table was no longer empty.

Sara and Der?kur looked at Kyle from behind goofy
grins while Tracy finished her way around his ears. 
Sara peered at him, ?From the sounds you just made,
I?d swear you were Ferengi.?

Kyle, enjoying the second circuit around his ears, was
slow in answering.  ?It feels? good.?  Tracy giggled
as she continued. ?I could wake up to this every day.?

?Lucky guy!  How come I don?t get to wake up like
that,? Der?kur pouted.

?Well, babe, if you don?t like how you woke up this
morning??

?No no no no ? I meant waking up to? this morning,
while I eat breakfast.  Just not that crazy casserole
stuff he makes.?

Kyle snorted, ?It tastes better than that foot you?re
eating.?  He scooped a huge fork-full of the mess on
his plate.

?Not likely.?

Kyle shoved the fork in his mouth, ?Mm-mmm.?

*     *     =A=     *     *

Kyle strode through the entrance to engineering, his
gaze momentarily turning to the heart of the ship. 
Rogers was waiting for him.

?Hey Rogers, you got my message??

?Yeah, what?s up, sir??

Kyle looked around for listeners before answering,
?How soon ?til your next performance report??

?About three weeks,? he answered, raising his
eyebrows, ?May I ask why??

Kyle grinned widely, holding forth a PADD.  Roger?s
eyes scanned the document as he mumbled the opening
lines, ?Attention to orders. Citation to accompany the
award of Meritorious? Oh shit!?

?How?d you like be the one to read this when she gets
it presented?? Kyle asked.  ?It?d look great on your
performance report, you know.?

?That?d be great, Sir.  This will send her to warp
ten.?

?No doubt.  You?ve got the rest of the day off, get
your dress uniform looking sharp.  The ceremony is at
zero seven-thirty tomorrow.?

?Fifteen minutes early??

Kyle nodded, ?As always.?

?Cool, thanks for the day off, Sir.?

?You?re wasting it talking to me, get outta here!?
laughed Kyle.

A female crewman in a science uniform approached Kyle
when the doors closed behind Rogers.  She waited for
Kyle to acknowledge her.

?Hey Tudyk, you ready for tomorrow??

Crewman Amber Tudyk smiled a dimple into existence. 
?Oh yeah!?  A little concern showed through the smile,
?You sure no one will mind me reading the orders?  I
mean, I?m not a maintainer.?

?I?ve only been here a few weeks, but it?s obvious,
even to me, that you?re well-liked here.  Don?t worry
about it.?

?All right, I?ll take your word for it, Sir.?

Another person from science, this one a Petty Officer,
chose to interrupt.  ?Don?t you engineers have better
things to do than harass us poor science folks??

Kyle quipped back, ?I can?t work today, it?s a
Monday.?

The PO frowned, ?But it?s Wednesday.?

?Yeah, but this is a two-day work cycle, so today is
Monday, and tomorrow is Friday.?  Kyle?d been saving
this for days, but a good moment never came up to
spring his new concept on anyone.  Today was his lucky
day.  ?Mondays are too terrible to work, and Fridays
are too good to waste working, so don?t expect much to
get done in the next couple days.?
?Uh-huh.  So when DO you work?? asked Amber.

?Well, the weekend shifts work three days, so Saturday
will be their Wednesday, pretty much guaranteeing
they?ll get something done? pretty much.?  Kyle
sounded doubtful.

Petty Officer Fryman shook his head, ?I?ve better get
this impressionable young crewman out of here before
you corrupt her.?

Kyle just laughed.

*      *      =A=      *      *

?Damn it!?  Kyle slapped Jeffries Tube floor.

?I don?t get it, Sir that should?ve worked.?  Crewman
Staite?s frustration came through the communicator
loud and clear.

?It isn?t the replicator, might as well get back up
here,? grumbled Kyle.

?We knew it wasn?t the replicator before we flashed
the firmware.?

?Yeah well, when we?re grasping at straws we can?t be
picky.  Grab something from the chow hall on your way
back.  Fenner out.?

Kyle dragged his hands slowly down his face,
suspecting he looked as tired as he was feeling. 
Every replicator on the level wouldn?t just cut out. 
There had  to be something common to all of them that
was at fault.

Activating his tricorder, he ran another test of the
power system for the corridor.  Just like the other
forty times he?d scanned the power system today, there
was nothing wrong with it.

?FUCK!  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!?  

?It doesn?t sound as fun when you say it so angrily,?
teased a female voice.

?Afternoon, Lieutenant,? Kyle greeted.

?Try evening.  I sent that poor kid home for the day.?

Kyle tiredly turned toward Sara.  ?What time is it??

?An hour after shift change,? she cheerily replied. 
?Gremlin hunting??

?Yeah yeah.  A fucking commando gremlin.?  Kyle
slouched against the wall of the tube.  ?It?s been
mocking us for a couple days.?  

Sara?s nose crinkled, ?Ewww, I hate the commando
ones.?  She moved to slouch next to Kyle.  ?Power??

Kyle grunted.  ?Golden.?

?Computer??

?Satellite four monitors this area, and it passes a
level 3 diagnostic.?

Sara groaned.  ?Fuck.?

*      *      =A=      *      *

The sonic shower had never felt so good.  Kyle allowed
himself ten minutes of its ministrations before
deciding his back felt good enough to stand up
straight.  Laying on his bed were the clothes he?d
picked out earlier that morning.  As he looked at it
from across the room he again wondered whether the
blue cotton shirt matched the khaki slacks.

Too late to change your mind now.

?Yeah yeah.? 

After dressing, he was fretting over whether the shoes
matched as he rushed out the door.

*      *      =A=      *      *

Kyle stood outside Tracy?s quarters, single rose in
hand.  Blindly fixing his hair, he then took a deep
breath and tapped the door chimes.

?Yes,?

?It?s Kyle.?

Tracy?s voice was all honey, ?Heyyy, gimme a sec,
hun.?

Hun.

He turned to the display behind him, trying to get a
good reflection in the glare.  Yep, the hair was still
good, still no nose hairs.  He was smoothing his hair
again anyways when he heard Tracy?s door hiss open
behind him.  

Sara giggled at the site of him finger-combing his
hair.  ?Aww, so cute.?

Kyle looked past Sara to see Tracy seated at table in
the small room.  ?I was, um, expecting just the two of
us tonight,? he said hopefully.

Sara hooked his arm and led him inside.  I?m your
server for tonight.  The lady is waiting inside.?  She
hurriedly seated Kyle, then began scooping food into
plates from a portable stand.

Now seated opposite Tracy, Kyle got a better look at
the dress she was wearing.  ?You look beautiful,
Tracy.?

Tracy smiled, ?Thank you.?

Sara turn toward them, two plates in hand.  ?Kyle
cleans up well, eh?  You should have seen him all
cramped in the tubes, his hair in every direction.? 
She placed the plates down.  ?Spinach Alfredo ? from
scratch.?

Concern radiated from Tracy.  ?Cramped in the tubes? 
I?ll give you a massage after we eat, you must be
terribly stiff.?

Kyle was coming up with an answer when Sara, giggling,
said,? Oh, not yet, he isn?t.?  As his ears warmed up
he forgot what he was doing to say.

Tracy rescued him from a still giggling Sara, swatting
her with a napkin before watching Sara run out the
door.  ?You were about to say something??

?Uh??

?Train jump the tracks?? she asked with a grin.

Kyle nodded, ?A tragedy; whole village wiped out.?

Tracy grinned at the joke while reaching for her wine
glass.  After a sip, she looked at the rose Kyle was
still holding.  ?Ikarian??

Kyle perked up, ?Yeah!?  He slowly spun it in display,
then put it into the crystal vase adorning the table. 
?Did you cook this??

She nodded.  ?Sara helped me some, since I?d never
made alfredo before.?

?It?s quite good,? he said, taking another bite.  ?I
was starving.?

?You were salivating,? joked Tracy.

After they finished their plates Tracy led him away
from the table, ?You?ve got a massage coming up.?



*      *      =A=      *      *

Kyle, fresh from a shower, exited the bathroom with a
smile.  ?When I can snag some holodeck time, I?m going
to program a five-star resort that includes a hot
water shower.?

Tracy pulled him into a kiss before responding. 
?Count me in.?

?You were the inspiration,? he said with a grin.

?Heh.?  She pointed to a stack of clothes.  ?Hurry up
and get dressed, Sara will be here any minute.?

?Oh? wow.  You didn?t have to burn replicator rations
for me, I?m only a minute?s walk away,? Kyle said,
concern etched on his face.

?If you left to change, how would get to see the look
on her face when she walks in??

Kyle hurriedly reached for the uniform.

*      *      =A=      *      *


Kyle tugged at the collar of his uniform.  Sara
noticed and elbowed him.  ?Stop fidgeting.?

?I hate these top buttons?  He experimented with his
posture, hoping standing straighter would relieve the
pressure on his throat.

They were just waiting on the shift?s lead engineer
now, the on-duty engineering crew was assembled and
watching.  The lieutenant finally handed a PADD to a
crewman and nodded the go-ahead to Rogers.

Rogers cleared his throat.  ?Attention to orders.? 
Everyone snapped to attention.  ?Citation to accompany
the award of Starfleet Achievement Medal with combat
device to Petty Officer Second Class Trisha R.
Windom.?  He took a deep breath before continuing,
?Petty Officer Second Class Trisha R. Windom
distinguished herself by meritorious service as an
Engineering Technician journeyman, assigned to the
U.S.S. Avalon. 

 During combat operations the Avalon?s aft shield
generators suffered severe damage.  Petty Officer
Windom lead the critical repair effort on a starboard
shield generator for the duration of the combat
operations.  Through-out heavy bombardment by two
Ferengi Marauders, Petty Officer Windom?s effective
leadership and superior technical ability ensured the
shield generator remained functional despite massive
system strain.  Petty Officer Windom continued to
distinguish herself after conclusion of combat by
remaining on-duty for sixty-three continuous hours,
spearheading the repair work on the science and
engineering quarters electro-plasma distribution
network.  

Her diligence directly contributed to several dozen
crewmen being able to return to lighted and heated
quarters.  The singularly distinctive accomplishments
of Petty Officer Windom reflect great credit upon
herself and Starfleet.

After a picture of her shaking hands with the Officer
In Charge, she Windom stepped aside.  Amber, also in
her dress uniform, stepped up to the podium as the
lieutenant gestured for Rogers to join him.

Amber began, ?Attention to orders.  Citation to
accompany the award of Achievement Medal to Crewman
Apprentice Timothy F. Rogers??

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