Nurse Yahbo guided the barely conscious Mr. Jeffy down the corridor in a hover chair. He was too tired to carry on a conversation, which was just as well because she doubted she
could maintain eye contact, her feelings of guilt were so strong. She placed her hand on the door panel, and pushed the engineering officer through to where Ensign Hibbard was waiting.
"Just put him over by the control panel.", Hibbard instructed, clearing the way of debris. "All he needs to do is punch in the codes and we can take it from there."
She settled the chair in its prescribed location, and helped her charge to sit up.
"What?", Jeffy croaked, peering through squinting eyes to see where he was. "We're in engineering.", he observed.
"That's correct, sir.", Ensign Hibbard confirmed. "We need you to load the modification codes for the shields."
"What for?", Jeffy managed, finding it difficult to concentrate.
"It seems", Hibbard explained, "that a Wyzenhymer ship has been spotted in the vicinity, and they are utilizing solid projectile weaponry." He waited for a reply, but his supervisor simply gazed
up at him, eyes unfocused. "Sir", he prompted, "are you alright?"
A loose smile formed on Jeffy's face. "Sure, man.", he slurred, "I'm fine." He rubbed a hand across his brow and let his eyes fall to the keyboard before him. "What's this?"
"Uh, that's the control panel, sir.", Hibbard replied, his voice strained.
Jeffy's smile returned. "Oh yeah", he mumbled, "I remember." He looked at Hibbard curiously. "What do you want me to do again?"
"Just enter the access codes for the shields, sir", Hibbard replied, hoping his boss could handle the task, "and then we'll let you get back to sleep."
"Sleep", Jeffy cooed, "me likey sleep." His head lolled back and he seemed to melt into the chair, his relaxation was so complete.
"I told them he wasn't up for this.", Nurse Yahbo exclaimed, grabbing the handles of the chair and pulling it away from the console.
Hibbard stopped her, placing himself firmly in her path. "This is important, ma'am.", he said meaningfully, "If we don't get those shields modified, we could be in a lot of trouble."
"But he's not strong enough yet.", she argued. "He needs more rest."
Just then the door opened and Commander Reed walked in.
"How are things coming along.", he asked knowingly, noting the distressed expressions on their faces.
"He's not up to the task, sir.", Nurse Yahbo said pointedly, "and that's my medical opinion."
"Oh, is it?", Reed intoned skeptically. "Let's just see if you're right." He turned to the slumbering engineering officer. "Mister Jeffy", he said loudly in his most authoritative
tone.
Jeffy abruptly stood up at attention, his eyes focusing immediately on the commander. "Mr. Jeffy reporting as ordered, sir."
"Re-calibrate shields for solid projectile weapons.", he barked.
"Aye-aye, sir.", Jeffy shouted, moving toward the control board.
Reed turned to Nurse Yahbo. "He seems fine to me ma'am."
She stared back at him defiantly. "I still think he needs more rest."
Reed was about to reply when Mr. Jeffy slumped awkwardly to the floor, once again in a deep sleep.
Nurse Yahbo reached him first. She looked up at the commander after checking the engineering officers vitals. "He'll be alright", she said, "providing he gets some uninterrupted sleep.",
she added pointedly.
Reed nodded thoughtfully then stepped over to the console. He noted that a series of numbers had been punched in though they hadn't been entered yet. He smiled and looked back at the nurse.
"It looks like I was right, however", he suggested smugly, "he was able to enter the codes."
"I'm not so sure, Commander.", Hibbard said from the other side of the console.
"It's right there, Ensign.", Reed said pointing at the board. "58008 918."
Hibbard, who had been looking at the number from the other side still looked skeptical. "Maybe you should take a look at it from over here, sir.", he suggested.
Reed made his way around the console, his patience beginning to fade. He looked down at the numbers again for several seconds, then shook his head miserably. "Wonderful", he muttered, "just
wonderful."
