Mr. Jeffy strutted down the dim, flash lit corridor, a small, mumbling herd stumbling after him, until they reached the locked tool closet. He then placed one hand on his hip and
waved the others clear.
"Stand back!", he shouted dramatically. "This is going to be really cool!"
The doubtful yet curious group watched as he extended his left arm, the one adorned with his prized device, and reached over with his other to depress the button. A thin, red beam pierced the darkness, focusing
on the closets locking mechanism, coloring it in a pleasant crimson shade, but doing little else.
The expression on Jeffy's face turned to one of confusion, which quickly spread to the other crew members present. The engineering officer drew his arm back and began to inspect the wrist device.
"You see", Broski accused, "he's lost it!"
Jeffy glanced irritably at the corporal. "I just forgot about the safety mechanism I installed", he said sheepishly. He removed the mechanism, made a small adjustment on the back, and returned
it to his wrist.
"Just imagine what would have happened if one of the kids got a hold of it without the safety on", he muttered defensively.
"There ain't no kids on the ship", Broski pointed out.
"I'm just saying, if there were...", Jeffy replied, cinching the band tightly to his wrist. "Now watch this!", he exclaimed.
A brief, but significantly brighter beam shot forth from the CIMFIADER, sparking as it met with the door's lock. The metal lock began to glow, wisps of smoke curling up from the laser's target, and the assembled
crew found themselves transfixed by the phenomena. When the smoke cleared, a hole gaped where the door lock had been. Jeffy proudly stepped forward and reached for the door handle, but hesitated as
Mr. Schultz interjected.
"Mr. Jeffy", he said blandly, "the..."
"Back off, Huckster", Jeffy growled menacingly, "I'm not going to let you botch this one!"
"I was just going to say that the door's surface may be quite hot", Schultz finished.
"Uh, yeah", Jeffy managed, "just what I was thinking. We'll need a glove or something", he continued, casting about for something of use. "That's the kind of stuff you learn engineering
school."
Broski stepped up next to Jeffy. "Hey, that's a pretty sweet toy you got there, pal", he said, placing a comradely hand on the engineering officer's shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to have
another one, would you?"
"No", Jeffy replied, shielding the device from Broski's eager eyes. "And anyway, it's not a toy.
"Perhaps you could reconnoiter a towel for us, Corporal", Schultz interjected, noting Mr. Jeffy's growing agitation.
"Orwig took mine", Broski replied quickly. "I'll just got get it."
"I'm sure you can find one in the shower area", the science officer countered.
Broski muttered under his breath as he made his way back toward the NCO Club. He returned a few minutes later with several towels. "Happy?", he asked, looking at Schultz.
"Quite", Schultz returned blandly.
Jeffy took a towel from the corporal and carefully wrapped it around his hand. He reached his hand into the hole he'd created and pried the door open. "For Pete's sake!!", he exclaimed as the
door slid further open.
The group strained to see past the engineering officer, and into the closet. In the wavering beams of there flashlights, it quickly became evident that the door wasn't the only thing to suffer from Jeffy's
high powered device. An identical hole occupied the side of Jeffy's tool box. Looking inside, Jeffy groaned miserably. The delicate, electronic equipment lay in a jumbled mass within, scarred
and warped by the intense heat of his beam.
"Hmmm", Schultz observed, peering over his shoulder. "Perhaps I'm not the only 'yahoo' whose calculations are a bit off today."
