“My Helmet Not Big Enough For Ship Flying”

Posted on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 4:11pm by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant JG Grace MacKenzie 'Sabre' & Petty Officer 1st Class Alexis Aenera

2,273 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Engineering

There was no fanfare as the doors to main engineering slid open to allow entry to the short pilot in a flight suit with her flight helmet under her arm.

She took several steps in and stopped as she looked around, only seeing one engineer at present, who was focused on the hologram in front of her. The pilot took one glance at her, then sighed and made her way further in towards the inner part of the area.

It was almost as if she had crossed an invisible barrier when a pair of purple eyes snapped their way over to the pilot, "May I help you with something, Ensign?" The contralto voice asked as the woman stepped out from behind the console, a bare smile on her face.

"Yes, you can." Grace said, not smiling back, Ah was lookin' for Lieutenant Zachary, Ah need to see if he can do me a favor."

"A favor?" One eyebrow raised as Alexis approached Grace, "What sort of favor? And why would you want to see Lieutenant Addams?" She corrected the younger woman.

"Petty Officer, don't try me." Grace growled at Alexis, "Ah'm not in the mood for it right now. Zachary told me if Ah ever needed anything, Ah should get in touch with him and now Ah need something from him. Ah don't think it's any of your business what it actually is."

"You may be right, Ma'am, but he's a little busy at this time and I don't know when he'll be available." There was some condescension in her voice, but it was more chiding the Ensign over a breach of protocol, "If you'd like, I could give him a message when he returns here?"

"Ah can wait." Grace turned to face up to the tall and buxom enlisted woman, "This has to do with my work, so Ah can take the time that Ah need for it."

"We can't allow unauthorized personnel to just 'hang around' Engineering, ma'am." Alexis read the nametag on the flight suit, "Ensign MacKenzie, I'll let him know that you were here as soon as he gets back,"

In a moment of amazing timing, the rear doors to Engineering opened, and Zach and Petty Officer B'tal stepped through the doorway. "Keep an eye on the power usage. If that conduit spikes again, then replacing the gel packs was pointless. Keep those until we know for sure."

"Aye, Sir," B'tal said, taking the gel packs with him.

Zach took his tool kit and as he looked towards the MSM, saw Grace, and reflexively lit up. "Grace," he said, smiling. "What brings you by?" He then saw the look on her face, and on Lexi's and tried not to let the sudden knot in his stomach show in his expression.

Grace didn't even look at Zach at first, staring down Alexis, then glanced over at him, "Ah was coming to cash in on that favor you said Ah could ask you for." She stated with a bite in her voice, "Your Petty Officer here, who wouldn't even give me her name, said that you were unavailable and that Ah couldn't wait here."

"You didn't ask me my name." Alexis remarked, "Chief, it's standing policy not to just let people hang around here because it's dangerous to those who aren't knowledgeable about things around here. I was just following protocol."

"I appreciate that," Zach said, genuinely. "Introductions, then. Alexis Aenera, this is Grace MacKenzie, a friend of mine. Grace, this is Alexis, my good right hand." He looked between them. "Let's chalk this up to a misunderstanding, and not let it fester, hm?" he said, looking at Alexis. He turned to Grace and gestured to his open office door and one-way glass. "Why don't we speak in my office, where we won't be in the way, and next time, you can just contact me directly so that no policies are violated. Does that satisfy everyone?"

Alexis shrugged, "Of course, sir, next time, if the Ensign doesn't contact you direct, I'll make sure to do so on her behalf. No offense intended, ma'am." She said directly to Grace.

Grace nodded, but suspicion still festered in her voice, "Thank you, P-O, no hard feelings."

"Thank you, Alexis for your help. Please call me if anything requires my immediate attention," Zach said.

"Of course, sir." Alexis resumed her place by the holotable.

He escorted Grace to his office, shutting the door behind them to give them some privacy. "So," he said, leaning on the edge of his desk. "What can I help you with?"

"What was that all about?" Grace demurred, gesturing to Alexis, "She called you Chief and this is the Chief Engineer's office that you call yours?" She glanced around, "When were you going to tell me that you were the Chief Engineer?" She didn't let him answer as she paced one way and then the other for three steps. "You know what, don't worry about that."

She handed him the helmet that was still tucked neatly under her arm, "Ah need somethin'. Ah don't know if it'd be easier to set up a direct HUD to the visor instead of in the cockpit, or if we could maybe have a direct retinal display. Don't get me wrong, the cockpit HUD is good and lets me see everything, but Ah have to be looking back and forth to see all of the displays and targetin' karats and to make the best shots Ah need to be able to see it all faster. What do you think?"

He looked over the helmet, curiously. "If I recall my tech history," he said, "H-HUDs were used in the mid-to-late twenty-second century, developed during the Earth-Romulan war. The only issue was their limited visibility. Your current HUD was favored for the sheer amount of data it could give you, and we just never got away from that." He thought it over a moment. "Given how far with come with holo-technology, I'm guessing I could whip something up you might like."

He picked up a padd and made some notes quickly while they were in his head. "Of course," he said, still focused on the padd, "it's going to cost you a couple of hours in the holodeck."

Grace shut her mouth from what she was about to say as he stated that. Holodeck hours were valuable on board a starship, a way to get away from real life for a little while and to follow one's fantasies. Back on Foch, those were the first things taken away when she had 'misbehaved', but now she'd been looking forward to using them. But for something like this HUD, it could be worth it. But to ask this of her...

He looked up and saw the look on her face and tried not to look too affronted. "Oh, come on; I promise I'm not that bad company on the holodeck. We might even have fun," he teased, smiling at her.

She looked up from the piece of deck that she'd been pondering as she'd weighed the relative values, "Wait, what? Ah thought you wanted me to give you a couple of my hours in the holodeck in trade?"

Now it was Zachary's turn to look confused. "Why would I want that?" he said. "I don't want your holodeck time, I want you." He coughed and gave her another gentle smile. "That is, I want your company. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear." He put the helmet down on his desk and looked at her. "I'll be happy to do it either way; I was just trying to be cute about it."

"Ah think that Ah kin handle that." Grace said carefully, making sure she wasn't saying something wrong or agreeing to something strange, "But let's go back to that other thing. You're the Chief Engineer? You could have said something about that before, like 'Hi, I'm Zachary Addams, the Chief Engineer here, how are you Ensign?' or something along those lines." She managed to mimic his voice partially.

He looked down at the floor a bit guilty. "I...remember what it was like being an Ensign," he said. "And I know that it can sometimes be awkward when you're around Senior Staff. Some people get self-conscious, some get overly formal, some just turn and run." He looked back up at her and shrugged. "I wanted the cute girl I was having dinner with to judge me for me, not my rank or position. I would've brought it up later, but we got distracted."

"That girl would have panicked." Grace admitted, "Ah don't know if Ah woulda run from you, but Ah sure as hell would have eaten as fast as Ah could and made a tactical withdrawal. Not that Ah had the time to do that with in the first place. Ah mean, you must have literally swept me off my feet to carry me to your room. Which... Thank you, by the way, for putting me in the chair." She hesitated before using the last words.

"You're welcome," he said. He looked at her for a moment. "So....holodeck? When's your next day off?"

"Well, since we're finally out of combat... Usually we can expect a standdown for a while, except for emergencies. Ah'm basically free the rest of today and probably tomorrow as well." She glanced at the chrono, "If you're available, whenever."

"Okay then. How about 1100 hours tomorrow? We can see how good that sharpshooting aim of yours is," he said, grinning.

"If you think you can keep up with me, good luck." She grinned back up at him, "I'll even spot you some points. Just give me a few minutes when we get there to get my guns set up, I'm a bit particular about the triggers."

"Well, I've been toying with some holodeck versions," he said. "As I said, since I can't replicate you real ones. So, you're welcome to set them up and tweak them as you like." He smirked at her. "But there's no way I'm going to try and compete with your aim. I'll provide the targets." He flicked his wrist, producing a playing card.

"Or maybe I'll use you as one, too." Her eyes brightened at the thought of using him as a target holder, perhaps to prove that she truly did hit what she aimed at, "To hold them, that is."

"You may have to work hard to convince me to stand in the path of a gun," he said, chuckling. "I was envisioning standing to the side, or maybe sitting in a comfy chair and watching you work." His smile faltered as a thought occurred to him. "What did you mean earlier, when you thanked me for putting you in the chair?"

A visible shudder ran down her spine and Grace turned away from him abruptly, took two steps and stopped. She didn't know how to answer this question, or even if she wanted to answer it. Finally she turned back towards him, "Because if you had put me in your bed to try to make me comfortable..." She trailed off, unable to continue.

He pushed off his desk and walked up to her, taking her hand in his and bringing it up, kissing it gently. "I would like to think it would go much the same as it did," he said. "Believe it or not, I do have self control, and I think you are worth more than a one night stand." He held her hand gently. "So, rest assured, your boundaries are secure until you tell me it's okay to cross them."

Grace pulled her hand away from him and clutched it to her chest and she backed up quickly, "No, you don't know.. You don't know what happened, what it was like." There was anxiety on her face and she backed into a wall, shaking her head back and forth, "You don't understand, it was... It was..." Tears began to leak from her eyes as she reached for the wall, trying to find her way out while keeping her eyes on him.

His brow furrowed, but he didn't chase her. "Grace," he said, with the same tone he'd had at their previous meeting, "I told you, you're safe here. And I want to know. You can tell me anything, and you have my word, I'll be here for you to hold you through it." He held his arms open, his hand slightly extended, inviting her to come back to him without pressuring her. "You're free to choose, but remember, I am here for you, and I won't hurt you. Please, don't run." His voice wasn't pleading, but it was close. He could feel her near an edge, and he wanted to pull her away, but he knew force would only make things worse. She had to choose real safety.

Her eyes flickered across him, to his arms, his face, a quick glance to the side to see where the doors were, eyes wide open in panic and fear. Indecision was evident on her face and her mouth opened and shut and opened and shut again. Wordlessly, she shook her head, but she didn't make a move for the door again.

"All right then, let's go somewhere we can talk, and won't be interrupted," Zach said. "Computer, two to beam directly to my quarters," he said. He looked at her as they both dissolved.

TBC

A post by,

Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

Grace MacKenzie
Fighter Pilot
USS Tokyo

Alexis Aenera
Engineering NCO
USS Tokyo

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