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Scene: Engineering Room. The setting is calm, with technicians
standing at various colorful consoles describing engine
performance.
McDonagh is giving some kind of lecture to a trapped looking
underling. He is waving a long pointer around in the air with
great swooshing sounds. For some reason he is wearing an Indian
headdress. In the distance, the sound of spurs can be heard
approaching down a corridor, and then Lite runs in as if being
chased. He stops and feels his face hesitantly. Then he looks
around and spies McDonagh and dashes towards him.
McDonagh: Well, if it isn't the Lone Ranger. (reaches into a
pocket and pulls out his rubber chicken, holding it in front of
Lite just as he is a foot away) Here kid, play with this!
Lite: (Screeching to a halt) What? What's this?
McDonagh: It's a rubber chicken boy? Ain't you ever seen a
rubber chicken before? Be careful kid, it's slightly
radioactive. (Turns back to the underling) Now as I was
saying...
Lite: Mister?
McDonagh: It's simply a matter of two eggs
Lite: Mister?
McDonagh: Beat lightly
Lite: Mister?
McDonagh: Salt and pepper to taste.
Lite: Mister?
McDonagh: What? What IS it kid?
Lite: I'm done with your chicken, mister. It didn't taste too
good.
McDonagh: (takes it) You...bit...the....head....off? (stares
into space for a second, then whirls around to find Lite) Why
you little.....
Lite: (in front of a console) Oh boy! Look at all these great
buttons and knobs! (twist, twist, twist)
McDonagh: Oh no kid! Those are the antimatter controls!
Lights in engineering suddenly turn red. Steam starts billowing
and through the din a mechanical Computer Voices shouts
"Engineering Alert! Antimatter venting in progress! Irreversible
process!"
McDonagh: Oh no! Geez! Ensign Quartz! Quick, try to bypass the
core reaction motors by reversing the secondary interface
controls! (picks up a spanner but the trick handle wilts in his
hand)
Kabeta (ic): Engineering! What's going on down there?
McDonagh: It's that damned HVR kid! He started fiddling with the
controls and started an antimatter core dump!
Kabeta (puzzled): But, we don't use antimatter for hardly
anything on this ship, do we?
McDonagh (hotly): Well, it's still antimatter, isn't it? Geez! It
powers important stuff you know! Look, next time you try your
automatic bread maker and it doesn't go on, don't come crying to
me about antimatter! (hits intercom off) Captains! Always think
they know everything about engineering. Now where'd that kid go?
Nuts! Did we manage to save the antimatter, Ensign?
***************
Scene: On Board the HVR ship
Mreen and Topaz sit side by side in front of the computer
console, from which even more wires emerge. They now go into a
box covered with slick-looking Federation controls, which in turn
is attached to a tricorder.
Topaz: Alright, start the data transfer now.
Mreen: Right. (flips a couple of switches) Here it comes.
Using a tricorder for data storage was a beautiful idea, Topaz!
(flirt, flirt) This way we don't have to mess around with all
the stupid HVR communications equipment to transfer it to the
Heisenberg!
Topaz: Thank you! But the best part is we can review it with
the tricorder while it's being transferred. Come on over and
let's look at the screen. It's about at the time of the attack.
They crowd around the tiny instrument, and from the speaker on
the tricorder can be heard the sounds of phaser shots, then a
tiny "YEEEE - HAW!" Mreen and Topaz look up at each other and
grin.
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