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spacedogfromspace) wrote2022-10-16 12:00 am
[Fanfic] The Wire (No, Not That One) (Fictober22)
The Wire (No, Not That One)
Fictober22
Chekov gets a shock while helping Scotty in Engineering.
Fandom(s): Star Trek TOS
Character(s): Pavel Chekov, Scotty
Tags: Genfic, Electrocution, Not the DS9 Episode
Rating: Teen+
Content Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1085
Type: Oneshot, Standalone
Collection: Fictober22, or, Pavel Chekov's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month
Written for Fictober 2022
Day 16: "You're looking, but you don't see."
"Scott to bridge," Scotty's voice crackled through the bridge's intercom, interrupting what had been a long period of bored silence.
"Scotty, what's up?" Kirk replied, perking up. He almost hoped for a problem just give them all something to do, and give them a break from the boredom of a slow day in orbit.
"I was just wondering if I'd be able to borrow Chekov for a bit," Scotty said. "Need a minor repair done in a tight spot, and the lad's just the right size to get in there."
Kirk sighed, a little disappointed. "Yeah, I'll send him down, not like we're using him up here."
Chekov turned around in his seat. "Captain, can you ask him if the Goose is down there? I do not really want to encounter it again."
"Dammit, Chekov, that's 'Lieutenant Goose' to you," Kirk snapped. "And leave your bigotry at the door. Lieutenant Goose is a competent and valuable member of the crew just like anyone else, and should be treated as such."
Chekov shrivelled. "Aye, sir."
"Now get your ass down to Engineering before Scotty starts wondering what's taking you so long."
"Yes, sir."
Chekov made his way down to Engineering quickly, still hoping that Lieutenant Goose wasn't on duty today. As he wandered through Engineering, sticking his head around corners in search of Scotty, he became more and more optimistic that Lieutenant Goose wasn't around.
"Chekov, there you are," called Scotty from some unseen dark corner, making Chekov jump. Chekov looked around for the source of the voice, eventually spotting Scotty sitting on the floor surrounded by a mess of bolts and tools. In front of him was a wall panel that had been removed and was set leaning against an adjacent panel, exposing the mess of wires and tubes in the crawlspace.
"Glad you weren't busy. I got something in a tight spot that I think you might be able to reach," Scotty said when Chekov approached. "Easy repair, will only take a minute."
Chekov nodded. "I can do that."
Scotty got up and showed Chekov where he would need to go. The space that the wall panel used to hide was a narrow crawl space that ran the entire length of the wall, like a secret, parallel hallway. If it were empty, it would be no problem for even a particularly large person to make their way around inside, but it wasn't empty. Both walls as well as the ceiling of this hallway were covered in a thick layer of wires, pipes, and black boxes whose purpose Chekov couldn't even guess. This made moving around in the crawl space a tight squeeze for even a small person.
There was an access point behind this particular panel via a built-in gap in the inner lining of the wall. It's through here that Chekov was directed to his task.
"If you go in here to the left and down about four feet you'll see it," Scotty said, trying to point it out. "Pipe sprung a leak, I just need you to adhere a patch."
Scotty handed Chekov what was essentially a piece of fancy duct tape. There was a paper coating protecting the adhesive side.
Chekov crawled into the space on his hands and knees. Because of the amount of stuff crammed overhead, there was no room to stand or even crouch comfortably. He crawled down to the left for four feet, then leaned back to sit on his knees.
"Which pipe has the leak?" Chekov asked, looking around. There were multiple pipes and none of them seemed to be leaking anything.
Scotty laid down on his side in the entrance to the crawlspace so he could see what Chekov was doing, though his sight would be obstructed since Chekov was blocking his line of view.
"It'll be on the right. You'll see it, has a pinprick hole is all," Scotty supplied.
Chekov looked around on the wall to his right, examining the pipes. Again, he couldn't see any signs of a leak.
"Are you sure there's a leak down here? I don't see any sign of anything dripping," Chekov called over his shoulder.
"Aye, it's a pneumatic tube, it's leakin' gasses."
Chekov decided he didn't want to know what kind of gasses were leaking into the air he was breathing, and began examining the pipes closer, slowly running a hand past them, hoping to feel the leak.
"Find it yet, Chekov?" Scotty asked.
"Not yet," Chekov replied.
A couple minutes passed and Scotty asked again if he'd had any luck.
"No. Still looking for it," Chekov replied, getting impatient. It was hot inside the crawlspace, and he was starting to sweat.
"Do you see it now?" Scotty asked, less than a minute later.
"I'm looking, just give me a minute," Chekov growled, trying not to let his frustration into his voice.
"Do you see the-"
"I'm looking for it, okay?" Chekov snapped back, suddenly not caring how pissed-off he sounded. He was pissed-off, Scotty was being ridiculous, and he was trying to concentrate.
"Oh, you're looking, but you don't see-" Scotty was cut off when Chekov's hand brushed the live wire that ran near the pipe Chekov was examining. Chekov was suddenly convulsing violently. "-the live wire… Shit."
Scotty struggled out of the crawl space and sprinted to the breaker room to shut down the power to the applicable section of Engineering. On his way back to Chekov, he pulled out his communicator and patched through to sickbay.
"Scott to sickbay, we have an electrocution in Engineering," he reported while reaching into the crawl space to try and grab Chekov. He managed to reach an ankle and drag his limp body out into the open. Scotty was thinking about how much he didn’t want to re-attend safety training after forgetting to shut down the power before sending a person into a bundle of volts, when he recalled his first aid training and checked Chekov's pulse and looked to see if he was breathing.
"Acknowledged," came a reply from Doctor McCoy via communicator. "Can you tell me if Chekov is breathing?"
"Aye, he's got a pulse and he's breathing. Unconscious though," Scotty answered.
"Good, good. I'm on my way," the doctor said.
Scotty thought for a moment, then asked into the communicator, "How did you know that it was Chekov? I didn't tell you who it was when I reported the electrocution."
There was a moment before the response came through: "Just call it Doctor's intuition."