Willow's Way

Posted on Fri Sep 26th, 2025 @ 8:13pm by Ensign Willow Oakley

847 words; about a 4 minute read

Willow was less afraid of climbing than she was of ladders. Ladders could tip over and she had always been a good climber. So, when she had to repair a conduit in a ceiling, she used a sturdy pipe that would hold her weight to help her get into position.

She was almost finished when she realized she'd left her hyperspanner in the toolbox. Fortunately, someone came into the room just then.

She held onto the bar with her knees and, using her hands as leverage, carefully leaned back until she was handing upside down so she could see the person. Or mostly see the person as her green hair was now half covering her face. She could just see the person below with one eye. "Hello. Can you help me?"

A woman in a mustard uniform gave her a strange look. "Who are you?"

"I'm not a Who. Those live on a clover held by an elephant named Horton. Or a Doctor who flies around in something called a phone box."

She thought for a moment. "I'm also not a rock band from the late 20th Century. Wait…that would be two if you count the Guess Who." She paused again. "There was also a Mongolian band named the Hu, but I don't look Mongolian."

"Okay then…" The woman shook her head. "Let me rephrase that. What sort of help do you need?"

Willow pointed to her toolbox on the floor. "Could you hand me a hypospanner?"

"Right." The expression on the other woman's face cleared as she found the tool and handed it up. "I don't think I've seen you around. I'm Petty Officer Brinks."

Taking the spanner in one hand, Willow waved with the other. "I'm Ensign Oakley. Hi and thank you." Then she tucked the tool under her uniform jacket, grabbed onto the pipe, and maneuvered herself back into a sitting position so she could finish the job.

"Oakley…I think I've heard of you." Then she asked, "Wouldn't that be easier with a ladder?" the petty officer asked.

Willow didn't look at the woman as she replied, "No, this is better. Ladders are too scary."

The petty officer began to move to a station near the wall. "Right then. I'll just…get a PADD over here and leave you to it, shall I?"

"Okay." Willow went back to her work, more focused on getting the job done than the woman.

That is, until the petty officer was passing her toolbox and an alarm sounded. She jumped and dropped the PADD. "What was that?"

"Oh, sorry. That's an alarm to remind me that I have to get to the transporter room. I don't always see a notification when I'm working, like now, so I set an alarm."

"But does it have to sound like a banshee?"

"Well, yeah. It has to get my attention." The ensign finished the job, secured the panel, put her hyperspanner in her belt, and dropped to the ground.

The woman was frowning at the PADD in her hand. "It's cracked."

"I'm sorry. You can still extract the data. The crack shouldn't affect the storage."

"I don't know. I'll take it to the chief to figure out."

Willow held out her hand. "Here, let me see it. I'm in ops. I can fix it."

"No, thank you. I've heard of you. You probably had something to do with this. I'll just let the chief take care of it." Brinks shook her head as she hurried out of the room, the PADD clutched tightly to her chest. She didn't bother to look at Willow as she did so.

Willow watched her go, then put her hypospanner back in the toolbox and closed it up. No matter what the petty officer said, it wasn't her fault. It was just bad luck the other woman was here when the alarm went off. Although she might consider something different. Maybe a goose honk? Or she could go back to Wolf Totem by the Hu Band…Or the beginning of Crazy Train,/i> by Ozie Osborn. She did like the old bands from the late 20th Century.

Her thoughts went back to the PADD. She'd never seen one crack like that and wondered if someone was recycling older models. Black streaks spread through her hair from her scalp to the tips as she considered the possibilities. Then she pulled her hair into a ponytail and secured it with a scrunchie, picked up her toolbox, and headed out the door.

Then she wondered if she should get a pet snake. A cute little king snake would be fun. She could take it with her to keep her company as she worked. And if the ship ever got mice, well, she had a snake.

This conundrum was going to make her late for her next task. She began to hum Trust in me from the movie Jungle Book as she made her way to Transporter Room 1.

A post by

Ensign Willow Oakley
Transporter Officer
USS Valkyrie

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