Enter the Core Room [Bammer’s Button]

[Calm, observant voice:] I step into the core room Green light rippling across the floor The reactor hums in uneven waves Just slightly off Just enough to be annoying [Dry, unimpressed male voice:] Bammer You are not engineering You are not IT You are not diagnostics You are the waiter From the Rusty Deck Who wandered off Because your “fur felt funny” [Soft, innocent cat voice:] [Boop] [Calm, observant voice:] He’s sitting in a box Centered perfectly in front of the console Like he booked the room Like the box is his workstation Like the button is his purpose [Dry, clinical male voice:] The reactor is dephased Barely Just enough to make realignment tedious Not dangerous Not dramatic Just irritating My tail is expressing All of this In complete sentences [Soft, insistent cat voice:] [Boop] [Quiet, reflective voice:] He watches the button light Eyes half-lidded Tail curled neatly Ears twitching in rhythm Like he’s tuned to something I’m not [Dry, gently sarcastic male voice:] You know Most crew members Would report a phase drift Not follow their tingling fur Into a restricted reactor chamber But here we are My tail is filing a complaint [Soft, unwavering cat voice:] [Boop] [Calm, observant voice:] Tarz rubs his forehead His tail flicks a paragraph Something like: “I cannot believe The reactor realignment Is about to be influenced By a waiter in a cardboard box” [Dry, authoritative male voice:] If you press that button At the wrong moment I will have to explain To the entire crew Why the admiral allowed this And my tail will never Let me forget it [Soft, determined cat voice:] [Boop] [Hushed, tense voice:] He’s timing it Watching the flicker Matching the pulse Waiting for the exact instant The phase dips The hum shifts The light stutters [Dry, resigned male voice:] My tail says “don’t” My training says “don’t” My rank says “don’t” But experience says You’re going to do it anyway [Soft, triumphant cat voice:] [Boop] [Calm, observant voice:] The room stills The hum drops The lights flicker once Tarz’s tail freezes mid-sentence Bammer’s paw rests on the button Like he knew the rhythm Better than the reactor itself [Dry, weary male voice:] Of course Of course you pressed it At exactly the right moment Naturally Naturally [Soft, triumphant cat voice:] [Boop] [Deep mechanical voice: reactor systems:] Stabilizer cycling Core alignment recalibrating Fuel stream equalizing Containment field rising Reactor restart in progress [All voices, layered softly:] Reactor is restarted Stabilizing cycle engaged