Ka'aias came skidding into the hall, sliding slightly as her deck shoes refused to grip the floor. She caught herself, then took off again down to her workstation. She pulled up the holo of a computer hardrive and started working on the temporary memory device she was trying to create.
Shaq'l'phard barked as he hobbled down the hallway. The meeting on the command deck had aggravated him more than anything, distracting him from his work
Kai looked up as the doctor made his way past her workstation. Her arm pulled down too hard on a wrench and the tool went skidding across the floor. The plex-glass wall that separated the engineer's workstation from the hall made a thud noise as the wrench met it.
At the sound of the thud,
Shaq'l'phard looked sharply over at the plex-glass wall. He huffed and shook his head. "Watch it! I'm the doctor damnit! What if the glass broke??"
Kai picked up the wrench and put her head around the plex-glass. "Sorry, however the glass will only break if adequate force is exerted on no less than three points equidistant from one another." She almost pulled her head back, then looked at the doctor again. "I apologize for my apparent clumsiness."
"Bah!" was
Shaq'l'phard's only response to Kai's apology. He continued on his hobble back to his office. 'This crew was terrible! Calling the doctor to a meet and greet on the command deck, people throwing wrenches about?! Bah!' he thought to himself, mumbling a little of it vocally as he walked
"You forgot 'hum-bug'!"
Kai said loudly after him. Her head ducked back into her workstation and she plugged herself into the worktable, bringing up a hologram of the processes her 'mind' was going through. Seeing it helped her create it with the tools in front of her.
The doors to the elevator opened up again and
D'mitri stepped out. He walked past Kai on his way to his office. "The deadline's approaching." he said to her as he walked past and through the doors of the security office.
"I'm working on it, reader!"
Kai replied before he disappeared. She rolled her eyes. Ka'aias hated readers who attempted to know what she was thinking for one reason only: they saw what her biological mind was up to but couldn't tap into the many processes her internal computer was using. Her biological mind could be doing anything while her mech parts did their thing. Which was what was happening now. While she automatically built the memory device, her mind was wandering to the crew, replaying what she had seen upstairs and trying to decide who would be helpful.
The second
D'mitri walked through the doors to the security offices, they burst into life. He issued orders to everyone at once as he handed off the drawing to one of his subordinants. Once all the orders were issued he went into his private office and started the requistion form for Marons.
After about half an hour a message popped up on
D'mitri's computer. He promptly opened the message and read the contents. It was a responce to his Citizen Inquiry on the two individuals Marons had told him about. The got a positive hit on the Vidian, but the other one wasnt registered. He memorized the address and known hangouts of the Vidian before getting up and heading off to the
Ship Living Quarters.
Shaq'l'phard made his way around the medical bay as if he had been there for cycles. Content with the fact that nothing was out of placed, he perched himself behind his desk and retrieved the book he was studying before having to go to the bridge for the meet and greet. He rolled his eyes as he remembered that dreadful occasion. He mumbled to himself as he read the passages, his free hand jotting a few things down in a very old fashioned notebook that he kept with him until full, then replaced with another. He had spent nearly a fortune acquiring such ancestral writing tools. But there was just something about the feel of parchment that he could not quite get passed. He didn't think he'd ever be one of those people who'd rather have a dataport in their necks, or even an electronic handheld to use. He preferred the simple hands-on approach from the earlier centuries.
Rhod stepped out from the elevator, adjusting his shirt slightly and looking around the surroundings. The elevator from the alpha deck led to a slightly different area from the normal one, so the Commander never had to go through any unneccesary lines to get in. Right now they were near the center of a cluster of different buildings "So, where would you like to look at first?"
Vesper chuckled as she stepped out of the elevator to join him. "This is your little excursion," she pointed out before looking around them. "What would you like to see?"
"Hmmm..."
Rhod thought, rubbing at his chin slowly "I suppose the mechanics, I can check up on the banging noise as well with one of the repair teams. Hope it's nothing too serious..." He nodded slightly as if reassuring himself and walked off towards the engineers station. Knocking the plexiglass door he walked in and peered around, looking for the one in charge... Ka'aias wasn't it? The Cyper?
Kai looked up from her work, her hands still working. Just because her mind was distracted didn't mean she couldn't keep up with her job. "Captain," she said, pausing for a moment to incline her head. "Come on in. Don't mind the clutter. I have a couple of things going right now." She went over to her tall stool, picking up a piece of equipment and setting it on the desk. She gestured for him to take the stool.
Following Rhod's example,
Vesper gingerly stepped into the room, careful not to damage the things lying around. Just because they might look like refuse, did not mean they were. She watched the Commander until he had settled to talk to the mechanic, then turned to a small piece of equipment on a table, bending a bit to peer at it more closely, showing no signs of trying to touch it.
The commander meanwhile was human, meaning
Rhod made for the nearest stool to Kai's workstation and picked up the little do-dad that had been resting on the stool he now occupied. Scanning it around and around in his hands as he spoke to Kai he tried to determine what it did "Kai'aias right? How are you finding it here on the ship? Are these quarters suitable for your needs?"
Kai rolled her eye at him, taking the piece of equipment out of his hands and setting it carefully on her workstation. "Sorry, sir, but if you continued to twist that, my workstation would no longer be here for you to inquire about." She grinned and twisted her wrist slightly, a tool appearing from out of her mechanical arm. "The name is Ka'aias, you can call me Kai, though, since my name is a bit of a mouthful. The ship is good, though I sort of wish she didn't talk back to me when I am plugged in. I'm only hum-..." She paused at the word and shook her head. "Sorry,
you are human, not I. And I believe the ship realizes that. But when I need to know what has to be repaired..." She shrugged and started on the part that lay on her workstation. "As far as this station, I would rather be in the engines themselves, but since that isn't possible, I suppose this would be the next best thing."
Saddened eyes were looking at Kai, accompanied by a little frown.
Vesper had sat up and was looking at the mechanic with an assessing sort of expression. It was an odd feeling, only getting the vaguest of emotions from someone, like hearing muttered words in someone's sleep. She remained quiet though, letting them talk as she tried to address this new input of information, like a cautious leopard, stalking a circle around an unknown possible threat, just trying to figure out what it was.
"Ah, sorry"
Rhod said in a voice that said he instantly wanted to pick up that thing again and toy with it until he figure out what it was. "The ship is... tempra-" Rhod suddenly stopped and shook his head before frowning and saying determinatley "
tempramental at times. I am SURE the computer will gladly allow you access to all areas you need to view without any technological back talk from now on. As for link to the engines... I do believe there is a elevator for your own personal use down to the engine center around here" Rhod scanned the debris and pieces around the walls "somewhere..."
Kai giggled slightly, though it was an eerie sound with its dual tonality. "Yes, somewhere. I think that I should probably try to keep things in check, but all of these things are things I'm working on." She went over to the wall and started moving things, attempting to find the elevator. She smiled back at Rhod. "I'm sorry, sir, it usually isn't this messy."
"Completely understandable
" Rhod said, tilting his head to the side for a moment. A panel in the wall beeped, pushed back with a slight pneumatic hiss, and allowed a three foot girder to drop through into the lift beyond. "Found it."
About that time D'mitri came out of the elevator with a male Vidian hovering in the air, stiffly, infront of him and made his way past the group. "Commander.""Nurse.""Ka'aias." he said to each one of them in greating before heading into the security office.
Kai waved at D'mitri as he passed and went over to the lift. She cleared more space easily, not realized that the things she was lifting a 90 pound girl, which is what she looked like, shouldn't be able to. "That has been missing since I got here. I think the previous Engineer didn't care or something."
"What previous engineer? This is a brand new ship. I think the designers however tried to disguise them so no one would just wonder in" Rhod admitted, raising a hand in greeting of D'mitri as he passed. He watched for a moment, then said "What's it like being a cyper? I've got a paper... but it's just all waffle, doesn't really explain anything to me."
"Someone was working in here before launch and it wasn't me," Kai mumbled to herself. She continued clearing room, crouched down on the floor, as he asked his question. She turned while still leaned back on her heels and stared at him, her face contorting in a slightly insulted way. "What do you mean 'what's it like'? It's not like being a Cyper is a disease or anything. I didn't contract it. I've been like this my entire life. I don't even know where to begin describing it to you because I don't know what being human is like."
"Well... that's more what I meant, sorry if it sounded insulting. I just meant... what happened? What was your childhood like? I heard... well that there weren't many cypers left" Rhod was feeling like he shouldn't have brought up the subject, his worry flowering in front of Vesper's eyes "Have you met racism on board? You will tell me if you do right? I mean I know it's here, apprently already two streets of the living quarters have been split like a ghetto..."
Kai stood slowly as he spoke. She started recording this conversation into her backup computer so she could review it later. "I was never a 'child' in your standards of the word. I came out of the growing tubes like this..." She shrugged. "Except my hair was black then. There were more of us, but only a few made it out of the original stages. I think there was only eight of us left when the evacuation started. I'm not sure about afterwards. And there's always 'racism', as you put it, when people find out who I am. I try to hide it as best I can. Tell people I was injured in an accident, but it always becomes apparent. I'm a bad liar."
"I just think I should know these things you know?" Rhod mumbled slightly, scratching his head and staring at the floor "And I've never been good with paper work, so I like to hear it from people themselves." He raised his head and stared at Kai "I'm not going to say something stupid like 'is it hard?', because I know that if you've lived your entire life in the way you are at the moment it's a stupid, insulting question. It's about as hard as everyone else's."
"I think," Vesper put in gently, giving Kai a soothing smile. "What our Commander is trying to say, is he wishes to get to know you, as a person, not a tool. Possibly something very different to what you are used to? And, as it is his wish-" She gave a little nod to Rhod before looking back at Kai. "I would like to get to know you as well, and, hopefully, become your friend."
"What do you mean?" Kai asked Vesper, looking over. "Yes, most people only see me as a tool as I was originally created to be, but I am a person." She smiled, her face looking very much like a teenager's in that moment. "Granted, most people cannot look past the additions and alterations..."
"I would never think of you as a tool" Rhod said, smiling slightly at Kai's own grin "Thus, I want to know more about you, who you are, what you think about the place." I thought that paper sounded too much like a users manual he thought to himself, his eyes straying across the desk again "I would also like to check up on that banging noise that has been reported lately."
"That's nothing, really," Kai said absently as she turned to a workbench. She picked up a part and tossed it over her shoulder, causing it to slide across the floor. She rummaged through some parts before she finally picked up a sort of wheel looking thing and clutched it to her chest. "This will fix it. But I have to install it first."
"So it's a loose door or something?" Rhod said hopefully, not wanting to hear that actually there was half a tail fin missing. He was always a bit dubious about the computer's information.
"One of the engines is missing a rudder gear." She picked up her tool belt and connected it around her waist. It was odd looking on her as she was wearing clothes that weren't very...mechanic like. "Unless the engine has three out, we're still good. But with the one, it's loose and will bang on the main engine. That's what the noise is."
"Ah..." was Rhod's only responce, wishing he wasn't right so often "So if we cut this one loose, will we be able to replace it? Or are you going to be flying with only two on that engine from now on?"
"No," Kai said with a giggle. "I'm going to fix it. We can't just cut it loose. We have a finite amount of goods on board as far as metals go and while I can melt it down and rebuild it, that takes time I don't have. I would rather fix it and wait until it has to be melted down." She set the part down and picked up a welding torch, putting that into her tool belt. "Wanna help? It might be good for you to see how to shut the engines down and restart them."
"I hope we never have the circumstances where we have to shut them off manually" Rhod admitted, standing up slowly and looking warily at the belt she was wearing. This sounded dangerous, but he supposed that he should get to know this ship as well as any mechnic. He was the commander after all...
"If they need repairing, then we have to shut them down. Else wise we will be in trouble." Kai tossed a belt of tools to Rhod. "You might need that. It has the clips to keep you steady. The engines are pretty big and you can get hurt down there."
"Ah..." Rhod said, taking the belt and clipping it on carefully "Will you be accompanying us Vesper? Or would you rather wait up here?" If they had a nurse on hand it could mean they got wounds healed quickly, but if she got hurt herself then there would be some time before they got back to someone who could help. That was even is she wanted to come.
"I will accompany you," Vesper almost declared before giving Kai a gentle smile. "That is, if you would be willing to supply me some of these... clips?"
Kai tossed her a belt as well, pulling out some of the extra ropes and handing them to Vesper. "I would suggest following my footsteps once we get to the engines. It is sometimes..." She paused for a moment. "Hazardous."
"Noted" Rhod said, moving over to the large piece of metal that had fallen through when the door had opened "But first..." He gripped the edge of it and grunted slightly, tensing up and starting to drag it backwards very slowly; it was really a miracle that he'd been able to drag it at all, it was a thick bar of solid metal.
Kai rolled her eyes and moved past Rhod, picking up the bar and moving it with apparent ease back into the room. She looked over at Rhod and smiled. "Better let me do the heavy lifting."
"Well I wanted to try" Rhod chuckled, brushing his uniform slightly and smiling as he watched Kai carry it away, slightly red in the face from his effort. He stepped inside the elevator, waiting for the others so they could head down to the ship engines
Kaistepped inside the lift, slipping her access card into the slot. She stood and waited for Vesper before hitting the button.
D'mitri walked into the security office as four other personel walked up to him and began cuffing and chaining the Vidian. Arms, legs, neck, torso, feet, and tail all bound together, only then did D'mitri let him loose so the guards could drag him off to a cell. "Contact his council and let them know a small list of his current crimes and have them send a representative down."
About an hour passed before the representative for the council arrived and met with D'mitri. After a short conversation he secured the council's permission to probe the prisoner's mind. He summoned his subordinate and ordered him to bring the Vidian prisoner to his office.
On Sojana's way back to the armory she couldn't help give the captured Vidian a teasing little wave before continuing on to her destination. Inside she found half of her team, (all humans) asleep as usual. It was an effect of their training, not only did space travel often put infantry men to sleep (since they have nothing to do on board a moving ship any way) but their strict training dictated that they sleep at least twelve hours a day in two six hour increments. This kept them rested for missions where they might not receive enough sleep.
Battle Buddies Skiff and Rhodes (who where awake, because the team rotates sleep schedules) forgot their card game once they saw her and jumped up to talk to her. "Did they find a planet?" Rhodes asked.
"Are we dropping?" Skiff butted in before she could answer.
"No, it was only a meet and greet on the control deck." Sojana told them and quickly noted their disappointment. She rolled down her collar and stretched some fluidity into her neck.
"We've been on this boat for two weeks!" Skiff complained "I wanna kill something."
"It's going to have to wait." Sojana told him "Besides, our goal is to protect the scientific team, not just kill shit."
"Yeah but that last part is more fun." Skiff told her.
"I agree, but your gonna have to wait." Sojana told them "If you want something to do check your gear. Chief D'mitri and the Captain might be stopping in for a pop inspection soon and I'll ground you myself if you don't pass."
"Yes ma'am." The two soldiers sighed and went to check the team's gear.
An intern came in carefully, holding a flip chart in his hands and looking around nervously; they were the bane of the police force at the moment always on edge around them and never baring good news. They were like incontinent ferrets, no matter how much a mess they made you couldn't really blame them, they just didn't know any better. "E-excuse me?" he squeaked lightly, clutching the clipboard tight "Where is" he checked the clipboard quickly "Sojana?"
"That'd be me." Sojana said poking her head around the corner where her desk was. She saw the clipboard and got a little excited "Is it a drop?" She asked as she stepped up to the intern.
Skiff and Rhode's heads came around the corner of the ready room. "Did someone say drop?" They both asked together.
"No, no!" the intern said at once, clutching the cupboard hard against him as if it were a shield "Not a drop, it's just that... well, you never had your check up with the ship doctor. You presented a note of fitness to the computer, but the doctor still requests a PERSONAL check up. I... I don't think he trusts army doctors." He giggled nervously and stared down at the chart hard.
Skiff and Rhodes returned to their work with a few stinging expletives and decidedly heartbroken that they weren't dropping.
"Dosen't trust army doctors." Sojana said under her breath with a hint of contempt. These days military doctors where some of the best physicians around. "Fine," She said joining the intern "Take me to your leader."
"I... I only THINK he doesn't trust army doctors... I don't think he trusts any doctors other than himself" the intern muttered quietly to himself, turning around and starting to walk out towards the doctors section.
Sojana followed the intern. She rolled up her collar, resenting the slight stiffness and lack of mobility it gave to her neck.
After a few moments of walking along corridors, alleys and small paths they wound up in the appointment room of the medical bay. After a quiet and hurried discussion the intern held a door open and waved Sojana through "The doctor will call you in a moment."
"Thanks." Sojana said taking a seat in the waiting room, she was forced to sit at an angle due to the fact that her tail was in the way.
Dr. Shaq'l'phard hobbled out of his office in a few moments, he always preferred to let the patient experience some patience before he came to them. He was the doctor afterall. There was no reason why he should be ready when they arrived. "Alright, Ms. Sojana. You know the drill. Out of uniform and into robe. I cannot very well check you if you are dressed, now can I?" His eyes were on his clipboard as he made the statement, not even bothering to look up at her.
Vidians weren't especially modest creatures by nature, but having been in service with humans so long Sojana took advantage of the dressing screen to change into the robe. "I'm due to lay in a few days." she told Shaq'l'phard as she stepped around the screen "My enzyme levels might be off."
"Why would when you are ready to sleep have anything to do with your enzyme levels?" Shaq'l'phard asked as he moved over to begin the exam. He held up the stethoscope and paused before her. "Now...let's see....hmmmmm....hmmmmmm where is your heart?"
"No, lay as in "Lay an egg." " Sojana told him as she lowered the shoulders of her robe to reveal the soft, weaker scales that slaked between her breasts and down her belly. There was a diamond shaped configuration of scales and she slipped her fingers between the rows to pry them apart. Her flesh was blue beneath but there was a pulsing rhythm signaling where her heart was hidden behind a thin shield of cartilage.
"Very interesting...." Shaq'l'phard mumbled as he listened to the rhythm. He released the stethoscope and let it hang from his elongated neck. He jotted a few notes down on his clipboard. "Alright then. Bend over, and lift the robe. It's time for the more sensitive part of the physical."
"Woah, wait a second." Sojana said slipping her robe back onto her shoulders "Don't you have scanners for that stuff?" It certainly didn't sound regulation to her, especially when none of the several dozen military doctors she'd seen had asked her to drop trow.
"Bah. I never did like those machines. I prefer a more hands on approach. Results are much more reliable that way." Shaq'l'phard explained, ruffling his feathers slightly beneath his large lab-coat. "Besides, it's not like I'd want a piece of reptilian hide anyway. You and the humans are all the same. So uncomfortable with a simple medical exam. I'd hate to see how you react when I actually have to operate."
Sojana took only slight offense at being compared to humans in this regard. She didn't think any species wanted to immediately bare their withers for a medical exam when scanners had become normal procedure over two centuries ago. With an agitated glance at Shaq'l'phard she complied to his order, feeling all sorts of indignities.
Shaq'l'phard merely shook his head as he began the exam. It wasn't like he enjoyed this portion of the examination either. Scanners were simply not as reliable in his opinion. He was the doctor after all, who were they to judge his methods?
"How long is this going to take?" Sojana asked as she felt some pressure.
"Hmmmm.....hmmmmm....interesting, very interesting." He looked up from behind her, "You said you lay eggs? Fascinating." He lowered her robe and jotted down a few more notes. "I would like to study some of the egg, if you don't mind. Purely for academic purposes, I assure you."
"I'm afraid you'll have to find a specimen else ware." Sojana said fixing her robe. "Ask Chief D'Mitri, I'm sure he's confiscating a few right now, but you ain't getting any of mine."
"I don't want a whole egg. Where would I keep it? I imagine it's of quite a large size. Perhaps a piece of the shell or some amniotic fluid? There are not many case files on Vidians, you know. At least not outside your own people. It would be marvelous to study you." Shaq'l'phard explained, with a noticeable hint of greed in his voice as he considered studying her
"Then get your samples from Chief D'Mitri." Sojana repeated "Vidian females must ingest unfertilized egg materials and I'm not going to sacrifice my mental well being so you can have some yoke or shell."
"Fascinating...I suppose if I must, I will converse with him." Shaq'l'phard told her. He shook his head and returned to his office, eager to document what little he had just learned into his journals.
"Are we done here?" Sojana asked rather impatiently.
"Unless there is something else that you require. I am finished with your physical, now if you don't mind I'd like to document some of these findings before I send for another of the ship members." Shaq'l'phard told her with a roll of his eyes. He thought it was quite obvious he was finished, he couldn't believe he had to explain that.
Sojana stepped behind the screen and slipped back into her exo suit. She tossed the robe on the bed and muttered something about wishing she never needed medical attention as she left.
As he hopped up onto his perch, Shaq'l'phard called for a technician to go and fetch the good Chief of Security for him, just as they had retrieved Sojana. As he thought about it, everyone had already gotten physicals before leaving, but they were all done by other doctors, and as far as he was concerned they were simply second opinions. These were his patients and he wanted to be sure he gave them all the proper medical treatment they needed. In order to do that, he'd have to do the physicals himself to double check all the facts from the other doctors
Limping out of the lift and rubbing her eyes, Rosie pushed her spectacles further up her nose and blinked and stroked her gecko, Archy had decided he didn't like his new home and wanted to see the rest of the ship, walking around and humming happily she waved at the Doctor that she had the briefest of encounters with. Archy waved too out of politeness.
Shaq'l'phard lifted his wing and waved slightly to Rosie. It was just rude not to, especially seeing as he had noticed it. If he hadn't seen, it would be another thing altogether.
Smiling to herself and humming louder, Rosie was glad she was atleast on polite terms with some people, also happy that Archy had been polite too, he had the habit of sticking his tongue out at people. Nodding to a cupple of other members of staff, and blushing deeply as she saw a disgruntled Sojana. Waving at her too and nodding a little she hoped not to be on the resiving end of her wrath today.
A little while later the three returned again, Rhod having to wait for others to step out before he would do so himself. "So that's the engine fixed for a while, hopefully there'll be no more problems with the ship for a while..." he knew that wouldn't happen, but still it was a wish.
Stumble!