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Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

In the Chief Engineering Officer’s Office on Deck 25, acting chief engineer Master Chief William Robert “Billy Bob” O’Connell and his assistant chief engineering officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Suq-Reylin-Efreya Xan were discussing the reorganization of the engineering department.  The loss of Master Chief Petty Officer Nolak Kalmil had necessitated the need for a new subchief engineer for the Vector One stardrive section known as the Helmet.  Suq was the ideal replacement naturally, since it would get him used to interacting with the top officers of the Theurgy and help groom him for the position of taking over as chief engineering officer for the entire starship on a permanent basis.  Of course, that left the Vector Two stardrive section known as the Sword without its own subchief engineer.  That was the other thing they had to talk about.  Who was going to be the subchief engineer for the Sword?

The meeting had started off discussing unrelated topics.  For example, When Lieutenant Xan dragged himself into the chief engineer’s office at 900 hour, O’Connell put down the coffee mug he was taking a sip from and rose from his desk to exclaim “Tarnation Suq, you look like how most of the folks in sickbay feel!  You look like the road from Paradise City tuh Deadman’s Drop after the rainy season; washed out and in need of a repair crew.  You alright there son?”

Re: Day 03 [900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #1 –
[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @Doc M.

Just as it had been since coming aboard the Theurgy, sleep evaded him once more. He wasn’t able to count how many hours he had slept because ultimately, he found himself in the jeffries tube, holding his legs up to his chest. He hadn’t slept there, he didn’t think, but he had blinked and it was three hours later according to his PADD. At about 900 hours, he had a meeting to go to, so about an hour before he dragged himself out the tubes and tried to clean up.

When he walked through O’Connell’s doors, he was a little disappointed to hear the sudden outburst. He thought he had done well. He washed his face, brushed his hair and put it up for the day, wore clean clothes...Maybe it had something to do with the jumbo-size bags under his eyes, or the bloodshot quality he wore today. He tried to smile, but just wound up grimacing. In his hands, he held a cup of coffee. He absolutely hated coffee, always had since long before he even met O’Connel, but he couldn’t see any other way to keep himself alive long enough to work through his shift today.
“Yeah, just...just let the coffee do it’s job.” He mumbled, his second voice cutting out now and again. He hoped Billy Bob wouldn’t notice.

“You needed to, to talk about something, right?” He asked, sinking into a chair and continuing to hold the cup. He had to brace himself before taking a gulp of what tasted like dirt mixed with...well, he’s not sure, but he didn’t like them. He made a face as he swallowed. At least it woke him up some, and it was warm.

Re: Day 03 [900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #2 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Yer darn tootin’,” the master chief replied with a nod of his head.  “With the loss of Master Chief Kalmil we’re short one chief engineer.  We’re a gonna have t’ reorganize the department a mite.  Ah’m a fixin’ t’ put you in charge of the Helmet, that’s the Vector One stardrive that is, but that means we gots tuh select a new subchief engineer fur th’ Sword.  Yuh got any recommendations?”

At that moment the door chime to the office was heard.

“Ah swear, ever since Ah took this chief engineer position it seems lahk mah door hez become a perpetual motion machine; it never stops,” the master chief muttered.  “Come in,” he called out in a louder voice.

The door hissed open to reveal Chief Petty Officer Lavar Manfredi, a short coffee colored human with a slender build.  “Boss?  Something… er… somebody from the Resolve is offering their services to join our department.”

“Well isn’t thet nahs,” Billy Bob drawled.  “With all the casualties we’ve bin a takin’, seems lahk we’re always shorthanded.  Does our volunteer have any experience, any qualifications that is?”

“Claims to be a warp field engineer and theorist,” Chief Manfredi replied.

“Well now!” Billy Bob grinned.  “Sounds a little overqualified,” Billy Bob drawled.  “Ah gotta admit that it’s a mite fortuitous.  With Ensign McGee in the hoosegow Suq’s a gonna need a new propulsion officer.  Go ahead, send ‘em in!”

“Um, okay boss,” Chief Manfredi nodded uneasily.  He stepped outside but remained close enough for the door to remain open.  “Go ahead they’re ready to see you,” he informed the entity outside.


OOC:  Time for F’Rell’s big entrance!

Re: Day 03 [900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #3 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
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Main Engineering was not small, it was in fact not small in the same way the rest of the ship was not small. Yet as F'Rell moved about the area she found it difficult to stay out of the way. Her instinct was to move her long body closer to the ceiling to avoid cutting off people's path, yet the ceiling was not quite tall enough in some areas, like Main Engineering, for her to do this well.

In addition the office of the Chief of Engineering was more than adequate for several human's to hold a small meeting in, however as F'Rell eased her long serpentine body inside the office, doing her best to take up as little space as she could manage and to hold near the ceiling, she did look more than a little preposterous, almost comical.

"<Greetings Mister Chief O'Connell>," came the voice of the translator held in one of F'Rell's many appendages. The voice had a husky quality to it, sounding nothing at all like the standard issue translator voice F'Rell had been using. F'Rell was uncertain how formal she was expected to be in this meeting, so she elected to speak quite formally. She had, by this point, coiled her body into the room and was holding onto a chair while keeping her head at the same level as the heads of the others."<I am F'Rell, of the Twelfth House, from the planet your kind know as V'Nai>". She paused and gave a subtle nod to Suq. "<I have been informed you are in need of aid. I am here to offer mine."

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #4 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Great jumpin’ Jesus!” Billy Bob exclaimed as the ghostly entity floated into view.  The entity looked like a ghostly serpent of some kind, evoking legends of Quetzalcoatl, Typhon, and the like.  It was glowing an eldritch luminescent white and was nearly four meters long.  There were no visible scales, it seemed soft and rubbery and the way it floated in the air made it seem spectral and ethereal, as if it wasn’t solid at all.  Its length was covered in soft short tentacle like appendages that undulated as if it was underwater, and two silver ophidian eyes peered out of triangular head with a long pair of whisker like tendrils.   Its translator spoke in a high pitched almost childlike voice and allowed it to introduce itself. 

It was then that Billy Bob recalled the scuttlebutt of the glowing alien that floated through the air like an anaphasic lifeform.  It had come from the Resolve, and had nearly scared Chief Petty Officer Jeff Kowalski out of his skin during the mission at Starbase 84.  O’Connell breathed a sigh of relief before glancing at Suq.  “Friend of yours?” he asked the young officer.

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #5 –
[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe , @Doc M.

He understood what Billy bob was asking him, and he knew he needed to think about who he’d pick, but he couldn’t help but glaze over a little when the petty officer came in. He was just so tired and needed to sleep. He should be thinking about his personal recommendation, but all he thought about was his bed, and he would’ve fallen asleep with his eyes open again if he didn’t catch Ensign McGee’s name. He hurt for the man. He would have to pay him a visit, though he’s sure arguing for his freedom again isn’t going to earn him any friendship with the guards down there.

He turned around and there was F’rell. He cringed, remembering how he was a total asshole to her a little while ago. He couldn’t tell how long ago, since the days all blended together now, but it felt like recently. He perked up to hear her new voice though, tilting his head like a dog to better hear it’s reverberations. He kept his eyes on his alien ribbon friend, like he always did. It was hard not to watch her, she was graceful even when she was comically squished.

Is she a friend of his? He kept his eyes on her...face? If it could be said that she has one, anyway. He didn’t know after how he treated her. He certainly felt ashamed still.
“...I like to think of F’rell as a best friend, really.” He admitted, because it was true. He turned to Billy Bob to continue on, “She’s smarter than all of engineering combined, she’s saved our butts, like, a million times.” As he talked, an idea formed. It was a half-baked one, not well thought over, but those tended to be the best plans. He sat his cup of nasty muddy gross coffee in between his thighs and pointed to F’rell.

“She’s my top choice. For subchief Engie of the...the sword, I think it was.”

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #6 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

For a brief moment Billy Bob actually considered placing a civilian of whom he had no records and no personal experience in charge of an entire stardrive section.  The notion was absurd.  In the first place there was a question of loyalty.  Billy Bob didn’t know F’rell from Adam and thanks to the actions of the boneheads calling themselves the Devoted trust was in short supply these days.  Secondly, Billy Bob had no idea what kind of engineer F’rell really was.  How long would it take for F’rell to familiarize herself (itself?) with the Theurgy’s systems?  The Theurgy was a more complicated animal than the Resolve after all.  And thirdly, did how did he expect the people serving under her (it?) to follow the orders of someone so foreign that he doubted F’rell’s species was even in the Theurgy’s databanks?  He didn’t have access to the Resolve’s logs detailing F’rell’s exploits and acts of heroism; he just had Suq’s word.  Even if the entity floating before him was qualified, it was still necessary for everyone in the engineering department to get used to such a foreign and strange crewmate before expecting it to be the boss.  F’rell couldn’t even fit into a uniform!

Master Chief O’Connell cleared his throat and ran his fingers across the side of his head.  “Well now… that’s a tall order,” Billy Bob drawled.  “Ah reckon thet F’rell of the… what’d you say?  Twelfth House yuh say?  Hez got tuh serve a mite longer aboard this here ship before takin’ sucha onerous burden of authority.  After all, F’rell, Ah didn’t rightly hear yuh volonteerin’ fur th’ job!  But don’t you worry none!  Mah department, Ah say, mah department is busier than a centipede at a toe countin’ contest these days and we’d be more then happy tuh let yuh lend us ah hand…” his voice trailed away as he squinted at the floating alien, “Or whatever it is folks from your planet is likely tuh lend,” he corrected himself.  “Ah say, that is Ah say thet fur raight now yew accompany Lieutenant Xan here tuh th’ Helmet and git used to workin’ aboard the Theurgy under his supervision, under his oversight that is.  That way yew kin git squared away an’ become a familiar sight to the top officers around here.”


OOC:  Since F’rell starts out in Vector One in CHAPTER 01: PROTECTORS OF TRUTH [ Day 03 | 1507 hrs. ], Billy Bob can’t put F’rell in charge of Vector Two right now.  I’m already moving Suq to Vector One to explain what he was doing there!

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #7 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
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As the two men spoke F'Rell became slightly worried about her grasp of the language spoken by them. Though she did not have a single issue understanding Suq, she had much time to adjust to his speech patterns, the vernacular of the other man gave her pause as it was fundamentally different. Though not one to be judgemental of such things, all languages spoken by the crew were alien to her and no where near the elegance of her native language, it did seem as if the chief of the propulsion department had a more colorful manner of speech.

When the moment came for her to again reply, F'Rell turned her angular head and silvery eyes to the man who spoken in the odd dialect. "<I have no strong desire to function in a position of authority on this ship. I aim to find a task with which I can do and with which my skills may be used to further our goals of survival>," she replied in what she considered simply. The translators breathy voice conveyed all of this in a modest, but polite tone. "<I have no qualms with working on the ships propulsions systems with Suq, or Lieutenant Xan as you call him>."

As she spoke her long whisker like tendrils flowed out from her more tightly coiled body so they could vibrate with more ease. The result gave the translator much more to work with in terms of giving her voice some tone, pitch, and even some emotion. The fact that it worked and that the voice was more complex made her happy. In some ways it sounded like a real voice or even a recording and not a complex program that was creating the voice based off of a number of parameters she had selected. The result was that her translator had a voice unique to her, she had a voice beyond her own that could not speak their language.

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #8 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Suq?  So yer on a first name basis now,” Billy Bob teased before he let out a long whistle.  “Bless your li’l hearts, but y’all are closer than two whomp rats durin’ th’ matin’ season ain’t yuh?” he snickered.  “Lahk Ah said, Ah agree with F’rell.  It’s best thet th’ folks in engineerin’ git used tuh workin’ alongside her fur a spell before we let her work unsupervised.”  He looked over at the luminescent alien before him.  “Beggin’ yer pardon there F’rell, but th’ last thing we want is fur someone tuh mistake yuh fer an animal ur’ ah intruder.  Ah’m afraid thet folks aboard are mighty trigger happy these days.  Ah heard tell that prospective candidates tuh become officers are screened tuh fur xenophobia and how well they kin think outside the box afore they ever git in tuh Starfleet Academy, but they never did thet fur us enlisted folks, so it’s still possible fur someone tuh shoot first an’ ask questions later, act impulsively that is.  You git mah meanin’.  Ah reckon you better stick with Suq or yer buddies from the Resolve for now.”

It didn’t take a social scientist with a Ph.D. (Piled Higher and Deeper) to figure out that in times of paranoia, anyone who was the slightest bit different was immediately placed on the naughty list as a default, and needed to explain themselves to get off of it.   After all of the betrayals on this ship, O’Connell was afraid that someone would take one look at F’rell floating in the air like a ghost and assume that the friendly alien was an anaphasic entity and one of the creatures that had taken control of Starfleet Command.

“Yuh know, now thet Ah think of it, it might be a good ah-dee-ah tuh move more of th’ Resolve engineers to th’ Helmet,” he drawled as he looked at Suq.  “What do yuh say?”


OOC:  That stuff O'Connell mentioned about applicants being screened for xenophobia is based off what I saw in the TNG first season episode "Coming of Age" where Wesley Crusher takes a Starfleet Academy entrance exam.  The Academy trains officers, but I'm betting enlisted aren't screened as thoroughly.

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #9 –
[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe , @Doc M.


Suq listened to Billy Bob go on. It took him a long time to get used to his weird language, but now he loved it. He remembered fondly how he used to ask stupid questions just to get this man to keep talking. Something about the accent and the repeated words, that made his brain very happy.

He was not especially upset about his first choice being turned down. Honestly, in BB’s boots, he’d have done the same. He asked for his top candidate though, not his most viable one. His smile reappeared on his face. Even if it was accompanied by tired, baggy eyes, it was a ray of sunshine in a dim, hopeless place.
“I don’t think that’s the right metaphor, but yeah, we’re close. I’d be happy to work with her.”

“and uh, for the helmet, that’s...” His eyes turned upwards as he traced out the shape of the ship in his mind.  “that’s...the top bit. The mushroom cap.” He nodded, “I agree. I think we’re all pretty, well, paranoid. If you made a move to split everyone up, I could see more, uh, problems. And bombs on warp cores. Probably.” He scratched his head and accidentally undid some of his ponytail. “What I mean is, there should be a visible effort to at least...not meet demands, but more like, be thoughtful of the crew. I don’t think I’m the only one when I say that the paranoia, it uh, it eats you. I...I’d also appreciate some solid evidence that you guys aren’t going to murderate us.”

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #10 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
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For a moment F'Rell considered correcting the engineers obvious misconception about her relationship with Suq. Clearly referring to him by certain naming conventions signified more than she was aware of. She simply referred to everyone by the primary name they used, the first name spoken when introduced. Clearly she needed to learn more about this to avoid more complications like that. However given the Suq corrected the error she did not see a need to correct it herself.

"<Given our experiences aboard the Resolve it is understandable that many of us will have a hard time relaxing around those who we see as strangers>," came the response from F'Rell's translator. Her tone was even, not quite as unemotional as the previous translator had made her sound, but not so emotional as to sound like she as truly concerned about such things. F'Rell did not really mind where she was placed. She did have some anxiety, given the current awkwardness between her and Suq, but she knew she could work through that with him if they got a chance to talk. He had not meant to hurt her and she had reacted relatively strongly.

"<It is unlikely that we will assimilate immediately, so given that putting as many of us together as possible is likely a good idea, for the safety of much of the crew. Though there will come a time when those of us from the Resolve will need to be rotated out and to other places, doing it too quickly will only cause undue strain. You humanoids are fragile about such things>," she went on, turning her silvery eyes from one of the two humanoid males to the other. "<It is often remarkable you have adapted to the changes in the universe you have already met. Though perhaps it is because there was little choice>."

OOC: Yes, F'Rell is kinda racist.

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #11 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Hm,” Billy Bob snorted.  “If Ah didn’t know better, Ah’d say thet yer translator’s set tuh th’ wrong language, ‘cuz raight now you seem tuh be speakin’ perfect Vulcan.  Yup.  Ah reckon thet bein’ adaptable is kind of our superpower, lahk th’ way a Horta can burn through stone you kin um, float in the air lahk thet.”

O’Connell cleared his throat and arranged the PADDs on his desk.  “Ahem, movin’ on, Ah calculate thet if we’re movin’ most o’ th’ Resolve” engineers to th’ Helmet, then we need tuh find someone we can put in charge of the Sword.  I’d like Abner tuh stay in the Helmet fur today until you familiarize yerself with Vector One so Chief Lucas will fill in as a placeholder in Vector Two unless we can find someone more qualified.  He glanced over at the serpentine apparition floating in the room.  “Ah’m sorry there, F’Rell was there anything else yew need t' git offa your ventral scales?”


OOC:  O’Connell’s nonsensical personnel changes are purely to match where everybody ended up in CHAPTER 01: PROTECTORS OF TRUTH [ Day 03 | 1507 hrs. ].

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #12 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]

At that F'Rell checked her translator, even going so far as to reset it's primary translation unit. She should not have been speaking in Vulcan, it was set to translate her speech to Federation Standard. It was a concern if it was not. "<I apologize for the error in my translator. I will need to go over it's software again. Apparently there is a bug in the code. I did not mean to speak in Vulcan>," she said, and the tone of the translator gave away how confused she was by this odd error. She had thought she had the device at full functionality.

"<But aside from that I believe my own concerns are managed. I will serve my function where ever you require me to be. My skills with warp theory and warp technology will undoubtedly prove themselves useful again, given the nature of our current predicament>," she said, returning to the topic at hand. She hoped the translator was working well enough to translate her speech to an understandable level. She was truly bothered by the notion that it was translating into an unexpected language, especially given the linguistic differences between that of Federation Standard and Vulcan. Were it as simple as another Earth language she would have been more understanding, but this was indeed problematic.

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #13 –
[ Lt. Jg. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] Atten. @Absinthe , @Doc M.

F’rell and BB were a living comedy duo. He loved it. His face was alight with a huge boyish smile and he kept looking between the two to see their reactions.
“Man, this is great.” He sat back, “You’re not speaking in Vulcan, F’rell, it’s a saying. Billy Bob has lots of sayings, he just meant that you talk smart. Oh, BB, maybe uh, tone back the accent a little. F’rell’s translator is genius, but not a miracle. She doesn’t do language like we do language, yanno.” He hated to bring this trainwreck to an end, because it was hilarious, but something told him it wasn’t really coming to an end. Not yet, anyway.

“Now uh, I have a thing to get off my ventral scales,” He said, despite not having any. He’s not really sure which side of him is ‘ventral’ anyway. “I know I can trust you, and I know I can trust F’rell...but how can I be sure that, you know, the Theurgy isn’t...well, the bad guys. Or Bugged, with those parasite things. And Thea, is she….always listening?” His voice started to get quiet. He was trying not to sound fearful, but he was. “Will she be working in engineering too…?”

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #14 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“What why o’ course she is,” Billy Bob drawled.  “She’s the ship’s computer, th’ A.I, that is, but now thet yuh mention it, even though she kin hear you, I can’t rightly say thet she’s really listenin’.  Not unlessin’ yuh decide tuh get her attention anyways…” he added as his boisterous voice trailed off into a thoughtful mumble.  “If yer ah tryin’ tuh figger out if yuh got any privacy, technically yuh do,” he admitted.  “Ah don’t reckon them there idjits that called themselves the Devoted would’ve caused so much trouble if yuh didn’t.  Now let’s git back to yer second question:  how do we know that one o’ them parasite creatures ain’t aboard th’ Theurgy?  We don’t but Ah admit Ah’ll be mighty surprised if one of ‘em is.  Out of all th’ things that’s happened, our location ain’t bin given away nor hez one of th’ warp cores blown up, so Ah think it’s safe tuh say we don’t got one aboard.  But as fer yer first question, well, I admit that kin be hard tuh say sometimes,” the master chief mused.  

“Any proof that Ah could show yuh could jest be somethin’ th’ ossifers done manufactured, an’ yuh know how much Ah trust ossifers,” he paused to chuckle ruefully.  “Present company excluded o’ course.  So let’s stick with whut you already know Suq, an’ see whut we kin figger out.  How about a little test?  If th’ folks at Starfleet Command are still themselves, if there ain’t no conspiracy an’ every man jack o’ us aboard have been duped, tell me son, why did th’ good folks at Starbase 84 suddenly decide thet the people aboard the Resolve were such a danger an’ had tuh be either killed er locked up?  After all you’ve bin through in th’ last three years, whut made Starfleet turn on yuh lahk thet, attack yuh that is?  They didn’t do thet t' th’ folks from th’ Voyager when it came back, an’ it was missin’ over twice as long as you wuz.  So tell me, if everythin’ is as raight as rain back at Starfleet Headquarters an’ everybody aboard this here ship is plumb loco, what happened back there?”  While the young lieutenant was musing on his reply, Billy Bob leaned over in F’Rell’s direction and muttered “Smart boy, got a mind like a steel trap – full of mice.”

Re: Day 03 [0900 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #15 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
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Again the vernacular of the chief of the propulsion department gave F'Rell no small amount of confusion. She was now certain there was little good in taking much of the more confusing phrases he said literally, but without more context it was difficult to determine the exact meaning of his more colorful euphemisms, indeed she could understand none of them. And as they littered his speech it left her at a disadvantage.

"<Given the current nature of our predicament I am inclined to believe that there is an infestation among those with a certain degree of authority over others within your organization>," F'Rell said flatly. She did view things as an outsider and thus had more of a level of emotional detachment. She had almost nothing at stake here. Her own planet's future did not seem to be in jeopardy at this point and it was unlikely she would bee susceptible to the habitation by the alien presence it seemed certain humanoids were. "<Though I would not be so bold as to discount the idea that there is not an alien infestation among the crew. From my own analysis of recent events aboard this ship there has been a number of uprisings and insurrections among the crew. As well as a heightened amount of aggression, even for humanoids>."

She turned her silvery gaze between to two men. "<Indeed, given the repeated incidents of assaults on this ship I would suggest there to be a high likelihood that if there is not a infested being on this ship, then there is someone who is being directly controlled by an infested being through some  means we have yet to understand>," she went on, her husky voice seeming to mull over the words as she spoke them, the translator picking up on the subtle inflections and translating them quite well. The translator was built for that one purpose after all, to translate her into something more organic sounding. "<However given i am guessing the infested being will likely also wish to preserve it's own life it will only act in ways it does not think risk that objective. Any other goal will be secondary at this current juncture. This may give us an upper hand, at least unto the infested being is forced into the open. At which time if my guess is correct it will become violent and lash out with little concern for it's own survival>."

She paused for a moment, letting it sink in. "<Likely this will happen on a more cosmic level should we actually find a way to confront the infested beings in control of your organization. Quite likely it will turn into a violent outburst the likes of which this Quadrant has not seen since the withdrawal of the Dominion forces>."

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #16 –
[ Lt. J.G. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | USS Theurgy ]

His steel trap had not yet closed, the mice were squeaking in dread and in warning, foolishly scrambling over the steel trap. Every tiny footstep could be the end of the squad, and yet they never stopped. Their blind panic did nothing to deter their fate.

Doom settled in his heart, because he knew F'rell was right. Something was wrong here, beyond just stress. He felt the walls closing in on him. His breathing felt labored. His hands searched his pockets for his inhaler. He brought it to his mouth, and a quiet hiss and the taste of metallic mist let him know relief was on the way.

He set the inhaler in his lap and did not speak, as if the little red applicator stole his words. It took all his focus to wrangle panic back down in his gut. What do we say to crippling anxiety? Not today.

"I don't want my men and women...and aliens, put in harm's way. I just...I know you can't provide that, but I want to know they'll be safe, and not part of the bad guys we're supposed to be fighting."

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #17 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

F’rell’s assessment was depressingly accurate and dead on.  None of the points that (she?) brought up were anything new to Billy Bob or any of officers and crew that had been officially assigned to the Theurgy or the Harbinger, but O’Connell  had forgotten that these issues were brand spankin’ new to the folks from the Resolve.  They had spent three years trying to get home that now that they had returned, the folks at home were trying to kill them.  It was going to take something better than ‘Life is like an ice cream cone; you have to learn to lick it.’

O’Connell cleared his throat awkwardly.  “Well um, that is,” he stammered.

Then Suq chimed in.  "I don't want my men and women...and aliens, put in harm's way. I just...I know you can't provide that, but I want to know they'll be safe, and not part of the bad guys we're supposed to be fighting."

“Ah’m awfully sorry yew two,” Billy Bob sighed.  “Ah wish thet Ah could make guarantees but the simple truth of it all iz thet it’s a gonna git worse afore it gits better,” he admitted before looking at the floating alien.  “F’rell yer absolutely raight; there ain’t no way o’ knowin’ if we got one of them possessed fellers on board er not.  It may be that th’ reason th’ possessed people at Starfleet Command have let us git this far is tuh delegitimize the rumor that they’ve bin possessed.  Ah gotta Ah say Ah gotta admit thet Ah cain’t rightly say thet Ah agree with every decision thet Cap’n Ives hez made but we’ve gotten this far so Ah ain’t a gonna complain.”

He then turned his gaze to the young Efrosian.  “An’ Suq, Ah’m sorry son but the men and women servin’ under yuh are already in harm’s way; if they leave the ship Ah don’t doubt that the bad guys callin’ th’ shots will have ‘em hunted down and make ‘em quietly disappear.  There’s a reason why Cap’n Kendrick had th’ Resolve shoot its way outta Starbase 84 an’ all.  Make no mistake about it; this ship will be goin’ inta combat, and even though we ain’t fixin’ t’ ask ‘em tuh volunteer for no risky missions Ah cain’t promise thet folks won’t lose it an’ do somethin’ stupid lahk th’ Devoted did.  The thing is we can’t let ourselves give in tuh despair.  Like or not, we’ve gotta maintain a sense of discipline an’ get the job done or those things that’ve taken over Starfleet won’t jest destroy us, they’ll threaten everybody thet we left back home.  This uniform ain’t jest fur explorin’ an’ seekin’ out new life it’s also fur defendin’ th’ Federation against threats.  You still willin’ tuh dew thet sir?”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #18 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
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At seeing her friend’s panic at what they faced F’Rell could not help but again see him as a youngling, no more than a child. She moved her long body to him and placed one of her appendages on his shoulder.

“<Do not despair. Our task is not an easy one, but seldom are task worth doing easy. Our task will be dangerous, but we must keep in mind that we will only fail if we lose hope,>” came the solemn voice of her translator. And though her tone was solemn, it also took on a more maternal quality, something that would not have come through with her older translator, however her knew one showed more nuance in such things, giving her speech a more emotional quality. “<I do not think we will see our end any time soon, the parasites do not seem interested in outright killing us. It does not seem to suit their purposes. I believe instead they will attempt to use us. Our purpose will be to use them or to figure out how best to get behind them.>”

She turned her attention to the propulsionist again. “<I cannot say my life changed so much when we arrived at Starbase 84. I had looked forward to arriving in so much that the crew would at last be home. But I would remain, as some would say, a stranger in a strange land,>” she intoned sadly. “<More than likely I will never see another of my kind again. And if I do they would likely reject me. I have been among you humanoids for too long now and I am so very far from my home. For me there is no going back. So I must instead strive to make this place as good a home for myself as I can. It is why I must find purpose here. I cannot simply exist without function. I could do so temporarily, but our situation does not appear to be one that can be viewed as only temporary. We must survive in the long term. I must survive in the long term.>”

She turned her attention back to her friend and moved her appendage to his forehead. “<You must survive in the long term.>”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #19 –
[ Lt. J.G. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | USS Theurgy ]

Panic had been seizing him so often lately he didn’t know what to make of it. He was thankful for F’rell being there, because if she wasn’t he’d have a much harder time calming. A touch, especially from her, was enough to visibly calm him. At least someone isn’t bugged, he thought.

So he made himself focus on the words of his two friends. They agreed on one thing, that hope was the most powerful tool he had in his workbelt right now. As F’rell laid her touch on his forehead, he felt his breathing ease. His chest wasn’t so heavy. He could now take deep breath, and after some time of silence of re-centering, he nodded. The little flame that burned in his chest had gone low for a moment, but it was rising once more.
“Yeah, guess I got no choice, huh. If I ducked out now, you guys wouldn’t have your miracle worker anymore.” He couldn’t make himself smile, to help punctuate his humor, but he did lay a hand, very gently, on F’rell’s...appendage. She was so soft, so comforting. He gave her a pat.
“Sorry about that you guys. It’s been...kind of rough. Really rough. I’m ready for a vacation, but I guess we all are...I’ll do my best. I’m gonna...try and be an example for everyone else, if I can. I’m not giving up, anyway.” He promised, though he wasn’t sure if he could keep that promise. He had people he didn’t want to let down, though.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss? Sounds like everyone’s placed pretty well so far.”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #20 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Yeah Ah reckon that’ll do fur now,”Billy Bob O’Connell purred.  “No hold on there Suq, Ah say, no wait jest a second,” he said before Suq could get up from his chair.  “F’rell yew kin go, but on the other hand, there ain’t no reason why you cain’t hear this too.

“There’s a reason why Ah’m fixin’ t’ move yuh tuh th’ Helmet Suq,” he explained as he handed a PADD to the young lieutenant.  “Ah reckon it jest maight be a benevolent notion tuh git you familiar with th’ Vector One warp core an’ th’ folks thet maintain it ahead of time.  Yuh see, at our last department head meetin’ th’ skipper an’ Mister Trent introduced somethin’ we’re callin’ ‘Continuance Protocol’ now thet we got th’ Theurgy able tuh separate inta its sep’rit stardrive vectors agin.  It’s an emergency protocol in case things go cattywampus and we gotta git our tails outta Dodge.  The idea is thet th’ Theurgy would separate inta multi vector mode an’ each stardrive vector takes off in a different direction.  If we're outnumbered we kin evade pursuit by skedaddlin’ an scatterin’ diff’rent parts of th’ ship from here tuh East Jesus.  Thet way iffin the worst happens, at least one part of the ship will escape to continue the fight if the other two don’t make it out alive. 

“Now ordinarily, there’d be folks at each station tuh fill out th’ battle bridges, battle sickbays, engineerin’ sections an’ such but with all th’ casualties we’ve been havin’ some of those stations have been a mite understaffed lately,” he continued.  “So in an emergency, th’ computer’s been programmed to automatically beam certain personnel to certain locations iffin th’ cap’n initiates the Continuance Protocol.  That means during general quarters odds are thet folks are a gonna be beamed out an’ beamed in at the worst possible moment.  It’s a gonna add tuh th’ fog of war, but at least when th’ smoke clears each stardrive section is gonna have the minimum qualified personnel manning essential positions in case the temporary separation becomes a touch more permanent than we all would like.

“Now pay attention to me son; I’m not just talkin’ to hear my head roar,” he added in a softer tone before returning to his ‘stage voice’ that was quieter than his ‘drill instructor voice’ but still more than loud enough for close quarters.  “Now that there PADD Ah handed yuh shows the current arrangement of who gits beamed where,” he continued as he nodded to the Personal Access Display Device in the young officer’s hand.  “As you kin see, you’re a scheduled tuh be beamed tuh vector one when the drek his th’ fan.  Ah reckon thet yer gonna be busier than a centipede at a toe countin’ contest when that happens an’ that you won’t be appreciatin’ them beamin’ yer tail to Gawd know where an’ leavin’ you as confused as a fart in a windstorm.  Jest don’t assume that we’re bein’ boarded jest because folks be beamin’ in an’ out on yuh.”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #21 –
[ F'Rell of the 12th House | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Doc M. , @FollowTomorrow
[Show/Hide]

Though she was not required to remain, it seemed a good idea to do so none the less. F’Rell was used to both being included and excluded from important decisions and matters such as these. She was an outsider among them and she knew it quite well, though she could not fault them for that. Her knowledge made her invaluable, yet she remained an entity outside of the group. She could not be one of them anymore than she could change the stars in the sky. Such matters were possible, yet not with the tools she had on hand.

And once more she found much of what the Chief of the Propulsion Department said to be odd metaphor that made little logical sense to her. Yet it was clear that he spoke in that manner to give deeper meaning to his words. It was thus a pity in her reasoning that she could not grasp the deeper meaning, even if she could understand his accent.

She did not say anything more though. She had nothing to say. Given her current task it was likely that should anything happen she would simply go to the Propulsion Department of whichever section of the vessel she was on board and offer her services again. It was highly likely she would not be refused. Though the level of trust and access granted her would not be as high as some, it was not illogical to think she would be given a degree of access due to her own knowledge on a range of topics.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #22 –
[ Lt. J.G. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | USS Theurgy ]

Just when he thought he was clear to get up, walk off, and eat his feelings with a gigantic bowl of raspberry ice cream, he was told to hold on there Suq, I say, now wait just a second. He sighs and sits his rumpus back down in the chair.  Thankfully, F’rell stayed. He appreciated it, he detested wandering being alone on this ship.

And as he heard Billy Bob out, he was even more thankful. He did not like the idea of being separated. He felt anxiety prickling right back up where it had just left a moment ago. He glanced over his PADD, taking a look at where he’d be beamed if things got really bad. The bridge, at the engineering console, with mostly people he doesn’t know and a few he does. Neat.
“Right, uh, can I have someone else at the console with me, or do you uh...have enough people for that?” He didn’t want to explain why, but the truth was, he couldn’t read very fast. That could be a big problem in emergency situations. He was hoping for someone else to do some of the work, in case he couldn’t pull through.
"...How likely are we to be split up anyway. This is just a 'just in case' thing, right...?"

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #23 –
[ William Robert O’Connell | Chief Engineer’s Office | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | USS Theurgy ]  Atten. @Absinthe, @FollowTomorrow.

“Well I admit that this is whut you’d call an ‘in case of emergency break glass’ kind o’ sitch-ee-ation,” Billy Bob O’Connell drawled, “and aboard this here ship Ah’ve learned Ah say Ah’ve learned tuh never say never.  Never, that is.  Ah say, Ah said Ah say that Ah cain’t rightly sugarcoat it; with our luck Ah’d be mighty surprise iffin it didn’t happen.  Now Ah know thet mah answer is about as welcome as an outhouse breeze.  Bein’ the new guy you already feel like a hair in a biscuit surrounded by folks you don’t know from Adam’s housecat.  But Ah don’t want you bein’ so scared yuh cain’t drive a wet watermelon seed up yer butt with a sledge hammer.  It makes it easier all around that th’ less folks git beamed around the better an Ah reckon that it’ll save a whole lot o’ heartache if yuh jest happened tuh be stationed in the place you’ll be beamed to in the first place.  Now we could spend all day rearranging th’ engineerin’ department to cut down on the emergency transportees but Ah reckon we kin jest start with you an’ git to the others later.  It’s not lahk Ah’m expectin’ this contingency plan tuh be executed this week!”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly while looking away to stare at nothing.  “That’s about jest all Ah got fer now; Ah’ll let you two git yer tails tuh the Helmet an’ git yerselves settled in.  Nolak, God rest his soul, ain’t around no more an’ now it’s your baby.”  He glanced back at the two of them.  “You two still here?  Go on, there’s work to be done.  Git out of here and move lahk you got a purpose.”


OOC:  Is this a good place to end the thread?

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] Engineering a Position

Reply #24 –
[ Lt. J.G. Suq Reylin Efreya-Xan | Chief Engineer's Office | Main Engineering | USS Theurgy ]

Suq found himself staring at Billy Bob with a tired look on his face. Thank goodness, it didn’t sound like something that would happen soon. Though BB mentioned, and Suq agreed that it’s hard to say for sure what will happen, the Efrosian didn’t think he’d be whisked away tomorrow morning. It was a good nugget of information to keep in mind regardless.

So when the meeting was done, he pushed himself out the chair, bringing his dreaded coffee with him. “Well I guess that means we’re no longer wanted here F’rell.” He smiled, though not quite as wide as normal. “Let’s get outta here. Thanks BB, I’ll let you know if I have questions.”

“c’mon F’rell.” He beckoned her over, “Let’s get back to work. Maybe...we can find some place to nap together later?” He suggested, but with timidity. F’rell may still be mad. She didn’t sound or act it, but he still wanted to be safe. After all, she was still part of the family.
OOC: This will be my last post, idk if Absinthe has more to add?
 
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