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DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs] Atten kaligos   

[ William Robert O'Connell | Main Engineering | Decks 24-25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell looked up from the master systems display table when he felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Boss, the engineers from the Harbinger and Black Opal are here," the coffee colored Chief Petty Officer Lavar Manfredi informed the master chief. 

"So soon?" William Robert "Billy Bob" O'Connell asked in disbelief.  "Ah woulda calculated thet it'd take a bit more time t' have 'em pass their psych evaluations n' get themselves properly indoctrinated an' such.  We don't want any of 'em tryin' t' warn Starfleet an' give away our position or anythang."

"Well they've been cleared for duty and are expecting assignments," Manfredi informed him, "and you're the acting chief engineer so they're expecting those assignments to come from you," he said as he pointed up at the deck overhead that had an open view of the warp core.  The chamber above was mostly open space with a safety railing along the opening to the deck below to prevent accidents.  From down below, Billy Bob could see many gold collared individuals milling about up there.

"Yup, I reckon so," Billy sighed as he picked up a PADD and walked over to one of the small one man elevators on the wall of the large chamber that held the warp core.  He used the time it took to rise up a deck to quickly scan the list of names that had been added to the engineering register.  At the top were a couple of green behind the balls ensigns.  They could be trouble.  They would fall under two types:  The type who were freshly out of the academy and were used to taking direction and the type who were so full of their accomplishment of making the grade that they lorded it over the enlisted men was much as possible.  And one was a Vulcan, a guaranteed know-it-all.  Terrific.  

Master Chief O'Connell decided to handle this challenge by going into "drill instructor" mode.  "All right everyone who's new line up!" he shouted as he marched towards them.  "Everybody get in a line and stand at attention!  Come on people!  Quit yer grinin' and grab yore linen!  Come on folks I haven't got all day!  I am Master Chief Petty Officer William Robert O'Connell, your acting chief engineer!" the burly human shouted as he walked in front of the line of fresh faces.  "It is my job to ensure that the USS Theurgy keeps flyin' through the black and it is your job to do everything in your power to make that happen!"  By now he was marching back and forth in front of the line of engineers invoking his days as a drill instructor at Starfleet Academy's Officer's Candidate School, or as he preferred to call it, Organized Chicken Smeg.  "I don't have a lot of time to train the lot of you so if I think for one moment that your heart ain't in this I will assign you to constructing cryogenic stasis capsules for you to spend the trip in so you won't get in our way!  The USS Theurgy ain't like any other starship so I'll need t' know your engineering specialty in order to give you an assignment that'll be the right fit.  If you don't like your assignment talk to me about it!  If I find out you've been tradin' assignments behind my back I'll shove a spanner so far up yer anus that you'll be able to taste it!" 

It may have been Billy Bob's paranoia, or it may have been natural caution after the betrayal of the Harbinger's top brass, but William Robert O'Connell wanted to know who and where everyone was at all times.  The last thing anyone aboard this ship needed was someone warning Starbase 84 that they were due for some visitors.

"Excuse me, Master Chief," asked a young blonde woman whose peeling skin indicated that she had somehow been exposed to an excess of honest to gawd ultraviolet radiation in the past week.  To outward appearances, she appeared completely human but there was the telltale single rank pip on her gold collar that indicated that she was in reality a lower than whale shit ensign who had about as much respect amongst her peers as the average lower than targ droppings crewman.  "Where's the actual chief engineer?  Where's Lieutenant Marlowe?" 

Master Chief O'Connell stopped in his tracks.  Slowly he turned with almost melodramatic calm to eye the little blonde ensign.  "Lieutenant Marlowe was fatally injured due to acts of sabotage performed at the behest of Captain Declan Vasser and Commander T'Rena," he informed her with cold formality.  "She would have recovered in sickbay but further sabotage during an attempted coup aboard this vessel shut down the monitoring equipment in sickbay and she died when a blood clot that was undetected and untreated due to the actions of her shipmates stopped her heart.  The doctors would have noticed but they were being held at gunpoint at the time.  Captain Ives has assigned me the position in the meantime!" he suddenly bellowed, going back into his 'drill instructor voice'.   "Do you have any more questions, Ensign?"

"No Master Chief," she stammered, somewhat intimidated by his intensity.

"Well thank you very much!" he shouted sarcastically, bending over so that his face was mere centimeters from hers.  "Can I be in charge for a while?"

"Yes Master Chief," she replied quickly.

"What's your name Ensign?"

"Abner sir," she replied.  "Carla Abner."

"Don't call me 'sir'!" he barked, causing her to wince and shudder.  "Do I look like a ruttin' officer?  I work for a living!  You can call me 'Boss', you can call me 'Chief', you can call me 'Master Chief' and you can call me the Lord Almighty, but you will not ever call me 'sir' again, do I make myself clear Ensign?"

"Loud and clear chief!" she shouted back.

"Excellent!" he shouted as he finally took a step back and gave Abner her personal space.  "Fantastic!  I'm glad we got you squared away on that, Abner.  I'm keeping my eye on you right here in main engineering fer today Abner.  Don't get lost, and don't forget who is the chief engineer around here."

"Master Chief," said a young male Vulcan whose pale skin indicated that his ancestors came from the poles of his home planet.  "The USS Theurgy is a starship of unparalleled size and complexity.  Despite your long years in Starfleet is there no one more qualified to fill the post of chief engineer?"  Like Abner he had an ensign's pip on his collar, and like Abner, he believed that pip afforded him more respect than he'd earned.

"What's your name Ensign?" Billy Bob roared, making the question sound like a challenge.  He knew his name and previous assignment but the question was part of the ritual.

"Ensign T'sebl Felr Master Chief and I meant no disrespect..."

"Well that's exactly what it sounded like Felr!" O'Connell snapped.  "I've never known a Vulcan to have a first name I can pronounce an' you're no exception!  To answer your question Felr, no, the answer is no!  We do not!  We do not have anyone aboard who is more qualified than me!  Maybe the docs will take someone out of stasis or we'll shanghai an engineer from Starbase 84, but for now I'm it!  Unless you'd like to take over?" he dared him.  "How about it?  Have you ever served aboard a starship before, or were you relegated to Black Opal as soon as you graduated?  Are you qualified Felr?  Do you got what it takes to do this job?  I gotta warn you, my predecessor lasted less than a week before she went to maintain the great big warp core in the sky!  Do you think you can do it Felr?"

"No Master Chief," the Vulcan replied politely.  "I was merely trying to ascertain..."

"I got an idea Felr," O'Connell interrupted condescendingly.  "Why don't you shut that purty li'l mouth o' yours and use those pointed ears on your head t' listen?  Think you can do that?"

"Yes Master Chief," Felr nodded.  "I believe I can."

"Good Felr," O'Connell smiled mockingly at the greenblooded ensign.  "You got anything else t' say?"

"Well sir..."

"DID YOU CALL ME 'SIR' AFTER I SPECIFICALLY TOLD ABNER THAT I AM NEVER TO BE CALLED 'SIR' UNDER ANY CURCUMSTANCES FELR?!"

"Well Chief," Felr corrected himself without batting an eye or expressing any discomfort.  "Once again I don't mean to challenge your authority or imply any disrespect..."

"Spit it out Felr," O'Connell sighed as he rolled his eyes and spun a finger to indicate that the Vulcan should hurry up.  "I haven't got all day."

"I believe that according to regulations you're supposed to address an officer as 'sir' or at the very least his rank," the Vulcan informed him with a politeness that was almost apologetic.  "It's proper protocol."

"Felr in the last two months the Theurgy has lost five chief engineers!" O'Connell shouted, placing his face within centimeters of the Vulcan's.  He held up a hand, palm forward fingers spread.  "Five!  An' I've been selected to put m'self in harm's way on the nex' mission which fur me is damn near suicide!  And I have two!" Billy Bob held up two fingers.  "Less than two rutting days get all of you working as a team and making sure that this ship performs above expectations in case things go wrong!  I have no time to coddle every no-load nub that comes aboard who can't tell skunks for housecats!  Do you think I give a damn about protocol right now?"

Felr narrowed his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and pursed his lips as he gave the question his full attention.

"No Felr!" Billy Bob shouted.  "The answer is no!  I don't give a Klingon's penis about protocol right now!  And if I ever do call you 'sir' rest assured that I will spell it with a 'c' and a 'u' to insure that you get every bit of respect that you've earned!  Do I make myself clear Felr?"

"Yes Chief, perfectly clear," the Vulcan replied.

"I can't hear you Felr!" O'Connell bawled.  "Speak up!"

"Yes Master Chief!" Felr barked back.  "Perfectly clear Master Chief!"

"Well I'm glad we managed to clear that up for you Felr," O'Connell remarked sarcastically.  "Hell, I like you.  If we ever get out of this, you can come over to my house and ponn farr my sister."

"Technically ponn farr isn't a verb..."

"DID I ASK YOU FELR?!"

The cadet standing next to the Vulcan let out a nervous chuckle.

"What have we got here?"  O'Connell moved on to his next victim.  "What's your name Cadet?"

"Stanimir, Chief," the young pale skinned human replied, "Vitaly Stanimir."

"Do you think I'm cute Stan'mir?" O'Connell shouted into his face.  "Do you think I'm FUNNY?!"

"No sir, Master Chief!" the cadet replied.  Apparently he recalled Organized Chicken Smeg very well and remembered the drill.

"Do you want to be an officer someday Stan'mir?" O'Connell asked, deliberately mispronouncing the cadet's name.

"Yes sir, Master Chief, I do," he replied without hesitation.  To his credit, Stanimir knew better than to correct O'Connell.

"How's that working out?"

"Could be better Master Chief," the cadet admitted.  He appeared to be tempted to add more but thought better of it.

"I understand son," O'Connell nodded sadly before looking at the second cadet standing next to him.  "What's your name Cadet?" he asked in a gentler tone.  Cadets and enlisted men seldom needed to be put in their place like officers did.  They tended to follow orders from a chief without question and didn't need the 'drill instructor' routine like a limp-dick no-load can't-cunt green-behind-the-ears PADD-pushing know-nothing donsel of an ensign did.

"Zhong Wu, Master Chief," the second cadet replied while standing at attention.  The epicanthic folds at his eyes gave them an almost slanted appearance and indicated that his ancestors had faced solar glare that could impair vision. 

"Any questions Wu?"  O'Connell asked with deadly calm.

"Um, where do you want me Master Chief?"  Cadet Wu asked carefully.

"I'll get to that in a minute Wu," O'Connell nodded in a surprisingly familiar manner.  "Let me familiarize m'self with the new faces first."  He moved to the freckled chief petty officer with the ginger hair.  "Jesus H. Sebastian Gawd!  A soulless ginger!  I didn't know any o' you freaks were still around!" he joked.  "Just kiddin' chief," he said as he slapped his back.  "My sister's a soulless ginger.  What's your name?"

"Chief Petty Officer Curt Lucas Master Chief," the carrot topped noncommissioned officer replied confidentially. 

"You're from the Harbinger ain't ya?" O'Connell asked.

"Yes I am Master Chief," Lucas replied, a jovial dare in in his voice.

"Good, then I know you ain't fixin' t' do somethin' stupid," O'Connell nodded.  "Some of our new arrivals from Black Opal may be havin' a hard time acceptin' the true sitchi'ation 'bout Starfleet Command these days.  Good t' know yore aboard Chief."

"Good t' be here, Master Chief."

"Don't push it, Lucas," O'Connell warned him good-naturedly.  "And what's your name crewman?" he asked a swarthy bronze skinned human who resembled a Klingon affected by a genetic condition common in the late 22nd and early 23rd centuries.

"Crewman Russell Rodriquez sir...Master Chief!" he quickly corrected himself.  "From the Harbinger Master Chief."

O'Connell held up a warning finger and moved to the next engineer in the line.  Billy sobered when he recognized him, the young man was crewman from the Theurgy!  "Crewman Fok," the master chief greeted in the softest voice the newcomers had heard him use.  "How ya feeling Fok?"

"The counselor declared me fit for duty Master Chief," Crewman Dom Fok replied without looking O'Connell in the eye. 

"Not whut ah asked Crewman," O'Connell replied in a fatherly tone.

The young crewman paused to collect himself.  "I just want to serve Chief," he insisted.  He was looking Billy Bob in the eye now. 

"We're glad t' have yuh.  Hang in there Fok," O'Connell nodded before walking past him to stop and gawk at the monster in the gold collared Starfleet uniform standing at the end. 

The creature was 2.2 meters if he was a centimeter, and his resemblance to humanity was vague at best.  A reptilian snout covered with green scales pointed in Billy Bob's direction and the yellow inhuman eyes had vertical irises like a cat's.  He looked more like a velociraptor than a man.  His "hands" were claws that consisted of three long fingers and one thumb, and his feet were much the same.  Starfleet had given up trying to design a  shoe that his claws wouldn't rip through so when he walked his steps were probably preceded with a ticking noise of his bare claws tapping against the metal ground just like in the Jurassic Park holonovel O'Connell had ran over a decade ago.  The creature's face was unreadable, but millennia of biological programming gave O'Connell the impression that keeping this monster well fed was in everyone's best interests. This guy could give Vulcans nightmares, and Vulcans didn't scare easily.

"Tarnation!" O'Connell gasped.  "Jesus Christ man!  You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!  What's your name Petty Officer?"

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #1 –
[ Sithick | Main Engineering ]

Sithick was always the last person in the line, not because he wasn't attentive or didn't hear the order, but because his body wasn't as quick and nimble as the smaller engineers that he fell in line with. He stood over them neutral though getting a kick out of how the chief engineer was taking each one down a peg as they went down the line. It reminded him a little of his training on the Elderado, but more than that it was nice to know that bootcamp was universal.

Of course Sithick couldn't find the smaller creature intimidating he had served under far worse creatures in far less extravagant warp cores. In short he really didn't find the man anything other than amusing as he had a strange foreign accent to his words, and Sithick had to strain himself to keep up with the dialog between him and the other crew. Enjoying the trip as the other took down several crew members down a peg.

He actually chuckled a little when it came time to deal with the Vulcan, T'sebl had been a pain in his own side more than once. When the Chief Engineer got to Sithick he turned his head slightly towards the other, to watch him more closely. These first meetings were always Sithick's favorite. He had seen the gambit of reactions by now, from confusion, to outrage, to abject horror, to in the case of the captain of the vessel calm disregard.

He did however pause for a moment when O'connell went on his tirade about how many chief engineers there had been on this vessel. It was an unprecedented number to be sure. He hadn't heard of a Federation vessel that had needed more than two in that position, chief engineers did not usually die before their ship.

Then again this was Theurgy a ship of nightmares as he had been learning more and more about it he had disliked it more and more. Theurgy may have been the most grand and powerful ship Sithick had ever touched but this thing was a voyage of nightmares and horrors the likes of which he had never seen before. First he had learned about parasites that made him question litterally every human he had ever come across, and now he was learning that the engineering team had as much 'job security' as an away mission security team.

O'Connell did not disappoint Sithick however and was far more interesting in his outburst than others may have been. He chuckled finding the officers words rather amusing. "Petty Officer second claz Sithick, from Black Opal, boz."

He picked the less formal way of addressing the chief simply because it rolled off his lips and tongue easier than chief did. His smile was a toothy one showing the razor sharp teeth that could easily rip flesh from bone. His yellow eyes tracked the smaller chief engineer for a moment taking no offense to the claim that he was ugly... Truth was he had heard much worse in his life.

"To be fair boz, from where I stand you aren't exactly the pretty'st creature at the ball either." If William was going to judge him on his looks he had every right to do the same. Boss or not if he was going to throw his looks at his face even if Sithick had heard worse he was going to get some back at him. He was not a punching bag for this crew.

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #2 –
[ William Robert O'Connell | Main Engineering | Decks 24-25 | USS Theurgy  ] 

"Careful Sithick, my momma needs a new pair o' alligator shoes," O'Connell retorted before breaking into a grin.  "You got a face only a mother kin love, but right now I'm lovin' it.  I know fur damn sure that the creatures that took over Starfleet Command would never think o' possessing you."  To the paranoid conspiracy driven Billy Bob O'Connell, Sithick was probably the only newcomer he could really turn his back on.  The odds of the alien parasites that had possessed the flag officers back at Starfleet Command choosing whatever Sithick was to take over was slim to say the least.  Sithick didn't exactly blend in with a crowd and thus his use as a spy or a saboteur was limited, especially since hundreds of thousands of years of evolution would have fingers pointed at the scaly green giant in a heartbeat if sabotage or homicide was suspected.  That meant Sithick was likely more trustworthy and by the book than your average human, just to be accepted.  If he could he would see if it was possible to have Sithick keep an eye on the others for him.

"Okay, Abner, what's your engineering specialty?" he asked as he left Sithick and strode over to the sunburnt woman at the front of the line.

"Propulsion sir... Master Chief," she corrected herself. 

"Okay, Abner, stick around main engineering and listen to Manfredi," O'Connell said as he frowned at his PADD.  "Be sure to learn everything y' can afore yuh try t' take over.  Fok you report to Manfredi and try not t' blow us up this time.  The rest of you follow me," he said as he pointed to the door that led out of main engineering.  "According to whut I red on this here PADD it looks like Ives 'n Trent have decided tuh keep everyone from Black Opal station as a set," he said as the doors to main engineering hissed open.  "It looks like he's given yer CO Commander Dewitt her own command so I reckon Ah better take y'all to it," he said as he marched down the corridor to the turbolift doors.

"She's being put in charge of one of the ship vectors Master Chief?" Cadet Zhong Wu asked as he and his fellow Black Opal engineers followed him.  The doors hissed open and they filed in.

"Deck Nineteen," Billy Bob ordered after the doors hissed shut.  "Now calm down son, an' don't git too excited.  Ives put her in charge of USS Allegiant.  It's an experimental Manta-class scout.  I'm a gonna give y'all th' guided tour an' git yuh familiar with her afore yuh sail her off inta th' black in two days."

"I don't believe I'm familiar with the Manta class Master Chief," Ensign Felr said as the turbolift car moved. 

[ Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht Bay ] 

"That's okay, sir," O'Connell drawled, and was careful to spell it with a 'c' and a 'u'.  "It's kinda new.  When the powers that be decided that the Theurgy would serve as an experimental testbed fur a squadron of the new Mark III Valkyries and fur a new system of computer interface that had a soul lahk one o' Doctor Soong's creations it was decided that the Captain's Yacht would be brand spankin' new too," he explained as the doors hissed open and he led them out into a short corridor to a pair of large heavy atmosphere tight doors.  They hissed open to reveal a large dimly lit chamber with a short gangway that led to a wide craft that seemed to be built into the hull. "It's basically an upgraded version of the Talon-class scout, and gol darn it!  Didn't anyone ever git around t' repairin' th' control panel?"  Sure enough, the control panel at waist level just to the right of the airlock was damaged.  "Thea, Ah needs t' git in.  Ah'm invokin' mah department head override Sierra Five Romeo."

[Please stand by,] said Thea as the lights in the whole bay area increased in luminosity, and the Allegiant started to power up. The airlock doors to the aft compartment swung open to greet the scout ship's new crew.

O'Connell turned and attempted to look all of the Black Opal engineers in the eye at once, but since Sithick was so much taller than the others it was impossible to do so.  "All right, Ah calculate that Ah should give yuh all th' guided tour, an' then Ah want this ship restored to factory condition in the next two days.  This ship is yore baby now, an yore responsible fur it.  Treat it right an' it'll bring yuh home, treat it wrong an' you'll not just kill yoreselves, but Commander Dewitt an' anyone else from Black Opal that the skipper sees fit t' join yuh.  Y'all understand?"

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #3 –
[ Sithick |  Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht - U.S.S. Allegiant ] ]

Sithick paused for a moment when the boss said that his mother could use some new shoes, how was this information important to him? Why did his work reflect on his mothers need to gain some foot garments, Sithick pondered this for a very long time before simply addressing back a single question. "What'z an alligator?"

The question lingered in the air along with the engineers confusion before simply shrugging and walking with the group to regard the manta class yacht. He wasn't at all surprised that he hadn't known about the manta class, his last few years had been set to helping build several of the black opals new weapons which were currently loaded in the hanger. Most of the Theurgy's build was classified, When it was called the most powerful warship ever built by the Federation he hadn't exactly expected the thing to be four different warships smashed together, but he had to appreciate the design.

The more he learned about the ship the more he was in love with the thing. Three warp cores, and now a yacht that was yet another war ship. Oh this day kept getting better and better. Sithick could practically feel his lips curling and a small amount of drool escaping his razor sharp teeth, making him seem all the more threatening. Really it was just the prospect of getting to work on this ships innards, pulling apart the manta shuttle and finding out exactly how she ticked it was as close to visceral combat as the engineer liked to see.

"I love thiz ship!" Sithick said as he walked around the smaller shuttle as it came to life. He wasn't exagerating either this had to be one of the downright best ships he had ever seen in the Federation designs, every part of it made him wonder how he had ever lived on a klingon bird of prey or the crime syndicates various gutter runners.

"So Bozz, where do we start?" Because there was a lot to go around. The engineering team from the black opal was small, four men and women with himself included. Spending two days to work this thing over would probably take them every hour up to the battle and even then they would be making small duct repairs on the moments notice. Still this Yacht was going to be in his claws, and he wanted to show that he was as competent as any of the other officers on this ship so far.

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #4 –
[ William Robert O'Connell | Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht - U.S.S. Allegiant ]

"I love thiz ship!" the massive and hulking Sithick exclaimed as the lights came on and the Alliegant opened its rear doors.

"Yeah with a little work it could be home," Cadet Wu mused thoughtfully.  He had heard the tales of Starfleet's retired engineers being granted antique shuttles and runabouts for their personal use, allowing them to travel from port to port seeing the sights and tinkering with their machines.  When he enrolled in Starfleet Academy he was looking forward to travelling the galaxy.  When he was assigned to Black Opal, he was looking forward to a well-earned retirement.  And now that he was an outlaw aboard the Theurgy he didn't know what he was looking forward to, but he suspected it was a small fast ship and a full tank of deutronium.

"So Bozz, where do we start?" Sithick rasped.

"That's up to Mister Felr, but offhand I would say that this here control panel and the Allegiant's transporter room could use the most love," O'Connell replied as he walked into the large aft airlock that could almost double for a vehicle bay motorcycles.  Behind twin LCRS consoles there were three doors on the far wall, and O'Connell was standing in front of the central one.

 "All righty then," he said as he cleared his throat and turned to face his audience.  "The Manta class scout is a multimission scout that has longer range than the Talon class and is more heavily armed to boot.   It has a standard crew of five but it could be up to ten depending on the mission an' it kin make do with just a pilot in a pinch.  Standard occupancy allows fur about twenty souls to be carried aboard her and her maximum occupancy has never been tested.  She's twenty-six meters in length, twenty-five meters wide and her two decks bring her up to eight meters in height.  Her LF-9X4 enclosed nacelle compact warp drive allows her to cruise at Warp Factor seven point five but we've had her over eight point five fur about two hours.   An FIE impulse engine allows her to go over point eight five lightspeed at full impulse.  She's armed with four type four phaser arrays, two type seven pulse fire phaser cannons, an' three mark twenty-five micro torpedo launchers, one of which is aft firing.  Her hull has eleven point one centimeters o' type two ablative hull armor jus' lahk the Valkyries and her shield system is comparable to a mark three Valkyrie as well.  Come on in an' I'll show yuh around," he added offhandedly.     

 "This here's the airlock," he continued as he gestured to the bay he was standing in.  "You'll notice it's got two LCRS consoles fur stuff lahk openin' the doors, or extendin' the ramp an' settin' up force fields or the ever popular atmosphere tight magnetic field, accessin' the ship's transporters, an' things like that there.  No surprises so far.  The port an' starboard doors lead into the cargo holds, well storage closets would be a more accurate term t' my way o' thinkin'.  They're about the same size as yer standard cabin on a boat this size and kin be converted into passenger quarters in a pinch.  The smaller one t' starboard contains yer EVA suits, so I'll bet y'all gonna git real familiar wit' the starboard hold afore too long."

The central door hissed open and he led them down a corridor that had several doors on either side, three on the left and four on the right.  He ignored the first two doors that presumably led into the aforementioned cargo bays and focused his attention on a hatch in between them that was perfectly flush with the floor.  "Iffin' ya gotta work between decks, yer gonna hafta squeeze though here.  There's two hatches lahk this in the corridor and they lead to the two hatches on the overhead of the lower deck, but you'll git yore chance t' explore it Ah figure."

He then indicated the three doors on the portside of the hallway.  "These doors on the portside lead to the portside cargo hold, the science lab, an' the mess."  He turned and gestured to the four doors on the starboard side.  "From fore to aft the doors t' starboard lead to the med bay, the stairs to the lower deck, the head, and the starboard cargo hold.  The armory, well weapons locker more like, is accessed by the short hall leadin' t' th' stairs.  The top deck's head as got a shower in it, somethin' th' bottom deck don't.  Yuh kin set th' shower to your basic sonic setting or use the hydronic resequencer t' make it emit actual honest to Gawd water.  The aft most door leads inta th' starboard cargo hold with the EVA suits I tol' yuh about.  But fur raight now Ah can't get Sithick's question outta mah head.  This way, if yuh please..."

He led through the door at the end of the corridor that led into a small room that was really just part of the corridor.  A swivel chair that was connected to the floor was behind a LCRS console.  There were sets of doors the port, the fore, and to starboard. 

"The bridge is straight ahead," Billy Bob gestured, "an' the skipper's ready room is to the starboard, but it's the transporter room t' port thet Ah want y'all t' see."

The portside doors slid open to reveal that the cramped transporter room was in shambles. 

O'Connell let out a rueful whistle.  "As you kin see, the transporter room looks like the Spacer's Club after the legendary bar fight of Stardate 50237.5.  The ceiling plate that covers th' molecular imaging scanner's bin knocked clear off the overhead an' shattered, an' both the overhead energizing coils and the molecular imaging scanner is busted.  Looks lahk somebody set a phaser t' kill and pointed it at th' ceiling.  I calculate thet th' transporter console an' the pads have been banged up a mite too.  Careful not to cut yerselves on all the transparent aluminum shards all over th' floor.  There's probably other things aside uh th' transporter room thet could use some attention but this stands out lahk private parts at a dirty show."




OOC:  Yes I know that most of O'Connell's information can be found in the wiki, but I think it's not "official" until it is revealed "on stage."  Besides, this introduces the post "Butterfly Effect"  Allegiant to the reader and is excellent foreshadowing for the Chapter 05 "Battle of Starbase 84" thread that is to come.  Feel free to write for the rest of the Black Opal gang kaligos and include any foreshadowing you want to.

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #5 –
[ Sithick |  Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht - U.S.S. Allegiant ] ]


Sithick gawked at the state of the transporter room. As his new boss went over the schematics of the mantis class shuttle he honestly had no idea what he was supposed to say or do with this thing! for one it was a mess, and they were being told that they only had three days to get everything in some state of function. It was by no means impossible but it meant they were going to have to pull some double shifts, and Sithick hated double shifts.

While his body had no problem functioning as long as the place he was in was warm, his body was supposed to be in swamp like humid conditions. Of course changing an entire decks Humidity levels just so he could work in peace for longer shifts was unreasonable to the other members of the crew but it meant he would need access too a water based shower while pulling a double shift otherwise he was going to have deal with one hell of a rash that took forever to go away. Of course that was less a technical porblem and more a problem with logistics, and not something that he was going to report to a superior officer, just a medical officer for skin cream or something that might tide over the itching when it inevitably started.

Cadet Wu looked over the transporter room with a clearer head. "I take it back, this place is going to need a lot of TLC before it can be anyones home." He said brushing a hand against his forehead.

Sithick moved into the transporter room.  His feet touching shards of alluminum as he walked but instead of cutting against his bare dense scales the ones that ended up under his claws cracked audiably under his weight. He felt the shards under his feet and mostly swept them aside like a dog scratching at dirt. His massive height allowed him to look over the interior of the transporter without much aid and as he looked inside the bare interior he sniffed at the air. His nostrals caught a lot of burnt Ozone and as he assessed the damage he knew this thing was going to need some replacement parts. As he looked over the various internal connectors that he would either need to replace or some how get back into working he was plotting out how he could get this thing back into working order. It seemed like the pattern buffers were the main problem with this thing he could see plenty of spots where they were darkened screaming electrical burn out.

"Do we have a replicator for parts fabrication?"  Ensign T'sebl Felr asked the question as he looked to William, He was already thinking of parts orders and requisitions he was going to need. Another ship may have been better supplied, or they would be able to borrow around from a fleet.

Considering this crew only ever had to work on a space station with fewer parts and much less damage The former engineer in charge of the black opal had a lot more respect for what the teams of the Theurgy were able to accomplish. "It may take us a while if we are working on refurbishing old parts alone, and were gonna need a few extra pannels to cover up the transporter.

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #6 –
[ William Robert O'Connell | Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht - U.S.S. Allegiant ]

"Y'all have ta send yer requests to th' machine shops on Deck Twenty-three," O'Connell replied.  "As a matter of fact, ah reckon it'd be a raight good idea iffin' Mister Sithick accompanied me t' fabrication."  Billy Bob glanced up at the transporter room's overhead.  "Ah cal'culate th' replacement ceiling plate's gunna need a fella with long arms and a heap uh upper body strength t' wrangle down here an' git into position," he drawled.  "Besides, Ah reckon it wouldn't hurt fur th' folks in fabrication t' catch their first glimpse o' ol' Tee-Rex when he's in mah company if ya'll catch mah meanin'," he added before turning his attention to the Gorn.  "No offense Mister Sithick but after all thet's happened Ah wouldn't be a bit surprised t' find out thet some of us here have gotten a mite more xenophobic than you'd expect.  Most of us try to hide it but some of us are as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs and your countenance is jest so gosh darn intimidatin' yuh could bluff a buzzard off a meat wagon."  Gesturing, he led the reptilian petty officer back down the corridor and out the Allegiant's airlock.

When they had returned to the yacht bay, O'Connell spoke again.  This time his voice was alert and conspiratorial.  "Now thet we're alone son, whut's yore story?" he smiled with knowing eyes as the laid-back-aw-shucks bumpkin faded away to reveal a canny father figure.  "Come on now, Ah jest know you've got a story.  Everybody here does, an' Ah jest gots t' know:  Whut brings a stranger lahk yew t' our neck o' th' woods?   How'd ya end up joinin' Starfleet in the first place son?   How'd you end up on Black Opal and stuck aboard a ship full o' outlaws?"

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #7 –
[ Sithick |  Deck Nineteen | Captain's Yacht - U.S.S. Allegiant ] ]

Sithick was more then aware that he was the odd creature in a Federation Starship. On a Klingon vessel he would have carried the title HablI' toy'wI''a', which loosely translated to Mech slave, or repair boy depending on who you asked. Keeping the old klingon birds of prey afloat took constant maintenance especially since many of them had been in service for over a hundred years at this point. In short he would have been invisible if he were among his old crew. As long as he did his work he was part of the background only good for the occasional brawl or round of pain sticks.

Here he was a ranked officer, and a walking monster. He let out a slight breath at the comment of Xenophobia it was nothing he wasn't used to seeing at this point. He had two years to work along side the black opal crew and still most of them had never really trusted him. Some still regarded him like he was going to turn around and eat them, but honestly Terran probably tasted awful too high in salt concentration. "It'z understandable, The crew of your ship have zeen hell. I'm not the easiest face to get along with, and I... stick out. I am used to off treatment."

Sithick's claws tapped against the ground with heavy foot falls as he walked alongside William and he regarded the Chief engineer with respect, but he was also asking for some rather personal information. Most of which was probably already on his file. Still Sithick knew that if he was going to work with this crew for potentially the rest of his natural life span then he was going to need to make some sacrifices, and talking was one of those. He reached a clawed hand to his neck and tapped the device on his throat, there was a click as he turned on the headset and a few glowing lights said that the thing was working. His deep yellow eyes looked out a bit lost in thought for a moment as he tried to recall his story as best as he could.

"I was a slave. Raised by the Orion Crime Syndicate I was bred in captivity. No mother, no proper name, just a bar-code part of a forced grown army. Soldier 28P3M when I was old enough I managed to talk my way into repairing their ships instead of fighting on the grounds. I was sold to the Klingons as an engineer, and traded around various ships of the Empire." His voice as he spoke did not match the movements of his jaw, and the voice that came down no longer had the deep hisses and gutteral growls that followed his normal tone, but rather was robotic as he spoke, his voice replaced by that of his translator.

"During the Dominion War, the Empire and the Federation were allies, my old ship, was destroyed in battle. Klingons did not use escape pod, most see it as honorable to go down with ship... I did not." Sithick's voice gave something akin to either a chuckle or a low growl at the thought. "Pod was damaged, hardly used, I had to choose between life support or SoS, thankfully I am Gorn. When exposed to cold I sleep, during this sleep.. I don't really need air. I survived by freezing my body, not really the vacuum of space as the walls protected me from the void, but with slow deliberate loss of cold and air, i was able to cryosleep."

It was a common misconception that the Gorn could survive in the cold void of space. The cold yes, and without oxygen as well, but the vacuum had a pressure difference, that would still boil out the blood. He lived off of the air pressure not changing. If he were anything other then Gorn he would have died that day. "When I awoke, It was aboard a Federation vessel the El-Dorado, at first they were going to return me to the Empire. But after a few days of talking with the captain and crew, a deal was struck. The Federation freed me, and in turn I served Starfleet. They got more information of my genetics, my race's biology, what little I knew of the culture passed down from my egg layer and my skills, and in turn I got to live a life worth living."

Sithick smiled and with that smile came the rows of teeth that made his face seem so predatory, his deep yellow eyes seemed to brighten and his entire face while horrific to behold was more youthful. "The Federation was the first group to treat me with respect. Starfleet was the place I ever had purpose, The Black Opal the site of my first promotion, and the El-Dorado the first place I ever called home."

There was another moment of silence as Sithick pressed the communicator and turned it off so his own voice and control over english could speak rather then translated. "Sithick is a name I picked, in the tongue of the Gorn it means foolish traveler, in essence it is their inzult for Humans. But it was their foolish need for exploration that lead to my freedom, and my being here now. I am proud to be Sithick, proud to be explorer, and proud to be of Starfleet."
 

Re: DAY 05: Alligator Shoes [1300 hrs]

Reply #8 –
[ Deck Nineteen | Captain’s Yacht Bay ]  A joint post by Doc M. and kaligos

Billy Bob was actually quiet for a moment before letting out a low whistle.  “Tarnation son, that beats me!  Ah usually share a tale o’ mah hard luck upbringin’ on Nimbus Three t’ inspire folks, but Ah gotta say, that in mah way o’ thinkin’ you have won the dubious honor havin’ the most unpleasant childhood o’ anybody aboard an’ that’s sayin’ somethin’!  If’n y’ don’t mind Ah’d lahk t’ use yore story next time someone needs a bit of inspiration!  Changin’ th’ names, t’ protect th’ innocent Ah say, keepin’ yore  name out of it, that is.  Whut do yah say?”

Sithick's head turned slightly when his Boss said that his story could be used to inspire others. That was odd, why would anyone find his misery something to look for? Also something about changing names didn't really sit well with him. In all honesty he had not told this story for sympathy and hardly understood how his 'childhood' could be considered bad.

It was bloody yes, and filled with stories of war and fire that would make most Klingon's raise a glass to their battles. But here in the Federation he was far away from the child soldier he had once been. He was an engineer a craftsman, and more then whatever he had been back in his darker days.

"My story ist not meant for inzparation. It'z meant for warning. The Gorn are a statement for the prime directive. If we had been in Federation space we would be a prezerved and protected world. Inztead we are a slave race. My childhood was not bad, just bloody. Without it I would not be here."

He shrugged at the idea that he would in some way invoke inspiration out of another creature. "I would not have you spread my story, but I will keep it in mind for inspiration should I ever have your job."

There was a slight glint of mischief in Sithick's eye as he walked forward after that going into silence.

Sithick had managed to do what many engineers thought impossible; he had got Billy Bob to shut up, but not for long.   “Copy that,” he muttered before following the Gorn out of the yacht bay.  “In the meantime let’s git ourselves over t’ fabrication,” O’Connell drawled good-naturedly.  "Th' Allegiant's transporter won't fix itself."

~FIN
 
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