Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

November 08, 2021, 12:01:57 AM

LtJG Amissa, Callsign “Emerald” | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn:  @uytrereee
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Amissa had decided to take a break. She’d been trying to fix the damage to her exosuit for hours now, but she had not been able to make much headway. Realizing she was probably going to need to enlist an engineering officer to assist her and becoming frustrated for allowing her suit to take this kind of damage, she had decided it was time to unwind. She could always find someone later. Besides, her body was clearly telling her it was time to eat and get some rest.
 
I still need to get my hands on some stims. I can’t keep pushing myself like this without them. Sure don’t want to fall asleep in the cockpit.
 
She made her way to the bar and was about to order an Orion whiskey when she realized she needed to keep her head clear. Until her suit was repaired, she’d be grounded and she was tired of that. Instead, she ordered a raktajino as she took a seat at the bar.
 
As she waited, she turned in her seat and scanned the room. She saw a bearded man seated nearby and remembered that someone had told her that he was the chief engineer.
 
Well, if anyone can fix it, one would think the ship’s Chief Engineering Officer could. Maybe I should just ask him.
 
Taking the Klingon coffee, she stood and made her way over to him.
 
“Excuse me, sir. I was told you were the Chief Engineer and I was wondering if I could enlist your aid with something?”

She really didn’t wait for permission to sit, feeling the exhaustion beginning to take it’s toll. She took a large gulp of the coffee before she continued.
 
“It’s about my exosuit. It took quite a bit of damage during the situation on Qo’Nos and I am trying to fix it. Unfortunately, I am a pilot, not an engineer. In addition to a puncture near the kidney, some of the servo motors were damaged, especially at the right shoulder. And the onboard computer is having intermittent malfunctions.”

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #1 – November 08, 2021, 02:12:35 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SaraKnight 
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Frank was working on something at his table. He was looking down at his PADD and giggling like a fool. Ever since he'd gotten the invitation to the little fight event tomorrow night, he'd been trying to ply his free time into a little creation. He had a set of earpieces in, and was clearly listening to something, occasionally he looped it, but each time it finished he let out another satisfied chuckle took a sip of beer, and started making adjustments with light taps on the PADD.

He'd finally had the chance to try out the bath in his new quarters, departmental head quarters that had been vacant for a while, and now that he was a department head, he'd gotten assigned some new digs. He was very happy with the bath, and he'd made his way to the Below Decks Lounge in a pair of sweatpants, and a black tee-shirt our of the 2050's that advertised something called 'Lagavulin' on the front, and had a scenic highland view on the back.

He'd not been to the Below Decks lounge in a while, always preferring the Spearhead Lounge or the Amidship, which was strange given this bar's proximity to his home stomping grounds, but given the recent explosion related events and his work load, this was the option he had closest to his work. He'd been grateful for the quiet and relaxing atmosphere here, and at 1800 hours it was just a little before the time Frank suspected it would start getting busy. Come shift change onto nights, junior crewman would be all over the place.

He happened to be mid sip of his synthetic beer, something roughly straw colored, when he noticed an Orion speaking to him. For a moment he thought it was Xelia, but he rationally knew that was impossible. He pulled his headphone out in time to hear, '...was told you were the Chief Engineer and I was wondering if I could enlist your aid with something?'

He gave a polite nod, and a warm smile, and motioned to the chair across from him just in time for her to already have sat down, "They told me the same thing strangely enough." He chuckled at his attempt at a joke and continued, "Frank Arnold, pleased to meet you, please, sit, tell me about your problem."

He listened to her explain the situation, and then he stroked his beard. He really was busy with everything going on, but this was someone asking for his help. When a friend asked for help, you helped them, and while he didn't know if they were friends, the recent events had generally shown him that there were many on the crew who could use a friend, including himself. He looked her over, like most Orions, she was quite pretty to behold, with deep green skin, and dark hair. If nothing else, she'd be pleasant company for the duration.

He hadn't worked on an exosuit before, but he'd read extensively about them. He stroked his beard some more, and offered a 'hmm', "And with most of the techs hard at work in getting ready for the coming storm, they don't have time to work on this." He shrugged and then said, "Fortunately I'm an engineer and not a pilot. Of course, yes, I'll help." He started thinking about it, and then offered, "But first, have your drink." He motioned to the cup in her hand, and then picked up the half of his remaining beer, and swallowed a few more mouthfuls, "I never got your name?"

He waited to make introductions, and then finished his beer with one more swallow, "Is it in the fighter bay, or your quarters?"

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #2 – November 10, 2021, 07:29:02 PM

LtJG Amissa, Callsign “Emerald” | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn:  @uytrereee
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"Frank Arnold, pleased to meet you, please, sit, tell me about your problem."

“It’s about my exosuit. It took quite a bit of damage during the situation on Qo’Nos and I am trying to fix it. Unfortunately, I am a pilot, not an engineer. In addition to a puncture near the kidney, some of the servo motors were damaged, especially at the right shoulder. And the onboard computer is having intermittent malfunctions.”

Frank seemed to consider it as he stroked his beard, something she found endearing. Men with beards were just...hot. Something about all that hair…

Ahem… Focus, Amissa.

"Fortunately I'm an engineer and not a pilot. Of course, yes, I'll help." He started thinking about it, and then offered, "But first, have your drink." He gestured to her raktajino before swallowing  a few mouthfuls of beer.

"I never got your name?"

Feeling like a total idiot, she quickly sucked down the swallow of coffee, burning her throat slightly in the process, before gasping for enough air to respond. “I’m sorry. Amissa, callsign Emerald. You can call me either.”

"Is it in the fighter bay, or your quarters?"

Amissa tried not to choke on her immediate response to that. It might not have gone over very well. She didn’t know this man and he might not appreciate her sense of humor. She took another swallow of the raktajino hoping the caffeine in it would be enough stimulant to get her through until she could get some from somewhere. Where, she wasn’t sure yet, though she had an idea.

“I assume you mean the exosuit. It’s in my quarters. I was trying to put it on but it turned out to be far more damaged than I had realized. I gave a good effort at trying to repair it, but some things are just beyond my skill.”

She quickly finished the rest of her drink and looked back at Frank.

“Well, do you have time right now, or would another time be more suitable for you?”

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #3 – November 14, 2021, 11:02:27 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SaraKnight 
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Frank gave a pleasant and warm smile, as he studied the Orion. She almost seemed nervous, or perhaps it was very reserved. Either way he was always happy to help. Admittedly, he had his hands full right now, and he'd been planning just a few hours of downtime, but she'd asked him for help, and he liked being the person with the reputation for helping people. The problem with that was, quite frequently, it meant that your leisure time, was often spent helping people. It was a joy that Frank enjoyed his job.

He offered a polite nod, and said, "Amissa, delightfully Orion. It's a nice name, I've only met one other Orion aboard Theurgy, her name was Xelia. She was very pretty too. Emerald is a bit too on the nose for me, then again I've heard worse callsigns." He didn't elaborate on her fate, like most of the friends Frank had made in the orbit of Aldea, they were no longer with the crew, and the ones that were, had their own things going on, but still he took a moment to reminisce on the night he'd played jazz for her on the holodeck, in a vain attempt to woo the unwooable, well at least for free.

At her assumption, her question, he gave a nod, "Yes, the exosuit." Once he determined it was in her quarters, he offered lightly, "Well I'll need to swing by my office to collect my toolbelt. I think..." He thought about it for a minute as he stroked his beard again, much more gray than his age merited, "...I have everything I need to do a moderate repair on my belt. If not, well, we'll have to use the replicator and some creativity no?" He posed it to her with a wink, but his tone made it seem like it was a rhetorical question.

While she sipped her coffee, he asked another set of questions, "How long have you been a pilot? Do you fly a Valkyrie, or a Valravn?" He mused on a little bit, and then offered, "I met another pilot recently, Reggie, uh...Gemini. That was another maintenance exercise, but that one was self inflicted." He had to tap on the side of his head with his finger it seemed to find the name, he was overworked as of late, with a life or death deadline relentlessly approaching.

Once she finished her drink, he took that as a cue that she might be ready, and then when she asked if he had time right now, he shrugged, "Well it's tinker with your suit, or drink some more, and one is markedly more productive. Besides, no matter how long I've been aboard Starfleet vessels, I can never get used to this synthetic horse piss." He chuckled at that he was still a miner's boy at heart, and stood up, politely offering her a massive hand up, as he was a gentleman, "No time like the present."

If she joined him, he'd lead the way out of the Below Decks Lounge, and would head for a turbolift. Once they stepped aboard he offered politely to the computer, "Deck Twenty Five Please." It was an odd habit, but Frank always said please to the turbolift, because he had decided it reduced his chances of getting stuck, based on zero data.

While they were rapidly conveyed to their temporary destination, he offered lightly to her, "How did your suit get damaged?" As it came out of his mouth, he figured it might have been unpleasant to re-live, so he offered, "You don't have to tell me how if you don't want to, but what was it damaged by? That will help me pick a better selection of tools."

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #4 – November 24, 2021, 03:47:04 AM

LtJG Amissa, Callsign “Emerald” | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee
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“Amissa, delightfully Orion. It's a nice name, I've only met one other Orion aboard Theurgy, her name was Xelia. She was very pretty too. Emerald is a bit too on the nose for me, then again I've heard worse callsigns."

Amissa nodded, admitting that the callsign had been rather obvious, especially given the penchant at Sapphire Station to use gemstones for callsigns. But it had also worked and she’d grown sort of fond of it.

“Thank you. I have grown used to it, though I do admit that it’s not too original. So… about my exosuit?”

He gave her a nod, "Yes, the exosuit." Once he determined it was in her quarters, he offered lightly, "Well I'll need to swing by my office to collect my toolbelt. I think..." He paused for a moment stroking his beard, which oddly seemed to intrigue Amissa. Facial hair could be fun.

Behave yourself, girl. You can't screw everyone on the ship. Though … the challenge of it might be fun. No… behave.

"...I have everything I need to do a moderate repair on my belt. If not, well, we'll have to use the replicator and some creativity no?" He gave her a wink that left Amissa wondering at the meaning behind it, especially since the question hadn’t seemed like one that really needed an answer.

"How long have you been a pilot? Do you fly a Valkyrie, or a Valravn?"

“Well, I have been a pilot for just about two years now. I used to fly a Valkyrie Mk II, but my RIO recently died and I am training to fly a Mk III now.”

"I met another pilot recently, Reggie, uh...Gemini. That was another maintenance exercise, but that one was self inflicted."

Amissa nodded as she finished her raktajino. “Yes, Gemini. I have met her. Actually, we met prior to my transfer here. She seems-” Behave, behave, behave. “-interesting. So, do you think you might have time now, or did you have other plans? I don’t want to interrupt anything.”

"Well it's tinker with your suit, or drink some more, and one is markedly more productive. Besides, no matter how long I've been aboard Starfleet vessels, I can never get used to this synthetic horse piss." She chuckled with him. As part of her training with the Syndicate, she’d been taught to appreciate the various forms of alcohol. Synthehol had never really seemed quite right as a result. "No time like the present."

She set her mug down and joined him as they left the lounge and headed for the nearest turbolift. Once inside, he very politely asked the computer to take him to deck 25 and she had to repress a snicker at the idea of saying please to a computer.

"How did your suit get damaged? You don't have to tell me how if you don't want to, but what was it damaged by? That will help me pick a better selection of tools."

Of course, that information would definitely be of use to a repairman. “Well, let’s see. I was stabbed in the kidney and the blade made it through. I also had my arm - my right arm - wrenched out of its socket and I think it damaged some of the servo motors. Along with a number of fists and bat’elth strikes.”

She listened as he spoke some more, answering in the spots where it was needed. In very short order, the lift opened up on Deck 25. “Do you mind if I accompany you?” Somehow, them splitting up just seemed pointless, especially if he was just going to get his toolbelt.

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #5 – November 24, 2021, 07:13:55 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Main Engineering | Deck 25 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SaraKnight 
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Frank listened to the diagnosis of the damage, and gave a slow nod, shaking his head with a grunt as he stepped off the turbolift on deck 25, and headed towards Main Engineering. "Must have been a big damn Klingon. I was led to believe those suits were damn tough." He stroked his beard some more, thinking about the mechanical force required to puncture all the way through exosuit, undersuit, flesh and muscle to make it to a kidney. He shook his head then, "Nasty stuff blades, it's amazing how they've persisted all this time. Thin piece of metal, or ceramic with a fine point, and a honed edge. Simple, and yet decidedly devastating." When she asked if she could join him, he chuckled and nodded, "I'd been counting on it."

He waved his hand as if dismissing the thought as the wide doors that made the entrance of Main Engineering opened for them, putting the Theurgy's impressive warp core on display. He made a sharp left turn and headed for his office, "Just uh, be warned. Blue was kind of a pack rat, it's what we all loved about her, so I haven't had a chance to clean up my new office yet. Feels a bit like graverobbing with how recent everything's been" Hey keyed into the office, and the door slid open. Frank was not joking, the office was a hoarder's den, with papers, projects, PADDs,  empty coffee cups and food trays strewn throughout. Al the mechanical owl still sat dormant above the office, standing watch, having not yet awoken himself for more than a self diagnostic. Frank had to decide what to do about that, but for a moment he offered, "Brilliant mind, absolutely horseshit at organization." He chuckled at that, and then caught himself, "Shouldn't speak ill of the deceased should I?" Another rhetorical question.

He scooped up a decidedly vintage looking toolbelt, marked with 'The Colliery' burned into the leather of the backstrap, each loop of the belt contained a valuable tool. Hydrospanner, torsion driver, micronized welder, tricorder, atomic bonder, cross bolter, and so on and so forth. Frank was well equipped for the task. He slipped the belt around his waist, and clipped it on with a satisfying snap. Usually he wore it with a jumpsuit, but today it was over his casual clothes.

With that he turned toward her and offered, "I think I've got everything I need here." He motioned to the door, "So, let's go see the damage."

As long as she followed him, he'd lead back towards the entrance, stopping at the main terminal for a second as one of the junior officers on duty tonight flagged him down. He'd take the PADD the man offered, give a nod, sign something with his finger, and then proceed on their way. "Repairs for the ship are an ongoing affair. We've got such a short time to get everything back to fighting shape. Luckily the damage to the ship over Q'onos wasn't too bad, but a lot of auxiliary equipment got damaged during the shipboard fighting." He nodded lowly, "Most of the Engineers aren't getting much leisure. Tonight was my scheduled off shift." He smiled at her, not trying to make her feel bad about him going to fix her suit.

He stepped onto the turbolift with another few minutes of walking, and then looked to Amissa, "Alright Amissa, where to? Are you on Deck Eleven?" His quarters were departmental head quarters, a fancy affair on the 10th deck, and before that he'd lived just down the hall, also on Deck 10. He'd not been a junior officer for quite a few years now.

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #6 – December 14, 2021, 09:47:40 AM

LtJG Amissa, Callsign “Emerald” | Below Decks Lounge | Deck 28 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee
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Amissa listened as Frank talked, nodding politely where it was called for. She felt guilty about asking him to give up some of his leisure time, but his help would be greatly appreciated. A few minutes later, they both stepped into the turbolift and he looked over at her.

"Alright Amissa, where to? Are you on Deck Eleven?"

She shook her head negatively even as she replied. “Actually, they put me right on Deck 16 very near the FAB. Convenient, really, but I suspect it was done purposefully.” She looked up at the ceiling, although that wasn’t strictly necessary she’d always felt like the communications system should be located there. “Deck 16, Junior Officer’s quarters.”

The turbolift took off and Amissa stood there silently, trying to find something to say. After a second, she looked back at Frank. “Thank you for taking time to do this. I really hate that I caught you on your down time, but it sure will save me some trouble in the morning. I am still trying to figure out how I fit into everything with this crew. Only a few days ago, I was flying patrols near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Today, I am on a ship that has been declared renegade by Starfleet, only to learn there is a legitimate reason for what they are doing.”

She realized she’d been rambling, and was spilling her guts to a virtual stranger, but Amissa had always been a social person. She needed contact with people, friends, bed partners, associates, party mates. Everyone she’d known was either dead or still on that secret station.

“I’m sorry. It’s all just a little overwhelming when you really think about it. How long have you been with Theurgy?”

Re: Day 05 [1800 hrs.] Exosuit Engineering

Reply #7 – December 28, 2021, 04:59:05 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Turbolift | Between Decks | Between Vectors | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SaraKnight
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Frank raised a brow, she was on Deck 16. He'd sort of forgotten she was a pilot. That was a bit silly, given he was here to fix an exosuit, but hey, he was supposed to be relaxing! He rocked his head back and forth as if considering her reply, before he nodded and offered to the turbolift, "Computer, Deck Sixteen please. Direct, no stops. Chief Arnold Override Gamme Three Epsilon."

He looked to Amissa with a bit of a smirk, and offered, "Tell you what. I do enjoy some of the perks of being Chief." He laughed a belly-full laugh as he looked to her, "New quarters, they have a bath, I'll never use that most likely." He shrugged, "But being able to skip stops on the turbolift, that's a perk." He nodded excitedly and then looked at her for a reaction.

As they whirred towards the junior officer's quarters on deck 16, he looked to her and gave a slow shrug, "Eh, all I was doing was enjoying a drink. I assume you have a replicator in your quarters." He asked, but the question was clearly rhetorical, "Besides, you're far more handsome company than I usually have. We'll get it fixed and you can model it for me." He winked at her, and then tightened his toolbelt.

As she explained her arrival, he nodded lowly, "It's an odd feeling isn't it?" He nodded slowly, "To have the curtain pulled back on the illusion you've been told is real magic. Not just convinced, shown, proven, and you really believed it." He stroked his beard as he thought about it, looking off into some far off place for a moment before he snapped back and considered her second question, "Uh, about forty days." He nodded slowly, "Barely longer than you." He chuckled, "Then again I reckon I've been in action a bit longer. How long have you been in?"

The turbolift stopped at the appropriate deck with a polite chime, and he motioned to the door, "After you."

- FIN