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Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Brutus
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Following Positronic Shenanigans...



By mutual agreement, Alistair and Natalie set off for the Whetstone Lounge when they left the Flag Bridge. With the Spearhead Lounge still under repair following the bombing, Below Decks tended to become quite crowded at peak times, even given the Theurgy's reduced crew complement. The corridors were bustling as usual during a shift change, preventing easy conversation between the two officers amidst the hubbub, so they simply walked in companionable silence until they entered a vacant turbolift.

Alistair reflected with bemusement as he walked that he should probably feel nervous or uncomfortable, having a casual lunch with the XO, but he just...didn't. Perhaps because he was older now, a higher rank, maybe it was everything that he'd gone through recently, but there was none of the awkwardness that he remembered in years past. Stark was quite clearly cut from the same cloth and remarkably friendly, only making it easier.

"Deck 13, Whetstone," Alistair said to the air, and the turbolift promptly sped along on its way. He glanced at Stark in the sudden silence of the lift. "I tried to stay professional in there, but I have to admit, I was about to bounce the bulkheads. Working with someone like Thea is just...well, awesome, even with everything else that's happening." He rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly as the turbolift dooe opened. The corridor was less busy than the previous one, so Alistair continued talking as they walked. "Was it...uh, were you the same way when you started working with Thea, Commander? Before all this madness started?"

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #1 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff 
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Falling instep with the Lieutenant from Ops, Natalie's head was on a swivel as she worked her way through the corridors of the Theurgy. She was pleased to see the hustle and bustle of a busy ship. Given how thin their numbers had been after the early events of their flight from Earth, seeing the crew swell, moving about the ship, diligently working was... reassuring. For a moment she could forget that they were technically on the run from the rest of the fleet. Or that they had just taken part in the very brief crisis of leadership that had befallen the Klingon Empire. For just a little while, she could pretend that she was on an average Starfleet vessel, going about its routine.

Not that there had ever been anything average about the Theurgy, even before the events at Jupiter station.

Still, the illusion was nice, and she appreciated it. She would meet the gaze of many of the crew and return nods and signs of respect that came with her rank and her position. Duty was duty was duty, even on a lunch break, and Natalie had to remind herself that as First Officer, she always had to hold herself to a high standard and set an example. Including showing the crew that it was possible to take a break and eat. She knew too many officers that ate right through their breaks even when there wasn't a crisis at hand.

She'd certainly been one herself.

Once they had the privacy of a turbolift to themselves, Natalie listened with clear amusement and understanding to Alistair's confession of exuberance over working with Thea. Nodding in clear understanding, the Martian smiled wide. "Half the reason I put my name up for the posting on Theurgy - what seems like a lifetime ago - was a chance to work on, and with, Thea." The idea of working alongside a starships' AI given its own manifest form was too exciting for the then Lieutenant Stark to pass up putting her name in the arena. She hadn't expected to be qualified for assistant department head, but her masters degree in Artificial Intelligence and years of experience in the field (not to mention being Vanya's personal mechanic back in the Academy) had put her at the forefront despite her relative lack of 'command' experience.

" So I know exactly how you feel. It was an exciting time to join the ship, and the work was very rewarding. That part of all this still is, even if my role has changed somewhat," she added, as the two exited the lift. The stroll to the Whetstone lounge was a quick one thankfully. She was ready to sit down, but before they made it to the doors, she continued her thought. "Honestly Lieutenant - Alistair, after seeing you today, your enthusiasm, everything else aside, I'm glad you are here. Thea needs people as interested and dedicated to her well-being as you clearly are. I feel safe leaving her in your hands, as it were."

Hoping she hadn't embarrassed the junior officer, Natalie gave him a reassuring smile and then stepped forward, the doors to the lounge sliding apart. The interior was dimly lit to give the illusion of privacy to the patrons, though through the viewport was the stunning vista of the remains of Praxis floating past. She shivered as she looked at it, at once both beautiful and terrifying. Remembering that Alistair had come to the Theurgy by dropping in on them while members of the crew were scouring the debris field for Infested threats and hidden weapons only made her doubly glad for his presence.

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #2 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Brutus
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Despite Natalie's hopes, she had indeed succeeded in embarrassing Alistair, and smiling self-consciously, he didn't say in reply. Barely a week since arriving on the Theurgy, he was still not entirely certain of his place on the renegade dreadnought. Pure dumb luck and Captain Ducane's whim had saved him from the nightmare, after all, and by the same turn, it wasn't through his own actions or qualifications that Alistair had joined the Theurgy crew. Validation from a woman who'd been aboard since the beginning meant a great deal.

After the two officers sat down Alistair (having chosen a tuna salad, of all things) considered his superior officer for a moment as something clicked into place. "I should've realised...you worked on Thea directly, that means that you have expertise in positronics, right?" he asked curiously. "I've been a bit out of it since joining the DTI, or else I'm sure that I would've heard of you. It's not like there are many people with our qualifications. Even with Starfleet's recruitment drive for the other Theurgy-class ships, I heard that they were struggling to get enough qualified people for the AI's. I think that they'd planned on asking Commander Data to lead that effort to train more people, so losing him was a real blow."

At that, realising that he was rambling, Alistair smiled apologetically, fork in hand. "Sorry if I'm overenthusiastic, it's just...well, nice, to talk to someone about this who understands. Did you study in a university or in Starfleet?"

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #3 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff 
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What was the point of having rank if you couldn't use it to leave junior officers flustered? Natalie asked herself, her own pleased smile curling her lips at having left the Lieutenant at a loss for words. She'd only interacted with him a few times, but had found that his natural state was 'chatty.' While she had not wished to make him uncomfortable, the praise was well-deserved, and being on the opposite side of that particular situation was satisfying in a way Natalie was still coming to terms with. If she thought about the incredulity of it all too long, given her relatively short tenure in Starfleet and the disparity in Rank versus most of her contemporaries in age, let alone the number of older officers with less rapid career advancement, she'd never be able to do her job. It was enough of a struggle when she'd been made Department Head.

Orders were placed (a simple chicken quesadilla for the commander), and seats were taken. Drinks provided in short order, Natalie forgoing her signature coffee for something cold and iced, a tea blend she had found on the replicator one evening with a hint of cloves mixed in. The dim lighting served to help the Martian to relax, as she looked around the slowly filling room. It was the traditional mid point of Alpha shift, and plenty of officers were rotating through their lunch break. A question was asked, and a wry smile flashed over Natalie's face. She sipped her drink and nodded in affirmation, following it with an understated, "A little bit, yes."

Rank had privilege after all, and if she wanted to undersell her credentials for the moment, that was her prerogative.

The Martian winced at the mention of Commander Data. She had dearly wished to speak with him in person while she was aboard the Theurgy, but he had died in the events that lead to the mission to the Romulan Star Empire (or what was left of it) that had been the main thrust of Natalie's early career aboard ship. She had attended a lecture given by the man during her time at the Academy, and had been suitably starstruck. Beings such as Data, and Voyager's former EMH, 'the Doctor' were fascinating case studies and delightful individuals. Given she was dating an Android herself, any insight she could have gleaned from their experiences were something that that Natalie had been eager to gain.

"His loss was absolutely devastating to the program. Not to mention the fleet," she shook her head, remorse for events she had no control over nevertheless manifesting in her expression. She waved off his apology and picked a bit at her meal before answering his question. "I had always had an interest in the field of Artificial Intelligence, even in primary school. Machines were often easier to get along with than some of my fellow classmates," she had long sense come to terms with very introverted childhood, complicated by the loss of her mother and brother. People skills, young Natalie lacked entirely. A smirk flittered across her face as she remembered how that had been turned on its head.

"My dedication to the field however, happened at the Academy. An interest turned into an obsession. You see, in an effort to come out of my shell, I signed up to be part of the Inter-species relations program at the Academy. Pairing Federation members with cadets from outside the Federation. Can you imagine my shock when the Vulcanoid woman in my dorm room, smiling brightly at me, turned out to not only be a Romulan, but an Android as well?" She laughed at the memory, a fond smile staying firmly in place. "Needless to say that spurred an interest into a career. I took every class the Academy had on Cybernetics, Positronics, Artificial Intelligence, the whole nine yards. Commander Maddox advance course was eye-opening."

Pausing to deal with a bite of her meal, Natalie pressed on. "I got my masters doing remote course work through the Daystrom Institute while serving aboard the Lexington however. Really I shouldn't have been surprised when I got the posting here. Commander Ziegler informed me after the fact that if I had not applied, my Captain aboard the t'Zhan was going to put my name up regardless. Something about 'too damned important not to', or the like. I owe them a lot. If I ever get to sit and have a chat with them again," she shook her head as she spoke, pushing off darker thoughts. Smiling again at the Lieutenant, she added,

"You don't need to apologize at all. I understand how it can be not having someone to relate to when it comes to certain specializations. Goes with the territory. Did you get to put that skill set to use during your time with the DTI? Rogue time traveling computer programs with delusions of grandure?"

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #4 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Brutus
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Listening attentively to Natalie speak as he eat his salad, Alistair was content to smile and nod at the appropriate moments. Natalie's recounting of her affinity for computers struck very close to home, particularly the corresponding difficulty interacting with flesh and blood. Fortunately for them both, their interpersonal skills had improved dramatically.

Even so, when Natalie revealed that she'd been bunking with an android, Alistair's mouth dropped. Natalie was looking away at that precise moment, giving him time to recover, although he barely heard the rest of her tale. The idea that an android attended the Academy without him (or, indeed, the positronic community) hearing about it was stunning.

By the time Natalie asked her question, Alistair was back to normal, and he laughed. "Oh wow, I'd love that, but no," he answered with a grin. "Uh, I mean, it'd be awful, a huge threat to the entire galaxy, but...yeah, it'd be really cool, I can't really deny it. I mean, technically even if I had, I wouldn't be allowed to talk about it."

After a moment, he huffed in exasperated amusement. "Honestly, most of my work is...well, not dull. I spent most of my time helping temporal refugees, reeducating them, that sort of thing, really rewarding work. You wouldn't believe the state of the DTI systems when I got there, though. You'd think that they'd have state-of-the-art stuff, right? It turns out that the facilities are so highly classified, they never got qualified people to upgrade their systems. Most of the people that they recruit are Intelligence officers, scientists and counselors, none of whom have the faintest idea how to handle their computers."

Alistair ran a head over his face as he remembered. "The security software was still modern, but nobody configured the patches to handle their hardware. Some of it was ancient, and there was all sorts of weird stuff in their configuration. One day when I was digging through the auxiliary corridor, I found that someone had hooked up a brand new bioneural gel pack to a recycled ODN relay from some old Consitution, hooked that into a cheap Ferengi computer core, then installed a Starfleet OS that was at least forty years old. The programming looked like it'd been done by someone who was drinking Saurian brandy, I swear."

Shaking his head in bafflement, Alistair continued, "Obviously, their system was a disaster. It crashed ten times a day, but my boss just said it was 'part of our charm' and a 'DTI tradition'. Even after I convinced him to let me fix everything, it took me three months to finish the overhaul." Still smiling ruefully, Alistair considered Natalie, although he was forced to duck as a passerby's elbow nearly clocked him. "So, uh, do you have any horror stories? I know you said that you served on the t'Zhan...that's an old Miranda, right? I think I've seen that ship a couple of times."

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #5 –
 [Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff  
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Probably for the best, the Commander had missed her subordinate's reaction to the news about her Academy roommate. While not even Natalie had known at first, as she had been aware of Vanya's unique nature for almost her entire time at the Academy, she tended to forget that it had not, in fact, been common knowledge among the general populace at the time. Various instructors had to know, so her nature was understood by the faculty, but really, most of the student's had no need to be aware of what lay below the surface of then Cadet Vanya, formally of the Romulan Star Empire. That last bit caused more than enough grief for the statuesque vulcanoid (and her Martian roommate, who was often dragged into the middle of any unfortunate outburst by their fellow cadets). 

She did catch his reaction to her question and raised an eyebrow in her best approximation of the ship's Chief Counselor. She was unable to hide her grin, however, and the facade quickly cracked as Lt. Leavitt tried to cover his bases and 'corrected' himself. Thinking that she might have to hand him some logs related to their encounter with the  USS Calamity. "Valid point. Just because I've had to deal with time traveling rogue entities myself doesn't mean I'm cleared to hear all the juicy details about what goes on in the DTI. As it stands I'm sure they are one of a long list that are going to have some serious complaints to levy against us, once all this is over and done with."

If we even survive. Natalie couldn't help the fatalistic thought, even if she could keep it from slipping past her lips. Morale was important after all, something she'd learned from a few of her predecessors. Just because she had bleak thoughts didn't mean she had to let her subordinates know about them. 

Still, the insight into the work that Alistair had been undertaking with the DTI - edited and high level as knew it to be - was fascinating. A glimpse behind the curtain at one of the most reclusive and obscured divisions of the Federation bureaucracy.  She shook her head in shared bemusement at the state of systems in one of the most important agencies out there. She could understand the issue, but it was depressing that whoever was in charge of the DTI hadn't taken the time to find qualified options to look into things, before they'd nabbed Alistair Leavitt. At least he made the repairs.

"I'm not sure I could cobble together the kind of jury rigged converter you'd need to get a bio-neural gel pack talking to a duotronic system from a Connie-class. You might just have to be drunk to make that kind of illogical leap of engineering madness." A slight over exaggeration. She was, in fact, already pondering the specifics, but was forcing those thoughts to the deeper recesses of her mind. Smiling softly, she nodded an affirmation. 

"Like so many of the Miranda-class ships, the t'Zhan really should have been in the mothball-fleet, but they kept her running for almost one hundred years. Crazy to think about it. I think that ship had more refits than I have fingers and toes. She was falling apart before the Dominion war and we pushed her well past her limits in the aftermath. Of course by that point the ship was so heavily automated that the crew was comparatively tiny.

"But you asked about horror stories and I guess I have one from then. We were answering a distress call from a Yridian freighter out near one of the boarder colony's," she remembered, eyes leaving Alistair's and drifting out across the lounge, to a time almost two years prior. "Turns out the freighter had stumbled upon something on one of the unsettled worlds in the system that the colonists hadn't gotten around to exploiting yet. Some relic or another. I never learned the specifics. What we did figure out was that the same ruins the freighter had raided contained a metric crap ton of pergium. We don't use it as much in Starfleet any more, but it's still a popular component in most civilian power systems. "

She paused for a moment, sipping at her drink. She'd managed to plow through her quesadilla at some point while listening to the operations deputy chief recount his time in the DTI. Tapping her fingers against the edge of the plate she continued. "They set up a mining operation on the planet, and stumbled upon the relic while they were extracting the pergium. The mining wasn't the issue, though they cut a few corners. The problem was the relic. Turns out it had some significance of some form, from millennia ago, to our not so friendly neighbors on in that neck of the galactic woods.

"Tell me lieutenant, have you ever encountered the Tzenkethi?

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #6 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Brutus
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The lounge was starting to quieten down by that point, as was typical towards the end of the lunch hour after a shift change. With his own food and drink long since finished, Alistair was content to relax and listen to Natalie's tale. He glimpsed some movement out the expansive viewport and just caught a duo of Valkyrie fighters coasting sedately by, likely on their way back to the ship so that the pilots could have lunch of their own.

At Nat's question, Alistair winced in sympathy. "Ouch. I haven't met any Tzenkethi, but I was on the Pioneer for a couple of patrols along the border." He smiled humourlessly. "Most of the stories we heard from the senior officers were probably exaggerations, but the official briefings were pretty unsettling. I can't imagine the Tzenkethi being calm and reasonable about an important relic being in Yridian hands, or even worse, ours."

Alistair considered for a moment. "Wait. A couple of years ago, the Tzenkethi border...that was you? I heard something about that from a friend on the Rhea. What did you do with the relic and the Yridians?"

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #7 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff 
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A wry grin flashed over Natalie's face, looking back through the lens of time, as she rubbed her hands on her napkin, wiping away the last remnants of her meal. She nodded once, folding one hand over the other. "Yup," she confirmed, nestling back into her chair as she looked around the room. "The Rhea was in the area and got called in, but we got things resolved before they could arrive. It was a mess. Until I took a posting on this ship I would have said that there is nothing more terrifying than seeing one of their tear shaped ships coming out from behind a moon where you didn't expect them."

She could remember that moment well, manning the bridge station half the command was over on the freighter. "The Yridians had been hit hard, very hard, but they had managed to hide this relic so that the initial raid wasn't able to locate it. Someone got smart and overloaded a storage container of the perigum, driving the raiders off. Well the raiders came back with friends. Brought in the mothership shortly after we arrived. Demanded that we depart from the freighter, and further more claiming the system was now part of Coalition space and that we were violating boarder agreements. The Tzenkethi Coalition is famous for changing their borders without notifying anyone, but in this case the system was occupied by a colony that had been in place for over a decade. It was a standoff."

She shrugged and twirled a bit of her hair between her fingers, "I wish I could say I did something impressive and brave about it, but all I did was man my station while the Captain faced off against the Tzenkethi commander. Apparently they ended up beaming down to the moon in EVA suits and dueling. Monofilament blades, whole nine yards. Odds were against us, but we prevailed, and in a gesture of good will, gave them the relic. We would have given them that anyways, but the fight was more to secure the Yridians freedom (and prevent a war over the colony."

Natalie took a sip of her drink and ran a finger around the rim afterward. "An absolutely terrifying 36 hours. That ship was fully armed, on an order of magnitude greater than ours. I guess it was as much the leaders' ego as their hesitance to kick off a war that kept them from just blasting us out of the sky. Looking back on it now though, the matter seems somehow smaller, comparatively speaking. I wonder if I could have made that challenge if I were in the Captains' shoes, or if I would have found some other way. Managed to overload their shield systems with a polaric discharge from the deflector array maybe. Threaten to beam the relic into the nearest star if they didn't withdraw?"

The XO pursed her lips for a moment and took in a breath, letting it go. "I never got to meet one of them the whole time we were there. Only the Captain got to see one face to face. Said they were...beautiful and terrifying all in one. Needless to say there is a ship permanently assigned to system defense. Last I heard, there was talks about a joint effort with some of their scientists to explore the ruins where the relic was found. I have no idea how that will shape out."

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #8 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Brutus
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Throughout Nat's story, Alistair listened with bemusement, smiling at various points and wincing at others. Her tale was interesting on its own, but the way Nat told it was endearingly familiar. For the first time in months, Alistair felt normal, just exchanging chit-chat with a colleague. It was an odd thought; after time travel, an apocalypse, the Borg and everything else, he'd become so accustomed to strange that normalcy had become...unnatural.

"Maybe good things will happen there," Alistair said with a shrug. "We worked things out with the Klingons, and the Romulans saved our butts a few years ago. I mean, I know that we're at war with them now, but...uh...okay, bad example."

Smiling self-consciously, Alistair glanced out the viewport at the planet below them.  "Honestly, that sounded like many of my stories. Stand at a console, do the work, wait for everyone else to save the day. That's the job. I'm fine with that. Of course, then everything goes mad and I'm hanging from a crane above a bottomless pit while you're first officer of most powerful starship in the quadrant. That's also part of the job, apparently, except that it wasn't on the brochure."

Alistair shook his head. "Anyway-"

Lieutenant Leavitt, report to the tertiary computer core immediately."

Alistair promptly tapped his combadge. "On my way," he said with resignation as he got to his feet and picked up his tray.  Excuse me, that core has been giving us a few problems since the battle." Alistair made an abortive movement to leave before smiling at Nat one more time.   "It's been nice talking to you, Commander. Let me know if you ever want to do it again, over drinks or dinner or anything like that. I really have missed talking to colleagues who share our perspective."

With that, he left, depositing his tray and heading out into the corridor at a good clip, already pondering what could've gone wrong with the computer this time.
 

Re: Day 07 [1230 hrs.] Nerds Will Be Nerds

Reply #9 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Whetstone Lounge | Deck 13 | Vector 2 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff 
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"Galactic politics are a nightmare," Natalie allowed shaking her head a bit with another amused quirk of her lips playing out across her face. "Alliances form and break on the thinnest of margins some days. Once bitter foes become steadfast companions and vice versa. If any sort of detente with the Tzenkethi can be reached out of that encounter, I welcome it. As for the Romulans..." she waved the bottom of her glass around in a circle, pursing her lips before taking a sip, "Not even they can understand their motivations some times, and currently that lot is split down the middle."

She smiled and listened to Alistair continue on, comparing their experiences. But for the last half year or so, Natalie's career was much similar to Alistair's, particular focuses aside. Both were competent operations officers, each swept up into matters far over their heads. Each trying to rise to the occasion. But for the vagaries of chance and brutal attrition, Nat would, by rights, still be the same rank that Lt. Leavitt was, holding a comparable position to his. Save for a few deaths and the crucible she'd gone through, she would still be an Assistant Department head. Instead she was the XO. There were more rapid ascensions along the path to command, especially during the Dominion War, but there were times, still more frequent than she'd like, where it all caught up with her and left her feeling the enormity of it all.

Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, and Natalie was about to ask Alistair what he meant about hanging over a bottomless pit when the Lieutenants combadge beeped. Pursing her lips she listened to the summons he was given, and found herself nodding in understanding. She'd read the reports and new the core needed some work. With a sympathetic smile, she rose out of her seat as he made his goodbyes.

"Good luck Lieutenant. We will have to do this again some time. It was nice," she replied, sending him on his way. She thought about saying more but decided it could wait for another time. Tapping her fingertips against her elbow, she turned and looked around the room, watching some of the other officers mingling, more than a few sneaking glances at her. She gathered the dishes up from the table and walked across the floor to the replicator banks, to recycle the leftovers back into the system.  Checking the time, she decided she would take the long way back to her office, and enjoy the walk.

I'll definitely have to do this more often. It'll be good to rotate through all the Assistant department heads...

--FIN--
 
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