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Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank had slowly worked through his checklist, he'd gotten on the duty shifts with the evening crew, he'd scheduled a flight to inspect the ship in the coming days with a pilot, he'd made friends, and music, if not love. Things were coming together, and the almost week he'd been aboard, had felt at moments like a month, and at moments like five minutes. Blue wasn't kidding, she'd busted the whole department's ass to get the boat ready, he was just left to chase down loose ends with a hyperspanner and a light.

As he stepped onto the Fighter Deck, he was met with the low whirs of tools at work, the arc flashes of isolated welders, the chatter of deckhands, and the smell of....what he could only assume was lithium grease. The smile that crept onto his face, was as involuntary as the breath that entered his lungs. Drawn deep, through the nose, it practically elevated him two inches in height, this was nice. He was almost jealous that he hadn't been assigned Vector 02, almost. He'd become intimately familiar with his own Vector recently, and was now cross referencing, hopefully not stepping on Kaylon Jeen's toes, having yet to meet the man.

He'd worn his workbelt today, hyperspanner, untethered welder with a few micronized cartridges, his PADD hung low, a tricorder, and of course, some gloves. He practically looked ready to work, not that he'd be touching anything, but he had some things to button up elsewhere. Primarily he had come to meet the Chief Petty Officer in charge of the fighters' power and propulsion maintenance, so he could know them personally. Should either he or Jeen, or Blue be knocked out of commission, they needed to understand one another's more specific areas, so the Theurgy could continue to function optimally.

He looked around, and for a moment forgot his purpose here. Slowly he strode up to an AC-409, and looked it over, made more beautiful by the light carbon scoring, and the traces of engine deposits left around her outputs. He reverently ran a hand across the skin of the craft, and offered lowly, "Hello darling." He'd not had a lot of experience working with space fighters, but he loved his motorbikes, and he could appreciate a craft that was built to be nimble, and dangerous, like the mythical ladies these crafts were named for.

After a few minutes of ardent admiration, Frank reluctantly pried himself from the side of the craft, and turned, looking about the bay, to see if he could find Chief Petty Officer Eun Sae Ji on the deck by eyesight alone, otherwise, he'd have to ask around. Eventually he'd find someone that would point him in her direction, if she didn't accost the stranger molesting the machines on the deck.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #1 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Working is Running | Forgetting Everything Else | New Faces]
@uytrereee




Ji was tired.  Sleep was not something often entertained any more and when she did sleep it was often pockmarked with the horrendous memories of her time in the alternate dimensions.  The betrayal of someone, in this dimension, that she actually cared about and had a bond with.  Part of her wanted to go down and see him, to talk to him, she did promise she would visit more frequently and yet... every time she thought about actually moving towards the Brig her stomach lurched into her throat and she didn't eat for the rest of the day.  Work was her saving grace, so she tended to be on duty far more than was healthy and when someone, usually Liam, told her to go get rest and to get off her shift, she would just move to a different part of the ship and keep working.  When she was tired, she would catch catnaps here and there, but for the most part she pushed herself forward as hard as she could because like most Starfleet officers when you were hiding and running from your emotions, you worked your ass off.

The fighter assault bay was bustling as it always was.  They were leaving soon and she didn't want anything to slip through the cracks.  Those cracks might have been checked six or seven times now but eight was a charm, or at least that was what she was telling herself as she walked the large shuttle bay.  Ji's head was down as she thumbed through the PADD in front of her at the shortening list of to-do items that were left before she felt confident they could do other things enroute.  Most of what was desperately needed was done, now it was the smaller stuff left to the end of leave. 

Ji was a slight woman, she was just a few inches over five feet tall, she had short brown hair, asian features, and could spew curses in Standard and Korean alternatively in the same sentence.  When she was really pissed she would slip into her home language just because it was more natural and when she was mad she would sometimes forget to translate herself.  Still, she was strong as fuck, the muscles underneath her pale but olive complexion definitely proved she could hold her own, and so did the belt of tools around her waist.  Ji was no slouch and often did as much as anyone else.

“Chief!” called out someone.

Ji's chocolate eyes shifted up from her PADD and saw Jaxon Halsworth making double time across the deck now that he had her attention.  All of the crew down here knew of Ji, she was a staple.  Once Halsworth stopped in front of her he handed her a PADD.  “The diagnostics that you asked for.” 

She cocked her brow slightly.  “Why didn't you just send them to me?” she asked as she looked through the reports on his screen.

“Well,” he blushed rubbing the back of his neck.  “I was just wonderin' if you'd be interested in dinner... you know.. “

“Are you serious?” she said as she handed him back the PADD.

“I know you're probably not but .. the boys bet me I wouldn't have the balls to ask.”  he shoved his thumb over the back of his shoulder where a group of boys stood with grins on their faces nudging each other.

“So let me get this straight.” she said brushing a frustrated hand through her hair.  “You got dared to ask me on a date and like a fucking pansy you came over here and fucking did it.”

“Well I just.. it's just a joke..”

“The fuck it is.” she slammed the boy's PADD back into his chest.  “Get the fuck off my deck.”

His eyes widened.  “But Chief.”

“Tomorrow, report to my office, and if you ever let those fuckers decide what you do in a day, then you're shit.” she said as she headed off at a clip leaving the boy standing there in shock and the boys behind him laughing their asses off.  Fucking newbies.

She turned a corner and noticed a large Engineer doing something... to her fighters.  With a sigh, she tried to reign in the anger she had with Halsworth as she headed over to the large bearded man she had never seen before and yet somehow was on the shuttle bay and had a wrench.  There was nothing more dangerous on her decks than someone with tools that thought they knew what they were doing just because they were trained well for something else. 

“Can I help you?” she asked, and when he turned, she added.  “Sir.” having seen the rank on his lapel.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #2 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | The Joy of Speed, and Strangers ] Attn: @BZ
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Everyone Frank had met so far was tired, except him. Maybe it was because he was fresh, or maybe it was because there was so much for him to learn, and that was what fired his engines. This was what he enjoyed the most, and on the deck right now, his mind was abuzz with the idea of actually getting to do some micronized hand welding, or play with one of these beautiful fighters. But for now he knew that his job was moreso to introduce himself, offer his hands wherever they might be needed, and help coordinate through the departments.

He'd not been directed by much of the deck staff, the pilots there were more concerned with their fighters, or they were simply not about, and the deckhands that were there, seemed to be huddled around each other, chuckling, snickering, and having a good old time with something. He adopted a slow smile, and sauntered his way over to them, trying his best to approach from behind to not bust up the joke.

Eventually he got close enough to them to overhear, and his brow raised to the statement of, 'He's actually going to do it!' and 'No way, you're going to owe me that shift tomorrow, I have a hot date with Myranda'. After a few moments, he cleared his throat, and offered, "What's he going to do?" Frank was more nosy than curious, and one of the deckhands while startled seemed more than happy to clue him in after a brief look of 'do I know you?'. "Well, you see that moron over there, approaching the Chief. Yeah he's going to ask her on a date, or, well, I hope he does. I bet this monkey here a shift he has the balls to do it." Frank just chuckled, this was the type of antic he missed from his childhood.

He turned his eye to the conversation happening in front of him, and waited, and well it ended just about as well as he'd predicted. A PADD slammed back in his chest, the group burst into laughter, and Frank would have been amiss to not join them, but as the small Korean that had been identified as Chief headed off, he went after her. Except now he'd lost her, because he'd lingered too long with the boys. So he just waited and wandered patiently by a bird, slowly looking at the hull once more, trying to identify each part by memory from his readings, and then a voice sounded from behind him, and he turned, looking down atop the aforementioned Chief.

He raised a brow, and asked, "So then, did he ask you? Did he offer dinner, or dancing? That lot filled me in" He chuckled gently as he pointed to the slowly dispersing group of deckhands, and then turned back while he offered a massive mitt, "If they're not playing a joke on me as well, I think you might be able to. I'm Frank Arnold, new Assistant Chief Engineer." He waited, and once she'd shook his hand, he said lightly, "I've come by to introduce myself, and offer my services in anything you might need with regards to cross-department work." He rolled his shoulders, "Recent transfer to the Theurgy. I've got a lot of experience in structural systems and hull composites as well as surfacing metals, and some work in directional thrusting nozzles. My primary knowledge area is damage control and structure. I understand you're in charge of the power and propulsion for those babies, and while I don't have a huge surplus of spare time, I thought it'd be wise that we at least met to put name to face. That way if a project comes up, or I'm ever doing work in this area for Blue, or anyone who works for me is, we'd at least be acquainted. I'm fairly sure Lieutenant Jeen is in charge of this Vector in the event the ship splits, but that's not to say I won't be through here often." He gave a slow nod, "Pleased to meet you."

He looked her over from top to toe, and gave a warm smile, bushy beard, grayed with experience these days, rough hands that indicated a thousand days of hard work. The look on his face spoke of much intrigue with whatever he had seen so far, "I was looking around your bay, impressive pieces of equipment those girls are. And I don't mean the deck hands" He gave a warm smile, and followed that with, "Don't worry, I didn't touch anything, I know better." She was small, but he'd learned through meeting Blue that appearances were deceiving when dealing with the females of the Theurgy.

He gave a slow smirk, "It looked to me that you really gave that kid a good bollocking." He laughed gently, "What're you going to do to him?" He was curious, he really liked a strong pragmatic woman, and Ji seemed like she might fit that bill, so he sat on the metaphorical edge of his seat in anticipation.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #3 –
[CPO  Eun Sae Ji | Morons with Rank | Glad You Think It's Cute | I Don't Need the Help of Jerks]
@uytrereee




She did not expect that he would turn around with inquiries about what was going on with the boy and if he had actually asked.  The glare that she leveled the Engineer with was the same one that made other men quake in her presence.  The one that spoke about how many different ways she was thinking about his torture at the same time while trying to figure out if she would get in more trouble with Liam if she just punched him in the face.  Brushing a frustrated hand through her hair forcing her bangs back and out of her face she looked at him with hardened brown eyes.  “That lot and you can all get the fuck off my deck if you have nothing better to do than goad other people into asking people who are already down on their luck for a date.  If I'm done entertaining you and the other assholes with hard ons then I'm going to get back to my actual job and make sure people don't explode in space, okay?”

He introduced himself as Assistant Chief Engineer, Frank Arnold.  Ji looked at his hand but didn't shake it.  Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and looked up with him with far more ego than her little body should be allowed to contain.  He told her that he had come to introduce himself and offer his services in anything she might need in regards to cross department work.

“I don't need the help of someone that is just going to go make friends with the frat boys over there.  This deck works too  hard to keep our fighter pilots alive when they're out there doing shit that would like to kill them, I don't have time to play their games or feed into their useless pass times.”

He began to tell her about his knowledgeable areas.  Something about damage control and structural integrity.  He said he knew that she was the Chief of power and propulsion, he failed to mention she was also Assistant Chief of the Flight Deck, but that was fine, she wasn't title oriented anyway she just wanted to be appreciated for the shit she actually did.  So when Liam offered her the Assistant job, his old position, she had been grateful and glad to take it.  Now, she wondered if he regretted it after everything that had happened.  Ji still wasn't sure all of what was going on, but every time she saw Liam she felt sick and horrible and dark.  It wasn't his fault, it was totally hers.  She had cheated on Liam, she had been the one that let herself get raped... too many things had happened and though Liam had been kinder than she deserved she was uncertain what would become of their future.  Ji was having her own internal crisis.  Was this really who she was?  Was this all she would amount to?  Was she really the slut that Sten had said she was?  Because it seemed that more and more Sten was right, she was wrong, and Liam couldn't see it.  It killed her on all fronts.

He did promise that while he looked around he hadn't touched anything, which was good.  He needed to talk to her or Liam before he just started on projects.  They would probably not say no but this deck was too vital to the ship and their work too important to the fighter pilots to just allow anyone to start something.  It was also important because who knew when people would be called out and when the fighters would need to go.  Sometimes it was a moments notice and so maintenance had to be carefully scheduled so that when a fighter was down there were plenty others that were still a-go. 

She looked over her shoulder at the sulking deck hand who was being jostled around by his buddies with wide grins on their faces, and then she looked back at the gray bearded man in front of her.  “I'm going to work with him, show him some better people to spend his time around that will actually teach him something.  He's not a bad guy he's just an idiot and is trying too hard to be popular with the slackers.  With direction, he'll make a dependable mechanic.” she said with a shrug.  “So he'll be stuck to my side as “punishment” tomorrow until I can hook him up with the right people.”

I was not a bad person at all, and she could see the promise in the young boy, he just had gotten collected by the assholes that had spotted his weaknesses.  But there were far better people that he could spend his time with that would actually cultivate him into the person he could be on the deck. 

“So, you just wanted to give me your card and take off?” she asked curiously looking up at him with those sharp chocolate eyes of hers.  “Did you need a tour or something?”

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #4 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Second Chances for First Impressions ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank saw the glare, and he knew immediately he'd said the wrong thing right away. He'd made the assumption that she appreciated that kind of humor, but he now realized he was very wrong. Her glare was enough to make a giant feel like a germ, and he held up his hands in a type of surrender and said to her, "Whoah whoah, slow your roll Chief. I'd assumed you were part of the joke, I didn't realize they were playing a joke on you. I thought they might be feeding that newbie to the beast so to speak." He raised his brow as he realized what he'd said, and emphatically waved his hands, "Not that you're the beast! No no, not what I meant." He actually thought she was quite nice, even if he was made to feel like a schoolboy in trouble at this very moment. He shook his head slowly, "I've got a lot better things to do, like meeting the Assistant Deck Chief, I came down here to do that, not ostracize you because of some practical joke." He gave a shake of the head, he certainly did not have a hard on right now that much was certain.

As she refused his handshake, he simply returned his hands to his pockets, she'd rebuffed him because she was upset, that was fine, although it was a negative mark in Frank's book. He gave a slow shrug, "I wasn't thinking I was making friends. I just thought them setting the kid up was funny. Hazing newbies is what boys do. But I see your point Chief, they should be at work, and I should know better than to encourage that behavior. Old enough to know better, too stupid to remember. My apologies. Now." He extended his hand again to her, "Let's start once more? Lieutenant Frank Arnold."

He rolled his shoulders, "I came down here because I thought I might be able to help from time to time. No doubt these birds get dinged and banged plenty, and I specialize in knocking together what's broken apart. Poor sense of humor aside, which once again, sorry, I figure you're a practical person and I just want to achieve the same mission as you at the end of the day." He smiled finally, "I've got at least some of the know how, and the willingness to work. If you don't need me, I get that, but eventually something might come up, and I wanted us to be on a names and faces basis."

He looked towards the deck hand when Ji did, and now he just sorta felt bad for the kid. He looked like the type that really didn't appreciate that sort of thing, the earnest sort, at least by his reactions. He gave a nod, "Doesn't really sound like a punishment to me." He looked her over, "Seems like it's probably exactly what he needs, paired with a proper role model, rather than that lot." He gave another nod, "At least until he can stand up for himself a little better." He gave a slow laugh then, "I think you just summarized all erroneous male behavior ever. 'Just an idiot and trying to hard to be popular'." He hmm'd, "I've got my own fair few slackers in Engineering, not so much malicious as just lazy. It's a frustrating problem to have."

At her question, he shook his head slowly, "Uh, well if you still want me the fuck off your deck, I suppose I could do that." He looked around, "But to be honest I have a legitimate interest in the fighter operations of the Theurgy. This will be my first posting on a ship that makes substantial use of space fighters, and once you get to be on the older side of young, there aren't many firsts anymore. I was hoping you might have the time to explain to me the Fighter Bay operations. Your challenges, weaknesses, the types of things you work with the Engineering department on, and of course your strengths."

He smiled at her, "I wouldn't mind a tour, but as you said, you've better things to do than entertain me." He took a deep breath, "But if you wanted to humor an old Lieutenant for twenty minutes, you'd have my gratitude Chief." He wanted so badly to make a dinner date joke, but he barely restrained it, the corners of his mouth making the briefest uptick as the thought crossed his mind.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #5 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | If Glares Could Kill | Chatty Cathy | Does He Ever Stop? | What is the Point of This?]
@uytrereee




Ji watched him silently as he rambled on like a nervous school boy intending to ask his long itme crush out to the street car for duboki.  However, she could not figure out why he was rambling to her, other than the whole foot-in-mouth syndrome that he had very clearly caught.  Probably from the boy that had been in front of her previously.  Ji was usually good around the men here, trying desperately to keep them all in line and yet keep a good report with them because it was important that they felt comfortable coming to her but also knew now to screw up the deck.  Of course, that was a fine line to walk and it wasn't easy by any means, but it was important none the less.  As he went on talking about how he thought she was in on the joke and wasn't actually the butt of the joke and kept on talking.  She wondered if he had gills because she hadn't actually seen the man pause for breath yet. 

Finally, he breathed.  He told her that he came down to get to know her not make an enemy of her.  “Can you take your foot out of your mouth then?” she asked point blank.  She was blunt when she needed to be, she could be cute, and when it came to romance she could be quite shy, but on her deck and in her element Ji could be a hard woman when she needed to be.  She had to be, being as small as she was and yet keeping the men on this deck in line knowing that any one of them could hoist her up and toss her across the deck with little effort.

He held his hand out to him and gave her his name.  She shook it with a strong and firm shake of her own small hand which was swallowed by his massive paw.  “Chief Ji.” she stated, that was her last name even though people called her Ji all the time.  Eun Sae was her actual first name.  Family names in Korea were important and thus they were always first in the names that were given out.  Eun-a was what she was called by good friends growing up back home when they got familiar with her.  Still though, most referred to her as Ji even if that wasn't her first name. 

Arnold explained his specialties, and she rose her brow as he told her that he figured the birds got damaged pretty good from time to time and he might be able to help her.  She had a whole deck of people that were the ones that constantly put these babies back together but, she supposed that it wouldn't hurt to have a few other people on hand she could call if the deck got overwhelmed.  Sometimes that happened, like after the Asaurian's attacked.  She still had no idea how she didn't die when the transporter beam assembly fell out of the ceiling.  Or how she had taken down and Asuarian with a wrench in her hand and rage in her veins.  But, things had happened that were feats of awesome when all of that had gone down.  She was just glad the deck was back together.

“Well if we need additional hands I can give your name to the Deck Chief.” she admitted with a shrug she was calmer now, as they talked.

Arnold told her that the punishment wasn't really what the boy was getting, and Ji just smirked at him.  He caught on fast.  Of course it wasn't a punishment, the boy was stupid but he hadn't done anything wrong and this was the perfect opportunity to start training the stupid right out of him.  He admitted to having his own slackers in Engineering and that they were a source of frustration.  “You have to decide if they're worth it.  Not everyone is contrary to belief.  Some people are just lazy or would rather do things at their own pace.  You have to weed out the people that you know have promise and leave those that don't to their own devices so long as they aren't hindering anything.” she shrugged.  As much as she hated to admit it, it was the truth.  Sometimes, people didn't want help.

He admitted that he wouldn't mind a tour and she gave a nod.  “Well it's a pretty open place so it's not like most of it will surprise you.  We have a lot of fighters, and each one has a set of pilots.  The pilots usually take some responsibility for their fighters too.  They try to help where they can but they also know that if you slow us down we'll kick you off.  Most of them are attached to their fighters and they don't like seeing them dismantled but it happens, too often, really.”

They walked in between the fighters which flanked them in their bays on either side of the two.  She pointed at all the various ones.  “We do everything here for them.  They land, take off, get maintenance, and everything right here on this deck.  We have  good system, and a lot of good officers, we don't just let anyone work the fighters.  They're too important and there is too much room for things to go wrong.”  she looked out over the fighters.  "I imagine Engineering is much the same."

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #6 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Take it Easy on Me! | Fumbling over Friendliness ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank was a rambler, it was one of his both endearing, and alienating qualities. Most people found it quite annoying, someone's thought stream being so open. But, Frank was basically what you got from what you saw. As she told him to take his foot out of his mouth, he started for a second, and then just burst into full bodied laughter, and gave a nod, "I think I will, because it tastes bloody awful. I think I stepped in something." He gave a slow smirk, and then thought about making a comment about her foot and the deck hand's ass, and then left it alone, don't dig the hole any deeper than it already was.

As she shook his hand, he felt a surprising firmness from such a small woman, "Chief Ji, nice to meet you." And as she said that she would give his name to the Deck Chief, he gave a slow nod, "Sure, I'd appreciate it if you did. I know it's kind of odd me coming down here, but I just want to make sure I can help out as much as possible. I'm sure you understand. Besides this is an area I have a lot to learn in, so, I want to learn."

As she explained her philosophy on dealing with the deck, he gave a nod, saying lightly, "Yes, I think that's very much the case. I personally am still learning which of the personnel assigned to me, are worth it, and which are not. I have a good bunch, and well Blue is an excellent Chief Engineer." He smirked, "Although you might tie her for the ability to chew out grown men." He laughed softly, clearly a jovial man when there wasn't work to be done. "I've been warned I have a couple slackers, I'll have to decide for myself which ones I can bend back into shape, and which ones go in the scrap pile." He nodded lowly, she was right in that regard, if you had someone who just didn't give a fuck, it was very hard to mold them, because you couldn't make them give a fuck.

He looked around the bay then, and asked her, "How many fighters do you have? I have read the compliment manifest, but I imagine that some were lost in the recent days, or too far damaged to be worthwhile, and scrapped for parts?" He could have been wrong, "I understand there are a couple models on board as well. How fast can the Theurgy launch fighters, and what are the most common damages if you don't mind me asking?" He gave a smile, now his mind was running, he'd even taken out his PADD now to take notes, he wanted to know how this area really worked, because it excited him. "It's nice to know the pilots pitch in. It's a poor man who doesn't know his machine."

He followed along with her, just making conversation, "Yeah of course, and I suppose I'm not trying to muscle in on what you guys do, I was here mainly because I imagine some day, we might end up needing to collaborate, either I'll need this department's expertise, or vice versa." He shook his head, "If there's nothing for me to do, by all means I don't need to crowd your deck to make myself feel extra useful outside of my own department." He chuckled gently, "But if you ever want a steady welder, or someone to shout at." He winked at her.

He nodded slowly, "Yes, I wouldn't let just anyone start unbuckling the warp chamber buttresses, or play with the nacelles, the Theurgy is a robust lady without a doubt, but she's delicate too." He chuckled, "Tough exterior, soft interior. Not unlike some of the crew." He just chuckled under his breath. "There's a lot of similarities with Engineering for certain, down to leadership." He chuckled gently, "I guess my area is more of, one big system, not so many smaller systems, if you get my meaning."

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #7 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | The Tour | Relaxing a Little | Hardships Come a Dime a Dozen]
@uytrereee




She gave a nod, she could understand wanting to branch out among other parts of the ship though she had to admit she figured that Engineering would keep him busy enough.  But, if he wanted to throw his hat in the ring down here he could do that.  There would probably be times that they could use an extra hand or two when things got rough, damaged, destroyed, or no longer worked because of various situations the Theurgy got itself into.  So, she wouldn't mind teaching him some things but for the most part Assistant Super Lieutenant or not he would be doing grunt work like the rest of them. 

“You have to be the right kind of woman to work jobs like these.” Ji admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her yellow work jumpsuit as they walked the deck.  He admitted that he had a couple slackers, and he hoped he could get them motivated to get into working again but she had found there tended to be some lost causes on almost every ship that she worked on and it wasn't always going to be something you could fix despite hoping to.  He asked her what kinds of quantity of ships she had on her deck. 

“We have ten MK III Valkries, one Mark II Valkyrie and 5 MK I Valravns.  They total our powerhouse of sixteen fighters with pilots all ready to roll out at a moment's notice.” she stated as they walked down the center isle of her massive bay.  Her deck crews were busy, working like little bees, moving in and out of cockpits and up and down ladders and stairs that were on wheels to access the hatches better.  There were parts that littered the floor underneath the fighters that were being changed out before they left, as Ji felt that the more new options they had on the fighters the better it would be in the end.  She didn't want anything with wear if she could help it, it was far too important that she took care of her fighters.  Their lives were on her hands if something went wrong when they were flying out in the vacuum of space.  She took her job seriously and expected her people to, as well.

Ji began to explain how the deck worked, how the shield would come down and the bay doors would open once the deck was cleared, how it didn't take but seconds for the fighters to get out of the bay so the next would go.  It was all very coordinated and timed just properly so that there were no unhappy accidents where this was all concerned.  It was important that everything ran smoothly, they had drills when ever they could to make sure that everyone understood what to do, when to do it, and how much time they had to do it in. 

“As far as damages, obviously our most common damages are hull damages.  They take a lot of shots, beatings, and whatever else the pilots throw at them.  We don't really have any software issues, and mostly there are times that our parts wear out but I keep a tight leash on the maintenance of this deck and all the fighters on it.”

As they walked down the length of the long bay, she looked over her deck.  After everything that had happened with Nicander and everything that had gone on with Liam, and the other dimension or whatever, she was very much lost.  There was no way to easily figure out what her next step would be and it was like she was in a strange holding pattern.  At some point she would figure it out, but overall she was proud to have this job to be the Assistant Chief of this deck, and even though the tension between her and Liam was complicated she still respected him.  She respected him more now than ever, but that didn't take away all the things she had done.  She felt terrible about herself.  Nothing she had done was about Liam and it was all very much about her own actions and how she felt herself a pile of shit for it all.  He deserved better, he needed better, he didn't deserve her tainted self.  He would realize that at some point, she was certain, wouldn't he?

“So Tiran doesn't keep you busy enough on deck?” she asked looking over at him with her soft chocolate eyes.  Then she turned to look back where they were headed.  “So what made you choose engineering over mechanics?”

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #8 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Open Up a Bit | I Came For Knowledge] Attn: @BZ
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Frank nodded back, and smiled at her. He really did just want to learn, and this was something that he'd never done before. He would definitely try and get down here, but for fairness he might be busy when he was needed. He wanted to make a positive impression either way. Frank loved grunt work, so that was his non-punishment punishment for him.

He gave a slow nod then once more, saying lightly, "Totally agree, my own boss is hardnose, could make a Klingon blush, but a damn hard worker, and a strong motivator." He gave a gentle smirk, "And she gives a fairly good asskicking. You two are similar, at least on the surface, I'm not going to claim to know Blue that well, and we've just met." He just smiled at her, taking a moment to look at her features, she was quite finely featured.

As she described the fighter complement, he was making his notes on a PADD, "I'll look up the schematics later, no need to waste your time with that, you're clearly busy." He smiled at her, and looked around, seeing the crew working like bees. He had the afternoon shift today, he had to prep Auxiliary Engineering 01, button things up there and go over his own area thoroughly. In the morning he had a hull inspection to complete too, he was quite busy. But Frank was never too busy to try and learn something new, both because he feared his own inadequacy, and because he loved this craft. He took work very seriously, not unlike Ji. 

He listened to the explanation, and murmured, "Like a well tuned dilithium injector." He grinned gently, and would say lightly, "The next time you have a drill, if I am free, I'd be interested to see it. But of course, no worries if not, I don't want to be in the way." He rolled his shoulders, and would give a gentle nod, "Hull issues. I'm familiar with those at least." He was already musing over what they were made of, and if he could make any survivability improvements to the fighters, but he snapped back into reality as Ji started walking again, he didn't want to get left behind once more.

"Looks like you run a tight ship down here Assistant Chief, I appreciate you taking the time to show me around." He nodded gently, and said, "Sorry again about the first impression, I truly try to be a decent person. And I really care about this work." He rolled his shoulders, and left that where it was.

At her question he laughed softly, and pretended to look around, "Why? Is she hiding somewhere around here with an electric prod?" He chuckled, "No I have plenty of work don't get me wrong. The Fighter Bay is a curiosity project for me, an idea to expand my knowledge base. But I don't like coming empty handed, I figure if I'm going to take up space and time, I should at least offer to pitch in while I'm here. I've worked most every role on a Starship that is Structural Engineering or maintenance based, damage control, and of course my current role of Assistant Chief. But as I said, I've never worked with Space Fighters, or an operation like this. If I am to keep growing, I have to keep learning." He rubbed his hands together, "And machines of speed excite me." He rolled his shoulders, "But I love what I do, please don't think I'm down here because I am bored, I'm down here because I think it's an important personal step for me, to learn something completely new, tangential to what I've done. I think that's the best way I could serve the Theurgy. If I'm busy in Engineering, I promise you'll never see me." He nodded lowly when he was done.

He figured he'd answered her question, but he said lightly, "Because I love contributing to the system as a whole, I like seeing a Starship come together, one day I'd like to be involved in building them....well if there ever is a one day, where we're not considered rated defectors."  He crossed his arms, and then said lightly, "What about you Chief Petty Officer, is this what you want to do forever? Do you love it?" He had a feeling she did.
 

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #9 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Hard Women | Getting Shit Done | Finding Balance is Hard]
@uytrereee




Ji looked over at him as he told her that his own boss was a hard ass.  But a hard worker and a great motivator.  He told her that Blue was his boss, and Ji chuckled softly.  “I've heard a fair amount of rumors about your boss.  You realize they call her Tiran the Terror?  They also apparently, from what I hear, had a whole alert system back on the Endeavour where she was formerly stationed.  When a Blue Alert happened, everyone came in with food and twinkies because Tiran had over worked herself and was just hangry.  Sometimes, it took the FO to come down and remind her of her humanity.”  Ji grinned.  “Sometimes I think I'd like to meet Tiran, but on the other hand, I think I'd probably punch her in the face.”

As they walked and she talked about the drills they ran when they had time he told her that he would be interested in coming to witness the next one if he was available.  She gave a nod, which knocked her bangs into her face, so she blew air upward from her lips and flew them back where they needed to go.  “Well, I'll send you a ping then.”

As they continued on, he spoke about his initial impressions and she shrugged.  “men are idiots.  So are women, to be fair.” she said shooting him a look before he could protest.  “We don't always make the best decisions and sometimes those decisions ruin our lives, sometimes you have to deal with the fall out of having pissed someone off, hurt them, or otherwise demolished something that was once great.  But, there are still things in the universe that are not irreparable, and I think this is one of them.”

To say Ji was impressed, was probably an understatement.  Honestly, she quite liked the way that he spoke about his passions.  He loved Engineering but he also knew that to become someone worthwhile was to keep training and to keep learning.  So, she could understand his desires to come into the flight deck and get some information.  Who knew when they would need extra hands, or if she and Liam were incapacitated.  That had happened before, she still remembered the time she was high on pain killers in Sickbay, that was something that people still spoke of.  All the fun stuff she had cried out while on pain, something about kittens in the Roman Empire and who knew what else.  She didn't have the balls to watch the footage and people would come up with the most off the wall things to say she had said that day but she could not know if they were true or not.  So she just chalked it up to drugs.

She gave a nod. 

“Initially I thought I would want to fly.” she said looking up at the large fighters.  “Back on Earth in Korea there was a squadron I loved to go see of fighters.” the love for such creations was evident in her voice.  “I began to dive into mechanics and learn how they worked, what they did, and pushed myself to learn everything I could about propulsion and maintenance.  It wasn't long before I decided to enlist in Starfleet, with my knowledge and the fact that I was so willing to learn I got a job on the Theurgy.” she smiled fondly and then looked over at him. 

“But, yeah, I have never wanted to be anything else.  I get asked that a lot, as if, like a woman I wouldn't be happy here.  I love it.  I love the grease under my fingernails, the long hours, the sweat, the team work, and the pilots.  We're a family down here.  We know each other, support each other, and are all up in each other's business.  But, it's a special place.  This deck is home more than my Quarters.”  She turned and headed for the auxiliary office, it wasn't hers, but she used it when she was needing it.  “I'm thirsty, are you?” she asked as she headed for the replicator.  Once she got herself some strawberry milk and whatever it was that he wanted to drink she sat down on the top of the deck sipping at her milk draining half the small carton in a few gulps before taking a break. 

“Where are you from originally?”

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #10 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Common Ground| The Key to Success is Sugar ] Attn: @BZ
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He heard Tiran the Terror, and laughed heartily into his palm, shaking his head slow, as he said lightly, "Tiran the Terror, I'll keep that to myself. But for sure, the quickest way to Blue's heart is a confection. She likes Twinkies." He laughed gently, "Apparently they're a confection that is mostly unchanged from their original recipe all the way back in the twentieth century. They supposedly are able to survive most any inhospitable condition, which explains their persistence through the Cold War Standoff, and the Third World War." He shrugged, "I think the cream inside them is sickly, I much prefer a lemon bar, but I know to spike her with sugar. She's sweetest that way, excuse the pun." He laughed softly again, saying lightly, "You two would end up fighting." He rolled his shoulders, "Now if you were willing to agree on Klingon wrestling, some bikinis, Rhotepsian Gelatin Pudding...we could make a sum." He stroked his chin, clearly having a joke that was much more friendly in nature. Although he did find the image, quite enjoyable.

He nodded, "I'd appreciate that. If there's anything I can ever do for you, please let me know." He was always the kind to return a favor. He grinned softly, saying lightly to her, "Every man is secretly about twelve years old at heart." He chuckled softly, and followed along with her, grunting, "We think farts are the pinnacle humor." He smirked at her, and gave her a nudge, "Well I'm glad to hear I can mend this bridge. You're far too nice to not." He laughed, "I think Blue would have throat chopped me." He grunted in humor. "But she's taller than you, so you might..." He covered his balls, "Never mind."

Frank;s problem was, he didn't love anything as much as work. Saxophone came close, but it wasn't work. Engineering was the perfect titillating combination of stimuli, pressure, power, and technical stress, that provided what he needed to feel awake and alive. Saxophone was the power, motorbikes were the stimuli and technical stress, pressure was personal, maybe hunting a little, but his work, it was the total package. Which meant that when work was up, the rest of those often went by the wayside, as did his personal life. He silently expected that was the same for many of them.

He gave a raise of the brow, "Oh yeah? Too short?" He winked at her, and then listened to her story, "It's very nice to know the assistant deck chief, has a passion for the little jobs. I do too." He smiled at her, "And you can bust balls, that's awesome." He shrugged, "I mean people probably see you, smaller, very pretty girl, and think you'd rather be married to an admiral. They forget that it's a big fucking galaxy, and most people want to see it."

As she asked him if he was thirsty, he laughed gently, "Like a camel in the desert." He followed her to the replicator, and requisitioned a black coffee with two sugars. He'd have preferred a beer, but it was 10 AM. He took a few sips, naturally before it was ready and scalded his tongue, but he weathered it.

He took a seat next to her, and answered her question, he sipped his coffee in between, "Uh, I guess space." He nodded, "My dad ran a deuterium mining freighter and processor called The Colliery, that's uh, an old name for a coal mine. I grew up on that until I went to a junior academy." He nodded slowly, "I'm a starship brat. Just not the kind that grew up on a Federation light cruiser. Hence the proclivity for grunt work." He nodded slowly, "You already said you're from Korea, you go off world a lot before Starfleet? Your parents Starfleet?"

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #11 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Remember the Past | Missing Home | A Simple Life]
@uytrereee




He stated that Blue would have throat chopped him, but that she was shorter and might have gone lower.  Ji could only grin and shake her head.  “Trust me, a short girl can kick your ass just the same if we want to.” she assured him as he tried to cover his balls in an attempt at humor.  It worked, of course, because, she let out a bit of a chuckle as they headed off towards the auxiliary office where she intended for them to have a drink and chill a little bit before she got back to work.

Frank told her that people probably saw her as a pretty girl that should be married to an admiral.  She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.  One, she wasn't all that pretty, she knew that, especially by Korean standards.  And she most definitely wasn't someone that would be seen next to an admiral of anything.  She had only ever dated mechanics, really, much like herself.

“Don't blow smoke up my ass, it doesn't smell good.” she said brushing off his commentary.  She did love her job, and she loved working with the fighters.  The pilots were all awesome as well and Ji was just the same as everyone else on her deck.  They and she had a passion for what they did.  She found that passions came heavily when you had more manual labor, the kind that was dirty, time consuming, and hard.  The passions were what got you through everything. 

He told her that he was from space, she sat on her desk sipping the strawberry milk from the container in her hand through the small straw stabbed through the metallic lid.  He told her that his father was a miner and that he grew up there until he went to the junior academy.  He was raised on a starship but not the Federation kind which he felt was what brought him more interested in Engineering and grunt work than anything else.  She gave a bit of a nod.

He asked about her own life, that he knew she was from Korea, but what about Starfleet.  “Actually, no.  My parents are not Starfleet at all.  I was raised very Korean, attended schools, learning taekwondo, all of that.  But, I was never what my brother and sister were.  I didn't strive to be number one in my class, I didn't earn awards, I was just mediocre at best.  I even failed high school once, then went back and graduated.  I went through a lot of drinking and partying before I decided to get my shit together.  Once that happened I realized that I liked working with my hands.  I enlisted as a NCO in Starfleet and began working as a shuttle technician.  Went from there to where I am now relatively quickly because apparently I'm a badass.” she shrugged a shoulder and sipped at her milk again.

“I know it's not the classic, girl-female realm, but then I've never really conformed to the standards of those kinds of things.  I think people put too much thought into what men and women should do.  I think instead you should do what you love it'll make you much happier.  At least work-wise.” she admitted with a shrug.

“So what happened on your old ship that you decided to take a walk on the traitorous Theurgy?”

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #12 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Coffee and a Couple Chuckles ] Attn: @BZ
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He saw Ji's grin, and just had to smirk himself, and he intoned on her, "Oh I don't doubt it, it's hard for me to reach that low, my shins, they'd be oh so bruised." He teased her, although for all he knew she could be a world class kickboxer, and could reach his chin with her heel, then he'd be in real trouble. As she chuckled at his little gesture, he gave a grunt, "This ship's full of badass women." He laughed, "Apparently the Theurgy attracts that sort of thing."

He saw the eyeroll, and he offered lightly, "Hey hey, it's not me saying those things." He waved his hands, "If you wanna be all gumption and grease, that's fine with me." He laughed gently, and rolled his shoulders. "I, didn't know I was blowing smoke, but I'm not all that bright, sometimes the capacitors overheat." He knocked on the side of his head, "That's the smell for sure." He too, had a passion for what he did, he figured that was what maybe had bought him an in here.

He finally took some drinks of his coffee, and let out a 'mmm', he hadn't realized how dry his mouth had become, "You forget how thirsty you are until you have a little drink. I'm sure there's an allegory for life in there somewhere, but I just like a good cup of coffee." He chuckled, "Replicators get a lot of things wrong, but tea, coffee, they do a good job at that." He raised a brow, "Must be because most people like it, take it the same way." He had to ask though, "Strawberry milk? That's a new one for me."

As she talked about her life and her parents, he nodded, "Yeah me neither." He stroked his chin, "Dad was a hardass though, he was determined that I not be a miner. He figured study was the breaker of the chain. Only child, after my mom died, I figure it was just work and me he had to focus on so....focus he did." He gave a slow roll of the shoulders, and said, "Sounds like partying let you step back enough from the rat race, to find something you liked, and that you were good at." He mused, "Small miracles." An old world saying, but one that stuck with Frank at least. He nodded lowly, "It's a pretty notable achievement to work your way up through the ranks. Most of your deck chiefs are enlistedmen that are a bit longer in the teeth than you." He raised a brow, "Is your counterpart really a Gorn?" He'd heard that from someone, and it raised his brow, "Because you gotta be hella tough then."

He shrugged, "Who cares about classic girl realm. Classic's boring anyway, well unless it's whiskies, motorbikes, okay no some classics are cool." He laughed gently, "Besides, if you're happy with your job, that's a good thing right? You spend a whole lot of your life working, and most Starfleet officers see more of their duty crew than their family, so you might as well like what you do, and like who you work with, at least try to."

He stroked his chin, his brain was moving now, "I've always mused if it's easier to be with someone on a starship, or do the long-distance thing." He thought about it as he took another ship of coffee, musing now, "I reckon there's tradeoffs to both. On the one hand, you don't get a lot of time with your partner, especially if you're on an exploratory mission. But on the other, you have to navigate Starfleet protocol, and you have to deal with them being aboard the same vessel as you. Especially if you don't work out, still have to work together." He looked at her, "You date aboard the ship? With someone?" He was curious, but Frank's curiosity was often just straight nosiness, and he was sometimes a bit too forward.

He gave a chuckle at her question, "Oh, uh, well my dad goes pretty far back with doing some simpler work for Starfleet Intelligence, started with the Cardi and Klingon stuff, even a little bit before that even. He got to knowing Anderson, when he was doing drops for intel. When my dad got alveiolar silicoprotenosis...isn't that a mouthful? Well when he got his lung thing, he ended up around Earth a lot, got to be close to his old buddies. So when I got a message on the Magellan, from an old family friend, I had to take what he had to say seriously." He nodded, "Packed what shit I could, hopped a transport, linked up with the Klingons, the rest is history as they say. It's been a long few weeks."

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #13 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Strawberry Milk | The Korean Way | I'm Probably Weird – That's Okay]
@uytrereee




He mentioned that the Theurgy seemed to attract the most badass women.  She grinned.  “I don't know if it's the Theurgy but I think the Federation attracts certain kinds of women.  Not all of them will kick ass, but many of them will.  They didn't get here by taking no for answers.”

He admitted that the replicator had never gotten coffee wrong and he was quite happy with what he had.  She gave a bit of a nod, as he inquired about her strawberry milk.  “I was torn between strawberry and banana, but decided to go for strawberry.  The replicator does a good job.  Flavored milk is huge in Korea.  It's refreshing, I also like popscicles, icecream on sticks, and food from food carts.  That's what the Theurgy needs.  Food carts.” she chuckled.

He told her that he thought it was a big deal, the way she had gotten to her position as quickly and as young as she was.  Ji only gave a shoulder, she coveted the job that had been offered to Liam, but they had given it to him.  Still though, she didn't want him not to have it.  He was a fantastic Chief of the Deck and kept everyone in line.  He could get onto someone just as much as he could talk to them calmly and she was more than glad that he was the one giving the orders.  She just wished that she had not been passed up, again.  But, that was fine, she appreciated her own position and if she stayed the Assistant Chief for a while that would be fine too.

“Yes, Sithick is someone that I work with.  Though he is not as intimidating as you think once you get to know him.  But it's really handy to have someone like him around for multiple reasons.  He does weapons ordinance, so we can talk shop, but also he can lift things that are ridiculously heavy and when the tractor beams are busy, and he isn't, he is usually lending a hand.”

Frank told her he had always mused the decision between a long distance off-ship relationship or one on the same ship where you worked.  With Starfleet protocol and everything getting in the way, it could be more complicated having it on board.  If only you knew...  She finished her milk, and tossed the plastic container back at the replicator to get put back in the system since she didn't need it any more.  He then asked if she dated someone onboard the ship or someone in general. 

“I-” she pursed her lips.  “I'm not .. sure.  Yes? No?  It's complicated.” she brushed a hand through her short brown hair pulling it away from her face, but the short locks began to fall back into place as she pushed her hand completely through until she ran out of hair.  “I was dating someone.  But then, we got lost, and I made a really stupid choice before than, and then he witnessed some really -”  she swallowed heavily then shook her head.  “It's just complicated.”

Her eyes shifted over to him.  “You found anyone that strikes your fancy yet?”

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #14 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Dude I'm Definitely Weird Too ] Attn: @BZ
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He saw the grin, and for the first time really took a moment to take a look at her features. She was pretty, she had small cute features, even if she didn't think she was pretty herself, he appreciated the warmth in her face, and her almond eyes. He gave a chuckle, "Yeah that's probably fair. I guess it's the nature of the highly competitive environment, that really doesn't have a gender bias. A meritocracy for sure, so it makes sense, that people who get here, do have the necessary mettle." He stroked his chin, "And yet turds still slip through, I've never understood it, but I guess even the finest filter has a defect or two." He chuckled and mused for a moment more, and then left it.

He sipped his coffee, two sugars, and would give a raise of the brow, "Banana...milk?" He thought about it, it actually kind of sounded interesting. He would take his coffee, and wander over to the replicator, offering lightly, "One small glass of banana milk please." He left his coffee at the replicator to be recycled, and took the cool glass of slightly yellow liquid, and took a sip. By god it was sweet, and for a moment he cringed, but then, slowly, the flavor settled. He spoke idly as he wandered back towards Ji, settling down after a moment, "It's, not like much I've had before. It's, really good." He nodded lowly, taking another sip and his mustache ends caught some of the liquid lingering there above his mouth, making him look vaguely like a resurfaced walrus.

Eventually he licked it out, and offered, "Food Carts." He agreed with a nod, "There's this one I went to on...shit where was it now. They did a sort of wrap, with three different meats and this sort of, spicy mayo like cream. By gum it was delicious. If I hadn't been absolutely hammered, I'd have ordered another just to load into the replicator." He rolled his shoulders, "Probably wouldn't have been as good." There was something to be said for hand made food still.

He gave a slow chuckle, "Never hurts to have a Gorn on your side." He grinned, "Just keep a wrench nearby for when the temper surfaces. And you'd probably need a step ladder too." He teased her. He wanted to meet this Sithick now, no doubt he was very very interesting, to have reached his position as well.

He couldn't read her mind about her relationship, but as she started to elaborate, with a 'yes I am' and 'I'm not sure' and she finally settled on complicated for her relationship, he gave a nod lowly, "Yeah it sounds complicated. I won't be nosy." He nodded watching her brush her hair out of her face, vaguely made his stomach flutter.

At her question, he gave a slow chuckle, stroking his chin, "I met a couple people who were interesting, but, don't seem that interested in dating right now. I did make a good friend that way though." He shrugged gently, "I was half hoping that deckhand was onto something, and you'd want to get a drink sometime." He hoped he made her spit out a little pink milk, so he watched for her reaction.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #15 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Milk Makes Muscles | Finding Solid Ground | I Need to Find Myself, Again]
@uytrereee




He seemed intrigued by her flavored milks and rose heading to the replicator.  He tossed his coffee back in the machine and began to order a glass.  “Anyo anyo anyo.” she got off her desk waving her hands in a clear 'no' sign, and his UT would pick up the Korean for No and she would sighed softly.  “One carton of Korean banana milk.” she told the device.

A small cylindrical carton like the one she held, hand sized, with a straw came out with a foil top.  Ji picked up the two and she punctured the foil top with the straw and stuck it in without taking the top off.  “The proper Korean way to drink banana milk.” she assured him before retreating to her desk and sitting back on the top of it.  Finishing up her strawberry milk the air in the straw made those annoying sounds before she finished the last ounce of it and she put the empty carton to the side the straw still sticking out of the foil top.

He tried the milk and admitted that it was good.  She gave one of those 'told you so' kind of shrugs.  Of course she wouldn't recommend anything bad.  But then, banana milk wasn't for everyone and that was just fine, really. 

When she mentioned food carts he seemed to light up a little bit.  He told her that there was some kind of wrap, he couldn't remember where, that was like several different kinds of meats, spicy mayo, and something about gum?  Maybe she was misunderstanding it or something but he admitted he had been hammered so there was no telling if he remembered it correctly or not causing her to chuckle.  “I imagine you've never had Soju.  Ah, and then, Soju and beer, with chicken, it's the best.” she admitted.  “But if you're talking street carts you're talking fish, and duboki, blood sausage, and chicken feet.”

She sighed softly.  “I miss Korea.”

He told her that he wasn't going to pry into her sorta-not-sure-but-maybe there relationship.  She gave a nod, it was better that he didn't and she didn't know him well enough to decide that it was the right person to talk to about it.  She didn't know him well enough, he wasn't someone that she would exactly call a friend or a close friend that would take some time.  He seemed nice enough but he didn't know Liam.. or maybe he did, she wasn't sure and right now she wasn't sure she could trust much of anyone.  The last time she had, he slept with her, and then... well that part wasn't his fault.  None of it was his fault she just didn't know what to do or say or think and she was pretty sure she was just royally fucked on all accounts.

He hadn't met anyone that he wanted to date yet, or rather, that were open to dating.  But, he was hoping the deckhand earlier was speaking the truth and told her that he wouldn't mind getting a drink with her.  “You'd have to come to terms with Soju.” she admitted.  “That's pretty much all I like to drink, but I like to mix it with beer.  And then chicken .. because it's just the Korean way.” she chuckled.

“I would be interested, but I'm going to the Allegiant so.. it'll have to be before or after.” Ji admitted.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #16 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Soju, is it a sauce, or more of a gravy? ] Attn: @BZ
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He was just about to get his glass of banana milk, when he heard, 'No, no no' from behind him, as Ji came towards him waving her hands. Instead he got a carton, and he gave a slow chuckle, offering lightly, "I swear, the last time I had something from a disposable wrapper." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, but as he took a sip, it truly was very good, and perfectly cold. He mmm'd and said to her, "So to a Korean, milk out of a carton, is beer out of a tap, infinitely better, for no perceptible reason." He chuckled gently, and took the opportunity of closeness near the replicator to nudge her with his elbow playfully. "The proper Koran way to drink banana milk, not out of a glass." He filed that away in his bank, as he placed the empty carton away for recycling.

As she gave him a told you so kind of move, he just chuckled, it was endearing, something about her as a whole was. But now she was educating him on something else, Soju. He honestly didn't know what it was, he'd not spent much time in that part of the world, and by not much, that meant none. He raised a brow, Soju with beer and chicken, "Is it, like a sauce?" But that didn't sound right, "Or is it another food? Drink? If you haven't figured it out, I don't know what it is." He laughed softly. He hmm'd, "I don't think fish sounds so bad, and I like Scottish blood sausage, chicken feet are not my favorite, but duboki will be new for me." Of course he could just look it up, but that was the fun of getting to know people from new cultures, you got to learn new stuff, and the nomad in him loved that.

"Do you? Well, if we ever get off this journey of mad men, perhaps you can show me a proper Korean food cart." He grinned softly, "I never really had a home like that you know? So when I left home, I missed the people but not the place." He stroked his beard after jumping up on the desk to sit next to her.

She agreed with him silently that her relationship was ground left best unbroken for now, and that was good because they'd only been talking a little bit now, so he just moved on.

He gave a grin gently, "I can come to terms with Soju, as long as it's....well no I guess I'll pretty much drink or eat most things." He patted his little dad-bod belly, and would then discover it was a drink, "So it's not a sauce then, and you mix it with beer." So it was a pop, or it was a spirit, "If it's a spirit, I do love spirits." He grinned softly.

That grin though, turned into a smile as she said she would be interested, even with the hiccup about the Allegiant, he beamed, "Well I might be too, but either way go or stay, let's do after." He nodded, "So work doesn't get too in the way before then huh?"

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #17 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Follow the Korean Way | Come Grasshopper | I'll Show You the Ropes]
@uytrereee




“It's not so much the wrapper as the experience.” she reminded him.  He began to talk about how Korean milk came from a carton like beer out of a tap.  Better but for no real reason it was just the better way it was done.  She gave a shrug, she had only ever really had beer out of a bottle, she didn't live the life down in Korea that allowed her to go to the bars where they actually poured it for you.  She was the one that brought a six pack of cans home to enjoy at the end of a rough day.  She still did sometimes, just because it was little pieces of home that brought her comfort.  Ji had found herself drawing towards that line of comfort more and more often now when she wasn't on shift any more.  She needed something that reminded her that she was still a person, still worth something, and yet.. nothing could quite fill the void she was dealing with and she was terrified of what Leon was going to say if they ever did actually get a chance to talk.  She wasn't even sure what she would say.  Sorry I slept with someone, but that second one, that was just flat rape?  I mean, how do you bring that all up in conversation.

When he asked about the Soju and Beer, and then the chicken if it was a sauce she laughed heartily and shook her head.  “Anyo.” she said waving her hand in front of her in quite a cute manner as if to tell him to stop.  “So, you have chicken, and it's fried but it has to be really crispy.  Before you eat it, you get a bottle of soju, it's like a .. bitter liquor.  You pour half a glass.  Then you take your beer and you pour the beer into the rest of the glass and drink up.  Only after your glass is gone do you start eating the chicken.  I've seen it done the other way too, where you put beer in a glass, pour a shot of soju, knock it into the glass and drink up.  Either way, it's a good time, and fried chicken is always yummy.” she chuckled softly.

He admitted that fish didn't sound bad, and he liked blood sausage which surprised her.  She usually ate it dipped in super spicy sauce but she did like it.  A lot of stuff she ate was spicy now that she thought about it.  “Duboki is like.. uh, it's called a rice cake but it's not one, it's closer to a noodle but thick and solid no.. hole in the center.  I think I just need to take you on a food tour.” she chuckled brushing a hand through her short hair and giving a shrug.  “It's hard to explain to a non-Korean.”

He confessed he might end up on the Allegiant as well, and her brow rose.  “Well here here to at least having someone I can't boss around but likes me anyway on the ship.” she chuckled and looked out over the deck from the doorway for a moment.  The whole thing was running well, the fighters were getting ready to move ships and she would be going with them, but for now she was enjoying meeting someone new.  Initially she hadn't though she would like  him but he was wearing on her and beginning to get her to loosen up a little bit.

“All right, post Allegiant Korean party.  My place, or maybe yours, yours will be private mine is shared, and she has a lot of sex and that just makes things awkward as fuck.” she laughed.

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #18 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | It's all about the experience | Under the Wrapper | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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He gave a slow smirk as she said it was not so much the wrapper as the experience, and he offered lightly, "Not unlike crazy women and fast cars." He chuckled gently, and would roll his shoulders, now he was thinking about draught beer, and unwrapping women. He glanced towards Ji for a moment or two, 'I wonder what sh...no, business'. He just smirked at himself, and would finish his carton of milk, with the same satisfying gurgle that had come from hers only a few moments ago, "Okay, so I've tried banana, and you had strawberry, what other flavors are there? I'll have to try a few, see which one I like the most." Although Banana was already at the top of his list, there was something sickly about the sweetness, that was oddly satisfying, and yet were it a few degrees warmer, would be abhorrent.

'Anyo' he had a feeling he'd be hearing that a lot, although coupled with her hearty laugh, there was something really endearing about the way she told him no. He would give a loud 'mmm' as she described crispy fried chicken, "You like fried chicken and fast machines, we are going to get along." He laughed softly, and would listen to her talk about how to drink Soju, so it was a spirit then. He gave a slow nod once more, and would say lightly, "Like a pallet primer." He rubbed his belly, "That sounds so delicious." He nodded slowly, now he was hungry, and he had a whole day of duties after this. 'Maybe I'll have an Ensign get me a sandwich.' "I like a cold cut chicken sandwich, with bacon, and mayonnaise, and one big piece of lettuce. No tomato though." He smiled at her, "Isn't it funny how we've come all this way as a species, and a simple emulsion of egg , vinegar, and oil, is still prevalent in our cuisine?"

He stroked his chin, and then gave a slow raise of the brow as she described Duboki. "Well if I wasn't confused before..." He tilted his head at her, and made a show of rubbing his confused forehead. He gave a nod though as she offered a food tour, "Deal." He grinned lightly, "You will be my cuisine sherpa." He laughed gently at that, and would just settle back into the desk next to her.

He gave a slow grin, and would offer "Hear hear." He looked out of the deck as well, and would just watch the activity with a rapt attention, a slow smile creeping onto his face as he did.

Eventually he snapped back as she talked, "Uh, we can use mine. Fortunately I have a single quarters." Due to rank and time of service, he was one of the more senior junior officers on the ship, "Alright, deal." He nodded slowly, "Want me to get out of your hair so you can work?"

Re: Day 34 [1000 hrs.] Power, Propulsion, Preparedness

Reply #19 –
[CPO Eun Sae Ji | Time for Duty | New Connections Made | Milk Buddies]
@uytrereee




“It's mainly strawberry, banana, chocolate, coconut, and regular.  You can get a little crazy but I hardly ever see people drink the weird ones and some things just don't mesh well with milk.” she gave a shrug.

He told her that if she liked chicken and booze they were going to get along well.  Causing her to laugh again and give a shrug.  “I've always just been one of the guys.” she admitted, and she had, of course she had been dating Liam, but really she had always just been one of the guys.  The ones that counted on her for everything they counted on her for so much and she had to be seen as one of them but with respect otherwise she wouldn't be treated right and that was not going to happen.  Not on her deck, her girls were treated with respect but she also expected it to go both ways.  Ji didn't favor any one sex over the other she expected everyone to run the deck properly or they could find themselves with trench duty.

They agreed that she would teach him about Korean food, and that they could use his place because he had a solo Quarters where she didn't.  She didn't mind not having one but it was a lot harder to have people over which was why they often used Liam's when she wanted to be alone with him.  She had been living there for the most part until recently until everything derailed and now she had to live with the decisions that she had made, and hadn't.

“Sounds good.”

He asked if she needed him out of her hair so he could work and she gave a sigh.  “yeah I have to set an example or assholes get lazy and then shit comes out of it.” she chuckled, at her little turn of phrase and popped off the desk.  Brushing a hand through her short hair again she gave him a nod.  “Later Lieutenant, nice to meet you, Chicken and beer soon.”

Ji ducked through the door way and headed off to get more of the things off her list before she headed for the Allegiant. 

-FIN-
 
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