I Need A Wizard Part III
Posted on Sat Jun 17th, 2023 @ 8:35am by Ensign Connor Turner & 1st Lieutenant Marjani Smith
Edited on on Tue Jun 20th, 2023 @ 8:52pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Shuttlebay - Deck 10 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD010 1730
Why is she apologizing to me if she's not sorry she kissed me? He shook his head, confused. People were so difficult to understand, especially pretty women. "Um, well, I, uh, have some of the updates running, but um, I need that GPU, I was talking about. Didn't come down with one, so, um, going to be a mo. So, I'll pop right out.... Alright?"
"Okay, I'll right here if you are going to be back in a few." Marjani gave a nod. "Also, if you want to ask me some questions you can, if you want that is. Oh, and your lips are rather nice, not something like stone but nice to touch with my own lips." Marjani could be a rather direct person when it comes to her personal thoughts. Most times she could keep things to herself but, Marjani just wanted to let Connor know about her opinion about him. It may make him want to run from her but, hey, if that happens, hopefully it won't happen until after her Talon was fixed. If he does, then it will be the price she paid for kissing a cute man.
Connor was about to say that he just said that he would be back in a few. What else did "pop right out" mean? He considered that it must be a flaw in dialects of Federation standard. However, he could not say anything when she started telling him how nice his lips were. Earlier, did she not say she would not do anything with someone in a relationship? And yet.... So confused. What am I supposed to do? He did as best as he could, held up a finger to indicate "one moment," and headed off to engineering to replicate the exact GPU she would need and figure out what tools he needed to vastly improve the Talon.
Marjani adjusted her body around on the crate, to watch Connor move towards the engineering section, liking what she saw. She had her types which were, ones with personality, brains, some nice physical aspects. She just went on a case-to-case basis. That is how Marjani was.
Getting to engineering on Pioneer was not any trouble. What was trouble was that Connor felt like he was very warm. If his face had not turned twenty shades of red by now, he was not sure what had happened to him. Concentrate! he scolded himself. You have a girlfriend. She's just being friendly and thanking you. That must be it. But you can't let her get hurt. So, replicate the GPU, install the software, and extricate yourself from the situation. It does not matter how pretty and sweet she is. Upon that thought, Connor verbally squeaked.
Just what mess have you gotten yourself into Connor James? Distracted, the first GPU replicated looked right, but when tested, proved to have wiring that allowed for power leakages. He gave a short scream of frustration. He took several deep breaths, counted to ten and started over, giving the computer explicit instructions of what he wanted for the GPU. This time, after tests, everything was performing well above standard parameters. Connor thanked the computer and his face, having returned to normal, he proudly carried the part back to where Marjani and the Talon were.
As he crossed the room towards Marjani, at first, he froze, his feet unable to get him to move forward, as he caught her gaze. Flushing, he mentally ordered his feet to move. He headed directly into the Talon with the part, explaining in a rush as he passed by Marjani, "Firstpartdid notperformtoexpectations.Madeasecond.Goingtogetitinnow."
Marjani heard what he said but didn't say a word. She was content with letting Connor work on the Talon, and she stayed out of the way. Getting Talon ready for action was very important, and any distraction of any kind whether it be someone just breathing when at a crucial moment, would cause a mistake. Oh, that she didn't want to happen.
Phew! Dodged that bullet. More relaxed now that he had bypassed Marjani, he got to work. As promised, he replaced the GPU and then started updating all of the systems. He was fairly certain with the work that he was doing that she could pinpoint the smallest anomalous particles from her ship, adding some very special updates of his own that were beyond expected Starfleet standards. Lastly, he installed his personal virus and anti-malware protections. If anything new got through, it would be new to not only Starfleet, but Connor, too. He patted the access panel when he was done and said, "Now you be good to her. I'll make sure she's good to you." With that, he left the ship and his head turned on a swivel, seeking Marjani.
Marjani was still on the crate waiting, her face lit up when she saw Connor exiting the Talon, "Hi, how did it go?" a hopeful expectant smile.
"Um, well...." He hesitated. He did not know whether Marjani would understand everything that he would say and he was not even sure that he could say it. So finally, he settled on, "Um, maybe, you should see for yourself?" He gave a meek smile, looked away, and headed back into the ship.
Marjani silently nodded, rising up from the crate to go inside her beloved Talon Fighter. She fired up the ship, to get the readings her eyes widening. "Oh gosh I need to do a test flight, do you want to come with or would you rather monitor me and the fighter here on the station? Either way it's your decision." She was giving him an out, as she knew Connor had maybe a bit too much of her. A smile danced across her lips, and she gave a satisfied nod.
The engineer gulped. He was not one for adventure but at the same time, he wanted to see how his improvements actually worked in real time. Completely torn, he uttered, "Um," and just froze in place considering his options and not coming to any conclusions.
A thought occurred to Marjani and she turned towards Connor, "You know, you come along check to see how things are working and then when we get back you can tell your lady, that you went and did something different, like testing out the improvements you made on a fighter-" Marjani paused as she bit her lower lip. It was and could be considered dangerous but maybe he did need to come with. "Uh Connor, how about coming with, I am going to need you to monitor things right here and if there is a possible glitch you can be right here to take care of it quickly." An actual nervous expression could be seen.
The thought of Marjani potentially being stranded was worrisome to Connor. He was ninety-nine percent certain that everything that he had done would work precisely and Marjani had the best that he could offer, which he figured was better than anything the Federation had to offer. However, that was different than watching it actually perform in live action. Testing should be done. Seeing Marjani get nervous did not sit well with Connor. She needed to be secure with the technology that he put into her ship. It was a matter of life and death and he was not going to cause her to feel insecure. Decision made, he announced, "I'll go with you."
Marjani was shocked, it showed in her eyes. "Are you certain you want to do so Connor? Not that I mind but, I wanted to give you some space, from me." She knew she had already asked him to, but Marjani thought he'd be very happy to get away from her.
"Um, space from you?" Connor asked, again having trouble computing what Marjani was discussing. "But you need my help and if on the incredible chance I made an error, I want to correct it before you go out there. I will not have you feeling insecure out there on my account. I did this to protect you."
"Thank you, and I was meaning that maybe you'd not want to be in a small, enclosed area." she stopped. "Okay never mind, I need to look at things in a more practical way." She motioned to the seat next to her, then called in for permission to take the fighter out from the station, which she received.
As the fighter's power came back on, she had her head turned slightly and her head tilted as if she were listening to the sound of everything coming to life. She was mentally comparing what it sounded like before to what it was sounding like now. "I can hear the difference," she uttered softly.
"I quieted a lot of the ambient sound. I figured it would be important for you to hear what was going on around you. Overall, it should be a smoother and quieter ride, along with vastly improved graphics, sensors, and software protection." There was a sense of satisfaction in his voice but not boasting.
"I do agree with you there." Marjani responded before she started looking at the readings.
The one thing about ships when they get updated, was that you had to take it slow and easy. Marjani had realized that the first time she had her Talon upgraded. With gentle fingers, Marjani eased the Talon from off the deck of the shuttle bay, then made an easy exit from the opening out into the expanse of space. She glanced towards Connor, "So far so good, and I am liking the improvements so far. Still, I've not truly tested Talon, but that will take place once we're sufficiently away from the station."
Once they were cleared, Marjani upped the speed of the Talon to warp factor one. "The one true test will be when I use my center stick aka, joystick to test the maneuverability."
Connor looked at old-school flight stick and simply asked, "Why do you have that rather than a standard console? I, well, have not seen one of those, well, other than in my hologames."
"I have both." Marjani indicating the other part. "This though, I use to get more of the feel for the ship. I was taught how to fly in the old-time planes which utilized this set up. The console is great but at times when I need to get into fight with an opponent, I've got to feel connected to the ship, the vibrations. That may sound crazy, or weird, but it's how I fly."
"No," Connor answered. "It does not," he replied in halting but understanding tones. "I talk to computers," he admitted. "They have feelings too."
Marjani smiled. "I talk to Talon as well. And I agree objects do have feelings, as well. Hmmnn...." She looked at the view out in front of them, made a couple of adjustments and took them both out away from any obstruction as in asteroids or floating debris.
"Connor how would you like to try your hand at flying this. We can go to impulse so you can try." Marjani glancing at him once more.
Connor shook his head nervously. "No no. I can't do that. Talon is yours. Besides, I'm, um, here, to make sure that, well, you stay safe." His cheeks started to turn red. "I mean, you know, by, making sure all the settings, um, are correct and um...."
Marjani gave a soft smile. "Connor, I don't think Talon would mind at all. And what better way for you to see if there needs to be some other adjustments if you were to experience being in the pilot's seat. I do need your perception as well," making the ship stop its flight, to get ready to move from her seat.
"Um," he gulped hard. "If you think so.... I mean, um, this is well, highly, um, unusual."
"Weren't you given the basics on how to fly a shuttle? Look it's going to be okay, you know how to run the scans and the other devices it's just making the ship move forward." Marjani replied. "And definitely this will be easier than learning how to get a fuel powered aircraft into the air. Try it. I am right here."
"I mean, I know how to fly a shuttle and a ship. I mean, it is basic training, right?" He started to move towards the pilot's seat. "Usually, well, engineers don't test them live and well, I'm sure that you will, um, notice more than I will. Talon is yours...."
A Joint Post By
Ensign Connor Turner
Computer Systems Specialist, USS Pioneer
First Lieutenant Marjani Smith
Pilot
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