So, what DOES work?

Posted on Wed Nov 4th, 2020 @ 3:07pm by Lieutenant JG C'Tirr K'Ruuras & Commander Ichiko Gail
Edited on on Sat Dec 5th, 2020 @ 3:30pm

Mission: Enforced Intermission
Location: Primary Engineering

The large bulkhead doors to primary Engineering opened, allowing the imposing figure of the ship's Executive Officer entry into Engineering proper. She was only really considered tall when you factored the ears adding a full foot to her height, though she still had a no-nonsense look to her at the moment. Most worrying of all, she was carrying a PaDD.

Her scan of the engineers on duty literally took seconds, before she homed in one one that she didn't immediately recognize. "Good welcome Lieutenant. I hope I'm not interrupting." she honestly sounded like she didn't want to. Rather than the typical tone those words tended to have. "I have the latest reports on the various failings throughout the ship. I figure Ops will be getting this list shortly, and I wanted to see if there was anything here in primary Engineering that was giving you issue."

She was handling this herself. A sign she took it serious, perhaps. "Also, I wanted to rule out hardware fault. There's simply too many little malfunctions for it to be a mechanical fault, but I wanted to hear an engineer's opinion on the matter."

C'Tirr stood up and looked at who had spoken to him, his ears perking forward. "Ah, Lieutenant Commander, yes, we have been having many issues cropping up." He Grabbed his own PADD and began skimming it. "I personally have had an issue where Helm controls had somehow been transfered to Cargo bay 2. Lieutenant Commander Rogers and I got it fixed but I still haven't found the reason it was transferred or who, if any, did it. That is the worst thing I am aware of, though there have been minor malfunctions in most of the auxiliary and secondary systems. The helm issue was the first primary system to malfunction."

Wulfgar had closely examined his new XO with his peripheral vision and was curious about her. He had never encountered her species before. He looked up from his PADD, his ears perked forward and hit tail swishing slowly showing some feline curiosity. "What malfunctions have you come across Ma'am?"

"They started small. Temperature variances in living quarters, incorrect replicator orders, light fixtures emitting the wrong color of light." she started, though unlike C'Tirr who was skimming through a PaDD... she was not. Her eyes, a gentle pale green without any shine to them whatsoever, were on the engineer. "From there, it escalated to security lockouts, transfer of console controls, and a malfunction on the holodeck that lead to the creation of an intensely rebellious duck."

That last one still amused her.

"They started off innocent, but they could be leading to something more malignant, and I fear that the malfunctions are... "

Start with just a handful. Pack it tight.
Put it down on the ground, roll it around until the ball is really really big.
Then two more times and we're done Yui. That's how you build a ...

"... snowballing. I'd like to try to catch the cause before something serious happens, like a reactor failure, or every replicator on the ship fabricating an ounce of uncontained antimatter."

"I agree Ma'am. I have had an incident of holodeck 1 creating every world out of candy. I had to do a reroute some replicator programs in Lieutenant Aenera's quarters. The replicator in the water shower was producing cold water only so I had to risk burning out the main replicator in the main room to produce the hot water for her shower." C'Tirr explained. He sat his PADD down and placed a hand on his chin in thought. "I have been trying to figure it out but the only thing I can think of is something like a virus but I haven't had any luck figuring it out."

Ichiko gave a nod, her lengthy ears wobbled slightly with the motion, "I'd like to believe that if it were a virus, Ops would have found it by now. Unless...." a mental note was put aside for later, "... food for future thought. We may need to treat this like a physical infection. Trace every error, see if we can find the initial malfunction. Patient Zero, if you would. We need to get this under control." she cited, and paused to get her initiative under reins. With that, she turned back to C'Tirr, "I never asked your name. I apologize."

C'Tirr laughed his hissing laugh. "It's C'Tirr, C'Tirr K'Ruuras Ma'am. I'll start that trace now. I've been running hourly diagnostics on all primary and secondary systems but only catch them after they have happened. I've been trying to find a connection but they are so randomized. I'll start by pulling all the back logs of malfunctions and start tracing it back." He said as he turned slightly and tapped on the main console. He started the retrieval of the logs then looked back at Ichiko. "About when did they start, do you know? I just came on board at Star Base 332."

"The first reported glitch was roughly fifty six hours after we left Starbase 332, for a timeframe. Before that, I couldn't tell you. Most minor glitches involving the replicator are either ignored, or don't appear the second time and life continues. This time, with soup." she said with a soft smile. "And, welcome aboard."

"Thank you Ma'am. It's good to be aboard." C'Tirr said with a glance around. "And I'm never bored, that's for sure." He chuckled. "May I ask a question Ma'am?"

She offered the same soft smile. A cryptic smile, but a pleasant one, "Certainly. I'll never dream of stifling curiosity."

"What was you chosen field before you went into command?" C'Tirr asked. He was curious since she knew something of the engineering field, he'd guess that was going to be the answer.

"That's an interesting question. In the Ts'usu Navy, we're expected to know a little about the fields we don't enter primarily into. My major department was Operations, but I knew enough about Engineering or Sciences to handle myself." She started, "When I came to serve in Starfleet, I did my research in the fields to stay current." and then she tapped her forehead.

"Those lessons, I'll keep with me forever." She didn't sound too pleased about that.

"Was it hard for you in the Academy looking so different from the humans?" C'Tirr asked. He remembered a few of the other cadets calling him kitty or cat man. "Some of the cadets in my year called me kitty." He shook his head with a chuckle. "It didn't bother me as much as they hoped it would but it did bother me a bit."

"It was difficult. I'm just grateful none of them found out about my neurological condition until I had already graduated. Still, though, humanity can be compassionate, but they can also be very cruel at times."

"Cotton Tail. Puff." she recalled, "Nevermind the constant questions regarding if we breed like rabbits."

C'Tirr laughed. "Yeah, people touching our tails or trying to pet or scratch your head." He smiled at Ichiko. "So, do you?" He asked conspiratorially with a wink meaning he was asking in jest.

She gave a soft smile, catching the cue, "I mean, when would I have the time, when I'm apparently delivering chocolate to the world."

C'Tirr let out a roaring laugh. "Was there anything else you needed Ma'am?" He said when he had stopped laughing.

"No, that should be all. Let me know if you find anything interesting." she offered, "It was nice to get to meet another friendly face. Do take care." and with that, the XO of the ship took a step back before she turned to head out.

C'Tirr watched the XO leave and chuckled to himself as he turned back to his console. It will be a bit easier knowing that he wasn't the only species on board that resembled some earth animal. He pulled up the logs of all malfunctions and began the long arduous task of finding the first system to malfunction.