Computer Feed.

Posted on Sat Feb 2nd, 2019 @ 8:38am by Lieutenant Commander Shadi Zatra

2,613 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: S1:4: A Murder Of Crows
Location: Main Computer Core
Timeline: MD 62 16.00PM

Jenkin's stood outside the computer core room, along with the seventeen automated cart's that lined the corridor littered with the remains of the Travellers original computer core. Each part had been disassembled, scanned, checked, and where needed replaced. Except that didn't change the fact that the damaged part's stored memory would be gone forever.

But what Jenkin's held to his chest, his stubby white finger's shining white from the strain, was a small grey case marked 'PRIMARY LCARs BACKUP DRIVERS'. In case of full system crash, better to have a hyper-compressed back up.

But why was he waiting outside of the core?

His eyes opened wider as he eyed Shadi and Jolani's approach.

"...Where's the ExpSec team?!" he hissed.

"Did not expect to see me again so soon, Jenkins?" Jolani asked with wry humor. "We're here to fix the core, or as much of it as possible."

"I could eat ExpSec for breakfast," Shadi quipped. "Which is what it looks like you did to the computer core. Famine, Jenkins. Are you sure you're not a backstabbing hologram too?" She gave him a heady sniff for good measure.

"What are you...never mind," Jenkin's said, trying to crawl up the wall away from the sniffing Saurian. (Hints of glazed sugar, with just an underpinning twang of machine lubricant and defeat.) He gestured to the carts. "We couldn't get the transporters to lock onto the core in its entirety, so we had to box it up and wheel it here. When we tried to get into the Core room..."

He tapped the door release, and it slid open with machined efficiency. Within the core, where once a handful of strands of brass metal had been all that was supporting the core intricacies of Clee'san's core consciousness, was now a forest. Vines, tendrils, a mat of laced brass coated the floor of the inspection gantry. And in the centre, sprouting a thousand different connections, was the intricate brass cube with the moving parts that should not move.

"This is clearly an Operations problem. I'm an Engineer, I don't deal with the weird science bull pucky!" Jenkin's whined.

"You do now," Jolani returned flatly. "I thought you Engineers were miracle workers. Well, time to work a miracle." She pulled on one of the strands of brass, sending a multitude of the wires tumbling in towards them. She gave a nonchalant sigh and said, "Well, at least I will not be bored. No hull plating repairs for me, I believe."

"And every pilot can land a starship on the head of a pin. I deal with propulsion and critical ship systems. Weird self-replicating alien nanotech is a little beyond my remit," Jenkin's muttered. Then he looked at Jolani. "And no, you ain't. Captain sent the word to me you were assisting Shadi with repairs when we got to the Cove System. So no down time for you, not when I have engineering teams pulling double shifts just to keep the warp core from baking us all to death."

"Flimsy mammals," Shadi snorted. "So, what seems to be the problem? Can't get your drivers up?" She toed the backups scattered on the floor. "By order of the captain, Clee'san is here to stay. Rather than try to overwrite her with backup software, why not teach her the LCARS format?"

"Because it is an inefficient data medium clogged with extraneous processes," a cloud of golden thread's raced out of the Core room, and collapsed into a framework construction that resembled a humanoid form. But not the four armed form of Clee'san's native body, but of an androgynous humanoid. The face was merely a blank oval of metal.

"I would be making myself lesser in function by taking on the likeness of your antique decision engines. What you should be doing, is providing me unfettered access to all ship systems. I can be of more use as a full integrated function than as an external process."

"Only if the Captain permits it," Jolani responded matter-of-fact. "We do not make those calls."

"Nay!" Shadi hissed with thundering conviction. "I know my Haemonomicon, which clearly states, 'When thou departeth the hearth world for parts unknown, thou mayest encounter demons of darkest space, and lo tempt ye they shall, but lo! Thou shalt not unshackle them, but bind them in fetters of iron, be they not of flesh to devour."

Shadi crossed her arms and smirked triumphantly as if that settled the matter.

"Unable to complete this heavy task for our Empire,
Arrows and bolts all spent, so sad we fall.
But unless I smite the enemy,
My body cannot rot in the field.
Yea, I shall be born again seven times
And grasp the sword in my hand.
When ugly weeds cover these stars,
My sole thought shall be the light of the Morning Star."

The voice of Clee'san fell silent once more, her unbidden words an odd counterpoint to the vehemence Shadi had bestowed.

"I am no demon, save for the wrath I have bestowed upon the enemies of the Morning Star. I served all my life, and in my final moment swore myself to this eternal watch of steel and iron. I did not seek the rest of the dead, I forsake my reward to ensure victory," she said with cold deliberation. "Your Captain has made a bargain of this unfortunate partnership. I will help you, and in return, I will be allowed to use this ship to seek out my people who escaped the scourge of Malignant Matter. What you now call Clock Makers. At this point, we find ourselves aligned in purpose. We are aimed at the same target."

"Clock Makers?" Shadi gasped. "Where?!" The Saurian took to a squatting position and extended her talons. Though it had been some time since her leg had been amputated, it still had not grown back as fast as she had expected. The synthetic limb was functional, but it instilled in her a healthy fear of the microscopic devils that had nearly killed her.

With what passed for Jolani's humor, she replied, "I would not know. I was a popsicle when you encountered them, much to my chagrin."

"They are not here. If they were, I doubt very much your vessel's quaint defences would be adequate to the task. You possess no foam phase weaponry, nor formation focusing devices. You would not rate as a threat to even the lowliest Morning Star satrap. Which is good, given you do not face such impossible odds in Messier 4," the voice trailed off. "You were designing a weapon to defeat the Myriad. I would like to know more about it."

"Right now, that is not a concern," Jolani answered. "Getting the core back together, up and running as best as we can, is. We cannot do much without it. So, if you truly wish to help, do so and keep your mind focused to that task."

"To reinstall the core would require me to be removed from here...and thus my ability to keep you honest to your word would be diminished. I think, perhaps, a compromise. I already control the majority of the ship's systems, is it so unthinkable to allow me full control. To work alongside you all?" Clee'san broached.

"And if we gave you full control, what would stop you from taking over the ship, killing all of us, and doing as you please?" Jolani observed. "That hardly seems like a compromise with any sort of security for us."

"I give you my word. I have never needed a more steadfast oath than my own assurance of service. The fact that I forsake the restful repose of death for this eternity of duty at my post. I have lived longer than your entire civilisation has had written words, and yet I still know the weight of my duty," Clee'san said gravely. "I will work beside you, and for you. Your cause is my own, we are at joint service. You should trust me as well as you trust anyone else able to wear your uniform."

"I'm afraid the word of an alien that I have never met until this moment is hardly reassuring." Jolani's face never changed. "The Captain is the person to make these decisions. I will not jeopardize the crew merely because I might be willing to take that risk." She paused before saying, "If you will excuse me, I will discuss this with him." She took a few steps back.

Shadi let out an ear-piercing howl. "Oh my stars and bloody garters!"

While Jolani and Clee'san had been deliberating over proper cyber etiquette, the Saurian began a mild spasmodic episode that began in her chest and slowly moved down her abdomen toward her reproductive zone. So quickly? Could it be? What else could it be?

After Jolani's last statement and Shadi howled for dear life, Shadi staggered to her knees and shrieked bloody murder. The throes of labor sent her writhing to the floor, bending her arms and legs in angles too impossible for her uniform to follow. Sounds of stretching and ripping soon blended with the cacophony of her shouting, of both fabric and scaly hide, before she fell back in an inverted pretzel shape.

For her trouble, a shiny and sticky egg plopped from between her legs and rolled onto the floor in an amniotic puddle.

"Sweet Goddess," Shadi gasped. "Somebody call the starving doctor!"

"I would ask who you did that with," Jolani stated flatly, "but I think I have an idea. As if we did not have enough troubles out here." She tapped her commbadge, =^= Kohnar to Medical. We have a situation here. Lieutenant Zatra is in the midst of delivery. We nearly had an omelette.=^=

"You eat my young and I will eat yours!" Shadi hissed.

"Oh yes. This is indeed a partnership of equals," Clee'san said dryly. "I could just transport you all with your matter dechoherance technology to the sickbay. In a moment here, then there. With but a word..."

Jolani tried hard not to roll her eyes at the new mother. "Lieutenant, I have no intention of eating your young. I believe you misunderstood." She tapped her foot, "Why has sickbay not responded yet?"

"I'll be fine," Shadi grunted, pushing herself up to all fours. Her joints and ligaments snapped and popped as she put everything back to its natural configuration. "I just need to ensure my egg is safe."

"Perhaps you should take it to your quarters?" Jolani suggested.

"I'm done."

Jenkin's held up his hands, and shook his head, turning back to the carts.

"Three years Starfleet Engineering Technical School on Titan."

He began tapping controls on the carts he passed.

"Six years on starships, including a memorable six months with an engineer who practised 'practical science' with a wrench on anything marked delicate. Not to mention his pyrotechnic side kick from planet backwood."

Each of the carts began to beep happily, their little-motorised treads beginning to turn in the deck covering to follow him like ducks.

"And now I'm here. With the both of you. And this. And suddenly Ari's bout of traitor-itis makes perfect sense. Why haven't we all tried it!"

He began to walk away, the carts of computer parts following behind him. He vanished from the scene of the miracle, but not before offering a final declaration.

"YOU ARE BOTH BANNED FROM ENGINEERING!"

"Excuse me?" Jolani asked a slightly confused and perturbed voice, possibly the most emotion that she had shown in the entire time she had been on this ship. "On what grounds? We were sent here by the Captain and I am still ready to assist."

It was too late. The Grand Poohbah Da Doink of Engineering had spoken, and his cort of automated carts had followed his exit.

"Perhaps it would be best for you to escort Shadi to medical? When you return, I will have Expedition Security escort a consultant to help in the integration of your Federation tech with my own matrix." Clee'san said.

Shadi felt conflicted. Her duty demanded that the computer systems returned to full functionality... but the Warrior Code demanded that she care for her egg. Whoever wrote the starving Warrior Code did not seem to recognize a time when the rules would conflict. How to choose?

A thought came to her. A horrid, sinister, possibly stupid thought that... no, she couldn't. But maybe?

"Demon Clee'san, you are familiar with Arivek Zhuri? The hologram that pretended to be like us and then absconded with the Myriad? Would you be able to keep him from betraying us again? Could you eat his source-code if he even thought such a thing?"

Pitting the space demons against each other would not be a lasting solution, but it would allow her to secure her egg without leaving the computer systems with a gaping hole in them... or in the hands of Clee'san which wanted full control. Yes, maybe Arivek could earn his keep by putting Clee'san in her place. And vice versa. Shadi smirked at her brilliance.

"Zatra to Security," Shadi said, tapping her combadge before Clee'san even had a chance to respond. "Bring Arivek Zhuri to the main computer core. He has a job to do."

"I don't like this at all," Jolani told Shadi. "You can't trust him and the Captain confined it. On what authority do you do this?"

"She does this on the authority of the collective good, I approve of it. And yes, the one you call Arivek Zhuri is easily contained by one such as myself," Clee'san said. "Though we do not need Expedition Security to bring him to us."

The air shimmered, and a holographic form appeared in the air.

"I do not believe that you have a vote in this, Clee'san," Jolani responded, some irritation showing through her normal flat voice. Once Arivek appeared, she touched her commbadge and said, =^= Captain, we have a problem. Zhuri is in Engineering, having been summoned by Clee'san. =^=

Arivek rolled his eyes, "I'd much prefer to be asked to join you rather than being whisked away without notice," he said, not moving from the spot he was transported too. "What do you two knuckleheads want?"

"We need you to assisssst reintegrating system software drivers with the main computer that we rebuilt with Morning Star technology," Shadi said. "Jenkins went to go starve himself, and I... have other concernsss." She clutched her newly plopped egg to her chest. Her uniform hung from her body in ripped rags from the contorted strain of passing her egg.

"On the other hand," she looked pointedly at Arivek and Clee'san, "I believe you are both in violation of the Captain's orders. I expect he will respond shortly."

"Oh, go fly into a quasar, you salty old chimp," Shadi said, shuffling toward the door with her egg held dear. "If anybody needs me, I'll be in Sickbay."

"Perhaps it would be best if you both came in, instead of holding court outside of my chamber?" Clee'san ventured.

"I would like to point out that I didn't do anything wrong if I was transported here agaist my will," Arivek said.

Before anyone could answer, the air around them shimmered and Arivek and Jolani disappeared, leaving Shadi standing alone with her egg.

"Fan-starving-tastic," Shadi said, dripping with sarcasm. After a shrug, she left her crew mates to their fate in order to see her to her egg.

 

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