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1. [USS Capricorn] Some Cheng Things
From: "Rob" <xagnut@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
________________________________________________________________________
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 18:57:11 -0500
From: "Rob" <xagnut@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [USS Capricorn] Some Cheng Things
MD 2:1718
Vexing, so many humanoids were vexing. A'kora watched Moran continue
on his way. Lieutenant Orgola had said the issue with the Ferrians and
the color green was something sexual, surely it would have taken little
more than a few moments to explain. A sexual taboo, or more likely a
ritualistic mating behavior initiated by a particular color. Many
species were known to exhibit such instinctual behavior and even in
advanced beings and cultures there were some vestiges of primitive
behavior. Otherwise, low cut blouses would not be so popular in so
many human cultures.
Even if Ferrians were to be aroused by the sight of the color green it
did
not fully explain the irrational demands from the Captain. Could these
Ferrians not control their urges? Surely they had enough self control
to function on planets other than their own. Without further
information A' kora could only speculate and continue to operate with
the theory that it was more of the fawning behavior of which the
Federation currently indulged
the Ferrian delegation.
How in-depth could the explanation be? There was no reason, no logical
one, for Lieutenant Orgola to require a later meeting to explain when
he simply could have requested she accompany him on his way to oversee
the shift change. Fortunately, she was not confined by logic in the
same way true Vulcans were. The young Lieutenant's attentions were
flattering and while A 'kora was not openly encouraging them, she had
not yet decided to discourage them either. Her assignment to the
Capricorn was proving to be rather a different than she had first
thought. Not unpleasant. Different.
"Hey Snipe!" A voice interrupted A'kora's thoughts.
"I beg your pardon, crewman." She turned, her right eyebrow arched in
a typically Vulcan disdainful manner. Snipe being a marginally
insulting term for those who chose to make engineering their specialty
just as those who were undesignated deck hands were called "deck apes";
it was the sort of rough joking that A'kora found quite agreeable in a
crew. It required a sense of family, of belonging, before a crew could
feel comfortable enough
to indulge in casual rudeness.
"Uh.. uh.. I'm sorry Sir! I mean Ma'am! I mean Commander! The
crewman, a Trill from his spotty patterned skin, but not a joined
trill; he didn't have the ageless depth in his eyes. A'kora allowed
herself to be amused as he floundered for another moment. One of her
most illogical indulgences was observing humanoids as they tried to
back out of an uncomfortable situation she had created.
"Crewman." She decided to rescue him. "As I am in the habit of
wearing work coveralls instead of the more traditional daily uniform
you can hardly be faulted for failing to properly recognize whom you
were speaking to." She tapped the insignia embroidered on her vest
pocket. "But the title you are seeking is Cheng."
"Umm, yes Ma'am. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"Nevertheless, you have a question which you feel someone from
Engineering is qualified to answer. What might it be?"
"Well, it's probably too small to bother you with, Ma'am, but if you
insist." He paused, and when A'kora nodded, then continued.
"I've been working on a holonovel." He explained. "Programming one.
They require a great deal of detailed programming. A lot of working
with the ship's library as well, as the program I'm working on
simulates a historical period."
"And?"
"And, well, first of all, the ship's data retrieval is, well, sluggish.
And it seems like bits of the information in storage is scrambled.
Out of sequence."
"You are not the first to have made not of slow response times in data
retrieval." A'kora noted. "The number of trouble reports on this
issue has shown a marked increase since the Baryon sweep. The
engineering staff is currently looking into this matter."
"Oh. Well sorry to disturb you then, Ma'am."
"On the contrary." A'kora remarked. "The amount of data involved in
your project, the level of detail it requires, and more to the point,
as your personal taste changes there are a vast number of calculations
you perform to tailor your program. This makes your project uniquely
suited to discovering the source of the dysfunction."
"I thought you said it was the Baryon sweep."
"A common mistake. I said there has been an increase in complaints
about unusual computer response time since the Baryon sweep. While
there is a concurrence of the incidents, one does not have to be the
cause of the other. In true fact, I have serious doubts."
"From my review, the previous Cheng provided more than adequate
shielding to the computer memory banks during the Baryon sweep. More
to the point, the damage to the computer systems would be much more
grievous had the shielding been inadequate."
"But you have no need for a complete listing of the steps taken to this
point, suffice to say you can assist in isolating the fault. If you
could collect a complete and detailed list of the errors in your
program. In all permutations which you have developed since the Baryon
sweep, as well as a copy of the source code if you have the original
available. I will inform the Engineering Officer of the Watch to
expect the submission of your report."
"Yes Ma'am." He replied. "Though it might take a couple hours to get
all that data collected and correlated."
"Of course." She cocked her head slightly. "And you are off duty at
this time. At your convenience then, crewman. At this moment there is
no logical reason to burden you in an undue fashion. A system
retrieval delay that is measured in tens of picoseconds is not a cause
for alarm. Only noticeable by someone indulging in a complicated
program such as yourself."
"You said there had been other reports of failures."
"Not failures." A'kora corrected him. "Not as such. System delays.
The sheer number of computations required for some ship operations
creates a situation where the delay is noticeable. Mostly in esoteric
engineering applications and some reports from stellar cartography."
"To this point, it is nothing more than an annoyance for some. I
would, however, prefer to discover the source of this issue before it
further develops and becomes an annoyance for the Captain."
"I will get my data together for you as soon as possible, Ma'am."
"Your next duty period if you wish, crewman." She told him. "As I
said before, it is not yet something to disturb your rest over."
"Sure." He smiled. "But if it's going to cause problems with my
programming then I've got nothing better to do now anyways."
"As you wish." She nodded and then continued on towards the turbolift
and her stateroom.
MD 2:1755
She had changed into a regular uniform. Since she commonly ate her
meals in her office, her entrance did not go unnoted. There were few
in the lounge, however, who would recognize her mode of dress as
unusual, A'kora had not been on the ship long enough to have her habits
observed so well except by her own staff and a few other officers.
Moran was not present, but she had not expected such. Shift change was
not an exact science even in a department as controlled as engineering.
Security was rather less of a controlled environment than many
departments and it could conceivably delay the Lieutenant for a half
hour or longer.
TAGS:
Anyone with a computer timing issue they want to develop, anyone who
wants to be in the lounge at about 1800 and, of course, Moran.
Respectfully submitted by,
RF Bergeron
AKA
Lt. Commander A'kora
Cheng USS Capricorn
*** Summary ***
MD 2:1718 A'kora muses over things green and then encounters a crewman
with
computer problem.
MD 2:1755 After changing into a regular uniform, instead of her
habitual
coveralls, A'kora enters the lounge to await Moran.
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