Lieutenant JG No.

Posted on Thu Jan 20th, 2022 @ 6:39pm by Lieutenant Myne Redal & Captain Natacha Patani
Edited on on Mon Jan 24th, 2022 @ 5:21am

Mission: Season 5: Episode 3: CAPETOWN
Location: Myne's cabin
Timeline: Set after mission
1869 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

//ON//

Natacha was about to leave her cabin when she paused. On a whim, she grabbed a couple of items from a hard shell cased with the punchline "Not as tough as a Marine, are you Batman?" engraved on it. With that last action, Natacha went to check on her little Trill friend.

Natacha was relieved that, at least in the portions of the starship she was traversing, she was still able to interface with the ship's computer. So using the computer's direction to guide her, Natacha made it to the Trill's quarter in record time.

Natacha also had the computer send a copy of her last communication to the ship's counseling department. Obviously the computer couldn't tell Natacha why Myne was receiving counseling from, or even if she was receiving counseling. But the computer would ensure that the communication, along with Natacha's concern over the change of tone in the last part of the communication, was put in the right electronic mailbox.

Natacha got all that done just as she arrived at Myne's quarter. Giving her tunic a habitual tug, Natacha signaled her presence at the cabin's door before entering.

The cabin did have many signs of being lived in. If anything there were three signs of occupancy. One was a small shelf with mechanical oddities, small ones, that did not seem familiar at first glance. The other was another shelf full of things that belonged to a Vulcan apparently. Th third was a box in a corner full of mechanical components.

At the desk in the cabin, in the chair, stood Myne, her fingers mindlessly tapping on her PaDD in a sequence, from one finger to the other. She was staring emptily in space until Natacha arrived, only snapping to attention once the marine arrived.

"Ah, welcome Captain Patani. You will excuse me if I do not get up to shake your hand." Myne spoke with a strange tone. It was still her body, her voice, but her eyes seemed colder a bit. Distant somehow, bereft of the joy for life she showed during the short time they spent together.

"Of course, Myne," the Marine answered, concern in her voice. "And I just want to say again, you haven't done anything wrong. You've just raised concerns about the Detachment's security system in a very unorthodox way. That's all I wanted to talk to you about. That, and to make sure you're okay."

An eye was raised, judging Natacha very closely and critically before the expression turned to one of exhaustion for a moment. "Give me a moment please." Her eyes closed and she shivered then opened her eyes and the look was much more familiar, though weary. Sheepishly Myne looked up at Natacha and seemed to try to appear as small as possible in her chair.

"Are you sure I am not in trouble?" She asked in her familiar tone. Quite a shift from just a few moments prior. "You guys are marines, no disrespect but there's no such thing as a perfect system. Even shields can be bypassed if you catch the frequency in time and manage to counter it. You can even vibrate a ship apart if you want if you use proper frequency on the plates with a focused maser beam." The nerd talk being back was a clear sign that this was indeed Myne again.

A half smile appeared on Natacha's face as she cautiously approached the little Trill, trying to "radiate" harmlessness. Kneeling in front of the operations officer, Natacha continued, "I'm sure you're not in trouble. And trust me, because I'm a Marine, I know system is not perfect. We're the Corps, after all, not the 'Fleet. Starfleet gets all the newest, best toys and whine when they don't work perfectly. Marines get the crap no one else wants and make it work in spite of itself. That's one of our credos, after all. We adapt, we improvise, we overcome. So no system is perfect. But it doesn't mean we don't try to plug holes when we find them.

Natacha paused before continuing. "So I want to emphasize again that you're not in trouble. But I do have some questions and, if you don't mind, some observations."

Myne listened and made her best to be small and harmless in her chair as Natacha approached her. Shivering slightly as the marine officer knelt in front of her chair, making the Trill pull her legs up, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around them. "Yeah, Starfleet gets nice toys, but they are poorly optimized to work together half the time. Which is why we actually have a Ops department really, to monitor all the pieces."

Resting her right cheek on a knee she looked away. "I only wanted to give you a nice gift to cheer you up. The stories about your homeworld sounded so sad, I wanted to give you something to make you happy. I didn't mean to upset anyone. You can ask things if you want."

"You observed that no system is perfect, and that's true," Natacha began. "But did you consider what would have happened if your insertion device had not been perfect, and had not accomplished your goal as planned? The Elysium was having to deal with temporal anomalies at the time. What would have happened if your delivery system had been affected by one of these anomalies? Or what would have happened if your AI had thought it had gotten past a sensor undetected and it hadn't? Can you imagine the alarms that would have been raised, the resources and personnel that would have been diverted for what you thought was just a harmless prank?"

Myne's expression changed to one of confusion and worry. "Temporal what now?! M-my delivery system was harmless. Literally a small spider, worse case scenario if time thingy was involved then it would have rusted. Or gotten fried by something! I did take every variable into account, tailored the AI specifically to search and do one thing only as the whole purpose of its existence. To get to you cabin safely in the most non invasive manner possible."

Hiding her face into her legs she shook her head. "I did not consider it would get discovered. Sensors are easy to fool if you know the frequency patterns they use, so that part didn't really pose any trouble."

"There was an incident on Enterprise-D, about two or three decades ago, involving a T-Cell stimulator. One developed by a Trill researcher," Natacha added. "The technology had been around for centuries, and the stimulator used was just a refinement on past models. Nothing revolutionary about it. The device was used to treat a minor ailment, in the same fashion it had been used thousands of times before. The doctor who used it is considered one of those figures the rest of Starfleet Medical aspire to become. Like you with your sensor frequency patterns, she didn't think the minor ailment posed any trouble." Natacha paused before she added, "If you've never heard of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome, look it up. It almost decimated the entire crew of the flagship of Starfleet. And, as I said, the doctor at the time didn't think any part of the treatment posed any trouble."

Myne shook her head again. "No, I didn't hear about it. I am sorry Captain Patani. It was a harmless gesture. I promise not to do it again, just don't tell anyone. Pretty please. I don't want to get kicked out of Starfleet. Without Starfleet, Vede will hurt me again and I... please Captain Patani. I promise not to ever ever do anything like this again." Myne trembled softly as she was struggling with holding back tears of fear.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Natacha said, as she stood up and approached the operations officer. "You pointed out a gap in the Marine security system, and that's a good thing. There was just a better way to point it out. A more controlled, productive way," Natacha added. Not quite sure what she needed to do, and not sure who this Vade was (a past host perhaps? Natacha asked herself), Natacha decided to try to emulate a holonovel she once watched. Natacha pulled the little Trill's head to her heart, patted the Myne's head and repeated "There there."

It didn't take a lot of encouragement to have Myne wrap her arms around Natacha and simply stay there. Letting the stronger woman comfort her as she calmed down. Took a few long, silent minutes before Myne finally pulled away, still not daring to look Natacha in the eyes. But at least her feet were back on the floor once more as she fiddled with her fingers. "What happens now?" She finally asked in a calmer, steadier tone.

"Now you promise me not to do something like that again," Natacha said gently. "If you feel like there is a gap you could exploit, talk to the head of your department, and then help fix it in a controlled manner. And any time you start believing that no one could possibly outthink or outfight you because you have centuries of experience at your beck and call...well, look up the Riddle of the Da'Harkey sometime. It's an enlightening lesson for the long-lived. For now, why don't you get some sleep?" Natacha paused before adding, "And thank you for the bear. It was a nice gesture."

"I promise. But I didn't want to exploit anything. Just wanted to give you a nice surprise." Myne replied softly. "I am glad you like the bear. Maybe I will give the Riddle of Doohikey a read I guess. Please believe, all I wanted to do was give you a gift."

"Good," Natacha said with a nod. "You rest now, and we'll talk about it later." With one last smile, Natacha exited the little Trill's room.

As soon as Natacha was in the corridor, a look of grim determination took hold of her face. Part of her brain concerned itself with setting up a session with a counselor, to help Natacha determine what she needed to do to help Myne. Bit most of Natacha's mind was concerned with her own professional failure, and what she was going to have to do to rectify her gross shortcomings.

Nodding, Myne remained silent for a long time, alone in her room. Her hand moved after ten minutes or so to cover one side of her face, while the other faced the mirror with a vicious grin. The face that stared back in the mirror belonged to a tall, very well built, handsome Trill man.

"I told you foolish girl. It was just a matter of time. In the end, everyone betrays you. No exceptions. This one is even a marine and I know marines. They shot me in the chest but this one likes you a little bit. I am sure she'll aim right for that pretty face of yours. Soon, without me little girl, you'll be nothing but another corpse. Believe me, or my name isn't DaiMon Vede Redal!"

//OFF//

Captain Natacha Patani
Marine Executive Officer
USS Elysium

Lieutenant JG Myne Redal
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Elysium