Nothing to sneeze at

Posted on Fri Feb 11th, 2022 @ 3:47am by Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Lieutenant Commander Rin & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Intelligence
Timeline: Capetown mission, MD 15
2046 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

"S'hib, I'm not sure this is a good idea." Miraj hugged her padd with the QSD full feedback cradle to her chest as she followed the tall officer along the corridor to the intelligence blister. She'd felt awful when people had tried putting stuff in the shuttle bays without asking, and not much better when they had asked. this seemed like far too big an ask.

"Well obviously, if it was a good idea they would have done it already..." He laughed, looking around to see her face, and his joke landing somewhere on the floor behind her. "No but seriously, there is no harm in asking."

Miraj wasn't sure about that. "Alright, but if they start throwing things, I'm still hiding behind you."

“Bold of you to assume I won't throw you at them if they do.” He teased as they took a left turn, revealing the entrance to the intelligence department halfway down the corridor.

She gave him a look of mock outrage. "Do that and I'll tell colonel Azhul you've been throwing defenseless junior officers around."

"I'll just pass it off as a rapid course in zero-g training..." S'hib remarked, a big grin on his face as he turned and ducked under the entrance to the intelligence department, his eyes immediately scanning over the many cubicle offices for signs of a pair of furred and pointed ears.

"Can I help you with something, sir, ma'am?" A Bolian crewman asked, seeing the two non-intel officers hovering at the doorway.

Miraj elbowed S’hib, which given their height difference, poked him into the thigh.

S’hib made a surprised and somewhat pained sound as he instinctively clicked away from the threat while swatting at Miraj with his tail, knocking her forward an equally small amount with another surprised sound leaving her lips.

Quickly clearing his throat S’hib took a more forceful and intentional step forward, doing little more than highlighting the awkwardness the pair exuded. “We are looking for Lieutenant Rin, could you let her know we are here?” He snorted politely before crossing his arms behind his back and rocking on his hooves. He glanced back at Miraj, giving her a strange sort of smile that a father might, one who was well out of his depth after naively promising something that had a good chance of failing.

"She's in her office, sir. I'll let her know you're here." The Bolian entered the COI's office, emerging a moment later to return to his station while Rin exited and approached the newcomers.

"Welcome, Ensign, Commander. Shall we take this to my office?"

"Lead the way," S'hib said with a deep bow of his head, though due to his equine physiology it was more of an exaggerated bob, keeping his eyes fixed on Lieutenant Rin.

Rin matter-of-factly led them back to her office, stiffly dropping into her chair behind the desk and offering chairs to her visitors.

S'hib ducked low under the office door as he followed the Lieutenant inside, placing a large equine hand on the door frame for support as he did so. "I'm S'hib by the way, assistant chief of security..." he said as he moved to one side and letting Miraj follow in.

"And this," He snorted proudly, extending a hand out slightly as though it would be hard to miss the bright-haired Boslic. "Is Ensign Miraj... our chief flight officer..."

Rin nodded. "The ensign and I crossed paths briefly on the last mission. Good to meet you, LCDR S'hib. What can I do for you?"

"We have some plans for an experimental helm, one that would greatly help the Ensign in her role... however, it goes far beyond the scope of simply modifying the existing helm... so we want to install a new one," S'hib stated, gesturing towards Miraj who was still somewhat hiding behind him.

"At the front of the intelligence blister, which obviously would require a major redesign... but you do have sufficient floor space to do so."

Miraj's eyes were starting to itch, prickling all around the edges, and she resisted the urge to rub at them. S'hib's description wasnt wrong, but he'd been far more direct that she was capable of being.

"What sort of redesign? Why would it not work on the bridge?" Rin asked.

"Space, probably. its not a small little conn. But you'd need to be trained for it. Most conn officers don't actually know how to fly stick. they'll probably -" The Itch was in Miraj's nose now, and she sniffed sharply, trying to get it ot go away. "-probably want to keep a standard d-pad configuration "

"I mean how would this redesign be beneficial? What's to be gained from it? How is it superior to the current configuration?"

"For the QSD. You have to hold the ship within a very smal area of ultra warped space, the slipstream. To stay there you need maximum responsiveness from the con, and maximum reaction from the pilot. A d-pad is a pretty unnatural interface, things are largely in the wrong place for splitsecond maneovering on- " Argh, that bloody itch. Back right we#here she first eflt it, tickling. "-Manoevering on micromanoeiver levels. A stick is more natural, and more sensitive. A double stick more so, and then you can maximise it by making a force feedback cradle and use that to communicate the turbulance in the corridor. The iniertial dampner and the antigrav minimises that though normally, so its harder to know how well you're doing on pure vision, especially as you don't have anything close to even 180 vision, let alone 360, and -" Miraj stopped to draw breath and the itch travelled perilously further up her nose. "And, yeah, well. more time within the slipstream safe margins, faster position adjustment. more time in Slipstream. 5 light years a second for as long as possible." She finished, trying to subtly dig a knuckle into her nose to stop a sneeze.

"But...didn't they consider this when they developed the QSD? Clearly they thought it workable from the traditional conn station, yes?"

"I could say the same thing about your office door... It works, yes... but it could do with some improvement from my point of view, same with the QSD and its helm, simply put... it works, but it has limitations, limitations we can mitigate with this new... design, Miraj are you ok?" S'hib asked as his focus shifted to the Ensign.

"And, yet, there are reasons we don't re-engineer the doors every time someone has an idea how to do such," Rin replied. "From what you're describing, this sounds more like something to do in drydock, create a whole new space to properly house what you propose, assuming, of course, engineering and ops approve your plans."

Miraj was concentrating very hard on the tickle in her right nostril, as if sheer force of will could hold it in place and stop the sneeze that trying to sneak up on her. "Er, yes?" she told S'hib. "Sorry, what was the question?"

"I will admit," S'hib started. "it's a somewhat ambitious idea... and still very much in the planning phase, but if anything it would be a very good cross-department exercise, one that I would oversee of course..."

"How is it a cross-department exercise?" Rin asked. "How would this involve Intelligence other than giving up space?"

"Well, moving your replicator is one thing..." S'hib replied with a firm but understanding tone, not backing down from the Lieutenants jab.

"but the LCARs and other terminals down in the blister have sensitive information installed, any teams working to retrofit and uninstall hardware would need to be shadowed by your department as a matter of internal security, security that goes beyond the scope of my department I'm afraid..."

"And that sensitive information is part of my concern. The blister has its own space for a reason, and that space is limited. Surely there are other, less utilized areas on Elysium that could be used?" Rin asked.

Piloting really needed to be close to the center chair, and Miraj was going to say as much, when the sneeze she'd been trying to conquer finally managed to outflank her willpower and - "AACHOO!!"

The sneeze was so hard it threw her forward in her seat and a sudden stabbing pain in the ribs told her she'd pulled something. Miraj opened her reddening eyes, moved her hand from her mouth, and looked around for the replicator as she needed a handkerchief. "Er, scuse me."

"Computer, facial tissues, please," Rin said, turning to the replicator behind her desk. After it materialized, she offered up the box to Miraj.

"Thank you, ma'am," Miraj sniffed, and blew her nose noisily. She'd been used to sneezing in childhood when exploring the old wrecks her father had been recovering, but never had an issue on a spacecraft as filtered and sparkling as the Elysium. "Don't what came over me."

"There isn't anywhere else this experimental helm can go, Ensign Miraj needs to be on the bridge and she needs direct communication with her command staff in the event comms are jammed..." besides, Miraj has a tangible connection, physically to the Elysium... or any ship for that matter... so this, more secluded environment that I'm proposing would benefit not just her... but all of us."

He stated confidently as he gently placed the PADD down on Rins desk. "The Captain might even say no anyway, but we wanted to ask your permission first."

Rin considered. "How about this...I'll write up my concerns and we'll see what the engineers have to say about it. Space is an issue, but my main concern is security. We can't have pilots just walking in and out of one of the most classified areas of the ship."

"What do you think?" S'hib beamed, slapping Miraj on the back, somewhat forgetting he was a Sequus and she was not as his hoofed digits clattered against her.

Miraj's brain had frozen with Rin's comment about classified areas. It had never occurred to her when she'd been working on her plan that she'd be wandering in and out of intelligence. And the chance that she might then persuade someone to look up information on her mother. Lost in the possibilities Miraj didn't even see S'hib move, and she was slammed forward by the strength of the horseman, and her arms crashed into Rin's desk top as she tried to break her fall. "That's fair. I mean. thank you for listening. I don't want to be a burden so its okay, if you know, you don't want to and I'm just happy that ACHOO!!" Miraj blinked in surprise and grabbed for a tissue. "Happy that -" she sneezed again, and again and again until her chest hurt as much as her back and arms and her eyes were red and streaming. "Sorry about that."

"I appreciate you reaching out." After the next sneezing fit, Rin set what she hoped was a supportive hand on Miraj's shoulder. "Should we help you to sickbay? You look acutely distressed."

Miraj was going to say, I'm fine, its nothing, just a sniffle. But the moment she took a breath another stream of sneezing took her, and she collapsed back into the chair, wheezing.

"Alright, Ensign, slow breaths. Sit back, relax, work on slow deep breaths," Rin coached.

Miraj tried, but it only lessened a little, and she felt pulled between sneezing, coughing and rubbing her eyes. And everytime she managed to take a deep breath, it just set off the sneezing.

Concern grew as he watched Miraj, pulling his hand towards his comm badge "S'hib to sickbay, we have a medical emergency," He snorted, pulling the chair Miraj was sitting on away from the desk. "Notify Sthilg that Miraj is having respiratory problems and that I am on route with her." He added as he leaned down, sliding an arm under Miraj's leg before lifting her as if she weighed nothing at all.

"Lieutenant, you have the plans... we'll have to discuss this more another time." He added apologetically, backing out of her office while leaning under the door frame, rushing into the rest of the intelligence command centre and towards the exit.

"Absolutely, Commander."