Watts Or Amps?

Posted on Sat Oct 15th, 2022 @ 10:00am by Captain Samuel Woolheater & Staff Warrant Officer Reo'thanra Sandtail

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Marine Armory
1938 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON:]

Reo'thanra Shot the door to the Armory a death Glare as he waved his arms again to try and get the doors sensors to activate. "Come on damnit..." he muttered before with a soft woosh the door finally parted. Making a mental note to Manually adjust the Doors sensors down a few feet when he got back to his quarters he stepped in and glanced around, his armored Diplomats Uniform looking Even more out of place then it normally did. With out preamble he strode towards the Duty officers Station. "Do you have any Spare Pulse capacitor banks I could charge something at?" He asked, his voice smoothly modulated by the universal Translator system.

It was late, for most people. This was Sam's middle of the day (at night) on the gamma shift. Woolheater was standing at an LCARS terminal, working on a series of physical fitness and score reports. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his friend Reo come in. He decided to have just a little fun and tease the Arten diplomat. Without looking Sam said, "What the hell does this look like to you? You think this is a radio shack and you're here for a free battery-of-the-month? What would an annoying...furry...hot headed, flea bit lil' scrapper with a bushy tail and a nasty attitude want with a spare pulse capacitor?" Sam remained typing onto the panel as best he could but he did have to bite his lips and fought to hide the grin on his face.

"My Carbine is struggling to fully charge on the Panel i've got in my Suite, And I just realized that the power output of this ships main reactor might be too high for my tech to function properly..." he said as he shrugged his expression narrowing. "And I already went to security they sent me here," he muttered before adjusting his armor. "And there's no need to be Rude,' he added quietly his expression darkening.

Sam stopped typing and looked over at the Arten. "Security sent you here huh? Ain't that swell." He put the PaDD he had in his hand on his desk and approached. The Arten looked like he was having a bad day. Sam said, "I didn't know a bad ass Arten diplomat did something just because somebody told him to. Where's the hotter-than-the desert, rapid fire, wicked tongued Arten marine that showed me a kick ass weapon?"

"Currently freezing his tail off in this Frozen ass armory you call Home," he said with a coy, fanged grin. He then gave a soft chuckle, his ears folding back. " Besides, You can't tell me you're not Wanting to get another look at the Weapon itself,"

"Ah, there he is. I wondered when we'd meet the old man. So? What's up with you? You having a shitty day or what?" Sam extended his hands as he sat down on a stool and wanted to see the carbine. "Lemme see? Maybe we can get your lil' pop gun to work."

"A long day...spending lots of days with Dozens of calls back to the confederacy...they're considering posting some Marines here, since there's been tension on some of the other diplomatic missions." Reo muttered as as he lifted the Carbine up. "Pop gun?" he asked, his voice cracking and growing harsher as the words were said aloud, and free of the translators tuning. "is that a Human weapon?"

Sam grinned as he examined the weapon and looking at Reo said, "You need to not take things so seriously. There's a time for serious; but that ain't now when you're with friends. Yes, your lil' pop gun here. I like it. Small, I mean to me, and fits nicely. Light weight and packs a punch." He turned the weapon over and revealed the charging port. "This isn't a standard port. Not on a Starship it ain't. We'll have to go and measure the inputs and then, maybe, we can replicate an adapter. Then you can charge it wherever you want to." He handed the weapon back to Reo. "I'm sorry your day is shitty. Maybe we can make it better. C'mon? Lets go to the small arms fabrication bay. We cen see how well I paid attention to power couplings and plasma alignment?" Sam got to his feet, "Ready?"

"Sure." Reo said with a smile, his tail swaying about. "I'm sure you'd have your hands full if Some Confederacy Marines were brought on board," He chuckled.

They exited the office and Sam walked towards the small arms area. Along the way were marines doing weight lifting, training, wrestling in hand to hand and drill. "I'm sure we would. You would want it all so hot in here the beer would get warm. But, y'know, maybe we would adapt? Maybe we're not as dumb as we look?" They were passing by the coffee mess and Sam asked, "You want anything? A drink perhaps? It'll take me some time to run a few tests before we can see if the replicator can make a power adapter for your carbine. I'm getting a raktajino. Can I get you something?"

Reo chuckled. "oh...only if the Marines are from Artania...if they're from Telacha you'll be quiet comfortable, if they're from Cordia you'd freeze your tits off," he smiled and shook his head. "I'll have a.." he thought for a moment. "London Fog." he said in english, his voice rough and sharp in an untranslated fashion.

Sam nodded and made a Klingon coffee for himself and a London Fog tea for Reo. When the tea hot milk for the tea was frothy, he finished pouring and then handed the hot beverage over to him. "This way" he said as they entered the fabrication bay. In a few minutes, the Carbine was scanned and then the computer began to analyze the charging port. As the computer did the necessary calculations, Sam asked, "Why so much turmoil in the diplomatic department for your people?"

"Another diplomat was nearly killed when the ship He was on was boarded," Reo shrugged. "He's had to be Recalled to Telacha for medical treatment..." He winced. "Near assassinations do tend to...sour the water,"

"Yeah, I can see that happening. I can see that being a problem. Well?" He paused a moment, took a sip of hot coffee and said, "When you join the Federation then your problems, become our problems. That's kind of a benefit of being a member. You'd get a seat on the Federation Council and a vote in the Federation itself. If you're people are hurting and need help...why the delay in joining?"

"For one...our Military would have to integrate with Star Fleet and we're not sure if we could do that smoothly.." the alien shrugged, his tail flicking. "But the biggest reason is more of a...dead lock between us.." he paused and glanced away. "Some of the Federations laws ..conflict heavily with our own."

San grinned, "Oh? This'll be interesting. Like what? You guys marry your cousins or what?""

Reo Fell quiet, his expression dour as he shifted. "Remember how hot the Holodeck was when you and I first met?" he asked.

"Yeah, you bet I remember. Don't tell me now that that was the "low" setting?"

"It was," He said with a soft sigh. "My home...Artania is a Hot planet...Very hot.." he tapped his armors chest plate. "57c on average, though it can get hotter or cooler depending on certain factors.." he paused and exhaled. "Well...to make a long story shorter...Myself..and Every other Arten who's Considered a Dunepaw...we're Genetically engineered. An artificial species...of sorts."

Sam smiled and said, "Is that it? That is not a big deal Reo. The Federation is not just a club for Humans. OK? There's lots of planets that aren't real comfortable for Humans. Vulcan is one, Ferenginar is another, Andoria ain't no picnic either. OK? It's not a big deal. Genetically engineered - you say it like it's bad. A hundred years ago, it was illegal to have genetically engineered people in Starfleet. Hell, twenty-five years ago it still wasn't a cake-walk for some. Earth tried eugenics; we failed. I'm frankly glad. Federation has grown more tolerant, more open. OK? We've got Ex-Borg running around here like they own the place. I'm drinking Klingon coffee and I love it. We've got horses, cats, lizards and whatever else escaped out of the barn. I saw a flying toaster on the last mission and that Exocomp is a part of the crew. This is a diverse crew and hopefully, is representative of the Federation as a whole. Nothing you have said is anything to worry about my man. OK? Just relax, it will all work out. And, 57c...yuck. Starfleet finds out about that they'll make it part of the Academy graduation exam." Woolheater smiled and offered Reo a fistbump. "Let's see if we can't get you a power converter for your lil' pea shooter over there ay?"

Reo smiled and returned the earth gesture. "Well..ON paper two thirds of our population are..illegal according to the federation charter." he said. "But I'm glad to hear you're not so bigoted."

"Naahhh...people are slow to change. And I don't just mean humans. I'm human you know? But my folks are colonists from Earth to Pacifica. That's my home. I like Earth, aw hell's yeah, but my home is Pacifica. You prolly wouldn't like it though. It's deliciously cool. Sunny, hot in the day. But the breeze comes in off the seas...OMG...very nice." Sam picked up the carbine and flipped it over. The computer said, Analysis complete.

"OK...I bet you weren't able to get a full charge huh? Our power systems operate at a higher frequency. Now, I ain't no Engineer, but I can read. It looks like, all we need to do....is just lower the amplitude by a few points? Maybe...three or four percent. And then modulate it down the closer we get to a full charge. That was the power system won't think there's a feedback loop and shut itself off. OK? We can do this Reo. Hot damn. OK? Prepare to be dazzled!"

"I'm Ready," the alien said with a coy grin, his tail swaying slightly. "Hey I really appreciate your help with all of this," He added as he shifted in place. "Do a good enough job And I'll see about getting you some Boarding Munitions from the Confederacy armory."

"Ah, no problem. What are friends for?" he asked and then he addressed the LCARS terminal and executed a fabrication routine to create the power module. In a minute, the fabricated power adapter was ready. Sam held it in his hand and said, "Can I cook or what?"

Sam handed the part over to Reo and showed him on the weapon where to attach it. So that the charging port aligned up the right way. "OK? Let's try getting some juice from the ol' lemon squeezer? Plug it in over here? There you go. Right. Green light. Is it charging?"

It wasn't long after and a few more tests that the problem of h a charged weapon was no more.

"I need to return to my duties Reo, thanks for stopping by. And be careful with that. Remember, if anything goes wrong with it - take it to Engineering" Sam said.


[OFF:]

SWO Reo Sandtail
(Signed off by Woolheater)

&

Captain Samuel Woolheater
Operator of Fabrication Units, Teller of Tall Tales, Coffee Drinker