Circuit Boards, and More

Posted on Sun Apr 3rd, 2011 @ 3:46am by Lieutenant Tavish 'Tav' Ross & Lieutenant JG Talri

2,459 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: The Forests of Mythraeli
Location: Stellar Cartography

He had been aboard Calypso less than 48 hours and Tav was already neck-deep in maintenance and repair requests from various departments. What the last guy was doing with his time was a question he should have put to the captain, but it wasn't worth worrying about now. What was worth worrying about was the non-functioning or ill-functioning systems around the ship.

He entered the main level of stellar cartography, an impressive room with a huge holographic display screen on one wall. At least it would be impressive if the screen worked. Inside he found a young Vulcan junior grade Lieutenant in science uniform. Young, of course, probably meaning under 100 terran years old, but that was young, for a Vulcan.

"Lieutenant Talri?" he asked, as he approached.

Talri looked up as the man entered, and then stood. 'Greetings,' she said. 'Yes, I am Talri. I do not believe we have met. May I assist you with something?' she asked politely. Talri didn't recall meeting this individual before, but she was new enough to the ship to appreciate the opportunity to make his acquaintance.

Tav smiled at her, before replying, "no, but I believe I can assist you with that display."

He pointed towards the holographic display and followed his indication with an introduction. "I'm Tav Ross, the new Engineer onboard."

'It is good to meet you, Tav Ross,' said Talri. 'Particularly if you are able to repair this screen. There is no readily apparent cause for its malfunction,' she explained. 'It should have the capability to both display images and project three-dimensional holographic representations of systems above this table.' She pointed to a large round table in the center of the room. 'At present, it does neither.'

"I'll take a look at it," Tav replied. "When did it stop functioning?"

He walked over to a bulkhead and pulled the panel open exposing the isolinear circuitry and bio-neural gelpack beneath.

Talri thought for a moment. 'Between fifty-one and sixty-three hours ago,' she said. 'I am not certain of the exact time, as I was not present when it ceased to function. When I arrived the next morning, it was as you find it.' She paused briefly before adding, 'Your visit is rather earlier than I expected. It is most appreciated, I am aware that there are many problems in need of attention.'

"I have a list as long as ma' arm," Tav replied as he pulled a board from the exposed panel and checked it over. "But stellar cartography seems like a priority given our current situation."

'Indeed,' responded Talri, peering at the panel from where she was sitting. 'Thank you for the timely response. My work is inefficient without use of the display.'

Her gaze flickered then from the display to Ross himself. 'Lieutenant Ross,' she said, thoughtful. 'Would I be correct in stating that you are the new Chief Engineer?'

"You would," Ross answered, looking over and smiling. "Personal service from the chief, nothing unusual for me."

He pulled a second board out of the panel and replaced the first.

Talri nodded approvingly. 'I too am newly arrived aboard this ship,' she informed him. 'How do you find it, thus far?'

"I was on the Excalibur before this, which was also a big ship, but I think the Galaxys are far grander and more luxurious," Ross replied. "Much more comfortable a place to work."

'I agree, it is more comfortable than I expected a starship to be,' replied Talri. 'However, I do not have the same basis for comparison as you do, as this is my first Starfleet assignment.'

"How are you finding it?" Tav asked, as he removed a third board and then smiled at it, as though it were an old friend he hadn't seen in years.

'It is-' Talri stopped suddenly, puzzled by his smile. He was having an emotional reaction to a wall panel? Perhaps the circuitry behind it? Very odd. Talri elected not to comment. It was impolite to do so, over what was likely a momentary lapse. Instead, she continued: 'It is very different to the working environment on my homeworld. I find it quite interesting.'

"It's certainly different to working on a planet," he agreed. "There's nothing quite like travelling around seeing everything instead of just reading the data."

He looked up as he spoke and noticed Talri's slightly raised eyebrow. The look was often associated with a surprised or confused Vulcan, he smiled again, realising what it was that had confused her.

"I've not seen one of these panels since I was at the academy, we used them as training devices to practice circuitry testing," he explained. "And I think it might also be the problem here."

'You are...experiencing nostalgia?' There was the slightest hint of uncertainty in Talri's tone, and she continued quickly, 'What precisely do you believe to be the problem?' She got up from her chair and joined Tav by the panel, peering closely at the portion he was examining.

"The circuitry on this panel has been overloaded," he explained, indicating a number of slightly broken white tracks on the isolinear circuit board. "It's probably too old to cope with the sensor inputs for stellar cartography and the bioneural circuitry's speed."

'Then there is, I suppose, little sense in repairing it,' stated Talri. 'Can it be replaced with circuitry capable of handling stellar cartography's needs?' she asked him. Although she had little in the way of technical expertise, that didn't mean Talri didn't take an interest. Anything new she could discover about this ship was valuable to her.

"Of course, I'll have to replicate the new board, but I can fix this one temporarily now, which will keep you in business," Tav replied.

'Thank you,' said Talri. 'It has been quite difficult to work without it.' A moment later, she asked him, 'May I get you something to drink while you are working on it?'

"I'll have a coffee if that's ok," Tav replied. "Paksor blend, black."

He disconnected the faulty board from the panel and placed it on the floor, before pulling various tools from the belt he was wearing and placing them next to it.

Talri stood, and made her way over to the replicator to fetch Tav's coffee, and another cup of spiced tea for herself. She set both cups on the ground, where she settled down next to Tav, watching as he worked. She sipped at her tea before asking him: 'Did you always wish to be an engineer?'

"I was pulling things apart and putting them back together when I was a wee kid," Tav replied, smiling. "I guess I didn't realise I wanted to be an engineer, but when you think about it, it was a natural path."

'You had a natural talent for it, then,' Talri surmised. 'I do not suppose, however, that your family must have been very appreciative of your dismantling of their possessions,' she added, tilting her head slightly.

"No, I was an annoyance to my parents," he said with a chuckle. "Once I became a teenager it was a lot better, I had my own possessions to dismantle."

'Indeed,' said Talri. 'Perhaps then my daughter is herself a future engineer. She is quite given to the dismantling of possessions, although she has not yet progressed to the stage of reassembly. That, perhaps, is the greater problem.' Although Talri's expression remained neutral, she was inwardly amused by the thought of her little Amril taking apart things to see what was inside, as she had told her mother, and the notion that Lieutenant Ross might once have done similarly.

"It took me a few years before I could reassemble, particularly in the right order," Tav admitted. "How old is your daughter?"

He began using one of the tools on the board, which appeared to do very little other than flash a blue light at it, but his expression suggested it's intended function was working.

'She is four years old,' replied Talri, 'and my son is six. They are living on T'Khasi with their father,' she added, pre-empting the inevitable question. 'Do you have any children of your own?' she enquired.

"No, no," he replied, shaking his head. "I'm not married either. Some would allege that I'm married to starships, but that's getting old, I could perhaps settle down now I'm on a big ship which could support families."

'It is probably for the best,' said Talri. 'I do not believe that starships make particularly good spouses. I do, however, value the connections of kinship. It is likely that you would do the same.'

"I imagine so," Tav admitted. "I've just not gotten around to it yet, but if you know anyone seeking 'kinship' please point them in my direction."

He continued to slowly move the flashing tool around on the board watching the results carefully. It looked similar to the action a doctor would use for dermal regeneration.

It was a moment before Talri spoke again. It was an odd request, between two people that had only passing acquaintance, but she could not see another way to interpret his words. Compelled to seek clarification, she leant forward slightly, and while peering down at the board, said: 'You are asking me to find you a wife, Lieutenant?'

He looked up from the board, seeing the confused look on her face gave him a little kick reminding him she was Vulcan. "Not so directly. It was more of a joke, or a half-joke at least," he tried to explain. "What I mean is you don't have to actively find someone, but if you know of anyone who may have expressed an interest in someone like me, it would save me a lot of time and heartache."

He smiled, hoping that his explanation would make some sense to a Vulcan, although he wasn't all that convinced it made sense to himself.

Talri considered his words, and then shook her head. 'Human courtship is perplexing,' she told him. 'There are too many variables. The same could be said of your humour - forgive me the misunderstanding.'

"I think it's best not to attempt to understand," Tav replied with a smile. "You will find that human courtship and humour differs from place to place and culture to culture, so in fact, there are a lot more variables than you would expect."

'You are correct,' Talri told him. 'However, if I am to stay aboard this ship, it is necessary that I gain at least some small understanding of human behaviour in this particular place and culture, is that not so?'

"True," Tav confirmed. "Although, starship culture is a heck of a blend of different cultures, it's almost a culture in it's own right."

'Perhaps so. To a Vulcan, the similarities between human cultures outweigh their differences,' explained Talri. 'For me to see the finer gradations at this point would be akin to asking you the cultural variations between Shi'Kahr city and its provinces. They are there, yet it would not be easy for you to see them, unless you had spent much time among Vulcans.'

"Society is like that though, isn't it? Multi-layered?" Tav asked as he turned off the flashing instrument and placed it down. He picked up another tool and slowly followed one of the tracks on the board, carefully making slight turns in line with the track.

'Indeed,' Talri confirmed, then falling silent as she watched Tav working on the board with fine attention. Perhaps she was already distracting him too much with her talk, she reasoned.

As he completed the track he lifted the tool off and placed it on the floor with the others. "There," he said, with a note of triumph. "That should work for another couple of weeks, until I get the new board replicated and fitted."

'Thank you,' said Talri again, noting the satisfaction in his voice. She moved from her place next to him, slowly. 'It will be good to get back to work. I am also pleased to have had the opportunity to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant.'

"You're welcome," he replied. "And nice to meet you too."

He picked up the board and slotted it back into the panel, locking it in place with a couple of clips. He pressed his finger against a white square inside the panel and the room lit up as the holographic screen came to life.

"There you go, back in business."

Not wasting any time in being sure of its functionality, Talri immediately called up one of the Delta Quadrant star charts she had been intending to look over. The screen's projection was once again perfectly responsive, and she gave Tav a nod of approval. 'Completely functional,' she confirmed.

"Be careful of the size of charts you view, and minimise the overlays," Tav explained. "At least until I get that new board installed."

'I shall,' Talri agreed, 'as far as possible. You will contact me once you have the new board ready for installation - or must I make an official request for a replacement to be replicated? I am not yet entirely familiar with the procedures...'

"No, you've made a request for the repair, from that I can handle everything else," Tav replied. "I, or one of my team, will contact you to install the new board."

'Efficient,' said Talri. 'It is good to know.' She thought for a moment. 'Is there anything the science department might assist you or your department with at present? I should like...' what was the phrasing, in Standard? 'I should like to repay you for your assistance, through reciprocation.'

"Not at the moment," replied Tav. "You'll have to owe me one."

'One,' echoed Talri, once more with that lost-and-confused-Vulcan look momentarily on her face, but she decided not to ask for elaboration, instead nodding once more and stating, 'Then, Tav Ross, I am in your debt. However, I must now return to my work. Perhaps you will visit me here again another time.'

"I certainly will, thank you for the invite," he said, getting to his feet after collecting his tools. "And thank you for the conversation."

'You are welcome,' Talri told him, before turning back to the star system display in front of her.

:OFF:

Lieutenant JG Talri
Stellar Cartographer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant Tav Ross
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Calypso



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