Go fetch...

Posted on 28 May 2016 @ 5:14am by EBH Mark I "Raven" & Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova

2,130 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3 - Sickbay
Timeline: MD06, 1030 hours

[ON]

"Raven to Lieutenant Kirilova, I'd like to please see you in sickbay," said the ship's EBH over the intercom system. "I have a special request for your department." There was something that had been on her mind for some time, but between the renovations to sickbay and the new chief engineer, she felt that now would be the time.

Seated at her office desk, Natalya didn't seem to have anything terribly important in front of her, except for the never-ending list of reports and correspondence on her computer terminal, of course. Her brow furrowed slightly as she considered the request. Who is Raven? She thought for a moment before replying. "I'll be right there." It seemed like an odd request at first... many of the crew sent requests via work order or computer contact, or came to engineering if they wanted to see her directly. Still, surprises could be fun.

Arriving in the medical bay a few minutes later, Natalya glanced around at the altered surroundings first. She'd heard about the... redecoration, but not the full extent of it. The new coloring was pleasant, but the assortment of archaic surgical instruments on display gave the place a rather invasive vibe.

"Natalya!" exclaimed a younger-looking woman, clad in a strange, decidedly gothic, attire. Perhaps it was Tuula's influence, but of all the physical matrices she could choose from, Raven loved this one the best. "I'm Raven," she added, approaching the chief engineer for a handshake. "Don't you just love what they've done with the place!"

Natalya looked confused at first, for several reasons. She had no idea who Raven was, but the young woman seemed to be familiar enough with her. She was also a bit taken aback at first because Raven looked very similar to her cousin Lena, who lived in Miami, on Earth. It couldn't have been her, of course, but the likeness was remarkable.

"Hi Raven." Natalya said with a smile, somewhat charmed at the other woman's enthusiasm. She shook her hand, taking note of Raven's unconventional taste. She appeared to be wearing fishnet stockings as sleeves, and was that... a corset? Definitely interesting additions for an intimate encounter, but as casual wear aboard a Starfleet vessel? Natalya was not that bold.

"The choice of color is very... lively." Natalya said. But the decor might not be up to code. She kept that to herself for now. The surgical implements would be safety hazards at best until they were properly encased and secured. And even then they were displayed to questionable taste. "You work here in the medical bay?" Natalya inquired, curious to know if Raven had a role on the ship, or if she was a family member or civilian passenger.

"No," replied Raven. "I'm the emergency babysitting hologram. I just like to hang out here because there aren't many places on the ship that have holo-emitters." She glanced over at the decorations on the wall. "Plus I like the decor."

"Ah, of course." Natalya said evenly. Though she hadn't exactly been expecting it, she was not surprised to find herself talking to another hologram. She was not so paranoid to think that they were taking over the ship, but their increasing prevalence was a source of concern for the engineer. Perhaps one day a hologram would be created to supplant her... however unlikely that might seem. Software relied upon hardware to function, and therefore using software to repair damaged hardware was not sound logic.

"Well it's nice to meet you Raven, what can I do for you?" Natalya said, making an effort to be polite. Her previous interactions with Shirley, the EMH had probably not left a positive impression of her on that hologram. Hopefully the two of them did not interact enough for the EBH to be aware of that.

"This is a bit of an awkward request, but I need some maintenance hatches and covers." She handed a PADD to Natalya. Over the past week, Raven had gone through Copper's activity logs with a fine-toothed comb, calculating how long it took him to do various mundane tasks such as repairing a plasma relay, and flagging any repairs that took longer than they should have. She ended up with a list of hatches and covers all throughout the ship that Copper had likely painted. "Specifically, these ones," she added, as Natalya took the PADD.

Natalya's expression glitched as she considered the request. She'd seen many strange things in her years of service, but Raven's request was easily up there in the top five. Maybe the top three. She had absolutely no idea what the EBH was hoping to accomplish with this request, but she would at least hear it through; curiosity demanded as much. "That can be arranged. But for the record I need to ask why. Removing those covers and panels will adversely affect the ship's environmental integrity on multiple decks." Natalya managed to reply in an even tone.

The EBH paused for a moment and considered the request. Natalya would find out what was going on as soon as she popped off the first cover and saw the unauthorized artwork on the back of it. Still, she needed some assurances before she went ahead with this, if only for Copper's sake.

"Promise you won't get anyone in trouble?" she asked, offering Natalya a nervous look. "Specifically, the last person to work on those panels?"

Natalya's confused and curious expression turned into something a bit more suspicious. "I see." She said, even though she clearly didn't. "And would that person be... you?" At least some of the locations Raven had indicated could have holographic emitters, however unlikely that would be.

"No," replied Raven. She bit her lip for a moment and figured that she had to give Natalya a bit more information if she was going to enlist her help. "I have reason to believe that some artwork has been covertly painted on the back of these panels. And as you can see, we've been redecorating sickbay..." she paused for a moment. "I'd also like to throw a little gala in honour of the artist. I think his work is quite fascinating, and if others could only see his talent..."

A wide range of expressions crossed Natalya's face as she listened, and started to understand. Confusion. Annoyance. Understanding. And maybe a bit of mirth thrown into the mix.

"You like him." She said with a slight gasp. Everything Raven had said leading up to this had sounded totally crazy. But now it seemed there was a reason for that.

"I... I..." Raven's face turned deep red as she blushed with embarrassment -- or the holographic equivalent of blushing. She hadn't thought of the artist that way before, but in a way, even though their bodies were very different, he was one of the few people on board the ship who could truly understand her.

"I think Copper is a great artist and--"

Raven froze and placed a hand over her mouth. She didn't mean to blurt out his name, but it was too late. "I mean... he... I..." Even with access to the entire linguistic database, she was at a loss for words.

Her mouth nearly agape, Natalya wasn't doing any better at coming up with something to say. She didn't care that much for getting involved in other people's romantic drama, but she'd had more than a few similar conversations with roommates, friends and coworkers over the years. It was strange that she'd not been considering Copper to be the person of interest in all this, but now, thinking about it, he... she... it should have been her first guess.

Natalya didn't bother speculating on the connection, even if it did pique her curiosity. It wasn't really any of her business. She wasn't one to judge, considering her own romantic interests were still considered deviant among some cultures and species.

"Well.... if you think Copper is a great artist, why not ask... him to create something for you? Or for sickbay. There is a holographic emitter in engineering." She said finally. "Asking one of his coworkers to steal some of his work for you might not send the right message." She added sympathetically, as if imparting sage wisdom. It wasn't exactly stealing, of course, since the art was technically a form of graffiti, but Copper might not see it that way.

"He's... very shy," replied Raven, her voice weak as she was so embarrassed she could barely speak. "I mean, you would be too, if you were surrounded by meatbags all day. No offense."

Natalya sighed, trying not to look as disturbed as she felt. Meatbag was not a very flattering term, and it seemed a rather rude thing for a hologram to say.

"I'm sure he still has it easier than you. As you know, our little meatbags often have... containment issues." Natalya smirked, but her expression turned serious again after a moment.

"Look... if you want to do something nice for Copper and show that you care, you might want to rethink this idea. I'll have to get authorizations from command, operations, and medical before I even get the go ahead to decide who gets to move several thousand kilograms of access panels and hatch covers across the ship. That's at least three or four other meatbags who are going to want to have this same conversation with you. Do you want me to just tell Copper, or give him something to do here in sickbay?" Natalya was not keen on playing matchmaker, but that would be preferable to the can of worms Raven seemed intent on opening.

"Hmmmmm..." Raven sighed for a moment, frustrated at being told she couldn't do what she wanted. But then, across sickbay, sitting on Tuula's desk, she spotted something that might help. "I know!" she exclaimed, bounding across sickbay to 'borrow' Tuula's holo-camera. "can you take pictures? I can have replicas made in the pattern replicator! And I'll make them out of lightweight plastic so they're easier for you to carry!"

Natalya nearly sighed. Though it was an improvement upon the original plan, Raven's suggestion still would involve a good deal of work on her part, but it least it wouldn't entail as much oversight. Still, the engineer couldn't help but wonder why Raven was so interested in this art... and Copper, if indirectly. One of the main issues with the various forms of advanced computer-based intelligence was that they were prone to becoming eccentric and/or unstable the longer they remained in operation. People who didn't fully understand the science behind the construction of these beings were quick to state that they were expressing free will, when in fact random actions or desires could be the symptoms of a problem. Maybe it was nothing, but the complexity of Raven's original idea still left Natalya with concerns about the holograms stability. Doubly so, considering Raven's primary job was to care for children.

In the end though, Natalya gave Raven the benefit of the doubt. For now, anyway. "I will consider this a personal favor then... unless you would like to submit a work order through engineering?" She said, seemingly in agreement with the revised plan.

With Natalya's agreement, Raven was overjoyed. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, nearly jumping up into the air in excitement. "Now, I just need to figure out what to serve... as someone who actually eats solid food, do you have any recommendations for canapés?"

Natalya's calm expression nearly floundered once again. Canapés? She was not really familiar with the term, though she was guessing it was a fancy word for the kind of snacks and finger foods served at social gatherings. Though no fault of her own, most people who knew Natalya wouldn't go to her for advice on party planning... it wasn't really her realm of expertise. Her ignorance on such things, however, was not the root of her concern.

"I was under the impression that serving food in the medical bay was... frowned upon." Natalya said, somewhat confused about the regulations on that. The medical staff probably had a beverage or a snack or two, and some longer-term patients needed to be fed, but it was not a place usually associated with socializing and eating. "I've heard that Doctor Mott would be a good person to consult about that." Natalya had only met the Bolian doctor in passing, but she'd heard that he considered himself a bit of an aficionado on culinary activities.

"Excellent idea!" exclaimed Raven as she spun around, detecting a blue blur on the other side of sickbay. "Doctor Mott!" she called out, leaving Natalya behind with her latest task.

(tag)

EBH Mark I "Raven"
Emergency Babysitting Hologram
USS Galileo

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