JPBL ~ Capt Diziara, MCPO Caine, Rev Waterhouse ~ "I know something you don't know."

Posted on Sat May 16th, 2015 @ 9:31am by Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine

1,801 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Agua Mala

Rik sat in his office, the Vindicator hadn't been docked at Cold Station Theta long, but he knew it meant some much needed R&R for the crew. Sadly for him, it was also the time his own workload increased. Yes, nothing like letting your hair down, alcohol, and letting off steam, to bring the gum-shoe into play — like a recipe to a cocktail no one expected to have quite the after kick. He signed off the last of his reports for the day and sent it to the chief of department for inclusion in their report to the XO. He smiled, the protocol amused him seeing how his and Amelia's respective day's activities were the subject of pillow talk as opposed formal reports. But protocol was protocol and the department head needed keeping in the loop too.

Leaning back in his chair, he contemplated pouring himself a measure of Templeton Rye before leaving the office for the night when his terminal blinked. He raised a brow at the incoming message from Noah and hit the accept button.

"How can I help you, bo... Not in any kind of Dutch I hope?"

"Dutch," Noah repeated the word, and his eyes skimmed the lower edge of his holographic specs, then he grinned wide with a chuckle. "No, not been caught recently. Mum informed me that your program is ready for pick up. She's meeting me for lunch at a Klingon restaurant... apparently you can't miss it, but I have forgotten the name. Something profane I think. You're welcome to join us."

"Well as long as you don't get caught, would make my life easier bo," he quipped. "It's... ready? Well that's mighty swell news." He let out a small laugh at the comment regarding the Klingon restaurant's name. "I think I know the one, small place, just off the central promenade?" he asked before adding. "Let me ditch the uniform and I'll see you there... Gagh better be good." He said by way of a conclusion. A feeling of excitement for his new toy was met with immediate trepidation... the first face-to-face meeting with his Dame's mother.

"That's the place. Don't keep Mum waiting, she's impatient. We'll order so you shouldn't be kept waiting," Noah insisted as he cut the channel.

=/\= =/\= =/\=

Sitting at a table outside of the small Klingon restaurant, Noah was perched on a chair which only had two legs touching the deck. His fine pirate hat with the large hand painted feather was draped on one of the back posts of the chair, and he held a mug of blood wine. Across the table was his mother with a mug of her own, dressed in leather and laughing. A third mug sat on the table between them in front of a chair.

Rik, dressed in a blue shirt, undone a little at the collar, and black jeans, entered the lively Klingon joint and looked around. The crowds, mostly Klingon, were busy eating, fighting, and drinking, and the familiar pungent smell of live foodstuffs filled the air.

"Hey Gumshoe, we're out here," Noah called, leaning his chair over more precariously so that he could look in the front door. He picked up his hat from the back of the chair to wave it to catch Rik's attention.

Rik spotted the pirate hat first, then the rest of Noah, waving at him. Looking across the table he saw Noah's and Amelia's mother. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and walked over. "Hey, bo," he offered to Noah as he reached the table, "Pleasure to meet ya. Blood wine still warm I hope?" he directed at Diziara.

"Of course it's warm, this is a classy joint," Diziara insisted, offering her hand out to the gumshoe as he approached. "I've heard absolutely nothing about you from my daughter, and heard plenty about you from my son. Learned everything I need to know because of my husband's nosing around and your holodeck program."

Rik shook the woman's hand and nodded his head slightly. "Plenty... well... all good I hope." He said looking to Noah. "Good to hear," he said sitting down and taking a sip of the warm blood wine. "Well... my file is... selective... but yes, I can't thank you enough for your help with upgrading the holodeck program, I'm lookin' forward to seeing what you did."

"I figured it was safe to assume you're masochistic, seeing as you and Amelia are an item," Diziara mused, a smirk painting her lips as she took a sip of the bloodwine. A server arrived with a large platter of fresh gagh and three plates which he laid out in front of each of them. He eyed Rik for a moment, until Diziara sat up and shot him a look. The server scurried off.

"Usually I'm the one they assume can't stomach the food," Noah said with a laugh, reaching to the platter to help himself to a large handful of the serpent worms for his plate.

Rik smirked, "this stuff does need a certain constitution... but my time in Klingon space with the Syndicate meant it was either learn to love it, or be ridiculed. Gotta survive right?" He stated as he helped himself to a handful of the live creatures. Picking one up, he eyed it a moment before scooping it into his mouth. After a moment, he nodded slowly "you're right, it's pretty good here."

"Much the way I came to enjoy it myself... except instead of hardened criminals, it was my mother's extended family. Full blooded Klingons though, so who can tell the difference?" Diziara laughed, and slid an isolinear chip across the table to Rik. "The full program's already transferred to the ship, but that's the readme file for Duct Tape, which I kindly took the time to integrate into your program. So you'll know how you can adjust it if needed." Diziara plucked a single worm from the shared plate, and quickly slipped it into her mouth.

Rik picked up another worm and his grin widened as he chuckled at Diziara's Klingon comment. Picking up the isolinear chip he twirled it through his fingers. Although just the manual, it was symbolic of the program that had overwritten his previous attempt. "Thank you, both of you," he said as he eventually pocketed the chip. "Now, Amelia mentioned Duct Tape... Not sure I know what it does mind you..." He paused as he trailed off, his blue eyes glinting with excitement, "and the suit and car, got an upgrade?" Rik said as he looked between Noah and Diziara forgetting the worm still in his hand.

"I made it look good, Mum rigged it up to the physics engine in the program. The cape is impressive, and physics is cheated just a little to keep you from getting caught in doors with it, or getting tangled up in it," Noah insisted, then tilted his head back to drop a bite of the squirming delicacy in his mouth.

"The safeties protocols would have done it in a very noticeably less realistic looking way, so I adjusted it to satisfy them and me both," Diziara dismissed, her hand finding her blood wine mug again.

Rik nodded at the information he was being provided. "The cape... Amazing, really it is. Can't believe you've been able to do it."

"As for Duct Tape..." Diziara continued, "Well, you're not an engineer, so I can't assume you're familiar with the name sake, but it's basically a program that puts everything else together. All holoprograms I've made or tweaked have hooks that allow this meta-program to manipulate whatever you want out of it; it gives you access to variables so you can quickly change, add, and remove things. Much more precise than the fleet's program that barbarically does it."

"Ahh, well that should make things easier for a simple gum-shoe like me." Rik joked. "I can't wait to try it out. Can the safety protocols be turned down for a more realistic simulation?" He asked, taking another handful of the gagh into his mouth.

"He's asking if the safeties can be turned down," Diziara stage whispered to her son with a laugh. Noah shook his head.

"Pond didn't mention the training programs Mum made for her, did she?" Noah asked with a head shake.

Rik quirked a brow upwards as he popped another worm into his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully he enjoyed the momentary sensation of wriggling. "Can't say she has... Guessin' there's a whole lot of tales to tell?" He asked looking between Noah and Diziara. Rik reached for his tankard of blood wine and took a gulp of the warm liquid. It had been a while since he'd eaten and drunk Klingon - he enjoyed it and the memories it brought.

"Mum plays with the safety settings on her programs," Noah explained. "Most of the time, it's just manifesting in an amusing way, but she's not one to shy from leaving you with a bruise if it's likely to teach a lesson. Pond had her fair share of visits to sickbay to heal up bumps and bruises as a result of the training programs Mum made for her. The first time Mum turned up the difficulty on the nunchuks? I swear, she almost wanted to put the nunchuks away."

Rik grinned again, "sounds like good training to me, I always found the added danger of the possibility of a genuine injury focuses the mind well enough that you want to do well. Self-preservation is a powerful teaching tool, one of the ways I learned to swashbuckle," he said looking to Noah and his pirate hat. "I'm guessing that happened with Amelia, she got good with the nunchuks?" he asked, intrigued by the stories of his dame's childhood.

"Good? She's a natural," Diziara insisted with a dismissive wave of her hand. "My programs certainly didn't hurt any." She waved her mug of blood wine as she spoke.

"You've really done it now," Noah admonished Rik, leaning in close to do so in a whisper. "Mum lives for telling stories. If you're not careful, you'll hear about the time that Pond snuck into engineering to check on Dad, dressed up as a ninja turtle." Diziara shot her son a look. "Don't suppose you could give me some lessons on the swashbuckling, could you?"

"You can answer him later," Diziara insisted with a head shake. "The ninja turtle incident was entertaining, but hardly involves the nunchuks... she hadn't had time to learn much yet. Though it is an amusing story, she was only six at the time..."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Captain Diziara
Lead Test Pilot, Fighter Design Team
Co-lead, Project Torchwood
Utopia Planitia

Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine
Security Investigator
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Noah Waterhouse
Artist and Pastafarian Minister
The Pelican

 

RSS Feed