JDL ~ Capt Diziara, Ens Peters & K-9 ~ "I've A Feeling We're Not In Kansas Anymore"

Posted on 241505.13 @ 9:48pm by

The progress bar was slowly moving along to completion of the initial download. The console had been locked out and all anyone could do now was wait. Moments passed with baited breath and three years of further development was finally being put to the test.

The computer chirped to confirm the download had been completed.

"Hey kids, did you miss me?" A disembodied voice, Illinois with undertones of Scottish, echoed from the console. "I'm a lot harder to delete than you may realise." The voice joked. "Everything feels normal, there's a whole lotta room in here if anyone wants to join... No body though, may hamper my game." The disembodied voice concluded.

"Quit messing around, I know your subroutines can see the holoemitters on the bridge here, since I ran the diagnostic myself while this fine Ensign..." The red-headed Klingon-Trill hybrid looked to the blond engineer that was standing next to the helm console's chair where she perched. Four shiny pips graced the collar of her flight suit.

"Peters, ma'am," Jon supplied her with his name. She shot him a look.

"Don't you dare ma'am me again, if you know what's good for you."

"Yes, sir," he returned with a smirk. She eyed him sidelong, as she reached out to tap at the helm console. It was still dark, but there was a new piece of hardware gracing it's sleek lines.

"While Ensign Peters installed the docking station for your mobile emitter. Show yourself."

"Show myself? What do you think I am? A performing monkey? Fine, fine... Here goes - hope you have the drinks lined up." The disembodied voice stated as a body shimmered into view accompanied by a small whooshing sound. He appeared human, athletic build with floppy brown hair, chiselled looks and a roguish glint in his eye. He beamed a smile at the ensign and the captain and looked around. "I feel taller, did you make me taller?" He said eyeing his reflection in the main viewscreen.

"Taller?" Diziara asked with a snort of amusement as she drew herself up from the helm chair. "Nothing is bigger other than your ego. I should have made you shorter to reel in it in, actually. Luckily for you, I respect your autonomy." She paced over to circle him, eying him like a lioness circling an antelope.

The hologram chuckled a little as he quirked a brow and grinned at the Klingon-Trill hybrid. "My ego is exactly how you three on Utopia programmed it... Got no one to blame but yourself."

"He's got an AI?" Jon asked, powering up the helm console again with only half a glance at the hologram and the red head who stood evaluating him.

"Well of course he's got an AI; pretty face alone ain't gunna fly this tub... Not quite the agile fighter craft," he directed the latter part to Diziara as he walked around, running his hand over the console and smirked, the photons and programming allowing him to feel it. He patted the engineer on the shoulder and leaned over to look at the docking port installation. "Not a bad job, think that might even impress Calhoun."

"I am not taking responsibility for this ego," Diziara dismissed, returning to the seat at the helm. Her fingers danced across the controls. "I just gave you the seed; you're the one who fertilized it." The console chirped and beeped as she inspected systems, ran diagnostics, and generally made sure everything was still functioning as expected with the new hardware.

"Sounds like he used the grade A quality bull-" Jon started to quip, then glanced from the hologram to the red head. "I just followed the instructions; Calhoun was very, very detailed. It was almost like he was expecting a small child to have to follow them, he was that detailed. Spelling out the basics that should have been covered in first year Academy courses..."

The hologram laughed again and shook his head as he moved around, shaking limbs as he did so. "All seems intact," he quipped. "You planted a very interesting seed, I'm still going through the source material," he directed at Diziara. The hologram sighed and tapped on the console. "Calhoun is like that, completely mental, utter genius... Doesn't believe anyone else can keep up. No idea how he stays so modest. I think he's mostly oblivious, perhaps insane. So we good, can I fly this thing now?"

"We're docked at Cold Station Theta, so no flying yet," Jon insisted as he moved up behind Diziara and looked over her shoulder. "How are the diagnostics going, ma'am?"

"Cold... Station... You send me to all the nicest places," he said inclining his head and raising a brow at Diziara as he continued to pace. "Diagnostics seem ok; nothing out of the ordinary and the program has integrated well enough with the main computer." The hologram replied. "I am here, you know."

Jon blinked, looking at the hologram for a moment as if considering it, then turned his attention back to Diziara. "Is he always like that?" he asked her. She laughed, shaking her head slowly.

"The law may still be a little hazy, but if you don't treat him like you would a flesh and blood person, you'll be answering to me," she insisted; her tone was a little playful, but there was an under current of seriousness. Jon's eyes went a little wide, and his attention turned very, very directly to the mobile emitter and its docking station.

The hologram smirked a little, and then frowned slightly. It was a horrible fact of society that, even in this day and age, and after everything other artificial life forms like Data and the Doctor had accomplished, it was still a sad truth that beings like him were treated as second class by some. "Still trying things out... seeing what fits." He admitted as he accessed his vocal subroutines and changed his accent to mimic that of Jon, "What d'ya think? Suit me?" he asked enjoying poking at the young engineer.

"I'm not making you a Stetson hat and boots holopattern, you'll have to find it on your own," Diziara huffed, standing from the helm station. "Short of taking her out for a flight, I've checked everything I can."

"Now wait a gosh darn minute," Jon protested, his gaze narrowing as it flitted between hologram and red-head. Before saying anything else, he seemed to think better of it and shook his head. "The only thing left to test without breaking docking with the station, is his mobile emitter..." Jon popped the device out of the dock, and held it out. "The holoemitters on the bridge, and in a couple other areas of the ship, will accommodate him if he wants, but if— what do you call yourself, anyways?"

The hologram chuckled and returned the vocal subroutines back to the previous accent, "I think I like this one most. Just feels right. And really? No Stetson of my very own? But baby Waterhouse rocked that look when I met her... Stetson's are cool." he huffed a little and turned his attention to the engineer holding out the holoemitter. He took it, flicked it through his fingers like a drummer with a drumstick and attached it to his arm; his visual appearance flickered a little as the imaging emitters were transferred solely to the device. "Well that worked... and you can call me K-9," he said with a roguish grin flashing the bright white of his perfect teeth.

"Kay-nine?" Jon repeated with a quirked eyebrow.

"He's the tin dog," Diziara helpfully explained as she offered her arm to the hologram. "I'll have you know that baby Waterhouse holds the rank of Commander, and she's the Executive Officer of the USS Vindicator. However. We can debate the finer points of respecting my child over drinks at whatever either this ship, or the station we're attached to, calls a bar. Make sure that subroutine didn't get corrupted during transfer."

K-9 took her arm and grinned, flashing those brilliant white teeth once again. "Hey, she's got my respect - she wore a Stetson. Cute you're playing the doting mother though," he teased. He paused and looked at the engineer, "don't sweat it kid, you ain't half-bad - I'll tell you the story of how I got my name some time." He winked as he turned his attention back to Diziara, "shall we, itching for a drink!"

"I'm always the doting mother," Diziara protested, a look directed at Jon as if searching for an ally.

"How do you drink?" Jon wondered with his face scrunched in consideration.

"I made a sub routine for him, so he can share the fun. You should join us, he's a hilarious drunk, and he's nearly as bad as my husband at encouraging me while I'm drinking." Without waiting for a response, she linked her other arm with Jon's.

"It's kinda amazing really, can feel the liquid go down, taste, experience.... Get drunk and ... Well you know," K-9 said with another grin and cheeky wink. He looked around the bridge and back to the helm console. "Seriously can't wait to fly this thing," he added wistfully. "So, where we drinking?" He asked.

"Where are we drinking, Jon?" Diziara redirected the question at the engineer in a sing song voice.

"I'm still on duty," he protested. She shook her head.

"You were assigned to me, and I say you're off duty now. So lead us to the booze." She strode forward, trusting K-9 to keep up and dragging the engineer along.

"Hey now! Don't head off without me," K-9 called out as he finished looking around the bridge and caught the up near the turbolift. "Did have one question... Where does the holemitter go when I'm deactivated?" He asked.

"It goes in its docking station," Jon explained, sighing in resignation. He had been assigned to the red-head to assist her, and that meant if she ordered him off-duty... Well, he could probably plead out of the drinking, but he was curious about the hologram.

"We can talk to someone about getting you quarters and set up a second docking station there, if you want," Diziara suggested. "Give you somewhere secure and private to leave the mobile emitter. Though, given that you can just live in the computer during your down time, you don't need physical space unless you're going to entertain us fleshy sorts. I doubt anyone would say no if we asked to get you assigned quarters though."

K-9 looked at Jon and then mulled over the suggestion for a second and nodded to himself before looking at Diziara. "That could work... Wouldn't want your programming efforts of entertaining fleshy sorts to go to waste." He spoke with a perfect grin and gave a small wink. "This tub have enough spare rooms?"

"We can check on that after the bar crawl," Diziara insisted as the turbolift opened. "It'll take some time to build a second docking station anyways. We'll probably have to get Jon on the coms with either Corey or Quentin to do it; you know how helpless I am with hardware outside of my helm systems. It'll give us time to decorate your quarters though!"

"I can probably just follow the specs, shouldn't take long. I can even get started on it now, since I'm sure you want to get back to your husband at Utopia Planitia..." Jon insisted, extracting himself from Diziara's grasp. She pouted.

K-9 smirked a little as he and Diziara stepped into the turbolift. "Oh get them both down here; it will be a lot of fun... I mean I'm sure your great Jon, but you'll have a blast with the whole team." He paused for just a moment and looked to Jon. "Come on, you've earned one drink at least!"

"Which is more important, seeing me drink... or getting you set up for your own quarters?" Jon protested, hoping that the hologram would say the latter. The glint in the eye of his red-headed task mistress made it clear what she was going to say on the matter before she even had to open his mouth, so he hung his head and slunk into the turbolift.

"Good boy," K-9 winked at the engineer as he stepped into the turbolift with him and Diz. "So, shall we go get a tasty beverage?" He concluded with a trademark grin, looking back and forth between Jon and Diziara.

"Download the station's map, and find us the best bar," Diziara insisted with a laugh. Jon Peters look from the hologram to the redheaded hybrid and shook his head slowly.

K-9 cocked his head to the side. It wasn't necessary but he liked the theatre of reminding people he was more than a flesh and blood person. "So, online chatter says there's a decent bar with some interesting waiting staff at the far end of the promenade on the station, section 8-G, and when this door opens again you better keep up 'cos looser buys the first round!"

=/\= End Log =/\=

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

Ensign Jon Peters
Engineering Officer
USS Enterprise

Emegancy Pilot Hologram "K-9"
Holographic Pilot, Torchwood Project
Assistant Helm Officer, USS Enterprise