Interior Remodel

Posted on Fri Apr 28th, 2023 @ 2:36am by Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade & Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen

Mission: The Interim
Location: Rebecca's Quarters
Timeline: Shortly after Rebecca boards

Rebecca was fortunate to have someone help her TO her quarters, and then help her INTO her quarters... but now that she was here, on a desktop, stranded.... she needed a hand. Maybe literally.

Pacing around on the desktop, a few hundred feet off the floor. Way, way too high to jump, and climbing would take a week, so it was time to reach out and ask for a hand. Maybe even remodel the region. With that, she tapped her diminutive comm badge and made the call out to Engineering... "This is Lieutenant McMillen to Miss Jenna Jade. Could you swing by my quarters for a moment, I need some help."

"Ensign Jade here, Ah'll be there in just a jiffy, ma'am." Jenna tapped a couple more buttons on the screen and nodded, then swiped across it to clear it before heading out of main engineering with half a flounce. It had been a good day thus far, having run diagnostics that came back clean for once. This was the first call for assistance with anything all day, which was another rarity. Perhaps, just perhaps they were finally getting the bugs flushed out of the ship systems.

It took her more than a jiffy to actually arrive at the new Lieutenant's quarters (because she knew everyone ranked as a Junior Grade or higher, they were that rare on board), but she knew the woman would understand. That was just the way of the Fleet. She pressed the chime, but instead of prompting for a voice message, the door slid open in front of her and she took that as her cue to walk in, "Good afternoon, Lieutenant!" She said cheerily and glanced around, eyes spotting the pacing figure... On the desk. It was obviously a person, just really, really small, "Lieutenant McMillen?" She queried the figure.

Rebecca glanced upward to Jade as she was spotted and inquired about. "That's me. You must be Ensign Jade." she giggled. "I'd shake your hand, but well..." she motioned to herself. "So, introductions aside, I really just need help with two, maybe three things. First, I need a little help remodeling so I can access my quarters more. Ramps, ladders and rests, that kinda stuff." she mentioned. "And second, I need an Engineer to help sync and troubleshoot my MOUS." she offered. "Oh, It's a variant EVA suit I built when, well, I got stuck like this. It stands for Mobility, Operation, Utility, Safety. It helps me get around and helps the ship keep track of me."

Glancing around for a moment, Jenna grabbed a chair and brought it over to the table and sat down at it unbidden to be at least closer to the immensely tiny officer, then pulled a small PADD off of her belt and placed it flat so that if Rebecca came over she could see what was on it as well, "Ah can certainly help you with that, ma'am, not a problem." Her honeyed South Carolina accent was smooth as silk, "At least the first part, Ah can see what Ah can do about your EVA suit, though Ah'm not much of a specialist in that regard. If it's beyond my ability, Ah'm sure Ah can find someone to help with that. But what sort of setup are you lookin' for 'round here? We could certainly fill the space as needed, or we could set up a more limited locale with all the comforts of home so you're not trekkin' about all day just gettin' from one place in your quarters to another."

"Well, all the MOUS needs is an engineer to recognize it so it can bounce my comm signal to the ship sensors to, you know, open doors and take commands." she offered with a giggle. "Hard to navigate when the ship doesn't even notice you." she offered, not really calling Jenna's invitation into question. "Like your accent by the way." she complimented.

"As for consolidation and getting everything in one place, scaled proper, oh that'd be amazing. Hell just put my whole living space here on this table, that should be MORE than enough space."

"Ah'm from South Carolina, the city of Columbia, just like Minerva Delacroix, whom Ah believe is in your department?" She'd noted the blue uniform and since she'd not heard of anyone replacing Doc F'Arra, deduced that this one was science, "She's actually my best friend from since Ah was knee-high to a grasshopper." The common phrase turned her face beet-red as soon as it was out of her mouth, given the height of Rebecca, "Oh my God, Ah didn't mean it like that, Ah promise!"

"Oh c'mon, like I know any grasshoppers." she giggled along with. "Trust me, with everything I've seen and been though, a joke like that is fine and funny." she soothed. "So yeah I know Minerva. She's great people. She recommended you, so that's why we're talking. So far, you seem like good people. A little on the short side, though." She teased back.

Giggling with relief, Jenna nodded at that, "And Minerva's a giant! Ah, Ah'm a little vertically challenged at times, but we do tend to muddle through." She cleared her throat as if to change the subject, "We can most certainly set up everythin' you need right here, whether you want it set up like a set of quarters on it's own, or even as a luxury house with all the appointments. Plenty of space around to be able to do it all!" This would be a fun challenge and Jenna's green eyes glittered at the thought of it, "Did you have any preference at all as to how you'd like it?"

She gave the matter some thought. "You know, if I can have ANY kind of quarters I want, I want a luxury living space. A fancy luxury living space, like they have back in all the nice yachts. Think that's something we can manage?" she asked, a smile all but burned into her features from all the happiness this posting at thus provided. "And yeah, Minerva is T A L L ... "

"And Ah swear, she came and stole my boobs when Ah wasn't lookin'!" Jenna giggled, "But we can absolutely set it up that way for you. Ah'm not gonna say that it's gonna be a one-hour project, because we're gonna have to adjust a lot of things after we first put it together to make sure that you like it all the same. Havin' the computer recognize your suit and all will be the easy bit. By the way, have you put any thought into how to move around the ship? Ah'm sure it wouldn't be easy just walkin' about... Does your suit fly at all?"

Rebecca gave a giggle and a nod, "Oh yeah, she's got curves for DAYS!" the diminutive officer commented. "And, since we're talking and open, don't sell yourself short in that department. Though, maybe it's just my perspective." she offered. "Now, moving around the ship is going to be better once the MOUS is up and running. No, it can't fly outside of zero gravity." she started. "It just keeps me from getting tired quick by handling most of the motion of walking for me. Like an Exoframe really. Short of abusing the Site to Site transport system, I either have to walk or be carried places. Now, the Captain was open to carrying me." She said, a slight blush, "And so far a lot of the crew that I've met has been very open about carrying me. It's really an open and friendly crew."

"We really are, but you are right about abusin' the transport system, though it would be a minimal use of power if we went that way. Ah'd just want to keep an eye on the system to make sure the maintenance gets pulled on a constant basis, but..." Something clicked in her head, something that would normally not work at all, but if it were small enough and it wasn't like it would be throughout the Federation, just on Chimera. "What would you say about flyin' around the ship? Ah could probably put together a drone of some sort that would definitely reduce the risk of bein' stepped on, flyin' at around eyeheight for most of the crew. Programmin' the drone for either Jeffries tubes or the corridors wouldn't be that difficult and it'd get you around much faster as well."

That took her for a bit of a loop. "Wait, me? Flying?" she sounded a bit curious, but also a bit concerned. "I ... I dunno, we can try it in the holodeck. Worst to worst, we just reinforce the MOUS so that if I *DO* get stepped on, the frame stops me from getting actually crushed." she offered. "Material science vs electrical engineering." she offered up to the looming green eyed woman. "I mean, just a suggestion."

"Certainly we could take a look at the MOUS, or at least a copy of it to see what we could do about reinforcin' it." Jenna agreed, but the bonus about the flyin' around is that you won't even have to do the pilotin'. We could program common locations like Sickbay, your different labs, the Bridge, Conference Room, Lounge and so on," Jenna ticked off the various locations off on her fingers, "And all you'd have to do is select your destination on the screen and let the ship's computers get you there. At the very least, it'll reduce your travel time and we could put a manual override in if we wanted to as well."

"Let's just put the Flying MOUS on the back burner. Folks here are friendly and understanding enough so I don't think we NEED it." Rebecca offered. "I mean could just fly around in the holodeck fine enough, but I think just around the ship itself I can walk, be carried, or..." she paused, then giggled. "Yeah, just be carried."

Jenna nodded and tapped a few things into the PADD, "I'm still gonna make sure you've got the permissions for site-to-site transports, because if you're in a true rush, you're gonna want to use it. And still put that drone idea to thought, Ah think it could be a good one."

"Oh it's a fantastic idea. I just don't need everything thinking I'm some sort of fairy or sprite. Next thing after that, people grab me and start looking for pixie dust or something." Rebecca giggled. "Either that, or it's some bulky add on to the MOUS, and now I'm Ironman or something." another giggle. "Maybe a drone platform with a chair, so I can sit comfortably or something, yo.. you know what, we can work that out in hologram space. Cause yeah I like the idea, I just don't really have a way to easily implement it. Cause it'd have to also work off this ship, and I'd rather not get blown away by a strong breeze or lost in the weather. As degrading as it might sound, sometimes the safest place for me is a pocket." she admitted.

"But at the moment, MOUS is a gentle EVA suit with biometric boosters, a touchpad that echoes other screens, and a helmet for environmental protection. It's essentially a standard EVA suit, but with a few quality of life improvements to keep me from losing my mind." a smile. "Which will help the site-to-site keep track of me. Which, I appreciate."

“Ah’ll put together a design for the drone system and submit it to you and the Executive Officer for approval. Ah think you’ll be pleased with what Ah’ve got in mind.” Jenna stated, then smiled, “But first we’ll get that MOUS of yours registered with the system so that you can get around and be recognized by the ship and transporters. The good news is that Ah’m currently in charge of Engineerin’, so Ah’ve got a fair few permissions to make changes.”

"Sounds good. Let me put it on first and then we can do whatever we gotta do. Ummmm, my things. They're kinda over there." Rebecca pointed to a box on the normal-sized bed. "Do you think you could.... gimme a hand?"

"Oh, certainly, ma'am." Jenna took the relative handful of steps to the bed and picked up the box to bring it over. As she did, she peeked in it and saw several small items, literally small, something inside looked like a mech suit, though minimal, "What's the MOUS made of, again?" She asked the scientist.

"Hey don't get nosey, that's my laundry." Rebecca squeaked, though it was all in good fun. Everything was packed and sealed. Her whole life practically fit in a shoebox. "The MOUS is a regulation EVA suit, slightly reinforced with a graphene coating, and the start of an exoframe around it, like mobility harnaesses. The goal is to have the MOUS do half the walking for me whenever I have to, well, walk. I'm pretty lightweight, even while wearing the MOUS, so I'm not worried about getting hurt from a fall. Still scary as hell though." she admitted.

"It's gonna be in the red box. Kinda shaped like a cylinder. A little taller than I am. Says 'MOUS' on the side."

"Oh!" Jenna gave a sidelong glance again at what she'd thought was something else, but shook her head as she withdrew the cylinder, then placed it on the table right in front of Rebecca, "All righty, Ah'm guessing that there's a code to get into it, if you don't mind?"

Rebecca gave Jenna a glance, "What was that look for?" She put her tiny hands on her hips. Maybe it was humor, maybe not, but in the end, she certainly blinked first and went to the cargo container.

"Honestly, not much of a code, just a small handle to own it. But you'd need tools and precision. For me..." she just opened the latch, and the case opened up to show the MOUS... which was just a standard looking EVA suit.

She pulled the suit out, and out it on. Cute! "So here's the MOUS."

"Oh my God, that is so cute!" Jenna exclaimed, leaning in close to take a good look at it on Rebecca, even as her hand went to her tricorder so she could take some scans of it. Instantly a thought went through her mind that if she could just add a little tail to it... No. That wouldn't be polite, "Part of me wants to set a strobe-light to make sure everyone sees you, but Ah'm not sure that'd really do much good."

"Isn't it?" Rebecca agreed, and even gave a pose or two in it. Style and safety in one. "A strobe light, eh? I mean a flashlight would help navigate in the dark, but a strobe light... I'd just be worried folks would pick me up and start a dance party." she giggled upwards at the looming face. When the tricorder came over, she stood still as though this were a medical exam. "Make sure to get my good side." she giggled.

"Whoever ginned this up definitely had a head on their shoulders." Jenna murmured, though it was loud enough to be heard, "But there is most definitely room for improvements." She tapped a few buttons on the tricorder and sat back in the chair, "We once had a guest lecturer at the Academy who'd been given a pet dragon from some world or another. She was lecturing on holographics, but we found out her dragon through the Q and A session. Naturally extruded carbon nanotubes throughout the wings made them virtually indestructible. There were ideas bouncin' around that what if we were able to make structures out of that same material, with at least one project Ah know of by a third-year gettin' started before Ah left for my final Cruise here on Chimera. While Ah'm not confident about scaling it up to starship size, Ah think that we could get your exoskeleton here made up of them." She gave a wavy hand gesture, "The dragon that um... Nyx, her name was, had was small, but she said that they'd come in bigger versions long ago, so should be able to be scaled up."

"That would be me." Rebecca said with a proud smile. "Well, necessity and all that. The only thing that came through the anomaly with me, and got sized to fit proper, were my emergency bug-out bag and whatever was in the escape pod with me. That would be THIS darling EVA suit. I had to get it to the point that I felt safe roaming the world, without having giant fingers poking and prodding, so thank you. I made it myself." she said with a smile.

"Carbon nanotubes are pretty strong, but they're fragile along the edges. That's the curse of carbon. That's why the edges of the graphene coating here are hidden under the support framework. Flexible, durable, and electroconductive. Keeps me free from static discharges. Which, mind you, return back to the battery for the EVA suit, so there's that." she offered. "And yeah, while there's always room for improvements I have to weigh each improvement over power drain, surface heat exposure, and essentially just have to play around to see what works. I mean sure, a shield emitter would be fantastic, but the smallest shield emitter is twice my size. Same with most other tech we have here. Now maybe we'll get lucky and find a way to make tech smaller, but that doesn't always translate well." she offered.

"Hence, the practical applications. Durable materials, flexible but powerful." she smiled skyward. "Though, I'm always open to suggestions. Just as long as you don't put big ass radar dishes on my helmet because the acronym just happens to say MOUS." she giggled.

Jenna giggled right alongside her as she imagined what it would look like, "But you'd also need a Tangentially Aligned In-Line sensor to go along with your large Enhanced Auditory Receiver System!" Her giggle only grew.

"Oh golly, no no no. Wait that... oh golly that spells TAIL!" And she giggled. "I'd look ridiculous with a little tail. No thank you, I'll leave the tail for the pajamas. No I do not have mouse pajamas." She scowled playfully. She looked adorable like that.

"But no ears. They'd look super ridiculous."

But that wasn't a no in the tail...

"Remind me to suggest somethin' once Halloween comes around." Jenna stated outright, "Unless someone else has plans for you then before Ah really get to you! Right, though, Ah'll try to have a new exoskeletal design to you within a few days, Ah need to do some materials research and maybe consult Commander Espersen about it." She snapped shut her tricorder, "What say we set up home for you?"

Rebecca wasn't the biggest fan of Halloween, but maybe this crew would be different. "Yeah I think a home would be nice. Also, just a suggestion, but maybe also a way off this table." she giggled, as the pair of them set to work designing the home of her dreams, the home of anyone's dreams. To have spacious quarters like this, maybe being two inches tall wasn't so bad after all.....