New Toys (Backpost)

Posted on Tue Aug 26th, 2025 @ 5:09am by Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade & Lieutenant JG Katie Kellerman

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: Engineering Lab
Timeline: Before "Return to Normalcy"

Katie was playing with her tablet like a kid with a new video game. "This thing is amazing," she said, excitedly. "The code language is so alien, it almost doesn't make sense. And the way it shields from sensors! The Romulans would've given anything for this technology!"

"Ah'm sure the Romulans HAVE some PADDs of their own, not just their own, Katie, but some they've taken from our own ships?" Jenna gave a chuckle as she glanced over to where the other engineer was having her fun, "But just in case Ah'm only playin' down to the level of Crewman Nagali, what on Earth are you lookin' at?"

Katie stuck her tongue out at her boss and turned her tablet around. "Information from that alien satellite. The one that tapped into the cloaking field they produced that we acquired."

"You mean the thing that Ah haven't had a chance to look at?" Jenna huffed towards the other engineer, "Ah know Ah've been busy puttin' the ship back together from what the Captain allowed to have happen to her, but why don't you hand that over?" She gestured for the PADD to be slid over to her.

Katie slid it across the lab table. "Well," she said, "what's stopping us from looking at it right now?" She grinned excitedly. "I mean...it's in storage...right here...."

"Routine maintenance up to date?" Jenna asked, glancing over the top of the PADD that she'd started reading, getting a nod in return, "Preventative maintenance as well?" Another nod, this time with a wider grin, "No outstanding tickets from anywhere on board the ship? No? Okay, then pull it out!" She added her own smile to the one from Katie.

Katie let out a cheer and jumped up from her chair, rushing to the storage section to pull out the anti-grav cart they had it stored on. She carefully steered it into center of the lab and then turned and grabbed her tool kit and tricorder. "Think we can get it disassembled by the end of shift?" she said, excitedly.

"If we want to destroy it rather than investigate it? Yes." Jenna took a walk around the satellite looking it over with an eye to detail, "This will take us a couple-few days because we are going to document and tag everything. And if it looks critical to the operation of the thing, we're not even going to touch it at first. All the ancillary bits and pieces first."

"This is going to be fun," Katie said, taking her tablet back and scrolling through the security protocols she'd been going over. "Well, it should be relatively booby-trap free. They like having one strong wall of security, but once you're past it? It's cake."

She opened her tool kit and pulled out connectors, attaching the satellite to her tablet once again. "Negotiating with our guest," she said. "As Kally would say, let's begin with the epidural layers."

Jenna rubbed the arm that still sometimes stung with just the memories of the burn it had spotted from the same battle they’d taken this piece of equipment in. “They certainly weren’t expecting it to be captured, so there may be a firewall or two that you can handle, but it should be like an onion. Or a banana, Ah like that one better, fewer medical analogies.” She had her tricorder out and was performing (another) scan of the device, but paying more attention to the outside for the connections that would need to be undone.

"Didn't see any when I went through it the first time," Katie said, but was scanning anyway. "They seem to be the overconfident type. They just assume they'll bash their opponent down before they can be found. But, if we can reverse-engineer all this, we could gain some serious advancements in cloaking technology. At the very least, we can track them."

"If we ever see them again, that is." Jenna pointed out, "But we can at least see if it's an improvement over what we already know. Does look like it should come apart pretty easily, must be pretty high maintenance." The engineer put her tricorder down and fingered at one of the joints, "So like me, not you."

Katie picked up her decoupler and was about to begin working one of the connectors, but stopped and looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

"You seem to be pretty low maintenance, from everythin' Ah've seen about you, but Ah was raised in South Carolina, the Heart of Dixie and quite frankly as a Lady." She used the word with a Capital L, "Minerva Delacroix in Science is actually my childhood friend, don't know how we both got on board here, but Ah was in the whole scene, debutante ball, lessons in courtesy and conduct and everything."

"Oh, thank you, I think?" Katie said, smiling. "What kind of game is 'deb-yoo-tahnt'? We have some Terran sports on Gault but I don't know that one." She decoupled one of the access panels and removed it, setting it aside, wiping some mechanical grease onto her uniform.

"It isn't a game, it's what you call an innocent young lady bein' introduced into high society, a debutante. By Southron' Tradition, a party is thrown in honor of these young ladies, which is often attended by young men as well. Ah happen to be from a family that can trace our roots in South Carolina back to before the War of Northern Aggression, or the American Civil War, whichever you wanna call it."

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Katie said, tracing the circuit pathways. "We don't really have 'high society' on Gault, but we do have dances and stuff that the boys and girls attend together. Kally and I would definitely not last long if it's fancy and formal, though. I mean, we clean up well, but she'd wind up disappearing with the boys." She gave a snicker as she removed another panel.

"Which would be absolutely unbecomin' of a lady!" Jenna objected playfully, "Not that Minerva didn't go traipsin' off with some of the boys on a 'walk in the garden'. She always tried to get me to go along, but Ah wasn't about to do that, not with everyone watchin' and the fact that Ah likely had a tournament comin' up at the time. Ah can say that Ah held my virtue throughout my Academy years and until about eight months ago, then the young man who Ah became affianced to decided that he needed to return to Earth and Ah didn't go back with him."

"Oh..." Katie said, rather impressed. "We um...well yeah long before the Academy," she said, blushing and giggling a bit. "Keeping the 'farmer's daughters' joke alive, I suppose. Sounds like Minerva and Kally would get along famously, though," she said, clearing away more of the gunk in the gears to get a closer look at the innards. "I never really was much for appearances about being a 'lady', I just kind of try to be nice and friendly and...well...friendly." She grinned.

Gently, gently Jenna detached another of the panels and placed it on the table next to the nearly denuded satellite from the opposite side, "It's what Ah was raised with. Ah have done my mournin' for love lost and Ah'll probably never find it again, but who knows, right? But Ah ain't a harlot to go sleepin' with just anyone that comes a-callin'." She realized what she said after a moment, "Not that Ah think you're a harlot, nor your sister, nor even Minerva, it's just that it ain't my style to sleep with anyone unless well.. At all."

Katie gave her a small smile. "Not the meanest word I've heard," she said. "But yeah, technically not accurate, especially since Kally doesn't charge for services," she sassed. "Where we're from, things are a bit looser, yeah, but there's nothing wrong with your approach to it either. But you're attractive and smart, and we're young, there's plenty of time for you to find someone." She mused over her own situation as she stared her tablet on a set of diagnostics. "I kind of have found a guy, so if I can meet someone way out here, anything's possible, right?"

"But the datin' pool out here is really small, just a couple hundred if you're lookin' at it, less than that for those already taken and in a decent age range." The southern woman made a face, undoing another panel very carefully and tilting it out to look behind it for anything potentially dangerous, "Then there's all the competition for them."

Katie paused her circuit trace and snorted. "You want to tell me about competition? Have you seen my sister? Oh wait, of course you have, she looks just like me," she sassed. "I love her, but she does sometimes make it difficult to keep a guy interested in me for me." She shook her head. "But what've you got to worry for? You're a catch. You're smart, you're good-hearted and you're gorgeous. I bet there's a dozen guys on board who'd want to ask you out. A number of girls too. And you don't have to be a 'harlot' to test-drive a few dates." She gave her a wry smile.

"Honey, a lady doesn't go about askin' people out, she is the one who waits to be asked." Jenna gave a giggle of delight, "Besides, if you think Ah'm gorgeous now, just give me a couple hours and Ah can get really glammed up. Ah may not turn as many heads as Minerva does, but Ah did get my share of dances at the balls." She had her own probe out now to check the section she'd opened up, "Anyways, maybe sometime you'll let me help you get all shined up and we can make you look different than your sister, Ah guarantee it! A little of this, a little of that and you'll outdo her."

Katie considered it for a moment, letting her imagination fly a bit. She shrugged and returned her attention to their project. "Maybe," she said. She removed another panel and made a face as more grease got on her hands and her uniform. "But, for now, we'll trade getting shined up for getting greased up. I get the impression this is going to be messy.

"Ah entirely agree." Jenna confirmed, though she was getting less of the mess on her own, "But this should be fun."