Preparing the Furniture Part 2

Posted on Sat Feb 12th, 2022 @ 3:39am by Lieutenant Haruna Mizuhara & Lieutenant Zero
Edited on on Sat Feb 12th, 2022 @ 3:43am

1,570 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Out of Time
Location: Zero's Quarters

OLD:

"Ok then" Haruna replied as she pulled more tools out of her uniform. "Lets see what we can do". Luckily there was a maintenance hatch near the main power conduit, it wouldn't take long to hook up. "Once I've attached it, I want you to slowly bring up the conduit pressure so I can monitor it" she told him.

Zero remained at his Ops console, bringing up the gage that allowed for conduit pressure adjustment. "Have you taken into account the differences in both technology? The sudden introduction of one power unit to another may cause a feedback that could possibly result in you harm." He said, raising his voice slightly, to ensure she heard him from the other room.

NEW:

"Yep" Haruna replied quickly. "It'll be alright. Trust me" she grinned. "Plus, it wouldn't be the first time something has gone pop and sent me across a random room"

Zero shook his head slightly at the comment. The fact that an officer, like Haruna, would have been sent across the room did not seem to surprise him. From everything he observed from her, the Lieutenant seemed the type to show no concern for her own safety, let alone others. "My trust in you is irrelevant. So far you have proven to be chaotic in your methods and showed no regards for my privacy. My trust that you are capable of doing your job without harming yourself, or others, has yet to be determined."

"Well duh" Haruna replied. "I'm a girl genius. I can do most things if I put my mind to it" she said as she fumbled about for a few minutes. "Ok, this looks all good. I'll need to come back later with some proper power couplings, but this should do for now" she explained to him. "Try turning up the juice!"

He shook his head slightly before tapping the console to 'turn up the juice' as he replied softly. "This assignment was scheduled prior to your arrival. Perhaps you could have considered your tools for working on the project before appearing to deal with it. Perhaps the error is mine for jumping to the conclusion that you were component. I must remember to adjust my expectations in for future encounters." Zero than shouted out to her. "The 'juice has been turned up', Lieutenant."

"Seems to be working" Haruna said. "Do you want to take it for a test drive?"

Zero tapped the console and walked back over to Haruna. "If the job was done properly, with the proper items, there would be no need for a 'test drive'." He said as he stepped up into the alcove. The liberated Borg turned around and stood up straight as the green light, with bolts shooting out from the middle, began to get bit brighter. The alcove gave off the sound it was working.

"So... its good yeah? I can go home now?" Haruna asked.

His eyes shot open as he stepped off the alcove, triggering the device to power down into its stand-by mode. "The power generation is not at its standard levels. Connection to he alcove is 0.02 seconds slower than normal. Your work is inadequate, but your insistence on leaving will force me to adapt. I will make the proper request to do the work myself." Zero finally looked over to Haruna. "If you are to leave the job as it is then I would request you to leave my quarters the proper way."

"I'm not good with Borgy stuff. It's scary" Haruna replied. "So I'll let you do your fiddly things with it"

"Lieutenant..." Zero responded quickly, slightly raising his tone, as if trying to sound offended or intimidating. It was hard to tell. "You are Chief Engineer, are you not?"

"Thats what my job description says" Hafuna replied.

"Starfleet has had several encounters with the Borg, who have shown themselves to be a large threat and danger, so there is sufficient knowledge for you to access. Many Borg have been liberated from the collective and many have been forced to subject themselves to similar technology to regenerate in order to remain active." Zero took a moment before adding. "There is many places for you, as Chief Engineer, to familiarize yourself with 'Borgy stuff'." He paused a bit, taking a step toward her, before concluding in a soft tone. "And since I am one of those Borg it would be in your best interest to get familiarized with said technology. There may come a time, Lieutenant, where my mechanical parts may require an expect on engineering and not biology. And should that day come and you are still ill-equipped, then I am afraid that will become my last day."

Haruna blinked several times. "Ok. But I still find it scary. Technology shouldn't be in your body as your body is already an efficient machine. Evolution may not be perfect but it doesn't need help in my opinion" she said shaking slightly, it was evident that she was genuinely terrified of the process of assimilation.

"Lieutenant..." Zero spoke softly, trying to use a comforting tone, recognizing her shaking was probably due to a traumatic experience. "Haruna... in all my experience, as a Borg who are driven to seek perfection, I found it is an unachievable goal. With technology, and the universe ever learning from the past and present, perfection may never be achieved because of the constant change. However, records show that technology has given many born with defects such as blindness and damaged limbs, to go on to live productive lives. As an Engineer who is taught to repair and fix technological defects, one would think you would understand more than most."

He placed his hands on her shoulder as he continued. "The Borg are feared because they take knowledge instead of learning it. Assimilating others instead of learning from them. However, it is generally believed that, once you learn more about something you take away its control. You reduce the fear by learning more about where the fear comes from. In some views, taking away its power over you, by understanding it better." Zero took his hands away and gestured to the alcove. "You can learn many things by understanding how and why it works. Learning it is a simple piece of technology that we must carry to keep us alive while our bodies heal and learn to work back on their own. You have nothing to fear from that... just as you have nothing to fear from me. I will not assimilate this crew. I am a part of it. It is my new collective. I need it just as much as it needs me."

Haruna nodded silently. "I think I understand now. But... I'm still told that I'm different and a bit weird. Can you accept that I will try to learn, but, I may not know everything yet. That's not going to stop this girl genius though!"

"I will adapt if you understand that while you may not know everything, it does not mean the knowledge does not exist. It is within my abilities to handle the work myself, however it is procedure onboard this ship to bring you into the project, while I remain to assist in any issues that appear. My knowledge is your knowledge. Due to my connection as a Borg that knowledge is vast." Zero replied instantly, placing his hands behind his back. "You, as well as others, should find it useful. I only wish to help, but if alcove is not up to standards, my body is affected. Which means my work is affected. Which may affect my performance in the event of a ship wide emergency. So, you understand, why this devices efficiency is required for my own efficiency."

"Ok" Haruna responded with a small nod. "I will download and read what specs we have on it. Then if it breaks I can fix it".

Zero nodded his head, walking away from Haruna, towards the alcove again. "I would be most appreciative. Knowing you are well informed in Borg tech will provide me with the comfort should something were to happen to me and your knowledge is required."

"Gotcha Mister Ex-Borg San..." she paused, that nickname seemed impolite. "Actually, I'll call you Zero-Sama" she said simply adding the honorific of 'sama' to his name as a sign of respect if not slight admiration.

Zero stood there, unsure of how to respond, only to nod while his back was still facing Haruna. Of all the nicknames he's been called, both to his face and behind his back, this one felt genuine. Not meant to insult him in anyway. "Thank you for your assistance, Lieutenant. If there is nothing further, you may return to your duties."

Haruna nodded, spun on a heel and waved at Zero over her shoulder. "Toodles!" She called as she walked out of his quarters.

Zero turned his head slightly, watching her leave from the corner of his eye, before looking back to the alcove. He shook his head slightly before saying "Toodles?! Toodles?!?!" He removed his arms from behind his back and let out a deep sigh. "The girl in girl-genius makes far more sense than the genius part."

END:

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Lieutenant Zero
Chief Operations Officer

&

Lieutenant Haruna Mizuhara
Chief Engineer

 

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