Priorities

Posted on Dec 23, 2017 @ 9:50pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Fear Itself

"PRIORITIES"

(Continued from "Interviews")
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Captain's log, supplemental - with the memorial service for Ensign Chaucer, Ensign Schad, and Petty Officer Carter scheduled for this evening, most of the department heads, including myself will be off-duty to attend it. These are the first casualties the Phoenix has suffered since the Battle of Earth at the end of last year, and it is seemly that we honour them for their sacrifice.

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Location: USS Phoenix, docked at Starbase 56, edge of the Neutral Zone
Stardate: [2.17]1223.1750
Scene: Bridge -> Corridor - deck 2, saucer section


Michael Turlogh Kane didn't have to wait long for a turbolift to come to the bridge. Usually, the computer kept one on the bridge level at all times, but when there were a lot of people moving about, such as now, there was an occasional delay. Almost nine hundred people moving around, finding their workstations, getting settled into their quarters again, and carrying out basic maintenance and repair of the huge dreadnought could easily clog up the turbolift system.

Someone came to his side, and Kane glanced to his left. It was one of the marines dressed in casual fatigues, someone he didn't recognise. He was Human, with slick black hair, a large nose, and a smile that was just a little too big, and crossed the line from being pleasant to being irritating. That's what this marine was doing right now - smiling irritatingly.

Kane used to loathe marines. He used to see them as morons, getting in the way all the time, idiot piles of muscle that had access to heavy ordnance. This attitude stemmed from eight years as a Security Chief, trying to protect his turf from being invaded by over-zealous MCOs, and impressing upon them that it was the Security Department that was responsible for (as the name implied) the security of a starship. Not every MCO was happy to accept that position, but that was fine too. It just meant that those MCOs were wrong.

The grinning marine held up his two hands, giving Kane a double thumbs-up. "Hey, Captain!" he said, drawing the first word out to triple its proper length - heeeeeeyyyy, Captain! - which instantly made Kane want to inflict violence upon him.

Instead, he gave the marine one of his eyeball specials. "Which one are you, then?" he grated.

The marine assumed a more military air, standing up straight and putting his hands behind his back. "Suarez, sir. Private Rico." As soon as the words left his mouth, though, the casual attitude, and the annoying grin, returned. "Say, it sure is good to meet you, Captain Kane. We've never been introduced, you know?"

"What are you doing on the bridge?" said Kane, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Oh, the Gunny sent me up to check the bridge weapons locker." The marine jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the locker's general direction. "But it's all good, Cap! Phaser's right where she should be, heyyyyyyy!" Suarez grinned and shrugged like he hadn't a care in the galaxy.

Kane's upper lip curled into a distasteful sneer, and his temper bubbled towards boiling point. He chewed on his bottom lip and got ready to give Rico Suarez a face-melting lecture that would fucking well incinerate the marine.

Then, like it was on a cue, the turbolift door opened. Suarez, completely oblivious to Kane's rising fury, kept grinning, and gestured toward the lift. "Top brass goes first!" he said cheerfully. "After you, Captain!"

Kane stepped inside, and the marine got in with him. The doors hissed closed, sealing them inside like it was a tomb.

"Cosy, huh!" Suarez grinned. "Marine barracks, please! How about you, boss?"

"I'm going to my quarters," said Kane through gritted teeth. "Deck 2, saucer section."

"One deck down!" chuckled Suarez. "They oughta just put in an elevator, huh!"

Kane balled his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms. Forget the elevator, he thought - he wondered if it was possible to put in a trapdoor and set of stairs that led from his ready room directly to his quarters. That way, he wouldn't be accosted by half-wits while he was transiting between the two locations. The only way this could be worse was if the pug was here, peeing on the floor.

The turbolift whirred into life, but it was moving slowly. Rico Suarez kept up his inane shite-talk. "You know what I always thought about turbolift trips, boss? They're too darn quiet! We should get some music in these turbolifts, huh! A little soundtrack to our lives, right? Some swing, some big band Dixieland jazz, huh? Make these rides go a lot faster, right? Huh? Right?" he clicked his fingers. "Whaddya say, boss, will you make it priority?"

In Kane's brain, a neuron fired, sending a signal down his spine and arms to his fingers - kill Rico Suarez.

Before it could reach its destination, the turbolift slowed to a halt, and the door opened onto deck 2. Kane stepped out. "I'll look into it, Private," he said non-committally.

"Great!" Rico Suarez gave another double-thumbs up. "You know, I've got some playlists I could send you! Whaddya think?" But the doors shut on his face before Kane could reply.

The tension drained out of Kane's body, down into the deckplate. One day, all his dissipated rage would probably turn the ship itself into a monstrous sentient creature of chaos that wanted to destroy all life in the cosmos.

Still, his quarters were nearby. Quick shower, a bite to eat, and then down to the memorial service.

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Location: Outside captain's quarters - deck 2, saucer section


A little later, the fed-and-watered Kane emerged from his quarters and retraced his steps back toward the turbolift. The memorial service was taking place twenty-nine decks below in the ship's arboretum, which included an area set aside for such a purpose. The designers had even thought to include some holo-projectors set into the walls, in order to cast images of blue skies, or something more culturally specific, into the room.

He saw Jonathan Maynell, one of the assistant chief engineers, walking slowly down the corridor against him. Maynell had a tricorder in one hand, his head was down and his brow was furrowed as he examined the instrument. When he became aware of Kane's presence, he looked up quickly. "Captain!"

"Mister Maynell," Kane nodded. "Aren't you going to the memorial service?"

Maynell looked a little uncomfortable. "No, Captain. Commander Malin-Argo wants one of us - the assistants, I mean - to remain on duty for the evening. I was chosen."

"I see." Kane gestured to the tricorder. "What are you doing with that?"

"Oh." Maynell turned the tricorder around so that Kane could see the data stream. "We detected a minor power drain from the upper saucer. Its effects on overall power consumption are negligible - less than half a percentage point - but the commander wanted it checked out anyway."

"Have you pinpointed the source?" asked Kane, frowning. The data stream showed a small blip in the local ODN relay network. Something in this part of the ship was drawing more power from the warp engines than usual.

Maynell nodded. "Yes. I wanted to check this deck to be sure, but it's coming from one deck below us - Lieutenant Byte's quarters. I was just about to go down and ask him about it."

Kane gestured toward the turbolift. "I'll stop in on my way to the arboretum. You can inform Commander Malin-Argo that I handled the matter personally."

Maynell stood up straight. "Yes, Captain. Thank you, sir."

The turbolift doors opened again, and Kane and Maynell got in. This time, the ride was smooth and fast.

And silent.

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Scene: Junior officers' quarters - deck 3, saucer section


Kane paused outside Byte's quarters. There was nobody else moving around on the deck, so he put his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything. It was probably his imagination, but he thought the usual background rumble was a smidgen louder in there. He wondered what the android was up to.

As part of a landmark legal case in 2365 where another, older positronic android successfully sued for its civil rights, Byte was considered a sentient, independent being, with its own agency and the same rights and protections under the law as all Federation citizens. When the Maddox Institute had first activated Byte and its two siblings seven years ago, all three androids were 'born' with full working knowledge databases. The only thing they were not programmed with was their place in the universe - under the ruling of 2365, these three new life-forms were given the choice of where they wanted to go, what gender to identify with, and what they wanted to do with their lives. One of them chose to identify as male and join Starfleet, and took the name Byte.

Kane had never known Byte to be anything other than a model officer. Although Kane found it hard to connect with Byte on personal level, other senior officers did not have that difficulty, treating the android like it was one of the gang. It was also important not to forget that Byte had played a pivotal role in the ship's operations during the Neo-Essentialist crisis and the defeat of the phobophage.

He pushed the door control. Nothing happened for a moment, then Byte's voice came over the comm. [[Who is it?]]

Kane raised an eyebrow. "It's Captain Kane."

[[One moment, Captain.]]

Kane sighed in irritation. What was going on now? But he didn't have long to wait. A few seconds later, Byte spoke again. [[Come in, Captain.]]

The doors opened, and Kane stepped inside. Byte's quarters were not like those of the other officers - they had been specially modified to house a being who did not require any sleep. They were much smaller than the other quarters. Instead of a bedroom, Byte had its own diagnostic and repair station - it looked like an upright coffin - that was directly linked to the main computer. It was usually used by Byte to back up its own files, storing them on the main computer, but was also capable of acting as a specialised android diagnostic centre, bring equipped with its own sensor palette. Kane had seen the thing being brought aboard three years ago, and was duly impressed by it.

In the main living area, there was only the semblance of relaxation. Byte had no hobbies that Kane knew of, and he didn't know how the android passed its off-duty time. Indeed, Byte often volunteered for extra duty shifts, and was usually active when all the other department heads were sleeping. There were chairs here, but only two of them, arranged either side of a small coffee table - all three pieces of furniture next to the replicator, which, again, Byte didn't used.

The android was standing patiently by the diagnostic station - the upright coffin. The array of blinking lights on the machine indicated that it was in use, but perhaps in a pause mode.

Byte blinked languidly. {{Captain. This is the first time you have visited me in my quarters.}}

Kane nodded. "I don't mean to intrude, Mister Byte. Engineering has detected a power drain centred on your quarters. Are you using your diagnostic equipment?"

{{Indeed, sir.}}

There was an awkward pause. "Are you malfunctioning?" prompted Kane.

Byte cocked its head like a bird. {{No, Captain. I am running an experiment on my positronic matrix."

Kane raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're eating up the juice in here. What kind of experiment?"

Byte turned its head to the left, and Kane saw that a panel on the right side of Byte's head was open. There was an connection port underneath, and Byte gestured to it. {{My positronic brain holds over two thousand quadrillion bits of data, and has a total linear computational speed of around one-hundred-and-eighty trillion operations per second. I am seeking to improve those statistics.}}

Kane frowned. "Interesting. How?"

Byte turned its beautiful cornflower blue eyes back on Kane again. {{I have recently written a new series of algorithms designed to link my internal data relay network more efficiently, and to drastically increase the connections across the network. A more efficient network would increase my abilities exponentially.}}

Kane folded his arms. "You're designing upgrades for yourself?"

Byte looked confused. {{Did I not just say that, sir?}}

Kane chuckled. "I suppose you did. What will the end result be?"

{{I am hopeful of achieving a total linear computational speed of two hundred trillion operations per cent.}} Byte folded its arms, and stood in a direct imitation of Kane's stance as it tried to look more comfortable. {{If I achieve that, I will be faster at assimilating and processing information than the ship's computer.}}

Kane was impressed. "Well, that sounds amazing. Very well, Mister Byte, I'll inform Engineering about your experiment. In the meantime, the memorial service is beginning shortly."

{{Ah.}} Byte looked apologetic. {{I regret that I will not be attending, Captain.}}

"What?" asked Kane in surprise. "Why not?"

{{Is attendance mandatory, sir?}}

Kane's jaw dropped. Byte's tone was friendly, but firm. He slowly shook his head. "No, Lieutenant, attendance is not mandatory, but it is polite to attend the memorial services of shipmates who have given their lives in the service of others."

Byte made that expression where it seemed to look inside itself, but after a moment the apologetic look came back. {{I understand. However, I consider my experiment more important than attending the memorial service. I had limited contact with the dead crew-members and did not know them well. If attendance is not mandatory, and I have a choice of whether to attend or to remain here, then I choose to prioritise the latter.}} Then, as an afterthought, it added, {{respectfully, Captain.}}

Kane didn't know what to say. He didn't know Chaucer or Arak Schad especially well either, and was certain that he had never spoken one solitary word to Randall Carter, but all three of them had friends aboard, friends who were now in pain. Those people needed their pain validated and he'd be damned if he was going to casually wave it aside as Byte seemed to be doing. He never imagined the android to be capable of making a decision like this - perhaps he really *should* start treating Byte as it it was a person, and not a sentient machine.

Instead, he shrugged helplessly. "Very well, Lieutenant. I'll pass your regrets on to your shipmates. Good luck with your experiment."

Byte nodded politely. {{Thank you, Captain.}}

The android watched him as he moved to the door, and was still watching him as he passed over the threshold, and kept watching until the door slid shut. Kane paused a moment in the corridor, feeling disappointment burn through him but not really knowing why. After all, Byte was correct - it did have a choice whether or not to attend, and perhaps Kane should simply not have assumed it would.

He shook his head, wondering at what was going on in the android's mind, and moved to the turbolift. The memorial service was starting shortly.

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NRPG: Developments...


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117

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