TEST DRIVE MEME #4 - The Arboretum/Ten Forward

[ten_fwd_mods]

Option 01: Aboard the Enterprise, The Arboretum: In exploring the Enterprise, you end up on Deck 17, section 21 alpha: the arboretum. Instantly upon entering you can tell this room is different from all the others. For one thing, you're now standing on grass. It's no illusion, no simulation; it's real grass, leading up to a small pond in the center of the room. All around you grows a variety of plant life, trees and bushes and hanging plants, flowers and herbs and even what one might consider weeds. The arboretum is, for all intents and purposes, a botanic garden, used both recreationally for passengers to relax and enjoy, and scientifically for research and study. After all, the scope of alien plant life is impressive, from the Cyprion cacti down to the Earth variety roses.

The room is well lit and large, with benches to rest on and small walking paths. Children are grouped off in one corner working on botany projects, while some passengers are seen kneeling in the dirt carefully tending to their garden patches. There are even windows along one wall, allowing for a view of space while the room itself gives the illusion of daylight. It's the perfect spot to relax, read a book, or grab a spare spade and dig in the dirt. Or perhaps you've been looking for the right moment to say hello to the passenger standing off by the venus flytraps.





Option 02: Aboard the Enterprise, Ten Forward: Or maybe not. You've just arrived, and you have no idea what just happened. One minute you were somewhere else, and now you're in what looks like a spacious, well-appointed bar. The hum of the crowd is inviting, and the drinks look invigorating. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens.

Try to find out why you're here, or catch a drink at the bar; there's always something happening here.

Comments

[unkindness]

"The best place to start would be determining which ship we are on." Stardate would also be information she was interested in. Coordinates. How they got here is a secondary concern, to her. A question she would be pleased to have answered, but she's seen a lot and this isn't surprising.

She might not be in uniform herself, but she has no compunction about going to the nearest crewman in a recognizable uniform--slightly different than the ones worn by Voyager's crew, but not significantly enough to give her any indication of the timeline. The response she gets to her abrupt question of the ship's name and registry, as well as the stardate, does, admittedly, give her pause.

Enterprise was a ship that she knew. Not from personal experience. But the Borg had assimilated enough people who did have that experience, including this ship's captain. But judging from the stardate, that hadn't happened yet.

She turns to her unexpected companion. "There is one answer, at least. We are on the Enterprise, Starfleet's flagship. The year is 2366." She adds the last for his benefit. It's more relevant to him than her.

[partofaplan]

She'll find that Peter's wandered off to one of the LCARS terminals in the corner and is busy dicking around with it. He seems to have picked up the interface quite well.

"You guys only seem to have one advantage three hundred years on, and that's FTL."

[unkindness]

Seven's eyebrow arches upward, incredulous. Not that she's insulted, particularly. There are many areas in which Federation technology was well behind what she was used to--it was inefficient. "I apologize that it does not meet with your approval. I am sure Captain Picard would appreciate your contribution should you make yourself available for consultation."

[partofaplan]

"Well, I'd hardly call myself an expert hacker. I mean... people say that about me..." He frowns at the display. "I could totally get the navigational sensors up here. See where we're at."

[unkindness]

"And as you are unfamiliar with three of the major worlds of the Federation, I am unsure that you would be able to orient yourself using Starfleet maps."

Seven tips forward slightly, watching him watch the display.

"Furthermore, the computer will log the request for information to this terminal and send an alert to the Bridge. Navigational sensors are a coded system. Civilians are generally not granted access."

Seven's broken through them more times than she can count, but she has something of a disregard for playing by the rules.

[partofaplan]

"That's what I've got you for."

He comments, tapping a few commands into the LCARS console, getting a few bleeps in response, before looking back. "You are curious about exactly where we are, right?" He grins.

"I've seen tech like this. Some of the old-style Nova Corps systems used these for their databases. What is it, some sort of linear chip technology?" Okay, Star-Lord may be smarter than he first seems. He's broken into systems before, he's not going to be stymied by this.

"I ain't lettin' a bunch of 0's and 1's dictate how I get my information."

[unkindness]

She just tilts her head, but doesn't stop him. If he wants to get Security called on him, that's his prerogative. Her presence won't help him with that at all, since she's not a commissioned officer, nor part of this crew.

"Isolinear," she says simply. Because that is what the ships' systems use, at least in a ship like this one.

And as she has something of a strange sense of humor, she's not telling him that she'd already gotten coordinates from the Ensign she'd demanded answers from. Seven is already well aware of where they are oriented in space, but she's deemed it irrelevant for the moment.

[partofaplan]

He taps in a few more commands, bringing up a security diagnostic screen... no alarm bells so far. He turns and starts rummaging in his knapsack for something, bringing out a device which he attaches to the screen of the terminal.

He glances back at Seven, then around the Arboretum, keeping an eye out... just in case. But he's fairly confident...

...At least until the terminal starts bleeping urgently.

"...Shit." And he's grabbing the device to stuff it in his knapsack.

[unkindness]

Seven is just looking on in amusement. Or what passes for it with her. She steps forward as he steps back, metal-capped fingers flying over the input screen. The console gives one more irritable shriek before falling silent.

"I suggest we leave before security arrives."

She's completely calm when she says it, voice level. She's not entirely concerned, but she'd rather not make trouble before she's fully settled.

[partofaplan]

To be fair, he did get pretty far, obtaining a partial view of the telemetry from the aft navigational sensor before the system booted him out.

He swallows, looking a tad nervous. Security. Yeah...

"G-Good idea. Uh... Lead the way?"

[unkindness]

Seven sweeps past him towards the doors--she'd also erased the log of his intrusion, and hers. Once people realize her engineering skill it won't prevent her from being suspected, but for now it will throw them off.

He can follow her, or not. She's leading the way just as he asked.

She's not quite as familiar with the layout of a Galaxy-class ship like she is with Voyager, but the turbolifts are the same, and she can request a location of the computer. Most are probably going to be off limits. But the crew lounge surely would not be.

"Deck 10."

[partofaplan]

Peter's just going to follow her, looking around, frowning. This definitely wasn't like any other ship he had been on. Pretty big, all gleaming metal, bright lights...

It was weird.

"So... How big's this thing, anyway?"

[unkindness]

"Length 641 meters, beam 190 meters, height 473 meters. A Galaxy-class vessel such as this one has a crew compliment of 1,012 and a maximum evacuation capacity of 15,000."

She preferred her own ship. Smaller, but with sleeker lines and far fewer people. She isn't precisely comfortable with large groups of them.

[partofaplan]

"Holy shit." Here, have a low, impressed whistle. "Only high-end Kree warships come even close."

He shakes his head.

"And... are these... common?"

[unkindness]

She's not familiar with the Kree, not even vaguely, which enforces her suspicion that they were also dealing with spatial displacement of a more severe kind--between realities. Seven knows billions of species by name.

"There are ten in service by 2374, with more being built."

Galaxy-class ships were some of the more powerful, after all, and the Federation had been at war.

[partofaplan]

"You must be fightin' some big-scale war or somethin'."

Because why else would you need big-ass ships? To be explorers?

[unkindness]

"While Starfleet is the Federation's defense force, at this point in time there is no sustained warfare. These ships are generally used for scientific and diplomatic expeditions."

She knew of the Dominion War, but that was a few years from occurring. And there was always the Borg.

[partofaplan]

"...You seriously use a huge fricken starship for diplomatic reasons?"

Excuse him while he just gapes at you.

"Talk about showing your strength."

[unkindness]

He gets another primly arched eyebrow. Your reactions to this situation are certainly interesting.

"This in particular is the flagship of the fleet. It is often called upon to mediate negotiations between other powers."

"It is not as specialized as the ship I am from. Voyager's intended purpose is long-term deep space scientific research and exploration."

[partofaplan]

Hey, he's been kidnapped before. No sense going too overboard.

Besides, he's learning as well as reacting. He's just doing it in his own way.

"So, you send a big-ass starship to show that you're not to be dicked around with?"

[unkindness]

"I am not sure that is the intention." But it is an efficient tactic of intimidation, not that the Federation in her experience is generally the sort to do that.

The Borg would be, but they didn't go in for diplomacy anyway.

The turbolift hisses gently as it stops and the door opens, and she leads the way back out, taking a brief moment to orient herself before moving towards the crew lounge.

[partofaplan]

"Mhm. I bet that's what they tell you."

Excuse him, he's just a bit skeptical about everything. He's just come from a place where a thousand years of war is a common occurance.

He steps out of the Turbolift, looking around, frowning.

"This place looks familiar."

[unkindness]

"They would not have reason to tell me anything. I am not generally involved with efforts at diplomacy." With her abrupt manner, that's certainly hard to believe. Though really it's a combination of that and her obvious Borg appearance. Not that she has many implants left, but everyone knows where they're from.

She doesn't address his exclamation of familiarity, but she feels it too, like a ghost of perception on the edge of her senses. Captain Picard's memories still exist in the Collective's consciousness after all, and thus in her, though not easily accessible and hardly complete.

[partofaplan]

"Yeah, that's hard to believe." The slightest hint of good-natured sarcasm, there.

They walk down the corridors and Peter just stops.

"No... Way." He says, looking around, sudden realisation dawning on his face.

[unkindness]

The look she gives him confirms she picked up on it, even if she isn't saying as much. With Tom Paris and the Doctor around to emulate, sarcasm was one of the first forms of emotional expression she picked up.

She turns when he stops, though, hands clasped behind her back and head tilted in invitation to elaborate.