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Modding the Khallianen

Posted on Wed Mar 4th, 2020 @ 4:49pm by Lieutenant Mona Gonadie & Baroness 3rd Class Sarika & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Ensign Briaar Gavarus
Edited on on Fri Mar 20th, 2020 @ 4:03pm

Mission: Dedjoy System Mystery
Location: The Khallianen
Timeline: 2397

Mona and Gavarus had been doing a bit of work to the Khallianen, her wife's ship, to get it ready for the trip to Moradonia for the birth of their chicks in less than two months and today was the day that some of the finishing touches were being put on. As Mona clicked the last of the new holographic console panels into place, she checked the feeds with her tricorder to make sure power and data were ok, then sat down in the pilot seat and started the new bootup sequence for the primary and backup flight systems. The primary systems were holographic, like those on the bridge, but simplified and included the weapons systems when they were armed. The first backup reverted to the flat panel display. The second backup allowed the user to go completely powerless with wired controls to either side and under the console itself with levers and solenoids.

"Briaar!" the brightly plumed aviatrix called, turning to face the back of the J-type pirate ship. "Are you about done with the engine feeds to the new weapons?" Along with upgrading the controls, the engines, the shields... She had added a few Miradonian weapons and surprises to the small craft. She just hoped that the power grid could handle it all.

With her prodigious rear end sticking up out of the open access panel in the rear of the main cabin, the Tellarite engineer muttered for a moment before pulling herself up out of the hold with a grunt. With Mona now exceedingly pregnant, she needed a bit more help to get the ship above and beyond specs and Briaar volunteered to help her feathered section head. "Yeah, It's looking frickin' sweet, Chief. The mods are holding above Starfleet requirements by... 35%. The weapon yield will be, like, Thunderchicken tough."

Closing the hatch and wiping her hands on her pants, since she was off duty, the portly porcine was wearing a pair of old, stained khaki overalls and a novelty T-Shirt she got during there recent trip to Risa with a massive Picture of her partner, Fiona O'Dell, smiling away on it. "Are you going to a frickin' warzone to pop those kids out?"

"This time of year a lot of chicks are born and hunters tend to come by to try and... Well... You know..." Mona frowned a bit, an obviously foreign facial expression to her, as she wrapped her arms around her prodigious middle and tried to explain the threats to her homeworld. She too was off duty and even on duty she was limited in what she could wear so she had taken to wearing the same black and blue coveralls with her badge and vest-like section jacket with her rank almost all the time. Even her large apron did little to cover her. "Better to be safe than sorry is all I'm saying."

"Wait, HUNTERS?" Gavarus said with a shocked expression as she stepped over to the console, leaning past Mona to flip a few switches in the overhead to test the power connections. "There are hunters that are gonna be?! What the effin' F**K, chief?! Are you and the L-C gonna be flying there in this ship by yourselves? Even with this shield and weapons rig, will that be safe?"

"Possibly, but we will not be making the trip by ourselves, Miss Gavarus." Came the voice of Mona's wife and bond-mate, Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox, from the otherwise empty deck of the Hera's Flight Deck two as she stepped up the ramp into the small craft that was hers as a Baroness in the Artan fleet. Walking up behind her was Captain Telvan's adjunct and Dox's superior as a Baroness, the silver-haired Sarika.

"One way or another, we will have an escort ship. I'm going to ask Doctor t'Liun if the Golden Ghost will be available." Dox said as she ran a hand across the soft white paneling of he ships refurbished interior.

"Aye, and there'll be quite a few others running patrols of the area as well," added Sarika who was right behind her.

"My Minay," Mona said with a bright smile and outstretched arms. Due to the extra weight of the chicks being half Rihannsu, she was more exhausted than usual so spent most of her time sitting, thus expected her bond-mate to come to her for kisses

Not missing a beat, Dox gave Mona a broad smile and stepped over, got down on one knee and gave her very pregnant wife a fairly big hug and a very long kiss. While she did, the three chicks inside Mona began letting out their distinctive and rythmic thrumming that could be heard clearly in the cabin.

Gavarus, kneeling down slightly as she was too tall at two meters to stand up straight in the Khallianen, rolled her eyes comically and leaned over to Sarika. "Ya' gotta just give 'em a minute with that. Ya' get used to it."

"My cats are the same way," the cybernetic Baroness replied with a shit-eating grin. "I mean, they're holographic, but you know... Clingy and loving and all that. So... What surprises did you add to this old clunker? I saw that you left the camouflage alone." Sarika was referring to the decades of rust and neglect that had been carefully painted onto the outer hull panels to make the ship look a lot more defenseless than she really was.

"Yeah, we didn't do shit with the facade. The more she looks like a junker on the outside, the better, we figure. But the chief had us replace most of the propulsion and power systems. There are omnidirectional thrusters that use modified impulse emitter so she can do a 180° at near warp speeds. She's not as maneuverable as a Delta class, but just about. She's got three layers of adaptable shielding and a Miradonian weapons array you do NOT want to screw with." Gavarus replied, extremely proud of the work they'd been doing with the small craft.

"But NO Miradonian holocloak at all. 'Cuz that would... Uh... be bad or something." The ponderous pork chop leaned in and winked lightly with a grin.

"I assume because of that allegra treaty or something with the Klingons or something because Baroness Dox is also a Starfleet Officer. So glad the Artans don't have to stand on that bull." You could almost hear the servos in Sarika's skull straining to keep up with her as she rolled her eyes. "But hey, I've heard that some starfleet sensor jamming packages get around it so well you don't need a cloak. Invisible to the cybernetic eye, even."

"The treaty of Algeron. It redefined the rules of the Neutral Zone between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire." Dox said as she leaned back from her embrace of Mona, her cheeks looking a more flush shade of green. "It comes with a caveat that the Federation won't develop or use cloaking technology. But Mona's holocloak development runs just outside the parameters."

"One of these days, I need to ask my Grandmother if my being her official and legal representative of the Imperial Senate is a loophole in that." Dox said, only half-joking as she got up to look at the modifications that her wife and Briaar had made to the interior.

It looked like an almost new ship with the former, narrow 'Captain's cabin' moved and doubled in size by replacing the former cargo hold in the rear of the ship. "So, this looks very different in here, Jhu Dhael. What have you two been up to in here?"

Using the Romulan phrase for 'Angel Bird', Dox turned to Mona.

"Well..." Mona turned slightly to show off the new control panels which were now colored in pinks and greens with touches of teal. "Everything can still be controlled the normal way like on a normal ship. Flat-panel touch controls, et cetera... But I added my new holographic controls so that you can fly, fire weapons, scan, balance power and shields... And if all of that fails, we can still use these manual levers and controls on the sides to control the flight mechanisms. On top of that, I added a replicator to the main panel. It's a bit limited to things like a medkit, forty different meals, sixteen drinks... But I figure that's good enough."

As she spoke, she cycled through a few of the capabilities, ending on a test of the replicator with two very generic mugs of hot Rihannsu dark cocoa. "It may not be the best flavor... And the dishware is edible... But it's sustainable," she added as she handed one of the mugs to her lover.

In a lot of ways, Mnhei'sahe Dox thought of herself as a poor example of a Romulan woman. Compassionate, anxiety-riddled and honest to a fault, she didn't fit the stereotypes at all. But when it came to her taste buds, she leaned heavily towards the notoriously tart and sour fare her people tended to favor. Taking a sip, the red-headed Romulan Flight chief nodded in approval. "It must be love if you're drinking a cup of this too."

Mona sipped at her mug as well, wrinkling her nose a bit as she grinned mischievously. "Really? Does it taste much different from Trill or Human cocoa? They're all nearly the same flavor to me."

"Awwww shit. The hormones have melted that brilliant brain of yours, Chief." Gavarus joked, lightly grabbing Mona's head and pressing it against her belly while patting her feathered boss on the shoulder in a mock display of faux 'grieving' that elicited a chuckle from Dox.

Then, looking back into the hold of the ship, Dox raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Briaar? Where's... where's my hoverbike? It used to be strapped down in the cargo hold back there but... There's no cargo hold anymore."

"Ahhh! Yeah, fear not, L-C!" The space swine said with a smile as she shuffled to the back and hit the small control pad on the wall as the door to the back chamber opened. "We remodeled the hold and put a bigger bedroom back there for you two. Your bike, which is kinda sweet actually, is in the Hera's cargo storage section in the back of the deck. Safe and sound. Promise."

"You can't fit a family on a bike. You have to upgrade to a shuttle," Sarika interjected with a chuckle. "And I wouldn't worry about her sense of taste. Last time I went out with a Miradonian was to a Bolian chili cook-off. Spicy or not, it all tasted the same to him. Almost burnt my tongue off on some blue beans with warnings all over it because the bastard said it was only a little warm."

"That is true... If you haven't noticed, I cook more by texture than by taste and I'm always asking you what you think of the food," Mona confirmed.

"Huh... Guess that works with you and your mom liking stuff that tastes more like a vindictive form of punishment, right L-C? The Iron stomach and the impervious taste buds teaming up for the win." Gavarus smirked as she closed the main bedroom door and stepped over to the starboard side bulkhead where the old shelf of a bedroom used to be and seemed to be replaced by three long, floor to ceiling panels. "Now... Check this shit out! This was my little idea."

Pressing a panel lightly, all three panels retracted into the overhead and three long, padded cradles unfolded from inside the wall and came out halfway into the center of the space. "These are adjustable and, while the kiddos are still little, there's actually enough space for them to slide back into the bulkhead for safety. And we built-in force fields and inertial dampeners into the crib spaces. You can fly this baby into a frickin' solar flare and the kids will sleep right through it."

"Hey, Chief. Like, I know the kids'll be half-Romulan, but what do Miradonian kids usually eat?" The portly porcine asked.

"Whatever they can get ahold of. Bugs, grass, grains, egg, milk..." The brightly plumed woman then stared up at the ceiling, a sudden thought coming to her. "Most babies don't eat just anything when they're born... They don't fly, they don't potty train themselves... Ugh... I forgot to plan for that and need to talk to the doctor."

"Uh, yeah. I think so, Chief. Yeesh." Gavarus scoffed in a slightly exaggerated fashion, eyes widening. "Not that I can talk. Our kidlette can dent durasteel with her little chompers when she's in a mood."

The cyber-pirate gasped in shock at that admission. "What the hell kind of space pig nonsense... Sorry but, what the heck?"

"Ha! Well, Tellarite kids will eat just about anything once our teeth come in, but our little girl, Minnie. She's adopted. She's a Minotaur." Gavarus said, practically beaming with pride as she clarified. "Like... Gonna grow up to probably be taller than me and all kinds of super strong and shit. But she's... She's the best."

"A what?" Sarika asked, tapping the side of her head, wondering if her UT was failing or just that she didn't know what Gavarus was talking about. "I'll look it up later or something. Do you hear something?"

Since Minnie had been brought up, the chicks had started excitedly singing to the point they could fairly easily be heard now, even still inside the womb.

Putting her hand on Mona's belly, Dox closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. While the chicks were clearly audible, through their telepathic and empathic bond with Mona and their soon-to-be born Daughters, the nascent mental abilities of the young Romulan woman could pick up on the thoughts and feelings of those children. For Mnhei'sahe, they were feelings. Colors. Impressions and images.

"It's the girls, Sarika. They're... singing." Dox said softly as the children continued, a sound that reverberated through the cabin lightly like crystal. "They heard Briaar talking about little Minerva. They are looking forward to meeting her. They like her already through Mona's times touching her in the daycare."

"R... Really?" Briaar said, smiling

"Mmhmm, really," Mona confirmed. "And Moira, though I think they prefer Minnie for some reason."

Sarika motioned with one hand in the air. "No helping what you like. You just have to roll with it."

"For some reason, my ample ass! Those kids clearly have impeccable frickin' taste. Ooh, hold on." Gavarus said as she started rifling through her toolbox for a second. "Here you go. Check it."

Producing a small clear disk, she held it flat in her hand and pressed a button on the side, and a small Holo display of the little Minotaur babe, Minerva Moo Mary Margret Mona Carrot appeared in all her fuzzy, brown, horned, bovine cuteness. "That's our Minnie Moo, Sarika. She's just... She's everything."

Briaar was clearly emotional thinking about the aggressively cute toddler.

Sarika's eyes went wide as she took in the holo. "Gods in heaven... That's... IT'S A HUMANOID COW! How did I not know these things existed until now? Where are they from? They're called Mini... Mino... What? They're sentient, right?"

"What? YEAH, she's sentient! N' she's smart as hell. She's not even a year old and she's starting t' talk and… OW! Briaar stood up to her full height, clearly indignant at what she perceived as a slight against her beloved daughter, and whacked her head on the top of the cabin.

Interjecting, Dox switched from 'Briaar' to 'Miss Gavarus' to make sure she was heard. "Miss Gavarus, I'm sure Sarika meant no offense. She's clearly never even heard of a Minotaur before and seems more fascinated than anything else."

Turning her attention to Sarika, Dox wanted to make sure the situation didn't get tense. "Minotaurs are beings from ancient Earth Mythology. As you observed, humanoid bovines of great physical strength that often served as guardians or warriors to the gods. We happen to have one such deity on Deck eight named Hera. Miss Gavarus and her partner, Miss O'Dell adopted Minnie after she was born and the birth-mother died in childbirth. And as you can tell, they are extremely defensive parents." The Romulan smiled softly, hoping that she was helping, though Gavarus still seemed upset.

Checking to see if she was dreaming or awake, Sarika slapped herself on the face, though the impact of her durasteel hand seemed to hurt and left a bit of an imprint. "OW! Ok, so you're saying this Hera bitch... Person... Lady... Isn't just some made up ghostly figure the Queen's ship is named after and is still alive after... What? A couple of thousands of years? Bullshit! Even those Asgardian people can't live that long, can they? They can't, can they?"

Looking between everyone else in the cabin and slowly coming to the realization that everyone else already knew, another thought came to Sarika. "Someone should probably tell Schwein her fiance is going to outlive her... By a lot."

"Possibly, but while Schwein was augmented before, she couldn't shoot lightning or punch through bulkheads like they were sserayl paper." Dox said with a light smile, referencing a particularly thin, reddish decorative paper from the sserayl trees of Romulus, similar to a thin rice paper. "Her own lifespan is likely enhanced by her... relationship to Thor and his aura. Starfleet classifies these beings as hyper-evolved alien life, but they are, for all intents and purposes, Gods. And we have two living on the Hera. And yes, they are thousands of years old."

The young Lieutenant Commander was glad she had taken the time to brush up on her religious studies, deciding that they were quite useful things to know considering her friendship with Death and, to a lesser degree, Hera.

For her part, Gavarus was still a little irritated looking, but was calming down as she realized that Sarika just didn't know what she was talking about and mean no harm. And as an engineer, she also noticed how hard that hand looked when it hit Sarika's cheek. "Uh... you okay there, lady? That... Looked like it hurt? You need to get a dampening field on those things. Or at least some bubble wrap gloves, or something."

"Yeah, they're a duranium alloy. I can dip my hands into lava and take readings with them if I have to." A slow grin spread across Sarika's face, stretching the handmark seemingly painfully. "I owe you an apology and I need something to soothe this injury so how about we raid my ship's stores and crack open a few bottles of brandy in that lounge? I've got some of the best and some of the... ah... most medicinal... stashed away so I'll let you pick."

"Ooh, thankfully I accept apologies in alcohol form. And I AM off duty! Lead the way, I'll call Fiona." Gavarus said as she allowed a smile out, following Sarika down the runway of the Khallianen as she leaned back in, "See you at work in the morning, Chief. L-C!"

"Don't drink so much you die~!" Mona called after them, slightly worried as she'd gotten a few glimpses of the night her mate and Sarika drank each other to the point of blindness through their bond.

After a moment, Dox's sensitive Romulan ears picked up the sound of them both leaving the flight deck, leaving the bonded couple alone in their private, and freshly remodeled, starcraft. Still sitting in the co-pilot's seat opposite Mona, Mnhei'sahe smiled and leaned back to look at everything. "Well, you said you were going to make her into something that's truly ours, and not just mine. And I would have to say, you succeeded. This is really nice, Mona."

"Well, I do have a special bond to my family to help me, after all." With a grin and a grunt, Mona finally got up out of the pilot's seat and pulled her lover towards the bedroom, slapping the ramp controls on the way. "However, you haven't seen the best part yet."

What had formerly been little more than a padded shelf along the starboard bulkhead in a space not much bigger than a closet was now where the ship's cargo hold used to be, and as Mona opened the door to the Captain's cabin, Mnhei'sahe smiled. The space wasn't huge. There were overhead bins for storage and luggage. There was a small shelf along the back wall reading lamps above the bed. And in the center of the space, was a padded, feathered nest. A little smaller and much cozier than what was in their quarters. But even with Mona as pregnant as she was, there was more than enough room for the both of them to lay next to each other.

But as Mona lead Mnhei'sahe into the small chamber, it was clear from the hungry look in her deep, amber eyes, that they wouldn't be laying next to each other tonight.

 

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