Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Dael Stadi (Chief Engineer) in Office: CE - Cadet Whitfield reporting for duty
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OOC: Thanks! One thing I’ve been having some trouble with trying to work out how to speak all techy. I’m not very well versed on specific tools and their uses, so I’m probably not going to be great at dealing with engineering problems, at least, not in my current state :p
Also, I’m still trying to figure out exactly how much to write (and how to split it up), so I’m sorry if I over/underdo it, I realise that either way could be pretty inconvenient…

IC:
“Er, yes, of course!” She smiled, taking the PADD from the DH and nodding singularly, hoping to work out the problem. She was already a little apprehensive as she replayed her hasty response in her mind, realising that maybe she shouldn’t have been so sure to begin with. After all, she’s admittedly far from genius. Still, she managed a more confident smile, having a chance to prove herself here, if only slightly.

“Right,” she began, preparing to answer the question asked of her with a persisting smile, which she failed to maintain as she began studying the PADD in her hands. It’d always been hard for her to tell if she loved engineering or if she hated science. Once upon a time, she wanted nothing more but to be stationed somewhere to explore a whole facet of some other planet, far from home. Now though, that idea frustrated her. It felt futile, for some reason unknown to even herself.

She shook her head quickly, dismissing those thoughts as she continued her analysis. Those particular ones seemed to crop up quite a bit in her mind, to the point where it became just noise to her - something she tuned out. She never could understand why she had such an irrational aversion towards science or when it formed but that’s never been something she’s had to confront, nor has she ever vocalised it before. She wasn’t quite sure where to start with the PADD, but maybe there was something stopping the information from travelling, like a bad connection with the chips inside the device.

“I don’t really know exactly why I like engineering so much. Starship engines are just… great, I suppose. Everything about how they function, how all the pieces fit together - understanding how people put these systems together is like looking into those people’s minds.” She poured her mind out verbally as she tried to figure out what exactly she was going to do about the PADD. “Also, I like having a problem to solve sometimes, though, uh, I suppose maybe less so in a starship, now that I’m actually here.”

“Thank you,” she plainly said, distracting herself from the situation at hand and looking up to the department head with a friendly expression, wondering what sort of response she was getting. Of course, she hoped it was a good one, though nonetheless she was quick to stifle her chumminess somewhat, hoping not to overstep any rules or regulations, or anything like that. She wasn’t sure how casual would be too casual, but an actual starship does not seem like a good place to test your boundaries. At least, to her.

-Cadet Olive Whitfield, Engineer

OOC: No problem! I suggest taking a look at our Engineering course here at the Academy as well as Memory Alpha is a big help. There a tech manuals out there for Star Trek stuff too but don’t worry if you don’t have any of those, we’ll work with you on the technobabble :) And honestly the more you practice technobabble and posting the easier figuring out that and post length becomes, that’s also why I threw an example of an engineering RP problem into our normal interview. You’re doing great so far

IC:

Upon Cadet Whitfield’a examination of the PADD it looked like her hypothesis may be correct. Something was causing the data to not appear on the screen, but the exterior of the device seemed untouched and like it should. The problem to an Academy trained eye would seem to lie within the PADD itself, requiring the protective casing to be removed.

As Cadet Whitfield troubleshot the PADD, Dael could read a few things off of her, both from his Betazoid heritage and her manner. He was getting some apprehension and nerves, which was natural given the circumstances. No one likes being thrown into a problem in front of their new boss, but he had wanted to see how the new cadet thought through problems. It also tended to help them come more naturally to conversation when they were already fiddling with something else. At least he always felt that way.

“Don’t worry about the problems on a starship, you get used to them once you get into its rhythm. A problem is a problem, large or small, you tackle it like you always do. Start where you can and work from there. Just because a warp drive is a large piece of technology doesn’t mean that just a slight variance in the anti plasma can cause an issue.” He says further back in his chair watching the Cadet work, putting a hand to the side of his head.

“I can relate to your feelings on seeing inside someone’s head. That is a good insight though, looking at someone’s blueprints and layouts or patents can give you a glimpse of how their mind approaches problems. And I agree, starship engines are great. Even before I got interested in a career in this field I always loved assembling model warp cores. Now that you’re in this field, and in Starfleet, what goals do you have in mind? Chief Engineer on a ship like the Challenger? Jupiter Station? Maybe even a Captain’s chair?”

• Lt jg Dael Stadi, CE

She nodded slowly, taking in all the DH had to say, though she couldn’t help but choke a little hearing him ask about her goals.

“Captain’s chair? I don’t think that’s possible, not for me.” She paused for a moment, before continuing, a musing smile on her face as she spoke again. “Is this a test?” She’d never really considered the Captain’s chair as a serious position for her - she knew better than anyone that she lacked the maturity, the responsibility, and the personality for that role. Not to mention the pressure of being responsible for potentially hundreds of lives at any moment… it was impossible to imagine. Breaking away from that tangent, she shook her head quickly and tried to return to a more respectable tone.

“Er, sorry, in terms of goals, sir,” she began, “it’s always been a dream of mine to end up as a Chief Engineer on a starship somewhere, but… I don’t think that’ll be a reality any time soon, if ever.” She spoke with a tone of finality regarding this subject, though a slight sigh lingered after as she continued to dream about it. She shook her head to herself and seeing no other solutions on the outside, she flipped the PADD over and took off the back plate. She was hoping she was correct in her belief that perhaps the isolinear chip inside the device was somehow dislodged slightly, though there was no way of knowing until she got a better look inside.

“No, I’m definitely not Chief Engineer material. I’m pretty far from genius myself, and I’m almost always relying on others for help. I mean, I’d be nothing if I didn’t have help, even now. Especially now.” Despite having to do this task in front of the DH, the thing Whitfield was most frightened of was finding something she thought she’d be able to deal with and failing to. There’d be no bigger failure. After all, if she didn’t know what she was looking at, she could just ask, right?

The first thing to do after checking for any more obvious damage to the circuitry would be to reseat the isolinear chip inside the PADD and check again. Hopefully, it’d work out, though, she wouldn’t know until she tried.