Posted Nov. 8, 2020, 4:45 p.m. by Warrant Officer Gerald Hopkins (Engineer) (Brian Richards)
Posted by Warrant Officer Gerald Hopkins (Engineer) in Intro, then checking in with the XO
(Given that Joe is on LOA I’m sending this your way Linds)Gerald had a restless night to settle in on the starbase. He figured that he was going to be in deep space working on vital systems not, well, sitting around waiting for who knows what. His ocular implant was giving him trouble, the neural link was acting up again and he felt a burning situation deep in his head while the image flickered and looked like television static. He was sure it was just the relays needing to be replaced again and he rose to walk to the mirror, stumbling a little as he now knew his relays were going. The eyes always went first, followed by his balance, the relays were shot. He took out a small cylindrical tool as well as a small black case where inside were isolinear relays, smaller and more squarish versions of the isolinear chips found in some older starships. The relays were of a simple design and where a burnt orange in color. He pulled out two and set them on the side with his functional human left arm. Taking the tool he put it to the side of his head an twisted while pushing, a small shock could be heard as the exterior panel disengaged and folded down revealing the neural link inside. There were two of the relays located on top of each other and if both removed would disable all implants within his body within 5 minutes, effectively killing him. A flaw in Starfleet design perhaps? Maybe but they were trying to save soldiers not create the most robust system in the quadrant. Those 5 minutes were due to a buffer loaded into the main processing core that would degrade over time without the relays in place. As Gerald sighed he pushed in the top most and it clicked and the lights blinked out from it as he removed it from his head followed by the second one. There were many times he had thought about just passing away from this, it would have been called an error, a mistake but Gerald had never followed through with it. He sighed and inserted the new relays and they blinked to life as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable reboot of each system as it checked system integrity throughout. It was a painful process and Gerald had never quite gotten used to it as he could feel each of his internal and external implants shutting down and restarting before his ocular implant came up last. It appeared similar to a Borg unit, replacing the entire socket and mounting to his skull but lacking the wires and harshness of their cold assimilative ways. As his vision was corrected he saw the status of his relays and internal systems as well as some data about the world around him, like a step between a VISOR and replacement eyes. The relays were already reading 88% and they were brand new. His body was starting to reject more and more now. He looked at the old relays and they weren’t just worn out, no, they were cracked and burnt, this was something he’d have to consult medical about.
Putting on his uniform Gerald grabbed his PADD and strolled out as he re-read his transfer orders. He was an officer yes, but a warrant officer. He was enlisted through and through but was good enough and dedicated enough for a special honor one that he worked hard for, and paid dearly for. The Chief was away when Gerald was transferred aboard but he wanted to get a lay of the land and maybe get some information on what ship they’d be going to once their base leave was finished. He thought that the XO would be the person to know and found his way to their temporary office, rang the chime, and waited as patiently as a cyborg could.
SWO Gerald Hopkins, Eng
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