== /\ USS Chimera /\ ===== Jack had been in the holodeck all afternoon with Cortez, Lynch, Terek and the General testing out the various new weapons that they were pushing forward for the upcoming away mission, which was something he thought his lads needed. A good shoot em' up. A chance to try out some new toys and generally get their hands dirty. He had told Cortez and Lynch to get back on the case if they wanted the flamethrower idea pushed forward. Back at ODA Headquarters now he was in his office doing the usual crap that he usually did, nothing basically. His mind was bugging him though, there was something that he was supposed to have done by now, something that was supposed to have been done weeks ago. "Shit!" Jack gasped. "Specialist Lynch, report to my office immediately." he pressed on the intercom, knowing that Lynch would be outside working with Cortez. "On my way, master" replied Lynch to his comm and took the few steps that separated him from the ODA COs office. "You could've yelled, Major" he said jokingly as the door slid open. "We've got some improvements on the bugzapper if you are interested" he added. "Yes, but I find that requires much more energy than tapping my chest and demanding you come on in." Jack grinned. "The flamethrowers going to need to be something good if you want to convince the general to put it on the weapons manifest for the mission." Jack leant forward, putting his elows on the desk and interlocking his hands together. "How are you lot on the training sim?" "Well, we´ve got some ideas up our sleeves yet, Major. The main problem is that these things are extremely fast. We can take them out allright, if we keep our distance, but as soon as they close in, we get our asses kicked up to the Highlands and back again. There´s two things I can tell ye. First, we would have a better position if we knew where they are long before the come, and I am working on that as we speak. Second, we should find a way to immobilize them. Cortez has made a suggestion about combining a stasis field with a few million volts, but the main problem is, that if the charge is too high, we take out the ship, too." he explained. "Not a pleasant situation, I tell ye that. But" he closed. "If you want a full tactical analysis, you should ask the blind man. He seems to have some notions on that." "Yes, the Blind man" Jack stiffled a yawn thinking back to their meeting only a few hours earlier. "I'm sure he'll send me the report, no doubt hes eager to prove himself within the unit." Jack took a sip of his coffee, having not invited the man to sit yet he let out a small smirk. "So, how was your punishment?" Jack grinned. Aidan looked surprised. "What punishment?" he asked, thinking for moment. "Oh" he finally said "you mean my little interemezzo with the Engineers? Humm, allright, I guess. Had to clean up a few things, no big deal. The only interesting thing was to see the Half Borg, or at least that's what they say Quayle is. Had to assist him with the Counselors quarters, odd bloke, bit on the scruffy side, but knows his job. Couldn't really see Borg on him, but you never know" Aidan concluded, then grinned. "At least you got some fresh air, mate." he smirked. Jack nodded. He had taken a particular interest in the half borg on the ship. He didn't trust him for a second, thats why he'd had all of the guys activities through the ships systems and what not. "Fresh air" Jack chuckled, his thoughts drifting to the training that the General put him through. "Well, my lungs certianly got a good bloody work out" he smiled. "Nothing to special." he brushed it off. "Anything you wanted to discuss?" he smiled. "Perhaps your performance as of late?" Aidan looked at Walsh surprised. His little invention wasn't public domain yet. Could it be, that the Major had seen it already? Maybe the Blueprints in his console. Aidan didn't like to disclose his toys before they were on an acceptable level, but maybe he could even get a bit more support materialwise, which would come handy considering the last explosions. "Well" he hesitated a bit. "Yeah, there is something I've been toying with, mate. But it's still experimental. Basically" Aidan took deep breath and prepared for an explanation. "Ok, here's the thing. I think the tricorders are less then acceptable in certain situations. And I think there's enough tech going around that we can use at our advantage. What I've been trying to do is combine certain technologies to provide us with a better tactical tricorder, easier to use, less bulky, more resistant and with a few more uses and..." he grinned proudly. "a new interface. A holographic interface." he finished, beaming like a little kid talking about christmas. Jack had no idea where the hell that came from, he pushed the little black box back into the draw and looked him in the eye. "Well, have you got a working prototype?" he quizzed. "If you did, perhaps we could field test one of them during the upcomming mission?" "Well, you see..." Aidan hesitated a bit more. "I had to rebuild it a few times. You know how it is, a wrong connection, or voltage and things go a bit... loud if you will. Right now, I'm still reassembling a new prototype with a new battery, to try out an option. I don't think it's ready yet." Aidan felt the blood coming up his face. "Not in uncontrolled conditions. Not yet. Uhm. Sir." he finished a bit lame. Jack looked the man up and down. "Well Ok. Keep me apprised." he reached into the draw palming the box discreetly and moved up towards Lynch. "One more thing mate." he opened the box to reveal a new rank for the Specialists Collar. "Apparently, someone likes you...I received orders to promote you to Petty Officer 3rd Class a while ago, but, you know me. I forgot" Jack smiled pulling the specialist rank insignia off the mans collar and replacing it with the PO3 rank. "I therefore promote you to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class, please do enjoy the 'many'" he said in a sarcastic tone. "rights and privileges associated with the rank." he stepped back and saluted the guy. Aidan glanced at his collar, trying to get a look the rank insignia. A broad smile started to appear on his face, when he stood straight and saluted back. "That's a shame, Major" he finally said, with a grin. "Specialist has a nice ring to it when said over a pint or two. Petty Officer sounds... fruity, if you know what I mean. But I'll keep it anyways, might be worth a show off with the ladds." he added jokingly and watched his rank again. "Anyhow. Thanks, mate. Didn't see that one coming." "Neither did I..." Jack nodded to him. "Dismissed." === Major Jack Walsh ODA Commander USS Chimera, SSF & PO3 Aidan Lynch Engineering Spec. USS Chimera, SSF