I Am Raw"
By: Harry Houlihan , Yard Master , [NPC]
Maxine Lucinda Tapert, Computer Specialist, [PC]
M'Ressha Mikaht, Fighter Pilot, [RNPC]
Randi Dorton , Warp Specialist , [NPC]

Stardate: 58207.06 1320

Maxine sat on the bridge of the Pegasus, lost in the process of designing and writing the code for the ship's AI. She hadn't started the process right away however. Instead she'd followed both Harry and Randi around for a while, asking a ton of questions about the Pegasus and how they designed it. Not that she really wanted the technical information, that wasn't it at all. What she wanted was to get some sort of idea about the two people who designed it. She wanted to understand their personalities a little better in the hopes of designing an AI that suited them and by default, the ship. Maxine took designing the AI and creating its avatar very seriously. That wasn't to say, however, that she wasn't above indulging herself in a little fun during the whole process.

"Can we try it now, huh, can we?" Krystal asked as she paced along the edge of the screen Maxine was gazing at.

"In a minute.." Maxine answered automatically. Of course, she'd been saying 'in a minute' for about the last hour.

"You said that six minutes and thirty-nine seconds ago," the pixie stopped her pacing to point out.

"Mmmm.."

"That's not helping." Krystal fluttered up and perched on the computer expert's shoulder so she could watch the screen full of code herself.

"You shouldn't keep asking me," Maxine finally sat back and looked from the screen to the fae.

"But I want to SEE it."

"Be careful what you ask for," Maxine grinned at her and reached out to tap out a few commands.

Randi looked up from her console when she saw the holoemitters shimmer.

A dragon appeared. It looked almost as if it were plastic with iridescent green scales. But it was an odd dragon. Not menacing as one would imagine dragons to be.

The Dragon looked at Randi inquisitively. She stood up and walked over to the dragon. Up close the detail was perfect. It even appeared to be studying her as much as she studied it. She walked up to its face as the dragon lowered its head to 'sniff' the engineer. "Processing...." it intoned in a rather flat but definitely female voice. "Identified..." it added after a moment, and then out of the blue informed the engineer; "I am raw."

It straightened and placed clawed hands on its hips, snorting with a tiny puff of smoke. "This is *not* the bridge," it announced. And before Randi could engage it in any meaningful conversation, it turned, and with a whoosh of a tail that miraculously (or by design), missed hitting anything, lumbered towards the exit, disappearing with a shimmer as the door whooshed open.

She arched a brow "Never a dull moment," she muttered as she sat back down to work.

"But where IS it? I don't see it," Krystal darted around the bridge, looking under things and around things.

"Give it a---" But before Maxine could finish her sentence the green dragon lumbered into view, still with its hands on its hips and startling the Pixie into squealing and poofing from view with a sparkling show of pixie dust. The dust, of course, caused the dragon to sneeze with a puff of smoke and a tiny show of flame.

It lowered its head to peer at Maxine who was grinning up at it.

"Houlihan is *not* going to like this form," the dragon informed her.

"I know. But what about Dorton?" Maxine asked.

"Perhaps," the dragon admitted after a thoughtful pause. "You aren't going to *leave* me like this, are you?"

"Well.."

"I really appreciate the tour," said Blitzer following Harry who abruptly stopped in the entrance of the door. "What is that!" asked Blitzer in the same breath.

Harry was stunned to say the least, "Lieutenant Tapert," he began, "This Is not what I had in mind."

The dragon angled its head back under its arm to look and 'sniff' Harry and Blitzer. "Processing..." she intoned, and then after a moment, "Identified," she announced and looked back at Max. "I told you he would not like it."

"Hush," Maxine shushed the dragon and peered around its form to where Harry and Blitzer were. She smiled at the latter and shook her head at the former. "No sir. I know it isn't. Don't worry though. It will be when I'm finished," she tried to assure him, which was kind of hard with a hulking dragon taking up half the bridge as it idled and inspected its claws.

"I have some adjustments to make to the programming and then do a data dump into its cache, and then the whole thing needs to re-compile," she finished.

"I am raw," the dragon announced.

Harry looked at the dragon and then to Max, "I would prefer a Humanoid form, and since we anthropomorphize our ships as female, I would like it to be female." He paused to look again at the dragon, "This form would be ok for a party or something."

"Oh aye sir. Humanoid. I wouldn't make her anything else," Maxine assured Houlihan. "I was just...." she stopped talking and looked at Harry in a 'I'm-so-shutting-up-now' kind of way.

"I trust you already know Blitzer,"said Harry gesturing at the Catian, "He is going to join the team as a test pilot."

"Max!" said Blitzer, "you are...?" he stammered. He was happy to see her.

"..the AI's programmer," she grinned back at him, clearly happy to see him. "'ere now..." she made a shooing motion to the dragon. "Off with you.." The words were hardly out of her mouth before the dragon was waving its fingers at Harry and Blitz and blowing them kisses that appeared in the air as tiny glittering hearts. Then she shimmered and diappeared.

"WARRIOR TOES!" Krystal squeaked as she poofed backed into sight once the dragon was gone, and buzzed over to plaster herself on the big Cait's neck, complete with sparkling pixie dust. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Me too," said Blitzer. "I got assigned to this project," he said trying to maintain his professional composure.

When she was finished giving his neck pixie kisses, Krystal decided that the big Cait's shoulder was the perfect place to settled into and preen herself.

"Well," said Harry, "I'll let you get back to work," he said. He turned to Blitzer, "You can recruit another pilot. Captain Hunter gave me two pilots." He smiled. and left them to their work.

When Harry was gone Blitzer turned to Maxine, "You are on this project too!?"

Maxine nodded, her grin widening and looking almost goofy, she was so glad to see him. "They recruited me t' program the AI. She's going t' actually be part of the crew!" She was definitely excited, and it was hard to tell which excited her more, programming an AI of this scope, or being able to work with him. "I'm so glad you're 'ere. Does this mean you're not going t' the Arizona?"

"Funny how things work out." said Blitzer nodding.

"Oh, I'll say," Maxine grinned. "'oulihan said 'recruit another pilot'...Who y' going t' get?" she asked as she sat back down and started typing.

Blitzer took a couple steps and stood behind Max, "Why Burner, my wingman!" he said watching her type computer code that was meaningless to him.

"I remember 'im.." Maxine nodded as she tweaked the AI's code a little and started the data dump she'd been gathering. "Where is 'e?"

"I don't know. He was going to tour the galaxy's finest drinking establishments. I have a couple ideas where to look for him."

"When you leaving t' look for 'im?" she asked, taking her eyes off the screen long enough to look up at him.

"Probably tomorrow, I'm here to get orientated to the ship now and to get my initial training clearance."

"Want some company?" she asked and turned in her seat to look up at him as the dump progressed without her supervision. "This'll be compiling and I'll 'ave some free time..." If her voice didn't convey how much she wanted to go with him, her face likely did.

"That would be great! It might take a couple days to find him." Blitzer gently scratched his whiskers, "but last time he went on a binge, he only made it to the second place on his list." He smiled thoughtfully remembering how intoxicated Burner had gotten."

"Great! It'll take this monster a good long while to compile," Maxine thumbed back towards the computer terminal she was working at. "'ow come 'e only made it t' the second one?"

Blitzer smirked, "...because the second one had more alcohol in stock than the first," he said with a wink.

Maxine blinked and then couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her. "I think m'afraid t' ask 'ow much liquor 'e can 'old," she grinned up at him.

Blitzer smiled, "Well, I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

Maxine and Krystal both grinned and waved at him. "Tomorrow then," Max added.

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