Entry 4.

[drdaytimetelly]

[Infirmary Filter]I realise that I don't know many of you very well, which is my own fault, I know, but I'd like to fix that. Maybe you can tell me a little about yourselves - how long you've been practising medicine, or how long you've been working in the infirmary, or maybe even what your favourite topical ointment is (just kidding, don't

Comments

Private

[hopeless_hacker]

Absolutely. I'm going to be down here all day, so just come whenever you're free.

Private - would you like to spam or log or assume this encounter?

[drdaytimetelly]

Fantastic. I'll be there after lunch.

Private - Spam would be good for me!

[hopeless_hacker]

I'll leave the door unlocked.

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

[John was a little later than he said he'd be, but he hadn't taken into account that he might get lost trying to find the door to the engine room. Eventually he arrived though, knocking on the door as he stepped inside, looking apologetic for his tardiness.]

Toshiko? It's John...John Watson. [In case she'd forgotten. ...it's happened before.]

Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

[Tosh was honestly relieved for for the extra time. She was still feeling a bit post-surgical and out of it since Black Jack had operated on her, even though she'd (against her better judgement) used a potion to cut the recovery time from a couple of weeks to a couple of days. She didn't have two weeks to spend out of commission. Now, the only external hints of the data port installation were a sterile dressing just below her ear and the fact she looked a bit exhausted.

She came around a bank of valves to greet him, smile subdued and polite.]

I suspected as much. [She offers a hand.] It's nice to meet you.

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

[John's smile is significantly less subdued...in act, it's more unabashedly enthusiastic and quite obviously pleased-as-punch to be taking a look around. He shakes her hand firmly.]

Nice to be meeting you too, Toshiko.

[He dropped her hand in order to take a cursory look around, that wide grin still on his face.]

This...well, this is different, isn't it?

Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

It is. [Tosh set one hand lightly on her hip, looking around. Since Harper had left and taken a penchant for untidiness with him, the place was almost spotless.] I never did much large-scale engine work at home, it took some getting used to, ah - [She made a vague gesture towards the body of the engine.] Feel free to look around.

[She almost asked him not to touch any moving parts, but stopped herself. He wasn't a child.]

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

[John took Tosh's invitation to have a look around as a chance to get closer to the engine. He didn't have the mechanical knowledge to really know what he was looking at, but he was impressed all the same. Sherlock would probably have a field day.]

By the way, thanks for taking the time to show me around. [Hands folded behind his back, he leaned in to watch some parts - pistol-looking-things - move around.]

The engineering staff here, that's you and....?

Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

Trip Tucker. We had a third staff member, but he left recently - oh, and we have a couple of Inmates assisting, but it's always very tightly monitored. Neither of them have ever caused any trouble.

[Except by hanging around and providing a constant background buzz of racism, in O'Brien's case.]

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

Small staff to manage such a big place. [Not exactly a snide comment - it's said with a smile.]

And you figured out how most of this works on your own? [He nodded, backing off from the engine a little in case his shirt snagged in one of the moving bits. He didn't relish being crushed to death today.]

Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

Between those of us who were first given access, yes. We've been fine-tuning our understanding of it since then, but it tends to take care of itself. I know the two of us don't sound like much but we're by no means understaffed.

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

Which implies that before you weren't given access at all, so it had to have run and maintained itself on its own. [He stuffed his hands in his pockets and regarded the engine with a little more caution. The thought alone of the massive engine taking care of itself was...unnerving.]

Re: Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

The Barge crash-landed...I'm not sure, perhaps a year ago. This part of the ship was exposed for the first time, the engine took heavy damage, and it became our job to fix it. That was when we got the bulk of our information on component functionality. Since then, access has remained available and the job of maintenance has been handed down to us. [She smiled tightly.] But up until then, you're right, the Admiral kept it running. I don't know what changed.

Re: Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

Maybe the Admiral realised there were finally engineers aboard capable of maintaining the engine and decided to just pass the responsibility along.

[He shrugged.] Or he just got lazy. Either or, really.

Spam!

[hopeless_hacker]

[She gave a small but more geniuine smile.] I've liked to imagine that being able to repair the engine proved that we were competent to look after it, but it's hardly as if I can prove it.

[She lapsed into silence for a moment, checking one of the monitors.]

By the way, I...wouldn't worry about Omega. He's... [There was a long pause in which she was discarding words like 'insufferable' and 'dickhead'.] Time Lords in general are very attached to the belief that their ideas are better than your ideas and that humans are only slightly more intelligent than most species of fungus. All that changes is the extent they let that show. But, he doesn't have any authority in the Infirmary so if you want to offer people the choice of an X-ray then I don't see the harm.

[Briefer pause. It was possible that came out of nowhere. She coughed.]

I'm - on the filter as emergency support staff, but with the recent influx of doctors I doubt I'll be needed much.

Spam!

[drdaytimetelly]

[That did seem like it came out of nowhere, but John didn't look too bothered by it. People seemed to make surprising him a habit. He grinned a little at the pause in conversation, eagerly filling in the gap with his own rude words - but of course not saying them aloud.]

That conversation derailed quickly, didn't it? People - Time Lords included, I guess - usually don't embrace change. [He shrugged.] But I wasn't going to let him destroy a perfectly good X-ray generator just because he thinks someone's going to steal it and turn it into a ray gun.

[John folded his arms and had another glance around when he realised he was staring at her just a bit.]

I'm glad to hear that there's such a big support staff. You never know when you're going to need it....are you all right, by the way? [He tapped his own neck to indicate the bandaging on hers.]