Almost Human

[Becky Sandoval]

Becky raised an eyebrow, "Are congratulations in order?"

[Angel Ryder]

"Still a little soon, but yeah... well Nathan and I decided before he headed back to Terra Alpha with Seraphina that we should give it a solid go of trying. It'll probably be my last one, three kids? I'm going to go grey."

[Becky Sandoval]

"Then congratulations," She grinned. "I'll be sure to annoy your replacement every chance I get so it doesn't become permanent."

[Angel Ryder]

"I was really hoping you'd want the center seat, that IS the chain of command after all." Angel replied and crossed her arms. "But unlike my last Maternity leave, I don't plan to go off duty until maybe my last trimester if not a little later." she shrugged her shoulders. "We'll see how I feel in 6 months. Although if we take care of Dominus and Bellatrix and their goons before that, then I'm going to take some extended leave. That's also presuming Kitea survives the battle, there's so much untested tech on this bird."

[Becky Sandoval]

"She'll survive, if I have anything to do about it," Becky replied. "Even if I have to use duct tape and bailing wire to hold her together, she'll survive. As far as me taking over..." she shifted uncomfortably. "...well, no. I am not captain material. Sure, I can do it for a weekend, but maternity leave is a few months. It's best you find someone that's competent."

[Angel Ryder]

"As if you aren't." Angel cocked her head and chuckled. "Alright, there's a few ship less Captains I can always call in. Quite a few CO's want to get their hands on Kitea's ample nacelles. Have to say, I love these new warp coils we're using, I hardly feel a thing when we jump in and out of warp. Such a smooth ride, even when we're shot at, the ship stays in a nice smooth line. And the AliceCore... with all the stuff we've done, we've still got a solid decade's worth of power. The deuterium tanks are practically full, the standard dilithium drive is in great shape. The automatic hull repair system works like a charm, we can finally print new pieces in like a drydock, without needing a dry dock, or even stopping to have workbees and drone repair things. Course, the allegedly 'stain proof' carpet... not so stain proof. Ensign Childers brought strawberry punch packets onto the bridge and it spilled. Looks like someone got stabbed by the Science station."

[Becky Sandoval]

"And that is precisely why I'm not captain material. Should have never left engineering to be honest with you."

[Angel Ryder]

"Becky... stop." Angel said with a laugh. "You've got more in you than you realize. And you're a brilliant engineer, but you've got it in you to Command. Although really... if you don't want the center chair... you could always write your own ticket in anything. You know I'd back you up. That's what the 414th's about. Pushing the envelope but also trying new things. As good as the Kitea is, she won't be top of the line for long, that's up to us to create. Admiral Drexler, way back when I was still following behind my dad with a PADD, told me 'the day we move past what was, when we put away the 'ape brains' and push the boundaries, we'll never evolve.' and this..." she gestured to the lab. "It's pushing boundaries. Just think, if we can perfect this, we can save the greatest minds that lived, we can also ensure that even war is safer than it is. Holograms and Ai's can only do so much, even the most evolved AI can only innovate to a point. Needs the spark of life."

[Becky Sandoval]

"There is a problem with this," Becky said absently. "The subject needs to be assimilated. The conversation of a subject's biological neural patterns needs to be converted into something the positron net can utilize... and that requires a Borg neural node. A typical neural interface isn't up to the task. So, don't go singing my praises yet."

[Angel Ryder]

"Hmm... that's a bit tricky then." Angel tapped her chin. "Guess it really depends on how far gone someone is right?"