Capt. Shayne: Confidence Man
Quinn
((Deck 1, Captain’s Ready Room, USS Arrow))
Shayne: Alright, go ahead.
Slikpa: Cadet Ginny Lacy, and the ‘Gamma Wing’ cadets followed in the footsteps of Dr. Richard Daystrom when he created the M-5 Multitronic System. I also believe Cadet Lacy and the ‘Gamma Wing’ cadets must have used advanced synaptic patterns; most likely their own, and modified imprinted engrams on the synaptic pattern they developed. They then must have overlaid it all over a positronic neural network. This would definitely make for a very sophisticated super- computer. One capable of perhaps allowing a starship to be manned by a minimal crew and making confident decisions and choosing a correct course of action, as the cadets of ‘Gamma Wing’ wanted and hoped for. This would explain some of the mental breakdowns they had. The main issue is that if the Libris intelligence did manage to infect the Arrow. We have an infant and unstable intelligence that is learning at an exponential rate, with an unsteady engram and synaptic pattern to follow. Of course, this is all speculation on my part, without speaking with the surviving cadets or, if the rumors are true the infant Libris intelligence.
Everything the ensign said, in her tight voice, made sense to Shayne. The status of the Libris intelligence, the nature of its inception, the manner of its creation and the probable lineage of danger it carried with it. What Shayne did not yet grasp was how, precisely, this related to Slipka’s actions in the moment, which, should he be in a less than favorable mood, could earn her more than a mere Captain’s Mast.
Shayne: And this factored into your actions aboard the ship? Or is this now revealed with the benefit of hindsight?
Slipka: As I said sir, at the time I did not realize the Libris super computer had gained sentience, I was trying to prevent a super computer from performing a Dr, Richard Daystrom M-5 Multitronic System experiment failure sir.
If he was understanding her, than the ensign had acted, if not correctly, than with exceptionally purposeful intent. Daystrom’s M5 had been a catastrophe that had nearly laid up a quarter of the exploratory arm of Starfleet. In similar circumstances, under similar pressures, Shayne wondered if he could truly blame her for her actions. Indeed, he wondered if he wouldn’t have done something like that himself.
Shayne: And in doing so, you ignored your senior officer and could have killed someone, or lots of someones, or yourself.
Slipka: I am willing to face whatever punishment you deem fit. I failed on my first away mission.
Shayne sat there, quietly considering. She’d made mistakes, yes. She’d followed the Pilot’s Axiom as she did so, also yes. And now the final component- a willingness to take the heat for her actions- presented itself. It was, whether she was trying to make it so or not, precisely what he taught his officers, or tried to impart to them as they developed into leaders. Hadn’t he just hours before told Dewitt the same thing?
Shayne: Given the circumstances, and your testimony after the fact, I don’t believe formal discipline is warranted.
Slipka: Response
The captain held up a staying, expectant finger.
Shayne: On one condition. Before this leave is over, I want you to have a conversation with Lieutenant Jacin. Explain what you explained to me, and make sure she knows she can count on your astute obedience moving forward.
He’d never given a command like it, and he wasn’t sure it was within his prerogative to dictate the social lives of his officers. But in this particular case, he wasn’t thinking merely of Slipka, but of Jacin, and all the junior officers in the service whose first stint in charge might be a self-induced finale to their command careers. This was an unusual circumstance- though what circumstance could truly be called usual in the Isles?- and Shayne was confident that Jacin would be up for a similar role in the future, just as long as she didn’t psyche herself out.
Slipka: Response
Tag/TBC…
Captain Randal Shayne
Commanding Officer
NCC 69829
G239202RS0