As Cam entered Downtime, the lounge lived up to its infamous reputation. Gleaming tritanium and duranium surfaces adorned the interior, reflecting the dim ambient lighting that gave the place an air of clandestine secrecy. The low hum of conversations and the occasional clinking of glasses created a background symphony of whispered deals and junior officers letting off some steam.

In the corner of the room, a Caitian woman sat at a small table. Her slender furry fingers held a lit cigarette, and wisps of smoke danced around her, casting a mysterious aura. Cam’s familiarity with this scene came from numerous encounters with Lieutenant K’Ress, who had introduced him to the intriguing world of Downtime.

Taking a seat at her table, Cam leaned in, a sly grin playing on his lips. “Seems like they’ve given a green Ensign the task of upgrading our birds,” he commented with a hint of amusement. “I’ve asked him to meet us here before we head out. I’m eager to hear what he’s got to say about it.”

“Oh? What sort of upgrades are we talking about?” Shenzi asked, curious about what was going down. “Shields? Weapons? I’m always down for improving my fighter.” Shenzi rolled her cigarette between her fingers before taking another drag on it.

Cam grinned and quipped, “Honestly, I’m still in the dark about the specifics. I’m counting on him to break it down for me, so I can avoid delving into the manual.” He then signaled the bartender to prepare his drink.

Cal entered the bar looking slightly disheveled, a pair of pads tucked under his arm. He had spent much of the night communicating with a previous host of his symbiont. In life Turad Prax had been a talented pilot, surviving a disastrous crash in the Tenaran ice cliffs. Cal had hope Turad’s experience would win him some favour with the pilots. Making his way to the bar he ordered a bourbon before noticing the waiting pilots. With a quick flourish he downed the glass before taking a seat at the pairs table. 

”I would assume Lieutenants Shenzi and Solari? Ensign Cal-Dorn Prax, you can call me Cal.“ he placed the pads on the table before sliding them toward each of the pilot officers. “I had a few ideas for how to adapt your craft but as a pilot in another life I thought it best to get your inputs before I started tearing out EPS conduits and installing cup-holders” he laughed as he spoke hoping to break the tension and distract himself from the stress of tinkering with active duty fighter craft.

Cam reached for the PADD on the table, examining it closely. A barely perceptible smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he attempted to maintain a stern demeanor. 

With a carefully controlled tone, he asked, “So, you are one of them joined ones?”

“Oh um. Yes Sir I am. Why do you ask?” Cal was slightly confused as to why his Joined status was so important to the Lieutenant but also didn’t want to offend him by offering a short response.

“Oh, just wondering what sort of experiences you might have from previous hosts. Maybe you got some memories of a star-crossed lover, pining towards the Sarella Nebula.” Shenzi teased, getting a mug of coffee from the bartender. One of her ears rotated towards what sounded like a bad breakup happening on the other side of the bar away from the group.

Cam’s lips quivered, his cheeks turning crimson as he clamped down on the bubbling laughter within. His brows furrowed, creating a strained, serious countenance that, if one were to guess, It could also resemble the look of someone in urgent need of a bathroom break. With rapt attention, he studied the Ensign’s face, eager to witness his impending response.

Cal laughed awkwardly “Oh, you’ve read  Ralo’s books then, I mean it’s hardly my cup of tea but if Archer X Tucker smut is what you want to read on your time off” he did his best not to blush at the publications of his most recent host. Ralo Prax had spent her life striving for literary acclaim with a series of dense heart breaking novels only for a novella she’d written to in her early twenties to be rereleased, forever connecting Ralo Prax with the shipping of two legendary historic figures. He looked over at the two lieutenants, trying his best to hold in his awkward laugh not understanding the pair were clearly messing with him. 

“Mmmm, her books weren’t too bad, but I did write a story when I was younger about a Caitian woman and several strong studly Andorian men” she said, smirking while wiggling her eyebrows, the end of her tail twitching a bit. Shenzi ordered a trio of energy drinks, and popped one open, relishing the satisfying hiss as the can opened.

“Oh how interesting, anyway the fighters. I had some ideas, Lieutenant Shenzi I am open to hearing what sort of alterations you were interested in but I have prepared an upgraded primary railgun for your Valkyrie. It uses a new higher yield EPS capacitor which allows you to dial in the acceleration and recharge times on the fly. I thought it would give you more options switching between high energy sniper shots and lower projectile energy at a higher rate of fire.” As he spoke he guided Shenzi through the adjustments he had hoped to make which would require him to rip out parts of the Valkyrie’s cockpit to reach certain EPS junctions.

Cam’s eyes crinkled at the corners, a subtle grin playing on his lips. He observed the Ensign, noting the confident stance and steady gaze. It was evident without words that this Ensign could hold his own.

“And for you Lieutenant Solari, I actually adapted an old United Earth electronic projectile system to allow you to fire more micro-torpedos in a single burst. I had hoped to be able to enable multi-launch capabilities but given the size of an Apsara-class’s torpedo tubes its just not feasible without tearing the ship in half and reforming it around expanded tubes. It will be a solid-state magazine with the microtorpedos already loaded in tubes. When you fire the weapon an electrical charge passes through each tube in series ejecting the chosen number of rounds and priming the next torpedo in each tube… and its only slightly prone to overheating and explosions” he mumbled the final part of his description, bringing the lieutenants attention to the new torpedo launcher designs for the Apsara and the additional microtorpedos the ship could carry. 

Cam’s head inclined in a slow nod, his eyes fixed on Prax. Every word Prax uttered seemed to be carefully caught by Cam’s attentive focus, a silent recognition of the significance in each syllable.

“admittedly each individual microtorpedo is a lower yield but the fact you can carry and deploy significantly more at once, I thought it would be a favourable tradeoff” He looked over at the Lieutenants doing his best to conceal his desperation that they would be happy with his designs.

Cam’s eyes met Shenzi’s, a flicker of admiration in his gaze. “There’s something about this kid,” he mused. “Past lives, genius—it’s hard to pinpoint. But I can’t deny, he left me impressed. Your thoughts?”

“He certainly seems to know his stuff, I can’t deny that. I want to see how these modifications to my Valkyrie’s railguns work. You can’t go wrong with choosing railguns, after all.” Shenzi replied, grinning at the thought of the shear power her preferred armament for her Valkyrie, and it’s awaiting improvements.

Cal couldn’t help but smile at how impressed the lieutenants were at his suggestions. He had prepared himself for the pair to tear his ideas apart and ridicule him for daring to believe he knew what they wanted.

“Oh, why yes I agree, especially against…” he swallowed before continuing unconsciously running his fingers over the raised borg augmentation scars lining his hands “them… I trust I can have the refits done in a day or so. They’ll be in drydock 17A and B if you want to check on their progress otherwise I’ll hail you when we can take them for shakedown”