reversedpolarity | [ddd][log][Kaylee]

Kaylee shouldn't have been vanishing from her own ship, either. Mal probably would throw a fit if she didn't explain where she was or why she was gone, but they were just traveling at the moment and there wasn't anything that could possibly happen that would need her back on deck. They weren't near reaver space and they weren't even running at full power. Serenity could cruise on her own for a while without her best friend.

When she was 'beamed' onto this Enterprise ship she hadn't expected it to feel like it did; which was nothing at all. In fact, by time she had time to think about how nervous she was about letting some other person in some other dimension do something to her person that she knew nothing about... she was already there.

She felt like her balance was off the minute she landed on the transporter pad. Looking around she cursed in Mandarin a very colorful string of words, eyes wide, but smiling. Looking around the entire room was white and shiny. Everything glistened. Not like the worn and much loved metals that made up Serenity. She herself looked out of place. Looking down at her jumper and floral patterned shirt she smirked. Her hair was up in twin buns at the crown of her head like she so often liked to wear it.

Scotty gave Kaylee a moment to get her bearings; it was always a little tricky, getting used to the transporters, especially the first couple of times using them. He was glad he'd thought to bring along a spare uniform - while Kaylee's outfit would have been alright had the crew still been on shore leave, right now she'd stick out and the last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to her. "Alright, then?" he asked, stepping out from behind the glass partition that separated the landing platform from the control console. "I brought this," he added, reaching for the uniform, holding it up so she could see. "I'll step out a mo' t'let you get changed, aye?"

Kaylee looks around and before she sees Scotty step out from behind the partition, she manages another curse under her breath, but loud enough for someone to hear. "Shun-sheng duh gao-wahn..." she says, looking up at the lights above her. He asks if she's alright and she startles a bit and smiles. "Shi," she answers and realizes he might not catch that, "yeah, I'm fine."

She steps down from the transporter and walks towards him. She saw the uniform and what he was wearing. She glances down at her clothes and back up at him, "I like my clothes."

"Rules're rules, lass, an' I'm sorry, but if you want t'see the ship you've got t'wear the uniform," he told her. "Unless you want me gettin' in trouble for unauthorized personnel bein' aboard." As long as she had a uniform on and was with him, they shouldn't run into any trouble, but if anyone happened to notice her not in a uniform and if they called security... Granted, Jack didn't have to wear a Starfleet uniform when he was on board, but then again, Jack was something of a special case. "I'd hate to've brought you all this way just t'have t'send you right back again."

She pouts for a second, but only to take it with a smile. "Fine," she says cheerfully. Granted, Kaylee was used to sneaking around and having to go unseen, but she can see where being on a foreign ship and dressed as she was, she'd cause trouble for Scotty. She didn't want to get him in trouble in his universe for her being trouble in her own.

Before he even has time to turn away, she's got the jumper unzipped to her waist and off her shoulders. She waits to undress more than that though. Once he steps out, she makes quick work of getting into the uniform. She shifts it around awkwardly. It's too big and she feels ridiculous, but she finishes up and folds her own clothes.

He turned rather quickly when he realized that Kaylee was already working on getting undressed, his cheeks coloring faintly. "I'll just. I'll be right outside." And, true to his word, he stepped out of the transporter room, trusting her not to touch anything important while he waited. He'd lock the door to the room while she was onboard, once was finished getting changed, so she could leave her clothes in there when it was time for her to head back to her own ship. He'd like to see Serenity at some point; although he currently worked on a newer ship, he was no stranger to older ones, and it'd be nice to see an older one again.

She headed towards the doors and alerted Scotty that she was ready. Smiling she shrugged at him. "Ready," she looked really excited, if not a little nervous. She'd never even imagined that she'd be visiting other worlds. This community was really turning her life upside down in more ways than one. Then again, she liked new people and she liked adventure. The opportunity to see a ship like this... one with technology she didn't understand. That was something, huh?

"If you want t'leave your clothes in here, I'll lock up, aye?" he told her, and gave her a moment to do that before going ahead and locking the room down with his personal code, so no one but him would be able to open this particular transporter room again. He'd have been more worried about someone investigating the fact that he had taken to locking down this room on a semi-regular basis, if not for the fact that the community seemed to have a way of making other people not notice little oddities like that. "Down t'the engine then, shall we?" he added, once that was all done. "She may no' be a firefly, lass, but I can guarantee you'll love her."

"Dong ma," she replied with a nod. She followed him out, absently tugging on one of the sleeves of her shirt. The moment they were out in a hall, she looked around, surprised by the state of the ship in general. He commented on her earlier expression that she was no firefly and Kaylee smiled, nearly bouncing as she walked. "Ain't sayin' I don't like other ships. Serenity's mine..." she looked around once more. "She's awful shiny."

"Aye, well. S'like I said. She's brand new, or near enough." It was clear from the way he smiled at the ship around them that yes, he was fond of her. More than just a little fond of her, if he was being completely honest with himself. "Been with her since just after her maiden voyage." His smile fell a little at that; although it had been two and a half years since the events that resulted in Vulcan being destroyed, the Federation was still feeling the effects of it. But now was not the time or place to talk about that. "I'd like t'see Serenity sometime," he continued, walking along at a leisurely pace, giving Kaylee enough time to look around at everything. "If that's alright with you, o' course."

She listened intently, always the attentive student when it came to boats. She was definitely a fanatic when it came to mechanics. It seemed like her version of mechanics was different than this universe's but she could live and learn. She'd always been a fast learner, in fact. She was resourceful, too. Not that she was here to fix anything. It was just a thought.

He mentioned wanting to see Serenity and Kaylee snorted a laugh. "Mal ain't so keen on visitors. Nobody rides without payin'," she explained, laughing lightly. "Wouldn't be the first time we snuck someone on board. S'pose could have you about when we're docked some time and the captain's on business."

"An' what if I could pay?" he asked, grinning at her. "Haven't met a captain yet couldn't be swayed with a drink or two." It wasn't likely that he could pay in whatever currency they used where Kaylee was from, after all, but he did have that still set up in the engine room, and it wouldn't be much trouble to brew up a special batch of something in exchange for getting to look around Serenity. "Don't know about money, but I'm sure I could find something t'pay with, aye?"

"Mal likes things he can resell," she said, probably giving away too much information than she should, but that was going to be the best way to get by her captain. He wasn't much for bribes, but if he had something to offer, something they could make a profit on? Yeah, that would definitely pique the captain's interests. "That'll at least get you a ride," she admitted. It wasn't long after that comment that she's paused their journey, staring at a console by a door. She tilted her head and looked it over. None of their console's were that streamlined... or small. She shook it off a second later and rejoined Scotty.

"I'll figure something out, then." He slowed down as she stopped by the console near the door, just watching as she examined it, and started off again when she rejoined him, still just taking his time walking. "Engine's a few levels down," he told her, pausing by yet another console to pull up a map for a moment, so Kaylee could see the basic design of the ship. It occurred to him that three months ago - no, it was four now - when he'd first found the community, he'd never have so much as considered bringing anyone over, and now... "You'll be able t'feel her runnin', when we get closer."

He stopped them at another console. He pulled up a map of the ship and she was struck suddenly with how big it was. It was... huge. She was used to all of nine crew members and really only enough room for a few more people when transporting. The guest dorms were small and cramped and not meant for long term living. She examined it thoroughly, leaning in with her mouth dropped open. "How many people are runnin' this thing?" she asked, eyes still on the map.

"About a thousand, give or take a couple hundred," he answered, tucking his hands in his pockets. It wasn't something he ever really thought about, how big his ship was. He'd been on bigger, and he'd been on smaller. "There's about four hundred in the engineerin' department alone, an' I get t'oversee every one o' them." He couldn't help the note of pride that entered his voice as he spoke.

She looked at him in awe. "We got nine, plus three passengers. Ain't never seen something so big that weren't Alliance," she admitted, still staring at the map like it would suddenly unfold from the wall and dance around her feet. She couldn't even begin to imagine a ship of over a thousand. "How do you keep it runnin' with so many hands?"

For a moment, just a moment, he felt a twinge of guilt, which was ridiculous, he told himself. Just because this Alliance where Kaylee was from sounded like a less reputable version of the Federation didn't mean he had to feel guilty about it - or, he hoped, that Kaylee was going to hold it against him. "My crew's separated into various stations within the department," he answered, reaching over to shut the map off, before beckoning for her to follow as he started walking again. "There's about four shifts a day, an' I've got about a hundred on each shift. Mostly it's maintenance - the computer runs her, for the most part, an' we keep an eye on her an' make sure she's in good condition."

She followed, though still feeling in awe. She was suddenly feeling like she was completely inadequate. She thought back to their crew of nine and was surprised they were able to run the ship sometimes. The three passengers would be off at the next planet. Then it would be just them again. Only her to take care of Serenity.

"I've got to listen close to Serenity. She don't talk to everybody," she said without realizing she was once again giving the ship a form of sentience.

He glanced sideways at her when she spoke up, his smile turning a bit softer at what she said. "Sometimes I wonder if it's only me who can hear the Enterprise talkin'," he replied. "C'mon, it's just a bit further this way." He led her to the turbolift, motioned for her to step instead, and in a matter of moments, they were on the engineering deck. The hum of the engine was more prevalent here, and he grinned, excited to be showing off.

The engine room - which wasn't a room so much as it was an entire deck, taking up an expansive section of the ship - was a good deal less shiny and white than the rest of the ship. Scotty liked that. An engine should look like it did something, he thought, rather than just looking pretty.

She followed him into the lift, she guessed. The hum of the lift itself felt a lot more like home already. Everything was so nice on this ship. She liked her homey boat. It wasn't fancy and it didn't show off. It was simple and she liked it that way. They did very quickly find themselves in the not-so-shiny engine room, which looked like it could house a few fireflies in there even with all the machinery.

The engine made a familiar noise, though not quite the same as Serenity. Kaylee was used to something akin to a grind and clunk; the sound of metal against metal. This sound more like a constant hum and vibration. There were so many people down there. She was overwhelmed and simply stood there, staring out at the place.

The Enterprise had to show off; she was the Federation's flagship, after all, and it wouldn't do for her to look anything less than the best the Federation could offer. Scotty stopped when Kaylee did, just standing a moment, watching his crew work. They were the best the Federation could offer too, and he was proud of them, proud of his ship, proud of the way they kept the engine running like a charm. "Beautiful, isn't she?"

"Ain't seen nothin' like it," she expressed, eyes wide. Not only was it a huge room, but there was crew members all over. Some were wander, eyes down on a sort of tablet looking thing they were holding while miraculously navigating while not looking up. Others were standing at consoles, tapping the screens. Kaylee felt very small for a moment, realizing that Serenity is very obviously a much smaller ship than she even realized. She never had any idea that something like this was possible, though she couldn't say it was since this wasn't her world. It didn't help that none of the technology and mechanics looked even remotely familiar.

Scotty glanced over at her, smiling; he was long-used to engines this size, but he could remember the first time he'd stepped foot in a Federation ship's engine room. It was overwhelming, if you didn't know what you were getting yourself into. "She's easy enough t'navigate, once you know what's what. It helps, t'break her down into sections until you get a feel for her." He couldn't help a quiet chuckle as he added, "An' now y'see why it takes about a hundred people on-shift t'keep her runnin', aye?"

She nodded almost blankly, hearing what he was saying and responding, but not quite grasping the vastness of the ship. She eventually snapped out of it and looked over at him, giving a bright as ever smile. "She's beautiful," she finally admitted. Not like Serenity, but she was beautiful. "You gonna explain her to me?"

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