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writetomyheart2020-02-29 10:20 am
yrindor) wrote in writetomyheart2020-02-29 10:20 am
[Team Three] Long Weekends
In which Ultra Magnus learns many horrifying things he never wanted to know about Earth calendars.
"Long weekend? What exactly is a long weekend?" Ultra Magnus asked, staring at Rodimus with a look that fell somewhere between confusion and horror.
"Exactly what it sounds like!" Rodimus said, leaning back in his chair to prop his feet up on his desk.
Magnus winced. The desire to cite the regulations Rodimus was currently breaking by using non-authorized furniture as bodily support warred with his need to get to the bottom of the apparent oxymoron. He made a mental note to send a memo to that effect later (especially after he was quite certain he had heard noises that were entirely incongruous with any form of official activity coming from Rodimus's office the other day during a purported meeting with Drift). "How can a weekend be long, Rodimus?" he repeated. "From my understanding, a weekend is a period of days during which usual employment is ceased in favor of other forms of occupation and recreation. The standard weekend on the planet of origin was two days out of a seven day cycle. That brings us to the first problem with your proposal. By definition, a weekend is a subset of time in a week. A week is a defined subdivision of the time it takes for a planet to orbit its star or star system. We are currently not on any planet. We are on a ship traveling through galaxies at high speeds, and as such, any attempt to measure time in terms of orbital frequency is useless. Additionally, such a definition of time is already imprecise and not suitable for any form of official measurement. It's absurd, Rodimus! I don't see why anyone would have a desire to emulate such an imprecise and impractical system."
Rodimus sighed and rubbed his optics. He should have known this would be a difficult conversation. Only Ultra Magnus would find ways to protest a break. "Think of it more as a figure of speech than something literal," he said. "The crew have all been working hard, so I thought they deserved a break."
"Everyone cannot have a break simultaneously, Rodimus. The ship has certain essential functions that require attending to at all times. The minimal personnel requirements for general operations not under emergency conditions is outlined in Section 3-A of the General Operating Manual, with permissible situational modifications outlined in either Appendix C or in the separate Abbreviated Manual for Emergency Operating Procedures depending on situation. Both copies are available in the shared Personnel drive, but if you have difficulty finding them, or will not spend the time to do so, I can send a copy directly to your messages."
Rodimus sighed. "That won't be necessary, Ultra Magnus, and I'm aware it couldn't be everyone at once. I just want to reward the crew. We've had no emergencies, major or minor, for a not-insignificant period of time now. The crew in general deserves recognition for good work. Isn't there something in some text of yours that said individuals do better work and are less likely to become complacent when acknowledged for such?"
Ultra Magnus frowned. "I do not believe I have any text fitting that description. Perhaps you are mistaking it for a work recommended by either Megatron or Rung? I believe they both have read many texts in that area. I still do not understand what the point of this 'long weekend' you are proposing is."
"I'm worried about some of the crew becoming bored," Rodimus said. "Do you really want Brainstorm, Nautica, and the rest of the science crew sitting around with too much spare time?"
"If it is simply a matter of finding tasks with which to occupy the crew's time, then I see no need for such complicated, convoluted things as you are proposing. We are still not fully up to date on secondary inspections and condition checks after our less-than-ideal transit through the last meteor belt, and some of the repairs that were carried out in the immediate aftermath of the Overlord incident need additional work to bring them fully in line with regulations. As of my last count, there are over two hundred rivets that need replacing after someone in haste used hull rivets in places that require door or interior paneling rivets. Additionally, new regulations for ship lighting were recently released in reaction to a new study showing that current lighting on interstellar ships has the potential to throw off or outright invalidate certain spectral measurements used by astronomers for mapping extrastellar bodies. After a thorough calculation combining the new regulations with the blueprints for the Lost Light, I can confirm that we either have all needed materials currently in store or have the raw materials needed to create them; however, it will take 398 hours to replace all affected lighting working at regulation pace, plus an additional 15 hours of training for all individuals involved in the process who do not currently possess an up-to-date certification in Basic Wiring."
"The point isn't work, Ultra Magnus," Rodimus sighed. "The point is the opposite of work. Pass the list of necessary repairs on to Megatron if you need to and tell him to work them into the schedule as he sees fit," Rodimus said. "My point is, the crew deserves to be recognized for everything they've done, much of which falls above and beyond the call of duty and any expectation they likely had when they joined. Unless you offer some solid objection beyond"it's against regulations," then I propose we find a time to reduce on duty crew to the bare minimum and have a small celebration of sorts. If the celebration covers a full shift cycle, then anyone who wants to can come by even if they are on duty at another point. I'm sure we could find a few others to help with the planning process."
Ultra Magnus pressed a hand to his optics. He knew when he was going to lose a fight. The worst part was, he couldn't even look to Megatron to back him up; he was nearly certain Megatron would side with Rodimus on the subject, which usually meant it was worth at least a passing second consideration. "Fine, once you have a time in mind, send it and any proposed changes to the duty roster to Megatron and myself. We need to confirm no critical areas of ship operations will be left unattended."
"I do know how to run a ship, you know. I managed just fine before everyone else came along," Rodimus muttered. "Anyway, I wonder if I can rope Drift in to help with the planning. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it. I think he's free now!" Rodimus said as he kicked off of the desk and sprang up. “See you around, Ultra Magnus!”
Rodimus was halfway out the door before he paused. "Oh, and Ultra Magnus, one more thing. Did you know that the same people who gave us long weekends were also responsible for leap years? You should look it up sometime."
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"Long weekend? What exactly is a long weekend?" Ultra Magnus asked, staring at Rodimus with a look that fell somewhere between confusion and horror.
"Exactly what it sounds like!" Rodimus said, leaning back in his chair to prop his feet up on his desk.
Magnus winced. The desire to cite the regulations Rodimus was currently breaking by using non-authorized furniture as bodily support warred with his need to get to the bottom of the apparent oxymoron. He made a mental note to send a memo to that effect later (especially after he was quite certain he had heard noises that were entirely incongruous with any form of official activity coming from Rodimus's office the other day during a purported meeting with Drift). "How can a weekend be long, Rodimus?" he repeated. "From my understanding, a weekend is a period of days during which usual employment is ceased in favor of other forms of occupation and recreation. The standard weekend on the planet of origin was two days out of a seven day cycle. That brings us to the first problem with your proposal. By definition, a weekend is a subset of time in a week. A week is a defined subdivision of the time it takes for a planet to orbit its star or star system. We are currently not on any planet. We are on a ship traveling through galaxies at high speeds, and as such, any attempt to measure time in terms of orbital frequency is useless. Additionally, such a definition of time is already imprecise and not suitable for any form of official measurement. It's absurd, Rodimus! I don't see why anyone would have a desire to emulate such an imprecise and impractical system."
Rodimus sighed and rubbed his optics. He should have known this would be a difficult conversation. Only Ultra Magnus would find ways to protest a break. "Think of it more as a figure of speech than something literal," he said. "The crew have all been working hard, so I thought they deserved a break."
"Everyone cannot have a break simultaneously, Rodimus. The ship has certain essential functions that require attending to at all times. The minimal personnel requirements for general operations not under emergency conditions is outlined in Section 3-A of the General Operating Manual, with permissible situational modifications outlined in either Appendix C or in the separate Abbreviated Manual for Emergency Operating Procedures depending on situation. Both copies are available in the shared Personnel drive, but if you have difficulty finding them, or will not spend the time to do so, I can send a copy directly to your messages."
Rodimus sighed. "That won't be necessary, Ultra Magnus, and I'm aware it couldn't be everyone at once. I just want to reward the crew. We've had no emergencies, major or minor, for a not-insignificant period of time now. The crew in general deserves recognition for good work. Isn't there something in some text of yours that said individuals do better work and are less likely to become complacent when acknowledged for such?"
Ultra Magnus frowned. "I do not believe I have any text fitting that description. Perhaps you are mistaking it for a work recommended by either Megatron or Rung? I believe they both have read many texts in that area. I still do not understand what the point of this 'long weekend' you are proposing is."
"I'm worried about some of the crew becoming bored," Rodimus said. "Do you really want Brainstorm, Nautica, and the rest of the science crew sitting around with too much spare time?"
"If it is simply a matter of finding tasks with which to occupy the crew's time, then I see no need for such complicated, convoluted things as you are proposing. We are still not fully up to date on secondary inspections and condition checks after our less-than-ideal transit through the last meteor belt, and some of the repairs that were carried out in the immediate aftermath of the Overlord incident need additional work to bring them fully in line with regulations. As of my last count, there are over two hundred rivets that need replacing after someone in haste used hull rivets in places that require door or interior paneling rivets. Additionally, new regulations for ship lighting were recently released in reaction to a new study showing that current lighting on interstellar ships has the potential to throw off or outright invalidate certain spectral measurements used by astronomers for mapping extrastellar bodies. After a thorough calculation combining the new regulations with the blueprints for the Lost Light, I can confirm that we either have all needed materials currently in store or have the raw materials needed to create them; however, it will take 398 hours to replace all affected lighting working at regulation pace, plus an additional 15 hours of training for all individuals involved in the process who do not currently possess an up-to-date certification in Basic Wiring."
"The point isn't work, Ultra Magnus," Rodimus sighed. "The point is the opposite of work. Pass the list of necessary repairs on to Megatron if you need to and tell him to work them into the schedule as he sees fit," Rodimus said. "My point is, the crew deserves to be recognized for everything they've done, much of which falls above and beyond the call of duty and any expectation they likely had when they joined. Unless you offer some solid objection beyond"it's against regulations," then I propose we find a time to reduce on duty crew to the bare minimum and have a small celebration of sorts. If the celebration covers a full shift cycle, then anyone who wants to can come by even if they are on duty at another point. I'm sure we could find a few others to help with the planning process."
Ultra Magnus pressed a hand to his optics. He knew when he was going to lose a fight. The worst part was, he couldn't even look to Megatron to back him up; he was nearly certain Megatron would side with Rodimus on the subject, which usually meant it was worth at least a passing second consideration. "Fine, once you have a time in mind, send it and any proposed changes to the duty roster to Megatron and myself. We need to confirm no critical areas of ship operations will be left unattended."
"I do know how to run a ship, you know. I managed just fine before everyone else came along," Rodimus muttered. "Anyway, I wonder if I can rope Drift in to help with the planning. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it. I think he's free now!" Rodimus said as he kicked off of the desk and sprang up. “See you around, Ultra Magnus!”
Rodimus was halfway out the door before he paused. "Oh, and Ultra Magnus, one more thing. Did you know that the same people who gave us long weekends were also responsible for leap years? You should look it up sometime."
You're up
thesecretdoor