A rather sweet problem...

[partofaplan]

Late nights in Ten Forward are normally quiet. Between the shift changes between nights and days, the lounge is normally deserted as anyone not working is sleeping.

It's 03:36, and there's some movement in Ten Forward by one of the replicators. Lit up by the lights of a removed panel is one Peter Quill. He's currently removing isolinear program chips from the main panel of the replicator, constantly referring to a piece of paper in his other hand.

He's reprogramming the machine.

Eventually, he's done, grunting as he replaces the panel and clapping his hands together, grinning.

"Alright. Computer?" Acknowledging beep. "Uh... Xandarian Whisky."

There's a further beep... And then small multicoloured orbs start pouring from the replicator. On the other side of the lounge, the other replicator starts pouring out similar orbs. Quill's eyes widen.

"Holy shit...!"

And that panel is getting removed again.

"Computer! Stop!"

"Unable to comply. Standard command and control functions have been tampered with."

"Aw... Hell!"

And now he's going to be trying to reverse what he's done... As the room slowly starts to fill with Skittles and M&Ms.

Comments

[funnythingsare]

Tony saunters up, prepared to do his own bit of tampering.

And then he realizes he's been usurped, at least at the moment, as self-proclaimed tinkerer.

"Wow," he says flatly. "Look, I respect the need to fuck with the programming, but for candy? I mean..." He pauses. "Actually, I can respect that. To a point. The point up until I actually came in here looking for a drink."

[partofaplan]

"Ha ha." Quill grumbles around an isolinear chip in his mouth. "It ain't as though I wanted this to happen, alright?"

[funnythingsare]

"Now you're saying you don't like candy? I really can't trust you."

Tony steps forward and pulls the chip out of the young man's mouth. Hey, what are cooties? He examines it, reaches down for another, and sticks the two into slots as if he knows what he's doing.

Sometimes that works.

Instead, he's now getting what look suspiciously like Cadbury eggs.

[partofaplan]

"What are you doing?!" Pete hisses reaching up and yanking the chips out again. The replicators continue dispensing their rainbow-coloured spheres.

"You can't just dick around with this shit. That's how I got in this mess to begin with!" He remarks, in the same hushed tones. He then gestures to the paper he's holding. "That goes there, and that goes there." Isolinear chips are slotted in; the same ones Tony tried.

There's a distorted bleep, and now there's Hershey Kisses being generated.

...At least they're wrapped?

[funnythingsare]

"Dicking around with this shit is the only way anything gets done," Tony says. "I know what I'm doing at least as well as you do."

Better, probably. At least Tony has the sense to grab an egg and shove the whole thing in his mouth.

[partofaplan]

If you think Quill hasn't stuffed his pockets with enough candy to give Augustus Gloop jealousy issues, you're sorely mistaken...

... He is going to continue to slot chips in according to his document and just ignore Stark. He needs to sort this out before anyone important notices, after all.

Finally, all the chips are slotted back in... And the replicators are now dispensing Kinder Surprise eggs.

"... Now it's just fuckin' with me. I don't even know what these are."

[funnythingsare]

"Ooh," Tony coos, with an enthusiasm only half-faked. "These things. Awesome."

He grabs one and rips it open.

"Some of these are limited edition," he points out. He pulls the chocolate apart, eats it, and opens the plastic shell. Only to reveal a tiny Steve Rogers. "Seriously," he grumbled. "The bastard's everywhere."

[partofaplan]

Well, Quill's out of ideas. It's not like he has one of those fancy diagnostic scanning tools he's seen the Federation folk out and about with...

He glances over his shoulder, looking up from the diagram he's got drawn.

"...Is that Captain America?"

[funnythingsare]

Tony grimaced slightly. "Great. Another fanboy. Why can't I find a dimension or future or whatever that doesn't know Captain America?" He peered at the man. "You don't know me, do you? I'm at least as famous as he is. And way cooler."

Okay, so that might not be totally accurate. But sometimes you had to present the reality you wanted to enact.

[partofaplan]

"Uh... Sorry, bro, but I ain't been on Terra for... Over twenty years."

He's honest, at least.