The below story is not intended as copyright infringement, and is intended solely as entertaiment for tech support operatives who also like Anime. Those characters that appear as themselves belong to their specific creators. Please don't sue me, I have no money. Technical Slayers Muyo 1/2 A Quickie Fanfiction By Valandar the Red "Gaahh! How stupid can these people be!" yelled Ranma. "I could be very cruel here," said Lina, "but you don't know Gourry, so you wouldn't get it." In the cubicle across the row, Tenchi struggled with a caller. "No, ma'am. No ma'am. No, it isn't a cupholder, it's a CD-ROM. Yes, ma'am. Yes, you put CD programs in it. No, ma'am, not all music CD's have programs. No, ma'am, you can't put a regular floppy disk into it. Yes, ma'am, I know they're not very floppy. Ye...ye...yes, ma'am, we're sending out a new CD-ROM to replace the one you broke the tray off. Thank you for calling, goodbye." He punched the 'release' button, and threw down the headset. "Why do I even work here? I'm the emporer of an interstellar realm, I don't need this job!" Ranma glanced over. "Well, at least we're slow on the calls, today. Yesterday, we had sixty five calls waiting at one point." Lina glared at him. "Yeah, right before you went to lunch, and left us stuck with 'em all. I really wanted to toss a Dragon Slave or two down the line at the really stupid ones." BEEP! "Oh, great, I got a call," said Ranma. "Hello, thank you for calling Mishima technical support. My name is Ranma, how can I help you? Yes, Mr. Tokugawa, that is one of our machines. No, sir, I can't give you my last...Sir, could you please watch your...sir, this is your second warning about your language. If you cannot quit cursing, I...sir, this is your third warning, and...Sir, I have to terminate this call, now." Click. "Well, he wasn't happy." "Which machine did he have ?" "He had model NT-9874." Lina whistled. "No wonder he was so angry. If I had one of those, I'd be pretty ticked, too." BEEP "Hello, thank you for calling Mishima technical support, my name is Lina, how can I help you? Okay, sir, do you have a serial number? Okay, Mr. Anjin-san, do you have it plugged in? Good. Is the switch on the power strip on? Good. Is the power strip plugged in?" The others watched as a huge sweatdrop rolled down the side of her face. "No, sir, power strips don't _provide_ power. That's just another term for a surge protector. Yes, sir, that is probably why your toaster and television don't work, either. Well, sir, when you get your trailer wired for electricity, feel free to call us back if you have any other technical issues. Thank you for calling, goodbye." After hitting 'release', she slowly took off her headset. "Did he do what I think he did ?" asked Tenchi. "Yup." "He had everything plugged into surge protectors, and thought they supplied electricity?" ventured Ranma. "Yup." The three looked at each other for a few minutes. Three distinct ticks of the clock could be heard. Then they all busted out in laughter. This attracted the attention of the Mentor on duty, who came over. "Quit laughing, and get back on the phones!" she yelled. Her goddess marks flared, and she reached behind her back for her ever-present mallet. "Okay, okay, Skuld, we're doin' it!" chortled Ranma. But, it didn't matter anymore. They still couldn't stop laughing. Lina told the story to Skuld, who began to giggle, herself. "Alright, that's okay. But the next time you get someone that stupid...put it on speakerphone, so I can listen." With a wink, she turned, and left. Don't really know where to go from there. Yes, I have recieved all three calls during my time in Tech Support, in addition to quite a few others. I still get a kick out of the one woman saying, "Those floppy disks aren't vey floppy, are they?" - Valandar the Red of the Empty Tankard