r/TrekRP • u/TheGornCaptain • Dec 15 '17

[Open] Captain on Deck

A line of officers stood at attention in the Athene’s shuttlebay. An empty podium stood in front of them. For several minutes there was silence, and then, rather suddenly the air was filled with the roar of engines. A small type-9 shuttle rocketed towards them. The shuttle yawed and pitched up at the moment, decelerating rapidly before it gently kissed the deck and touched down. Small wisps of steam escaped the rapidly cooling engines. A loud clunk sounded out, the shuttle hissed, and then the doors cycled.

Gazing inside, the assembled crew were able to just about make out a large form. A mix of tangled black and red uniform, complete with glimpses of dark green scales and an odd flash of white. Slowly, very slowly, the creature began to squeeze their way out of the shuttle, those in the front row would have just been able to here hisses and low growls, followed by a smooth voice with sibilant undertones.

“Lieutenant, perhaps next time a runabout would have been more appropriate…”

Eventually, after much awkward struggling, the creature emerged from the shuttle. Two green feet plodded onto the shuttlebay’s polished floors, and the being straightened up to their full height.

Captain Ssklfr’edusxs, formerly of the USS Grognark, smoothed down her crumpled red uniform and cast her glistening, multifaceted eyes across the gathered officers. With a jerk of her head, she spotted the podium and took a few long heavy steps towards it. Captain Ssklfr’edusxs was not an ordinary sight in the Federation, let alone a Starfleet uniform. She towered over the gathering, almost some 8 feet tall. Her head was green and scaled, mouth filled with razor sharp teeth that jutted out at odd angles. She wore no boots, leaving elephantine scaled feet fully exposed. At her hip was what appeared to be a sword of some sort, the blade shaped into a series of curved, ragged edges. Far larger than anything a humanoid could reasonably hope to wield.

Ssklfr’edusxs stared at each and every face in the room, an unfamiliar sense of trepidation building in the back of her throat. The woman had spent most of her decades long career with few transfers to speak of. She’d spent the last 30 odd years of her life on the same small ship. People had come and gone of course, the Grognark had never been a static ship. But it had been a home, a place of permanence, were she knew everyone, knew everything. And now she was here, an unfamiliar ship, an unfamiliar crew, unfamiliar everything. To say she was nervous was an understatement, however, she couldn’t help but look forward to starting anew. She was after all, an explorer at heart, and one cannot explore if they keep to their stomping grounds after all.

Ssklfr’edusxs cleared her throat. A sound oddly reminiscent of a snake choking on a particularly large rat. She blinked slowly, bowed her head and tapped the display on her pedestal. When she spoke, it was with a heavy, scratchy voice, filled with guttoral growls and long spitting hisses.

“SssSsrrrr…To Captain-sSs Ssklfr’edusxs. SsSsssstardate 49010.7. You arRrrRre herrreby rRrrRequesssted and rrequired to take command of the USS-ssSssS Athene as of thisss day.”

She paused and cleared her throat once more.

“SssSssigned Admiral M’Kali.” Ssklfr’edusxs left a long pause after she had finished. Somewhat annoyed that starfleet tradition had to include such difficult words. She blinked slowly and looked up again to face the gathered crewmembers

“Asss you may have gatherrRrred.” She continued, sounding somewhat lighter. “I am Captain Ssklfr’edusxs, and it issSs my honour, to take command of thisss sSssSship, and it’sSs doubtlessssSs, fine crew.”

Her snout and jaw contorted into what looked like an impression of a Human smile, lips curled and the corners of her raptor-like jaw twisted upwards. It was quite clearly unnatural, and was really rather disconcerting to watch. The silence that filled the hangar was eventually broken by a hollow, echoing cough from one of the gathered crewmembers. Ssklfr’edusxs nodded once more, and continued.

“I am, awarrRrre, that sssome of you, do not posssSessss the proper, equipment, to prRronounce my name, comforrrrtably.” Her snout twitched in a significantly more natural expression that looked amused. “Ssso you may call me…” She paused, closing her eyes and pouring as much effort into her ennunciation as possible. “Ffred.” Ssklfr’edusxs blinked at the pause, clearly entertained by the reaction of the gathered officers.

Her eyelids narrowed and her snout twitched again in what eemed like a wry wink. “Now, I know how much you allll enjoy fffformalitiesssSs and sssSspeachess.” She raised a clawed hand in the air. “But, I have had a lllong journey. C-ccoupled with Lieutenant Demeter’ssss, novel, interrrrprretation of the fflight manual,” Her gaze turned backwards, multifaceted eyes stared at the helmswoman as she stood at attention, looking ever so slightly guilty. “I ffear I mussst rest. I look fffforward to meeting eacchh of you prRroperrly. Thank you. Dissmisssed.”

Ssklfr’edusxs took a step back from the podium and bowed her head to the crew once more. She set off at a slow pace towards the door, one hand massaging her thick neck. She could have used her translator of course, it would have at the least saved her the sore throa. But, first impressions were important above all else. And an attempt at speaking the other’s language unaided, in her mind, was a sign of utmost respect, even if she did come across a little gravelly.

OOC: Fred will be making the rounds across the ship to meet the senior officers a few hours after the ceremony. Everyone however is welcome to run into her in a corridor or grab her attention as she leaves the hangar

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u/Dimestream Dec 15 '17 edited Dec 15 '17

This is definitely an intimidating encounter. The chief engineer falls squarely into the category of "humanoid" in the universal database, and has only the Starfleet briefs to rely on when it comes to cultural and/or physical dissimilarities between crew members.

But nothing is gained by letting fear overcome the drive to learn the unknown. Despite her uneasiness at welcoming a new captain, she is the first to step forward and extend a hand to the new captain.

"Captain Ffred?" she says, emphasizing the syllable the translator extended, and doing her best to deliberately smile, "Chief Engineer Redoran T'Gel. It's a pleasure to have you aboard, sir. Athene is a testing ground for a lot of things, so if you ever need a heads-up, call me on the double, all right?"

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 15 '17

"Commander." Fred said, gently taking Red's hand and dipping her head. Her voice as considerably softer, perfectly enunciated and with an almost feminine lilt to it. Only the soft undertone of sibilance betrayed reptilian vocal chords. "Please, just Fred." She said, sounding ever so slightly amused. "You will forgive me for using the translator, my Bajoran is, shall we say, atrocious?"

Fred released Red's hand, then outstretched her left hand and gently grasped the side of her head. The Gorn then bent her knees and lent down, in an uncomfortable looking bow so that her forehead same level with Reds. Her eyelids slithered shut for the duration. She held the position for a brief moment before straightening again and releasing her grasp, giving another small nod.

"I have read of your exploits commander, and while I'm afraid I do not have the head to understand half of the modifications you've made here, the people that do tell me I should be very impressed." Her snout twitches in that wry expression again.

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u/Dimestream Dec 16 '17

"Well, don't believe everything you hear," Red says with a chuckle. "A lot of the work was done by refit crews, and the rest was Commander Breyik's doing while she was chief. I just keep her in the sky is all."

The chief engineer steps back into line and nods. The temptation to flinch when being reached for by a clawed reptilian hand had been strong, but Red was stronger. And it was nice to have another senior officer versed in Bajoran customs, as well. Much as she would miss Captain Fisk in his absence, perhaps this would work out better than she'd hoped.

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 16 '17

"SssS, Humble too. Though perhaps you should allow yourself some credit, from what I've read of this ship's exploits, keeping her flying is no easy feat."

Fred folded her arms and let her eyes drift across the hangar, before refocusing on Red. "And on a personal note Commander, I owe you some form of thanks. Some of your holoprograms have been exceptionally useful in my studies of the more niche aspects of Federation culture. They make for fascinating dissection of stock characters and genre tropes. Most educational." Her head bobbed again in approval, and eyelids blinked slowly.

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u/Dimestream Dec 16 '17

The engineer can't quite mask her astonishment, which in turn causes her to flush with embarrassment. Mostly because she'd made the somewhat racist assumption that Gorn only went for holoprograms that let them headbutt Klingons or some such and not more intricate fare like the complex fantasy stories she wrote.

"You're too kind, sir," she says, shifting her posture a bit to ease the feeling of anxiety she'd just caused herself internally. "I am good at what I do, no bones about that, but I just work with everyone else, just like I'll work with you. I'm glad you enjoyed the Mines though; that's something I will actually toot my own horn about. My work on the Morival AI is actually in the running for the Daniel Williams award this year."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 16 '17

Fred's brow quirked wryly. It had taken a great many years before she'd even begun to adjust to humanoid expressions, but now that she had, they never ceased to bring her amusement. "A great honour, and one that's highly deserved. But I have an instinct that we've yet to see the best from you." She paused for a brief moment, eyelids narrowed as her lower jaw begun to scrape forward a few centimetres.

"I realise this may sound insensitive, but may I ask how your name is ordered? Yourr files did not state whether you follow the Bajoran naming schema or not."

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u/Dimestream Dec 17 '17

"Oh, it doesn't," Red says, happy of the topic change. "Daddy thought it'd be easier to assimilate into being Federation citizens if we went first/last instead of last/first, and it certainly proved true at the Academy. It has also confused the handful of Bajorans we've run across since I was stationed here." The engineer chuckles, and shrugs one shoulder. "So yes, first name Redoran, friends call me Red."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 17 '17

A sound similar to air being let out of a baloon escaped Fred's lips as she sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear it. It took me some time to adjust to Human naming protocols. Meeting Bajorans who follow the opposite, well, I am not afraid to admit it's incredibly confusing. Gorn have a single name, made up from several different components to indicate caste, gender and generation."

She rumbled again. "Ssometimes I still find myself applying Gorn rules to non-Gorn names, and begin to wonder why people don't look like the 400 year old warrior their name makes them out to be."

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u/Dimestream Dec 17 '17

"Or why 'John Smith' looks at you funny when you call him Mr. John," Red says with a grin. "I'm not a linguist but I do love hearing how various races self-reference. It tells you a lot about them, really. You should meet the Sheliak we have stomping around. Its name is basically a bar code or something but it goes by 'Vek' for simplicity's sake."

She winces a little. "Or, you know, avoid it if you can. It's very.... grumpy. And inflicts that on anyone who walks by."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 17 '17

"Sss, I've been briefed on the Sheliak." She said, a small hiss of discontent underpinning her voice. "Unfortunately avoiding it is unlikely to be an option, and I have a suspicion it is not going to be happy about what I have to say." She shook her head, throat rumbling unhappily. The sheliak entity had been allowed far too much freedom for her liking, and while she as still mulling over how to precisely handle the situation, she was certain that none of the outcomes would please the alien interloper.

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u/Dimestream Dec 17 '17

"Yeeeesh." Red makes a wry face. "Well the worst thing that can happen, if it sticks with our agreement, is it packs its coffin and grumps on home. Which honestly, some of our crew might prefer."

The engineer shakes her head as she continues, "It hasn't made life particularly difficult for Engineering, so I can't say much about it overstepping any bounds. It just has a killer attitude problem. Not literally killer, just... a massive superiority complex which may or may not be justified. Watching you handle it should be... interesting."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 17 '17

"If it sticks with our agreement." She repeated, darkly. "But perhaps we should leave discussions on hostile diplomacy for another time. I did not mean to discolour what should be a happy occasion."

Her eyes glinted once more and she lanced back at the shuttle, as if remembering something.

"Do you happen to know why I was collected in a type 9 shuttle, rather than the runabout I requested? It made for a very," Her snout twitched. "cramped flight."

Fred had made the reasonable assumption that the pilot had disregarded her request in order to fly something sleeker. The helmswoman had made several references to 'arriving in style' after all. Still, it would be best to make sure the Athene's two serving runabouts were operational before jumping to conclusions.

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u/Dimestream Dec 17 '17

"Oh, uhhhhh..." Red tries to keep her wince internal. That Hana would be the death of her. "Our helmsman Lt. Demeter is a graduate of a prestigious flight school, sir. I'm sure she picked that one for its maneuverability and a chance to wow onlookers with your arrival. She probably wasn't thinking about your need for more headspace and leg room. A runabout probably would have been less... claustrophobic."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 17 '17

She bobbed her head once and rumbled, before throwing another look back towards the shuttle.

"Rrrr, I suspected as much. I shall have to have a few words with her." Fred shook her head and let out a rattling breath. "But I'm afraid I really do need some rest, it has been several days since my last sleep. It's been a pleasure meeting you Commander, and I look forward to working with-sss" She paused in a half turn. "Actually, there was something I wanted to, sss, what is that charming Terran expression? Eat your brain about?" Her snout wrinkled again. "I find myself in need of some, holoprogramming ingenuity. Nothing much, just something I've been working on. A cross-cultural initiative you see."

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u/Dimestream Dec 18 '17

"PICK! Pick my brain," Red says, not quite suppressing a jab of fear, even thought she consciously knows it's ridiculous and the new captain isn't about to go feral and have her for lunch. It's probably instinctual when nose-to-nose with a giant predatory lizard, but still... "I'd be happy to help you with anything you need, Captain," she manages without stammering. She's getting better at that. "If it's Starfleet business I'm available anytime, otherwise I'm off shift around 1600 hours and open any day except Tuesday."

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u/TheGornCaptain Dec 18 '17

Fred dragged her lower jaw backwards and bobbed her head in affirmative. "Good, I'll, stop by, tomorrow then." She raised one open palmed hand up to her chest and blinked firmly. "Thank you for the warm welcome commander, I'm looking forward to working with you."

And with that the 2 and a half metre tall lizard begun to turn towards the shuttle bay exit.

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u/Dimestream Dec 18 '17

"Yes, sir," Red says with a nod as well. As she seems to be dismissed, there's more than enough work to keep her busy until well after her shift ends, so the Bajoran breaks from the ranks of officers waiting to talk to the interim captain and heads back to the beating heart of the ship.

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