Setting
- 49 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
Switching to Naxik, a language he had used infrequently since his days in the Ambassadorial Division yet was similar to his own language, Calaran, Atan said, "I shall guide you to the bridge. If you have any equipment to drop off, we will leave it at the room before continuing." Waiting for Rss'Kan to gather his valuables, he led the fellow alien through the halls of the ship, entering the Turbolift.
Entering the commands to the 8th deck, he leaned on the staff as Rss'Kan entered. Once the lift began barreling off, he queried, "What prompted you to join the Federation military, Rss'Kan? Not the kindest place for 'aliens' such as."
Kerstin glanced at the floor as Weston went on about his cybernetics and popped her eyes back up when he finished. ”Well i’ve worked in much, much poorer environments. This is very much so satisfactory.” Most people loved working in working environments but something about having to perform surgery with the risk of your eminent death at every waking moment will be something to miss. Though she figured she could always simulate an attack if things were to get a tad boring maybe she could scare some people while she was at it. The thought sent a ping of excitement up her spine before being interrupted by Mat.
"Hello you two. Mandatory bioscan, stand right where you are and...done." Mat appeared and within a few short seconds left again. Mandatory bioscans?
"I thought we had bioscans when we first got on the ship? Did you know about these Doctor?" Wes asked clearly bothered by Mat’s sudden interruption and she could see why. These seemed to be more so just because rather than mandatory.
”We did, they were basic. We had basic scans when we first arrived, everyone did. If Mat's taking deep scans," She mulled over the possible reasons for Mat to be taking scans before continuing "well we both do have cybernetics. Mine not nearly as extensive…” She dragged off when the door opened again revealing Reese who quickly tried to dismiss his presence.
"My bad, I am interrupting something, I will come back when you are done."
Leaning around Carter she smiled. “You’re not interrupting anything here, simply getting situated. What d’ya need?”
Rss'Kan nodded in acknowledgement as the data file for the ship's map was transferred over, running his wrist over the screen to give a few quick taps with his feelers. Hoisting his luggage pack onto his shoulder, he began to make his way to the bridge. All the while being accompanied by the Commander, Atan Vuloris. It was.... strange. A race clearly vastly different, yet so similar. He too had a shell, yet his seemed more for light protection rather than immediate survival. What was life on his world like? Did he too have rituals like the Shaping? What were those things protruding out of his head? These thoughts mulled around in Rss'Kan's brain for a while till he was addressed again in Naxik, though it was a bit more comprehensible. "I shall guide you to the bridge. If you have any equipment to drop off, we will leave it at the room before continuing." It still lacked the click of mandibles, but the message was still clear. Rss'Kan nodded in thanks. "I appreciate this, Ssoh" Damn it! Once again, he failed at catching himself. It was difficult to concentrate, for as similar to Rss'Kan as this Atan person was, that only made him feel even stranger. It was a bit discomforting, leaving Rss'Kan to wonder if, like the humans, there was many other races similar to Torronax? Were these what the Sky Devils looked like?
The two approached the turbolift, as Rss'Kan sighed to himself. These tiny metal boxes were often the source of some annoyance for him. His first ride may have been memorable, the space elevator from Tarr'n surface to it's only Station Loxis, but every other lift he'd encountered during training was clearly not designed for him. He couldn't count how many times he got stuck in one. To his surprise, however, to doors slid open to reveal an amazingly roomy compartment, big enough to hold two or three of him. It was relieving, to say the least. The Commander tapped in the commands in the lift's console, and away they went. Atan leaned on his spear-staff-thing, he asked a curious question. "What prompted you to join the Federation military, Rss'Kan? Not the kindest place for 'aliens' such as us." Rss'Kan immediately wanted to answer with what he believed to be the right reason, but then he thought. Which one was the real reason? All of them were reasons, but with so many, the answer was starting to feel a little convoluted. Sure, what he did here strengthened ties with the Federation and the Coalition, but did that help his clan directly? Would it end the war? He didn't really know for sure. And what about the Bri? Their Empire nearly dwarfed the Federation, so could they really help Tarr'n break free of them?
It felt like he was sinking when he went over it all. There was no way to be sure anything he did would help, or even be noticed. Maybe... maybe this wasn't the right choice after all. He should have just stayed with his clan. With..... No. That was why he was here. For any chance, even the slimmest, that Tarr'n could be safer. For his clan, his brother, and his sister. He'd never know if what he did here mattered, but it damn well might, and that made it worth while. The answer became obvious, turning towards Atan as the doors slid open. His response before proceeding forward, a simple, single word.
"Hope."
"Hmm, I guess it might want to get a more in-depth understanding of our cybernetics. I don't know. That's a little...disturbing to me." Wes said as he scratched his chin. Then Lieutenant Reese came into the Med Bay. Wes retuned the salute to Reese. "At ease Sergeant....er....Lieutenant. I'm the lead Tactical Officer." Wes said with a friendly smile.
"I don't suppose there's anyone on the ship that doesn't know about Ironhide huh?" Oh the price of fame. "I look forward to working with you Lieutenant. It's....Reese Coal correct?" He asked, making sure he knew his name. "So you have cybernetics as well?" Wes asked.
Calibrating. Kerstin walked away tapping her lip with her index finger as Reese and Carter exchanged pleasantries to located the CAL-X tool, a small and extremely high tech calibrating machine specifically used for cybernetics embedded deep within the body connected to the nervous system. Where are you? She had seen it around plugged into a station with four others but where?
“At least you’re not known as being a child.” She mumbled recalling a specific instructor that hated her after hearing Carter expressing a slight annoyance about having the nickname Ironhide follow him around. With a snap of her fingers and a swift spin on her heels Kerstin remembered where the CAL-X were and with a quick couple steps grabbed one and headed back to where the two were still standing. Only to be greeted by a quizzical look from Reese.
"Lieutenant, if you don't mind me asking, but did you inhale a rather large amount of fumes off of a deep core drills tail pipe at some point in the past?"
”Did my hair change?” She asked grabbing a strand and pulling it in front of her eyes. ”It is really light in here.” She added letting the strand fall back down. ”To answer your question, yes. I grew up on a mining colony, completely impossible to avoid any of the fumes.” Turning on the machine she looked up to Reese suddenly turning serious. "Might want to take a seat."
The Turbolift came to a stop, a soft ding emanating from the vessel as it came to a stop. Gesturing Rss'Kan to follow, he led the Torronaxian to his room, smaller and less furbished than Atan's own. Gesturing to Rss'Kan, he spoke, "I shall wait for you out here. When you are settled I shall take you to the Ssoh of the vessel." As Rss'kan was in the room, a twinge struck Atan's leg, something he hadn't felt in years. Leaning even more heavily on the staff, he forced out the pain for it was a distraction from more important matters. Ever since the day he had stopped the implosion of a reactor, his leg had been damaged. The doctors themselves were amazed that he had survived the amount of radiation and heat.
Gesturing towards the elevator, he once again got in and punched the code for the bridge of the ship. Looking towards Rss'Kan, he said, "Do not worry about Ssoh Rayne, he is a good man. More accepting than most."
Stepping off the lift at the bridge, he entered the room and stood to attention before calling out, "Captain Rayne, may I present to you Ensign Rss'Kan 's Nssk'Aani, a newly arrived engineer."
”Earth, eh?” Kerstin remembered when she left the colony, Earth was one of her stops but it only lasted for a few short years.”I never liked Earth.” It may have only been a little while that she was there but they were definitely not pleasant memories.
As Reese rested his head down Kerstin placed the four corresponding electrodes across his forehead. She turned a few dials on the screen and watched as the device came to life. The four electrodes then projected a holographic image of the wiring of his neural cybernetics. Taking the CAL-X pen she reset all the current calibrations and readjusted them to fit the vessel. ”Alright.”She muttered as she finalized the calibrations to fit the HUD. Shutting off the CAL-X she took off the electrodes and walked back across the room and placed it with the rest. ”You’re good to go Lieutenant.” She finished breaking her serious doctor demeanor.
no, the prompt still floated in his vision, No, it still floated there, in the center of his vision, NO! the prompt disappeared and the soft blue lines and curves of his HUD came in to view. He took a breath and got up out of the chair, a little shaky on his feet. "Thank you ma'am" he said as he walked out of the room.
He thought to himself All I have to do is get back to my room and hope the AI doesn't scan me
Once Sol found an empty table, he took a seat and wore a look of raw hunger. Sol then set the plate onto the table. With little pause, Sol began to rip into his little pile of protein and fat, his razor sharp making the slightly tough meat tear as if it would melt in his mouth. A few minutes of barely taking time to swallow his food, the once filled plate was left with only the juices of the meat that managed to escape Sol's jaws.
Taking his plate in his left hand, Sol placed his helmet on with his right hand. As he walked to the plate drop off, he activated the suit's built in comms. "AI, may I please have your preferred reference name and a line to my direct superior?" Sol asked as he place the plate in the plastic bin.
Commander Vuloris definitely seemed like a rather insightful individual. It was comforting to have someone's agreeance with his reasoning, and also disheartening to hear that other wars had plagued the rest of the galaxy. Rss'Kan couldn't even begin to imagine how many worlds there must be who also struggled with such problems, bu he found himself hoping they faired better than Tarr'n. It was a sentiment that felt... odd, but right. He and Atan shared the same purpose for being here, if for slightly different reasons. Serving under him would still be an honor, and Rss'kan hoped to not disappoint. Rss'Kan followed the gesture of the Commander to what were to be his quarters. It was small, with little no no furnishings, but Rss'Kan didn't care. He had called much worse places home, and if he could ever get passed the annoyance of the ship's cool, clean air, he'd have no qualms in living here.
"I shall wait for you out here. When you are settled I shall take you to the Ssoh of the vessel." The Comander's use of Naxik was a little unorthodox, but then again Rss'kan had no idea what the Federation was taught about it. He'd already experienced first-hand more than a few things the Coalition was wrong about several Federation races. "Yess, Ssoh." Rss'Kan nodded on acknowledgement, lumbering through the door with his luggage pack. It was pretty standard, 10x15 with restroom and a what-would-normally-be comfortable fold-away cot. Rss'Kan looked over the back wall where the cot was, taking a quick mental measurement. Tapping the console for his room's controls, the cot slid back into the wall, with Rss'Kan laying his luggage down in it's place. He left satisfied with what he saw, following Commander Vuloris' lead to the Bridge. Atan once again directed the lift to their destination, answering Rss'Kan's unspoken concerns as he did so. "Do not worry about Ssoh Rayne, he is a good man. More accepting than most." While it was pleasing to hear, acceptance wasn't Rss'Kan's only worry.
The Commander stepped off the lift the moment it had arrived, standing at attention before addressing the Captain of the Warhammer. "Captain Rayne, may I present to you Ensign Rss'Kan 's Nssk'Aani, a newly arrived engineer." Rss'Kan rose as high as the ceiling would permit, saluting the man in charge of his future. "Classs-3 Engineer Reporting for Duty, Captain." The word "captain" couldn't help but come out as.... unfamiliar, but practiced. Which might be expected, the word only recently being added to his language.
Wes left the med bay when the doctor started working on Reese's implants. He didn't want to disturb her. "Bridge." Wes commanded as he entered the Turbolift. He isn't quite sure what to think of the doctor. He's read reports both good, and bad of her. It's hard to get a read on someone with only short interaction. But for now he'll just have to trust her to do her job. Soon the elevator stopped at the bridge. He stepped off the lift to see fellow commander Atan along with a Torronax. Strange, Wes didn't even know any Torronax served in the Federation.
"Greetings. I'm Commander Carter." Wes said introducing himself. "A Torronax correct? I didn't realize any of your people served in the Federation." Wes had fought one or two Torronax in his time before becoming an officer, and has made a few smuggling jobs to their homeworld. "You're people a very tough, and long lived right? Or by human standards at least. I'm sure you'll be a valuable asset." While Wes doesn't have any formal degrees in xenobiology, he does have a lot of first hand experience with most spacefaring species, something that proves to be invaluable for his job.
"Hello, Rss'Kan 's Nssk'Aani," Rayne said, mimicking Naxik, "I am the leader of this ship, Seth Rayne," Rayne said, switching back to normal for his name. Translating that would be borderline impossible.
That's when Ironh- Weston walked in. Rayne heard him give his greeting to Rss'Kan, and thought back to his days as a ground soldier.
On the journey, he thought about his conversation with Rss'Kan. As Atan had said earlier, hope was a noble aspiration. He thought back to the times his race had been persecuted, forced to the brink of extinction and sequestered in various Bastion Worlds across their sector of the Perseus Arm. There were those that would create a military industrial complex, turning the peaceful Kara'k race into one of war, inflicting retribution on those that had wronged. Atan did not despise them for their disposition but he felt sorrow at their misguided feelings. War would ruin the galaxy, not help it.
Stepping off, he entered the medical bay and saw Kerstin sitting there, various items arrayed around her. It seemed she had been working. "Greetings Lieutenant-Commander Wilde. It is a pleasure to meet the head physician. The burden of chief medical officer can be quite tiring without one."
Sitting down at one of the various stations, he leaned his staff against the wall before asking, "What prompted you to join the military? Glory, hope, obligation, adventure? Sorry if I intrude, but I like knowing those I work with personally."
It wasn’t until the door shut that she let out a slow calm breath while looking over some medical files on the crew. If she was going to do her job right then she would have to read up on everyone, the one thing she never liked about the job. Paperwork. She was deep into a file when the door snapped her out of her focus.
Swiveling revealed Commander Vuloris. “Hello sir. It’s no bother.” As she greeted him he asked her why she joined and grabbed a chair at the station over from hers.
”Please, it's just Doctor in here and to answer your question,” She paused thinking over her next couple of words. ”I joined because I have a knack for helping people. May I ask the same to you?” She said not looking up from the paperwork.
Weslow Rykes
Weslow finished reassembling his sniper rifle and with one last look over noticed the time. It was time for his second dose of his supplements. Good timing too, he’d take the supplements and then head to the shooting range. Being in one space for too long was never good for his mental state, he tended to get antsy if he has to wait around for too long and not do anything. Which only resulted in him testing his marksman skills and athleticism and that only lead up to him tiring himself out.
Grabbing his rifle he made his way to the med bay where he seemingly intruded on a conversation between Doctor Wilde and Commander Vuloris. “Excuse me.” He said as he passed them and sat in a chair. He rested his rifle against the wall and grabbed a small black container from his pocket. He did not need anyone to give him the injection but it was best if he was supervised.
“Supplements?” A voice chimed in.
“Yeah.” Was all he replied. Kerstin and himself had been stationed together a few times before and by now she didn’t ask questions when it came to this sort of thing. ”I’ll be out of the way in just a moment.” He added as the blue liquid was squeezed through the needle into his vein. Blue. Couldn’t they have made it a more pleasing color. Like how about clear?
Three needles. All blue. All in the same spot. He clenched his fist after they were done and proceeded to leave the room.
"Captain Rayne, may I present to you Ensign Rss'Kan 's Nssk'Aani, a newly arrived engineer."
He almost fell over backwards as this giant being entered the room followed by West. I the ensuing commotion he managed to make his escape and made his way down to the pilot simulators.
"Mat? Can you run situation Omega 2? Yes, the two on one."
He settled in to his cockpit, pulled the canopy closed. As he completed his preflight check and powered up all the simulated systems he started humming to himself. He practiced going up against two planes because it honed his aggressive instincts. The only way to go up against two planes and win was attack fast, kill, and turn it into a duel. If you went defensive you died. He grinned and punched the throttle.
Three hours later he clambered out of the cockpit and stole a glance at the replay of his last kill. There was a monitor up in the room that had been broadcasting the entire session. As he went to get a drink and take a break he looked back and smiled.
"Mat, What fun scenarios are there in the databanks for this?"
Turning back to face Kerstin, he gazed at her, tumbling her words around in his head. "As you wish then, Doctor Wilde. Why am I here you ask? Because I despise war. I simply hope to reform the military complex through the complex itself. War is much too brutal for a galaxy. Sadly, sometimes the only way to stop war is to wage it. In a way, my reason is much like yours: I wish to help people, simply in a different way."
Glancing back at the door through which Weslow had exited, he asked, "If I may be so bold, how did you end up here on the U.S.S. Warhammer? Your record is certainly interesting to examine, and many would have passed you over. What did our superiors see in you?"
"I am the leader of this ship, Seth Rayne." "Captain." Rss'kan acknowledged, nodding dutifully. He waited for his standing orders or any other form of command his Captain may have, when he was addressed by another human. "A Torronax correct? I didn't realize any of your people served in the Federation." That statement caused a bit of a mental flinch for Rss'Kan, summing up how out of place he felt in one sentence. Though, seeing these other various species here, maybe they felt the same as he did? 'I am the first...." he trailed, till he noticed the human's rank. Another Commander. "...S-Sirrr." Rss'Kan finally finished, his attempt at English without the luxury of his translator coming out like the bastard lovechild of a belch and a growl. And yeah, that had to be as unpleasant to hear, if not more so, than humans speaking Naxik. Rss'Kan left himself feeling a bit embarrassed, and now eagerly awaited an update for his translator's dictionary. Provided it was militarily based. He turned back to the captain. "Standing orders, Captain?"
"If I may be so bold, how did you end up here on the U.S.S. Warhammer? Your record is certainly interesting to examine, and many would have passed you over. What did our superiors see in you?"
“I ask myself that same question. I expected a half hearted 'thanks but no' when I applied to be stationed here.” It was fully clear to Kerstin that many of her coworkers had their opinions on her work ethics and completely other opinions on her personally. The entirety of her reputation was based on her experimental trials, evident disregard for the rules and her displeasure of working with others. However, regardless of her flaws she got results and who was going to argue the facts?
Kerstin stopped what she was doing, turning to Commander Vuloris. “ I have been praised and held in high esteem while at the same time being censured over my actions. The one thing that has never been overlooked was my results. I’m good at what I do, Sir. Some say I'm one of the best. Others treat me like nothing more than some girl from a no name colony that got lucky.” She finished as she gathered her things. “I need to check up on my belongings, I've yet to do so. If you want to continue talking I’ll be back here shortly.”
He had gone though the kill house sim and was now just firing at a range using his scope and skill to nail the targets.
Walking out of the medical room, he stepped into the Turbolift as it returned and headed over to his room, leaning on the staff along the way. He probably could have found something to relieve the pain in his leg at the medical bay, but what served well for humans might not work for him. Exiting the small pod, he strode over to his residence and unlocked the room. Leaning the spear against the wall, he closed the door and found his medical supplies. Extracting a hypodermic needle and medical fluid, he injected his leg with the substance. The pain was quickly swept away.
Leaning back, he proceeded to use one of the strategy combat sims installed on his data pad, refreshing his skills however much he disliked them.
- 49 posts here • Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2