"Thank you captain" Walter says with a little nod
Having only been in space a few times previously, Kimefe seems to be a little woozy, although she does her best to hide it. When she enters the shuttle bay she stands quietly and waits for her captain to give his first orders. Here we are; let's see what happens with these pirates.
As Grunk emerges from the shuttle he slaps Walter hard on the back "Hmph that was good little man!!!" This is Grunk's version of a compliment.
Seeing everyone salute he lets out a booming laugh that echoes around the hold "I like it!!!"
Time: The shuttle on approach
As Walter begins his aerial show off, Leo turns notably paler on on the final approach his stomach finally wins the battle. He doesn't reach the disposal bag in time and pukes over the floor of the shuttle. "G!~ d!+n pilots always showing off. My stomach is never going to get along with this." he says weakened by the nausea.
At touchdown he is wiping his mouth with the backside of his hand while gurgling water and spiting it out into the disposal bag. He glares towards Walter, mumbling under his breath: "This is the last time we do an approach like that unless it's into a hot zone."
As they walk out, Leo takes care not to exit before the captain, but follows after him. He manages to carry both sea bags and his carbine over his left shoulder while saluting the crew with his right hand.
Walter walks out with Grunk, giving the orc a smile at his comment, then the looks at his new home, "Well this will be fun to drive"
Horus climbs out with his gear. Taking in the assembled crew with a glance, he turns his focus to the interior of the hanger bay itself. He's practically rubbing his hands together in his eagerness to crawl around in the ship's guts.
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The Captain and CMO also emerge from the shuttle. Captain Ageera is still smiling, but Baasira looks a bit green around the gills.
The crew is arranged into six lines of four. Each line is headed up by a crewman wearing the one hollow pip of Chief Warrant Officer on their collars. (One rank below ensign, they are NCOs). They are wearing the working uniforms of the FEF, which consist of a black sleeveless flight suit over a colored undershirt to indicate specialty. The undershirts are skin tight, and similar to modern exercise/jogging wear. The sleeves extend down to the elbow. You see the gold sleeves of command and helm, the red of security, operations and engineering, and the blue of science/medical all represented.
A male voice comes over the ship-wide intercom. "Welcome aboard the FEF Excelsior, officers. We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. The crew is assembled awaiting inspection and introductions. I am the Excelsior, and it is my pleasure to serve as your new home."
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The CWOs of each of the lines seem to be staring at one of you in particular.
There is a sturdy looking man, in golden sleeves with his eyes going back and forth between you and the captain. His stony skin marks him as an Oread. Standing behind him at attention are two goblins. The male Goblin has yellowish skin and black hair, the female is more blue skinned with brown hair. In the back of the line is a is a female gnome, her huge violet eyes blinking often. Her hair is arranged in a multitude of tiny braids, each a few centimeters long.
There is a tall beautiful blonde woman with bright flashing yellow eyes staring at you. Her sleeves are golden, as are those of the crewmen standing behind her. Directly behind her is a shorter woman with curly shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. Behind the Brunette is a taller Catfolk man. The last one in the line is a broad shouldered dwarven man with a short cropped salt and pepper beard and a bald head.
A red sleeved Hobgoblin standing at perfect rigid attention follows you with his eyes. Hulking over his shoulders are two large orcs. Their facial features are so similar that you're sure they must be twins. In the back of the line is a woman with a shaved head. She has small tusks protruding from her lower lips, revealing her mixed heritage.
There is a short somewhat fat Ifrit following you with his gaze. His sleeves are red, as are the horns on his brow. Behind him is a Gnomish man with large spectacles. Towering over the small gnome is an extremely furry Catfolk man. Finally in the back of the line is a dusky-skinned Duergar woman, she is the skinniest specimen of dwarf-kind that you've ever seen.
Looking at you is a beautiful woman of average height. Her auburn hair is pulled up and clipped behind her head in a neat twist. Her red sleeved uniform is impeccable, her emerald green eyes intensely bright. Behind her is another woman, slightly taller and thinner. She is surprisingly aged, her short hair a silvery color and her handsome face lined from frequent smiling. Behind her is an asian Human man, his hair shaved close, his build is athletic. In the back of the line is a Kobold with bright blue scales, his tail swishing back and forth rapidly.
There is a distinguished looking goblin staring at you, his goateed beard a deep black color. His hair is combed over to one side, and his wrist is wearing an expensive looking timepiece. Behind him stands a medium-height blue-skinned Undine woman. Her black hair looks as if it is a little damp. Over her shoulder you can see a tall thin Drow woman, whose white hair is done up into a tower of intricate braids. The last in line is a beautiful Duergar woman, her grey complexion as smooth as stone. Her bountiful curly white hair is so voluminous that it almost extends past her shoulders. All of them have blue sleeves.
The CWO in the front of a final seventh line is clearly a Tiefling. Her hairless head is covered in green and black patterned scales. She has two rows of small black horns extending back from the outside edges of her eyebrows. Behind her stand a bright red-scaled kobold, a calico female Catfolk and human looking woman with greenish skin and slightly pointed ears. All of them have the blue sleeves of medical staff.
"The remainder of the crew are busy with necessary tasks, however these are your personal staffs. If you have need of me, I am always here. Simply speak to me and I will answer." The intercom voice finishes before fading to silence.
The Captain with a last wave in Walter's direction, walks over and puts his arm around Leo's shoulders, leading him in the direction of the Oread man. "Lets go and inspect the help, shall we?" He gives Leo a wicked grin as he says this, seemingly anticipating future mischief.
CMO Baasira wanders over to the Tiefling woman and extends her hand while saying something quietly. The four medical crewman in front of her immediately relax and gather round her to begin shaking hands and making introductions. Soon smiles can be seen on their faces, as they take Baasira excitedly by the hands and lead her away into the interior of the ship.
I look the people I assume to be my group, with a smile. I quickly walk over.
"Hello, what are your names?" I ask, trying to be polite.
Horus walks over to the the fat ifrit CWO in the engineering line.
"Horus Hightower, I'm the new Chief Engineer. I take it you're my team of Boffins."
He shakes hands with his team during introductions.
"Well now that that formality is out of the way. How about we head down to engineering and you all can give me the dime store tour."
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Syarha, the Goblin medical CWO drops his salute and says, "My name is Tancorix, these are Suvyan, Adabelia, and Reabrylla." He says indicating the Undine, Drow and Duergar in turn. "We're all medical staff with some experience in counseling. Just let us know if you need any help, otherwise we'll be assisting in the sick bay on general duty." His accent is rather urbane for a goblin. Even at her short height, he only comes up to Syarha's waist.
Horus, the Ifrit lowers his salute and says, "I'm Lydd, this is Periadoc, Waarith and Elwrka." point to the Gnome, Catfolk and Duergar standing behind him. "Not sure what a boffin is, but I'd be happy to show you up to engineering on deck 2." His voice is jolly, but a bit nasally. The other engineers smile and nod as their names are mentioned. Lydd continues by saying, "Right this way. Feel free to call on us anytime you need anything." He begins walking in the same direction as CMO Baasira and her staff towards the teleporters in the rear of the shuttle bay.
Grunk strides over to his group and stands before them and growls "No saluting!!!" He rubs his tusks, feeling awkward in front of the very attractive women Ah what's the use.
He holds out his hand "Grunk." He grunts as he speaks But you can call me any curse in the Federation.
"Where do we go." he looks over at the Kobold "Nice Tail."
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When Grunk growls, all four of them flinch a little, but they drop their salutes. The CWO steps forward. She takes his big hand with her little one and gives it a firm single-pump handshake. "Hello Grunk, I'm Alullyra. This is Cwryan" she says pointing to the older woman. There's Cenoic." She points at the asian man. "Navzar is in the back."
Navzar steps forward and in a squaky accent says, "Thank you sir!" when Grunk compliments his tail.
Alullyra continues, "As for where we go, that's up to you. As I'm sure you know, the COO is in charge of communications, sensors, environmental systems and hangar deck operations." she looks around at the deck. "Well, this is the hangar deck. I can give you a tour, or take you to your office or quarters." She smiles revealing her perfect white teeth and does a funny little shrug. "You wish is our command."
Walter looks at the show the others are putting talking to their help, he turns to his gives them a nod and says, "Walter, new helmsman, now what are your names, ranks, jobs and specialities? And what should I know about handelling this ship?"
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The blonde woman says "I'm chief warrant officer Rivyan. That's Jeara, Mujeeb and Veran." She says pointing to the human woman, the catfolk and the dwarf. "They're all crewmen. As for our jobs, we're pilots. I'm the flight officer for the shuttle deck so I handle most of the stuff involving those. As for the Excelsior, he mostly handles himself, isn't that right big guy?" She asks, looking up at the ceiling.
"I certainly try Ms. Rivyan." Comes the reply over the intercom.
Walter puts his hands behind his head "This looks like a good job", he turns round and looks at the shuttle he came in, "So were should I put my belongings?"
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CWO Rivyan snorts softly before continuing, "Of course the helm is on the bridge, once you get your hands on the controls you'll see for yourself how he handles. Anytime you're off duty one of us will be at the helm, and if you need anything you just let me know." she finishes. The other three are nodding in agreement. "Your quarters are on deck 2. Would you like me to take you there?"
*Above Edited*
"Yes, I'll drop my stuff there and then we can go to the bridge and you can show me the controls yes?"
Its not often Grunk is dazzled by beauty but when Alullyra smiled he took a step back. No...I am Orc. "Hangar Deck. Quarters then Office...Thankyou" the thankyou almost got stuck in his throat as he spoke.
He turned around quickly his cheeks showing a strange reddish tinge beneath the green skin. Grunk grabbed his belongings then came back over to his group "Begin"
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"Certainly. Right this way sir." She leads Walter to the teleporters at the rear of the shuttle bay. Once there she says, "Deck two." and you are both teleported up.
Rivyan then leads Walter down a long hallway past many closed doors. It seems to run down the length of the ship, you are walking towards the front. She stops in front of a door labeled "Helmsman" and says "Here we are. I'll wait out here."
Inside the room is plainly furnished. It's about three meters deep and six across. The back left corner is taken up by a bed. Next to it running the back length of the room is a couch-like bench, it continues on down the right hand wall as well. Near the foot of the bed is the open doorway into the bathroom where there is a small sink, a toilet and a shower.
Walter looks around his room "Nice, Nice" he says though his face betrays his disapointment
Its going to be nearly impossible to hide anything in here...
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Alullyra nods "Yes sir. Please follow me." She begins to lead him around the deck. "As you can see the excelsior has four shuttles, and capacity for a large amount of cargo. Approximately 30,000 tons to be precise. CWO Rivyan over there," she points to the tall blonde walking away with Walter, "is the flight officer. So she deals with the shuttles mostly. The cargo bay proper is down on deck 6, shuttle maintenance is over there." She says pointing to a hydraulic lift and several work stations in one corner of the hangar. "Come on, I'll show you the teleporters and then we can head up to deck 2. That's where your office and quarters are."
Alullyra leads Grunk over to the same teleporters that Walter and Bassira left through. There are two large side by side industrial models. It looks like they could fit almost a whole shuttle between them. "These babies can teleport cargo to anywhere in the hold, and they can also take you to any deck you want." she says, rubbing her hands together and smiling. "In an emergency they can literally put you anywhere on the ship, but we try to avoid that due to the amount of 'cite it burns throu...oh boy. I'm rambling aren't I? Sorry sir. Right this way." She leads Grunk onto the pads and says "Deck two." The pads activate and with a golden shimmer Grunk and Alullyra are transported up to deck two. She leads Grunk to a room very near Walter's with the door labeled "Chief Operations Officer". Inside the room is identical to Walter's. She waits outside in the hallway, making smalltalk with Rivyan in some strange language. Once Grunk is finished, she will lead him to his office which they passed further up the hall.
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Rivyan turns away from her smalltalk with Alullyra and says to Walter, "I wouldn't call it nice, but hey, it's home. Are you ready to head to the bridge?" she asks him with a smile. Now that they're standing near each other you notice that Rivyan and Alullyra's eyes both seem to flash with the same intensity, and their uncanny beauty is even more apparent.
They are likely Suli. A race of humans who interbred with genies long ago.
"Before you leave, is there anything I should know? My workplace, office, do I even get one?" I ask, unknowingly. So, looks like I don't have any real office mates. No big deal, when I'm not working, I can just wander around.. I think, as I lose myself in my thoughts.
"Nice to meet you all. I guess I should stow my gear before I hit up engineering. Let's swing by the crew quarters so I can drop it off on the way."
"Yes, to the bridge" Walter says before pausing and looking around to a bit, "So... how did you two ended up here in the Excelsior?"
There is something funny about those two... can't quite put my finger on it
Kimefe moves forward towards her team, shaking the hand of each in turn as she asks them their names. She then turns to face the group, her hands held behind her back but otherwise in a relaxed stance. "I want to know of any specialties that any of you might have. After that I will need you to lead me through every nook and cranny of the ship so that we can scout out covered positions, bottlenecks, and alternate passages." She then looks up to the ceiling as she finishes her instructions "I also want information on the surveillance systems of the Excelsior--and especially the procedure for quarantining sections of the ship and for limiting the area that the teleporters can access."
Looking a bit uncomfortable Leo lets the captain lead him over to the waiting men. He is wierd, one minute he's captain and the next he hangs around my shoulder like we're fresh of of boot.
As they arrive at the waiting group, Leo puts his sea bags down and salutes the waiting men and women in turn. He then presents the captain: This is your captain, captain Ageera and I'm your new XO junior lieutenant Gotrum. He turns his attention to the CWO and continues: "You must be the senior chief warrent officer, I look forward to working with you." as he extends his hand.
Grunk throws his things on the bed quickly taking out a small pack with a label saying Tusk Grooming Essentials. Looking in the bathroom he places the small pack at the sink when he notices there is no mirror "S&!t!!!" He charges out the room quickly barely noticing the strange dialect that the two women are speaking. "Alullyra office now...please" Struck again by her beauty he is strangely polite. As they leave for the office he asks "Are there mirrors available for bathrooms."
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Location:Shuttle Bay
Tancorix replies to Syarha, "Of course mam. Your office and quarters are both on deck 2. You can take the teleporter there, or I'd be happy to escort you." He does a half bow, and indicates the teleporters with his open hands pointing the way for her to start walking.
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Lydd chuckles before saying, "Right, Mr. Hightower Sir, whatever you like. You don't need to sleep with the likes of us though, you have your own quarters near the other officers. Your office, main engineering and quarters are all on deck 2. Come with me." He begins to waddle off in the direction of the teleporters, the other three engineers following behind both him and Horus.
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Kimefe you approach the security team they hold their salute until you begin to ask their names. The Hobgoblin CWO shakes your hand and says, "I'm CWO Javidan." The massive Orc twins step forward and say "Menucher" and "Shirmard." shaking your hand. They say their names at virtually the same time, so it's actually quite difficult to tell which said which. The half-orc woman waits until the others have shaken your hand before taking it and saying "Rucla. Pleased to meet you, mam."
After the handshaking Javidan steps forward and says, "We all majored in Security at the academy. We're familiar with the Excelsior's weapon systems as well as ship board combat and law enforcement procedures. I'd be happy to give you a tour, and answer your questions as we go. You three, back to your duties." He gives the other three officers a curt wave and they hustle off in the direction of the teleporters.
Javidan will give Kimefe a ship wide tour, pointing out all the alternate passages and auxiliary systems. He explains that the Excelsior constantly monitors everything inside unless privacy mode is engaged in an area. This can be overridden by the Captain, XO and COS. He also tells you that during red alert, only the Captain, XO, and COS can authorize emergency transport, using their personal identity codes. Any of the doors can be locked down from either a security terminal, the bridge or the actual door by the same three officers.
I quickly thank him, and go to my room through the teleporter, to set it up how I please, and then I will wait in my room, cleaning and such, until I'm needed.
The Captain releases Leo's shoulders before they reach the group of crewmen waiting for them. He stands slightly behind Leo, his arms crossed over his chest while Leo introduces him. His face is painted with a glaring sneer, as if he had just caught the aides stealing from the cookie jar. He allows the Oread man to take Leo's hand, and get out "Hello sir, my name is Seddyn..." before he rudely interrupts him.
"That's enough Seddyn. You three," he says pointing at the goblins and gnome, "Go fetch my and the XO's luggage from the shuttle and place it in our quarters. Seddyn lead us to the bridge. Now. We've got a journay to get underway." He snaps his fingers three times and points at the teleporters, before walking towards them, not really allowing Seddyn to lead him. "Gotrum, with me. I want you on the bridge for this."
The three smaller crewmen look momentarily stunned, before scrambling off to do the Captain's bidding. Seddyn gives Leo and apologetic smile before hustling off after Captain Ageera, his hands clasped firmly in front of him.
Horus drops his gear off, taking a brief look around his quarters , before heading over to main engineering.
He asks his CWO to get him up to speed with maintenance, asking whether there are any problem areas or any kinks that still need to be worked out of this cutting edge piece of technology. He also asks whether a maintenance schedule has been drawn up yet.
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Location: Deck 2
Rivyan replies to Walter, "Oh we've both been with the FEF for a few years. Different assignments. I guess not f*cking up so far was good enough to get us posted here." she pauses to smile. "I actually just recently meet Alullyra, but since we're both Suli we've made fast friends. The bridge is up on deck one, so we need to go back to the teleporters." She leads Walter back down the long hallway, past Grunk and Alullyra. As you are about to get on the teleporters, Syarha appears and steps off, heading back in the direction you just came from. "Why don't you try it this time, just step on and say Bridge." Rivyan suggests.
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Alullyra gestures down the hallway in the direction Walter and Rivyan just went. "Right this way sir, your office is just down the hall." When Grunk asks her about the mirrors she smiles and bites her lower lip a little trying not to laugh. "This must be your first time on an FEF ship sir, if you need a mirror simply say 'mirror' and the bathroom wall will become reflective." She stops in front of a door labeled 'Office, COO' and pushes the button to open it.
Inside you see a small room, about two meters by two meters. The rear wall is an outside display, and through it you can see Vega floating below in a sea of stars. The room is dominated by a simple black desk, which you recognize also serves as a standard FEF terminal. The screen is the desktop, all activated by touch and voice. There is a comfortable looking chair behind the desk. "Well, this is it. Is there anything else sir? I'm sure we'll be preparing for departure soon." Alullyra asks.
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Lydd will show Horus around main engineering, and show him the schedule. Main engineering is connected to the Arcanicite core, and Excelsior core. It also has the auxiliary controls for the shield generators and gate drive down on deck 6.
The Arcanicite core is a large glowing blue column surrounded by a circular panel of terminals. The glowing, roiling Arcanicite reaction is happening inside a specially shielded magical circle, itself crafted from intricate crystalline circuitry. It is in a right hand room as you enter main engineering. On the left there is another room which houses the Excelsior core. This is the Excelsior's actual 'brain'. It is a large dome-like apparatus covered in small Arcanicite nodes. On top of the dome is a mechanical avatar of the Excelsior, in the form of a robotic head. Around the core's base are several terminals for maintenance and interaction. It is all the most advanced equipment that Horus has ever worked with. The other engineers go about their tasks monitoring levels and answering any questions he might have.
A strange man indeed Leo wonders at the captain's sudden change of behaviour. "Aye aye captain," Leo says and follows the captain and the CWO to the bridge. It is a bit difficult for him to leave his belongings as he has always been drilled to take care of it himself. Before he hurries after the captain, he grabs the arm of one of the gnome, hands her his carbine and says: "Please take this to the arms locker."
Walter step on to the teleporter "Bridge" he says looking at his Suli assistance
Location: Deck 2, COO(Grunk's) office.
In reply to Alullyra about the mirror "Oh. Yeah first time."
Grunk enters the room and walks up to the rear wall looking out a few seconds before turning back to Alullyra. "No I don't think. What tasks will you do."
He sits down in the chair as he speaks and releases a deep sigh.
"I do have one more question Javidan, how many crew members are there besides the ones I already met?"
After the tour Kimefe retires briefly to her room and quickly unpacks, throwing everything onto her bed. Good, everything is here. I'll have to put it away later; right now I want to see the start of our journey.
She then ports up to the bridge, standing quietly behind the others as she waits for the release from orbit.
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Location:Shuttle Deck
The gnome takes Leo's weapon with a quick "Yes sir!" beore scuttling off to do as he was told.
Location:Deck 2 (COO's Office)
Alullyra replies to Grunk, "I am CWO for operations so I make sure that there aren't any problems with the com system, sensors or allocation of resources aboard the ship. Of course these are ultimately your purview and I will follow your lead. When it's not your shift on the bridge I will likely be manning the ops station."
Location:Deck 2 (Teleporters)
As soon as the word leaves Walter's lips, Rivyan's pleasant looking face disappears in a wave of golden sparkles and he is instantly teleported to the bridge.
Location:Deck 5 (COS's Office, Kimefe and Javidan)
Javidan thinks for a moment before replying, "The excelsior is capable of maintaining a crew of over one hundred, but at the moment I believe the crew is 32 enlisted and 8 officers. I think you saw all but the four most junior crewmen in the shuttle bay."
*UPDATE*
Syarha Cleans
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Location:Bridge (Walter, Leo, Captain Ageera, Seddyn, 4 redshirts)
Walter reappears on one of the bridge teleporters and the set of double sliding doors in front of him opens at the same time that across the bridge the opposite teleporter doors are opening to release Seddyn, Captin Ageera and Leo.
The bridge looks basically like this, except that from the teleporter doors forward it extends about four meters into a bullet shape. The walls in that part of the bridge are all viewscreens, providing an almost 180 degree view of what's in front of the ship. The two terminals in front of the captain's chair are Operations and Security, the foremost is the helm. Behind the captain's chair are the engineering and general purpose terminals.
As the Captain strides out of the teleporter, Seddyn says "Captain on deck!" and all the crewman currently tending to the bridge snap to a salute.
Cpt. Ageera strides over to what is to to be his new seat, and looks around. A small smile creases his lips before he says "Everyone who's not an officer is dismissed! Clear my bridge!" All the crewman instantly hustle to the teleporters and port out. "Ship, give me shipwide."
A brief tone sounds over the shipwide intercom, and the people on the bridge hear the Excelsior say "Go ahead sir."
The Captain sits down in his chair, before saying. "This is your Captain speaking. We've got a mission that I'm eager to complete. All crew to stations, we will be departing shortly. Ensign Bigfix, Kimefe report to the bridge immediately. Any other officers are also welcome." he punches a button on the arm of his chair and the intercom cuts off.
"Tungsten, get you ass to the helm." he says pointing to the foremost console. At that moment Kimefe comes striding out of one of the teleporters. The Captain nods at her in acknowledgement and points to the security console. "Once Bigfix shows himself we can be underway."
Well, what to do know... I could talk with the spaceship, that could be interesting, NO, I have it, I'll go exploring! With that thought, I cautiously leave my room, I didn't really want to leave, I just couldn't bear being alone. I quickly begin running around the entire ship, travelling the places that say don't, and any other such things, looking for someone to talk to.