Ayiana Sevo

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Thanks for the spotlight! This was fun to write, but during research I learned more than i wanted to about pregnancy and childbirth.

Well, one of Sevo's former hosts was a five-star grill chef who owned a series of restaurants. It's safe to say she prefers real, cooked food whenever possible. She has even grilled steaks for her crew mates on occasion!

No. No, no, no, no, no. Discovery is already pushing some of my buttons for being too "flashy." Not to mention some of the designs and technology in it. Anything Tarantino would make that look tame.

WELCOME TO THE MADHOUSE!

BUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!!!

I may be biased, but the Dominion universe. The Gorkon visited it for a while, and it was terrifying and interesting. Also, interestingly, in that universe, Voyager would return home this year, since no future-Janeway would exist to go back and send them home sooner. Would be interesting to see how Voyager reacts to the destruction of the Federation.

Congratulations! Welcome to the madhouse! Blood wine is in the corner. Don't feed the tribble.

Congratulations, Ensign! Glad to see your earlier technical difficulties didn't dissuade you. Welcome to the fleet!

There is love in your body but you can't get it out It gets stuck in your head, won't come out of your mouth Sticks to your tongue and it shows on your face That the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste — Hardest of Hearts, Florence + The Machine ((Cyrithra Forest, Tyrellia)) Brunsig: You forgot something. ::Lost in her stargazing, Quinn hadn't heard Walter approach, and she startled at the sound of his voice. As she turned toward him, he slapped two small presentation boxes into the palm of her hand, without waiting for acknowledgement or greeting. She knew what they contained without needing to open them; one a Purple Heart, the other a Good Conduct Ribbon. She had earned service ribbons in the Roman Expanse, as well as her crew.:: Reynolds: I didn't forget. I just don't like handing myself awards. Brunsig: What the hell are you playing at? ::She stared at him. There had been no preamble or preface to the outburst, and she was entirely caught off guard. Walter's default emotional state was a simmering irritation, but as he stood in front of her, it looked like more than that. He was angry -- angry with *her* --and she hadn't the faintest idea why.:: Reynolds: Pardon me? Brunsig: Are you deliberately aiming to secure the record for most Purple Hearts awarded to a single officer? Or are you actually *trying* to get yourself killed? ::Deja vu all over again. How many times had they had this conversation? Maybe he'd had a point when it had come to their investigation into the Orion Syndicate on Tyrellia, or even the mission to Leutra IV, but this time? This time she had played by all the rules. She'd been a good little admiral, staying away from the danger as best she could. There wasn't much she could do when the danger had barged in without so much as knocking.:: Reynolds: Come on. I didn't run off on an away team. I didn't even leave the bridge! What happened was hardly a result of me recklessly throwing myself at danger. Brunsig: But you were damn quick to try and martyr yourself with that neurogenic field crap, weren't you? If that had been anyone else, you would have had them marched to sickbay and put under guard. But no. Quinn Reynolds has to prove that she's willing to die for her crew. ::It took her a moment to realise that her first instinct wasn't denial, but annoyance that he was right. Was he right? After all, his comment wasn't entirely dissimilar to the observations that had come from her counsellor.:: Reynolds: That's not… ::Fair? Oh no, it was fair. Frustratingly fair. But as much as she wanted to deny it, she had never lied to Walter, and she had no intention of starting now.:: Reynolds: Fine. It was a bad choice. But it was a bad choice in a sea of even worse choices. Our backs were against the wall, Walter. There weren't any other options. Brunsig: Not a single damn option on a boat of seven hundred "clever and brave" people? You're full of crap, Cupcake. ::Her temper flared, and she snapped out the response before her brain had time to consult with her mouth. Funny, how often that happened around him.:: Reynolds: Watch your tone, *Captain*. ::And there they were, each as furious as the other, captain and admiral locked in an irate glare. His lip curled and he snarled his response.:: Brunsig: Aye aye, *sir*. ::Every time she wielded their rank disparity like a weapon against him, she regretted it. That was as inevitable as the heat death of the universe, and yet she found herself doing it far too often when her hackles were up. ::And if anyone knew how to push her buttons, it was Walter Brunsig. He snorted, then turned on his heel and began to stalk away, back toward the path, his footsteps heavy on the soft earth of the forest floor. But after only a few steps, he whirled around to face her again, and the flush of anger on his cheeks was darkened with a blush of something else.:: Brunsig: For crying out loud, Quinn! Do you think I stole a starship and tear-assed across the galaxy for *Vess*? ::If his words had been intended to take the wind out of her sails, they were entirely successful. Her anger fell as quickly as it had risen, washed away by her sharp intake of breath. ::Throughout the whole Yarahla Nine affair, he'd maintained that he'd participated because it was the moral and right thing to do. Because Starfleet had dismissed what Sienelis had to say without proper consideration. Because there had been hundreds of lives on the line, and he couldn't in good conscience ignore even the tiniest chance at saving them. And it was true, of that she had no doubt. Walter Brunsig was brusque, and often rude, but he was not a liar. Those had been his reasons. She had believed him. ::Never, ever had he so much as hinted that there was another truth underpinning all of those noble and fair justifications… and that truth was her. She shook her head, lost for words, and then the first, stupid thing that popped into her head was spilling out of her mouth.:: Reynolds: Well, there is a certain frisson between you two… ::She deadpanned it, but even as the words were leaving her lungs, she was cringing inside. It was a poor time for jokes.:: Brunsig: I am in no mood, Cupcake. *No* mood. ::That much was obvious. She held up her hands, palms toward Walter, and took a few steps toward him, trying to placate his outrage. She didn't want to fight.:: Reynolds: Look, just… ::She sighed.:: Start again. What do you-- Brunsig: You. I want you. ::His sharp blue eyes widened, then he grimaced and looked away. The dim light in the moonlit forest did little to hide the blush that had firmly taken hold on his cheeks. That was not what he had wanted to say -- or at the very least, it was not how he had intended to say it. For her part, Quinn found herself mute, her freckled skin pale, hazel eyes wide and staring; a moth frozen in amber. And there they stood, her transfixed, him avoiding her gaze, the silence growing longer and more awkward with each passing heartbeat.:: Brunsig: Dammit, say something. TBC --------- I never stopped You're still written in the scars on my heart We're not broken, just bent And we can learn to love again — Just Give Me A Reason, P!nk featuring Nate Ruess ((Cyrithra Forest, Tyrellia)) Reynolds: Well… ::Again, she was lost for words. All she could think of was every instance where he'd pushed her away -- and there'd been a fair few -- and it was that resentment that formed her next sentence.:: It's just that you've had a funny way of showing it. ::She waited for the sarcastic retort, and the scowl that would accompany it. Instead he heaved a sigh and shook his head, rubbing a hand across his face and then through his short, blond hair. He hesitated, and took a moment to survey their surroundings, and she knew him well enough to know that he was ensuring they had no unwelcome eavesdroppers before he continued.:: Brunsig: I'm… sorry. ::He grimaced, the words of an apology foreign in his mouth.:: Look, Quinn. In my life there have been exactly two women I've been inclined to commit to. One left me at the altar, and the other wouldn't even say yes to my proposal. ::It felt like an elastic band snapping in her mind, and her expression twisted into an echo of his usual scowl.:: Reynolds: Do you think I'm a liar? ::He was taken aback by the question, and it took him a few moments to regain his bearing and form a response. Quinn let herself have just a little satisfaction at being able to catch him off guard, even to the point where he didn't have the wherewithal to even try and cover it.:: Brunsig: What? Reynolds: I mean, I can't think of any other reason why I'm repeating myself. Brunsig: Quinn-- Reynolds: No. You *listen* to me. I never saw marriage as a part of my life. Ever. I never saw myself as someone's wife, never imagined I'd have a husband or wife of my own. And you never, ever gave me the slightest hint that marriage was something you wanted, either. We never discussed it, you were openly cynical about the idea when other people did it -- so yes, when you sprung it on me, I was surprised and I needed a little time. Brunsig: You-- Reynolds: Shut. Up. ::He scowled, but to her mild surprise, he complied with an impatient flick of his wrist, indicating she should continue. And so, onwards she ploughed, a little bit afraid that if she stopped now, she'd never be able to say it again. Anger and frustration were powerful motivators, after all, and without them...:: Reynolds: I was going to say yes. After the mission, I was going to say yes. So please, stop acting like I left you or threw you out. The only reason you didn't get your answer is because… ::The words tasted too bitter to say, and it was her turn to grimace. "Because I killed you" was an overly-dramatic, but not entirely inaccurate way of describing it. Every commanding officer dreaded the day they had to order someone they cared about to sacrifice themselves, and Quinn had struggled to come to terms with that decision for a very long time.:: Brunsig: You thought I was dead. And then you moved on. Spawned with Ross, shacked up with Tam-- Reynolds: I am not going to apologise for-- ::It was her turn to be cut off, and as much as it annoyed her, she couldn't deny that he'd weathered her interruptions and let her finish. So she pursed her lips, and listened.:: Brunsig: I'm not asking you to apologise for anything. You don't *owe* me an apology for anything. ::He frowned at her, his gaze intense.:: *Anything*, Quinn, do you hear me? Not for that decision, and not for your boy toys. It was the right call -- hell, it was the *only* call. And what you did in your personal life is your own damn business. ::He frowned, stopping there to gather his thoughts. Walter Brunsig was not one to discuss his innermost feelings, not even when there was a metaphorical gun to his head. Brunsig: You'd moved on. I hadn't. Most of my so-called "relationships" have been physical, rather than emotional. It's easier. You have a good time, and you part ways, no hurt feelings. Watching someone move on without you is… ::It wasn't like him to trail off or leave a sentence hanging, with his preference for speaking plainly -- a little *too* plainly, at times. But he didn't need to form the words, because she knew what he was describing. She remembered all too well how it had felt when she had realised that her relationship with David had become an afterthought to his career aspirations, watching him move on and up with barely a backward glance in her direction.:: Reynolds: Yeah. I know. ::Was this where she was supposed to admit that she'd never really moved on? That Harry wouldn't have had a chance if she even suspected Walter had still been alive? That she would have never turned to Kael for comfort, if she'd thought for just a second that Walter had been awaiting her return? ::Problem was, she never quite been able to work out if it was endearing, or just plain pathetic. It had certainly felt like the latter, but maybe...:: Brunsig: I still love you, Quinn. I never stopped. ::He shook his head, heaving another sigh.:: Given the evidence, it doesn't look like I can. ::His words stole her breath, and few moments later she had to remind herself to breathe again as her head grew light. Of all the places she had imagined this conversation going, a confession like that had not been one of them. A small, cautious smile crept onto her lips as she dared to hope.:: Reynolds: That was… actually a little bit romantic. ::He held up a stern finger.:: Brunsig: Don't tell. Reynolds: Our secret. ::She didn't know what else to say. Her heart sounded obnoxiously loud as it banged away inside her chest; a galloping rhythm that she was quite sure everyone inside the forest would be able to hear. Walter seemed equally ill at ease, his cheeks still coloured with that self-conscious flush of pink. What were they supposed to do now? He was only an arm's length away, but it might as well have been a light year.:: Reynolds: Well, this is awkwa-- ::He silenced her with a kiss, his lips warm and soft against her own, his hand light on the back of her neck. The callouses on the tips of his fingers scratched gently against that sensitive skin, shivers rolling down her shoulders and spine. And there, against the edges of her mind, his thoughts brushed against her own -- and to her surprise, they were as soft and warm as his touch. It was familiar and new, all at the same time, and she wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment, with him.:: ::And for at least a little while, there under the stars and leafy boughs, Quinn Reynolds got her wish.:: -- Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds Commanding Officer USS Gorkon T238401QR0

I'm still debating a static drawing custom-made in Illustrator (which I've already started), or something more dynamic and easier to community-edit, such as the aforementioned Leaflet. This would require adding javascript and CSS files, then refer to those inside a wiki edit box. I have no idea how to do that on our wiki.

((OOC: Character responses are from old sims which Sera was apart of.)) ((IC:)) ((Holodeck 3, USS Gorkon)) :: The scene inside the simulated cave was a representation of what the Aella clan had gone through for hundreds of years when faced with the Ushaan and while each clan was different in preparing their warrior for the single combat duel, it was not uncommon for a mind ritual to take place.:: ::The ritual was designed to have warrior's face and overcome their own personal fears, doubts, and anxieties before the duel. So often a warrior could be defeated by these before they even attached the tether or picked up a ushaan-tor. But if those mental barriers were beaten before the duel, they would be able to enter battle with a singular purpose while being unafraid of their adversary or the consequences of failure. Doing so would greatly increase a warriors chance of victory.:: :: Sera understood the reason Ensign Nohx, the ship's counsellor, had assigned her the program even if she had held apprehension at running it when there was no actual Ushaan was to be faced. She had to face down her own fears, doubts, and anxieties or she would never reach her full potential as an officer.:: :: It was why she sat in a cave who's inner walls and floor were coated in thick ice, and why she sat in front of a small roaring fire in the centre of the same cave. Her eye were fixated on the flames as if she was in a trace which, in truth, she was. She had been led into it by the elder shaman that stood behind the fire. The frail old Andorian stood in the traditional robes with his eyes closed while signing the stories of the Aella clan. The heat from the fire caused a patch of the ice on the ceiling to slowly melt over the hours that she had been in her guided meditation, but the slight drip on her shoulders and head had been forgotten once she had surrendered to the fire and to the voice of the Shaman. The warmth dissipated quickly in the dark cave but it was enough to keep Sera from being physically troubled by the extreme cold, the words and thyme of the shaman's song kept Sera's mind safe as it navigated its own troubling memories and feelings.:: :: It had not all been the work of the Shaman to get into the trance-like state, it was common on to take a small dose of the Saf, a psychoactive chemical refined from an Andorian plant. However it was highly illegal off Andoria, as other species had taken the chemical recreationally and the overdose threshold was alarmingly low. So in front of Sera sat an Akoonah , a device used by the native people of the American continent on Earth to experience vision quests. She found it highly unlikely that it would work for her, but she was wrong. She was taken into a trace by a combination of the Akoonah, the fire and the singing voice of the shaman.:: ::Her memories had forced her to relieve arriving on the Human colony as an adolescent during a time of war, the fear had washed over her like a tidal wave and she had suddenly felt alone and afraid surrounded by a species she had only ever seen briefly and in small number. Her posture in front of the fire had started to crumble as she was overwhelmed by those feelings but then the shamans voice had changed, he sang of Sera's ancestors who had been daring and brave and her memories had switched to when she had finally made friends with Humans, when she had opened up and allowed her personality to come through. Her posture had returned and she smiled involuntarily as she remembered those high school friends and a particular boy her own age, who however brief, had been more than a friend.:: ::For the next hour she continued to smile as the Shaman sang and led her through long forgotten memories, until his voice changed again. He sang of a time when the of the Aella clan had hit by the Terrellian plague and been devastated. Sera's body seemed to spasm and tense in discomfort, her own memories flashing to a much milder time of discomfort. She relived being a cadet and standing on an empty holodeck with Chief Petty Officer McMann looking at her in disappointment.:: ::The Chief poked Sera in the belly with an index finger and moved forward.:: McMann: Until you graduate this academy, you are a cadet and you will address me as an officer. Is… ::poke.:: that… ::poke:: clear? ::poke:: ::She had flinched with every poke in the belly as if the memory of them were moving her backward now but the memory of Leigh McMann faded to be replaced Fleet Captain Reynolds looking at her in annoyance.:: Reynolds: Captain, or sir. Never ma'am…. ::The Fleet Captain looked away from Sera and continued talking. The words faded away, but Sera's antennae dropped to her head her cheeks heated to a darker shade of blue as she relived annoying the fleet captain with her form of address during the first introduction. As the Shaman continued to sing of the disease ravaging the ranks of the Aella clan, her CO was replaced by the image of an Andorian Ensign fighting a horde of spiders. The Ensign kicked with her boot and stabbed with a multitool but was soon overwhelmed despite screaming and thrashing around. Soon the Andorian Ensign was haul up and carried away on a sea of spiders, Sera could hear the screams of the Ensign and then the threats as she fought back in what little way she could. But the Ensign was not eaten, instead she was dumped in front of a groups of fellow officers it took the startled Ensign a long moment to realise that the Spiders had rescued her and had not intended on eating her.:: ::Even in the trance state part of her was embarrassed to watch herself be so foolish and scared in front of her shipmates due to an imaginary threat but the feeling faded as the Shamans song changed. He sang of the Vulcan medical team which intervened saving many lives from the plague at a time when Andorians and Vulcans distrusted each other. Sera became visably more relaxed and an image of McMann returned holding a glass of scotch while laughing with Sera.:: zh'Aella: Yooooouuuu like meeeee. McMann: Tester, what have I done? ::Her CO reappeared pinning a Lt. JG pip on her collar with gloved hands and congratulating her.:: Reynolds: I hereby promote Colleen Bancroft and Sera zh'Aella to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, with all the rights and privileges that follow. ::Jo Marshall appeared at a poker table genteelly teasing her about the spiders while the Andorain wore a top hat.:: Marshall: There’s no “might” about it. It was spectacular. ::Sera again relaxed and smiled widely at the new memories and her happy state continued for a what might have been another hour as the shaman sang of peaceful and flourishing times for the Aella clan until he began to sing of war.:: ::It was not the recent war that he sang of, the Aella Clan had taken no part in the Dominion War as their number was too small, but when they were more numerous they had fought and died alongside their human allies in the Earth-Romulan War. As the Shaman sang of loose and death, Sera relieved the crashing of the Gorkon out of Quantum Slip Stream into the Roman Nebular. She felt the pressure of the helm console in her chest as the ship's internal compensators fought the sudden stress. She felt crashing humiliation as she looked around the bridge and viewed all the injured. Then the fear returned as she watched a giant petty officer be swarmed by faceless creatures and found a crewman bleeding to death on a corridor lit by flickering emergency lights, but this time the fear passed quickly replaced by something worse. She rocked as if hit over the as her shame attacked her, She saw herself standing beside Cory Stoyer and Jo Marshall as the trio faced a monster. She watched as two of them stood their ground and one of retreated, as she retreated, as she ran away and left them to their fate. Her Antenna spasmed as the shaman's song came to an end at the Battle of Cheron and Sera relived the memory again, but this time she did not run away, yes she took stepped back in fear but as soon she saw her fellow officers stand firm she re-joined them.she remembered beaming the still alive crewman to sickbay. She then remembered her friends and officers telling her that the crash was not her fault:: Stoyer: Sera, you did nothing wrong. As an old helmsman myself, I would let you drive anytime. ::The shaman hummed gently as he circled the now dim fire and he placed a weak hand on Sera's shoulder. She reached out and touched the Akoonah and she became fully aware of her surroundings, slowly she looked up at the shaman.:: Shaman: Are you ready to be tested Sera zh'Aella? zh'Aella: Yes. =/\= Lieutenant JG Sera zh'Aella Helm/Comm/Ops USS Gorkon V239107TZ0

Congratulations and welcome to the fleet! You both did very well!

So doing some research, there are two ways to do this. I can use Adobe Animate CC to create a fully original, knock-your-socks-off multimedia experience. Except it costs $10/mo to use because Adobe is evil. The other option, which is still pretty cool, is to use Leaflet. It is an open-source API with similar functionality to google maps, but being open-source, has much more customization with plugins. Plus, Google Maps is intended for real-world maps, not fictional ones. You can see some examples here. Some of the things you can do is draw polygons on a layer, for things like empire borders. Custom icons instead of the plain google mark arrow. Play video. The hardest part will be creating the base map. I can vectorize the Star Charts image we use, and edit it to SB118 canon. It will take me some time, but I should be able to do it. I came across some PDFs of really neat and detailed maps, but they are unfortunately password-protected, meaning I can't edit them. http://www.startrekmap.com/downloads/ufpmain.pdf http://www.startrekmap.com/downloads/gamma.pdf http://www.startrekmap.com/downloads/22ndcentury.pdf Thoughts?

This is beyond coincidence. Just the past few days, I have been thinking about wanting to create a unified map for SB118 to use on the wiki, instead of pieces of images spread all over, and not always in sync. For example, Starbase 118 may be in the position we have established in the main map, but if you go to another map, say of the Tyrellian region, the image has not been edited to include SB118, instead having the original starbase from the Star Charts. What I want to do is create something interactive. Years ago, that would have been done in Flash, but it is being phased out in favor of HTML5. I'm not sure yet how to go about doing something like that. Google maps API is a good start, but for the idea in my head, it's too limited (and slow!). For example, click on a star, and it zooms in so you can see the system and individual planets. Click on a planet and it pops up detailed info, and/or links to the wiki page. Show ownership overlays like Fed/Rom/Klingon. Stuff like that.

Don't make me photoshop that.

Thanks. Its kind of hard to miss...

No pressure.

Congratulations, and welcome to the crazy house!

Meh. I'll just wait for it to be on Amazon/Netflix, then binge watch the season. I may have to hide under a rock to avoid spoilers.

But isn't that a subscription? I don't want to pay for something I'm not going to use for very long; and/or for one tv show.

I don't have tv service so I guess I won't be watching it any time soon. That's cool.

Aleesia was on hand to join her sister for the ceremony!

You HAVE to have VR equipment to play this, right? I can't play it traditionally with keyboard, mouse and screen?

Congratulations! You guys did a great job! Welcome to the fleet!