Pholin Duyzer

All much deserved! 😘

If we're expanding it, I'm a huge fan of Archer's theme. Might be even better than Voyager's theme in my humble opinion.

I've gotta say, the Discovery theme has definitely started growing on me. They're both a very different style though, so I can understand why we all love the classics. 😆

I have to go for Voyager's theme. It's mostly nostalgia for me, although the tune's amazing.

Also... not enough love for the Miranda variant Soyuz! She's like a Miranda but even more sexy.

SCIENCE! 😜

The Defiant definitely is a beautiful little thing- but it's the Nova who's always had a special place in my heart. I love the idea of a tiny science vessel zooming through space with barely enough room to breathe. 😂

He hadn’t been back to his childhood home in six years, Pholin realized as he was walking through the blossoming fields of Denobula. It had been the day before he left for the academy, when he met his parents to say goodbye. He remembered the looks on their faces when he told them he’d be leaving for good. So much had changed since then… “I should never have left…”, he grumbled to himself, watching the gravel move underneath him. The planet’s three suns had just appeared from behind the clouds, casting their dawn shadows on the path to the residence. The relationship with his parents had always been shaky, but that day had been particularly bleak. Even though he’d been planning it for months, he’d barely told his parents he was about to leave. They’d always wanted him to continue the family tradition, never leaving the planet as they’d done for over ninety years. When he broke that tradition, as a young and naïve scientist, he’d scarred their relationship for life. On that day, he’d managed to disappoint them once more. Pholin had grown tired of life on Denobula and wanted to explore the galaxy like he did when he was younger. “And look how that turned out…”, he exclaimed into the emptiness around him. He’d missed the birth of his first grandson, he wasn’t there when his wife’s health declined, and he was thousands of light-years away from Federation space when he lost his mother and brother. Pholin felt like he’d turned into the person he hated most growing up, a person who was never there for his family, valuing his career more than his family. His father had been the captain of a submarine for over fifty years, exploring the vast depths of the Denobulan seas. His mother was the biologist on board, and his brother would later study to become its helmsman. It was anything but a part-time job. Pholin’s father especially would be away for months on end – leaving his children alone with his wives. He’d always hated his father for that. “Yet I ended up exactly like him…”, barked the Denobulan. Even though he’d never been close to his parents, Pholin shut down when he learnt there had been an accident on the submarine. His father, the captain, was the only one to escape the sinking ship alive. He lost his mother and his only brother. He’d just been promoted for the first time and started to dive into his work to deal with the pain. His career skyrocketed, while he barely sought therapy. He’d only opened up to a couple of friends but hadn’t shed any tears. He was always tired, always grumpy. He spent more and more time alone – working in his science lab. It wasn’t until the Columbia was decommissioned, that he seriously started to question his future. He more or less forced himself to go to therapy and moved back to his home planet to serve as Research Coordinator at the Miratha Research Centre. It was mostly a desk job, but it gave him some peace and quiet. “Ah, there you are…”, he mumbled with a sense of nostalgia. He looked up to see his parents’ home show up over the horizon, at the end of the lengthy trail. Enjoying the sight of the place he’d once called home, he couldn’t help turning his frown upside down. It wasn’t much more than a small cottage, with white walls and a thatched roof. The Denobulan approached the house, which seemed particularly messy for an abandoned home. Usually, his mother would tidy up the house before going on a mission – they had left the house last June before the accident, if he recalled correctly. He walked up the steps of the porch, seeing they hadn’t even bothered to clean up the dishes. A half-empty glass of Andorr-Loatac Ale was still on the wooden table. “Well, I didn’t come here to clean up after them…”, he said with a smirk on his face. Continuing his journey back to his childhood memories, he entered the abandoned house. He turned on the lights in the hallway and took off his shoes. Just because he hadn’t been back here in half a decade didn’t mean he could forget his manners, he thought. To his left was a gold-rimmed mirror, showing Pholin’s considerably… fuller body. It had grown into a small problem recently, having to replace his entire wardrobe for a larger size. Below the mirror stood a tiny hallway cabinet, which prominently featured one of his favourite childhood pictures. It showed him and his mum, on top of a nearby hill which had taken them three hours to climb. Pholin had been eleven years old for just over a week when his father took that, and he’d loved that picture ever since. It was just him and his mother hugging, their love so clear, nothing in their way. He missed her. A single tear managed to escape the Denobulan’s emotional defence systems. He knew continuing to explore his home would only trigger more memories, but there was something inside him with a raging need for nostalgia. He wasn’t quite sure why. Pholin opened the door to the living room. “…”, there were so many words he wanted to say, but not a single one escaped his mouth. “Pho! I’ve been waiting for you all day!”, she said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? The tea’s hot already!” He was left speechless, seeing his mum standing right in front of him with the classic Denobulan smile on her face. He blinked, but she was still there. “Oh, come on! Don’t be so shy, now.” The woman approached him, seeing his worry, and went in for a hug. Pholin stood there, frozen, unsure how to process what was going on. She smelled like his mum, she talked like his mum, and she hugged like his mum – although it had been a few decades since they’d last hugged. But… this couldn’t really be her, right? “You look so pale! Why don’t you sit down, sweetie?” She accompanied him to the sofa, where Pholin sat down with his head in his hands. Thousands of possibilities were zooming through his mind. She could be an alien; this could be a trap he walked into. She could have survived, without anyone knowing. She could be a hologram, set up to scare him. She could- “Have some tea, Pholin. I’m so happy to see you again!”, the woman said, chuckling. She sat down in her chair, which nobody was ever allowed to sit in when he was a little kid, and enjoyed her own cup of tea. Pholin was still not quite sure where to begin, but he picked up the cup of tea from the table and took a sip. It was real tea, burning his tongue a little. He looked around the room, seeing some of his favourite childhood toys around him. His teddy bear was still leaning onto the potted plant, where he would always put it when he went to school so it could enjoy the view while he was gone. The painting he’d made in first grade was still hanging on the wall, even though it was excruciatingly hard to look at. It was supposed to represent his family, but they were nothing more than stick figures. He’d always wondered why they’d kept it up there. He looked back to his mother, looking deeply into her eyes, his own eyes tearing up. “Wha-, why, how-”, he tried to speak. “Oh, my darling, you’re a scientist! You must know you’re dreaming, right?”, asked his mother in a worried tone. He did not. Even though he’d been processing their loss for over a year, he’d never actually dreamt of them- except when he’d gone into hibernation in the middle of a mission, when he had experienced the accident on the submarine himself. He hadn’t ever spoken to his mother in a dream. “So, you’re actually… dead?”, he said now having no control anymore over the tears flowing out of his eyes. She nodded, with an understanding face, before getting up to comfort her son. She sat down on the sofa next to him and put her arm around him. Pholin felt like a child once more, crying in his mother’s arms. He let it all out. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, mum. I should’ve been there!”, he said with a raised tone. “Don’t you dare speak like that, Pholin!”, she looked into his eyes. “It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could’ve done, Pholin.” Of course, she was right, rationally. Even if Pholin had stayed to work on Denobula, he would’ve never set foot on that submarine. He’d always been afraid of the ocean, he never even dared swimming in it, let alone study the bottom of the sea in it. He could’ve never stopped the accident from happening. But his cries were not rational. “But… I abandoned you!” cried the Denobulan turned baby. His mother sighed, “Darling, you only did what your father and I never dared to do. You chased your dreams!”. She chuckled. “Do you really think I liked exploring the exact same chuck of sea for years on end?” “Why’d you do it then? You must’ve spent decades down there!”, Pholin said. “Because I never wanted things to change. I never dared to dream. Son, the step you took to enrol in Starfleet took courage, courage I never had. You should be proud of that.” Even though he knew his mother was nothing more than the figment of his imagination, it felt like a massive relief to hear her say that. He had experienced guilt like never before, and there she was, saying it was alright. “But-”, he managed to get out before being interrupted. “I wasn’t done yet, sweetie.”, she eyed him. “What you’re doing right now, isn’t helping you at all. You shouldn’t be doing this to yourself anymore.” He rubbed his nose, sniffling. Pholin didn’t agree with her – himself? – at all. He had gone home to relax, to take some time off while dealing with his loss. He wanted peace and quiet. His job was inside his comfort zone, something he knew how to deal with on a daily basis. The base’s commander wouldn’t suddenly be kidnapped, and they wouldn’t be led into some trap by space kittens. There were no mysteries, only endless tranquility. He was just filing regular reports about geological findings other people were doing for him, with two feet on his desk in his office while doing it. “Your job is exactly the same as before you left! The one you fled from! The only thing that’s changed is your uniform while doing it.”, his mum continued. “But I was stressed out, mum! I literally passed out in the middle of a mission because I couldn’t sleep at night!”, he responded. “Now don’t get me wrong, darling, you definitely needed some time off. But it’s been seven months…” Pholin hadn’t realised it had been that long… He’d been posted to the Research Centre for a third of his total time in Starfleet, yet it felt like nothing interesting had happened at all. The only exciting thing that had happened was his husband’s promotion, to Petty Officer First Grade, on his birthday. In just one year, he had climbed his way up to be the First Officer of his maiden ship, and in six months, all he had done was sit behind his desk all day. Maybe, just maybe, she was right. “Tell me, Pholin. What did you like more? Being promoted to Executive Officer on the Columbia, thousands of light-years away from Federation space? Or literally watching paint dry on your office walls?”, she asked rhetorically, trying to soothe him with a smile on her face. Pholin chuckled and wiped his tears away. He couldn’t believe he was just having an argument with himself – and was losing it too. “A part of dealing with loss, Pho, is moving on. I think it’s time for you to move on.”

Phlox - all day every day. 😄

Congratulations all, especially @Kayla Drex and @Jarred Thoran ! ❤️

Congrats all! @Groznin Smith You deserve all the love, even though you're trying to tell me on Discord now you don't. 😉 @Luna Walker 15 years... Wow! How have you managed to survive this thing for so long?! Keep being sassy. 😊 @Jarred Thoran Richard, you're someone to look up to, you do all this OOC work (including these awards, now) brilliantly and deserve the recognition! @Theo Whittaker Mikey, you never seize to amaze me, and you're simply the best captain I could wish for. Simply so caring and loving for all who need it. ❤️

CONGRATS!! 😃

@Theo Whittaker, this was simply an amazing sim because I feel like you've really captured his emotion when he finds out half the senior staff has (probably) died. It made me tear up, even though they aren't gone at all. Perfect writing. 😭 For those not on the Columbia, no, they're not dead. The ship with the away team on it simply cloaked and made it seem like it exploded. --- ((Bridge - Deck 1, USS Columbia)) ((Time Index: Immediately after 'A Spy In The Shadows')) ::Shock waves from the explosion slammed into Columbia and sent Lieutenant Sanara Pran crashing to the floor in an unceremonious heap. She hit the deck with a thud and felt the wind knocked out of her stomach. Almost two decades of Starfleet service- had it really been that long- propelled her instincts and she rolled forwards and into a crouch almost as soon as she hit the deck. Ignoring her aching body, she sprang up on her feet and shouted above the blaring din of the red alert klaxons, her eyes drawn to the expanding and evaporating cloud of flame and debris now filling the viewscreen.:: Pran: Report! ::It was Rolla Haneer who replied, her face a mask of shock and horror.:: Haneer: The alien vessel... it's exploded. Pran: Survivor? ::she called out even as she knew the answer to the question.:: ::Nobody could have survived an explosion of that magnitude. Commander Thoran and the away team... were no more.:: * ((Cargo Bay 2 - Deck 13, USS Columbia)) ::With Lieutenant Duyzer already getting to work on contacting the Losarian Commonwealth to see if they had any information- concrete or otherwise- about the region of space that Columbia was now exploring, Theo Whittaker turned his attention to two of the newest members of his family. He had already met Ensign Owens when she had first come aboard, but he had missed Ensign Holza's arrival and thus, this was the first time he had met the human officer who wore an earring of the Bajoran faithful. Clearly, there was a story there.:: Whittaker: Your first assignment... how are you finding them? ::Despite the tension that was coursing through his body thanks to his ever mounting suspicions, he tried to move past it for the sake of the two new ensigns. It would not do them any good to see their commanding officer in his own mind, stewing on the number of "coincidences" and signs that pointed to foul play of some sort. When he had first ascended to the captaincy, he had vowed to make himself available to any member of his crew regardless of rank or position. That promise had served him well, especially aboard Columbia which sailed amongst distant stars at the edge of the galaxy.:: Owens: It's a little daunting, sir. There's so much going on, and it's certainly a lot more complex than my academy final. ::she let out a slight smile, but inside she a bit nervous and worried:: ::Theo had felt much the same when he had been in her shoes. His first days aboard the Columbiahad been tumultous. The ship had been assigned to investigate a research outpost on Piktar II that had stopped responding to hails. It had transpired that all manner of ethically dubious (if not outright illegal) experiments were being carried out there. One in particular- a sentient weapons system known as "Mercy" had gone rogue and had infiltrated the Columbia's mainframe. He had been sickened to learn that it's core was the neurological imprint of a frightened girl who had been torn from her family in an accident. The program had been purged, but not before the scientists responsible had all but purged the imprint of the girl from the system.:: ::It had taken him weeks of counselling to get over that experience.:: ::He put the awful memories to one side and turned to Holza, eager to hear what he had to say.:: Holza: ? ::There was no time to reply as the cargo bay shook violently and a noise like a thunderclap roared all around them. His arms shot out to arrest his fall, finding purchase against a nearby console that had been set up. The overhead lighting system dimmed and the ship's internal sensors- registering an emergency- activated the red alert klaxons. Somewhere behind him a panel exploded in a shower of sparks.:: Whittaker: ::his first priority at that moment was to Owens and Holza.:: Are you alright? ::he called out above the din of the alarms.:: Holza: ? Owens: ? Whittaker: ::his eyes found Duyzer.:: Pholin? Duyzer: ? ::He straightened himself up and virtually slapped his communicator.:: Whittaker: =/\= Bridge, what just happened? =/\= ::The voice of Sanara Pran filtered through the small delta shield shaped device. Her tone was one of shock. A career of being party to horrific events had meant that he could recognise the dead tone of somebody who had just seen something terrible.:: Pran: =/\= It’s the alien vessel, captain…=/\= ::she replied, almost Vulcan-like.:: =/\= It’s gone… exploded.=/\= ::Without warning nausea bloomed in Theo’s stomach and he struggled to process the implication of what that meant. Bile roared up his oesophagus and he could the tell tale signs of his gut spasming. He was going to be sick. Closing his eyes, he fought against the urge with every fibre of his muted, shocked being. He swallowed and ignored the unpleasant, bitter taste of bile.:: Whittaker: =/\= Survivors? =/\= ::he asked, even though he already knew the answer.:: ::The wait for the Trill officer’s response felt like a hellish eternity, one that stretched on forevermore. When she finally replied, it was like somebody had taken his world and shattered it into a billon pieces. A gut punch to his heart.:: Pran: =/\= None. I’m sorry….=/\= ::she trailed off into silence.:: ::The world around Theo Whittaker became unnervingly still and quiet. He could not hear the whooping alert klaxons or the omnipresent hum of the ship’s powerful engines. For one horrific moment, he felt utterly alone and bereft. Then, the deafening silence was replaced with the thundering of blood in his ears- the tell tale sign of his flight or fight reaction kicking in. Adrenaline surged through his body like a magic serum, causing every inch of his skin to tingle and fizz. His jaw line hardened and righteous anger propelled him onwards. He pounded his communicator once again and the world came back to him in a blaze of light and noise.:: Whittaker: =/\= All senior staff, =/\= ::he snapped, his voice echoing through the ship’s internal communication system.:: =/\= report to stations, immediately. =/\= ::ignoring the sharp aching against his breast bone, he turned to look at the three officers with him.:: With me. ::Turning on his heel, he strode across the cargo bay floor in long, angry strides. He didn’t look back to see if Duyzer, Holza and Owens were following him. All that mattered was to know who or what had taken his family from him. He would mourn for Jarred Thoran, for Luna Walker, for Rune Jolara, for Karen Stendhal and for Anath G’Renn later. Justice would be served first.:: Duyzer: ? Holza: ? Owens: ? ((Time Jump)) ((Bridge – Deck 1, USS Columbia)) ((Time Index: Three Minutes Later)) ::Theo strode out of the turbolift so quickly, the doors were still half open. The ride in the turbolift had been silent with nobody talking. Theo had been lost in a world of ruminating over the situation, turning over idea after idea. Without concrete information, however, he had very little to go on.:: ::He barely acknowledged that Lieutenant ch’Ranni and Ensign Colquhoun had arrived on the bridge before he and the rest. He looked to Pran, his angers blazing with anger.:: Whittaker: What the hell happened, Lieutenant? Pran: I don’t know, sir. The ship simply… exploded. Whittaker: A starship does not simply explode without warning, Lieutenant! ::he barked, before turning to Lieutenant Haneer who was stepping away from the science station to allow Duyzer and Owens access.:: There must have been some sign? No sign of antimatter containment failure? Haneer: None sir. Nothing. Like Lieutenant Pran said- it simply… exploded. Ch’Ranni: ? Colquhoun: ? Duyzer: ? Holza: ? Owens: ? ::Theo took a deep, calming breath. His ears burned hot with anger and he could feel his self control slipping. If he went any further, he could very well wreck the bridge. Even in his heightened and furious state, he knew that it would serve him no good and it would conduct most unbecoming. He pursed his lips together and placed both hands on his hips, his fingers pressed tightly.:: Whittaker: I’m an engineer by trade despite my four rank pips. I know that starships do not explode without warning signs. There had to be some kind of warning sign. Pholin, I want you and Ensign Colquhoun to go over every byte of sensor data leading up to the destruction of that ship. Look for anythingout of the ordinary that could explain what the he- ::he stopped for a moment, reigning in his temper.:: - what just happened. Colquhoun: ? Duyzer: ? Whittaker: Jona, I want you to redouble your efforts to find out what happened before we arrived here. Ensign Owens, Ensign Holza- you will assist him. Leave no stone unturned and use whatever resources and personnel you need to. Ch’Ranni: ? Holza: ? Owens: ? ::He paused for a moment and looked at the assembled officers. Anger was beginning to fade but he felt another intense emotion beginning to take hold: sadness, loss… grief. His self control was beginning to buckle once again. He needed to keep it together.:: Whittaker: We were lured here for some reason and somebody has taken members of our family from us. I will not let that go unanswered or unchallenged. We do not leave here without finding out what happened. ::beat:: God knows, we owe to their families to find out. ::And with that he marched from the bridge and into his ready room. Only when the doors had closed with a sad hiss did he let tears flow.:: TAG!

The Awards Ceremony is fast approaching, with the nomination period ending today/tomorrow. It is tradition (so I'm told) for the characters to show up in their most formal/fancy clothes for this momentous occasion. Comment down below how your character is going to look at the ceremony! If you don't have an image yet, feel free to request one over at the Graphic Request forum, starting a new thread. Once you have an image you like, you can change your forum avatar by following these instructions. I'll start off.

Pholin, too, is getting ready for the awards ceremony.