Talos Dakora

Not gonna lie, I did a spit take when I got to the clenching. 😂

"Tolerable" That's practically besties by @Addison MacKenzie standards.

I've been loving this set of sims from @Karrod Niac. Nothing like getting all the new Ensigns initiated with a pleasant spacewalk gone wrong. Bonus points for the mental imagery of them following our favorite gruff, bearded Ops Chief around like a mama duck. ========================================================== ((Outer Hull, USS Excalibur)) With the prospect of a long walk across the hull ahead of them Karrod grumbled to himself, wondering briefly if he should've taken his Doctor's advice to heart and avoided anything resembling the exact thing he was doing at the moment. His muscles, tendons and bones all seemed to shriek in agreement but as they'd never gone to medical school, Karrod continued steadfastly ignoring them one heavy boot clomp at a time. Niac: ::after walking a moment:: =/\= Well, not quite what I was planning but it looks like we've got a little more time to get to know one another. So, what do you folks do when you're not on duty? Any fun hobbies? =/\= Jones: =/\= I like to tend plants. It's something I picked up a couple years ago, and it's been very nice. =/\= Kijana: =/\= Ensign Jones, perhaps you should meet with Sleepy... She had quite the green thumb as well. As for myself. Eating... Cooking as well, but eating moreso. Among other things... =/\= Jones: =/\= Oh yeah? Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look her up, and yes. Eating is a passion of mine as well. =/\= Jovenan: =/\= I do just basic stuff. Reading, writing. Going for a run time to time. I guess I’ll need to check what all the ship has to offer. =/\= Jones: =/\= What about you, sir? If I may ask. What makes your heart sing? =/\= Karrod paused for a moment to give the question some thought and not because his knees were beginning to turn into some form of pain paste. Niac: =/\= Unfortunately, Sleepy, I mean Ensign Tiberius, transferred off the ship. Last I heard she was heading to Starbase 80. But to your question, Ensign Jones - my heart isn't especially musical but I've been accused of smiling, on several occasions, while in the boxing ring. I've also picked up some culinary habits...they came with my symbiote, Niac. Never really cared for cooking before but when you've got a master chef in your head all hours of the day, you either start cooking or have a minor psychotic episode. =/\= Karrod left it to each ensign to decide which way he'd gone with it. Kijana: =/\= Don't forget bar brawls and disguises sir... =/\= Karrod chuckled to himself and resumed his march towards the Marine hangars. Niac: =/\= That was one time, Hera....well, that you know of. =/\= He hoped that, somehow, the commlink would convey his wink effectively. Kijana: =/\= Are the both of you new to Starfleet? Or transferred from somewhere else? =/\= Jovenan: =/\= I’m straight from the Academy, this is my first assignment. =/\= There was a noticeable moment of pause on the comm while Ensign Jones considered their answer. Karrod made a mental note to check the mans service record whenever they got back inside. And after a sonic shower. And probably some sleep. And a large whiskey shaped analgesic for his back. Jones: =/\= I was in before. Just completed recommissioning training =/\= Kijana: =/\= And your specialities? /\= Jovenan: =/\= Science officer. I’ve got a degree in Planetary Sciences from university before Academy, where I specialised in astronomy and xenobiology. =/\= Jones: =/\= Before, I was psychiatry. (I was a counselor) Now, my specialty is in virology and pathology. I won't bore you with the synopsis of my dissertation. =/\= oOYou're a nerd, Hiro Oo Jovenan: =/\= How about you… It’s Kijana, right? Are you new here and what do you do around here? =/\= Kijana: Response Jovenan: =/\= Really? That’s… uh… cool. I haven't met many intelligence officers before. I met the ship's senior int officer during the mission briefly, thought. =/\= Karrod felt like his EVA suit was getting heavier again but he knew this was just a sign of growing fatigue as they marched onward. At least his young charges had taken the opportunity to get to know one another a little better. He was glad they'd have someone to talk to at his soon to be scheduled memorial service. Niac: =/\= Maybe you have, Ensign Jovenan, and you just don't realize. They do have a tendency towards subterfuge...and leather jackets occasionally. Never quite figured out the latter although I think they believe it makes them look edgy. =/\= Kijana: Response Karrod compared their location in his mind to a map he'd brought up on the inside of his heads up display and he was discouraged to see they hadn't made nearly as much progress as his aching muscles claimed they had. Fortunately the much younger and less recently exploded Ensigns seemed to be keeping a chipper spirit, even Ensign Jovenan, whose heartrate had dropped steadily as they walked. Jones: =/\= Looks like we're getting close now. Ensign Jovenan, do you spend much time in an EVA suit, or do you prefer doing your study through sensors? =/\= Jovenan: Response Jones: =/\= Fair enough. ::waving a slow hand at the endless starfield:: You can't beat this view though, huh? =/\= Karrod took a breath and reflexively tried to wipe his brow but collided with his helmet visor. Gritting his teeth in annoyance he took a long, slow breath and looked around, trying to remind himself why he'd thought this was a good idea just few hours earlier. The panoramic view across the hull was truely spectacular and he felt for a moment like a character in a childhood story, climbing his way methodically up the side of a sleeping giant. He didn't quite remember how that particular Flotter holostory ended and tried to simply enjoy the moment. Niac: =/\= Couldn't agree with you more. Sensors can show you a lot more but there's no replacement for the old Mark II eyeball when you're looking to be awestruck. =/\= Jovenan/Kijana: Response After an interminable hike that seemed like days but the chronometer in his helmet insisted was only fifteen minutes the team came within sight of the massive hangar doors that would hopefully lead them back into the safety of the ships interior. Karrod again tapped at the controls on the arm of his suit and prayed that whatever computer issues had befallen the airlock would've be present here as well. Jones: =/\= Let's hope somebody's home. =/\= Karrod scowled deeply as the door refused to open. Niac: =/\= Nothing...suit confirms a link to the door controls and accepts my authorization but I get an error message. Anybody else? =/\= Huffing deeply, Karrod crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at first the door, then the control panel and then, the universe as a whole. Someone was clearly tormenting them for some grievous past sin he'd committed, although which Karrod couldn't quite recall. Niac's perfect recall began offering a detailed list which nearly made Karrod try to poke his midsection again. Jovenan/Kijana: Response Karrod tapped at his suit controls and tried to open a comm channel to the transporter room, rapidly losing what little of his patience he had. Niac: =/\= Karrod to transporter room 2...=/\= The comm blatted an error tone and Karrod cursed loudly within his helmet. Niac: =/\= Alright, minor annoyance is starting to turn into a bigger problem, but we'll figure this out...any minute now. =/\= As he looked around and considered their dwindling list of options, DS224 loomed large in his vision. The ship was docked and only a few hundred meters of void separated them from the skin of the station itself. The idea that was forming was comprehensively terrible but, at the same time, was looking more and more like their only option. Niac: =/\= Well, unless one of you knows how to hotwire a door I think we're going to have to jump to the station. =/\= Jones/Jovenan/Kijana: =/\= Response =/\= Karrod had to admit their less than positive feedback had a ring of truth to it. Niac: =/\= In that case I'm open to suggestions. Otherwise, we'll tether off to one another and make a quick hop over to the station. There's an emergency airlock adjacent to the docking umbilic and I'm....mostly sure that one will let us in. =/\= Jones/Jovenan/Kijana: =/\= Response =/\= TAGS/TBC! =============================== Commander Karrod Niac Chief of Operations USS Excalibur - NCC-41903-A Commodore Kali Nicholotti, Commanding V239509GT0

This made me lol:

A great one from @Arys. Love her explanation of why she wanted to be a counselor.

Welcome! Look forward to seeing you around the Fleet!

Please let it be this one:

So good. Makes me want to go back and read all the Sims that lead up to this one.

The beatings will continue until morale improves!

Welcome to the group! Now the real fun starts!

Thank you for putting so much effort into making these awards the fun, exciting event that they are! You all are the shining stars of the fleet!

This location tag on MacKenzie's sim though: (( Middle of the Freaking Atlantic ))

Another great one from @Karrod Niac. Love some wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey-stuff. ((Shuttlebay, USS Oriskany)) Karrod had become completely overwhelmed in a way he'd never experienced before. Niac was in turmoil, personalities trying to assert or restrain one another and Horvu, who had already experienced these events once, nearly catatonic with shock. Every ounce of sympathy Karrod had ever felt for Horvu's premature death had been magnified tenfold by the frantic emotional maelstrom inside of him. He was irrational, in pain from what the lucid part of his brain diagnosed as a broken nose and frantic with a need to prevent something that had happened nearly thirty years ago. He made it a few steps towards the shuttlebays exit before strong hands closed around one of his arms. He whipped around like a trapped animal only to be confronted by the deadly serious expression of Addison MacKenzie. A slap he didn't see coming seared the side of his face with stinging pain. MacKenzie: Commander, you will focus right this instant. If you walk out there, no doubt you’re going to find your previous host and I’m sure try to prevent their death. You know I can’t let you do that, even if CloQ is behind all this. Karrod could barely think. It was like his consciousness was in a room full of screaming people and he had to shout to be heard over the din. He fought for psychological and emotional control. Niac: I can't just...it's going to happen again...and he'll be all alone at the end...scared and alone. I can remember every agonizing second of it...I'm having a hard time not reliving it... Karrod was still straining to run but he'd regained enough self-control to stop and begin reassembling himself. Not for the first time he wished he'd paid more attention to the Symbiosis Commission's instructions on mental discipline. Controlling the torrent of images and emotions from Niac was requiring the whole of his concentration and it was making him shake with effort. Dakora: You know she's right. ::Beat.:: I understand what you're going through, believe me. But there's no telling what happens if we start changing things like that. The ship rocked underfoot and Karrod nearly toppled over. Where conscious effort failed, years of Starfleet training and combat experience forced their way to the surface. He blinked and was finally able to focus on the here and now. Niac's wailing went down in volume and Karrod felt somewhat himself again. MacKenzie: What’s happening to the ship? I don’t know anything about the Oriskany… Karrod thought about it as much as he dared to. He'd read the after action report and the details in Horvu's file but probing those memories was a dangerous proposition. Niac: The Mighty O...uh...the Oriskany was part of a task force, patrolling the edges of the combat zone between the Klingons and the Cardassians. We didn't know it yet but the Cardassian's just signed a treaty with the Dominion and they're out there right now, destroying anything and everything they feel is in violation of their territory. Ship didn't stand a chance, over 90% of the task force was wiped out before the end of the day. Even as he delivered the bad news he could feel his own emotional control returning but Horvu was almost completely silent in his mind. It was alarming, like a piece of yourself suddenly hiding away from you. Dakora: Yeah, that's not the best news I've heard... To her credit, Addison took in this particular heap of cataclysmic news with little more than an exaggerated sigh. MacKenzie: So, what do we do? Try to get off the ship and risk getting captured by the Cardassians? I’ve pretty much met my tolerance for encounters with Dominion forces today… Dakora: More than one doomed historical battle per 24-hour period is really kind of overkill, I'd say. Karrod looked from one to the other and felt a small, bitter laugh escape his throat. Niac: Ha...yeah. Cloq is already getting lazy. Next thing you know he'll be doing a clipshow of his greatest hits. With a whoosh the cargo bay doors opened and a security team in a full combat kit poured in, forming a perimeter around them with phasers at the ready. They seemed simultaneously relieved that they hadn't been boarded by Dominion forces and confused by the yellow cab debris littering the flight deck and the oddly dressed people before them. Security Officer: Hands where I can see them. Dakora: Sure. No problem. ::He tried on a re-assuring smile.:: We're all friends here. Karrod felt the name on his lips before the thought entered his brain. This woman had welcomed Horvu aboard ship a few hours earlier. Niac: Lieutenant Jece? Jece Ciria? MacKenzie: Response The apparent team leader, a female Bajoran, took a step toward them. She eyed the strange trio and the vessel they'd arrived in before she spoke. Security Officer: I'd like to know what possessed you to illegally board this ship in the middle of a battle? Dakora: Um... well...You see.... Karrod took a slow step forward with his hands still raised. He didn't want to look like a threat but he also had what he hoped was something to contribute. Niac: Lieutenant Jece, I'm Commander Karrod...Morrahn. You probably don't remember but we met briefly the last time you took shoreleave on...::Karrod fumbled for the memory of thirty year old small talk::...Pacifica. My team and I were just landing our shuttle when all hell broke loose. You can contact my commanding officer Rear Admiral Shevchenko on the USS Tarsk if you need to confirm it. ::Karrod decided to play dumb. It wasn't difficult.:: What the hell is going on out there, Lieutenant? Why is the ship at alert? Dakora/MacKenzie: Response Jece: How can you not...we're under attack! The whole task force is falling back, we're getting hammered by the Cardassians and their new allies. We thought you were a boarding party! Karrod acted suitably shocked as the deck shuddered underfoot. Niac: We're just as confused as you are, Lieutenant, but from the sound of things there are other places we both need to be. Dakora/MacKenzie: Response The security officer looked at them with deep skepticism but the competing priorities of a ship in combat and no apparent threat before her forced her to make a snap decision. Karrod hoped it wouldn't be 'stun them all and sort it out later.' Instead, she holstered her phaser and gestured towards the door. Jece: Well, you're here now. If we're still alive in ten minutes we'll check your story out with the Admiral. For now join a damage control team, we could use the help. Niac: Understood Lieutenant, will do. I promise we'll do whatever we can to help. The ship rocked violently and they were all thrown to the deck as the inertial dampeners struggled to keep up. Karrod knew the ship was running out of time. Lt. Jece helped him to his feet and the group of them struggled into the hallway as the few still functioning red alert klaxons were replaced with deep blue. The harried voice of the ships first officer came over the comm. McKentok: Attention All Hands, Abandon ship, abandon ship. Drop what you're doing and get to an escape pod. This is not a drill. All hands, Abandon Ship Immed.... The commline went dead as everyone looked at each other in shock. Lt. Jece was the first to begin moving. Jece: This way! Nearest escape pods are one deck down, there's an access ladder this way. Move it people, move it! Dakora/MacKenzie: Response Karrod stumbled forward, half conscious and half trapped in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. The ship was groaning, the sounds of tortured metal and weapon strikes combined with the stampede of evacuating personnel heading for dubious salvation. Karrod, Addison and Talos hit the bottom of the ladder and began jogging after the security team but Karrod slowed. He recognized this corridor and the nightmare became real. Just ahead, partially trapped under a fallen bulkhead and visibly mangled...was Horvu's body. He felt a strange sense of disassociation as he haltingly walked forward. Niac: They just...left him. Left him all alone. Dakora/MacKenzie: Response Niac: We have to get him to the escape pod...Horvu's...he's already dead...but Niac survives. I never knew...I never knew how he escaped the ship. I think...I think we have to help him....me.... Dakora/MacKenzie: Response Tag, and TBC! =============================== Commander Karrod Niac Chief of Operations USS Excalibur - NCC-41903-A Commodore Kali Nicholotti, Commanding V239509GT0

We like to have fun around here. 😂

Talos went with a nice blue ensemble from the Elim Garak Collection. A vintage Starfleet lapel pin completes the look. w

I meant to post this the other day, but art like this needs time to resonate within your soul😂:

If I didn't know what that actually was, it sounds like the kind of pop-up shop I'd want to go to.

Nothing about these demands seem unhinged or concerning at all. 😂

Congratulations Kivik and Ikaia! Both of these pieces were outstanding!

Do you work for the animation studio that does The Lower Decks or something!? This is great!

Welcome to the party! We're glad you're here!

I guess I should clarify that this is a digital entry. Programs Used: 3DS Max Substance Painter Photoshop Everything In the submitted image was hand modeled and textured by me EXCEPT the whiskey bottle. I was running out of time and found an existing model. 😀

Deck 05 - RM 0207 - Home Sweet Home *Edited title per contest rules. Sorry about that.

I'm equal parts concerned and impressed. Alternatively: TFW you want to get your monthly sim quota handled in one day.