Zephyr

This year's theme for USS Astraeus is: Wanted Posters! We have: Properly named all avatar files and uploaded them to the wiki. Properly named our category on the wiki. Properly categorized our category on the wiki. [SHOWCASE ONLY] Cadfael Peters -- Latte Spiller & Coffee Addict. 50 thousand bars of gold pressed latinum reward.

Wow! Congrats to all our amazing talent! Truly, well done everyone!

Masterfully handled, @Mei'konda. I enjoyed reading how intelligent our new home is after the retrofit. I strongly approve. (( Corridor, Deck who knows, USS Astraeus )) Levinson: Cetacean Ops might be an option, but that depends - how close is the water composition there to salt water found in the average M-class ocean? Computer silently observed as the two new senior officers made their way through the occasionally maze-like corridors of the starship. It was standard procedure for Computer to observe new arrivals more intensely than usual for the first few days of their residency on board Astraeus, recording certain habits so that their requests could be better anticipated. These primarily included an exacting analysis of body language and speech, a process which had been refined by Starfleet shipbuilders over centuries in order to allow Computer to know with nearly flawless certainty whether Astraeus’ inhabitants were walking toward automatic doors or intending to walk through them, whether their audible speech was intended to open a communications channel, whether it was aimed toward another resident, or whether they were talking to themselves. In certain circumstances, Computer found themselves paying slightly closer attention than usual. Humanoids might have said that their curiosity was piqued. In this case, it was because two senior officers, one of them part Vulcan and one of them a joined Trill, were attempting to find their way through Astraeus’ interior without using the multiple tools available to them for assistance. Levinson: … Does that include microbial composition, too? This kind of smell is mostly produced by them, after all. Kiax: Response Computer noted Noa T’Nessa Levinson folding her arms as she turned to face her companion, Esa Kiax. Since Astraeus had been recommissioned in 2395 after its extensive refit and rejoined the fleet, Computer had recorded one thousand three hundred and fifty five instances of Astraeus residents commenting on how they felt that Computer had more personality than similar systems on other Federation starships. These instances had gradually increased in frequency over time They had come to the conclusion, based both on extensivei self-diagnostics and the fact that the crew tended to react favorably to them and that efficiency was not affected in any way that they could measure, that their growing ‘personality’ was not a source of concern, and thus, had not alerted the Chief Engineer at any time that they required measures be taken to repair them. Instead, Computer had decided that they were simply a quirk of their vastly increased capabilities due to the replacement of Astraeus’ old isolinear computer cores with state of the art bio-neural models. Levinson: Now, I’m not a marine biologist, but I know some stuff here and there. A Chief Science Officer should know at least some stuff on as many subjects as possible, right? Kiax: Response Levinson: Well, other than Cetacean Ops… It could be someone artificially generating the smell, probably. Or some other chemical that produces a similar smell. Computer evaluated their situation. They were both off duty, and appeared to not be engaged in a high-priority activity. So, they spoke. Computer: Hello, Lieutenant Levinson and Lieutenant Commander Kiax. Might I be of assistance? Computer’s voice had been described as calming, warm and matronly. It was not a choice they had made on their own, but apparently, simply an effect of their ‘personality’. Kiax / Levinson: Response Computer: I do apologize for any confusion. I am the Astraeus’ shipboard computer, and my crew has told me before that I am more talkative than they are used to.. If there is a particular location you are trying to reach, I would be happy to assist you. Computer knew their purpose. To protect the lives aboard Astraeus, and to experience the universe within and without the massive exploration vessel? Could serving that purpose be called satisfying for Computer? Could they be called happy? Computer was unsure. But by interacting with the crew like this, Computer hoped they were doing what they were designed to do. Kiax / Levinson: Response =============== Computer Three Absolute Mountains of processing power. Governing Intelligence, USS Astraeus, NCC-70652 As Simmed By Aaron / Captain Mei’konda Delano / Lieutenant JG Jamie MacNemar M239002M10

((ooc: 101 and 000 are unconscious but I wanted to contribute something, so I wrote some internal flavor text!)) ((Sickbay Complex, Deck 10)) One hour. Sixty minutes. Three thousand and six hundred seconds. No matter how you sliced it, that was a long, long time for a pair of Bynars to be unable to connect to their mother computer on Bynaus. Machine or not, that computer was the giver of life of their people. It was the deep well from which they drew everything they had, from their language to the firing of neurons in their brains. The fact that Bynars could connect to it from across the galaxy was a miracle of engineering, truly— but it was technology born of necessity. No human could go without oxygen to breathe or food to eat, and no Bynar could go without the implant gifted to them at birth despite the double-edged blade. The incredible integration of their bodies and minds with technology was a marvel, a blessing, but it was also a curse that instilled them with a terrible weakness. As powerful as machines were, they were easy to overload. Too much energy would fry them. Environmental changes, magnetic waves, electrical surges— they were all terrible hazards. 101 and 000 had learned about their people’s encounter with the Enterprise as children studying Bynar history in school. A star had threatened to blow out the master computer on their planet, which meant they had to shut the entire thing down before the shockwave hit and turn it back on afterwards. A group of four Bynars had scrambled to back up as much data as possible onto the Enterprise’s computer. It was a security blanket, a failsafe, some last-ditch effort to preserve the knowledge of their race in case the computer never turned back on. For a while, while the computer was off and they waited for the shockwave to pass, every single member of their race had been close to death. They simply couldn’t survive without it. Neither 101 nor 000 knew how long it would take to die. They didn’t know how long their predecessors had had to cling to life while their brains shut down without the support needed. Perhaps they hadn’t voiced the urgency of such an emergency clearly enough to the crew. Did they have themselves to blame? 000 might think so— they blamed themself for most of the misfortunes of their life— but 101 was more likely to think that it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes things just happened. An hour was a long time to wait to die. It was a blessing, really, that they lacked the strength to reliably cling to consciousness— 101 went out like a light and stayed that way. 000, however, fought and struggled and clawed their way back up. They woke a few times, eyes fluttering open but unable to focus on anything. They'd get a good, full breath and feel a quickening of their pulse, and then slip away again. There was a strength there, a refusal to stay down that 000 rarely expressed. Even so, they weren’t doing well. Neither Bynar was doing well at all— despite a clean bill of physical health, it was as if their bodies were losing the will to go on. It was a terribly lonely way to go, floating through a disoriented haze instead of being awake and alert together. When they pulled through, they’d be alarmed to hear they’d survived for over an hour. For the time being, though, all they could do was wait to wake up. The clock ticked on. ————————— Ensigns One Zero One (101) and Zero Zero Zero (000) HCO Officers USS Chin'toka NCC-97187 C239907OZ1

This year's theme for USS Chin'toka is "Latte Art!" We have: Properly named all avatar files and uploaded them to the wiki. Properly named our category on the wiki. Properly categorized our category on the wiki. Coming soon to a Brew Continuum location near you! EDIT: The Chin'toka crew is only showcasing this year, and is ineligible for votes of any kind.

Next up: Sylara plushies (Toryn's owl-like pet) & Serala plushies, the latter complete with Perkins Protocol Punching action!

Another beautiful @Mei'konda plushie reference from the Chin'toka. Loving this. @Noa T'Nessa Levinson & @Toryn Raga, you are adorable.

I am loving these two Bynar characters. @Mason G is amazing and I got a chuckle out of the latest sim "Coffee Break"

I am envious of your drawing skills. Just saying.

Jon Cumar has Thor, and Chythar has Devlin. Though there is also some kind of Al-Leyan wolf-cat that @Lael Rosek-Skyfire can elaborate on, as I am not nearly as familiar with the species.

Cadfael is typically very casual, but he's wearing a typical black blazer from Suit Supply and a generic neck tie, not really wanting to do anything super-fancy. The tie is a Dapper Label black tie, but is going for more of "ordinary" rather than "Notice me."

"If you have a wishing ring for tribbles, use it now."

I feel called out here...

So, my favorite bit outta this whole sim is the line about the Bolian. Well written, Jim. Very well done indeed. (( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Yanktonai, NCC-67205 )) Madison sat in her chair in the center of the bridge, and gripped the arms of her chair to force herself to not get up and pace. It was a nervous habit of hers and her crew was used to it, but this was the first time she and the Caitian Captain had interacted and she wanted to make a good impression. His service record was something to be envied, though her own was nothing to sneeze at. She had received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career, mostly for her work in the field of science. She was a Xenologist by trade, and thanks to her scientific contributions, she had played significant roles in helping discover the reasons behind an outbreak on three different worlds, had led several expeditions to study different new worlds and their inhabitants. Her track to command had been a bit slower than the distinguished officer facing from the viewscreen, but she had managed it. Mei’konda: =/\= ...The Yanktonai will be briinging up the rear, the Chin’toka will be in the heart of the fleet, and the Diligent will taake point along our journey. Diligent is the faastest ship in the fleet, with sensors as good as ours, so she will be able to respond quiickly to anything out of the ordinary. =/\= Delano: =/\= We’ll be ready over here, Captain. =/\= St. Claire: =/\= Understood. =/\= Transport Captains: =/\= Response =/\= oO Rear guard, not the most glamorous position, but someone has to do it, I suppose. And his logic is sound. Oo Several of the transport Captains piped in with questions that were easily and quickly answered, and Miranda had to once more remind herself that these were civilian ship captains, not Starfleet, and they were not very familiar with typical Starfleet protocol in these situations. Mei’konda: =/\= Any other questions? Claarifications we should make about the journey before we get under way? Speak your mind, anyone. =/\= Chin’toka Bridge: =/\= Responses =/\= Transport Captain NPCs: =/\= Responses =/\= St. Claire: =/\= What does our route look like, Captain Mei’konda? =/\= Mei’konda: Current telemetry from Deep Space 26 indicaates that our route is clear. As you all know, we deployed several comm and sensor relaays along our route to the rendezvous from our initiaal survey of the Shemsh system, in order to maake sure that any hazards were catalogued. At the moment, there is no indiication of any problems. She started to reply to the other Captain when a couple of his officers interjected their own questions and comments, so she patiently waited her turn. Peters: =/\= Understandable. Thank you, captain. =/\= McKnight: =/\= Tactical, ready, cap'n. =/\= Peters: =/\= And we will be travelling at warp 6, correct? =/\= Marseille: =/\= Yeah, that’s right. It’s our maximum cruising speed. No fancy Starfleet engines over here. =/\= Delano: =/\= :: In a playful tone :: Don’t worry Marseille, we can always give you a tow if it comes down to it. =/\= It had been a source of frustration for Madison. While nowhere near as fast as the refitted Akira-class starship, her Dakota-class starship could still reach speeds of up to warp 9.85 and sustain it for twelve hours, and Madison was secretly a speed freak. It wasn’t unusual for her to push the ship to warp 9 and hold it there for as long as she could before her Chief Engineer began to turn blue in his face - ok, that was unfair since he was a Bolian - but the expression still counted. Kiax: =/\= We’re capped to Warp Two as we go through the Jenatris Corridor anyway, Captain. After that I wouldn’t want to be going much faster than Six – even with our navigation aids pointing the way. =/\= She had heard of the treacherous navigation within the Expanse and she had studied it on her trip here. The expanse was filled with high volumes of space debris and dangerous gases and posed a hazard to space flight. It even had designated space lanes which were considered safe for travel, apparently at slower speeds if the pink-haired Trill was to be believed, and Madison saw no reason to doubt her. They worked there, after all. Serala: =/\= I would also recommend modifying your shields to the specification we have sent you. The Atlantis has some issues a couple years ago with the gases of the Cloud seeping through and causing some rather unusual effects amongst the crew. =/\= Chin’toka Bridge: Responses St. Claire: =/\= Noted about the shields. And I think we can manage warp six. It might be a strain on the engines, but I like to keep my Chief Engineer on his toes. =/\= She said it in such a deadpan tone and with such a straight face, she wondered how seriously anyone had taken her. Certainly the Starfleet officers, at the very least, should know she wasn’t serious. St. Claire: =/\= And what about a risk assessment? Are you expecting any kind of resistance, Captain Delano? :: she belatedly realized there were two Captain Delano’s, though the CO of the Diligent was actually a Commander. Still, his position afforded him the title. :: Captain, Mei’konda Delano. Forgive me, I forget there are two of you here. =/\= Delano / Transport Captain NPCs: =/\= Responses =/\= There was a brief pause as another officer entered the viewscreen image and spoke to the Caitian and then she noticed that they were receiving telemetry data detailing some areas of concern. She studied the data for several minutes as the others conversed, taking note of those places that had been marked. Finally, the newest arrival to the conversation spoke. Rosek: =/\= Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek, the Chin’toka’s Mission Specialist at your service. =/\= St. Claire: =/\= Well met, Commander. =/\= Transport Captain NPCs: =/\= Responses =/\= Rosek: =/\= A pleasure to meet each of you. :: turns to Evan :: And a pleasure to see you again, Commander. Back in the big chair I see. =/\= Delano: =/\= Sharp eyes, as always, Commander Rosek. It’s a little ship. We had to compensate somewhere. =/\= Chin’toka Bridge: =/\= Response =/\= Transport Captain NPCs: =/\= Responses =/\= There was some more conversation and when it was all finished, Captain Mei’konda returned to the screen to give final instruction. Mei’konda: =/\= Very well then. If that’s all, then let’s get under way. Commander Delano, you’re leadiing the pack. Good luck to all of you. =/\= St. Claire: =/\= Thank you, Captain. I am looking forward to it. Yanktonai out. =/\= St. Claire: Helm, slow speed, fall to the aft position of the convoy and then increase speed to match the slowest ship. Keep us astern of the convoy by one thousand five hundred kilometers. If anything does happen, I want a little breathing room between us and the convoy. Helm: Aye, Captain. Reducing to one-half impulse and coming astern of the convoy. St. Claire: Tactical and Ops, keep your eyes peeled. Let’s make sure nothing slips up on us. A round of ‘ayes’ followed as she gave more instructions and her various officers carried out her orders. -- Captain Madison St. Claire Commanding Officer USS Yanktonai, NCC-67205 as simmed by Commander Serala First Officer Training Team Member Image Collective Member Chat Team Moderator/Facilitator Academy Statistician USS Chin'toka NCC-97187 A239412S10

@Tony, aka Kells I was honestly shocked and "Aw shucks" about receiving the Pilot's Sextant, but I look forward to us writing together again & showing you all the nifty tricks I picked up since I last simmed with you regularly. To all the others: Congrats on your shiny! Well earned, everone.

"Peters: Talk about strange sense of humor. Fate does indeed have one"

Honestly, I don't know how I wasn't awarded this before now either. I am happy to receive it. I congratulate all of the recipients. @Sal Taybrim - I look forward to writing another cameo on a subspace call if needed. As for meeting TIm, I think we can arrange for it. I'll talk to you more off-list.

Tim Alentonis Ready for Awards Season.

I hope the competition continues. I really enjoy reading all the entries.

As the white light consumed the screen, Chythar instinctively raised a hand to protect his eyes until the light faded. When it did, there was nothing -- he was no longer the bridge of his ship, there was nothing on the viewscreen in front of him. It looked like a big, blank space for a moment before it shifted to Skyfire Beach. Near the waterline, the only occupant of the shore was a redhead in a red Starfleet uniform. It wasn’t until she turned around to face him that Chythar made the connection in that he’d seen this woman before -- captain’s pips, red hair, eyes of a similar color to his own. His mother, Captain Kyrethia Angelica Skyfire. He was only a small boy when she died, and his pulse skyrocketed when he considered he might also be dead. As the question “am I dead?” burned around in his mind, he swallowed roughly and closed the distance between himself and the captain, his muscles tensing a bit as he did so. As he stepped forward, she smiled softly at him. “CD. You wear the teal uniform well. Starfleet life isn’t too rough on you, I hope?” “Mom. I...Am I dead?” She moved close to her son and pulled him into a warm embrace, the sort of familial contact he had missed out on for his entire adult life. Everything else vanished away, and there was nothing else that occupied his mind. Even though this was only a holodeck program, he was willing to accept the fact that he might, in fact, be dead if it meant that he could hold a conversation with his mother for the first time in over twenty years. “What have you been up to? Last time I saw you, you were up to your ears in linguistics and learning Russian with your uncle.” Chythar attempted to come up with an answer. He wanted to answer with confidence and conviction, but his words came out in a jumble of a summary. “Overall? Let me nutshell it. I’ve experimented in the realm of love, had my heart broken and mended, provided myself as a role model to a few medical officers and a little girl I’ve become a godfather to and will probably never see again, become CMO of a few vessels, became a lieutenant commander, well decorated officer, and finally a barista for Uncle Chris. Now I’m slinging coffee aboard a starship because my clearances have been suspended.” Ky smiled softly and took his hand, walking with him along the shore line near the water. She loved the beach, and even though she was probably only a figment of his imagination at this point, he fell in step beside her. “Love is a tricky realm. It’s never the sort of thing that comes easily. Even with your father.” “Dad’s dead, Mom. He took the supernova rather hard, and I was basically raised by Uncle Chris after your funeral.” She seemed unsurprised, and nodded sagely. She seemed, to his eye, almost jaded by the news. As though she knew Calvin was already dead. “So these officers and the little girl you inspired are colleagues of yours, then? Friends you’ve made in Starfleet?” CD nodded slightly. “The little girl is currently on Earth with her father, but she did a marvelous science project on pain medication absorption by different species based on reading my SFMJ back-issues.. She wants to become a medical officer when she grows up. Some of these colleagues have read my work that was published in the SFMJ, and have served with me for a number of years now.” Ky smiled again, and the warm, motherly pride in her son was evident in her eyes. She stopped and gave him another hug, pride and love washing off of her like tidal waves of a tsunami. As the emotional overload hit him, he tensed completely under her grip and did his best not to flinch. However, due to motherly instinct, she noticed and let go almost immediately. “You didn’t flinch the first time I hugged you...you’ve changed….” This was a conversation he hadn’t ever envisioned having with his family, especially because he had no real family to speak of. He felt isolated from the Moonsongs due to his connection with Raissa being so tenuous and his biological family being dead, so he nodded slowly and took a breath. “I’ve had my DNA scrambled, Mom. I’m a T2/E6 now, and I’m still getting used to the empathic overload. Series of freakish accidents.” The smile quickly disappeared, replaced by one of concern. Having one’s DNA toyed with was never a fun experience, but to have it stated so bluntly was an unusual experience for the captain. “Indeed? Well. We have no reader ancestry, so this is...very different.” CD just nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been getting training in how to deal with it.” She nodded and ran a hand along his bearded face. “That’s good. So...you mentioned your love life is not anything special?” “Not really, no. Nobody special right now. I have a dog, though. Given to me by a pair of colleagues because I’m a high stress depressive. Devlin’s an adorable beagle.” She glanced over his shoulder to see the five year old beagle running toward them. “You always were good with dogs. And yes, he is quite adorable. That’d be him, I trust?” CD turned and patted his leg. “Come here, boy.” Devlin ran up and gave a yip of greeting as he approached. The captain knelt down and extended her hand to him, which was sniffed for a moment before being given a friendly lick. The moment was picture-perfect. Mom, Chythar, and his dog. A moment of serenity before a sudden burst of gale force wind came in and disrupted everything. The world went black, and Kyrethia and Devlin faded from view, ~~~ Chythar woke suddenly, the sudden wind from his dream sending a chill through his body. The abrupt motion disturbed the dozing beagle beside him, who noted his master’s distress and gave a whimper, nuzzling up against the doctor’s chest and licking his face reassuringly. “It was just a dream, boy… just a dream…” END ==== Chythar Skyfire, MD Brew Continuum Barista USS Veritas NCC-95035 O239002CS0

I haven't watched it yet.

If it were Chris Harrington or Chythar, probably a Raktajino / Brew Continuum franchise. Tobian: Wine. Definitely wine. He grew up on a vineyard, after all. Carter or Cadfael: Um...parts shop? No other characters defined at this time for "entrepreneur" status.