Starbase 626

[This thread will be for the "introduction scene" of your character. That is, the scene that would be used to introduce an audience to your character were this an episode of the show. It can be a simple paragraph or an extended moment, but it should be a brief first glimpse of the character.]

The security chief's brow grew tense and lined, his nose slightly more wrinkled than normal, as he stepped out of the turbolift. He nonetheless strode straight forward, directly into the path of the Vulcan awaiting him, keeping his arms straight down at his sides, not allowing any more irritation to show than necessary. "Dr. Sovek," he said, greeting him by name in a brusque, determinedly professional tone of voice. "I had not expected you this month."

Sovek was dressed after typical Vulcan fashion, a drapery of loose robes, accentuated shoulders, and a dour, self-righteous, pointedly monotone scowl on his face. His face was lined and cheeks sunken, straight, close-cropped hair the color of aluminum. He raised his left hand and gave the traditional Vulcan salute. Lt. Commander Ren declined to return it, instead just nodding in greeting. "Nor had I, Lieutenant Subak," he replies. "But my ship encountered a rogue lepton field which depolarized our fuel reserves, and we were forced to--"

"You lie exceptionally well, for a Vulcan," Ren replied. "And I was promoted to Lieutenant Commander twelve cycles ago; I am quite certain the transmission made it to Vulcan without subspace interference."

Ren wasn't sure what reaction he'd expected; Vulcans never show chagrin. Sovek merely nodded. "I left Vulcan fourteen cycles ago," he replied, "and must have missed the message. My apologies, Lieutenant Commander Subak."

"My family name is Ren."

Sovek nodded again, not wishing to repeat an old argument. "As you wish. But what I said was true; nearly half our fuel cells were rendered unusable by the lepton field, and--"

"And you decided to burn the rest to make it here all the quicker." Ren lifted a hand to the crinkled bridge of his nose, calming himself. "No, don't forgive me," he grumbled, dark green eyes focusing once more upon the old man. "So you are not here just to offer congratulations from my grandfather, then?" Sovek had been a childhood friend of Ren's grandfather, Senek, and had been 'checking in on him' at least twice a year since he entered the Starfleet academy.

"That had not been my intention," Sovek replied, "nor have I had word from Vulcan for the past several days. But it seemed logical to seek you out, while I am here."

"I see." Logical. Sovek had to use that word; all Vulcans seemed, from Subak's perspective, to use it with the frequency and reverence of a priest reciting prayers. "Well, apart from my promotion, I am now Chief of Security here on Starbase 626. If you encounter any troubles during your stay, please send me word."

"I hope that shall not become necessary."

"But logic would dictate that it remains a possibility, so my offer remains."

Now it was Sovek's turn to respond with solid silence. "Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. I had hoped to have a longer conversation with you, but if you are busy at the moment--"

"As it happens, Doctor, I am. Perhaps the opportunity shall present itself, while you are awaiting the refueling and repair of your ship." Subak turned to sidestep around the old man on his way to the Security office.

Sovek made no move to stop him, merely nodding and turning about to offer a farewell. "Until then," he called after the departing Starfleet officer, before walking off in the irritatingly serene manner of his people back to his quarters.

"Live long and prosper," Subak Ren muttered under his breath. "And may the Prophets be with you."

Usually the route to Sciences was relatively quiet when Belladonna went to start her day, long before the corridor lights switched to day mode in the morning, as diurnal species were still asleep and nocturnal ones were busy at work or having a meal at home. But today was different, the corridors were packed and she couldn't get through the crowds. Clearly some starship, or maybe more than one, had just docked for repairs or shore leave.

She was short enough that most adults didn't even notice her, so she usually found herself a very tall person, captain, or flag officer to follow through the crowd, but today she couldn't even get into the main part of the flow of people to do that.

By the elements, I've seen mountains easier to cross. she thought to herself as she surveyed the situation. Good thing humans invariably walk in only two dimensions. She laughed gently and climbed up some handholds on the wall used to reach certain systems, she wasn't sure what as engineers usually just sighed when she started asking questions like that. It didn't matter what they were for, what mattered was that the upper walls and ceilings in this area had pipes, vents, and occasionally a catwalk for repair teams. To a human these were just part of the background most of the time, but to a Yawu, this was her private route to work.

Belladonna scampered along well above the heads of the throngs of people, as easily as she had done with trees as a child. She should make it to work long before she had to be there at this rate, she might even have time to check for new specimens before the day shift woke up.

"Ensign, are you authorized to be up there?" Someone below was staring up at her. They looked human, but she was still having some trouble telling similar species apart.

"I am not forbidden to be up here to my knowledge, sir." She said as she dropped to the ground in front of him. He wasn't at all familiar to her, so he must have come on the starship.

He looked down at her and smiled, that patronizing smile taller races gave her when they instinctively treated her as a child because of her size. "That wasn't what I asked, Ensign."

She twitched her tail in mild annoyance. "I need to be on my way to work, sir. If you have a problem with my means of travel, take it up with my superiors."

"I was just concerned you might get hurt."

"I am far more likely to get hurt down here. Goodbye." She scampered back up and continued without waiting for a response. He didn't have any position of authority over her, so her politeness only needed to extend so far.

Amicitia sat in her office, staring out at the window into space. She had definitely come a long way from when she had been just an ensign in the engineering department. Now she was a captain of a space station.

Admittedly she wasn't too sure if the assignment was a promotion or one to get her out of the way. The woman was unorthodoxed in some sense, hardly the pinnacle of a perfect example of how a captain should behave at times but there was no questioning her ability to lead and solve problems.

Once the reports of the day was out of way, the woman eyed the pogo stick sitting in the corner. Well now, time for her to enjoy herself a little as she went for her usual "walk".

Moments later, several new officers and civilians would stare agape as the orion woman went bouncing along the corridors on her pogostick. The more seasoned characters just waved at her along, or stepped out of the way.

The Excelsior-class USS Okinawa approached the station and set up the preliminary hail channels. The ship was just passing through on its way to its next assignment, an aging vessel first made to fight the aliens on the other side of the border which Starbase 626 sat across from. The Klingon Empire and the Federation had certainly come a long way since then. In the wake of the Dominion War, some optimists had begun to speculate the same about the residents on the other side of the wormhole.

Alana thought it was a load of garbage.

The Dominion was an entirely different beast than the Klingon Empire had been. Devious shapeshifters, slave-bred soldiers, cloned servants... the Dominion was a totalitarian society just as bad as any other. There was a peace because the Dominion had been brought to its knees in the alpha quadrant, not because they'd had a change of heart, she was convinced of it. The Borg, the Dominion, the Federation was rife with enemies.

Her transfer to Starbase 626 was a promotion, in a sense. Second in command of a starbase was normally a prestigious command position. Yet for Alana, who so enjoyed being in space and going 'out there', it felt like being grounded. She'd had some issues with Starfleet Command, enough to be labelled something of a problem child, and now she felt the weight of an admiral's displeasure in her current assignment. There was nothing to do about it now because refusing the position would have been career suicide. If she wanted to command in the future, and she did very badly, Alana couldn't turn down offers even on a starbase.

"One ready to beam over." She said to the transporter operator as she stood on the pad, a traveling case in each hand. "Thanks for the smooth ride in advance."

The yellow-collared young man smiled to her and then simply said "Energizing." Blue energy surrounded Alana as the familiar, tingling sensation of the transporter surrounded her. Molecules deconstructed then transmitted through space, she rematerialized moments later on board Starbase 626. The transporter operator on the other side comm'd the Okinawa that it's passenger had arrived safely.

"Welcome aboard, ma'am." He greeted Alana. "Would you like for me to arrange for a tour for you?"

"Just direct me to the command center, Ensign." Alana answered him. "I'll check in with the Captain before going anywhere else."

It wasn't ideal... but who knew? Maybe life on Starbase 626 would surprise her.

Starbase 626 was host to a plethora of merchants and their wares, though none quite irked the station staff more than Son Ch'ashiannot. He was an arms dealer by trade and as he was in a relatively peaceful galactic community, his goods weren't as desired as they could be. Nevertheless, his ancestors helped to found the Federation and he would be damned if he was the one to abandon it.

Still, Son needed customers and the security detail almost never needed phaser repairs or replacements; with that in mind, he started advertising to the less reputable of the station's inhabitants: Klingons looking for a good bat'leth; Romulans in need of the right kind of firearm to assassinate their rivals, the usual.

Currently, Son was in the middle of one such transaction with a woman of Romulan origin, "Ma'am, I assure you that blade is of the highest quality available to me." The Romulan continued examining the blade intently and spoke up, "Fine. As it seems you are not willing to lower your price further, I shall take it; though if it breaks the second I use it, you shall not hear the last of me..." Son smiled at the woman's words, "Ma'am, you could stab through the station hull and that edge would hold true, though I would prefer if you didn't test it; I do like the breathable air after all."

The Romulan woman simply rolled her eyes and gave Son a tut and left his establishment. "Another happy customer." Son sarcastically said to no one as he counted the credits he just earned.