Commander Wil Ukinix - Burden On A Leash In My Hand
Wil Ukinix
((CO’s Office, Level 3, Copernicus Center))
Wil, with Robin, was welcoming Vexa Lor to Amity.
He himself took a seat opposite the Lieutenant and the small coffee table.
Ukinix: So, ::patting thighs:: tell us about you. How long have you been in the fleet, and what’s your specialty?
Wil reached for his mug of tea, and took a sip as he listened.
Lor: ::accepts her tea:: I entered the Academy in 2396 with a comm/ops major and received my first duty posting in 2400, about a year before the events of Frontier Day. ::grimaces:: That was a doozy of a thing. Not quite a fresh-faced ensign, but still relatively green. ::shakes her head:: I’m fortunate that there was something with my physiology that prevented me from being affected.
Wil nodded in agreement, while discreetly grimacing. Another person that had been impacted by the events of Frontier Day.
Lor: Needless to say, I was motivated to learn as much as I could about a variety of duty posts. It helped me realize how important it is to have someone who knows a bit of everything.
Hopper: I can see how that would be applicable to a wide range of fields – and, hence the duty officer posting. Is that your preferred assignment? ::Gesturing lightly to their surroundings:: How do you feel about working all the way out here, on Amity?
Lor: ::smiles:: It’s been interesting so far.
Ukinix: We’re kinda like the wild west, except it’s not normally so wild, and we’re not the wild ones when it is.
He squinted his eyes for a moment, wondering if what he said made sense, and if so, if someone could explain it back to him.
Hopper: Have you had much of a chance to see the station yet? Meet anyone? ::Reaching for her own PADD:: I assume you’ve got at least your temporary accommodations sorted, but as a Lieutenant, we can look into something more permanent for you.
Lor: ::tilts her head to one side:: That would be much appreciated, Commander. As lovely as the temporary room is, I’d like to start setting up my permanent quarters with my personal affects. ::pauses:: And to answer your first questions, I was quite fortunate to meet First Secretary Aitas and someone named Gwen, both of whom helped me find my way here.
Ukinix: Ah nice, Aitas is awesome. I haven’t met Gwen yet, so I’ll take your word for it. Are you worried about being daunted by the size and layout of the outpost?
Lor: ::shrugs:: Perhaps for the first couple days. But a few strolls around and I’ll start to get the lay of the land, so to speak.
He nodded and smiled.
Hopper: Absolutely. The station’s laid out almost like a small city, only with different neighborhoods stacked vertically instead of sprawling outward – and considering the corkscrew train network is what takes us between those neighborhoods, you can easily get your bearings just by looking at a station map.
Ukinix: Yep, and it’s a great way to meet people. I’ve got a few “hey” friends I always so “hey” to when I jump on.
Like the Talaxian bloke who sometimes took up a little spot in Wet Goods every few days to offer a Barber service. He’d never met him, never got a hair cut, but also smiled and lifted his chin and his palm on the train, to sau, silently, “Hey!”
Ukinix: And are you up to speed with our neighbours in the region?
Lor: I admit I’m not overly familiar with the species in the area. I did some study en route, but there’s still so much to know. Maybe I could get a cultural brief from someone? I’d hate to step on metaphorical toes and cause a diplomatic incident.
Wil could sense Robin was amused for a split second, before that faded and she answered the Lieutenant honestly.
Hopper: Actually, I think First Secretary Aitas, as our local expert on Cultural and Regional Affairs would probably be the ideal person to provide such a briefing… From a Starfleet perspective, we have a number of ‘friendly’ powers in the area – the Trenvonn and the Kathesis Pact being chief among those along with, surprisingly, the majority of the Hirogen Tribes… As far as hostiles go, our most recent trouble was caused by the Vaadwaur.
Ukinix: Yeah, they attacked the station after a Starfleet officer found their way into underspace on a Vaadwaur vessel in the Alpha Quadrant, then ended up over the other side of Idrustix. Then we went into underspace, and... well they weren’t happy.
Lor: Really? I mean…Is everyone all right?
Hopper: Fortunately, the only casualties were treatable injuries – and we’ve taken measures to reduce the possibility of a repeat incident, disabling many of the underspace corridor exits in the Barossa Nebula… But they remain a regional concern that we’ll have to keep an eye on going forward.
And sensors were still being put in place in suspected areas were underspace could be exploited for a surprise attack on Amity, and were also being installed in the space around Idrustix.
Robin eased back into her chair with a sigh.
Hopper: I don’t want you to think it’s all scary frontier conflicts out here though, Lieutenant. For the most part, business on Amity revolves around supporting the diplomatic efforts of the FDC – hosting delegations, charting nearby stellar regions, and working to support joint missions that foster goodwill in the area.
Lor: ::shakes her head:: It actually sounds exciting. ::grins:: Half the point of a new place is new experiences, right? I’m not afraid of a little adventure.
Ukinix: You’ll love it, We are truly the final frontier out here, Lieutenant. I mean, until the next one.
He smiled at his own little joke.
Hopper: Since you’re already familiar with Aitas, I’d recommend connecting with her at some point this week to get that regional briefing – additionally, I’d suggest, given your assignment as Duty Officer, that making a point of meeting our various department heads would be a good next step. As First Officer, I’ll be your direct superior officer – but I’d like you to coordinate meetings with Commander Rosek-Skyfire, Lieutenant Commanders Iko and Taelon, as well as Lieutenant Wong when you can.
Wil pointed his mug towards Robin, in agreement with the recommendations she had made.
Lor: That will be helpful. Thank you, Commander.
Ukinix: That’s Robin, always helpful.
Hopper: Actually, Lieutenant, I’d say that Duty Officer might be a great position for someone interested in furthering their career in the Command track. You get to liaise with nearly every other department on the station– ::chuckle:: and meet all the ‘big wigs’... Do you have any aspirations towards Command?
There was a moment of thoughtful pondering from Lieutenant Lor.
Lor: I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. ::smiles:: I suppose I’m still working to develop my leadership style. My favorite Academy instructor always emphasized how important that is–forming a communication style, learning how and when to delegate, things of that nature.
Ukinix: Absolutely true. And just be yourself too, don’t try and be like someone you’re not. It can be a longer road to working out your leadership style, but it’s a better way.
Hopper: Responses
Lor: I’m always open to opportunities to explore that, of course. There hasn’t been a challenge yet that hasn’t proven to be a learning experience.
Ukinix: Like they say, it’s always the bad missions you learn best from. I mean, ::scratching back of neck:: I *think* they say that. Whoever “they” is.
Hopper: Responses
Lor: ::smiles:: I’ve had many people mistake my optimism and bubbly personality for a lack of intelligence and ambition. I assure you, I have an ample supply of both. I just don’t see the point in going around looking for reasons to be grumpy and miserable. ::shrugs:: As Humans say, life is too short for that kind of nonsense.
Ukinix: Well us humans get it right sometimes. Life is too short, gotta have fun, even in the bad times.
Never mind the fact he was one-quarter Betazoid-- he grew up on Earth, close enough.
Hopper: Responses
Just then, the door chime rang.
Ukinix: ::Smiling, lifting finger:: And, it’s always fun to reward others as well for their accomplishments. ::To door:: Come in!
“Come in” was the command for the computer to slide open the office door. Sure enough, standing in the doorway was Commander Rosek-Skyfire.
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Ukinix: ::Gesturing:: Nah, no worries at all, come in, we were just meeting Lieutenant Vexa Lor, durty Officer. ::To Vexa:: Lieutenant, this is Commander Rosek-Skyfire, Chief of Operations.
Lor/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Hopper: Response
Wil turned to Lael.
Ukinix: How are you, and how are the twins?
Lor/Rosek-Skyfire/Hopper: Response
Ukinix: Oh no, I called you up here for more than that. ::To Robin:: In the top drawer of my desk, would you mind grabbing the three things that are in there, and the bag too?
He was, of course, referring to the wooden boxes that he had placed in their just an hour earlier, before he had asked for Lael to make her way to his office at some point.
It turned out that point was right then.
And then, inside the bag was something special...
Hopper: Response
Rosek-Skyfire/Lor: Response
Ukinix: ::To Vexa:: Just a little ceremony, might give you a feel for the culture of our little corner of the Delta Quadrant. ::Smiles, to Lael:: Guess what, Commander?
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Ukinix: ::Rubbing hands together:: It’s ribbon o‘clock. ::slight smirk:: Not Robin o’clock, otherwise we’d all be at one of those old Earth discotheques drinking margaritas right now.
Hopper: Response
Ukinix: Commander Rosek-Skyfire, for helping to defend Amity from the threat of the Vaadwaur, you’re awarded the Peacekeeper Ribbon. And for heading into underspace with most of the rest of the crew, you’re also awarded the Explorer’s ribbon. ::To Robin:: Would you please play “pin the ribbons on the Commander”?
Hopper/Rosek-Skyfire/Lor: Response
Ukinix: Uh-uh, we’re not done yet, Lael. You were instrumental, along with Robin here, for rescuing the Prime Claimant from underspace, which helped us stop the attack on Amity. For this, you are awarded the Diplomacy Ribbon. Congratulations!
As Robin placed the diplomacy ribbon on Lael, Wil encouraged Lieutenant Lor to give Lael light applause with him.
Hopper/Rosek-Skyfire/Lor: Response
He gestured towards Robin for the bag.
Ukinix: ::To Robin:: Thanks, mate. ::To Lael:: I’ve got one more thing. Two more actually. ::Pulling soft toys from bag:: These are hand crafted-- ::eyes up, left:: well, replicated-- ::back to Lael:: soft toy bears, complete with gold Starfleet uniforms, with their own mini combadge. ::taking both bears in each hand:: And if you press those little combadges...
He pressed on both of them, and they started playing lullabies - one of them randomly playing a different tune to the other.
Ukinix: These are lullabies of songs from my late 20th/early 21st music collection, ran through the computer and turned into lullabies. The twins can rock on while they go to sleep. These bears have become a bit of a tradition for me to hand out to new bubs when our fellow crew members have one, and you’ve had two. So... ::handing over bears:: there you go.
He had made similar bears for Natalia Moonsong, mini Commander Deveau, Sam Richards kid... and now, the mini Laels.
Hopper/Rosek-Skyfire/Lor: Response
Tags/TBC!
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Captain Wil Ukinix
Starfleet attache and Commanding Officer
Amity Outpost
V239511WU0