Ens. Gnai - What The Heck Am I Doing Here?
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Lich
May 1, 2024, 3:08:54 AMMay 1
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(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))
Meeting with the captain was a daunting task, somewhat, but Gnai was excited to finally get the chance to make a better impression. Being imprisoned with your captain was one thing, actually serving with them on the ship as normal was another. With luck, the transition to the Artemis would be far smoother with all of that behind them, and Gnai was looking forwards to the future.
Strangely enough, Captain MacKenzie was looking to the past.
MacKenzie: So, Ensign, tell me about what prompted you to join Starfleet.
Gnai's bobbing grew slightly more pronounced as it started to speak, its tendrils flickering with the movement.
Gnai: Of course, sir. Starfleet offered a chance to explore, past just Galador II. There's so much out in the galaxy to see, and without a ship or resources to fund personal study, a Starfleet commission seemed necessary to get the chance to experience it all.
MacKenzie: I have to confess, I know very little about the Galadorans and have never met one before until your arrival. Were you always interested in exploration? (beat) Judging by your suit, I assume you were determined to find a way to make exploration beyond your world a reality...
Few in the Federation ever had met another Galadoran, if they hadn't traveled to Galador II. There just wasn't much movement off of Galador II, and when they did do trade or other diplomatic actions off of their second homeworld, it was done ship-to-ship, as the limitations of their species made interactions a tad more difficult at times. Suits like Gnai's were not entirely uncommon, but most Galadorans preferred not to bother with such things, and traveled in ships filled with the water that they needed for comfort.
Gnai: This ::gestures to itself:: was always interested in the stars as a youth. There was another that had gone and explored with humanoids. That one came back to share the knowledge and be a mentor. ::another gesture to itself, this time, gesturing more to the suit it wore:: The suit was a collaboration with this mentor.
Captain MacKenzie smiled and nodded slowly in appreciation.
MacKenzie: And what of your interest in science? Do you have a particular specialty?
Gnai: At the Academy, the focus was primarily on astrophysics. And some basics of engineering, for the suit. ::pause:: Is this what you wanted to know?
Gnai would have gone off on a tangent about its various goals and research dreams, but it stopped itself. That was perhaps a bit much for a first official meeting. But she didn't seem too bothered with how it was answering her questions, still smiling. A bit of a lop-sided smile, but Gnai was fairly certain that it was still considered a smile to humanoids.
MacKenzie: I suppose so... I was more or less just wondering how you got to be where you are. There are many things I find about your interest and determination in joining Starfleet that I find intriguing. Was there anything in particular that influenced your study of astrometrics?
Gnai: ::bobbing up and down:: Ah, yes. Thank you. The stars were always something of interest, so far away from the surface. The stories of the past of Galador were of particular fascination... The original homeworld was torn apart by a wormhole, and it was only through studying the stars that the second Galador was founded. There's so much that the stars can tell, and the Federation seemed to be the best chance to study them in great detail!
Growing up and hearing about its ancestors, and what they had accomplished in saving their species from destruction, hauling the oceans off of Galador and throwing them across the stars, pointed at what would become Galador II... that had made young Gnai's imagination positively swim with questions. It was only a matter of time before it would become a scientist, its mentor had realized, and it had pushed Gnai to reach out and apply for Starfleet Academy because of that.
As the captain's smile widened and she leaned towards it, Gnai puffed up a bit, filling its bell with more water. It was proud of where it had started, and where it had gotten to already.
MacKenzie: Now we’re getting somewhere! I’m curious if you’ve ever thought about what your service signifies. To others of your kind, I mean. Your mentor obviously had a strong influence on you... Has it ever occurred to you about what you might represent for others on your world?
What a question!
Gnai: No... not really? ::thinking:: Galadorans are not part of the Federation, so there is not much reason for others to care about this? At least... not at the moment.
That was unlikely to change, as it didn't expect Galador II to enter the Federation. And as far as it knew, it was the first and only Galadoran in the 'fleet. Whether there were others that were interested... it had no clue.
MacKenzie: Response
It was hard for others to understand, it knew. Gnai had found it to express at the Academy how it was seen as mildly-to-moderately eccentric amongst the other Galadorans for its dreams of adventuring off-world with Starfleet. But it just wasn't something that they did - Galadoran society wasn't full of individuals in the same way the Federation was. Each Galadoran was its own being, sure, but collectively there was a more or less universal drive to conform and work together, for the betterment of the city that the individual came from, and the entire planet on a greater scale. There were oddities, like Gnai and its mentor, individuals who were, for some reason, inclined to wander and wonder what else was out there to see, beyond the domes and off into the void of space.
The other cadets didn't ever really get it. Not exactly.
...
And expressing that to the captain... That was another challenge entirely.
MacKenzie: Response
--
Meeting with the captain was a daunting task, somewhat, but Gnai was excited to finally get the chance to make a better impression. Being imprisoned with your captain was one thing, actually serving with them on the ship as normal was another. With luck, the transition to the Artemis would be far smoother with all of that behind them, and Gnai was looking forwards to the future.
Strangely enough, Captain MacKenzie was looking to the past.
MacKenzie: So, Ensign, tell me about what prompted you to join Starfleet.
Gnai's bobbing grew slightly more pronounced as it started to speak, its tendrils flickering with the movement.
Gnai: Of course, sir. Starfleet offered a chance to explore, past just Galador II. There's so much out in the galaxy to see, and without a ship or resources to fund personal study, a Starfleet commission seemed necessary to get the chance to experience it all.
MacKenzie: I have to confess, I know very little about the Galadorans and have never met one before until your arrival. Were you always interested in exploration? (beat) Judging by your suit, I assume you were determined to find a way to make exploration beyond your world a reality...
Few in the Federation ever had met another Galadoran, if they hadn't traveled to Galador II. There just wasn't much movement off of Galador II, and when they did do trade or other diplomatic actions off of their second homeworld, it was done ship-to-ship, as the limitations of their species made interactions a tad more difficult at times. Suits like Gnai's were not entirely uncommon, but most Galadorans preferred not to bother with such things, and traveled in ships filled with the water that they needed for comfort.
Gnai: This ::gestures to itself:: was always interested in the stars as a youth. There was another that had gone and explored with humanoids. That one came back to share the knowledge and be a mentor. ::another gesture to itself, this time, gesturing more to the suit it wore:: The suit was a collaboration with this mentor.
Captain MacKenzie smiled and nodded slowly in appreciation.
MacKenzie: And what of your interest in science? Do you have a particular specialty?
Gnai: At the Academy, the focus was primarily on astrophysics. And some basics of engineering, for the suit. ::pause:: Is this what you wanted to know?
Gnai would have gone off on a tangent about its various goals and research dreams, but it stopped itself. That was perhaps a bit much for a first official meeting. But she didn't seem too bothered with how it was answering her questions, still smiling. A bit of a lop-sided smile, but Gnai was fairly certain that it was still considered a smile to humanoids.
MacKenzie: I suppose so... I was more or less just wondering how you got to be where you are. There are many things I find about your interest and determination in joining Starfleet that I find intriguing. Was there anything in particular that influenced your study of astrometrics?
Gnai: ::bobbing up and down:: Ah, yes. Thank you. The stars were always something of interest, so far away from the surface. The stories of the past of Galador were of particular fascination... The original homeworld was torn apart by a wormhole, and it was only through studying the stars that the second Galador was founded. There's so much that the stars can tell, and the Federation seemed to be the best chance to study them in great detail!
Growing up and hearing about its ancestors, and what they had accomplished in saving their species from destruction, hauling the oceans off of Galador and throwing them across the stars, pointed at what would become Galador II... that had made young Gnai's imagination positively swim with questions. It was only a matter of time before it would become a scientist, its mentor had realized, and it had pushed Gnai to reach out and apply for Starfleet Academy because of that.
As the captain's smile widened and she leaned towards it, Gnai puffed up a bit, filling its bell with more water. It was proud of where it had started, and where it had gotten to already.
MacKenzie: Now we’re getting somewhere! I’m curious if you’ve ever thought about what your service signifies. To others of your kind, I mean. Your mentor obviously had a strong influence on you... Has it ever occurred to you about what you might represent for others on your world?
What a question!
Gnai: No... not really? ::thinking:: Galadorans are not part of the Federation, so there is not much reason for others to care about this? At least... not at the moment.
That was unlikely to change, as it didn't expect Galador II to enter the Federation. And as far as it knew, it was the first and only Galadoran in the 'fleet. Whether there were others that were interested... it had no clue.
MacKenzie: Response
It was hard for others to understand, it knew. Gnai had found it to express at the Academy how it was seen as mildly-to-moderately eccentric amongst the other Galadorans for its dreams of adventuring off-world with Starfleet. But it just wasn't something that they did - Galadoran society wasn't full of individuals in the same way the Federation was. Each Galadoran was its own being, sure, but collectively there was a more or less universal drive to conform and work together, for the betterment of the city that the individual came from, and the entire planet on a greater scale. There were oddities, like Gnai and its mentor, individuals who were, for some reason, inclined to wander and wonder what else was out there to see, beyond the domes and off into the void of space.
The other cadets didn't ever really get it. Not exactly.
...
And expressing that to the captain... That was another challenge entirely.
Gnai: ::slowly and carefully:: There is not a drive to go off and pursue individual goals in Galadoran society, sir. It isn't discouraged, but there's just... not very many who are interested in such things. Galador II is very safe and comfortable and it takes a lot of work for it to remain as such. ::pause:: Most others are committed to that, and would see leaving such safety and comfort as the actions of an eccentric.
MacKenzie: Response
Tag/TBC :)
--
Ensign Gnai
Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240102G11
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