Ens. Gnai - It's Hard To Pour Yourself A Cup Of Ambition When You Can't Drink

[Lich]

((Arboretum - Deep Space 9 ))

The arboretum was awash with color, as the two strolled through it. Greens, mostly, as it seemed that chlorophyll and its analogs were common enough throughout the galaxy. It made sense to Gnai, after all. There were lots of planets that supported life around yellow dwarf stars, much like Bajor's and Earth's stars. And Galador II's. Such stars emitted light such that pigment that reflected green (as with chlorophyll) was the most efficient. See, Gnai could remember biology facts! When they were related to its line of work, at least.

The conversation was forcefully moved away from darker things like ethical violations on the vessel where Cmdr. Adea had found his dog, to lighter things like what his previous ships had been like.

Gnai: ~ How were the other ships? I ::partial:: have only been on the Artemis, so far. What sort of things did you see? ~

With so much experience in the 'fleet, the doctor had to have seen all sorts of things, been to all sorts of new and exciting places. What was it like, to have explored so much?

Adea: ~ I loved the Gorkon, many of the people I served with there I would consider family. The crew of the Resolution became the crew of the Excalibur became the crew of the Artemis, and although we have had some turnover, many of them I would consider family as well. Personally I think the people we meet are more important than the places we go although saying that I’ve seen all sorts - peace talks, alternative universes, many, many incidents of time travel... I even spent some time in the Chief Engineer’s body... ~

Gnai bobbed along, listening intently in its tank. Time travel would have seemed... silly, if it hadn't immediately just come back from what could be called time travel. Maybe. It wasn't certain what had really happened to begin with.

The body swapping was also... deeply interesting. What would it be like to be a humanoid for a day? Gnai had no idea where to even start pondering that, they were so... alien to it. Something to ask about later, perhaps. It was always good to have a few topics banked in one's mind when talking to someone, just in case of awkward lulls. Gnai had learned that quickly as a cadet.

Gnai: ~ Fascinating... ~

Adea: ~ You’ll have your own stories and histories soon, Gnai. ~

The smile from Cmdr. Adea seemed genuine, and Gnai was glad that he had such optimism for it. The first story it had was something that it was not very keen to share, nor was it aware if it could share what happened, outside of with those it had served with. But Gnai hoped that he was right to be so optimistic, that it would get to make stories and form connections like he had.

Gnai: ~ Thank you, sir. That's the plan. To explore and to make stories, to see the galaxy... ~

Adea: ~ So, what’s the goal? When you reach the top - what does that look like for you? ~

The top? What, did he think Gnai was shooting for the captain's chair?

Gnai: ~ I ::partial:: have no ambitions for the top. Just research. It would be nice to discover something important, of course. But command...? ~

Adea: ~ Response ~

Ah that made more sense. He hadn't meant to imply that Gnai was aiming for the command track, just curious as to what it planned to do as it climbed the ranks and acquired more responsibilities.

Gnai: ~ Sorry to misunderstand, sir. ::pause:: There's lots out there to discover, and I ::partial:: don't intend to rush. Being an ensign is nice for the moment. ~

Adea: ~ Response ~

Gnai bobbed again in its tank. Yes, it did enjoy the rank it had at the moment. Being at the bottom of the rung meant that it had a bit more leeway. That also came with being the new person on the ship. Everyone was a little lenient for the time being as it rushed to get its affairs in order, and to keep up with life on the Artemis. Better to enjoy it while it lasted.

Gnai: ~ As an ensign, there's far more time to focus on science, rather than the administrative tasks that it seems more senior members have to worry about. ~

Was it wise to say something like that? Maybe not. But it really did not see the point in climbing the ranks as a scientist. More responsibility really did mean less time to put into its research. When it was at the Academy, it had heard more than one professor gripe about how they had wasted prime research years dealing with paperwork.

Adea: ~ Response ~

Tags/TBC :)

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Ensign Gnai

Science Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240102G11