LtJg Lera Michaels - Variation
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steve...@yahoo.com
Oct 10, 2025, 10:08:56 AM10/10/25
to USS Khitomer – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
(( Inside the Ouachita, Shuttlebay, Deck 2, USS Khitomer, En Route to Alpha Trionus II ))
Semara: To be honest, I ain't sure how I'm supposed to feel or act. They don't really cover this in the Academy. And nothin' I learned 'bout protocol or manners or Betazoid society life growin' up really helps either. :: A shrug :: My only guides are my head and my heart. ::beat:: And my crewmates. :: A little smile ::
Michaels: I wanted to ask you a question or two about Betazoids, in general. Please stop me if I stray into inappropriate areas. I took the course on Federation Species at the Academy. As I am certain you will agree, it would be difficult to cover all that one should know about Vulcans, or Trill, or Betazoids in a 45-minute lecture. In the case of Betazoids, the session was largely disrupted by the young Human males' ... interest... in Betazoid wedding ... practices. And apparel. Or lack thereof.
Lera stopped there for a moment and took a breath. Her last conversation with Amelia had not gone well for reasons Lera still did not understand. While Lera did want to know a great deal more about Betazoids and their telepathic abilities, she also wanted to be careful not to offend. There was also Ezra to consider. How would he interpret the interest in Betazoid weddings? Would he see the gambit of using an innocuous topic to start the conversation, or would he see it as implying something about their relationship? Would it be so bad if he thought that? Too late to retrieve the words now.
Ouachita's lights flickered, and there were sounds that runabouts did not usually make.
Zerva: ::mutters:: Well that’s not good. ::raised voice:: I wonder what caused that?
Michaels: It is not behaviour one usually sees from a runabout. It does appear to have stabilized. Perhaps it was as simple as recharging auxiliary batteries. Still, we should get back to work. Lieutenant. I was about to begin examining the weaponry on the shuttle. I only got a glance, but it does seem to be something unusual. Perhaps even experimental UPSD torpedoes.
Semara: :: Slowly:: U-P-S-D?
Zerva: Response
Michaels: Unnecessarily Painful Slow Death torpedoes.
Semara: Sure - just... Carefully, please? Eyes and tricorder only 'til you're sure they're safe. :: Beat :: Meanwhile, we prolly oughta focus on anything that'll tell us more about our guests and how they got here. Zerva, think you can take a crack at the logs?
Zerva: Response
Michaels: Those torpedoes are unlike anything I have seen. I suspect they are more powerful than the ones we fired at the probe. Possibly capable of destroying a P.O.W. camp. ::shaking her head. To Semara :: You are the senior officer here. What are you going to work on first?
Semara: I'll see if I can make heads or tails of how they time-travel. :: To Michaels :: I'll take any help ya got after you're done lookin' over the rest. Be nice knowin' we won't overload anything pressin' the wrong button. This place is a tangle...
Lera knelt and studied the underside of the main control console. Hesitantly, she touched one of the wires, bypassing... what. She traced it through a jumble of wires to the point where it was wrapped around a terminal near a missing isolinear chip. Lera sighed and shook her head. Tracing through all the modifications here could take weeks if not months.
Michaels: "Tangle" barely seems adequate to describe this. :: quick glance at Ezra. :: This almost looks like a Zerva-jerry-rig-special. This has not been carefully engineered by professional technicians. It was patched together by someone who knew what they were doing, using whatever spare parts they had available. Most of the correct parts were unavailable when whoever began these modifications. Some are barely appropriate for their current application. :: beat :: There are so many of these modifications. It implies that Ouachita has not been seen regular maintenance in ... years.
Zerva: Response
Semara: Okay, I gotta know Lera - why did you bring up Betazoid weddin's? Whaddya wanna know? :: A chuckle ::
Lera took a deep breath. She and Amelia were on speaking terms. That was good. Lera knew she would have to be careful about going on. The last thing she wanted was for Amelia to take this as a question of her judgment or abilities.
Michaels: Betazoid weddings are, it seems, a natural consequence of one of your species' distinctive characteristics; telepathy. At the same time, variation is a fundamental characteristic of every species. While weddings sans apparel appear to be traditional, even commonplace, there must be variation there. At some weddings, the wedding party or guests may choose to wear some adornment, such as a necklace worn by an honored ancestor. Some weddings in climates too cold to be comfortable au naturale. Some weddings where the couple wishes to emphasize their love of some common aspect of their lives by wearing costume items. Oddities. Perhaps rare but not inconceivable. Variation.
Semara/Zerva: Response
Michaels: Logically, there is variation in Betazoid telepathic abilities. No doubt, some Betazoids have stronger-than-average telepathic abilities while others are much weaker. It also seems logical that telepathic abilites can be enhanced with appropriate training. An appropriate analogy may be speech. Very young children of all species have to learn to speak and as they mature, their speech improves. They become more skillful; more nuanced. With significant training, they may become truly eloquent. I will admit that this is conjecture on my part. ::beat :: Is that true of Betazoid telepathic abilities?
Semara / Zerva: Response
Michaels: It is sometimes said that Vulcans are incapable of lying. I can assure you that is not true. Most Vulcans will not lie because it violates their training and their culture. Selectively telling you the truth is another matter. Vulcans are perfectly capable of telling you only what they want you to know.
It was out there now, and Amelia was easily smart enough to know where this line of reasoning was heading. Probably it would be best not to actually ask the obvious question.
oOAmelia. Please know that there is no malice in my thoughts. Oo
Semara / Zerva: Response
Tags/TBC
——— ○● ———
LtJg Lera Michaels
Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2
Semara: To be honest, I ain't sure how I'm supposed to feel or act. They don't really cover this in the Academy. And nothin' I learned 'bout protocol or manners or Betazoid society life growin' up really helps either. :: A shrug :: My only guides are my head and my heart. ::beat:: And my crewmates. :: A little smile ::
Michaels: I wanted to ask you a question or two about Betazoids, in general. Please stop me if I stray into inappropriate areas. I took the course on Federation Species at the Academy. As I am certain you will agree, it would be difficult to cover all that one should know about Vulcans, or Trill, or Betazoids in a 45-minute lecture. In the case of Betazoids, the session was largely disrupted by the young Human males' ... interest... in Betazoid wedding ... practices. And apparel. Or lack thereof.
Lera stopped there for a moment and took a breath. Her last conversation with Amelia had not gone well for reasons Lera still did not understand. While Lera did want to know a great deal more about Betazoids and their telepathic abilities, she also wanted to be careful not to offend. There was also Ezra to consider. How would he interpret the interest in Betazoid weddings? Would he see the gambit of using an innocuous topic to start the conversation, or would he see it as implying something about their relationship? Would it be so bad if he thought that? Too late to retrieve the words now.
Ouachita's lights flickered, and there were sounds that runabouts did not usually make.
Zerva: ::mutters:: Well that’s not good. ::raised voice:: I wonder what caused that?
Michaels: It is not behaviour one usually sees from a runabout. It does appear to have stabilized. Perhaps it was as simple as recharging auxiliary batteries. Still, we should get back to work. Lieutenant. I was about to begin examining the weaponry on the shuttle. I only got a glance, but it does seem to be something unusual. Perhaps even experimental UPSD torpedoes.
Semara: :: Slowly:: U-P-S-D?
Zerva: Response
Michaels: Unnecessarily Painful Slow Death torpedoes.
Semara: Sure - just... Carefully, please? Eyes and tricorder only 'til you're sure they're safe. :: Beat :: Meanwhile, we prolly oughta focus on anything that'll tell us more about our guests and how they got here. Zerva, think you can take a crack at the logs?
Zerva: Response
Michaels: Those torpedoes are unlike anything I have seen. I suspect they are more powerful than the ones we fired at the probe. Possibly capable of destroying a P.O.W. camp. ::shaking her head. To Semara :: You are the senior officer here. What are you going to work on first?
Semara: I'll see if I can make heads or tails of how they time-travel. :: To Michaels :: I'll take any help ya got after you're done lookin' over the rest. Be nice knowin' we won't overload anything pressin' the wrong button. This place is a tangle...
Lera knelt and studied the underside of the main control console. Hesitantly, she touched one of the wires, bypassing... what. She traced it through a jumble of wires to the point where it was wrapped around a terminal near a missing isolinear chip. Lera sighed and shook her head. Tracing through all the modifications here could take weeks if not months.
Michaels: "Tangle" barely seems adequate to describe this. :: quick glance at Ezra. :: This almost looks like a Zerva-jerry-rig-special. This has not been carefully engineered by professional technicians. It was patched together by someone who knew what they were doing, using whatever spare parts they had available. Most of the correct parts were unavailable when whoever began these modifications. Some are barely appropriate for their current application. :: beat :: There are so many of these modifications. It implies that Ouachita has not been seen regular maintenance in ... years.
Zerva: Response
Semara: Okay, I gotta know Lera - why did you bring up Betazoid weddin's? Whaddya wanna know? :: A chuckle ::
Lera took a deep breath. She and Amelia were on speaking terms. That was good. Lera knew she would have to be careful about going on. The last thing she wanted was for Amelia to take this as a question of her judgment or abilities.
Michaels: Betazoid weddings are, it seems, a natural consequence of one of your species' distinctive characteristics; telepathy. At the same time, variation is a fundamental characteristic of every species. While weddings sans apparel appear to be traditional, even commonplace, there must be variation there. At some weddings, the wedding party or guests may choose to wear some adornment, such as a necklace worn by an honored ancestor. Some weddings in climates too cold to be comfortable au naturale. Some weddings where the couple wishes to emphasize their love of some common aspect of their lives by wearing costume items. Oddities. Perhaps rare but not inconceivable. Variation.
Semara/Zerva: Response
Michaels: Logically, there is variation in Betazoid telepathic abilities. No doubt, some Betazoids have stronger-than-average telepathic abilities while others are much weaker. It also seems logical that telepathic abilites can be enhanced with appropriate training. An appropriate analogy may be speech. Very young children of all species have to learn to speak and as they mature, their speech improves. They become more skillful; more nuanced. With significant training, they may become truly eloquent. I will admit that this is conjecture on my part. ::beat :: Is that true of Betazoid telepathic abilities?
Semara / Zerva: Response
Michaels: It is sometimes said that Vulcans are incapable of lying. I can assure you that is not true. Most Vulcans will not lie because it violates their training and their culture. Selectively telling you the truth is another matter. Vulcans are perfectly capable of telling you only what they want you to know.
It was out there now, and Amelia was easily smart enough to know where this line of reasoning was heading. Probably it would be best not to actually ask the obvious question.
oOAmelia. Please know that there is no malice in my thoughts. Oo
Semara / Zerva: Response
Tags/TBC
——— ○● ———
LtJg Lera Michaels
Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2
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