Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - The Pike Protocol
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Karrod Niac
Mar 24, 2026, 11:25:55 PMMar 24
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Ready Room, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
After his visit to Sickbay and a brief, scowl filled check in with Engineering, Karrod had returned to his office to find his desk terminal much more agreeable. He couldn't tell if it was because of some techno-wizardry on the part of the crew or if the thing was beginning to fear its own mortality but either way, he'd finally been able to get at the pile of work that had accumulated in his absence.
And what a pile it was.
The mission reports he'd been able to access hadn't really done the situation justice and it was only now, with a fully vivid picture of all that had happened, that he understood just how precarious the situation for the ship had been.
And how incredible the performance of V'Len had been in his absence.
When he'd decided to temporarily put him in command Karrod had hoped to get the man some experience and, perhaps, some perspective on what life as a CO entailed. The relatively routine nature of a survey mission seemed like ideal circumstances to gain both in a relatively safe, straight forward way. He'd expected to come back aboard hearing about the headaches of crew administration, of the challenge of staying on top of the day to day minutia that kept the ship running, and to have a laugh with the man about command not being quite all the recruiting holos made it out to be.
Instead he'd thrown V'Len, Marty and the rest of the ship into the deep end with weights around their ankles and yet they managed to swim to shore all the same. He was shaken out of his self-recrimination when the door to his office chimed and he barked at the ceiling, not particularly in the mood for distraction.
Niac: There had better be an entire Borg rhombus out there coming to surrender...
Instead he was greeted by the smirking expression of his unphased and, thankfully, unassimilated XO. Toryn strode to his desk and wisely stood perhaps a step or two further back then he normally would've, sensing his mood.
Raga: Search and Rescue. We received reports of panicked shrieks coming from this room. Is anyone in need of saving?
Karrod pushed the terminal away from him as if that would distance him from the information in the reports and scowled.
Niac: At this point I think I'm beyond saving, Toryn. Get out while you can, I can feel my bones creaking under the weight of all this paddwork.
Raga: Not surprised. It took me four hours to get through all of the reports on my desk. ::still grinning he moved his other hand from behind his back, with four more padds:: Speaking of which, where do you want it?
Rolling his eyes in a gesture of contemptuous defeat, Karrod nodded towards the couch a few short steps above his desk and the viewport beyond.
Niac: On the couch or through the viewport, either way I'm not getting to any of them soon.
Raga: Well, I can offer the condemned a stay of execution if you’ve got a few minutes to spare? I wanted to run something by you.
There was a small shift in Toryn's tone that caught his ear and Karrod set aside his frustration for a moment and gestured to one of the chairs.
Niac: Sit...and give me those. I'll toss them out the viewport myself...much more cathartic that way.
He stood and stretched his back, taking the padds as he walked to the viewport and giving the top one a few pantomimed throws towards the transparent aluminum. He chuckled to himself as he set them aside and walked to the replicator.
Niac: You want something? I'm fairly sure this thing is convinced I'm alive.
Raga: Well, since your private dining room is technically part of the 47 Lounge and as far as I know, I don’t think you’ve actually used it since we launched. How would you feel about starting a weekly lunch or dinner with the Captain? Or with the both of us even? ::he added:: Al-Leyan spiced tea, blend number seven. Please.
Karrod pursed his lips and tapped in a few commands, a cup of some fruity concoction Armo liked springing into existence alongside the fragrant and violently strong Al-Leyan tea. He took both back to his desk and sat, fixing Toryn with a questioning look. Within him Rostil was incensed at the fact there was a private dining space aboard he hadn't been given the opportunity to make his own.
Niac: It's an excellent idea but I've got two questions; firstly, what brought this on? Secondly and perhaps only slightly less important...I have a dining room?
Raga: This crew of ours is as tight knit as they come, evident by the number of mentions of both of us exploding I’ve seen in reports. I understand the effect losing a Captain can have on a crew’s morale. I broke a conference table when it happened to me. ::he cleared his throat:: What’s more, I worry that the crew doesn’t fully understand just how much they mean to the both of us. Your numerous rousing speeches notwithstanding.
Karrod huffed at that, his beverage suddenly losing what little appeal it had as he slid Toryn's across the desk.
Niac: Hmm, I have noticed an...uncomfortable amount of odd looks since we got back. Almost like the crew is still waiting for the other boot to drop. They're good people...but I suppose seeing us 'die' was more than enough to shake them up a little bit. ::He offered a small wink::...Although maybe I just need to work on a rousing speech. Something about tall ships and the taller crews who drove them forth...
Raga: Agreed. I’m sure every Captain and First Officer feel their crew is the best, so we’re only adding to that mythos by doing the same. Given the fact our crew is one of the few engaged in an active war zone, anything we can do to keep moral high with all the threats we face is a good thing, wouldn’t you agree?
He nodded at the practical reality of it. This crew, especially those that had been with the Ronin since its hasty departure a few years earlier, had been through more in that time than many career officers saw in a decade of service. They'd persevered in spite of everything, had kept their heart and heads about them in every crisis and calamity they'd endured, but he had to accept that determination and grit alone couldn't keep them going forever. Especially when their confidence had been shaken.
Niac: It's a good idea, Toryn, and you're right. Keeping morale up is more than a few counseling sessions and the odd hour or three on the holodeck. These folks need to know we see the toil...the every day effort they put in. That we see them, regardless of their post, and appreciate what they do for all of us. So...the question then becomes how? Last I checked our roster was nearly five hundred strong...even if the dining room can seat ten a meal that's a lot of lunches and dinners.
Raga: Lotteries are too random. I was thinking something more along the lines of an open request list. It should be easy enough to put in the LCARs, and available for anyone on the crew, enlisted or non-commissioned, to put their names on. ::he mused for a moment then added:: We could even have the option for them to cook something to share with everyone if they wanted. Let them showcase their favorite recipes. That should help make the crew a bit closer, what do you think?
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he'd even consciously thought them, Rostil again asserting himself.
Niac: Family dinner.
Raga: Response
Karrod smiled as he considered it, images of meals prepared with love and a certain amount of accepted chaos over the years. First Rostil, then Armo, then Sencha, and even Horvu....all had moments when their families had gathered, prepared food together of some shape or form, and sat together to discuss the day. The meal itself was largely an excuse to be together, to set aside time that had no purpose other than itself. A sense of warmth and joy Karrod himself had never known around a familial dining table radiated from Niac and, for once, Karrod felt a strange pang of envy for what hadn't been.
Niac: I think it's a brilliant idea, Toryn...so much so I worry we're going to put on ten kilos apiece once the crew starts picking entrees. Before Niac I had heard rumors of a few CO's doing something like this across fleet history. Apparently one early Captain had an entire grill built into his quarters on a Constitution class. Always seemed ridiculous to me then...a waste of resources and effort when the replicator was right there. Now...now I think I understand why they did it. What they hoped to do. And it doesn't have as much to do with food as I thought.
Raga: Response
He mulled it for a moment, considering the mountain of work he had to climb and quickly realizing the far more important effort this represented.
Niac: Post it today...maybe the brave ones will help us test out the idea, work out the kinks. And we should make sure we're always inviting junior officers, people who are new to the ship, visiting guests...anyone who would benefit from some time with us that doesn't come with orders and regulations. Speaking of, we should consider a few...suggestions. Firstly...ranks. Everyone sitting at that table is an equal, everyone can speak their minds freely. No sense of getting people together to talk if they're too terrified to mention what's really on their minds. Any other ideas?
Raga: Response
[Tags/TBC!]
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
After his visit to Sickbay and a brief, scowl filled check in with Engineering, Karrod had returned to his office to find his desk terminal much more agreeable. He couldn't tell if it was because of some techno-wizardry on the part of the crew or if the thing was beginning to fear its own mortality but either way, he'd finally been able to get at the pile of work that had accumulated in his absence.
And what a pile it was.
The mission reports he'd been able to access hadn't really done the situation justice and it was only now, with a fully vivid picture of all that had happened, that he understood just how precarious the situation for the ship had been.
And how incredible the performance of V'Len had been in his absence.
When he'd decided to temporarily put him in command Karrod had hoped to get the man some experience and, perhaps, some perspective on what life as a CO entailed. The relatively routine nature of a survey mission seemed like ideal circumstances to gain both in a relatively safe, straight forward way. He'd expected to come back aboard hearing about the headaches of crew administration, of the challenge of staying on top of the day to day minutia that kept the ship running, and to have a laugh with the man about command not being quite all the recruiting holos made it out to be.
Instead he'd thrown V'Len, Marty and the rest of the ship into the deep end with weights around their ankles and yet they managed to swim to shore all the same. He was shaken out of his self-recrimination when the door to his office chimed and he barked at the ceiling, not particularly in the mood for distraction.
Niac: There had better be an entire Borg rhombus out there coming to surrender...
Instead he was greeted by the smirking expression of his unphased and, thankfully, unassimilated XO. Toryn strode to his desk and wisely stood perhaps a step or two further back then he normally would've, sensing his mood.
Raga: Search and Rescue. We received reports of panicked shrieks coming from this room. Is anyone in need of saving?
Karrod pushed the terminal away from him as if that would distance him from the information in the reports and scowled.
Niac: At this point I think I'm beyond saving, Toryn. Get out while you can, I can feel my bones creaking under the weight of all this paddwork.
Raga: Not surprised. It took me four hours to get through all of the reports on my desk. ::still grinning he moved his other hand from behind his back, with four more padds:: Speaking of which, where do you want it?
Rolling his eyes in a gesture of contemptuous defeat, Karrod nodded towards the couch a few short steps above his desk and the viewport beyond.
Niac: On the couch or through the viewport, either way I'm not getting to any of them soon.
Raga: Well, I can offer the condemned a stay of execution if you’ve got a few minutes to spare? I wanted to run something by you.
There was a small shift in Toryn's tone that caught his ear and Karrod set aside his frustration for a moment and gestured to one of the chairs.
Niac: Sit...and give me those. I'll toss them out the viewport myself...much more cathartic that way.
He stood and stretched his back, taking the padds as he walked to the viewport and giving the top one a few pantomimed throws towards the transparent aluminum. He chuckled to himself as he set them aside and walked to the replicator.
Niac: You want something? I'm fairly sure this thing is convinced I'm alive.
Raga: Well, since your private dining room is technically part of the 47 Lounge and as far as I know, I don’t think you’ve actually used it since we launched. How would you feel about starting a weekly lunch or dinner with the Captain? Or with the both of us even? ::he added:: Al-Leyan spiced tea, blend number seven. Please.
Karrod pursed his lips and tapped in a few commands, a cup of some fruity concoction Armo liked springing into existence alongside the fragrant and violently strong Al-Leyan tea. He took both back to his desk and sat, fixing Toryn with a questioning look. Within him Rostil was incensed at the fact there was a private dining space aboard he hadn't been given the opportunity to make his own.
Niac: It's an excellent idea but I've got two questions; firstly, what brought this on? Secondly and perhaps only slightly less important...I have a dining room?
Raga: This crew of ours is as tight knit as they come, evident by the number of mentions of both of us exploding I’ve seen in reports. I understand the effect losing a Captain can have on a crew’s morale. I broke a conference table when it happened to me. ::he cleared his throat:: What’s more, I worry that the crew doesn’t fully understand just how much they mean to the both of us. Your numerous rousing speeches notwithstanding.
Karrod huffed at that, his beverage suddenly losing what little appeal it had as he slid Toryn's across the desk.
Niac: Hmm, I have noticed an...uncomfortable amount of odd looks since we got back. Almost like the crew is still waiting for the other boot to drop. They're good people...but I suppose seeing us 'die' was more than enough to shake them up a little bit. ::He offered a small wink::...Although maybe I just need to work on a rousing speech. Something about tall ships and the taller crews who drove them forth...
Raga: Agreed. I’m sure every Captain and First Officer feel their crew is the best, so we’re only adding to that mythos by doing the same. Given the fact our crew is one of the few engaged in an active war zone, anything we can do to keep moral high with all the threats we face is a good thing, wouldn’t you agree?
He nodded at the practical reality of it. This crew, especially those that had been with the Ronin since its hasty departure a few years earlier, had been through more in that time than many career officers saw in a decade of service. They'd persevered in spite of everything, had kept their heart and heads about them in every crisis and calamity they'd endured, but he had to accept that determination and grit alone couldn't keep them going forever. Especially when their confidence had been shaken.
Niac: It's a good idea, Toryn, and you're right. Keeping morale up is more than a few counseling sessions and the odd hour or three on the holodeck. These folks need to know we see the toil...the every day effort they put in. That we see them, regardless of their post, and appreciate what they do for all of us. So...the question then becomes how? Last I checked our roster was nearly five hundred strong...even if the dining room can seat ten a meal that's a lot of lunches and dinners.
Raga: Lotteries are too random. I was thinking something more along the lines of an open request list. It should be easy enough to put in the LCARs, and available for anyone on the crew, enlisted or non-commissioned, to put their names on. ::he mused for a moment then added:: We could even have the option for them to cook something to share with everyone if they wanted. Let them showcase their favorite recipes. That should help make the crew a bit closer, what do you think?
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he'd even consciously thought them, Rostil again asserting himself.
Niac: Family dinner.
Raga: Response
Karrod smiled as he considered it, images of meals prepared with love and a certain amount of accepted chaos over the years. First Rostil, then Armo, then Sencha, and even Horvu....all had moments when their families had gathered, prepared food together of some shape or form, and sat together to discuss the day. The meal itself was largely an excuse to be together, to set aside time that had no purpose other than itself. A sense of warmth and joy Karrod himself had never known around a familial dining table radiated from Niac and, for once, Karrod felt a strange pang of envy for what hadn't been.
Niac: I think it's a brilliant idea, Toryn...so much so I worry we're going to put on ten kilos apiece once the crew starts picking entrees. Before Niac I had heard rumors of a few CO's doing something like this across fleet history. Apparently one early Captain had an entire grill built into his quarters on a Constitution class. Always seemed ridiculous to me then...a waste of resources and effort when the replicator was right there. Now...now I think I understand why they did it. What they hoped to do. And it doesn't have as much to do with food as I thought.
Raga: Response
He mulled it for a moment, considering the mountain of work he had to climb and quickly realizing the far more important effort this represented.
Niac: Post it today...maybe the brave ones will help us test out the idea, work out the kinks. And we should make sure we're always inviting junior officers, people who are new to the ship, visiting guests...anyone who would benefit from some time with us that doesn't come with orders and regulations. Speaking of, we should consider a few...suggestions. Firstly...ranks. Everyone sitting at that table is an equal, everyone can speak their minds freely. No sense of getting people together to talk if they're too terrified to mention what's really on their minds. Any other ideas?
Raga: Response
[Tags/TBC!]
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
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