U.S.S. October - Denobula Sector - En route to the Kir System
The graceful form of the U.S.S. October seemed to glide effortlessly through space. Her powerful Yoyodyne 47B warp engines propelled the ship at a comfortable warp eight. At this late hour the interior was mostly quiet, with the officers from the previous shift finding their way to the October's primary lounge, Land's End. The quiet din of dozens of conversations bounced between serving staff and friends. Ulrich occupied a small alcove near a trio of standing officers.
Spoiler: Part One - TransitShow
U.S.S. October - Land's End
I know most people record these now, but I thought I'd actually take the time to write things down. I'm able to organize my thoughts a bit better and I can't stand the sound of my own voice. One of my professors recommended I do one of these, so here we are. To those reading, welcome. I wasn't going to start until I got to Kir, but it'd be a real shame to leave out the October and her crew.
This is by far the largest ship I've been on. It's quite the feat to manage the roughly 1,700 people on board. I know that's nothing compared to the size of the station, but this feels different somehow. I spent most of the first day wandering around wherever I could. I thought I had a good sense of direction, but the computer had to guide me back on several occasions. As I toured I kept getting odd looks by the crew. At first I attributed it to the fact that they are not used to seeing a Cadet wander around, at least until one of the junior officers pulled me aside and explained one of the unexpected nuances of life aboard ship. Captain Morton only allowed one type of commbadge, a weird two color variant. Now that I think about it, I see him wearing it all the time. Needless to say, I replicated one of those. The ships rumor mill couldn't come up with what happens to those the Captain catches wearing another type of badge. None of it was good.
That brings us to today. I figured I had a chance to gain a tactical advantage over the Captain in our ongoing struggle. No one knows the Captain better than his first officer, so with that in mind I hunted him down. Commander Klak'Ton, as he's called, is a towering Klingon who's about 1.5 me's tall. I found him in Land's End (more on this place later). He seemed rather amused that I was asking him for advice, but was happy to offer a few pointers. I don't know if Klingon's play tennis, but it sure seems like he was eager to see someone defeat Morton. Perhaps he was more eager to see a Cadet beat Morton, but I'll take what I can get.
Next up was the tactical officer, Lieutenant Parr Srutiurousi. I figured she would have some tips on how the Captain thinks through problems. Everyone knows tennis is a mental and physical game. She offered to help if I could beat her in a game of tri-chess. A solid four years of chess experience did absolutely nothing to stop the onslaught. I suppose there is a good reason she's the tactical officer. She took pity and offered advice anyway. All told I'm feeling pretty confident about our next match.
Back to Land's End. The starlight could learn a thing or twenty from this place. I mean, check out my spot.
I can see why a lot of the crew spends their off duty time here. The place is huge. On a ship this big it has to be. I've moved around table to table and spoken to some of the crew and junior officers. There is a real sense of pride from everyone I've met. I'm not sure if it's the same on other ships, but the crew here really does feel like a crew despite the sheer number of people on board. I can only hope the same atmosphere exists wherever I end up.
The computer says we're less than a day away from the Kir system. I did run into Lieutenant Tyenne briefly in a corridor, she seemed fairly busy though and literally jogged away after a short introduction. I think I'm going to end this here. I've got a little more reading I want to do on the planet before I get some sleep. If anyone is still reading by this point, hope you enjoyed. I'll be sure to add the next part...soonish.
~Ulrich
I know most people record these now, but I thought I'd actually take the time to write things down. I'm able to organize my thoughts a bit better and I can't stand the sound of my own voice. One of my professors recommended I do one of these, so here we are. To those reading, welcome. I wasn't going to start until I got to Kir, but it'd be a real shame to leave out the October and her crew.
This is by far the largest ship I've been on. It's quite the feat to manage the roughly 1,700 people on board. I know that's nothing compared to the size of the station, but this feels different somehow. I spent most of the first day wandering around wherever I could. I thought I had a good sense of direction, but the computer had to guide me back on several occasions. As I toured I kept getting odd looks by the crew. At first I attributed it to the fact that they are not used to seeing a Cadet wander around, at least until one of the junior officers pulled me aside and explained one of the unexpected nuances of life aboard ship. Captain Morton only allowed one type of commbadge, a weird two color variant. Now that I think about it, I see him wearing it all the time. Needless to say, I replicated one of those. The ships rumor mill couldn't come up with what happens to those the Captain catches wearing another type of badge. None of it was good.
That brings us to today. I figured I had a chance to gain a tactical advantage over the Captain in our ongoing struggle. No one knows the Captain better than his first officer, so with that in mind I hunted him down. Commander Klak'Ton, as he's called, is a towering Klingon who's about 1.5 me's tall. I found him in Land's End (more on this place later). He seemed rather amused that I was asking him for advice, but was happy to offer a few pointers. I don't know if Klingon's play tennis, but it sure seems like he was eager to see someone defeat Morton. Perhaps he was more eager to see a Cadet beat Morton, but I'll take what I can get.
Next up was the tactical officer, Lieutenant Parr Srutiurousi. I figured she would have some tips on how the Captain thinks through problems. Everyone knows tennis is a mental and physical game. She offered to help if I could beat her in a game of tri-chess. A solid four years of chess experience did absolutely nothing to stop the onslaught. I suppose there is a good reason she's the tactical officer. She took pity and offered advice anyway. All told I'm feeling pretty confident about our next match.
Back to Land's End. The starlight could learn a thing or twenty from this place. I mean, check out my spot.
Spoiler: :://Attached ImageShow
I can see why a lot of the crew spends their off duty time here. The place is huge. On a ship this big it has to be. I've moved around table to table and spoken to some of the crew and junior officers. There is a real sense of pride from everyone I've met. I'm not sure if it's the same on other ships, but the crew here really does feel like a crew despite the sheer number of people on board. I can only hope the same atmosphere exists wherever I end up.
The computer says we're less than a day away from the Kir system. I did run into Lieutenant Tyenne briefly in a corridor, she seemed fairly busy though and literally jogged away after a short introduction. I think I'm going to end this here. I've got a little more reading I want to do on the planet before I get some sleep. If anyone is still reading by this point, hope you enjoyed. I'll be sure to add the next part...soonish.
~Ulrich