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 Commander Aina C'nello, Ship's Counselor Values: Words first, phasers never / This ship is my home, this crew is my pack / Everyone's voice deserves to be heard / Nobody else is dying on my watch It's fair to say that even in the libertine future of the 23rd Century, there are species that have gotten a reputation for being particularly so. The Caitians, everyone's favorite cat people, and the Risians, everyone's favorite 23rd Century peacenik hippies, tend to get taken a little less than seriously. And, really, that's fair. Most are entirely happy to live lives free of worry. Others, like Aina, find themselves called towards the inky frontiers of known space. Born and raised in a bustling hub colony, Aina C'nello learned the values of peaceful coexistence, talking through one's problems, and generally happily coexisting with one's neighbors. These values spurred early training in the colony's diplomatic corps, then later training in the Federation Academy's command track. She didn't have the willingness to use force that a captaincy would require, perhaps, but her scores in many other fields were exemplary. An early interest in Xenoanthropology and First Contact protocols saw her graduating with honors, and subsequently assigned to a five-year mission aboard the USS Lexington. Overall, the majority of her first term of service went swimmingly. At one point, the Lexington came into contact with a hither-to unknown species in a trinary star system. Their stars were not the only thing that came in threes, however, and the three-armed, three-legged, and, indeed, three-headed natives of the planet proved to be truly unusual. A disastrous away mission left the command crew incapacitated and captured, and the only way to defuse tensions was to figure out how to actually communicate with the (loosely dubbed) Trinarians. The issue was that they communicated in ways inimical to established linguistic patterns. Communicators proved useless. It wasn't until Aina proposed that their specific motions and the timing thereof were likely how they communicated meaning, as well as demonstrating through a proof of concept. The theory: correct. The execution mostly resulted in confusion on both sides, at least until Aina had the "duh!" moment of realizing they wouldn't understand without three limbs worth of meaning being conveyed. Luckily, she had a tail and was well equipped to use it. Matters were amicably resolved from there, and the command staff safely returned to the ship. Her time aboard the Lexington came to an end when it was diverted to aid a frontier colony afflicted with an unknown plague. Matters proceeded as well as could be expected, but the sheer scale of the tragedy unfolding was too much. Aina spent her time serving as a sounding board and counselor to the people suiting up and heading planet-side for relief efforts, but tragedy struck when an equipment failure saw one of the ship's crew infected. It was a junior officer that Aina had formed a close friendship with during their years on assignment, and seeing her waste away with no way to help was simply too much. When the Lexington was relieved by another ship and sent to the closest station for R&R, Aina requested a leave of absence. Now, some years later, she's refreshed, recharged, and ready to explore the cosmos once more. Tricky fucked around with this message at 19:57 on May 15, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 17:27
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 12:04 |
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Lager posted:Commander Aina C'nello, Ship's Counselor - Similar question. You say that you were drawn to the excitement of the edges of known space, but why was that? Do you thrive in meeting new species, and understanding their divergent viewpoints? Do you have a need to provide a cheery disposition to counteract the grim realities of life in the vast emptiness of the abyss? Is that why you had to take a leave of absence, that even your optimism and compassion were tempered by the tragedy of watching your friend waste away by the cruel and random hand of fate? Aina leans forward, "What drew me to Starfleet? That's an easy enough answer. I was raised on a colony that saw quite a few ships come through. We were a popular R&R destination, particularly for Starfleet crews about to embark on a lengthier deployment. So, even when I was little more than a kitten, I was gorging myself on the stories you could hear in every corner — stories of going out into that final frontier. Stories of exploring strange new places, meeting new forms of life and civilization." A beat, a slight smile, "Going where no one had gone before, I suppose." "And, absolutely, the reality of exploring the frontiers of known space lived up to those stories. I've seen so much, had the opportunity to help facilitate those moments of first contact with people and existences beyond imagination, and... well, I came back for a reason. It's hard to imagine living a quiet life as a civilian after everything I've seen. And there's still so much! Space is impossibly huge, after all, and there's a new mystery in every system. " "It's not to say that I never get ground down by what I've seen. Everyone does. I wasn't working as the counselor on the Lexington, communications was my first assignment, but..." Aina looks pensive for a moment, "Well, people need to step up when the needs arise. If there's something I can do for the ship, some need that I can fulfill, that's what I do. That's the sort of person my family raised me to be. It's just... well, have you heard of compassion fatigue? By the end, I was taking on so much of the crew's pain and anxiety, let alone my own, that I was starting to stop feeling. That scared me, almost as much as being helpless to help." "So I took some time away from active duty to recharge, but also to learn how to do what I was already doing better. I'd started some additional training near the end of my time with the Lexington, but I was able to finish my coursework and become formally certified by Starfleet for work as a Ship's Counselor. I'm happy to help out on the bridge as needed, particularly if there's a need for a linguistics specialist or xenoarchaelogist, but my primary concern will be keeping everyone aboard the Amphitrite fit for duty and feeling their best."
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May 22, 2021 22:32
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