Messages

Voshen clicked through his vocoder in an approximation of a throat clear. 

"Captain, it may also be prudent to scan the complex for any evidence of recent transportation.  If the attacker at Spalan Estate beamed here directly afterwards, it's possible a transporter signature remains behind.  Our quarry has proved to be quite assiduous in clearing their tracks, but, in the interest of leaving no rocks unmoved..."

Reaching the safety of the monastery's gate, Voshen touched his stinging neck where the wind had blown the visor loose for a moment.  His palm came away with dots of purple blood.

"Sand.  I hate sand," he muttered low enough to be lost in the wind.

No Momentum, only hardy Zaranite living 😤

Rolled 2d6 : 3, 3, total 6

[1]

Determination Changes

• Episode starts with 1.
• Episode 2.02, Post #638: Spent 1 Determination using "The First Step Always Involves Risk" when flying the Dubilier through a Vulcan sandstorm to buy a Perfect Opportunity.  Determination at 0.

[Fitness + Security (TN 11)]

Banking the 3 Momentum for the group.  (Collectively not crashing into the desert is great for morale!)

If applicable, I'll float using the extra desert travel provisions (included desert visors) to give us some small Advantage here, if only in adding a positive Effect to our Cover rolls.  Not crucial though; I'm fine taking some lumps.

Voshen's head sagged against his seat as the Dubilier safely touched down.  "Apologies," he said, "The sandstorm proved far more destabilizing that I had anticipated.  'Thrice warned...'"

Blasts of heated sand continued to sound against the hull.  Voshen adjusted his excursion collar up over the thin tubules of his rebreather.  "When you are prepared, Captain."

Rolling Fitness + Security (TN 11), no applicable Focus.

Rolled 2d20 : 5, 18, total 23

[(TN 6)]

That's more like it!  Rolling for the Dubilier (TN 6):

Rolled 1d20 : 19, total 19

[1 Determination]

Seems like early days, but it's the right time for it...Voshen is going to lean on his Value of "The First Step Always Involves Risk" and spend 1 Determination for a Perfect Opportunity (2 automatic Successes) here.  It's his first mission with the crew, and this seems damned risky.

The shuttle spun helplessly around them though the viewer showed only the constant whirlwind of sand.  Pulling back on the stick, Voshen felt the engines strain to correct their bearing as the altimeter dropped rapidly.  Loud trills warning of the loss of computer control blared from the copilot station.

A giddy rush of excitement seized him and with his long experience, he let it take over.  "Disabling automatic flight!  Hang on!"  The stick grew slack in his hand, the thrusters' acceleration locked directly into his movements, for better or worse.  Yanking the shuttle hard to port, Voshen corkscrewed the shuttle into the storm...

Rolling Control + Conn (TN 13) (again...), assisted by the shuttle's Engines + Conn (TN 6).  Focus of either Helm Operations or Composure applies.

Rolled 2d20 : 7, 1, total 8

Rolling for shuttle assist:

Rolled 1d20 : 7, total 7

[Control + Conn (TN 13)]

The captain's words cut through the conversational mood, returning attention to the mission.  "Aye, Captain, heavy stun," Voshen intoned as he pitched the nose of the Dubilier starboard, bringing the shuttle wide around the radius of the storm. 

From this distance, the swirling sands formed a two kilometer tall blister on the surface that stretched nearly to the the far horizons.  Forward sensors measured a four-fold increase in windspeed.  Outwardly cool, Voshen attempted to level his heartrates and focus on the task at hand.

Coordinating with ch'Valk, Voshen's patter became automatic, mnemonic.  "Auxiliary power to inertial dampeners.  Heading 237, mark 335.  Ops, give me 60, no, 65 percent intermix on maneuvering thrusters."  The edge of the storm spread over the sensor grid like ink.  "Brace for turbulence.  Three...two..."

Sand rung against the thick hull as vibrations blurred Voshen's vision.  The control stick strained against his palm as he tacked into the winds...


Rolling Control + Conn (TN 13), assisted by the shuttle's Engines + Conn (TN 6).  Focuses of either Helm Operations or Composure could apply.

Rolled 2d20 : 15, 17, total 32

Wrapping around the proffered hand with two of his own, Voshen bent and regarded each member of the landing party.  "Captain.  Sirs.  Investigator.  I am Lt. Voshen.  Ens. ch'Valk and I will be ferrying you to the Shival monastery shortly."

Nodding towards the pile of added provisions strapped under netting towards the aft of the shuttle, he remarked, "Speaking on fire.  'Thrice burned is twice warned', my people would say.  Becoming marooned once via shuttlecraft is more than enough times for myself, thank you."

Taking a seat at the helm, he began the final round of pre-flight checks, his long fingers dancing over the many switches and monitors.  "At last measure, the sandstorm surrounding our landing target is still in full force.  Cross-winds rated at...23 knots.  I will of course attempt to make our vector as smooth as possible.  But I would recommend the using of the safety restraints on your seating.  Time to landing should be...17 minutes.  Shorter, if things go wrong."  Looking back, Voshen's vocoder emitted a series of quick static pops that could be interpreted as laughter.

OOC: Passing the narrative mic to others, but as for off-screen action, Voshen would want to (time permitting) add desert provisions to any existing survival kits in the shuttle. Extra water, sun visors, etc.

He doesn't plan to crash, but he's been marooned once in a shuttle.  He doesn't plan to repeat the experience. 😅

"Oh, I don't know if I was that close to death.  But I certainly am content to remove myself from that chamber." Voshen approached, affixing his shoulder lapel.  His lanky frame loomed over the doctor, and he placed a long-fingered hand on his shoulder. 

"My thanks again to you, Doctor Dourap.  I leave my breath in your eminently capable hands, and not for the last time, I can imagine.  Mr. Chev and I will be removing to the shuttlebay to prepare for our sortie.  Were you to come along, I would return the favor of your gentle ministrations in short order.  It should be an...interesting ride."  His brow waggled playfully, and he regarded the Andorian ensign.

"Mr. Chev, I am Voshen and you may call me such, off of duties.  Shall we make for the shuttle?  On the way, I would be honored to hear your thoughts on the Zaranese language.  I rarely meet anyone with the breath control for it so far from home..."

"Acknowledged."  Voshen's thin voice rasped. 

A dull burn pitched in his throat.  Testing the ship's fluorine mix without the apparatus had been necessary to establish a baseline, and Dr. Dourap had assured him the procedure would be "painless enough".  The burning threatened to settle deeper into his lungs as he affixed his facemask, and took in a measured inhale.  The rebreathed air was sharp ice against the heat.  After a few more quiet breaths, the pain faded and was gone once again.

"Ah.  Home again, old friend," he said to himself, the sound of his vocoder now resonant in the isobaric chamber.  "My thanks, Nurse Kiunya.  You may inform the doctor of my continued survival."  He moved a hand to his brow in a jocular gesture, took another collecting breath, then turned to don the rest of his uniform.

[Born]

Born: Day 372910 of the Zaranite Reckoning, Earth year 2200

General Description: Medium-build, about 1.78 meters in height,  Continually wears a Zaranite rebreather with developed fluorine reservoirs and a facemask with eye protection.  Wears a standard uniform without Zaranite familial decoration.  Gregarious and inquistive, his vocoder is pitched slightly higher than standard in a bid to sound more approachable.

Background
Voshen is the third son of three siblings.  His mother and father are employed as geothermal scientists within the Scientific Corps.  Devout in their belief in the numerology underpinning Zaranite psychohistory, they settled their family on Argus V, a far-flung isolated colony, after conferring with the mystics on their homeworld.  Voshen's childhood was spent exploring the cliffs surrounding his colony and dreaming about the motion of the stars behind the ash clouds of the planet.  As he grew into adolescence, his itinerant stargazing would take him farther from his home, begging passage from the occasional resupply shuttles and sometimes even stowing away.  His application to Starfleet came as a foregone conclusion, his parents long since given up in curtailing their son's wanderlust and he having given up on their orthodox beliefs that choked him more than any rebreather he would need on Earth.

Life at the Academy was fascinating, full of thousands of new faces and species.  With a hunger, Voshen leapt into his studies and quickly gained a reputation as a gregarious cadet and skilled pilot, if not a bit of a daredevil.  After a junior prank had him buzzing the academy grounds in a commandeered shuttlepod, Voshen was nearly expelled.  His flight privileges revoked, he realized how devastated he would be had he been forced to return home again to Argus V Colony.  He redoubled his efforts into his studies, promising to only engage any further risk-taking in service to his crew.  Forced to change focuses to Navigation, Voshen found the more intellectual field to be a pleasant change, charting stars and courses reminding him of nights spent at home under the stars.

The academic reprimands stalled Voshen's career out of the gate, but he quickly made up for lost time.  He made himself invaluable on every ship he was assigned to, not only as an astronavigator but as a friendly face and a dependable presence, especially around the poker table.  A small hiccup occurred in 2284 when aboard the USS Hawking, non-corporeal lifeforms infected his rebreather, taking control of his mind and driving him to nearly breach the warp core.  The crew rescued the ship and him in the nick of time, and he left the event humbled and with a strange but useful understanding of high-energy particles and their motions.

His career was nearly brought to a permanent halt on the surface of Eta Indi VII.  While on a routine shuttlecraft maneuvers, his shuttle was struck by a rogue gravitic eddy and crash-landed on the Class K planet.  His rebreather non-operable after the crash, Voshen survived for 18 hours, long enough to repair a distress signal, but not before irreparable damage was done to his lungs and respiratory tracts.  On medical leave, Starfleet doctors were able to refine his rebreather to give the specific gas combination his body could absorb, but he would be tied to the rebreather forever.  Sinking into a deep depression, unable to even return to his home, Voshen eventually pulled himself out of his despair by concentrating on returning to duty.  Making peace with his new disability, Voshen uses it as a motivation to become the cornerstone of any crew he is on.  After all, for better or worse, the ship is his home now.

[VOSHEN]

VOSHEN
88 year old Zaranite male
Lieutenant, UFP Starfleet
Chief Navigator, U.S.S. Drake, NCC-2491
Command Department

Traits
Zaranite
Zaranites are hardy and immune to toxic gases, complications due to bright lighting, and can survive the extremes conditions of the vacuum of space, so long as their respirator tanks last. In general, Zaranites are pleasant if not somewhat reserved. In addition to their service in Starfleet, Zaranites also serve in various positions within the scientific community and diplomatic corps.

Necessary Rebreather
Whereas most Zaranites may remove their rebreather on their home planet or the confines of specialized quarters, an accident has left Voshen fully dependent on his rebreather at all times.  Without it, even his native fluoride gas would damage his respiratory organs inside of a few minutes.

Attributes
Control: 9
Daring: 9
Fitness: 9
Insight: 10
Presence: 9
Reason: 10

Disciplines
Command: 2
Conn: 4
Security: 2
Engineering: 3
Science: 3
Medicine: 2

Determination: 0
Stress: 9 / 11
Reputation: 10

Focuses
Astronavigation, Team Dynamics, Helm Operations, Gambling, Exotic Particles, Composure

Values
Exploration Over Tradition
My Actions Must Serve the Crew
A First Step Always Involves Risk
The Ship is My Only Home

Talents
Multispectrum Vision
Zaranites can see a broader spectrum of light than most humanoid species. Characters with this Talent gain a bonus Momentum on a Perception Task based on vision. This bonus Momentum may only be used on the Gain Information Momentum spend.

Dauntless
Whenever you attempt a Task to resist being intimidated or threatened, you may add a bonus d20 to your dice pool.

Collaboration: Conn
Whenever an ally attempts a Task using Conn, you may spend one Momentum (Immediate) to allow them to use your score for that Discipline, and one of your Focuses.

Technical Expertise
Whenever you attempt a Task assisted by the ship's Computers or Sensors, you may re-roll one d20 (which may be the ship's die).

Role
Chief Navigator
When the navigator is required to analyze, or repair technology related to flight or propulsion, they may use the Conn Discipline instead of Engineering.