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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Dec 10, 2015 17:56:41 GMT -5
Aria sat at her table in a oversized T-shirt some breakfast staples adorning a plate before her.
"Computer begin recording. Hey there." Aria said with a smile as she waved at her PADD.
"This one will be a little short. Trying to knock it out before Li finishes in the sonic shower. So its finally over. The war to end all wars... Hopefully at least. The end all wars part because it seems for sure this war is over and now im babbling." Aria took a deep breath and sipped at a glass of orange juice before continuing.
"So we made it with barely a scratch on Pilly's paint job. Eldax is a heck of a pilot. But before we get to that. I guess I need to get the background out of the way. See we have been on various missions as of late gathering strange technologies. Well actually for awhile now all the way to Jax's tenure as Captain. Apparently there was a plan for all those gizmos this whole time. Admiral Arax was using them to put together a super weapon with which to fight the iconians. One of these devices was a box that mentally manipulated people. Well our latest mission found sort of like a docking station for said boxes which ended up being a super computer composed of the stolen minds of the boxes victims. With more than a little reservation we handed over this computer of enslaved souls over to the admiral and he put it in his ship I guess the last component of the weapon and we hauled butt to Earth which was under Iconian attack. Apparently the people in the box monolith had some unfinished buisness with the Iconians and they where more then happy to help defend Earth. Pilly painted the targets and the Independence with its new gun tore through the Iconian dreadnoughts like a hot knife through butter." Aria furrowed her brow and paused before continuing.
"There was a cost though. See Li had been under one of the boxes influence when we first encountered one. When they used it the link re-emerged stronger than ever and it killed him. All I heard about this was a strange AI that came over to assist from where I don't know tell me that he was injured and headed to sick bay. In reality he was dead. At first I was mad when I found out she lied to me but now I think I understand why. I don't know how my performance would have been if I knew the truth at that moment. And with so much at stake the risks where to high to tell me the truth. Needless to say when I went to sick bay after the battle I was in for a surprise. I expected him to have fallen and sprained something instead I found Li dead on a bio bed. I. I... I've never hurt so much in my life. It was like we had just saved my homeworld, the federation, and potentially stopped the enslavement of hundreds of billions of sentient beings. But seeing Li like that. It was like my whole future all my hopes and dreams where gone. I mean I've never told him this because I don't want to scare him away by being too fast but... I think he's the one. I dream about some day marrying him and having some little Orijans or Borions whichever would be the proper term." Aria said a small smirk crossing her lips as her eyes watered as she thought about the event. "But when I saw him there I was all alone. Arin, Valkriss, and some crew members from a destroyed ship we rescued tried to comfort me but I. Well it was like someone knocked the wind out of me. And once it sunk in that he was gone then I panicked because I don't know his peoples customs regarding death. But then he came back to me. He say's the prophets felt responsible for his death so they brought him back. So now we have another chance to be together." Aria smiled and wiped her eyes.
"So now the war is over I don't know why the Iconians surrendered but they did. Earth is safe. Com systems planet side are still overwhelmed so I haven't gotten to talk to my family yet but im sure they are fine. ESD is heavily damaged, dry docks are overloaded too, and given how well we made it out of the battle im sure engineering will be tasked with helping getting disabled ships back up and running at least well enough to limp to the queue of the nearest dry dock. But it could be worse. I have Li, and since we have the sentinel crew on board he's um temporarily giving up his quarters so he's staying with me." Aria smirked mischievously, "Which im sure he doesn't mind in the least. And now that I have him back I plan on learning everything he can teach me about his culture and beliefs. Because they are important to him and because while I may not think the prophet entities are Gods, I am eternally grateful they brought Li back. Oh I think he's done with his shower. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Jan 9, 2016 21:17:12 GMT -5
Aria sat in the pilots chair of the old shuttle. Her feet kicked up on the console, dressed in a pair of jeans and ant shirt looking positively laid back.
"Computer begin recording log entry. So well that went better than I ever could have imagined. Li got along with my family great. I think my Dad was a little wary of him at first but that went away pretty fast. Li even went on a little fishing trip with my Dad and Brother. And while they had boy time me and my Mom had a heart to heart. It erased some doubts I had and well I've never felt closer to her." Aria stopped for a moment beaming happily. "Oh also we went to Machu Pichu it was amazing! Plus since the transporter network in the area was down we where the only ones there it was... Magical. I wish it was longer but you know what the humans say. Say la vi. Oh PS before I go. Li liked my parents puppy and said we should get a pet. That's a big commitment. I wonder if he really meant it. Of course we'd have to get it cleared first if he did but awww puppies and kitties are soooo cute. I guess we will see. Time to go don't want to wake him up. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Feb 28, 2016 19:44:16 GMT -5
Aria sat on the edge of her bed fiddling with her PADD and its recording settings. Happy with the cropped picture of herself only showing the collar of the oversized t-shirt she was wearing to bed up she smiled triumphantly.
"Computer begin log recording. Hello log I know it's been awhile. Things have been busy on the Pilgrim." Aria said as she waved her hand not holding the PADD in front of the screen.
"Anyways where to begin. Well first we made contact with a digital race called the Safran. It was neat it a bit of a disaster. See the Safran matrix is a huge computer. No one knows who built it. But it is the home of a digital race. Overseeing all of them was a non sentient program that managed everything. Oh before I go on we actually built like neural interfaces to actually sort of visit there home. Since our though process is probably alien to them they picked well the academy as like the backdrop since we all had experience there. Bad part was our uh I guess avatars would be the correct term where based not on our physical looks but I'm our subconscious or something..." Aria sighed and looked down slightly something clearly troubling her.
"So me having some uh well issues. I was tiny and in a year one academy uniform, and I looked kind of like a Orion human hybrid. That wasn't fun having my insecurities in plain view of my co workers especially my brand new subordinate Jill... It was pretty bad for a certain Klingon Friend of mine too. Anyways back to the Safran's. They have been working on a new overseer for generations. Sort of like mans obsession with creating artificial life forms that mimic them the Safran's sort of did the same. The new overseer was sentient. Well it went all totalitarian style after they brought it online taking over the Safran's and deleting ones it didn't care for then it came after us. We managed to reboot the old director but before we could contain the new one it broadcast itself somewhere we haven't figured out where yet. So yeah watch out for a rogue self absorbed AI." Aria paused for a moment and looked off screen as though listening for something.
"In the midst of this we had a new chief medical officer come on board. He just sort of like appeared it's still unexplained. None of the away team remembers him coming on board. It's from some mysterious anomalies. But for once instead of blab away stuff that's probably classified I will leave it at that. Related to that Li might have gotten me in a bit of trouble with the Captain with some major skipping in the chain of command he did but well he's too cute to stay mad at. Oh and I think Motoko might not like me. It seems like she likes to nitpick engineerings operations. Like her quip about not following regs on having someone monitoring intermix ratios to the Captain." Aria furrowed her brow clearly a bit agitated. I mean really? It's not the 23rd century where you have to rely on naturally formed dilithium crystals and constantly monitor them for catistrophic degradation that would lead to increased intermix ratios and a big kaboom. The systems are automated and have audible as well as pop up alarms on every terminal in engineering if it gets out of whack that's how it's been done for at least a century now, hopefully the Captain knows that and doesn't end up thinking we are all idiots in engineering and putting the ship at risk with some gross deriliction of duty." Aria sighed looking off screen again. "Of course I could be blowing it out of proportion too."
"Oh so I'm totally not looking forward to having a new Doctor no offense to our new Vulcan crew member. Just. Well I'm not fond of talking about certain Orion issues with people. A new Doctor means I have to do just that. So well I guess I'll practice with you. I doubt anyone actually watches this thing. It's just kind of fun to document what's going on and vent. So um if you are wondering why I keep looking over there." Aria said with a nod in the direction she previously seemed focused on. "Well that's where the door is. I'm listening if Li is done with his long lazy sonic shower session." Aria said with a smirk. "Anyways the big issue is pheromones. Which also much to Li's dismay why we don't ever share the sonic shower no matter how many times he asks. By the nature of how they work he would face increased exposure while its um cleaning and knocking um dirt off." Aria blushed and smirked as she spoke.
"So yeah um pheromones, lead theory is Orion's evolved them to well keep their mates in a competitive and resource scarce environment so their offspring would have a greater chance of survival over those lacking in that department. In a secondary way they also act as a bit of a self defense mechanism. Anyways in line with that all the time I'm releasing some of these pheromones that can well wreck havoc with other humanoids. Normally it's a pretty small amount that would take quite a bit of exposure for cumulative buildup to do anything. If I'm excited in um any meaning of the word that uh amount released uh goes up... And if I'm in um... Estrus well I just take sick days let's put it that way. So with that Orion physiology 101 out of the way you may be wondering how I manage my pheromones. Personally I use medicated body wash. It eliminates present pheromones and well neutralizes any that are produced for awhile. Kind of like how charcoal can be used to filter out odors. That's a well short lived solution so I bathe um a lot. I guess that also means I'm not suited to long away missions in the field but I'm a engineer not a anthropologist so whatever. Now the inevitable question why don't you just get your primary pheromone glands removed Aria? Uh because they also produce hormones so I would have to take medication for the rest of my life and besides that it would be me rejecting what I am completely for the sake of others. That's like asking a Vulcan to dock their ears so they fit in better with humans." Aria's tone belaying she's worked up by the subject. "Or the other option. Playing chemistry set with drugs that inhibit the production of pheromones at all. Yeah a bunch of drugs that are basically experimental and see such a small group of people using them that there is literally no real data on the long term side effects. I think I'll pass on that too. Ugh why does my biology have to be so awkward to talk about. Anyways I think Li's done. Have a good night. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Mar 6, 2016 18:23:54 GMT -5
Aria sat at her picturesque little table in her quarters the recent addition of a potted orchid at its center.
"Computer begin log entry." Aria said with a chipper tone and smile on her face.
"Li is having a extended dinner with Cal tonight then ping pong with Pratt I think so I'm enjoying some alone time before I call it a early night. Anyways today was awesome. We got to build a dimensional deflector. I'm not one hundred percent certain how it works. But it looks like it does work. So that should protect us as we explore the choral sea. Besides that Jill the new ensign I haven't mentioned much. Well she is turning out to be awesome." Aria paused and smiled as she reminisced about old times. "Engineering is great right now. It kind of reminds me of the old Jax, me, and Ral days. But hopefully the new dynamic trio doesn't get busted up by transfers or... Accidents. Poor Ral." Aria sighed as images of Ral's melted face ran through her head for a moment.
"Besides that well on the personal Aria news well the Doctor has um well proposed a new treatment for my pheromones. I well agreed to let him give it a shot. I'm not sure if it's going to be a pill or hypo I kind of forgot given how nerve racking I find the subject. But it's supposed to inhibit the formation of my pheromones to begin with. I'm a little worried about side effects but he said there shouldn't be any big ones. I remember how determined T was when she had a task I'm guessing the Doc has the same Vulcan fortitude. I remember he said something about contraceptive so maybe it will cut down or eliminate my estrus, or in 'heat' time too." Aria said using finger quotes with a look of disdain for the term. "I mean it would be nice not taking a few weeks of sick leave every year because... Yeah. Anyways I'm kind of excited. I mean if it works it's a lot less worry for me. Plus I'm sure Li would be happy too because we could be more spontaneous about um." Aria paused tapping her finger to her chin and looking up at the ceiling as she mulled over euphemisms. "Bonding time?" She shrugged and continued finding her choice of verbiage good enough. "No rushing to the shower sometimes before or always right after, and killing the mood to keep from potentially turning him into a lovesick puppy dog who would blindly do whatever I say." Aria smirked before continuing. "Sometimes I think se... Bonding time is Li's main cardio workout that lazy bones. I really need to wake him up early more often to go running with me...." Aria paused looking mortified for a moment. "Um of any of my family ends up watching this to like keep up with me I'm so sorry about the whole details on uh yeah I'll stop there. Um night! Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Apr 29, 2016 0:34:24 GMT -5
Aria smiled as she sat at her table in a oversized t-shirt with the lights turned low as she prepared her PADD.
"Computer begin log recording. So lots of stuff since last time. We have gone farther into the sea of choral storms than any starship in federation history and uncovered some strange phenomenon. Also we made first contact. See there was a race that tried to ascend from being beings like us with a physical body to ones of energy. It went wrong and lots of the craziness in the sea is probably a result of that. In fact it kind of left the people of that planet like ghosts. We even had to come up with weapons and containment units for the hostile ones. Speaking of which Jill definitely has a knack for weapons as well as computers. We where super lucky to get her."
"Anyways so we have managed to stabilize one friendly well ghost for lack of a better term in the holodeck. Who calls himself the pilgrim... Yeah kind of awkward given out ships name." Aria said with a smile. "So after fighting off and containing the hostile ghosts we made a run out of the sea since it seemed something was creating and manipulating a Ion storm to drive us deeper into the sea. Then after making it out we had a issue with what we think was a section 31 plot to take our ship and the pilgrim. We managed to escape with a bunch of their engineers they beamed over. Personally I don't think they where in on the plan. Also on a side note I wish the bridge would keep us better informed. I mean one minute I'm annoyed they didn't tell me to expect guests the next a bunch of security guys run in weapons drawn aiming at as far as I knew regular starfleet personnel same as me and mine. Hectic would be a understatement." Aria sighed and shook her head.
"On that same note we passed up a derilict federation ship on our way back to the solinai sphere. We didn't investigate because of lack of life signs and fear of ambush. Scuttlebutt is that the Brass wasn't too happy about that. So that's all the official buisness stuff that's gone on. Hopefully when we head back out we can help the Pilgrim finish I guess the ascension of his people."
"Now for Aria news. Well Li finally asked if we could like um apply for shared quarters instead of him constantly crash in mine." Aria slowly grined widely. "I mean I was starting to think he wasn't as serious about this as me since he hadn't asked. I guess I never thought about how scary it would be for him. Anyways I'm glad he asked I'm totally going to put in the paper work soon. Oh and I had a great dinner with Li, Valkriss, and Eldax tonight. Valkriss is really coming out of her shell now which is good. I think Eldax helps with that ally even when she's grumpy it doesn't scare him. She kind of reminds me of how shy and introverted I was when I came on board. Now Pilly is like my second family... And by that I mean the ships crew not the alien from the sea. Oh and girls night was a great success Val wants to have another, oh and she wants to throw me a slumber party." Aria giggled then covered her mouth and looked off screen as though to see if she was loud enough to wake someone. "Anyways we will probably get shore leave so we might have girls night somewhere on the sphere it should be awesome. Well that's all. Oh and random scuttle butt a certain security officer tells me that a certain ferengi might have a crush on someone in engineering that will be interesting to see play out of true. Oh well time for operation sneak back in bed without waking the cute little wrinkle nosed boy who's already asleep. Night!" Aria said in a chipper tone as she waved at the PADD.
"Computer end log recording."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on May 7, 2016 19:14:02 GMT -5
Aria sat stiffly in her favorite chair her small table covered in a sea of replicated flowers and get well soon cards. Dressed simply in her uniforms undershirt and regulation skirt.
"Computer begin log recording. So well I feel like an idiot. A sore idiot at that. So we finally got shore leave to go play on the sphere right? Well I ended up with a few broken ribs, Li sprained his ankle again, also Zem and Tronk got hurt too. Now I know you're thinking how did that happen. Well it's kind of a long story."
"So like everything started out normal right me and Li checked out some panels geeking out over the gear. Then I get the idea to go exploring so Li looks up unexplored areas that aren't restricted. Thinking you know it should be 100% safe just unexplored because of the sheer vastness of the sphere I mean the total habitable area is mind boggling. So anyways off we go. When we got to the edge of the mapped area we had some flashlights and tri orders beamed down you know to be prepared and off we went. It's was neat at first if a bit creepy I had flashbacks of when T'lea got shot on that one mission. Besides that it was nice to explore and spend alone time with Li. Eventually we ran into a woman and she attacked. It ended up being Ada. Remember her from the Safran Matrix? So then she attacked us. I think first like we where talking then she answered from the dark all creepy and charged us but it's kind of blurry now. Either way I threw part of my tricorder at her and it actually ripped off part of her face. Somewhere along the way I guess Ada found a cybernetic body to possess. At that point Li decided he was a cowboy and tried to ride the robot rodeo and jumped on her back. He told me to run and leave him. As if I'm going to leave him to get assimilated or whatever by a crazy AI so I looked for something to hit her with. I found a solid pipe and then before I could do anything blamo. She hit me really hard breaking some ribs and knocking the wind out of me." Aria visibly winced as she relived the event. "Luckily Val and Eldax arrived around then and shot the crazed robot to oblivion. Oh yeah guess I left the part about is calling for help at first sign of trouble out." Aria sighed.
"So yeah. I feel dumb we should have brought phasers. Plus Val is mad that we wandered off without stating exactly where we were going before hand. On a side note the Doctor's good at what he does I mean he set the bones and fixed most of the bruising pretty fast. I mean I'll probably be on light duty but still back to work tomorrow. Funny thing about me being in sick bay is lots of people brought me stuff and came and checked in on me. Li is kind of jealous about it. Something about most of my well wishers being male." Aria rolled her eyes and waved it off. "Like they are interested in me or something. Truth is people on Pilly are just nice." With that Aria was cut off by her door chime. "Huh I wasn't expecting anyone. Li must have his hands full so he hit the button. Enter."
Two security personnel walk in the smaller one holding a card the more imposing of the two a bouquet of replicated flowers.
"Oh uh hi." Aria greeted the two with a smile, wincing slightly as she rose to her feet to greet them. "Sorry I uh wasn't expecting company." She stammered slightly.
"No probs Chief, just wanted to make sure you're ok and stuff." The taller of the two said confidently as he held out the flowers for her.
"Yeah what he said." The smaller of the two added with far less confidence.
"You can just call me Aria I mean I'm off duty and we like to keep it casual anyways in engineering to promote the free flow of ideas and such."
"Sweet, uh well Aria I'm Biff, the ensigns David." Biff added with a smirk flexing slightly after Aria accepted the flowers, his eyes obviously wandering up and down her form as she was busy examining the flowers.
"What the crewman forgot to add was that it's from the whole gama squad security crew. Not just us." David put special emphasis on the word crewman while shooting a dirty look at his cohort.
"So uh how bads the bruise you must have some crazy colors going on huh?" Biff replied blowing off his partners gaze.
"Oh it's not too bad. I mean the doc got to it pretty fast so it's only a bit of deep bruising."
"Mind showing us I mean we've both seen melee combat injuries. I can totally tell you how bad it looks" Biff added, as David give him a incredulous look.
"Really? To be honest I haven't even looked myself yet." With that Aria pulled up her shirt on the affected side making sure she stopped before reaching her bra. Biff barely supressed a shit eating grin as he checked her out then shot a look what I did look at his cohort. "Wow that's kinda gross looking." Aria added looking at her bruise before lowering her shirt once more and looking at Biff waiting for his opinion.
"Not bad at all Aria. Um if you need help like doing stretches or anything after the Doc clears you I'd be happy to help you one on one." Biff added his smirk seeming permanent by now.
"Well uh we should really be going. Good to see you're in one piece Chief... I mean Aria." The ensign stammered before beginning to hurry the crewman and himself out.
"Uh thanks." Aria added with a confused look on her face. "Why would I need help stretching to recover from broken ribs?" Aria added to herself after the two had departed. She shrugged it off then looked at the PADD which had been recording the whole time. "See what I mean they where just being nice that's it everyones just really nice on pilly." Aria added with a smile. "I think Li is just grumpy because the Doctor said we can't um well do his favorite activity for awhile until I heal up more. Anyways I don't have anything more to add plus I'm sure Li will be over soon with more of his clothes. Night. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on May 25, 2016 20:54:02 GMT -5
"Computer begin log entry." Aria said in a hushed tone. The lights where turned low, Aria was dressed in full uniform sitting at her table.
"So sorry for the lights and being quiet but I don't want to wake up Li. So nothing ground breaking since last entry. I had command of an away team for the first time. It went pretty smooth fixing a satellite that was park of the tachyon cloak detection system for the sphere. It was neat seeing so many different species tech in one platform. Anyways it wasn't a regular maintenance trip it had its internal controls crudely destroyed. But it's working now the brass will have to work out a better way to defend them. Li and Jill did a awesome job, I'm lucky to have such great engineers under me. Let's see besides that girls night went really well. Even Klingons can't resist cookies and milk." Aria chuckled.
"Oh and if you are wondering why I'm being so quiet and the lights are down low. Well the Captain assigned me to take the big seat during gama shift. It's pretty cool getting a feel for what it's like to be a starship Captain. It's pretty tiring though. I thought it would be like a one time thing but the Captain assigned me to a whole week of it today. I'm not sure if it's just because we are short since Commander Donovan left or if its like a test but either way I'm going to do my best. Li is a bit upset since it means well our after shift time is cut pretty short. I basically get off work eat then hit the sack as fast as possible. I know it's less than ideal but it should only be a week. I'll make it up to him when it's over and spend as much time with him as possible. Well that's all for now, plus I need to get to the bridge. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Jul 24, 2016 20:30:25 GMT -5
Aria stood alone in what looked like a supply closet full of various tools and gear fiddling with a lcars screen on the wall.
"There we go. Computer begin log entry. So I'm like doing some inventory checking toolkits and ev suits after shift today. Figured I'd double task." Aria paused, "So guess what. I got promoted I guess The chief engineer thing is permanent after all. I'm a Lieutenant Commander now! I should really learn to not doubt myself so much. Li and Jill are going to throw a party for me and all the other recently promoted pilgrim crew. Between that and the interdepartmental competition idea I guess you could say engineering also excels at social engineering." Aria snorted dorkily at her own joke as she tried to keep from laughing. "So um yeah sorry about that. Anyways I'm so glad I ended up assigned here. It definitely turned around my career and I've never felt more at home and accepted here than well with my family. Well that's all for now time to get back to work. Oh and Val's idea to just contact Li's family worked and the dinner went well too he loved it. But time to go latter all. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Aug 15, 2016 11:32:05 GMT -5
Aria stood in a isolated and vacant section of the second floor of main engineering poking away at LCAR display.
"Computer begin recording. Classify this recording to appropriate levels concerning the Asada incident. So I doubt many will ever see this log. But I just need to get some things off my chest about recent events. See Commander Asada well he has some weird condition that can cause his eyes to go silver and he then manifests telekinetic abilities. Apparently it has happened to others before in starfleet although it's rare it has always resulted in casualties. So after this happened there was a meeting about what to do. I thought Val was totally over the top with her recommendation that he be um executed. But understanding her past exposure to this sort of thing and what happened... I understand where she was coming from." Aria paused and shuttered thinking about the event for a moment before returning to beep booping and monologing.
"So the result of the meeting was the Commander was quarantined in sick bay to monitor him in a attempt to keep him from being dangerous. That failed. Somehow he got out and made his way to engineering. Once there he called for Li when I went to investigate he walked right up next to me then past me. It was obvious his transformation kept going in quarantine. He had sickly black veins visible in various places as well as the eyes. He looked like some sort of monster. Then he began acting like one. He grabbed Li by the throat and started choking him, while demanding a shuttle so he could escape. I tried talking with him you know a diplomatic route. That utterly failed he. He. It's like he didn't even see us as more than beasts of burden to use to achieve his goal. You could just tell we were infinitely expendable in his eyes. I felt so hopeless. Then it got worse he literally punched his fist into Li's abdomen as in he could have grabbed some intestines in there if he wanted too. Out of desperation I tried to jump on his back. If I had a phased I would have cranked it to max and depleted the energy cell unloading on him he was just sooo... Barberous. I mean such feelings just typically are not something I experience." Aria sighed, "That's the last I remember before the Doc treated me. Apparently he threw me headfirst into a structural pylon. I guess I'm lucky I just got a concussion and a deep cut and not my head totally caved in. Apparently he kept torturing poor Li after that even though Li couldn't give him what he wanted. I'm not 100% sure what happened but somehow security scared the Commander to the shuttle bay. There he skinned the poor guy on duty and wore his skin like a suit... Yeah like I said utterly barbaric and monstrous. I can't imagine trying to write the letter to the poor guys family. Some how well they killed him. And that brings me to something that's knawing at me. I don't feel bad about them killing Asada. I mean I should, whatever made him like that obviously affected his mind too. But after seeing what he did to Li, how cold calculating and cruel he was. Well it makes me glad he's dead. It scares me that I feel that way. Like I'm some sort of stereotypical Orion syndicate boss who gets off on violence against those who've wronged me or something. That scares me almost as much as the Commander did. Anyways they have his body in a stasis pod now. I wish he had been put in one instead of quarantine then maybe this wouldn't have happened. No one would be dead or injured, Mr. Asada's mate wouldn't be suffering either, poor guy." Aria sighed once more and shook her head."
"Anyways that's the end of that. Everything after this point is unclassified and should be publicly accessible computer. So in lighter news. We are going to Bajor on a mission. Li put in for leave for us both but it was denied and the ship is headed there on official buisness so that works out. Speaking of which for a guy who was engaged once Li is so not good at the whole romance and women thing. I mean it's obvious his Mom doesn't like me. So how does he comfort me? By telling me they will have to accept me because I'm his mate. How romantic right. Basically yeah they hate you Aria but if you are there and I rub their noses in it well then they will what accept it but resent me? I just don't know I'm worried. I love him but I don't want us to drive a wedge between him and his family. I guess all I can do is hope for the best. I'll let you know how it turns out. Until then I have to finish these pop quizzes I'm working on for the other shifts to keep em on their toes. So bye for now. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Oct 13, 2016 5:57:58 GMT -5
Aria was slunk down low in a large luxurious bathtub, only her head, and arms poking out above a sea of bubbles. Her relaxed demeanor tensed for a bit as she made sure the padd wouldn't get a shot of anything inappropriate as she made her log entry, when happy with the shot her eyes closed and she slunk back down in the water some more her eyes closing as she let out a sigh of contentment.
"Computer begin log. So um its been awhile. Lots of stuff happened since my last entry. Li and Jill got in a bit of trouble and I had to assign punishment. But I think I chose well. I mean its punishment sure but making them work a extra shift where they are in charge of engineering is also good for the leadership skills. Kind of reminds me when I was Captain on Delta shift for a prolonged time after Commander Donovan left. Sure it made me tired but I learned a lot. Anyways I don't want to harp on that except that I realize I still need to work on some issues I guess. I mean I thought I was over my um abandonment issues but like a idiot I was actually worried that there was something between Jill and Li for a bit." Aria sighed, chuckled and shook her head before continuing. "Yeah well besides that. Um well we stumbled across what looks like a section 31 or wanna be section 31 techno biological weapons test they killed most of the population of an entire colony and a few star ships in the process. But we managed to make a cure to save those who were left and give starfleet the information it needs to track down those responsible. It was crazy Val even went down the planet knowing she would get infected to help those people. I'm just glad it worked out all right. Engineering really came through as well. I think some of our solutions may become the standard for hazardous away teams, I couldn't be more proud of how well my people did." Aria paused smiling happily.
"Oh and if you are wondering what im doing here. Well Pily is undergoing maintenance. She needed it alot of our systems are one of a kind or add ons while we were already underway. Well that plays hell with the EPS conduits, running new ones adding on new junctions. You kind of have to just get it working if you are adding stuff on without powering down most of the ship. Well since when you are underway you cant just say hey Captain I need everyone on decks 5 through 8 to stop breathing today and decks 9 and 10 to stop tomorrow you just do the best you can. The long term consequence is a lot of maintenance. So much so it stopped us from using our slipstream drive for a bit because of built up plasma scoring. Anyways I put in a request for the dry dock to look over our eps conduits related to the BRC and chronoton deflector and see if they can pull out our jerry rigged ones and install purpose built ones. That should handle the flow a lot better and mean that Li wont have to spend half his shift in deflector control every day. Enough shop talk. While Pily is undergoing that overhaul though some of us have been assigned to the USS Ark Royal. She's a old sovereign class but they have kept her state of the art with refits. She is absolutely huge. We are supposed to advise the crew about the Observers but.... Well they seem to be a bit full of themselves and not want our help. Some of them don't seem to interested to um work closely with anyone. Like our liaison, in the mess hall she said something about how friends are a liability because you open yourself up to them hurting you. I mean wow that's cynical my own Mother sold me to be raised as a sex slave and even im not that distrustful of people. I guess we will see how it goes. In the mean time im going to enjoy their wonderful guest quarters with real water extra large bathtub and shower. It even has jets! Hopefully Li isnt too fast with the rest of his dinner and walk to check out their holo decks I don't want to get out until im forced to because ive turned into a giant prune." Aria chuckled. "Computer end log entry."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Nov 19, 2016 4:17:53 GMT -5
Aria sat alone in a Jeffries tube somewhere all alone with only the soft murmur of the ships inards to keep her company.
"Computer begin log recording. Restrict access to personal only. Change the status to public record upon the end of my starfleet career whenever that is." Aria waited for her PADD to beep acknowledging the command before continuing.
"I don't know what it is but as of late I've been feeling a bit blue... As in the human phrase for depressed, not like I'm feeling like a bolian or a andorian or whatever. Though I mean without context of it being a pre first contact expression I guess it would be confusing if you didn't know humans because bolians tend to be sociable and talkative and happy, or if it referenced andorians I guess kind of arrogant and aggressive." Aria paused and shook her head.
"Sorry back on topic since that had nothing to do with anything. Lately I've just felt. Well expendable really. I mean sure I have the chief engineer administrative stuff down pat, but well my top officers are so good I rarely do more than point them at a problem and they make it go away. Maybe it's a bit of a ego thing but sometimes it makes me miss the old days when it felt like I really made a difference. But it's more than that. Back then I had anonimity. I was just a ensign if I needed a break or my demons got the best of me I could sneak off for a moment to regain my composure. Now I have so many eyes on me all the time and I have to be an example. I can't really let myself break down in front of them and I mean I'm pretty good at the whole smile and pretend to be the happy Orion even when all I want to do is cry and ghosts from my past make me doubt myself sometimes, I mean I've been doing that pretty much as far back as I can remember. But at least in the past I could vent sometimes. Now. Ugh!" Aria grunted forcefully.
"Now I really can't. I mean I rarely give myself details where I'm alone because I don't want to stifle Li or Jill's professional growth. And I can't let Li know everything, because how would he relate? Not only that I'm his Boss as well he might question my orders at a critical moment if he knew this Ada business scares me as much as him. Or he might just lose interest if he knew how much of a wreck I am sometimes. Honestly im surprised the nightmares haven't already. I don't even have counselor Sorin to talk to anymore even though that might be a good thing too because how could my people trust me if I still had regularly scheduled sessions with her? I bet I wasn't even ever even considered for Asada's seat when he left. The Captain probably saw right through my facade and knows what I really am. Just a scared little girl who was worth more to her Mother as a pay day than a daughter who grew up to be a timid engineer with an inferiority complex, abandonment issues, and is good at acting brave on occasion." Aria blinked rapidly and wiped her eyes trying to avoid full on crying. After a few deep breaths she regained composure.
"I'm happy for Val. I'm glad she got the job she deserved it and was the best canidate." Aria took another deep breath and slid back into her well practiced smiling facade. "Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Jan 7, 2017 3:23:45 GMT -5
Aria woke up in her bad perched precariously at the edge as far away from the bajoran sharing her bed. She sighed gently as she peeled his one outstretched hand that had the audacity to touch her from her being before stealthily sliding out of the bed grabbing a PADD and heading for the living room. There Aria flopped down on the piece of furniture that was a large padded combination of human couch and Orion day bed. Her eyes lacked their usual sparkle and her characteristic bubbly smile was also missing, while her night time attire had expanded from simply an oversized t shirt to include a pair of running shorts. In her sleep deprived state Aria fumbled with the PADD for a long while trying to frame a shot she found acceptable.
"Computer begin private log entry. So today... Well it sucked. It started off with my biggest concern being some reports I've been working on that I plan on submitting to starfleet engineering. One beingthe further work I've done on the cluster medic torpedos, as well as one outlining the holo camouflage that was Eldax's idea. I have some plans to upgrade the rushed implimentation we have now with a much improved system but first I want JAG to look it over and make sure that wouldn't violate any treaties before I propose any upgrades to the Captain. So yeah nothing hard but paperwork. But like many days in starfleet nothing went according to plan. But I guess I should start at the beginning. One second." Aria slinked out of the PADD's camera for a few moments before returning a few moments latter with a pillow, blanket, and a small stuffed dog.
"Ok so where was I?" Aria asked rhetorically as she made herself comfy in her makeshift bed, holding the stuffed dog tightly to her chest as she lay barely visible to the camera curled up with the blanket over much of her. "Oh yeah so instead of that we were sent to investigate an anomaly. So weird anomaly. Sentient humanoids well inside the anomaly it affects their brain so they are compelled to speak the truth. Ended up being a byproduct of a silicon based lifeform that lived on the systems star. Now for the part that made the day sooo horrible. See Jill was the first person we noticed exhibiting symptoms. You know Jill the pretty, young super genius that makes me feel totally inadequate and who I was worried Li was interested in after their whole bluegrass thing? Yeah so I send her to sickbay and then Li just starts gushing about how he hopes she will be ok because he cares about her so much. That's about the point I wanted to curl up into a sobbing ball and die. I mean how great is that your fiancé ends up biologically being compelled to tell the truth and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is how much he cares for another woman who you had suspicions about his attraction to previously and after much consternation and soul searching banished those thoughts from your head. Oh and does this happen someplace kind of private? Oh no that just wouldn't be completely soul crushing enough would it? No it happens in the middle of a shift in front of everyone. So by next shift word will probably have spread across the ship. I just can't wait to hear the giggling and wandering gazes as everyone spreads gossip about it when they see me. It will be just like high school all over again and you know how much I loved that." Aria added sarcastically her tone getting louder and angrier before she paused for a moment to take a few calming breaths and to wipe the forming tears from her eyes.
"I don't even know what to do. I mean I've spent so long trying to banish the thought I've had as far back as I can remember that there's something wrong with me that I'm unloveable, that that's why my biological Mother sold me, that that's why my adopted parents sent me to boarding school, that that's why I was the butt of all those horrible rumors in high school, that that's why my first assignment on DS9 was a disaster, that that's why I haven't had anyone persue a relationship before Li who didn't just want sex. Do you know how many countless hours I've spent with counselors? Hell I couldn't even tell them everything because I didn't want them to know how broken I was. And now. Now I'm wondering if maybe I was right all along. What if Li doesn't love me? What if he just likes the sex and thinks pretending to be interested in his supervisor is a good career move?" Aria paused for a moment taking another deep breath and running her fingers through her hair as she forcible held her eyes closed momentarily fighting to hold back a flood of tears.
"You know what Jill said that started this whole thing would make more sense too if he's cheating on me with her. I brought up girls night and she said she would need extra anti anxiety medication for that. At first I thought deadpan humor. But since she was being utterly truthful let's examine that. A she gets worried about social situations. B she hates me and doesn't want to spend time with me but is trying to be polite, or C it's really awkward to spend time with someone when you and their significant other are doing stuff behind her back. Of those options I think A is pretty unlikely because well Jill is amazing at everything she does." Aria buried her face in her hands and began to sob. "Li didn't even try to clarify what he said until he got an antidote that speaks volumes doesn't it?.. I don't know what to do. I love him, and this hurts. Does he actually love me? Are they having an affair? Should I end the engagement and our relationship? Why can't I just be happy?.. The worst part is I have to slap on the Classic happy go lucky Orion smile tomorrow act like none of this bothers me at all and be professional... I don't want to talk anymore. Computer end log. Also computer make sure my alarm is set early I don't really want to see Li until I have to on shift."
With that Aria curled up into a ball on the larger Orion inspired section of the furniture clutched the plush dog to her chest and fell asleep with tears still streaming from her eyes.
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Jan 17, 2017 20:07:16 GMT -5
Aria smiled happily sitting on the edge of her bed fiddling with a PADD.
"Computer begin log entry. So besides all the bad things lately we have been assigned to something awesome. So like we are assigned to go check out the planet that Voyager had a run in with during her trip. Specifically the one with the tacyon core where time travels much faster on its surface. Super awesome im sooo excited. Weird part is most of the rest of the crew doesnt from our meeting on the subject. I mean you had the Captain state she hoped the inhabitants where all dead so it would be a quick mission thats just.... Wow I wonder if there is something wrong with her or if that was a attempt at vulcan humor. Then you have most of the rest of the crew saying well that civilzation will be dead whats the point they will have used up their resources. I just dont get it. Why would their resources be used up? Conservation of energy and matter tell us that they cant create or destroy anything just change its form. For example my counter argument was recycling. Lets say they mined up every last ounce of iron on the planet and let it rust away or something. Which is super unlikely but I'll continue. That doesnt mean the iron is all gone its just been converted to ferrous oxide it has just undergone a chemical reaction and through manufacturing processes could be used again. Its sort of like saying humanity should have never developed because dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years before them drank all the fresh water. Its just not true. Now certain things could be difficult like fossil fuels but civilizations tend to come up with alternatives before that runs out. Plus given they devloped antimatter weaponry and could modify space time flux before voyager departed its safe to say they were beyong the point of having to worry about using up fossile fuels or fissile materials. Now here is the point I didn't bring up really during the briefing that has me super excited. When starfleet first went looking for this planet they couldn't find it. It had moved. TO me that says oh my gosh this civilization survived and kept advancing for a long long while. They had to progress to a point where they could move their entire planet. See if the planet was just naturally moving at normal planetary speeds that would keep it from breaking up lets say on the extreme end like mercury 170 thousand kilometers per hour. Sounds fast right well C aka the speed of light is 1080 million kilometers per hour. Now to geutimate how long it has been from that planets perspective I used thirty years as the date since voyager left which gave me 2.5 milion years or so for them but lets use that for how far this planet could have moved at a naturalish speed in that time. That would be if my raid math is correct." Aria tapped rapidly on the PADD. "446,760,000,000,000 kilometers. A lightyear is around 9 trillion kilometers... Yeah so a erratic orbit like they said wouldn't explain it unless the survey crew was incompitent its not that far for sensors to pick up. Plus for the erratic orbit thing to make sense the planet would have to spend centuries in the goldilock part of the stars orbit to equal the hundreds of millions of years for the planet to develop sentient life in the first place. Traveling that fast thats unlikely. Even at the speed of comets in the time periods involved for a fast one you are talking a few light years traversed at most it should have still been a easy find. Plus for a planet to start booking like that thats not natural. I think the inhabitants of the planet progressed far enough to be able to move the whole shebang like a huge spaceship which would be amazing! Maybe they were tryng to get to relativistic speeds to experience time similar to the rest of us who knows. But I sure am excited to find out. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Jan 25, 2017 15:46:20 GMT -5
Aria struggled to set up the PADD as she began jogging on a treadmill in a otherwise unoccupied gym. Once happy with the result and into her stride she spoke.
"Computer begin log recording. So yesterday was different. I died, the Pilgrim was severely damaged, and we triggered a temporal cascade that undid both of those as well as restored Amankara's homeworld, and wiped the choral sea from existence. It was yeah... Um intense." Aria paused for a few moments just the sound of the treadmill and the constant thuds of her feet impacting upon it until she decided were to begin.
"So I know you are wondering how we got to such a strange situation. Well we had received word that the observers were after the piece of technology Amankara's people used in their failed attempt to ascend to a higher plain of existence. So we were ordered to pick up Amankara from a starbase and to go stop them as Pilgrim is uniquely equipped to enter the choral sea. Why? Well because the observers becoming Q like beings isn't a option after all their shenanigans, and because if it failed like their last attempt they could destroy whole sectors of space in the attempt. So we got our old friend and slip streamed off to stop the bad guys. Once we got there that's when things started to go wrong. We ran into a huge energy wave as we made our way to the center of the choral sea and it hit us hard. It literally ripped a nacelle off and jammed one of the antimatter injector valves in the open location. Besides that it broke the cores ejection systems and all automated controls for the now stuck valve. I uh had to choose someone to go close it... And if you know about that procedure you know its a one way trip." Aria paused for a few moments from the look on her face it was obvious she was reliving the ordeal in her mind.
"So I went to go close the valve, assigned Jill to take care of taking care of the leaking warp plasma from the severed nacelle, and I put Li in charge of the damage control teams. If you are wondering why I went to close the valve or think its inappropriate for the chief engineer to sacrifice herself in such a situation let me explain my reasoning. The antimatter core going critical was the most immediate threat to the ship. If it wasn't dealt with in a mere matter of minutes then the ship and everyone on it would be dead. Given how time sensitive a issue it was you send your most experienced engineer to fix it since if there are additional complications there is no time for someone to crawl back out and ask for help. Yeah I said crawl back out and ask for help not use their com badge. The radiation in those circumstances is so severe that any coms attempts would be mostly static. Also that radiation means that anyone getting close enough to work on the issue is not coming back alive so if I sent someone else and there was an additional problem even if we had time to send another which we didn't you have now lost two engineers when every one of them left will be crucial to keeping the ship alive. So when all of that ran through my head I chose myself to make the sacrifice. So to anyone who thinks it was because I couldn't bring myself to sacrifice someone else that wasn't why I made the choice I did. So after I made my choice I gave Jill and Li their assignments, told Li I loved him and went to work." Aria paused once more her face going blank and her gaze looked as though she was staring at something far away.
"They tell you radiation is so deadly because you can't see, hear, smell, or feel it. It's just there and you can be exposed to deadly amounts without realizing it only to face the slow lingering painful after effects latter. Well I guess that is only true in doses that wont kill you in a matter of minutes... It hurt. I felt it. I could feel and see lesions opening op on my skin. When I grabbed the valve I could feel it searing into my flesh and right before the end I could feel fluid building up in my lungs. Im guessing blood from the delicate structures within popping and exploding as I was irradiated. I remember flashes in my vision from radiation striking my cornea. Sort of like the ones early astronauts described but instead on every once in awhile like in their case near constant flashes. Then when I finished my job I just. It was all over. Apparently I passed out and died shortly after I finished my job and was beamed to sickbay. Honestly they probably should have just left my body there. That much radiation there isn't anything you could do and they risked irradiating sick bay by beaming me there. But besides all that my experience has left me with questions. I remember feeling at peace and their being no pain. I don't remember any out of body experience or lights or celestial temples. Is there an afterlife? Was I just not dead long enough to experience more? Did some higher power know I would be restored to life soon so refused to show itself? Do Orions not go to the afterlife?" Aria paused looking troubled. "Anyways yeah, nothing spectacular to report from my time being dead, I wish there was so I could have rock solid faith like Li." Aria smiled for a moment then shook her head getting back to the story.
"So my faith in Li and Jill wasn't misplaced. They kept the ship cobbled together long enough for Pilgrim to take a pot shot at the ascension cube device. That destroyed the device apparently in all of its permutations throughout history as well as the observers ship it seems. So since the device no longer ever existed it never created the choral sea it never destroyed Amankara's home world, Pilgrim was never damaged, I never died. It was a unique phenomena for sure I mean the fact that we even remember these events is amazing. I wonder if the observers survived and are lurking somewhere else now. I also wonder if Amankara had knowledge of everything and maybe sabotaged the project when he was returned to his place in time which kept everything from becoming a repeating loop. I hope if he did then he managed to live the peaceful life he deserved after being cursed for so long with knowing he destroyed his people." Aria smiled happily at that thought.
"Oh so non mission or official related stuff. I think Li and I have gotten over most of our issues. Also after the mission a bunch of us had celebratory drinks and food together. It was fun also I got to talk to Ilya some. I have been kind of apprehensive about her so far because I thought she didn't like me. She just says things sometimes that are um... Abrasive would be the nice term. But talking to her more I realize that's just kind of how she is. We even talked about spending some time in the holodeck together. Also I'm glad to see Val and her are happy together. Also I am so glad that Bajorans don't do the face biting thing like Klingons because then Li would just be out of luck. Nope I am not letting someone bite me. Well that's all. While the talking might be good extra cardio work on top of the running, im going to turn you off now so I can pick up the pace instead. Computer end log."
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Post by Lt Cmdr Aria Xalot on Feb 8, 2017 0:30:15 GMT -5
Aria stood in unfamiliar temporary quarters on the station they were visiting pacing back and fourth in front of a console.
"Computer begin log recording. So the seminars went well but yeah the trip over here not so much. So before we set out when we had some free time so me and Li spent some time at the bar before I had to go check out our new shuttle that we were making our trip here for the seminars in. So I do my thing and as im finishing the Captain and everyone piles in. She asks me if we are ready I say yes then I get to one of the last check points weapons. Bam instant problem." Aria sighed and looked a bit angry.
"So then I have to look like an idiot in front of the Captain because an Admiral decided to lock out some systems and send me a message informing me of such at the last minute so I didn't catch it. So now the Captain probably thinks im an idiot for clearing a ship that's not even 100% operational for the entire command staff to use... Who's even heard of anything so crazy. I mean really lock out systems because oooh they are classified. Hello we are going to use it how would said systems benefit us if we cant turn them on. Beyond that are they going to make us take it back in for maintenance? I mean I'm the chief engineer give me awhile and I will have been over and intimately familiar with every single subsystem on board that thing. It made me so mad I almost lost in front of everyone. I mean I try so hard look professional at all times. I know the stereotypes that orions have. Besides the whole sex crazy thing, there are the ones that we are lazy and always out to do the bare minimum and scheme and stuff like that. I don't do any of that. Yet now I look like a lazy idiot who half as.... um didn't perform a complete pre flight check on a new vehicle like I was ordered because of some asinine lock down by an Admiral." Aria sighed and shook her head.
"Besides that I guess everything is ok. The vacation is nice. I might try to see if we can sneak in girls night on the station before we head out. Maybe in a holodeck then we would have more room than me and Li's quarters. I mean we have really expanded membership lately." Aria smiled and laughed.
"Well that's all for now. Hopefully the Captain doesn't think too much less of me after this. Bye. Computer end log."
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