Posted by Cadet Satyol Kastyi (Scientist) in “Science Dept - Cadet Satyol Reporting to Department Head”
The transporter beam’s glittering nimbus dissipated, revealing a dark grey furred Caitian, with close-cut upswept mane atop his head. Teal eyes flicked and adjusted to the light in the transporter room, dimmer than the academy transport site. He was fairly tall, a full two meters, and he carried the weight of his backpack and shipsbag with every sign of ease and comfort.

Stepping off the pad, he stood to attention before the transporter crew.

“Cadet Satyol, reporting aboard. I have orders to meet the Science Department Head upon arrival, might I request directions?”

The directions that followed were similar to those in academy drills, yet the Caitian still found himself falling back on the notes he’d punched into his PaDD to keep track. Decks and frames and sections could all blur together quickly, and he wanted to make a good impression. He would be on time, he would be neatly turned out, and he wouldn’t-

His train of thought was interrupted as he had to sidestep two burly sorts, security possibly, jogging through the corridors in PT gear.

He wouldn’t get run over before even reporting in, he decided.

Still, here it was, the last turn. He walked up to the office door, took a breath, and stepped inside once he’d verified the light said entry was permitted.

“Cadet Satyol Kastyi, reporting to Department as ordered, for training cruise.”

He stood to attention, shipsbag duffel hanging from his left hand, backpack neat and aligned, blue-trimmed uniform all perfect angles. He was here. He was going to make it.

The main science lab of the Challenger was starkly different than the rest of deck one. Whereas the bridge, observation lounge, and captain’s ready room were kept neat and tidy, Garth’s workspace was a scrapyard of miscellaneous metal parts, half-constructed analysis equipment, and seemingly unattended bubbling test tubes and beakers. Walking through the space would require some careful maneuvering as to not knock anything from their precarious perches at the edges of the long, low tables that lined the room.

Garth himself was sitting hunched over a PaDD at his desk in the corner. As the cadet entered, he snapped his head around to look over his shoulder, revealing the furrowed brow of an aging tellarite man. Garth’s beady eyes stared at Satyol down his swine-like snout.

“You’re just in time,” Garth said with no introduction, “listen to this.” He looked up at the ceiling of the lab. “Computer, execute Lieutenant Garth personal protocol C-1076.”

From overhead, the computer’s much more soothing voice responded, “Activating ‘Appropriate Cadet Greeting’ program.”

From the same speaker as the computer’s voice had come, Garth’s baritone rumbling emerged. “Greetings, cadet. Congratulations, you have arrived on the Challenger for your cadet cruise prior to graduating from Starfleet Academy.” His voice was deadpan and unnatural, having obviously read off of a script for this recording. Garth himself sat with his arms crossed and head tilted, listening as his past-self continued.

“The Challenger is a Discovery-class vessel outfitted with a plethora of specialized labs, including areas designated for the study of astrometrics, geophysics, stellar cartography, biochemisty, bioscience, genetics, microbiology, and botany. The lab you are currently standing in is my lab, do not touch anything unless instructed.” Garth pointed up at the ceiling to emphasize that point from his disembodied voice.

“As a member of the Challenger’s crew, you will be expected to perform the duties of a standard Starfleet officer. This includes assisting with ship-wide crises, collaborating with an interdisciplinary team including medical, engineering, and security officers, and contributing to the mission of the Challenger as stated by its captain.”

An audible sigh echoed from the recording. “And this is the part where I remind myself to ask cadets what they want their personal project to be.”

Garth snapped his attention back to the cadet in front of him. “So? Thoughts?” His small eyes narrowed further.

(Lt. Garth, CSO)

OOC: Welcome, Will! My name is Ben and I am your IC (in character) and OOC (out of character) mentor for your time in the Academy! Great first posts, you’re picking up our style naturally and I can tell already that you’ll be a great addition to our club! There are certain ways that STF does things that I’ll tell you about in this intro thread, but some stuff you just learn with experience. So please ask any and all questions you have on here or Discord! I have been with the club for a little over a year now, but I remember what it was like to be in your shoes and it can be a little bit disorienting at first, to be honest.

I would like to make you aware of two important resources. The first is the STF Player’s Handbook: (https://www.star-fleet.com/library/bookshelf/handbook/index.html). This will be a great way to orient yourself to some of the abbreviations we use on the site, as well as some great suggestions for how to play your character. Additionally, there is a lot of information in there about how the club works. Secondly, the Academy Syllabus: (https://www.star-fleet.com/acad/syllabus/). This page lists some of the goals we have for skills you should gain before “graduating” from the academy. The process of graduation usually takes about three months, which may seem like a long time, but at least when I left the academy I immediately missed it and wanted to come back as a DH! And I will be explaining all of those requirements as they come up in posts as well.

First tip is the sign-off signature. To differentiate between where a person’s post ends, we use a signature that consists of your character rank, character name, and their position / department. So for Garth, the signature is (Lt. Garth, CSO). I know we went over this on Discord, and I see you’ve done it perfectly in your other posts! I’ll have more formatting stuff to share as we move on, but the roleplay is what’s most important of course, so let continue that! (Sorry for such a long post!)

Ben