Posted by Ensign Umbri Zayne (Security Officer) in Deck 8 - Welcome to the Jungle (Attn. Umbri Zayne)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO / Navigation Officer) in Deck 8 - Welcome to the Jungle (Attn. Umbri Zayne)

Posted by Ensign Umbri Zayne (Security Officer) in Deck 8 - Welcome to the Jungle (Attn. Umbri Zayne)
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
T’Aria slipped from the briefing room, hovering by its doors for several fleeting seconds. Her gaze traced after the auxiliary officers’ retreating figures, affording her a bare moment to ponder. Their meeting ran short, conducted by wonted concerns and idle notions put to action. It was minor and decidedly routine. Though T’Aria expected the evening to follow suit, an aching suspicion begged her to consider otherwise.

Bzz! Bzz. The crackling whistle of a nearby intercom dared to confirm her nagging thoughts. It carried her, by way of interest, from the door to the bulkhead in a single stride. =^=Shuttlebay to Commander T’Aria.=^= Mundane words assailed the air, filling it with the guttural growl characteristic of their Flight Control Officer.

She lifted her palm to the companel, “T’Aria. What can I do for you, Ensign?”

=^=You asked me to inform you of any embarking crew,=^= he returned, =^=Ensign Umbri Zayne boarded an hour ago.=^=

“Ah,” T’Aria nodded though he was wholly unaware, “thank you, Ensign.”

=^=Absoltuely. Shuttlebay, out.=^=

T’Aria mulled over his notification for several seconds before an idea crept into her mind. Glancing at the PaDD nestled against her abdomen, she pulled it away to type a quick message:

---

Ensign Umbri Zayne,

Welcome aboard. I suspect onboarding procedures have occupied you for the time being. When you have a moment, please meet me in the CoS’ Office (deck 8) to complete your department check-in.

Until then,
Lt. Commander T’Aria,
Executive Officer

---

T’Aria read over the message with an eyebrow creeping dangerously close to her hairline. Satisfied, she released her finger to ‘send’ and headed for the nearest turbolift.

— T’Aria

OOC: Welcome aboard, Alison! Whenever you’re ready, feel free to pop in. :)

As she was walking around the ship, Umbri received a message on her PaDD. She quickly got it out from her bag and pulled up the message. Seeing that it was from the XO, the defacto CoS, she took the turbolift up to Deck 8. Following the map by the turbolift, Umbri found the CoS’ office. But just as she was about to ring the doorchime, she stopped, feeling some of her anxiety coming back. “It’s just the XO, and she’s Vulcan. We tend to be on the same wavelength with Vulcans, so we really don’t have anything to worry about. We’ve got this,” she whispered to herself. After taking a deep breath, Umbri rang the doorchime.

Ensign Umbri Zayne
Security

The doors parted with a schliiick that assailed the air in a gesture to enter.

Inside, Zayne would encounter an unquestionably standard office barren of verve or flair. Lifeless walls supported similarly plagued shelves, yielding a dark, harrowed atmosphere. But life, however mechanical, whirred at its heart. There, a desk stood in the company of a computer terminal that flickered and beeped with every step. Stray lights illuminated its panels, many an off-blue apprising its commander of the systems’ status. It was a machine, but it invigorated the bleak room.

“Ensign,” a mellow voice touched by a soft Vulcan accent filled the space between them. If Zayne were to gravitate to it, she’d discover a lithe woman advancing at a leisure pace. “I’m Lt. Commander T’Aria,” she greeted with a slight bow, “you must be Umbri Zayne.” A second elapsed before she continued, “do you prefer to sit or walk?”

— T’Aria, XO

Umbri’s nerves immediately washed away the moment the Lt. Commander spoke. ‘See, no reason to be nervous,’ she thought to herself, smiling. “I’d prefer to walk, if you wouldn’t mind. I haven’t really seen a lot of the ship since I arrived, anyway,” she said.

Ensign Umbri Zayne
Security

“Please,” T’Aria lifted her chin and released a hand calmly to the door, “allow me to show you.”

T’Aria slipped from the office and paused briefly to shed the voracious cold that emanated from its gloomy interior. Nodding to Umbri, she cocked her head in a gesture toward Chernov’s brig. There, five desolate cells lay under the scrutiny of a deceivingly meagre watch station. A burly Orion stood at its base and lifted their head as the pair passed, offering a slight smile before returning to their work.

“The Brig houses our primary detention cells and the ship’s vault,” she tilted her head in the vault’s general direction. Given the absence of detainees, patrols were light, and the area seemed relatively quiet. But it could be assumed that peace wasn’t the ‘norm’.

Silence accompanied them in the trip through the Brig, allowing T’Aria to mull over thoughts. Eventually, she arrived at a simple albeit encompassing request. “Tell me about yourself, Ensign.”

– T’Aria, XO

Umbri took a deep breath before responding. Talking about her past wasn’t something she was too terribly fond of, but T’Aria was likely a good person to share it with. “Well, I’m 23 years old, human by the way. I was born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, but my birth name was Carolyn Hawkins. I changed my name to Umbri Zayne when I joined the Academy because I wanted a fresh start, but mainly because I’d recently had a major falling out with my parents which resulted in them cutting me off. I don’t really like to share what led to that happening, but the broad version is that they couldn’t accept some aspects of my current lifestyle. Parents are supposed to be there for you no matter what, but they failed on that job. I don’t consider them my real family anymore,” Umbri paused for a moment, the memory of her getting disowned still very fresh.

T’Aria listened and eased her pace to a leisure ramble. Her serpentine eyes shone with a soft, attentive light that contradicted her pensive expression. She furrowed her eyebrows. There was a familiar, palpable reservation about Umbri’s account, but she didn’t act on it. Instead, she nodded rhythmically and maintained her silence.

“But after I joined the Academy, things got better. I may not have had many friends, but they were good ones. I chose Security because I want to dedicate my life to protecting the people I love. I also studied Music Composition and piano during my time at the Academy. You’ll quickly find that music is a pretty big part of who I am. I don’t know what I’d do without it. And that’s all the basic info for you,” she said.

After she finished speaking, Umbri was absolutely shocked. She hadn’t been that open about her life in a while, plus she got through it all without stuttering once. Perhaps being on the USS Chernov would be a good thing for her.

OOC: Sorry that turned out so long, lol. I have a little too much fun creating characters sometimes.

Ensign Umbri Zayne
Security

OOC: Not at all! Feel free to write as much or as little as you’d like. :)
IC:

T’Aria absorbed her words, allowing silence to consume her for several heartbeats. There was an evident rawness surrounding Umbri’s estranged family, but she knew better than to mention it. After all, she was a physician, not a counsellor.

Emerging from the brig, T’Aria surveyed the corridor and turned to the left. If Zayne studied the ship before boarding, she might recognise this as the path toward Chernov’s brig. Otherwise, it was relatively indistinct from any other hall. “I appreciate your candour,” she began earnestly. “How do you anticipate your history will impact your work?”

— T’Aria, XO

‘Now that’ll be much easier for me to answer,’ Umbri thought. “Well, all of that mess has had a major impact on my social skills. I’m not very good with making friends or forming relationships in general. I tend to bury myself in my work and when I’m not working, music is my solace. But I’ve been told by many instructors that I’m very efficient and resilient when it comes to this line of work, and one instructor even said I do well as a peacemaker in conflicts. But regardless, I want you to know that I will always strive to give you one-hundred percent in everything I do. That’s a promise,” she said.

Ensign Umbri Zayne
Security

OOC: Posting again just to make sure we don’t lose this thread.
Alison Hanna