snip

The corridor remained relatively quiet as the Merrimack continued its station near Vey’lan. Beyond the viewport, the strange crimson illumination stretched across the landscape below, shifting almost imperceptibly against the distant rocky formations.

Lt. ch’Sorel remained standing in the silence, white paws being held behind his back the same way a soldier guarding some monarch’s palace would, the only difference being that one of his paws was holding a silver colored device with a large screen. Only a soft breath interrupted the quiet of a spinning mind trying to understand a mystery beyond their comprehension. But the curiosity of a young, Starfleet officer learning to understand the universe still remained, even if he had never met another individual of his kind. An ear flicking to the side as the sound of footsteps interrupted whatever solitude moment the helmsman had been living.

Rynak was not, however, the only person observing it. Several meters farther along the corridor stood one of the Shiarian officers who had remained aboard the Merrimack while the Starfleet delegation descended to Vey’lan. Vreth’kan Taruun had identified him earlier as Sareth Vel, one of the vessel’s harmonic specialists. Unlike the Over-Captain and Weapons Master, Vel’s role appeared to concern the interpretation and maintenance of the complex harmonic systems upon which Shiarian technology depended.

Rynak skipped a step the moment someone showed up from behind, black and white fur standing on end just like a terrified kitten. Brown and blue eyes had grown slightly wide after being startled by whom he could only assume were a Shirian delegation. Straightening his posture, that fur began to settle on his neck. It was clear that his attempts at remaining professional were about to fall out miserably. The canine looking individual somehow was still lost in thought trying to understand how harmonics could be proven to have a power source upon which almost the entirety of the planet relied. Instead he just nodded in recognition.

The Shiarian turned his head toward the approaching Canidin. For several seconds, Vel said nothing. His attention moved from Rynak to the PADD in his hand, then toward the gold uniform he wore. =/= You are the one who listens. =/=

The Universal Translator rendered the words only after the harmonic undertones accompanying them had faded.

Once MAJEL concluded the translation, that harmonics field surrounding the ship had grown much stronger. Almost as though the officers themselves were somehow tied to the situation which he and three other ensigns had been struggling to understand for so long. The 21 year old finally seemed to fully acknowledge Vel’s presence beside him. Shock was immediate, but the officer dressed in gold happened to perfectly capture a mask that perfectly resembled a Vulcan. “It’s part of my duty to help the crew understand how this power source came to be.” His words remaining dry, almost voided from emotion. This was unlike him at all.

Vel gestured toward the viewport. =/= On your bridge, you listened to Vey’lan when others searched only for what they expected to find. You recognized that its harmonics extended beyond the city. =/=

Turning his head back at the transparent aluminum, thoughts about his childhood friends…his family had fronted clearly enough for Rynak’s jawline to tighten. Crimson patterns illuminated both mismatched eyes at the pace a heartbeat would run, a sound too familiar to the officer who had once been a young pup found buried in the snow from an unknown crash site. He had been the only survivor without any bodies found amongst the craft’s debris field. Those words circled his brain a few times, making the Canidin open his mouth to reply, but nothing came before Rynak’s jaw closed shut.

The Shiarian stepped closer to the transparent aluminum, watching the crimson patterns beyond the ship.

=/= Among my people, one who perceives the shape of something before understanding its meaning would not be considered useless. =/= There was another subtle harmonic vibration beneath his next words, one that MAJEL required an additional moment to translate. =/= Your people place great importance upon knowing where they came from. Family. World. Species. History. =/=

Dagger shaped teeth began gritting against each other before the shivering on that white muzzle began to show. Butterfly shaped ears pinned against the back of his skull. A white tipped tail was held still, vertebrae inside tense. There was some instinct screaming at him to just end the situation. Canidins had evolved through human experimentation on domestic dogs a couple of centuries before they were able to achieve an upright posture or the ability of Federation Standard speech. His grip on the PADD tightening. If he were human, his knuckles would’ve turned white already. “Those people are gone, a long time ago.” He finally spoke, his voice still flat despite it’s high pitch.

Vel’s attention returned to the Canidin. =/= Yet you do not know these things about yourself. =/=

It was not spoken as an accusation. To the Shiarian, it appeared simply to be an observation.

The canid’s ears seemed to flatten even further once the observation was made, attempting to walk away from the topic that somehow seemed to bother him more than the Sharians themselves. “I was raised by loving parents. There isn’t some kind of mystery to be solved.” he shot Vel some kind of glare, but held himself back from actually snapping at their hosts. ‘Bold of them to assume they know anything about my life, people or story. They’re truly gone.’

=/= Perhaps that is why you hear patterns others overlook. You have spent your life searching for an origin. =/= Vel indicated the PADD. =/= Tell me, Rynak ch’Sorel. When you were listening to Vey’lan… were you attempting to understand it? =/=

The Shiarian paused.

=/= Or were you hoping that, somewhere within its song, something might finally understand you? =/=

He began backing up when the final question hit the air through Merrimack’s speakers, but the questions had begun to cloud his judgement. Rynak dropped himself to the floor with both knees drawn up to his chest, tail curled around his boots with a shepherd’s lantern covering that black leather. His muzzle was buried underneath, without enough clarity to answer that pair of questions being asked. If only there was a way to reach his homeworld, his parents-

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare

OOC: When there is a conversation like this, feel free to post in between any of the statements or questions about your characters response:)

GM Nosferatu

Lieutenant JG. Rynak ch’Sorel
Helm Officer
U.S.S. Merrimack - NCC-2346 (Mariner Class)

Sareth Vel did not immediately follow when ch’Sorel backed away. The Shiarian watched as the Canidin sank to the deck, his posture suggesting that Vel was studying a reaction he had not anticipated.

The harmonic undertone accompanying his voice was noticeably quieter when he finally spoke. =/= I have caused distress. That was not my intention. =/=

Vel remained where he was, making no attempt to approach ch’Sorel. =/= Among my people, such questions are not considered wounds. I did not understand that, for you, they could be. =/=

His gaze shifted briefly toward Vey’lan beyond the viewport. =/= You need not answer. =/=

Sareth Vel
Shiarian Harmonic Specialist

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare
Your Darkest Nightmare