| The Almedae Arrive | |
| Summary: | Alien diplomats come to the Versailles. |
| Cast: | Eessah Anrae Clement William Sirias Rodney Tuxedo Majors Loken Keri Sara Reske Erik Callot |
| Air Date: | 2008.01.01 |
Launch Bay - UFCV Versailles - <Flight Deck, UFCV Versailles>
Small ships - fighters, diplomatic spacecraft, military transports, and the occasional civilian trade vessels - use this massive chamber in the forward underhull of the Avocet-class carrier to arrive and depart through a vacuum-shielded opening. Berthing slots are available along one bulkhead, with service equipment stowed at stations around the bay for easy access by technicians.
Sitting daintily on the ground, one particular shuttle in the bay stands out from the rest; with a flowing organic style and waves of colorful lights slowly rippling across its hull, the Almedae shuttle looks more like a squid swimming in the ocean than a spaceship. A hatch on the side of the craft has opened up to allow a ramp to extend from it, from which gracefully departs an elegant humanoid figure shrouded in all sorts of drapery.
Behind it, and to his left - moving with caution, by comparison, a second figure in far less dramatic drapings acts as his shadow. Its arms are folded, hands held in front - something attentive about its motion, expectant.
Eessah
This is a tall figure resembling a humanoid, although not exactly fitting the mold. It stands at about two meters tall but is stick-thin -- no more than 150 pounds or so in weight -- and largely androgynous, although those in the know would know it as a male. His torso is a bit on the short side, with long legs, arms and fingers. His skin is extremely pale and contains a slight green tinge in it, and his hair is short and fuzzy and dark brown. His face is long, narrow and somewhat pointed, but without obvious cheek bones. The eyes are large and blue.
The figure is wearing an elaborate, albeit monochromatic, outfit. At the base of the get-up is a black cassock, and on top of it is a burgundy, hooded surcoat; both of them fall to just above the ankles, with slits up to the mid-thigh. On top of the surcoat is a black cloak, and a black headscarf is around the emissary's head. The opening of the hood and the cassock is lined with a small band of golden lace. Barely visible are black breeches and tall black boots. Strapped to the Almedae's back -- largely covered by the cloak -- is a medium-length sword and scabbard, positioned so that the hilt is at waist-level on the right side of the body, in easy reach of either hand.
Anrae
Just short of two meters tall, this creature is no taller than a human. Etherial, almost delicate, she - for the delicacy in those features could be nothing other than female - is oddly thin and frail, covered in a fine, pale white fuzz that is tinged with the faint green of the skin beneath. Her eyes are a brilliant cobalt blue, with no pupil - a solid shading that gleams as wide sapphires in the pale and soft white of a face with thin lips and a very small nose. Her arms are long, relative to a human's, her fingers long and delicate, four-jointed and thin - her legs no different, too long for that short torso. Her hair is humanlike, cut to just barely beneath her ears, dyed an unusually crimson shade of red that is an absolutely striking thing against the etherial paleness and washed-out coloration of the rest of her.
She wears a dress uniform for the Almonae navy - a ship-grey cassock that comes down to below her knee, with an overrobe of a pale blue that carries her rank insignia - roughly 'ensign' - only a few service pins in gleaming steel and silver. A wide belt supports a commlink and the squat shape of a system deck, a single monicle worn on a loop that goes over her ear and her left eye. The two telltale magnetic contacts of a 'matrix jack gleam just below her left ear, beneath the edge of that crimson hair.
Captain Lorenzo Clement stands before the ranks of Versailles personnel that have gathered to greet the arriving Almedae dignitaries. As he observes their descent from the alien shuttlecraft, Clement clasps his hands behind his back and approaches the male Almedae with the sword on his back. He stops, smiles, and says, "I am Captain Lorenzo Clement. On behalf of the crew of the Versailles, I welcome you both aboard." He nods toward Anrae.
Majors stands at attention near the Security contingent with his hands clasped firmly behind his back and his grey blue eyes staring blankly before him.
Stepping into the loading bay with long purposeful strides, Sirias is making last minute adjustments to her uniform; a few tugs at the bottom of her jacket, smoothing out whatever few wrinkles that have appeared from a day on duty, and pushing back a few strands of loose hair thats managed to free themselves from her ponytail. She falters in her rythmical walking forward when she sees the rather peculiar shuttle. The redhead stops short somewhere behind the Captain with the rest of the personnel and watches on.
In order to make the officers at the front of the formation look sufficiently important, Mouse and various nameless enlisted entities make up several rear rows of the formation that is suitable to greet dignitaries but diplomatically non-threatening in their unarmed nature. The formation organizes itself with little in the way of ceremony. Close inspection will show it is made up of a hodgepodge assorted of specialties, but it looks good if you do not know specific assignments. Some areas are more particular about being a clique than other areas, like those near Majors.
The other redhead tilts his head somewhat slightly to look a them curiously, absently reaching up to tuck a stray strand of long hair behind his ear as he does. William strides in right after Sirias, reading a couple of last minutes notes off a handheld device. Seeing a crowd, he frowns and hooks the device to his belt. "Bloody hell," he mutters under his breath. "I'm getting in the habit of being late."
Sara having formed up with the rest as soon as they entered the room is standing at attention, her hands at her sides, her head held high, her black eyes staring straight ahead a neutral expression on her face.
The leading Almedae makes a swift turn to face the captain, his cloak swinging out for a moment. His long fingers pull back his hood and he bows deeply. "I bring greetings and thanks from Lady Mellilah my queen, captain," a deep ethreal voice says, floating throughout the ether of the room's minds. His hands are spread out for a moment before they reach under his cloak only to pull out a second black scabbard. He pulls the sword out a little, showing a bit of a black blade that shimmers with iridescent blue and offers its hilt to the captain. "A gift of our gratitude."
His companion offers little more than a return nod to the Captain, that monicle flickering as cobalt-blue eyes watch the presentation. She drifts to the side - perhaps for a slightly better angle.
Clement accepts the sword and examines the shimmering weapon, held on the palms of his hands. "Remarkable sword. What makes it glow like this? A special kind of metal? Some kind of luminescence applied in the smithing process?"
Reske relaxes his stance a little as he looks at the gift and then to Almedae with curiosity. He very casually glances towards the nearest timepiece and frowns, shifting his weight a little.
Although she remains facing straight ahead, Sara let's her eyes stray to the sword in the captain's hands, no other movement from her though.
Oooo, a weapon! And it glows too! Sirias looks more than interested at the glowing blade. Theres a quick glance to William who she stands beside, but not much more than oogling and listening.
Mouse's neutral expression does little in the way of changing at either the mental voice, sword, or the time this presentation is taking from whatever life he's on now. His thumbs are neatly in line with the seem of his trousers, his fingers slightly curled, and his feet are together at the heel, forming a broad V.
William eyes the Captain a moment, not as interested in the sword so much as debating whether he ought to flank him - or if that would be a diplomatic faux pas at the moment. Instead, he find a rather innocuous location to stand and watch amongst a knot of officers.
Eessah stands up from his bow, his cloak closing up around him. "A composite ceramic we discovered," the voice says, his eyes watching the captain, "The species lives some one hundred generations from here."
Majors looks at the blade for a moment and his lips quirk up for a moment but his stance doesn't change. The Sivadian's gaze falls over each of the being and looks them each over intently though not exactly a gawk, he does seem very interested by them.
Essah's companion is, frankly, distracted. By Tux. Of course. The taller-than-most-others felinoid gets almost half of her attention (with the others present taking up another quarter) - at least until she seems to remember herself. Then, back to watching the presentation, scanning over the crowd, and then to the blade, the Captain, and all of those things that are formal, more important, and ultimately less interesting for that.
The captain's eyebrows etch upward as he considers the Almedae's words. He looks up to Eessah from the sword. "One hundred *generations*? I am not terribly well-versed in Almedae civilization. I know about your close ties with the Castori, of course, and your city ship. But does 'generations' mean the same thing in your...language...as it does in ours? Is it a measure of time or space? Or both?"
Rodney makes his way in, seeing the Almadae, and seeing the others. He doesn't say anything, slipping in for now next to Sara, however.
Reske clears his throat slightly, and looks over at the way the others are standing, shrugs and remains how he is.
Tuxedo takes the attention in good humor, it seems, responding with no more than an earflick from his attention. It may be that it's because the Chief Engineer has not yet discovered uniform trousers that accomodate Demarian leg formations, or tails. He did find a good dress shirt though.
Eessah pauses a moment in reflective thought before he bows his head a little before looking back to the other Almedae, apparently in communication with her.
After that look, her blue eyes widen, and - from her belt, a passibly synthesized feminine voice offers, "Approximately two thousand terran-standard years, Captain." While there's little inflection in electronic conversation, there is a sense of warmth at the words, for those nearby.
William scratches his chin a moment, frowning. "That old? Quite," he mutters to himself, but moreso sounds bored.
Reske takes a deep breath through his nose and lets it out of his mouth, though it's silent to all but anyone two inches away from him, though his eyes are sparkling with amusement at that.
Majors raises a brow at the number and nods his head. "Quite." He echoes his fellow Sivadian.
Standing at attention seems to be what Mouse lives for. There's not a trace of any sort of expressive movement on his face. Keeping his knees slightly flexed, it looks like he can go on standing there until the deck rusts out from under him, or, more likely, he passes out from a combination of dehydration and sleep deprivation.
Another glance to William from Siri at the Commander's quiet comment, but for now she looks on with interest. Standing calmly amoungst the rest of the officers, she stays silent.
Sara's eyes move to look up at Rodney and the corners of her mouth move up in the semblance of a smile which quickly disappears again as her eyes return to focus straight ahead.
"That is quite impressive," the captain says, his gaze returning to the sword for a moment before he takes the hilt in his right hand and lowers the weapon to his side. He turns, not fully away from the Almedae, so that he can glance toward the assembled crew. "Allow me to introduce the Second Officer of the Versailles, Commander William Walters. Commander, join us."
Loken enters into the landing bay, looks about at all the people assembled and aliens...blinks, and moves towards wherever the Versaille's pilot is supposed to be as quietly and as quickly as he can, going to attention like everyone else.
"Oh. My," Williams mutters under his breath. He straightens his uniform out, though it's so heavily starched than any wrinkles are imaginary, and places his most diplomatic smile on his face as he walks forward. "Thank you, Captain," he states, then nods to the two aliens. "A pleasure."
Reske has another one of those moments where he breathes through his nose, lets it out through his mouth. Other than that, he's steady.
Eessah gives his compatriot a gracious nod before he stands up straight again, eyes following the captain to Williams. He then gives Williams a deep bow, too, although it's shorter lived. "Well greetings to you," he sends.
A wry smile crosses Majors face as William walks past. "Rather puts my family heirloom to shame I would say." He says to himself as he looks from the blade towards the female alien.
Erik is among the assemble crew, standing ramrod straight as he observes the two Almedae with a stern countenance.
"Commander Walters, I'd like you to give our guests a full tour of the Versailles," Clement says, before shifting his attention from the Second Officer to Eessah. "Will you require accommodations aboard ship or do you plan to lodge on your shuttle during the visit?"
Anrae looks to Walters, that monicle still flickering, something truly curious about her as she shifts, watching him approach. Oddly, for a moment, those cobalt-blue eyes move to Majors - then quickly back to the Commander.
"Of course, sir," William states smartly, nodding to the Captain. He returns the bow, albeit a little stiff, to Eessah. "An honor." He smiles, but makes no move to start the tour as yet.
"We have quarters on our ship if that is alright, Sir Captain," Essah says after studying Walters for a moment.
Mouse's place in the formation is behind a pretty tall guy with broad shoulders. He seems quite content to stare at the man's back through the gift giving and tour offering ceremony.
It is to be noted Erik Callot is in his uniform, like everyone else. His gaze shifts from the Captain to the Almedae, back and forth.
Majors catches the glance and raises a brow. The Sivadian's left cheek jerks up once then his gaze swings to Essah then back to back to Anrae once agian.
Not much going on with Sirias, besides being the dutiful officer in being quiet and polite. She smiles a little when William is asked forward, but nothing else.
Reske is having rather a lot of fun watching everyone else, though he looks like a man who's not getting nearly enough air, face taking on a rather bluish tint as he waits around with all the rest.
Clement chuckles, nodding to Eessah. "It's not just all right, it's preferable. The alternative is lodging you in the crew bunks. They're not the most luxurious, as you'll see soon enough." He lifts the sword, looking it over again, and then lowers it once more. To Eessah, he says, "Once you've had the tour and gotten settled in, I'd like to meet with both of you to talk more. And, if you let the Commander know your cuisine preferences, I'd also like to invite you both to dinner with the senior staff in my dining room tomorrow."
Anrae whispers to Clement and William: A bit of an unshielded nervous excitement squeaks out from Anrae, at that pronouncement of "dinner with senior staff." Quickly squelched.
William blinks at Anrae, seeming confused for the barest of moments before he regains composure. He nods his understanding to Clement, blinking a second time with an even briefer confusion, before talking. "A tour it is, then," he states jovially. "Since we are lucky enough to have our Chief Engineer present, why don't we start with Engineering?" A smile is directed towards Tuxedo. "If you would be so kind to join us?" The Sivadian motions deeper into the vessel, walking and talking. "If everyone would follow me, we shall begin. The You Eff Cee Vee Versailles, as I am sure you know, is a Avocet-class Fighter Carrier, the pride of the Union Fleet. . ."
Reske glances over at Tux and grins at him.
Eessah turns his head ever-so-slightly to the other Almedae for a brief moment before he gives the captain a thin, strange sort of smile. "We would be honored to attend," he says. He gives the captain a smaller bow before he follows after their cheery cruise director, effortlessly gliding on, almost all movement of his legs hidden by his outfit.
Tuxedo bobs his head. "As ye say, serr," he says, and one paw hooks out to snag Reske by the collar. "I'll jes' be brrringin' Grrrrinin' Jack herrre along, cos clearrrly I ain't worrrkin' him 'arrd enough. Not fit ferrr fine society." It looks for all the world like a mama cat nabbing a kitten by the back of the neck, only cleaned up for a military audience, as the Demarian engineer pads for the door.
Anrae follows, of course, in Essah's wake - apparently, some gestures are universal. Straightening that overrobe, a long breath. Embarrassment crosses species lines, apparently.
Majors watches as the Eessah and Anrae follow Walters out. The Sivadian doesn't drop his stance quite yet.
After a few moments of sharing William's brief befuddlement at Anrae's psionic outburst, the captain watches the dignitaries depart with the Second Officer. As they make for the corridor, Clement looks toward the assembled crew and announces: "Versailles crew, as you were! Dismissed."
Despite the fact that the formation seems to be shattering around him with the engineers leaving, Mouse stands strong until he gets the word from Clements. Even then he doesn't modify his stance much.
Reske is being dragged off by his superior, and grinning he still is, though perhaps not as much as he has been.
Loken remains where he is, at attention, watching the ceremony, until he's dismissed, relaxing a bit and dropping down from attention.
William nods to Tuxedo, but also shoots him a look of warning - don't cause trouble. "Obviously, as a fighter carrier, the Avocet-class carries a full load of Blades-class. . ." William considers to state as he leaves the bay.
Erik raises a brow, relaxing a bit and starts to move away from the rest.
Majors drops his stance and runs a hand over his short hair. "Bollocks." He says to himself. Sivadian looks around the area quickly checking if he was heard then shrugs his shoulders slightly.
Sara looks up at Rodney and breaths out a sigh, "Nice sword that was," she says softly before her eyes glance away and around at the others still there.
Sirias finally drops her shoulders a little, coming out of the 'at attention' stance. "Love taking up space like that." she says lightly with a small smile. Theres a glance to the Captain and his new blade. "Plan on hanging that up, Sir?"
Clement chuckles, but nods as he slides the weapon into its scabbard. "Yes. My quarters are rather spare right now. They could use a decorative touch." He shakes the sword gently, smiling. "Sheathed, of course. Otherwise, I'd never get any sleep."
Keri never was very much good at 'attention' in the sense of a stance. Once the gilt parade is out and she can relax, she drops that half degree back into a semi-slouch.
"It was." Rodney says. Then he finally says, "You didn't hear much of the conversation either, did you?" to Sara.
Mouse is uncomfortably near Majors but shows no signs of having heard the man.
"Well it'll certainly be unique." Sirias agrees. "Want to say I read a book about a glowing sword carried by a midget. Just somehow funny that theres something that resembles that a little. If anything else, at least it'll make a nifty conversation peice."
Majors straightens his posture and starts for the Captian. He stops about a yard or so away and offers a formal bow. "Sir, we have yet have the pleasure of meeting." He says crisply.
Now clear of the crowd a bit, Callot stands on the side, arms folding, straightening his posture as if he was stretching.
Sara shakes her head, "What the Captain said mostly," she replies with a raise of a slender brow. She looks over to the Captain also, her black eyes falling upon the sword for a moment longer.
Clement nods to Majors. "We may not have officially met, but I know a little about you, Commander. Good to have you aboard. Have you met with the First or Second Officer about the Chief of Security position yet?"
Loken glances about, the Lt. glancing from conversation to conversation, not seeming to join in on any conversations, but apparently listening in on plenty.
"Admittedly, I am curious about what they used to make it. Doesn't much look like the ones back home." Rodney notes, "Not from around here, probably." he guesses, but then kind of shrugs.
Majors straightens back up and gives the Captain a quick nod. "Yes earlier today with the First Officer. I have spoken with the Second on several occasions but not about the position yet sir." His gaze falls on the sword and his lips quirk up for a moment. "That is a lovely weapon. My family have a large collection but I have yet to see anything that rivals that."
Sara nods to Rodney, "I would say not. Never seen anything like it," she states. Her eyes flicker back to Rodney for just a moment then back to Clement, "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting our captain yet though," she admits.
"I doubt its not something your going to see on a regular occasion." Sirias remarks over to Rodney. "Didn't one of the diplomats say it was made from some kind of ceramic?"
"I didn't hear anything." Rodney says to Sirias. "They speak with telepathy, don't they?" he asks. "I've been around long enough to know if I'm not hearing it, and somebody's responding, that's likely."
"When I first saw it," Clement replies, hefting the sword briefly, "I thought it might have been a Kamir artifact. I'll see what more I can learn about that civilization that made it." He shrugs. "Agreed, though, it is a beautiful weapon." A smile, then, "I look forward to reading the reports from the First and Second Officers. Keep up the good work, Commander."
Loken just continues slowly moving through the crowd, the Lt. not exactly participating in conversations, still just listening in.
Majors bows his head slightly. "I intend to sir." The Sivadian says with a faint smile on his lips. "An interesting people to say the least." He then says mostly to himself.
Mouse starts towards the nearest bulkhead. Following along that, he moves towards the portal that leads to the other decks.
Keri stands there for a good three minutes, looking around at everyone else. Finding nothing interesting (or any easy way to get into trouble without being immediately caught at it), she wanders off to look over the various vessels sitting the deck.
Demetrios Xanthopolous bustles in from the corridor, headset over his ears and heavy-duty datapad under one arm. He makes his way toward the flight wing's landing area, some third of which is occupied by swarms of mechanics opening up each ship, investigating its critical systems, and closing it again.
"The Almedae?" Clement nods to Majors. "Very interesting. I'd like to visit their city ship someday. I heard stories about Sanctuary when I was in school. Y'know, that big old lifeboat everybody floated around on in Hiverspace like some kind of cosmic Ark? The Almedae ship apparently makes Sanctuary look like a pebble next to a boulder."
Erik continues to remain quiet, eyes observing each crew member.
Sirias blinks. "Really, Sir?" the female Lt. Commander sound a little bit in awe. "I hadn't heard it was that large. When you say it like that, I can't help but be interested as well. But of course, they're rather intriguing from first impressions."
Sara looks to Sirias, "Did they, that's interesting at least. I...wonder what kind of ceramic it is? But if you'll excuse me," she says politely and heads in Clement's direction, "Good evening, sir," she says as she stands as straight and tall as she can at her full height of 5'3" "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, Sara Kervein," she says with a crisp solute.
Majors raises a brow. "That big? That would be like...." The Sivadian pauses in thought for a moment. "Well Enja was placed in space. Truly remarkable." He says with a tilt of his head. "Head some other things about how thei.." He closes his mouth and politely steps to the side as others start to speak up.
Loken peers over a bit at the mention of the city ship, no comment from the Junir Lt., still just listening in.
Clement nods at Sara, returning the salute. "Kervein, welcome aboard." He smiles, looking back to Majors. "I don't know a great deal more about the Almedae than the rest of the crew, I wager. Just what I've seen on the newsnets or picked up skimming the Infomatrix, really. So, we should all take advantage of their visit. I expect they're curious about our civilization. No reason we can't return the favor."
Mouse's placid expression reveals no interest of his own as his bulkhead based escape plan pans out for him.
Sara smiles at this, "Oh, that would be interesting. I'd like to know what kind of technology they have, how their ships work, what kind of energy they run on...what kind of computers they use...if at all," she says as her eyes scans the ship, "A very interesting piece of work there."
Keri eyes Demetrios as she angles in that direction. "That your ride, there?" she asks, squinting a bit before tacking on, "Commander."
Clement glances toward the shuttle, then looks back at Sara, shaking his head. "*That* is nothing. You want to be impressed - or terrified, take your pick - their vessels are powered by black holes."
Erik starts to walk over towards Clements when it looks like he's not too busy, offering a salute, and then a hand for shaking. "Sir. Erik Callot."
"None of these are my ride," Demetrios answers, nudging his headset back to uncover one ear and pushing the microphone up and away from his mouth. "I'm just in charge of making sure that they keep being rides."
"Black holes?" Sirias echos, becoming more surprised by this new race with every passing moment. "Well, I think thats a little bit of both. I'm no engineer, but I can't help but wonder how thats possible. Guess its something I might have to ask."
Majors remains silent for now, his jaw tight and his clasped behind his back.
Keri grins. "That a fact? Guess I'm workin' under you, then, Chief? Should be interestin'. Looks like this bird's gettin' a major physical."
Loken blinks slightly, still not making any real comment. He stays within earshot of the conversation about Almedae and black holes and the like, but glances around the bay.
Sara looks at the ship in awe, a slender brow raising as she does. Then looking up at the captain, "Wouldn't that be dangerous if something were to....happen to the ship then? You'd want to be a good distance from that if you were in a battle with them. Wouldn't want to be sucked in or anything?" she asks.
Clement shakes the offered hand. "Callot. Welcome aboard." He nods, smiles, then looks over at Sirias. "I think it's a good idea to ask any questions you have while you've got the genuine article aboard the Versailles. Like I said, I'm the wrong guy to ask about this stuff. You're all welcome to visit with the Almedae when they're out and about on the ship. See what you can learn."
"So it does," says Demetrios. "Demetrios Xanthopolous. The whole flight wing's been getting a major physical. The only signature on a certification I'll trust is my own."
Majors nods his head. "I very well intend with seeing about having a chat. Perhaps over tea at some point." The Sivadian says as his gaze shift over to the flight crew for a moment.
"Thank you, Sir." Comes Callot's response, and he takes a few steps to get gain some room for himself, again.
Sara frowns at this, "I'll need...a translater," she admits. "Couldn't hear them very well." She looks over to Erik and a broad smile creeps across her lips. "Commander Callot," she says politely, "Would you like to accompany me in a mission of great curiosity?" she asks.
The pilot Erik remains where he is, just listening into the conversation revolving around the Almedae. He appears to lose interest as their ships are no longer being discussed, however.
"Smart man," Keri chuckles before offering some semblence of a salute. If you want to call it that. "Kerianne Jonesson. Hope the other guys aren't too... stiff. Not a job 'formal' is lookin' for."
Clement nods at Sara, smiling, then says, "Enjoy the rest of your evening. I need to check in with Gideon about a few matters before I get back to my quarters." The captain then starts striding toward the cargo bay.
"I'm relaxed enough, so long as you have no issues with orders," Demetrios replies. "Settled in yet, or did you just get here?"
"Think I'll have my own share of questions to ask when they're not busy." Sirias agrees, looking to the exit. "But for now, I'm off duty and need to get out of this uniform. The refresher is calling my name." she grins, turns about and starts off.
Erik Callot turns his attention towards Sara as he is addressed. Gaining a smile as well, "Very well, Miss Kervein." He straightens his uniform a bit.
Keri says, "Just in, and waitin' ta find my bunk. Findin' the chief was more important. I got no problem with orders. You tell me ta get a job done, I'll get it done. Way it's supposed ta work."
Majors watches the Captain leave then starts to pull out a slim silver case from his pocket. The Sivadian cracks it open to reveal two neat rows of black cigarettes with gold filters.
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