Around The Fleet (By Ensign Eugene Nall)

IC Interview with Lt. Shadow Wind K'Trevala, USS Darmok

Ensign Eugene Nall

    The hopefully now familiar nerdy-looking man in horn-rimmed glasses entered the small studio, adjusting his glasses and juggling a PADD. He glanced at a holo-camera to make sure it was recording and then said, “Welcome back, everyone! This is Ensign Eugene Nall, with the USF PADD's ‘Around the Fleet’! It is my pleasure to introduce Lieutenant Shadow Wind K’Trevala of the USS Darmok!” He turned to face a man sitting in a chair across from him. “Welcome, Lieutenant!”

Lt. K'Trevala

      The man with long silvery-white hair in the typical blue Starfleet Medical uniform sat in the chair, waiting for his interviewer to get comfortable. He smiled, “Howdy, Eugene.”

      Eugene studied the man sitting across from him, then finally said, “Sir, you have the longest hair I think I've ever seen on a Starfleet officer. Does that ever cause you problems?”

Shadow smiled again and answered, “Not usually, but then again, I'm used to it. My twin sister, NightWind, has her hair down to her knees! If we're at work we'll usually try to braid it so that it stays out of the way.

Eugene gawked, “To her knees? Wow, that's like ... well, really long!” He ran a hand through his own short and heavily oiled hair, and then glanced at his hand and wiped it on the leg of his pants. Shadow leaned forward and offered him a brightly colored bandana, which Eugene accepted with “Oh! Thanks!” He toweled his hands off then stuffed the bandana under one leg as he glanced at his PADD, “Um … so, your dossier describes you as an 'empathic healer'. How does that work?”

Shadow sat back as he answered, “Essentially, my body is so attuned to the feelings of others that if there is something wrong with them, I'm able to reach out and take their wounds into myself before healing them within my own body.”

Eugene stared. “Take the wounds ... into yourself? But ... wouldn't that mean, you'd get hurt? Are you like, literally transferring the injury to your own body? That's like ... well, like magic or something!” He sat forward, studying the Lt. even more carefully, then whispered, “Does it work with acne?”

  Shadow shrugged slightly, “Well, I can feel the wounds as they are transferred over, and then I work on restoring the 'rightness' within myself.” He smiled and leaned forward slightly, “Would you like for me to try and see if it works for you?”

   Eugene grinned broadly, “Sure! What do I need to do?”

“Give me your hand and let me concentrate for a bit.” He took Eugene’s hand and suddenly the worst of the young Ensign’s acne blossomed onto Shadow’s own face even as they faded from Eugene's. Then, they started fading from Shadow's face as well. He smiled and sat back, “It's not permanent as the acne is caused by an underlying hormonal condition, but I think I've gotten the worst for you for a while.”

“Wow!” Eugene rubbed his face with one hand. “I mean, really, wow! This is as clear as my face has been since, well, since I was 12!”

Shadow continued smiling as he said, “Feel free to stop by before you have a hot date and I'll see what I can do to help. But,” he stressed, “if I've had to do a major healing, like on someone that is either in serious or critical condition, I might not be able to be that effective for about a week after that, because I kinda need to 'recharge' the abilities. It takes me about a month between major healings to fully get back to dealing with more than just a paper cut or sprained ankle.”

Eugene said, “Huh, yeah, I guess so, taking injuries upon yourself like that, you'd have to heal up yourself before you could do much more.” He glanced at his PADD again and then looked up. “So, are you also a Starfleet-trained doctor, or are your abilities just an innate talent?”

Shadow responded, “I went through the Starfleet Medical Academy, as well as spending some time with the Vulcans and learning the way they do things as well, since their ways are similar to my own, though using the person's own energy rather than mine, which is beneficial when the person is so badly injured that he'd need me to stave off the Reaper! My talents are innate but I know there might be times that I can't rely on them for one reason or another, so I have the conventional training to fall back on.”

Eugene grinned, “Yeah, staving off the Reaper with that innate talent might cause *you* to need a doctor!”

Shadow chuckled, “It almost did for one of my ancestresses, the one the Enterprise crew called ‘Gem’.”

Eugene nodded, “I saw a reference to her in your bio file and had to look her up. That was back on Kirk's Enterprise wasn't it? Interesting episode.” He glanced at his PADD again, “You mentioned a twin sister also serving in Starfleet. Do you ever visit or at least send holovids to each other?”

Shadow smiled again, “All the time! She's over on the Aldrin and we share the ups and downs of our profession, since we understand what the other is going through so well.”

“She's also an empathic healer and doctor like yourself?”

“Yes she is, but like many women, she seems to be a little more tender-hearted than I, though that just might be an illusion she's been trying to cultivate for years!” He winked.

Eugene mumbled, “Might have to look up this tender-hearted silver-haired healer on the Aldrin.”

Shadow smirked at him, “I'll warn you however, she's one of those in the INB sorority and they are *known* for their practical jokes.”

“INB?” Eugene asked.

“Iota Nu Beta,” Shadow grinned, “I always referred to it as ‘I Oughtta Knew Betta!”

Eugene laughed a moment then cleared his throat. “Ahem, so, my viewers often like me to ask this question, though if you'd rather not answer, just say so. Any romantic interests out there?”

Shadow shook his head. “I was married twice and both of the ladies were killed on different missions, so ... I remain single until the time is right and someone is willing to take me on with all the past baggage.”

Eugene gawked again, “Widowed twice! That's hard! My condolences.”

“Thank you, Eugene,” Shadow said.

Eugene winked, “And I understand about baggage!” He rolled his eyes.

Shadow smiled back then said, “Also any lady better like Leareth and Gwahirra, a couple of 'friends' that stay with me, and they better like her too. Leareth is a black jaguar and Gwahirra is a hawkeagle.”

Eugene’s mouth dropped open. “You have a black jaguar and an eagle? In your quarters on a starship? How'd you manage that? I can't get our dormitory to permit me a beagle!”

Shadow smiled, “Leareth and Gwahirra are 'bonded' to me similar to the old tales of a wizard and their familiars, but Leareth and Gwahirra have been with me ever since they were small and it's like I'm 'Daddy’ to them.”

Eugene nodded, “I've heard of those kinds of mental bonds. I might try convincing the Commodore I have a bond with Muttley, maybe he'll let me bring him in the dorm.”

Shadow smirked, “You'll have to prove that he'll be useful to the dorm, ship, whatever. Leareth often times works with Security like the cheetahs used to for the Pharaohs of Egypt. It might be easier if you get Muttley certified as a service dog to help you out in some way.”

Eugene smirked in his own right, “I can just see that Colonel Patterson I interviewed a couple months back turning a corner just in time to see a jaguar prowling the hallway!”

“The Colonel hasn't seen Leareth yet,” Shadow grinned. “It will be interesting when they *do* meet up!” He chuckled, “Her favorite thing to do is to stalk and pounce someone before washing their face for them!”

“Ooh, with a big, giant, raspy cat tongue!” Eugene chuckled then his face went blank, “Huh, considering the Colonel's face, I hope Leareth's tongue is tough, Patterson's stubble looked pretty rad.”

Shadow grinned, “Leareth *loves* nibbling on whiskers!”

Continuing to chuckle softly, Eugene glanced at his PADD again. “Well, that's all the questions I have. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our viewers?”

Shadow thought a moment, then answered, “Well, one reason you can hear my voice is because of a vocal implant that both NightWing and I have to let us communicate with the rest of our crews easier. But sometimes telepathy is easier, and Commander Relok and I have seemed to perfect it over longer distances than usual.”

“A vocal implant?” Eugene sat forward, “That's how you got over your race's muteness? I was wondering about that but didn't want to pry.”

“It's OK, and I understand, but we've accepted it to help us communicate better with the rest of our crewmates.”

Eugene sat back again, and cleared his throat once more. “Well, Lieutenant, I thank you for your time, this has been a pleasant chat. And I didn't have to de-fumigate the studio!”

Shadow smiled, “No, I usually try to keep the surroundings as sterile as I can! Anytime you want to chatter more, feel free to contact me.”

Eugene smiled, “I might just do that!” He turned to face the holo-camera. “This has been Eugene Nall with the USF PADD, and we’ll be seeing you … ‘Around the Fleet’!”

***

OOC Interview With The Player The Player of Lieutenant Shadow Wind K'Trevala

This interview was conducted by submitting a list of questions for the Player to answer. Some notes were added later by the Editor {shown italicized in curly-brackets}, and some spelling and grammar corrections were applied.

Q: How long have you been with the USF?

A: For a while now, since November of 2013.

Q: What brought you to the USF?

A: I was getting tired of some of the high handedness of some of the Sim hosts in FSF {I presume this is the Federation Sim Fleet} and was looking around for other games online that I could get into.

Q: Do you play any other role-playing games? If so, which ones?

A: Do I play other RPGs? Is the Pope Catholic? In addition to the Star Trek games, I play AD&D (First Edition), Traveller, Doctor Who, Star Trek Table-top, Starfleet Battles, the White Wolf series – Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, etc., and Morrow Project. I've been in a few sims based on the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books. I had an absolute hoot in playing all sorts of charries in there, from Witch judges to Vampire Medieval History professors to Were-leopard Social Worker ex-mobsters. It was a blast. XD

Q: How long have you been simming/role-playing altogether?

A: I've been in RPGs since August of 1978 {over 40 years!}, when I started with two charries in an AD&D game in Searcy, Arkansas at Harding College. I got into online gaming about 2000 and into simming about 2004.

Q: I understand you play multiple characters. Just how many do you play, and on which sims?

A: About 25 characters in all, with an occasional added character to help fill in a spot on the rolls for a sim. I usually play two characters on most sims, though there are three sims I regularly play three charries, and only about three that I only play one charrie on. As for which sims I'm on, I'm on ALL of them with a couple of independent sims on the side!

Q: We have chosen a specific character for the purposes of these interviews. How long have you played this particular character?

A: Shadow is one of my first two characters, originally started in AD&D (08/78), and I worked him and his twin sister, NightWing, over to the Star Trek Universe. Along the way, I have them as being part of the Descendants of Gem, from the TOS episode "The Empath," only along the way they have managed to gain the ability of speech so they can be more easily understood by their crewmates.

Q: What would you say are this character’s best attributes?

A: I'd say his best attributes are adaptability, compassion, and understanding. He's also willing to work himself nearly to death in order to save the crew or the ship he's on. His hobbies include being a chef, as well as something of a musician – he likes playing a small lapharp that he keeps in his quarters and he's trying to teach himself bagpipes, knowing the possible value of the "Shrieking Cats" in unnerving some of the natives and/or hostiles in their vicinity. He's also something of what people these days call a "Prepper" since he’s willing to take an extra backpack of possible equipment with him on an away mission to increase the survivability of the team because of his efforts.

Q: What about his worst attributes (if any)?

A: He's a downright pest of a practical joker at times, and loves to make the worst possible puns! But, he usually does it to help morale in times of danger.

Q: How long have you been with your current sim with this character?

A: Since about 01-29-16, when the Lothlorien and the Darmok started doing joint logs.

Q: On what other sims did you play this character?

A: I was the last of the crew of the USS Lothlorien to leave the ship, so the USS Lothlorien was my only other USF sim for Shadow besides the USS Darmok. I've also played this same character as CMO on the USS Bradbury, one of the Independent sims I’m on, and on several in the FSF before they changed to Ascension Sims.

[Please add any other Questions you feel might be interesting to our readers, or that are interesting to you as a Player or as this Character.]

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Q: You play over two dozen distinct characters, and have a character on literally every sim in the USF. Is it difficult to play that many characters? Do you ever mix up your characters and accidentally play the wrong character on the wrong sim?

A: So far I haven't mixed charries up between sims. I have however mixed up the posts for the charries when I am playing two or more in the same sim, but I try to minimize that by color coding the charrie posts. I usually don't find it that hard to play that many different charries since many of them are just various facets of my own personality.

Q: You say this character (Shadow) was brought over from AD&D to Star Trek. Was this a difficult task to accommodate the “magical races” and other “fantasy” elements into a sci-fi setting? Does anybody ever give you any flak over it?

A: It wasn't really that hard, just finding a way of explaining the 'magic' as a different kind of Technology, such as the capabilities of Sargon, Thalassa and Hanoch (TOS:"Return to Tomorrow") or Korob and Sylvia (TOS:"Catspaw") to transcend the usual technology that was represented by the ‘normal, run-of-the-mill’ Trek charrie to run into as would be comparing the advances of 'Trek-nology' over the Technology of today's world.As Thalassa said to McCoy- "A physician? In contrast to what we are, you are a prancing, savage medicine man. You dare defy one you should be on your knees worshipping? I could destroy you with a single thought." (TOS:"Return to Tomorrow") That is the rationale I use with the Fantasy/Science-Fiction conundrum. Magic is just a technology that hasn't been understood yet by the technocrats. {Just your editor’s two-strips here: this seems to be a very good explanation of “magic” in a sci-fi setting! As Arthur C. Clarke stated in Clarke's Third Law: ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’”