Raven Rawne

Crystal Clear was in her designated quarter aboard the Starbase 238, laying on the bed and staring in the ceiling. Her mind was racing with a barrage of thoughts and she could feel the telltale signs of an encroaching headache. Blasted implant. A sudden announcement through the base's speakers startled her. "Huh? Well then... guess I get ready for thiss show..." - She muttered to herself as she rose on her hooves and walked to the bathroom to get ready. After three thorough brushings of her coat and several more attempts to style her mane just right, the mare got dressed in her Starfleet uniform - the dress one with a tube skirt and knee high hoof boots. Wouldn't hurt to look formal for once... She left the room with her earpiece and a couple painkiller pills in her pocket, just in case. Crystal muttered to herself encouragingly as she opened the door of her designated quarter: "You got this Crys, just keep your mouth shut and it'll be fine..." Crystal Clear walked into the meeting room along with a few other ponies who, apparently, were her fellow officers aboard "Luna". A lone human in the bunch picked her interest, along with a thestral. She smiled a little as she took her seat facing the window and as close to the door as reasonably possible. Old habits after an odd decompression years ago... 'Guess I won't be the only weird one around.' - she thought to herself as she took her seat. That's when she noticed her ship throught the window and greeted her with a wide smile. She couldn't wait to feel the slight trembling of a warp core under her hooves again. She turned towards the door as another attendant walked in, her captain judging from his red shirt and 4 pips. Everypony (and human) rose off their seats to greet their commander with a salute, and took their seats soon after. The mare listened to his introductions. Once the captain introduced her, Crystal grinned sheepishly, despite the rising headache. Should've taken the pill earlier... She replied: "Thank you sir. I won't let you down." Then thought to herself: 'Hopefully...' The mare listened to the other introductions, nodding and laughing occasionally as the cap seemed in the mood for jokes. She gave the doc a good look once it was her turn, and made a mental note: 'better stock on painkillers like candy for Hearts Warming.' When captain Sol asked if they have any questions she just had to do it... The mare looked around the room, faked a puzzled expression and asked: "So... where's the champagne for good luck?" She laughed a moment later and waved a hand apologetically. "Just kidding, really."

@@Miss Reaper, This sketch looks great! Really, have you considered opening a commission shop of sorts? @@Mentis Soliloquy, So this sketch got me thinking - do the Starfleet ponies wear boots all the time, as part of the uniform, or just when necessary (like in a haz-mat suit)? Also, I noticed you pasted the interiors into the OP, but without the alterations I mentioned. Wouldn't it cause some confusion later on? Just wondering.

I knew I probably made a few typos in that brick of a post...

Splendid! Can't wait to start this thing, since I spent the whole weekend learning Star Trek stuff and running simulations of Crys in this setting. I even watched Star Trek: Into Darkness which was on TV. Extra Heretical, but still "trekky". I also finished the crystal mare's Trek backstory, here it is, in her own words: "Personal Log, Lieutenant Crystal Clear, Chief on Engineering, USS "Luna" Stardate 41685.8. I thought I should made an entry like this, for posterity's sake, so the biographers won't mess up everything... Or for whoever discovers the burned out remains of our glorious vessel. Whichever comes first, I guess... (sipping noise) Aaaanyway, name's Crystal Clear, I'm a crystal pony mare from planet Equestria. As of this recording, I'm 36 years old, and if you're curious, my hometown is the Crystal Spire, a semi autonomous city-state on the planet's northen reaches. A nice place, if you don't mind the cold. I sure didn't... Damn, i shouldn't override the replicator unit in my office so fast. I'll use all the matter in the system on shots. No matter though, back to my life... So, I took interest in engineering before I could spell the word. Parents say I took everything apart and tried to guess how it worked. Of course reassembly was too boring so I left it to the grown-ups. Despite my drive for wantom destruction with a screwdriver, they saw I have a knack for it, and encouraged me to pursuit a career where I could put this... unique talent to use. (sipping noise) Thanks to their devoton I put the effort to learn the trade of an engineer, and later on, I decied that spaceships are the way to go! Never regretted that decision, even when I was laying in sickbay with half of my face on the walls a couple decks away. Remember kids, if you put a faulty power cell in your electromagnetic spanner, it goes boom! I was lucky to be alive, but they patched me up prety well. Hell even I sometimes think it was just a dream, there's no trace of the injury aside from that blasted ocular implant. Cool gadget on paper, 10x zoom and infra red heat mode, but it has this creepy pattern on the eyeball and makes my head hurt like buck from time to time. So if you guys find a corpse with a fake left eye, that's me. Oh and an earpiece in left ear. Made it myself to override the combadge's microphone and speaker and allow hands free operation. So I hear things directly into my ear and it picks my voice through bone vibrations - handy in noisy environments. I control it by moving my ear certain ways. Like I said, nice gadget, but Starfleet doesn't like tampering with issued gear, so I used it only when I was alone. Now I can finally be more open about it, since I'm the yellow shirt boss, but that part later. (sipping noise) Where was I? Ah, yes, a refill of my glass... (sounds of replicator in action, followed by a small laughter) Okay, back to topic at hand. So once I graduated the Starfleet Engineering Course, having some experience in civillian shutles and such behind my belt before applying, they sent me as an ensign on USS "Mercy". A boring hospital ship where I was taught the ways of Engineering by a Vulcan named Sulluk. A nice guy, all in all. I learned a lot from him. Once I fnally earned my Junior Lieutenant rank, I served on a few more ships as a regular engineer, then a team boss, assistant chief even! But "Luna" is my first as the Chief. (long sigh) I just hope I'll manage the responsibility, given how much prototype tech they packed into her... Still if I wasn't ready, the top brass wouldn't send me here, and I wouldn't sit in the Chief of Engineering's Office sipping brandy with hooves on the desk like I run this show. By the way, I want a chair by my console in the Main Engneering for Heart's sake! How come everypony gets a seat but not me?! Not fair! Least my assistant has to stand too, small comfort but still... Alright, end of the bedstory for today. I need to be more or less sober tomorrow, and check up on the rescue capsule nearest to my chambers. Just in case (nervous laughter). Crystal Clear out." Now the important stuff, the Main Engineering is located at the bottom rear of the ship and looks like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/ce/63/95ce638090fcf35c74b39e3916df71cc.jpgCrystal mans the console facing the Warp Core. Her quarters are right next to the reactor room, and look like this: http://img03.deviantart.net/3ca8/i/2014/297/6/4/scotty_s_quarters_by_bobye2-d83z2yi.jpg Obviously without scottish decorations. The living part has a bathroom behind the bedroom, the walls in the office part are crammed with screens showing status of ship modules. Behind her seat, in the low wall, is nested a small replicator unit for foodstuffs and small objects. She found a way to make it serve alcohol, but scarecely uses this function since she doesn't want anyone to know, or get caught drunk. Above the replicator, on the shelf (where the hemlet is pictured), lies a bulky toolbox made of pyrite, and a "DO NOT OPEN" sign on the lid. Anyone who opens it gers stunned by "Stunning Beauty" - a decomissioned pistol phaser with removed kill circuit set to fire 1 second after opening the lid, as monitored by a proximity sensor. A leftover from the times where she was still an ensign and other engineers hid her tools for fun. She also has a sculpted heart mounted on the wall, made of dilithium crystal. A parting gift from Sulluk.

@@Nightmare Season, Once the pair left the kitchen, Crystal Clear went to the doem and grabbed her things, leaving only the small mirror and comb for tomorrow. She dumped her saddlebags near the sleigh, where Nightmare was giving her stuff another look over. Themare fished the hidden bottle out of her bags and said with an apolgetic grin. "I was about to lift it secretly back home but... you spooked me with that lost valuables stuff, so I better leave it where I found it. I mean, We'll probably make a stop here on our way back anyway. Be right back." Wit hthat being said, she trotted off to the office they found the other day, and placed the bottle in the cabinet there she found it. "I'll be back for you, so don't go anywhere, got it?" She nudged the bottle as if expecting a solemn promise to comply, but nothing happenned, so she closed the cabinet shut and walked back to Nightmare. "Geez, you were counting everything three times, weren't you? And I see you made out your mind on the spears too, good. Told you I wouldn't know which end to point at 'em anyway. THAT's more like me..." She pointed a hoof at a nice, solid crystal maul resting against the wall and smirked. "I reckon you're done here, right? We'll fill the cistern tomorrow morning before we head off, in case it leaks..." Crystal mave their stuff a quick look over and made a remark. "Like I said, I'll pull this thing, cause your tail would burn the cables, so even with your air in pushing it from the back, it will be slow going and I'll need some warm-up breaks here and then. So, if any of us spots a place to rest for a few minutes, we take the opportunity, okay? I know it'll take forever, but we won't ger there if we die en route, I figured." She ran a hoof absentmindedly overthe sleigh, then shook her head. "Nah, it'll be fine! Has to. I'm going to hit the hay, don't spend all night in here okay? You'll miss your meal. Besides, i kinda like our little dream escapades." She winkd at him and went off, swishing her tail somewhat. A few minutes later, Crystal Clear was laying in bed and trying to catch some Z's.

@@Orange Sparks Crystal Clear breathed in with a mix of relief and apprehension of what awaited within those walls. "Yes we are! Better start thinking on some good lines once you meet your father... I sure do the same right now. " She looked at her love and nodded. "Why not, if they have something interesting." As the wagons approached each other, Crystal Clear waved at the stranger ahead in greeting. "Hello good sir, my fiancé was wondering if maybe you could spare a moment for us. She's looking for a present for her sister and thought you might have something interesting for sale?" The stallion before them was leading a wagon similar to theirs, just with a cloth roof stretched in half elliptical supports. He was dressed in a long robe and had a ridiculously long beard, reaching to his belt in fact. His mane was pure white and hus coat sky blue. A unicorn horn was clearly visible. Despite the elderly look, his movements and voice betrayed that he was in fact no older than 40 or so. The unicorn was weary of his sudden company at first, buy once the mares expressed interest in his stock in a civil manner, he extended his arms in a o rely exaggerated welcome and pulled the cart over to the side of the road. "Why welcome indeed! It's not every day fine noble ponies like yourselves have a opportunity to meet a master of the arcane such as myself! Quill Dip's the name, allow me to show you my wares, the finest magical artefacts thus side of the ocean!" Crys decided to act like a civilised mare; despite the feeling she met a charlatan. "The pleasure is ours, good sir. Clare, come on down and take a look!"

@@Orange Sparks Crystal Clear made her best scrunchie face and stared at her laughing fiancé. She felt the blush rising on her face as she thought Clare was serious with her idea. Once the other mare could speak again and kissed her, Crys softened her expression. "I uh... I mean..." She bit her lower lip as she examined Clare, thinking of something, then nodded. "Good, I was thinking you're going bi in here, and I just know I would cave in eventually if you bugged me for long enough. So that's a relief, I guess..." She offered a smile to the other mare. "Let's stick to adoption for now. No need to make it unnecessarily weird." She saw a caravan of merchant wagons ahead, going from the capital and in their direction. "Seems we'll meet somepony alive on the trail after all..."

@@Orange Sparks Crystal narrowed her eyes as she gave Clarissa a probing stare. "What did you just say? Me... as a stallion?" She continued peering at Clare for any hint that it was just some weird joke, but she wasn't sure. Finally she decided to speak her mind. "You're kidding right? We both know that I'm sooo not into stallions and you ask me to BE one? That's just... I'll pass on this once in a lifetime opportunity, you know. I'll spend all my money for healers to get rid of the nightmares this would give me." She shook herself off as if she was cold. "...Why are you looking at me that way?"

I sense demonic posession into zombie like creatures, leading a colony of ponies into disarray, losing contact with the rest of Galaxy and any traces of tech savvy, captain. Hey, maybe Blood would be interested in playing a slightly crazy, needle happy Chief Medic and boss of science branch? I mean, who doesn't like a mad sciencist? Except for his patients of course...

@@Nightmare Season The mare leaned closer to see the magic happen. Or perhaps see how Nightmare could tell do much from a few weird cards laying in disarray on the table. If not for the fact that his readings were without fail, she would conclude it was just a show. She didn't say a word as he delivered the reading, as if she was afraid to mess it up by opening her mouth. Once he was done and looked her way, Crystal was sitting with her forelegs clasped together and touching her nose, as if she double booped herself, and replied with a thoughtful tone. "That item of value... any idea what it could be? Did the cards give a clue? It would be a shame if they meant our loaded sleigh..." She patted her nose in thought, but apparently didn't reach any satisfying conclusions, since she unclasped hee hooves and laid them flat on the table. "Guess we'll have to be careful then. Given the way your cards answer our questions, I'd rather be in the dark than go paranoid from their answers. Just tell me what you want to do today before I open the buffet for the night and let's wrap up this productive day. The spears for example. I still need to finish the cistern by placing the inner tank inside the outer shell and stuff the space in between." She listened to his imput, then drummed into the table with her hooves and got up, smiling in an encouraging manner. "Shall we?"

@@Orange Sparks Crystal shook her head. "Damn, just accept the truth alright? The ring on your finger will make ponies weep, regardless of their gender." She looked at her fiancé complimenting the stablecolt with a curious expression. "If I haven't knew you better I would be under impression that you're all smitten with him... Let's just hope your sister will agree." The last question was just too much, and Crys bowed down in laughter. "Oh Heart, that was a good one... Ooohhh... Last time I checked you were a mare, not a stallion, so excuse me for that, it sounded so... weird to me you know. Now my family has lots of red and blue going on, red mostly. So color wise I guess they would have done of those but other than that... Either pegasi or Earth ponies. Can't say much more really, but maybe your friendly mage would help us find out." She finished with a sly wink and looked under her hooves to avoid tripping again.

My thoughts exactly - take a picture and say that this and that looks different, and you're all set! No lengthy descriptions of how many steps there are between the door and consoles... While I'm satisfied with the Auxiliary Engineering, I'll look for a better main one, and surely change a few things in Crystals office. Those homing dual function misses are a punch above the weight class already, so improved manoeuvrability or shields will set us above other vessels of this size, no need to go too big on fancy stuff, unless you want to. Crew distribution and the issue of controlling the NPC's of our departments are still waiting for closure, but I guess other departments should also state how many underlings they need to function.

Alright, I'll keep an eye out for cool pics to let us get a better idea of our mighty vessel. I saw some cool internal schematics. Speaking of which: http://bobye2.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/ Bridge http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3544/3352283673_31ea4fc76b_m.jpg Main and aux engineering https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/ce/63/95ce638090fcf35c74b39e3916df71cc.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8105/8650747726_88f254a0ec_b.jpg Crystals quarters and office right next to main engineering http://img03.deviantart.net/3ca8/i/2014/297/6/4/scotty_s_quarters_by_bobye2-d83z2yi.jpg Making the prototype a smaller, escort type vessel would be reasonable from any standpoint, so we're in the clear. 100 crew is also a good idea, making it a frigate at best, so while it will limit your story options, at least at first, it'll be easier to manage with just a few players. Engineering would have 1 aux generator and 30 yellow shirts total, including chief and her assistant. I'll check out the Voyager but using a well documented vessel as Base is a very good idea.

@@Orange Sparks She scratched the back of her head and combed her mane into shape with her fingers. "Yeah, I guess I would drink myself to death if that happened, so I know what you mean." Crys looked in the distance too and nodded. "You're right! We're getting close to the joyful moment when I can change into something not smeared with blood..." The mare looked back at her fiancé. I'm not betting cause I'd lose silly! She's your sister so she has to be as hot as you. Well nearly as hot, since you're the hottest mare under the sun." She sticked her tongue playfully and nearly tripped on a loose stone. "Whoa! That was a close one... They need to take better care of this road or something, almost lost my teeth in here."

Hmm, maybe we could use that recruitment week to hash out some more details? See, there isn't much about this starship class online, aside from armament and one odd mention of 500 crew strength. So I figured that, since it's meant as an experimental vessel, we could agree on stuff that isn't presented elsewhere, like the number of stations on the bridge. Crystal will be spending a lot of time in the main Engineering and I have an idea how it would look like, and that there should be 2 auxiliary ones near the pylons. If the 500 crew is correct, she would need around 50 yellow shirts in her department, to man the consoles and still have at least one repair team of 10 souls. Plus one assistant chief engineer. BTW are we supposed to roleplay our OC's underlings? I am also working on a fuller back story and will modify the one I already provided.

@@Orange Sparks Crystal Clear caught the flask and raised in a toast, smiling. "Cheers!" Then she took a moderate swing and hanged it on a jutting beam on the wagon. "Seems zi can see the end of this forest, we should be in the clear once we get out. Then it's straight to Opal through farmlands and grazing grounds." They managed to get out of the forest in one piece, and once they did, Crys tossed her helmet back inside the cart. "Never liked wearing helmets... But it's a small inconvenience compared to an arrow in my head, I guess..."

@@Orange Sparks, "The crystal mare nodded, still scanning the surroundings. "Sounds nice! A spacious manor house, stone ground floor and half timber walls with white plaster higher up, that would be veeeery nice. I'm on the fence about pallisading the settlement, since living behind walls is, well, a bit depressing. Besides, I hope fending off ponynappers won't become a regular thing in our schedule..." They approached a clearing on both sided of the road, meant as a stop point for travellers. Currently the place was empty, save for a couple old fireplaces. Crystal Clear turned to Clarissa "Toss me a flask, will you? Been too long since I had a drink hehe!" Seeing her unapproving look, she corrected herself. "I meant that alcohol free cider, that did you think I was referring to?"

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal Clear readjusted her right gauntlet and replied, matter of fact. "Could be hired thugs, paid for making somepony dissapear. There are all kinds of reason for what happenned there really." She turned to Clare and smiled coyly, her visor raised. "So... how would the future lady of Flounder Cove see her household? I like the security of stone, but a tower keep would be a waste of money, and they're not really nice places to live - too many damn stairs."

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal Clear shrugged and tugged on the oxen's reins to make her walk. "Brigands pop up every now and then and it's nothing extraordinary. Maybe it's a kidnapping for ransom or something along these lines, who knows. Best we can do is keep moving and reach the city as fast a we can to inform the guards, since we're not stepping in ourselves." The pair was approaching the treeline when Crys picked her hekmet and put it on, just in case. "Keeo an eye out for trouble, I won't vouch that whoever did that went someplace else and isn't looking for some more coin on the road. Even if the wagons we saw going East passed unmolested." They went into the forested part of the Spine Trail, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, like road blockades and such.

@@Mentis Soliloquy, Thank you for such kind words, it appears I have a busy weekend ahead of me then - hitting the proverbial books to learn about the ins and outs of Star-Trek tech. By the way, does her backstory draft hold water? I didn't want to make her a spanner maverick who diagnoses reactors by listening to their humming, but at the same time I have some concerns whether one's first assignment as the department leader on an experimental vessel wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

@@Mentis Soliloquy, Here are the 1x1's I've been involved so far. They're still ongoing, as you can see. Diffuse Reflection All that Shines Now to the backstory... I'll write it for the Chief Engineer but if I get greenlit and assigned a different position, I will apply necessary changes. Crystal Clear is 36 years old, her appearance is the same as in her profile page. Average height for a pony, lean statute, but wider at the hips. Same cutie mark and talent - self-critical stance to achieve perfection, never settling for less. Her personality is the same as for canon appearances, introverted and task oriented. As a ship engineer she spends a lot of time Heart knows where on the ship, fixing stuff or making improvements. That's why she always has a modified earpiece in her left ear - to have contact with the rest of the ship when she's elbow deep in cables in some service room... it works as a wireless speaker/microphone for her commbadge - it tuens on and off by flichering the ear, allowing hands free operation and less noise, just a slight buzz from her ear instead of a loud broadcast from her commbadge's speaker. Born and raised on Planet Equestria, in a semi autonomus city-state of Crystal Spire at the northern reaches of the continent. Seeing her willingness to disassemble things to learn how they work, Crystal's parents guided her towards mechanics and engineering, and later down the road she took a turn towards space ship maintenance, seeing it as a fascinating and expansive subject. The mare served on four smaller vessels before, and rose through the ranks by merit of her skill. USS Luna will be her first appointment as Chief Engineer. A few years back, she had an accident that nearly cost her life - a faulty power cell blew in her face. The docs did a fantastic job and there's no sign of the injury, except an ocular replacement for her left eye, Thankfully barely noticeable. It allows for 10x zoom and thermal imaging, quite handy at her work, but on the downside, she suffers from frequent headaches and has gotten short tempered because of that. Naturally, I'll expand if I get the green light and we settle on a position in Luna's crew. That, and I need to do more research on all things Star-Trek.

Wow, seems everypony wants to be the next Scotty... Considering the vastness of my Star Trek ignorance, I guess somepony more savvy in the Universe could do better in this highly sought position, but I'll let the GM decide on that. After all, I'm not even greenlit yet. By the way, which series/time line/reboot will the RP take place in? It's useful information for those willing to catch up on lore and tech.