Jynaral Rkeran -reporting in 6/30/24

Kinley Garrison · June 30, 2024, 11:32:35 PM

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Jynaral Rkeran · July 01, 2024, 03:26:01 AM

Character Details
Character Name: Jynaral R'keran III. LIke most Caitians often goes by "R'keran" but humans seem fond of "Jyn"
Character Age: 24
Character DOB: 2375
Character Image:Lord Windgrace

Character Species: Caitian
Gender: Male
Character Family: Jynaral R'keran II (Father), Venara R'keran (Mother). 6 siblings.

Character Bio:
History
R'keran was raised a frontier colonist, born to a family of brave souls that set out to make a new home on a distant, terraformed world. Life is challenging in the colonies, and R'keran grew up in a family of farmers, struggling to grow new life and master the wilderness of their burgeoning home.

From an early age, R'keran was repairing farming equipment and hunting wild beasts, a natural education but one that taught him a certain sense of ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking, for which he has a particular talent. R'keran, however, never quite felt at home in such a place. A head in the clouds and a mind for fantasy, he imagined far off worlds and exploring the stars, becoming obsessed with stories he could glean from those few who came and went from their isolated home, while filling the gaps with tales of his own, sketched as he idled away sweet summer days out in the fields or woods. It is no surprise then that he would applied for Starfleet Academy, journeying from the corners of Federation space into its heart to learn and study with the best. It was a tremendous opportunity, and everything which he dreamed.

But he wasn't ready for it.

Diligent, hard-working and a surprisingly fast learner, R'keran nonetheless struggled at the academy. The obvious culprit was his lack of formal education; while not entirely ignorant, there was certainly a learning curve, as the farmboy was forced to put in late nights and long hours to swallow knowledge others had long since mastered, if only to keep up with the curve. But just as much, his own nature proved his undoing. R'keran's knack for lateral thinking did not mesh with Starfleet protocol, expecting him to do his job and do it right; what praise he may have received for imaginative solutions to fixing devices or avoiding obstacles was marred by mediocre performances in doing it 'the proper way.'

The new R'keran that emerged from the academy was not the one that entered. Buried within was still the same excitable youth who came bright-eyed to San Francisco with hopes of seeing the stars, who could rebuild a cyto-scanner with spare parts from an old tractor or hunt a full grown Zula-bird by smell alone. But to survive he had became strict, disciplined, and by the book, perhaps too much so. Unfortunately, any hope of impressing his superiors was long since lost and his ultimate performance was mediocre; adequate, but certainly not a recommendation for the Enterprise, or Deep Space Exploration or, well, anywhere interesting for that manner. Still, chin up, he's intent on doing his best to make the most of it, wherever he goes. Perhaps he will find stories to tell, or perhaps, this assignment won't be so bad after all...

Appearance
Those who meet R'keran can't help but notice him: they build them big in the colonies. Standing nearly seven feet tall and well built, R'keran cuts a huge figure, and comparisons to certain large terrestrial predators were common on earth. Understandably, R'keran is remarkably strong; while he may lack the absurd muscle density of, say, a Klingon or Vulcan he nonetheless can do more than most, particularly among the fellow students at the academy. It's hard work growing up on a colony farm, and his size certainly entitled him to a lion's share of the work. Surprisingly, he does not appear imposing - even though most must look up at him - as his often hunched and quiet nature help distract from his size.

Like all Caitians R'keran is feline in appearance, covered in fur, of which his is particularly dark; subject to a harmless melanistic mutation, R'keran wears a coat of coal black, another way that he feels he stands out around others.

Those few who have seen him out of uniform can't help but notice the strange scarification that peppers his body. Not the product of violence or conflict, but simply the rough and tumble nature of colony life, and a few childhood scraps with his fanged and clawed siblings. The technology exists and is more than available to the colonists to heal those injuries without scars, but his family follows an ancient Caitian cultural practice that sees scars as a form of beautification. Instead of healing, they are instead tattooed with brilliant gold, leaving his body crisscrossed with lines of golden light.

Your Details
Previous Role-Playing Experience: Started experimenting with roleplaying on the old Gaia Online forums some twenty years ago, and it's been off and on since. These days I'm DMing for three multi-year D&D campaigns, and I write Warhammer 40k short stories on commission. Haven't had the chance to commit to something of this scale before, which has me excited and curious.

Department Preference: Engineering
Secondary Department Preference: Operations
Commissioned, Enlisted or Civilian: Commissioned (uncertain what may be best vs Enlisted, willing to change.)

Sample post
"Are you comfortable, cadet?"

R'keran was not comfortable, but he responded with an affirmative nod, shuffling in his seat. Everything about this was not right. At the least, the sizes were off; the chair he sat in was too small, rubbing on his thighs, but so too was the figure seated across from him. Vice Admimral Kreth, a tellarite, was a little over four feet tall, almost half R'keran's size, with furniture proportioned appropriately. This left the caitian feeling comically oversized, hands on his lap, looking down at his superior.

If it was any consolation, and it certainly wasn't, the Vice-Admiral seemed just as uncomfortable as R'keran did, pointlessly shuffling and rearranging his own desk as he continued with various pleasantries.

"You know, I can't say I've known a Caitian with fur as dark as yours, Cadet, it's certainly something."

R'keran bristled at the vice-admiral's comment. There was no way he could have known how offensive such a comment was, and he did his best to brush it off; now was not the time for dwelling on small matters.

"It...it is a melanistic mutation, sir." R'keran explained, doing his best to relax his hackles. his voice was strangely steady, despite his anxiety, though the characteristic purr of his kind melded into his speech. "Uncommon but not a medical concern."

"Yes. Of course." The Vice-Admiral sighed, sitting up. No more waiting, no more leaving the poor boy out to suffer. "Cadet I've called you hear to discuss your appointment requests. They are, well, they are very ambitious."

R'keran's heart sank. "I...I did not know that my requests were anything out of the ordinary, sir." Something was caught in his throat, and he gripped the fabric on his legs to steady himself.

"See..." the Vice-Admiral paused, hands together, thinking about how to say what came next. "...You are what the humans would call a 'C-student.' Your performance has been adequate, as it were, but the postings you've requested are also ones that other, more accomplished students have also requested. I think it is prudent that we consider postings more, well, to your level."

"Vice-Admiral, sir!" R'keren couldn't help but speak up. It was, perhaps, inappropriate and out of place, but the moment demanded that he speak for himself and it seems the Admiral was accommodating, pausing, listening briefly to what he had to say.

"I...I didn't join Starfleet to sit on a space station or outpost I..." The Caitian swallowed. He was twice as big as the tellarite and yet felt half his size. "...I joined to see new places, to travel, to see stories..."

"Son..." There was a weariness in the voice of the vice-admiral, a mote of sympathy, but the undeniable sense that he had heard this story before. "Every cadet comes through those doors imagining themselves the next James Kirk, a captain or admiral, and that just isn't the place for everyone. We need to be realistic about what we all can do, and what we all have to offer."

The Tellarite offered his best reassuring smile, leaning forward, sliding over a tablet, as R'keran's heart sank into the floor.

"Give it a try, and you never know, you may find there's more to love about being in Starfleet than you think."

Additional information:
* Elevator Pitch: Farmboy barncat can't quite cut it at the academy, looks to make the best of it where he ends up.

* I couldn't find better information about Caitian families and naming schemes, so did my best with what I could clean from Memory alpha/beta, please let me know if there's more to it!

* a number of details are not really critical to the character, such as age and DOB. I want to be useful, and add flavor to the experience. Open to suggestions and recommendations!

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