Onboarding

Posted on Wed Sep 11th, 2019 @ 10:20pm by Crewman 11010 & Crewman 00101 & Captain Liarra Von

Mission: After the Storm
Location: Starbase 332: Commander's Ready Room

The two Bynars exited the turbolift at Main Ops. It took them a fraction of a second to get their baring, as they have already downloaded the deck maps into their synaptic processors. In perfect synchronicity, they walked up to the Commander's Ready Room. The entire time, they are speaking to each other in their native tongue. Once there, one of them pressed the chime.

In a rare moment of silent reflection, Captain Von was able to take a break from her reports and relax with a book. It was really the first time since the storm that she really had a moment to relax in some relative safety. But the quiet moment came to an end when her door chimed. "Come in," she announced to the door.

As the door opened, the two walked in, again, in perfect synchronicity. As they spoke, they finished each others sentences.

"Good afternoon Captain." "11010 and..." "00101 reporting for duty." "We are your new..." "Linguistics officer and your new..." "Stellar Cartographer."

It was quite difficult to tell which one was which.

Liarra's eyes bounced back and forth in her head as she tried to make sense of the scene in front of her. "Of course, of course. I had heard that the latest crew transfers included Bynars. Welcome aboard." Von had met Bynars before, but she still couldn't get used to just how much alike the pair appeared. She knew she would never be about to remember which was which. "Please, have a seat. Tell me about yourselves."

The two gave a quizzical look at the Captain, then started talking to each other in their native language. After a few seconds, they stopped and turned back to the Captain.

"We sometimes forget" "The custom of small talk" "among those that are not connected." "We come from" "a lineage of" "Bynars that have been programmed" "to do extraordinary things." "We decided," "very early on," "that we wanted to join the Federation" "And explore the stars." "Our people don't" "journey very much." "Once a pair of us has" "experienced something," "that information is uploaded" "to the Master Computer" "and we all could experience it" "as if we were there."

The two started talking to each other again for a moment and then turned back again. "Please, tell us" "a little about yourself." They both flashed a very short grin that almost looked planned and then immediately returned to a neutral look. Small talk was not in their wheelhouse, and they were trying their best.

Captain Von thought for a moment that she might go cross-eyed as the two crewmen took turns talking. It was something that was going to take some getting used to, and she did not envy the task in front of Commander Drusus to do so. "Fair enough," Von answered in response to their description. "We may not be as different as we seem. While the two of you are connected to each other and the Master Computer, I'm linked to the experiences of those who came before me through my symbiont." Liarra patted her lower abdomen, where Von had been surgically implanted inside her. Besides my own memories, I carry with me the memories of five others that came before me. I suppose that's not quite as efficient as connecting to the Master Computer, but still very rewarding. Whether or not I have done extraordinary things is for history to determine, I suppose. But like you, part of my personal task to experience as many new things as I can for the Vons to follow me."

The two looked at each other and started speaking again for a few moments. Then to the Captain. "That sounds," "not as efficient, but" "better than most species." "If you want to" "improve the process, I'm sure" "our government would be willing to help you" "start your people down the same route" "we had taken many years ago."

Liarra smirked, perhaps a little more outwardly than she had intended. "It may not be efficient, but I think it's still the way that we prefer it. But, I'll keep your invitation in mind."

They both looked at each other, then back at the Captain. They both then nodded in perfect unison. "As you wish." "We are looking forward" "to getting started" "on board." "We hope that" "we will be able to" "do an adequate job" "based on your standards" "Captain."

"I hope so as well, crewmen. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Thank you" "we will get" "to work right away." They both stood and started to head to the door.

With the Bynars on their way out, Liarra cocked her head to her side and smirked to herself. Once the doors closed behind them, she pulled up her book and picked up where she left off.