steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Jan 22, 2024 13:18:02 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I hate politics."
"See, when patrolling the unoccupied border, the IKN patrols the outside of the border and mission group (usually just two or three ships) patrols the inside of the border. Obviously, the border is comprised of the borders of several nations and so we have to 'pause' when we approach where the borders of two nations meet so that we can be 'handed off' to another nation's patrol group."
"However, sometimes, politics comes into play and our 'pause' becomes something of a political pawn. After all, it's the stance of the individual nations that the Klingon Empire doesn't 'need' the IKN and that they can defend the Klingon Empire all by themselves, thank you very much. Can we technically patrol our side of the border without assistance from the national navies? Sure. However, it's not good practice to do so for many reasons, mainly militarily and diplomatically."
"At the moment, we're waiting for another nation to take over being the 'interior' mission group and the delay has to do with politics."
"Lovely."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Jan 24, 2024 13:06:34 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Ever heard of a 'trash torpedo'? Now you have and it's a dirty little secret of the IKN."
"See, everyone generates trash: Napkins, paper plates, scrap paper, burger wrappers... And it all has to go somewhere. I get it; Some of it is recycled and, even though we are knuckle-dragging Klingons, we DO recycle some items. Some."
"For everything else that's relatively small, though, we throw it away. And, by 'throw it away,' we toss it into an on-board incinerator which reduces it into ash which then gets tossed into open space. Out of sight, out of mind."
"For larger objects, though, we can't just incinerate it. For larger objects (a wall panel that got ruined, carpeting that got ruined, even modestly-sized objects that are broken beyond repair, etc.), we put it into a large container that could fit a modestly-sized pick-up truck inside of it, launch it towards the nearest star (which, in turn, incinerates it). The 'trash torpedo,' if you will."
"Each ship launches it's own torpedoes. The official rule is for the launch to be fairly straight-forward but some crews get more creative than others with their torpedo's trajectory. It's the equivalent of that obnoxious pool player who banks the cue ball off of one wall, gently strikes one ball so that the cue ball ricochets and strikes another ball which strikes another ball which strikes another ball that eventually goes into a pocket."
"Yes, on occasion, it all goes horribly wrong. However, there is also perverse glee when it goes gloriously right and one of these 'trash torpedoes' takes this long, circuitous route before it finally enters a star's gravitational pull and gets incinerated."
"You have to find your fun whenever you can when serving in the IKN."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Jan 26, 2024 13:04:05 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Our mission group just got a 'test.'"
"See, within the mission group, we have drills to prepare us to respond for various emergencies. We need to set up a line umbilical for whatever reason. The bridge on a ship becomes inoperable and we need to staff the auxiliary bridge. Fires. Explosions. Invasions. You name it. There are drills for everything."
"However, those are drills WITHIN the mission group. The mission group organizes those drills. Granted, the IKN knows about these drills, approves these drills but it's the mission group that initiates them. Very rarely does the IKN say to a mission group, 'Time to run a bridge drill.' The IKN expects mission groups to take care of that stuff themselves. And, if they don't... Well, that's when you get new leadership on the mission groups."
"Some drills, though, extend beyond the mission group because they are 'mission group'-wide. These are drills that the mission group can't organize and initiate because they are FOR the entire mission group."
"Early this morning, we were awakened to a battle stations prompt. Star Fleet has 'Red Alert' & 'Yellow Alert' or something like that. We have 'Batsa 1' through 'batsa 5.' 'Batsa' stands for 'Battle Station.' Anyway, Batsa-1 is that we are in full-on battle mode while Batsa-5 is slight caution. There is technically a 'Batsa-Null' which just means normal operations."
"Anyway, we were awakened to a Batsa-3 alert. OK. That meant everyone who had security uniform gear wore it. Some people were switched to more battle-oriented roles. As a hypothetical example, a chef might have a 'Batsa role' as an auxiliary torpedo loader or something like that. On the inventory side of things, all inventory swaps were stopped and we were ordered to distribute a lot of medical gear to various parts of our ship. Doors were sealed and we were all issued live disruptors and ordered to holster them. I was assigned to guard a storage room along with one other person."
"Batsa-3 is the first stage where things are serious. If you're at Batsa-3, you would not be shocked if it went up to Batsa-2 or 1 really quick. Of course, you can also go down from Batsa-3 to Batsa-5 (or Null) really quick, too."
"The reason for the alert was that, in the scenario, an unknown group of vessels were approaching us from the unoccupied border side. They weren't responding to hailing transmissions and flying in a way to purposely obscure their numbers and purpose."
"It was super-suspenseful and also super-tense. Your mind is racing and you're thinking of contingencies the entire time. Finally, we were told that we were going down to Batsa-5 and then hit 'null' about half-an-hour later. Only when we hit null were we informed that it was a mission group-wide drill. Yeah; That was a relief."
"I don't know how well we performed; That's for others to decide and we may never know the specifics. However, I'm also beginning to think that some of the delays in being 'handed off' from being shadowed by one national navy to the other may have something to do with the drill. After all, those navies have to be told that a drill is being performed because, for all the world, you don't want them thinking that an actual invasion is occurring."
"Anyway, glad that's over with."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Jan 28, 2024 5:19:48 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Every stupid ship has it's own traditions. Remember the 'fingertip pull-ups' from before? Where you had to do them before eating every meal?"
"Well, on this ship, you do push-ups every time you go to the bathroom. I'm not joking. After you go to the bathroom, you have to perform 10 push-ups (if you're a guy) or 8 if you're a woman. They don't differentiate between Imperials and half-breeds; It's not like that number of push-ups is going to kill you."
"You are technically supposed to do the push-ups in the hallway outside of the bathroom so people can witness you performing the push-ups although some of the bathrooms are large enough to do them in there."
"For inventory, we just do them in one of the inventory rooms and have someone from inventory witness it. We also keep count and it's amazing how quickly that the number goes up. And, for the record, I do 10 push-ups. Some of the other women do the full 10 as well."
"I swear, the stupid traditions that occur on these ships..."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Jan 30, 2024 13:18:23 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"One of the shuttles malfunctioned and completely shut-down during mid-flight. I was asleep at the time. There was only a lone pilot in there at the time and, fortunately, had their pilot's suit on which protected him enough from the sudden cold until he could put on an emergency helmet & gloves. The impulse drive on the shuttle shut down (for some reason) but they were able to make an emergency outside dock at a ship so that the pilot could bail. I've heard that the pilot is fine but, obviously, a bit shaken."
"Shuttle malfunctions are for real; If the environmentals go, you have only moments to protect yourself. A typical pilot's suit is like a really weak spacesuit; Depending upon the environment, it's only good for about a half-hour at most even with gloves, boots and helmet on."
"Meanwhile, that shuttle going down just complicated our inventory supply routes for the time being. Had lots of fun re-shuffling previously-scheduled flights to ensure people don't run out of everything."
"Just another day at the IKN."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 1, 2024 12:57:11 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"One of the dirty little secrets about being in the IKN (and probably any navy) is that you are often too tired to be scared. You're doing so much, so often, every day that even when you're on a mission such as this one where you are *technically* in unoccupied space... You don't care. It's just another day on the job."
"We've been in unoccupied space for how many weeks now and never once have I been afraid. I was a little bit scared when we had that one drill where we thought there were incoming vessels from the unoccupied side but... Even then, I didn't really think that I was going to die or be hurt. It's weird."
"And yet there are times when you suddenly have this clarity that you could die at any moment. I'm on an IKN vessel in unoccupied space. Just being in a vessel is dangerous, never mind being a military vessel in unoccupied space. Anything can happen here; WE're not, technically, in the Klingon Empire. There are no laws; We're not even in unoccupied space that's BETWEEN two civilizations. It's not like there's a treaty or a 'gentleman's handshake' concerning who-owns-what and how you should maneuver..."
"It's only when you're in your bunk, about to go to sleep, when you suddenly realize that anything can happen at any moment... That you're alive only because something else doesn't want you dead, not that you've done enough to live."
"I wonder if other people in Star Fleet or the Star Navy think this?"
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 3, 2024 11:58:56 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Something funny happened the other day. Well, not funny but funny in the context of being on the mission."
"We suddenly pick up this transmission out of nowhere. It's coming from unoccupied space but it's a Klingon language transmission. It's like some sort of commercial broadcast, as though you're listening to a television broadcast that you'd normally watch but it's coming from unoccupied space."
"We think that it's another drill (Why wouldn't we?) and we go into Batsa-5. Maybe it's a pirate group that just doesn't know how to shield their incoming communications but why would they be listening to something like that...? Anyway, we communicate to the group shadowing us on the other side of the border and they don't know anything about it."
"The thing about it is that the broadcast is over a year old. Why is it a year old? Why would anyone be listening to a broadcast that's over a year old as though it was a current broadcast? Turns out it that it was a stray communications satellite that got knocked out of it's orbit and flung into unoccupied space. The satellite was still picking up it's intended transmission and trying to beam it back but the distance and it's power meant that it was only... Well, anyway, we all had a good laugh over it."
"We actually retrieved the thing and brought it back to the mission group. The guys who hauled it in took pictures of it as though it was a game animal that they had killed on a safari. I don't know if we're going to hand it off to the national navy that's shadowing us or if we'll keep it to the end of the mission and hand it off to the IKN. It was in surprisingly good shape considering how long it had been out of orbit."
"I swear, you can't make this stuff up at times."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 5, 2024 13:31:41 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Here's why I'm never going to be important in the IKN: Retrieving that stray satellite was a bit more important than I gave it credit for."
"Even though the satellite was a civilian construct and it was beaming civilian commercial content, any intelligence that an opposing force could glean from it would be used to their advantage. They'd learn aspects of our spoken language, of our biological form, our technological prowess... What materials we use and even the manufacturing processes."
"Everyone had a good laugh over it but securing the border is no joke. Any intelligence that you give a malicious opposing force is something that they WILL use. It's the reason why there are laws against 'leaky' transmissions that go across the border into unoccupied space."
"No one cares if the Federation listens in on our civilian broadcasts (and the same is true with us listening to theirs). But it's another thing if someone that we don't know about listens to our broadcasts. It's the reason why we have listening devices and other operations (stuff that, thankfully, I will never be a part of) on the unoccupied border to listen to some unknown alien's civilian broadcasts. It's hard to spy on someone that may or may not exist but you still have to try anyway..."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 7, 2024 13:19:36 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"We're beginning to get to the end of the mission. You can tell by the inventory requests and the distribution. The captains are beginning to tell the crews such things like, 'knock it off with the toilet paper' and stuff like that."
"If you're a malicious, evil inventory person (and you will be, trust me), a dirty little trick is to stuff other ships with inventory before you have to start restricting what you send to those other ships. For instance, the last quarter of a mission is usually when captains and mission command begin to tell you to stop honoring requests for toilet paper from other ships or whatever. This is to anticipate where you have to count up your inventory and get it all ready to be transferred off of the ship so that the IKN can take stock of it all. If you have less inventory on your ship, that's less time it takes to count it all up."
"It's not as though we besiege other ships with a ton of other stuff. There's a legitimate, practical side to it. First and foremost, you don't want other ships to be running out of things (such as toilet paper). Also, it's not as though the inventory crews of other ships are ingrates; Oftentimes, they WANT extra merchandise so that they DON'T have to make requests towards the end of a mission."
"The captains aren't being mean, either. One less request is one less shuttle mission and one less shuttle mission means one less chance for the shuttle to blow up or some other horrible incident. By the way, that shuttle that lost power a while back that I wrote about? They found the cause. It was a software glitch; The shuttle's hardware was so old that it didn't understand what the software was telling it and everything just stopped. Maybe if most of our stuff wasn't second-hand everything from the other navies this wouldn't be a problem. I have no idea how they're going to long-term the solution to that problem; I didn't ask."
"There's a delicate balance between beginning to count up inventory and throw stuff at other ships and the captains declaring to restrict inventory requests... It's never perfect."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 9, 2024 12:15:05 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Want to lose weight? Box up inventory and get everything ready for re-distribution. And do that as though you're a day late in doing so even when you're not."
"Sometimes, an inventory crew gets lucky and other crew come by to help out. Often times, though, you're on your own because those other crews have their own 'mission end' assignments to fulfill and that takes up a lot of their time as well. And with shuttle trips on a bare minimum, it's not like inventory crews from other ships can help out. Even if they could, those crews are just re-assigned to help out crews in other departments on their own ships."
"When you're boxing up and counting everything, you get hot and sweaty in a hurry. Strict protocol means that you should be in your uniform at all times. From a practical standpoint, that just doesn't work out. Try jogging for an hour in a business suit and see how well that works out for you. Right now, I'm in a T-shirt and shorts. So long as I don't leave the inventory area, walk into the cafeteria or go near the executive crew, I'll be fine and the executive crew is fine with it as well. What did the Terrans use to say? 'Don't ask; Don't tell.' So long as the political officer or executive crew doesn't see you, they'll just happily think that you're in your uniform doing all of this."
"The other crews don't really care what we wear as we prepare for the end of the mission. Heck, I'm sure some of them wouldn't mind for some of us ladies to wear our BIRTHDAY suits, if you catch my drift..."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 11, 2024 10:55:48 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"The end of a mission is always a grind. It's constant work. Most of the ship has to be prepared to be cleared out. Think of it like a hotel room; You are leaving but someone else is arriving soon after. While there will be another crew in here ("the port crew") to actually 'clean' the ship, it's our responsibility to make it as clean as we possibly can. The port crew doesn't deal with inventory or anything else; They vacuum, mop, clean and do maintenance."
"We are done with inventory. I think that there's only one other ship that is still dealing with their inventory but that's not my problem. And just because you're done with inventory doesn't mean that you're 'done.' There are a bunch of other tasks to perform as well. You have to get all of your gear ready to be transported. Your uniforms have to be clean, pressed... When we leave the ship, it should be as clean as we can make it."
"Of course I won't be staying on this ship. That's the IKN for you. My next deployment will be on the IKN Jokush and the mission will be a CMAS, which stands for 'compassion & material assistance.' In other words, we're going into impoverished areas and helping out the populations however we can."
"Without getting into politics, not all nations here inside of the Klingon Empire are as stable (politically, financially, etc.) as they should be. Some, quite honestly, could do well with new leadership. However, even though we're an Empire, it's not as though a nation can just be arbitrarily overthrown. That unstable nation, after all, does have a military and leaders are known to be very stubborn with staying in power."
"As a result, the IKN goes in and delivers services that the nation either is unwilling or incapable of providing. The host nation knows better than to overtly resist because, after all, we are an Empire..."
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Post by trynda1701 on Feb 11, 2024 13:19:56 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "One of the dirty little secrets about being in the IKN (and probably any navy) is that you are often too tired to be scared. You're doing so much, so often, every day that even when you're on a mission such as this one where you are *technically* in unoccupied space... You don't care. It's just another day on the job."
"We've been in unoccupied space for how many weeks now and never once have I been afraid. I was a little bit scared when we had that one drill where we thought there were incoming vessels from the unoccupied side but... Even then, I didn't really think that I was going to die or be hurt. It's weird."
"And yet there are times when you suddenly have this clarity that you could die at any moment. I'm on an IKN vessel in unoccupied space. Just being in a vessel is dangerous, never mind being a military vessel in unoccupied space. Anything can happen here; WE're not, technically, in the Klingon Empire. There are no laws; We're not even in unoccupied space that's BETWEEN two civilizations. It's not like there's a treaty or a 'gentleman's handshake' concerning who-owns-what and how you should maneuver..."
"It's only when you're in your bunk, about to go to sleep, when you suddenly realize that anything can happen at any moment... That you're alive only because something else doesn't want you dead, not that you've done enough to live."
"I wonder if other people in Star Fleet or the Star Navy think this?" This is an interesting entry in respect to life onboard real life military vessels. Yes, if you are on station at or near a trouble spot (think Yemen and Gaza/Israel recently), your vessel might be called upon to either defend itself or be ready to provide an attack posture due to a particular incident occuring. But while travelling from your home port towards such detachments/tours, even in international waters, you are living onboard a complex machine that while designed to traverse the oceans and seas of the world, is potentially subject to breakdowns and the whims of such oceans. Combine a serious engine malfunction during a storm, for example, and you've got one hell of a problem for everyone on board! It makes you appreciate the people who are willing to serve in such environments in defense of our countries all the more.
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Post by trynda1701 on Feb 11, 2024 13:27:59 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "Here's why I'm never going to be important in the IKN: Retrieving that stray satellite was a bit more important than I gave it credit for."
"Even though the satellite was a civilian construct and it was beaming civilian commercial content, any intelligence that an opposing force could glean from it would be used to their advantage. They'd learn aspects of our spoken language, of our biological form, our technological prowess... What materials we use and even the manufacturing processes."
"Everyone had a good laugh over it but securing the border is no joke. Any intelligence that you give a malicious opposing force is something that they WILL use. It's the reason why there are laws against 'leaky' transmissions that go across the border into unoccupied space."
"No one cares if the Federation listens in on our civilian broadcasts (and the same is true with us listening to theirs). But it's another thing if someone that we don't know about listens to our broadcasts. It's the reason why we have listening devices and other operations (stuff that, thankfully, I will never be a part of) on the unoccupied border to listen to some unknown alien's civilian broadcasts. It's hard to spy on someone that may or may not exist but you still have to try anyway..." Another real life parallel, seen so many times. The infamous U2 spyplane incident with Gary Powers comes to mind, there will have been many more of similar vien. Others more recently include smaller belligerent nations or state actors shooting down assets such as drones. Yes, the technology is mature and not necessarily cutting edge, but older machinery could still provide intelligence to such actors, allowing them to perhaps backengineer something similar for themselves, which they didn't have before, even if it's more outdated, for their own purposes!
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Post by trynda1701 on Feb 11, 2024 13:57:03 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "Want to lose weight? Box up inventory and get everything ready for re-distribution. And do that as though you're a day late in doing so even when you're not."
"Sometimes, an inventory crew gets lucky and other crew come by to help out. Often times, though, you're on your own because those other crews have their own 'mission end' assignments to fulfill and that takes up a lot of their time as well. And with shuttle trips on a bare minimum, it's not like inventory crews from other ships can help out. Even if they could, those crews are just re-assigned to help out crews in other departments on their own ships."
"When you're boxing up and counting everything, you get hot and sweaty in a hurry. Strict protocol means that you should be in your uniform at all times. From a practical standpoint, that just doesn't work out. Try jogging for an hour in a business suit and see how well that works out for you. Right now, I'm in a T-shirt and shorts. So long as I don't leave the inventory area, walk into the cafeteria or go near the executive crew, I'll be fine and the executive crew is fine with it as well. What did the Terrans use to say? 'Don't ask; Don't tell.' So long as the political officer or executive crew doesn't see you, they'll just happily think that you're in your uniform doing all of this."
"The other crews don't really care what we wear as we prepare for the end of the mission. Heck, I'm sure some of them wouldn't mind for some of us ladies to wear our BIRTHDAY suits, if you catch my drift..." So, your Klingon Empire doesn't do engineering coveralls? Sorry, couldn't resist! We see those coverall a lot on the Enterprise. In the corridors, transporter room, Engineering. Hell, even Uhura wore one when getting her communication cosole modified to bypass interference, I think in "Who Mourns for Adonais". Although, oddly enough, it's blue, rather than the red of the Engineering//Security/Services division of the usual uniform that she normally wore.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 13, 2024 11:38:44 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Docked."
"Mission End Procedures (MEP) always include a final speech by the captain, a speech by the mission group leadership, by the political officer... And you always have to stand at attention for each one. You can't sneeze, you can't yawn, you can't move... Just stare straight ahead and don't flinch. I have a secret that gets me through the speeches: In my mind, I translate them in real-time into Klingulan."
"Eventually you hear the phrase: Personnel, you are dismissed and permission is granted to disembark to your next assignments."
"Here's a fun little fact: You usually hear a small cheer amongst the enlisted after they say it and it's probably one of the few times that the executive crews smile at you and actually mean it sincerely. I cheer and... Why not? Imagine if you had to stay in the office for 8-12 weeks at a time and only didn't work when you ate, slept or performed self-administrative functions (such as getting physicals or exercising)."
"I've been told that there will be a dinner but it's not to be regarded as a 'successful mission' dinner but more of appreciation. I'm sure that there are politics for the semantics. I've been invited to it. Joy."
"Being between missions is neither luxury nor leisure; It's just more work. Different work, to be certain, but more work nonetheless."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 13, 2024 11:46:43 GMT -7
So, your Klingon Empire doesn't do engineering coveralls? Sorry, couldn't resist! We see those coverall a lot on the Enterprise. In the corridors, transporter room, Engineering. Hell, even Uhura wore one when getting her communication cosole modified to bypass interference, I think in "Who Mourns for Adonais". Although, oddly enough, it's blue, rather than the red of the Engineering//Security/Services division of the usual uniform that she normally wore. It's not so much attire but the kind of work performed. In this case, the kind of work performed is hectic for long periods of time in a fairly enclosed space. The uniforms are not ideal for that type of work style. However, that type of work style also is not frequent and so there's no pressure to change the uniforms to better suit the worker. There are also many other considerations, such as cost and how the uniform would fare in other conditions.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 13, 2024 11:55:25 GMT -7
Another real life parallel, seen so many times. The infamous U2 spyplane incident with Gary Powers comes to mind, there will have been many more of similar vien. Others more recently include smaller belligerent nations or state actors shooting down assets such as drones. Yes, the technology is mature and not necessarily cutting edge, but older machinery could still provide intelligence to such actors, allowing them to perhaps backengineer something similar for themselves, which they didn't have before, even if it's more outdated, for their own purposes! Correct. No one in the Klingon Empire cares if the Federation listens in on their civilian broadcasts; Heck, they'd probably apologize for some of the content ("Look, some of our civilians... They have really niche and varied tastes... Don't read too much into the latest TV series, '101 Semi-legal uses for a hand-held disruptor'...). Yet having an unknown, civilized power listen in would give that opposing force a lot of information that you probably don't want released. While everyone has the same Table of Elements and the same Laws of Physics to deal with, how a civilization deals with them can tell you a lot about them. If for instance, they're using a lot of gold in their products, that would be cause for speculation that their civilization has a lot of gold naturally or they can replicate gold and whether the gold is in a common product would be a factor, too. And the other side knows about gold as well...
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 15, 2024 13:59:41 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Post-mission physicals are always annoying. Being a half-breed, even more so since the number of doctors (sometimes, just one doctor) is limited which means your call time for your physical IS your call time."
"I keep writing about it but it's still annoying: I hate it when doctors tell me that my chest is too large. Yes, I get it. Thanks for the update. Otherwise, I had a clean bill of health as far as being a half-breed goes. It is kind of a relief since that 'celebratory drink' that I got a while back really made me ill for a while."
"It's nice that the Jokush is right there at the port as well. No waiting around for the algorithm or anything like that."
"Even though they're at port, I won't be able to enter the ship until it's ready to depart. See, most ships don't dock directly to a port. What happens is that the port has shuttles that go back and forth to the ships. If ships need to load or unload cargo, there are shuttles for that. If ships need repairs, there are dry docks and mobile hangars for that. Since I need the services of the port until I'm ready to leave, it only makes sense to stay in the port and not board the ship until it's ready to depart. Less shuttle trips."
"Unlike other missions, there is no 'inventory ship' in our mission group. It's only a three-ship group and so everyone is just sort of 'swapping' with one another constantly. The system is neither better nor worse than having a main 'inventory ship,' especially for small mission groups where it wouldn't make much sense anyway."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 17, 2024 11:28:05 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"We had our 'not a celebratory dinner' dinner earlier."
"It was fine. I wasn't sexually assaulted, harassed or raped. That's always a positive. Granted, there were no rewards, congratulatory speeches or the like. It was a very formal but polite function. Executive crews mingled with the enlisted. The political officer didn't act as though he was trying to figure out which law you were violating and what the punishment should be."
"Political officers are weird. On the one hand, you never want to talk with them. Ever. They are there to make sure that you are loyal to the Empire and only the Empire. In a way, it sort of makes sense: The IKN is an Imperial operation (It's the "I" in IKN). Do you really want personnel in the IKN that is pro-democracy, pro-communist or any other form of government? Do you really want pacifists in the IKN?"
"Political officers don't really go after the enlisted, though. We're not their prime targets. We're 'small fish,' as Terrans like to say. The executive crews go after us and the political officers go after the executive crew. But by hounding the executive crews, the executive crews go after us. But if the political officers are too harsh, the vessel can't get it's job done and that harms the Empire. So there's a constant 'back-and-forth' as to what the political officers are going to enforce."
"Anyway, I made my way out of there as soon as I could. 'Celebratory dinners' are nothing to mess around with, especially if you're female and, for me, especially since I'm a half-breed. It's just safer to eat the meal, smile briefly and head back to your bunk before you get into trouble for anything."
"Jokush will depart in a few days. The sooner the better."
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Post by trynda1701 on Feb 17, 2024 19:09:27 GMT -7
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Post by trynda1701 on Feb 17, 2024 19:21:49 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "...Executive crews mingled with the enlisted. The political officer didn't act as though he was trying to figure out which law you were violating and what the punishment should be."
"Political officers are weird. On the one hand, you never want to talk with them. Ever. They are there to make sure that you are loyal to the Empire and only the Empire. In a way, it sort of makes sense: The IKN is an Imperial operation (It's the "I" in IKN). Do you really want personnel in the IKN that is pro-democracy, pro-communist or any other form of government? Do you really want pacifists in the IKN?"
"Political officers don't really go after the enlisted, though. We're not their prime targets. We're 'small fish,' as Terrans like to say. The executive crews go after us and the political officers go after the executive crew. But by hounding the executive crews, the executive crews go after us. But if the political officers are too harsh, the vessel can't get it's job done and that harms the Empire. So there's a constant 'back-and-forth' as to what the political officers are going to enforce."
Interesting that your Klingon ships have political officers. Would they in your universe be there to ensure efficiency for the Empire, or also to quell the possibility of mutiny, knowing that someone is there potentially watching EVERYONES every move, even though they are outnumbered? Is there more than one onboard a IKN vessel? Would civilian vessels in IKN service have them? Are they tolerated as a necessity, or is there genuine fear of such officers, as in real life?
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 19, 2024 13:23:11 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Jokush is a piece of garbage. This is not going to be fun."
"I should have expected no less. The IKN always has the worst ships conduct CMAS missions. The logic is that the ships don't have to do much: You're being guarded by native forces (or a multi-national force) while delivering aid. Anyone takes a shot at you, it's your escorts who performs the combat. If anything, we're supposed to AVOID combat whenever possible."
"Of course, as the saying in the IKN goes, 'bad ships are flown by bad crews and bad crews create bad ships.' Am I really a 'bad crew'? Didn't I just help salvage the inventory situation on the last mission? Then again, I think that the saying refers to the executive crews as opposed to the enlisted."
"The lights in our room don't work. The shower spray is incredibly weak. And now the environmentals are on the fritz. A low oxygen warning alert keeps sounding. Someone from maintenance has given us a portable oxygen generator to 'compensate' and says that they're chasing down the problem but it's more likely a false alarm than anything else."
"Great."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 19, 2024 13:32:57 GMT -7
The quickest analogy is that of a representative from a movie studio looking over the production of a movie. They aren't there to direct the film but they are there looking out for the best interests of the studio. Same thing here - The political officer is looking out for the best interests of the Empire. Sure, the captain is in charge of the ship (and the mission) but the political officer is looking after the ship AND the mission AND how it might reflect upon the Empire. There's a difference. Does the political officer have the power to take over command? In very extreme cases, yes, but there are others on the executive crew who can do that. Does the IKN trust the captain to perform the mission from a technical perspective? Yes. Does the IKN trust the captain to perform the mission from the perspective of putting the Empire's best interests first? No. That's what the political officer is for.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 21, 2024 12:46:17 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I'm inventory management. I don't mind fixing things but... It's not my job."
"I just spent an hour helping a tech guy fix one of the doors that's supposed to slide open when you get near it but hasn't been. Walking into doors that don't open automatically is sort of a bad thing."
"Working an 'everyone is the same' inventory management system in a mission group is sort of weird but also liberating at the same time. Every ship 'takes turns' receiving inventory from outside sources and everything sort of equalizes over time. It's definitely a different feel and it takes a few days to get out of 'Do you need this? Does your ship need that?' mode. You still have that type of mentality but it's much more tamped down."
"The air stank towards the end of the day. Kind of a 'someone off in the distance just charred a steak' sort of smell."
"Great."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 23, 2024 12:51:20 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Doors that don't (or partially) open. Lights that don't work. Air that stinks. Heating and air conditioning that either don't work or works too well."
"And now two of the three water pumps don't work. The water pressure in the shower was already weak."
"And this level of disrepair is acceptable because all we have to do is fly around and hand out stuff like we're some sort of charity."
"I'm afraid that this ship is going to kill me. That's not hyperbole."
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