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So... JM12, what's supposed to happen next? Did you want me to post something with Rani and Akeirra heading to get food, or were you planning to skip over the rest of the day and straight to the entrance exam?

Akeirra's mind was stuck. She wasn't sure she understood her new friends until Irene explained what she meant by Army brat and Aruko confirmed that he was one as well. She missed the meal planning, missed the bet with Devon and almost missed that Irene had stormed off. "No," she said, turning to Rani. "Not Army brat. Meinar is..." She paused, sorrow glinting in her eyes. "Meinar is gone. Meinari are born, live, and die in the fleet." Rani wrapped her arm around the diminutive alien woman and guided her away, smiling encouragingly. "We'll be certain to set the record straight. Come on, let's find our room."

Akeirra smiled faintly. "I do not know. Many things about the Human rrace seem verry odd to me." Rani laughed. "Where are you from, then?" Akeirra considered for a moment. She didn't expect any of them to get the name quite right. Nor could she expect them to know where it was, especially since it wasn't in their own native galaxy. But they were being extremely kind to her, and they weren't calling her "Akira". That boy Damien had even come very close to getting it right. "Farr away," she said finally. "Anotherr galaxy. The homeworrld was Meinar. It is gone now. I was borrn on Meinari fleet... how you say... flagship?" "The lead ship of the fleet," Rani said helpfully. "Yeah, that's flagship." "Flagship," Akeirra repeated. "Sceptre, I think is the closest trr... trranslation."

Flashing Aruko a playful wink, Rani said, "I'm sure we will." Then, she turned to face Irene and Akeirra and noticed that the small alien woman was watching her intently. Not one to be bothered, she joined them. "Food does sound good," she said in response to Irene's suggestion that they find their rooms and then some food. "I didn't catch your names?" Akeirra smiled faintly. At last, she could speak. "Akeirra. You arre Rrrani? We arre rroommates." Rani grinned. "Well that's one less thing I have to worry about finding out." She turned to Irene. "And you are?"

Rani laughed. "Sure you do." Then, she shook her head. "Everyone's got something that interests them." Turning, she acknowledged the rest of the little group gathered around her and Aruko and grinning in her confidence, she said rapidly, "I'm right. Am I right? Tell me you know it." Looking back at Aruko, she said, "Mira, 'Ruko'. Maybe you don't know it yet, but somethin's gonna catch your heartstrings, pull you along." She tapped his chest lightly. "Be listening."

Rani smiled and nodded. "Yeah, pilot. What about you? What's your aim?" Akeirra returned to little group of people she now felt safe with just in time to hear Rani introduce herself. To Akeirra's mind, the name was a bit slurred, but she looked down at the note she'd written on her hand and it matched. She grinned and approached, just as Rani asked Aruko why he was at the Academy. She stood there in respectful silence, waiting for a break in the conversation.

((JM12, how about we split the difference? I'll take Rani, you take Irene?)) Getting her room assignment was much easier than trying to understand the excessive use of idioms in the Zabran's brief speech. Sisko told her that her roommate would be a young Human woman named Rani Provenza, who was also seeking to become a pilot. Not far from there, Rani stumbled back, surprised after another would-be student bumped into her. When he apologized, she smiled. "Hey, no problem," she said. "You new here too?" She stuck out her hand. "Rani. Rani Provenza."

((Certainly. It's actually a little rare for me to have just a single character. I've done up to six at a time before, though the most I currently have in a single RP is four.))

((I'm not planning to go anywhere. If need be, I can even take on additional characters. I'm determined to make this RP work. JM12, let me know if you want me to take an additional character. Wouldn't mind having Rani if Jedi_Man is out. She and Akeirra could be roommates )) Akeirra frowned thoughtfully. "I see." And she truly did. But failure was not an option. Her own ship had long since been disassembled by intrigued engineers of FedCON. If she ever wanted to fly again, this was her only shot. There was no way she would be late. She turned and followed after Damien, who was headed to the table with room assignments.

Akeirra was confused. Not that this was anything new in the past couple of years. It had taken her at least two months to learn enough English to explain that she wanted to repair her ship. Another month had been required before she understood that her ship was beyond repair. One month after that, she could carry on a very rough conversation and FedCON had stopped trying to educate her. And so, with her limited understanding of English, she made her intentions clear that she wanted to fly again and was willing to do anything to make it happen. And so, here she was. The FedCON representatives she'd dealt with promised a very intensive English course, but even Akeirra understood what a difficult thing that would be to accomplish. No one here came even close to understanding her native language, which meant even abstract concepts such as love or trust had to be described in concrete ways. Extremely difficult, but Akeirra was hoping for the best. As the Zabran spoke, Akeirra clicked on a small digital recorder. Her head was hurting and she wanted to be absolutely certain she understood what was going on. As the man spoke, she listened intently, but she didn't manage to understand more than a few words. When he paused after his question, Akeirra quickly replayed his words. Twice. Then, she tapped Aruko on the shoulder and whispered, "What is 'washout'?"

Akeirra had been around FedCON for a year, but there were still a number of things she didn't understand. One example of this had just happened right in front of her; one person had apologized for the actions of another. It didn't make sense to her, a woman from a culture in which no one dared to claim responsibility for someone else, especially not if that someone was acting badly. But this new stranger seemed much kinder, and he had introduced himself. Smiling faintly, she bobbed her head. "Arrukoblachfehrrn," she said slowly. Then she frowned. There had been the slightest of hesitations in his pronunciation of his name. She tried again, also trying to mimic the strange non-rolled 'r' she'd been hearing for a year. "Aruko Blackfern." Pleased with herself, she nodded again and tapped her chest. "I am Akeirra." Turning to the boy who'd first come to her rescue, she added, "And you arre?"

But for all Damien's good intentions, Akeirra misunderstood and took a step back from both boys. She rattled of a string of curses in her native language and glared suspiciously at both Devon and Damien. Her mind raced through Damien's words and only registered "deserve". "Waat!" she barked sharply, her accent thickened by a combination of anger and fear. "It dou not... sense! Waat. No." Tears stung her eyes as she realized she was not making sense either. Crying, but determined not to screw up, she furiously wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, ready to try again. "Desserrve..." she said slowly. She knew what it meant, but she'd been so terrified of failing before she even had a chance at this Academy that she hadn't heard the rest of Damien's words. She looked up into his face and saw compassion more than anything else. Then, her eyes flicked to Devon and saw nothing but contempt. She managed a weak smile to Damien and edged closer to him. She understood now that he was trying to defend her and that certainly helped her mood. "Desserrve," she repeated, looking up curiously at Damien, her accent still thick, but at least understandable. "Tank you." Feeling somewhat more comfortable now that she appeared to have an ally, she managed another dark scowl at Devon and then tried to forget him.

Startled, Akeirra stepped aside and stared at Devon, her mind frantically trying to work out what he'd said. She could tell by his tone that he was unhappy about something, but whatever it was, it eluded her. She blinked for a moment, reviewing the words he'd used, or at least the ones she had understood. He'd told her to watch where she was going, which seemed pointless since she had evidently arrived already. The word "jailbait" was so utterly foreign that she opted to dismiss it and hope for the best. Then he'd mentioned the purpose of legs. The phrase struck her as highly amusing and she giggled. "I am herre," she said. "Wherre I was told to be. The... purrpose forr legs at this place is..." she frowned thoughtfully, searching for the word. "Stay? No... Stand. Ing. Standing." Then, she realized he was upset with her for stopping where she was and she scowled. "Main grreen. Firrst yearr. Told to come here. I do." She thought for a moment, and added, "As... orrdered."

"Alright, Akira," said the FedCON representative. "This is the Academy. We'll leave you here. You are certain your English is good enough to pass the entrance exam?" Akeirra grimaced slightly at the man's mispronunciation of her name, but said nothing of it. Instead, she nodded. "Yes, yes. English, I..." She pursed her lips in thoughtful consideration before saying, "Read good. Speak bad." "Well, good luck," the rep said as the shuttle door slid open. Akeirra flashed him a brief smile before stepping out, a small bag slung over one shoulder. The flood of students was overwhelming, but Akeirra pressed on, determined. She would fly again, even if it took three years to prove to these people that she could do so more effortlessly than their most skilled pilots. All First Years report to the main green. All First Years report to the main green. A wave of anxiety washed over Akeirra. She could read English very well. Hearing it spoken or having to speak it herself were very different matters. She recognized the term "First Year" as something that related to her position in the Academy. Then, "report" meant a couple of different things. That bit about the "main green" made no sense. Even if there was a main shade of the color green, what was she to do with it? "Excuse, excuse," she said, tapping a fellow student on the arm. "I am... Firrst Yearr. What is main... what that was?" But the student was a third year and he thought far too much of himself, especially when compared to a first year who couldn't understand English. He scowled down at her and hurried off. She scowled at his back for a moment and then determination set in and she tried again. Her second attempt found a kinder audience in a fellow first year. "Main green," he said. "I don't really know where. Just follow the crowd." Then, he extended his hand to her. "First year? Me too. I'm Jason Dane. What's your name?" She took his hand in her gloved right hand and smiled, pleased to have found someone friendly enough to help her, even if he didn't know much himself. "Akeirra." He blinked. "Akira?" Her smile faded. "Akeirra." "Akira." "No," she said, shaking her head. "Ah." He echoed, "Ah." "Kei." Kay." She sniffed a little. "Close. Rra." "Ra." "Rroll it! Rra." In his defense, Jason Dane genuinely tried to roll his 'r', but his tongue couldn't quite make it happen. After several attempts, she finally stopped him. "Is close. Human accent, no..." She searched for the word. "Surprrise." "Ahkayra," he said, trying to put the sounds together. She smiled faintly. "Is close," she repeated, shrugging a little. "Now. Main grreen?" "So where are you from?" Jason asked curiously. Akeirra laughed. "With my accent, my language. You want to trry?" Shaking her head and giggling, she said, "No. Farr away." Feeling just a little insulted, Jason Dane sighed. "Your accent sounds like French... except you roll your 'r's'. That's like Spanish. Hmm..." Akeirra giggled. "No, no. Some sharred worrds with Frrench. But bad. Frrench worrd 'yes' is terrible offense." Jason almost said it. Thankfully, his better judgment won over. "Well, it was good to meet you, Akira." "Jason, yes?" Akeirra said. "Good to meet you." They had reached the main green, or so it seemed, for all first years seemed to be coming to this wide open space. Why they called it the main green was something Akeirra would still have to learn, but at least she was here. At that point, Jason ran off to find one of his friends and Akeirra began speaking to herself in her native tongue under her breath. Most of it was grumbling yet again about how Humans couldn't seem to get her name right.

I'm perfectly willing to play up any relationships with the rest of the cast. I'll give you a hint: pronounce Akeirra's name correctly and you will earn an instant friend. She's been in the area long enough to expect that most people can't exactly mimic the Meinari accent, but it still bothers her.

Oh, I know it'll take her some time on the flight controls. That's why it'll be fun. Well, that and typing broken English will be a hoot I'll post when I get the chance. Maybe tonight

I also want to make one final note: Akeirra is the only member of her species to have made it to the Milky Way Galaxy. No one here has ever seen one or heard of them before. And just so you all know, given the low-level telepathic field all Meinari emit, you will be able to tell just by looking at Akeirra that she is not Human; you just won't know what she is. Just wanted everyone to be clear on that.

Name: Akeirra Race: Meinari Age: 121 Year: 1 (though as soon as she learns FedCON's flight controls, it will become painfully obvious that she could just as easily be an instructor) Gender: Female Appearance: Akeirra is small and slender, standing at just barely over five feet in height. She has brown hair and violet eyes. She typically wears black tank top with brown leather jacket, tan 'cargo' pants, black combat boots, and fingerless black leather gloves. She usually wears her mid-back length brown hair in a braid, but it isn't uncommon for her to wear it down, especially on a bad day (if she has a headache). She smiles easily. Image Background: Akeirra was born and raised aboard the Sceptre, the flagship of the Meinari fleet. She lived there for the first seventeen years of her life, until the completion of her Specialty Schooling in piloting. Then, she was given her own personal one-man ship and finally began to satisfy the urge within her to travel. For the next one hundred and two years, Akeirra traveled her native galaxy. Sometimes, she went on her own; at other times, she joined other crews and offered her services as a pilot to them. In exchange for her services, she only requested education. Through this exchange of service-for-education, she managed to learn just barely enough to maintain her own little ship. At 119 years of age, Akeirra encountered a species even more xenophobic than her own and they tried to destroy her. In trying to flee from their much stronger ship, Akeirra made the remarkable discovery of an intergalactic portal. Her small ship was just the right size, traveling at just the right angle and speed to access this slight tear in space; the alien ship was not, and a segment of their hull was ripped off. And so, while Akeirra tumbled end over end through the 'wormhole', the alien ship limped home, wondering what sort of technology could rip them open and make a ship vanish all at once. Akeirra's small ship sustained a heavy amount of damage in the passage, which took almost an hour. When she came back into realspace, she was drifting just beyond Neptune's orbit, her ship so damaged as to barely be capable of maintaining life support. Her sensors were down, so she hoped for the best and sent out a distress call. FedCON answered. Initially suspicious of her intentions, FedCON imprisoned and interrogated her. As she had experienced similar treatment in the last one hundred years, she patiently told her story at least eight times. At length, FedCON released her, but they explained that her ship was damaged beyond repair. She expressed an interest in flying for them, to which they explained that she would be required to go through their Academy. She agreed. Now, Akeirra is registered for classes at the Academy. One of her most intensive classes is to learn English, for her native tongue and any other language she knows is dissimilar enough from the languages known to FedCON that they cannot translate it. Presently, she speaks extremely basic English, but she will get better as we progress. Final Notes: An almost complete opposite to her species in terms of personality. Akeirra is friendly and outgoing, and though she is an accomplished pilot and has covered a lot of ground in 121 years, she often seems overjoyed at the simplest of things. She makes a point of being easy to get along with and therefore has many friends. Akeirra is a skilled pilot, capable of flying many different sizes of starships and land-based vehicles. As she becomes more familiar with FedCON technology, this will become increasingly evident. She is also beginning to exhibit some mild telepathy-via-touch, a rarity for her species to develop as young as she is. Being over 120 as she is, Akeirra is prone to the standard Meinari weakness of stiff joints. To compensate for this, she wakes up a full three hours before she is required to, so that she can exercise the stiffness away. In addition, she is quite literally terrified of her new power. To avoid skin-on-skin contact, she routinely wears elbow-length gloves. If she does happen to accidentally touch skin, it usually results in a ‘bad day’, which means she has a headache and will probably be wearing her hair down.

I'm posting the species info here: Overview One of the lesser-known species, even in their native galaxy, the Meniri are, as a whole, a very introverted people. Occasionally, one of their kind will make him or herself known to the world, becoming a nomadic explorer. The location of their homeworld is unknown; even the Meinari wanderers claim to have forgotten its location and even torture cannot make them remember. The wanderers are generally friendly people, offering their services to whoever might need it, whether it be in engineering work, piloting, diplomacy, or anything else. Each wanderer is distinct in their skills and talents. The Species Part I: Physiology The Meinari are almost identical to Humans physically, but some eye colors that are unusual among Humans (violet, red, yellow, orange, etc.) are quite common among the Meinari while the Human idea of standard eye colors (blue, brown) are viewed as unusual to them. They are smaller in stature than Humans, ranging between 4' 10" and 5' 4" and they have a slightly heightened sense of smell. The internal organs of a Meinari are also different in many respects. First, while their lungs are not larger than a Human’s, they seem to process a breath more efficiently, providing the Meinari a greater endurance for thinner air. Further extending their ability to breathe in poor conditions is a ‘respiratory bypass’, which draws oxygen through their skin, directly from the environment around them, provided there is any to be had. Therefore, it is actually impossible to effectively strangle one of them, though they may give you the impression you’re doing some damage if they’re convinced it’ll get you to release them. The second great difference in their internal organ arrangement is that they have two hearts. This speeds the processing of their blood through their body. Though they are capable of surviving with only one of these hearts, they find it extremely uncomfortable. If one of their hearts should stop, they are capable of preventing some level of decay, but seek medical help as soon as they are able, that their stopped heart can be repaired and set into motion again. Their aging process also makes them different. By eleven years of age, a Meniri is considered a 'young adult' and has reached the physical maturity of a Human between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. At that time, their aging process slows rapidly. From then on to between 100 and 120, the Meinari do not age. Around 100 years, their aging process begins again and they age roughly five years every 100 years. Also around this time, they are faced with the setback of stiff joints. When they wake up in the mornings, they must allow time for two hours of exercise at minimum to restore their agility and quick reflexes. On average, Meinari live to be between 800 and 1400 years old, by which point they look roughly equivalent to a Human between the ages of 60 and 90. Their ability to regain their agility and quick reflexes diminishes as they grow older. For example, by 600 years, it is not uncommon for Menari to require almost six hours of exercise to maintain. However, by 500 most of them are not as willing to take that effort and are content to at least maintain their mobility with an hour to an hour and a half of exercise. Part II: Mental Abilities Once the Meinari reach around 200 years of age, they begin to develop telepathy. Initially, this power can only be used by skin-on-skin contact with another sentient being. As they grow older, the power grows. By 400, most Meinari are beginning to pick up telepathic signals without requiring physical contact. Around 600, they begin to develop psychokinetic abilities as well. When they are between the ages of 700 and 900, they have full control over both telepathy and psychokinesis. The oldest of the Meinari can move objects by will alone and can sense thoughts and touch the minds of beings light years away. A Meinari also subconsciously projects a low-level telepathic ‘field’, which further serves to separate them from Humanity. This field, while not directly aiding their telepathic abilities, provides those around them with an instinctual sense that the being in their presence is Meinari. If a Meinari and a Human were to stand side by side, anyone observing them could instinctively tell the two apart. This telepathic field is a part of them from birth to death. Part III: Culture, Past and Present Meinari civilization advanced much as Earth's did. The main difference is that the Meinari reached a level of technological advancement roughly two times Earth's present technology level just over 4000 years ago. They were on the verge of their next big technological breakthrough when all communication from their homeworld, Meinar was abruptly silenced. Surprised but not alarmed, many Meinari returned to learn what happened, but they were utterly crushed with their discovery; instead of Meinar and the solar system in which it was planted, they found an asteroid field. Meinar in all its glory was gone. Since that discovery, the Meinari have become a much more xenophobic and introverted species as a whole. Their civilization remains intact, but few now can locate it. This is due in part to the older members of the civilization and their power. The Meinari remained 'close to home' establishing several star bases near the debris field that was their star system. They live there, on the star bases and on several large ships. The older members of the civilization are often bedridden due to their stiffness, but they retain such an intense pride in the secrecy of their civilization that they use their powers to mask it. Anyone passing by who isn't Meinari would miss it entirely. Due to their shifted focus these last four thousand years - shifted from their advancing technology to the advancement of their powers to keep their civilization hidden - their level of technological advancement has degraded. Four thousand years ago, they were ahead of Earth. They have not had any tech improvements since that time, and some of their technology has fallen into disrepair. Most of their capital ships and star bases would fall to pieces if attacked (which further enhances their need to remain hidden). Only their smaller ships have retained anything like full functionality. Though the majority of the Meinari are a very introverted people, occasionally one is born with an irresistible urge to explore. Upon completing Specialty School, these Adventurers are given a small, one-man ship and allowed to go wherever they please. Part IV: School System Me - This term is used to indicate any Meinari under the age of four, indicating that they have not yet graduated their 'Elementary Education'. During this time, they are learning to speak, and they are learning the basic building blocks upon which the rest of their education will follow. Mein - The term used for Meinari between the ages of five and eleven. Also their 'Secondary Education', this is the equivalent to a high school. To their initial building blocks, they begin adding astronomy (since they essentially live in space), history, and other things of this nature. As with a human high school, once they graduate, they are able to enter the Meinari workforce, or they can chose to move on to ‘specialty school’. If they opt out of Specialty, their ‘title’ skips Meiner. Meiner - ‘Specialty School’, the equivalent of university. Meinari train specifically in a single field for six years. At the end of this time, they are officially acknowledged as a qualified adult, a Meinera or Meineros. Meinera/Meineros - A qualified adult with a 'degree'. Meinera for the women, Meineros for the men. Part IV: Government: The Meinari are ruled by two bodies: the Senate, and the Council of Elders. All members of both bodies are elected by popular vote within the community. The Senate acts as a 'filtering system' for the issues the Council of Elders ultimately deals with. A new Council is elected every ten years; a new Senate is elected every thirty years. ((Posting my character next.))

I can't believe I'm actually doing this... JM12, what's your position on introducing another alien species to your little galactic/universal party?

Well, I'm here. Granted, my characters never played a big part, but I'm here and I'm willing.

When the last post in this thread was seven months ago, and the last post in the RP thread was six months ago, you can be fairly certain no one's playing anymore...

I still haven't worked out her bio. Will figure that out sometime soonish, methinks... Name: Elarinya, "Elen ya Revia" Race: Silvan Elf Age: 2856 Gender: Female Class: Ranger Alignment: Neutral Short Bio: [Will add later] Appearance: Image: Elarinya

I don't mean to be a jackass, but how can you say this looks 'cool'? All I see is a single character (albeit in interesting one). There's no indication of where an RP storyline might start, no clues as to what he intended to happen here. From what I see here, it should have been posted in a 'Character Thread', if we had such a thing here. Also, not to be a nitpicker, but it's spelled 'Nar Shaddaa'. Sorry, that's just one misspelling that bugs the hell out of me

After Velic apologized to her, Ana had fallen entirely silent. It wasn't that she had nothing to add; it's just that in spite of her little spat with Velic, she wasn't inclined to argue. And there was a lot of argument, name dropping, and general rambling going on. Ana simply did not see fit to speak. Then, Leyton sat down after a few exchanges of words with the others in the room, seeming rather pleased with himself and with this meeting. For her part, Ana could not see why. From her point of view, this meeting was a mess of puffed up male egos, random facts about vampires, and a vague attempt at explaining a potential weakness the creatures might have. "You haven't given us much information to go on," she said finally in the pause that followed. "Basically, you've told us you think that destroying their heart or their brain will destroy them. Beyond that, you have not detailed anything on how to accomplish this, or where you think we ought to start in this... quest." She sighed. "I am sorry, Sir Thomas, but it seems you have allowed your guests to interrupt your explanations. If this is not the case, if you truly do not have a fair understanding of exactly what it is you are asking us to do, then I am afraid I cannot help you. However, if you are merely being interrupted, please explain yourself quickly. I am well aware of the vampire threat and if you have a logical plan to follow, I will not leave until it is accomplished."