Cosmo Rex

The Hood botany lab remained so utterly peaceful. Sure the plants made the occasional noise, and there was the occasional ensign popping down asking for a rose or something for their newest crush, but for some reason, the lab remained off the beaten path for the vast majority of the four-hundred plus souls that inhabited the same twenty-one decks of the Constitution-class ship named Hood. For some reason, that didn't bother Cosmo Rex.

Rex had initially bounced back and forth on the decision to go from department head to assistant. In some ways, it was a step down the career ladder for the Lieutenant cum Lieutenant Commander. Certainly being a department head was a step towards command, maybe getting his own ship one day or getting his own research team on a base somewhere. The question was though, was that what he wanted?

It had taken him some time to figure it out. Granted, working for Hans hadn't exactly been difficult. Perhaps that's why he'd found himself enjoying his career more than ever? When you're a department head there were so many other things you had to do. There was the schedule juggling. The constant in-fighting between the various people in your department that you had to manage. There was the sheer amount of emotional energy required to direct the forty to fifty people under your supervision in the general direction that the Command team wanted you to go in, coupled with the fact that scientists, as a group, are about as easy to herd as kittens – they have such vibrant, unique and strong willed personalities and have their own ideas and career goals to pursue.

Leaning back into the soft, velvety upholstery of his lab chair and taking a break from the mindless task of transplanting baby Saurian Ferns from their hydroponic starter cells to more permanent top-soil filled cells, Cosmo considered that thought for a moment. Since stepping aside as Chief Science Officer, he really had been able to do more for his career, at least academically speaking. Had he been trying to figure out the latest crisis on the bridge about whatever trouble they'd gotten themselves into would he have been able to publish his paper on the agricultural benefits and potential uses of Thasian Ganaerin Creeping Vines? Absolutely not.

Of course, occasionally, he did still get to have his day 'in the sun' to speak. During the Mentosian and Altodian missions, his people had done marvelous jobs of categorizing new species and had even managed to begin cultivating some of the plants from Altoid in the Xenobotany Lab. Which brought up another point to why he found himself happier now than when he was CSCI; yeah he wasn't directing an entire science staff, but he was still shaping where the Life Sciences division of the department went.

At Cosmo's age, there certainly was a drive to continue pushing his career forward. True, it hadn't completely stopped forward momentum – and in someways it had even moved ahead in ways it couldn't before – but for now, the simple quiet of the botany lab seemed to suite him well.

Cosmo Rex looked over the clipboard in his hand; yet another rousing report from the group working on dimensional parabolic communications—or something like that. He placed the clipboard in the stack that had begun to mount. Sighing he turned to see an yeoman walking in carrying yet another clipboard.

The look on his face said “Not another one,” but the yeoman continued towards him, a friendly smile on her round face. “Sir,” she said; her voice warm and cheery. “This communiqué arrived for you a few minutes ago.”

Forcing a half-smile, Cosmo took the clipboard from her; but as his eyes danced over the clipboard, a certain glow came to his face.

TO: Lt. Cosmo Rex, Chief of Science, USS Hood

FROM: Starfleet Scientific Council

SUBJECT: TEMPORARY REASSIGNMENT

Lt. Rex, you are here by requested and ordered to report at once to Space Station K-13 where you will lead a science mission to investigate the newly discovered planet of Feluscia, a heavily forested world. You’re record with both botany and exploration aboard the USS Hood has made you the number one choice for the operation.

You will be briefed further on the mission, which will last several months, once you arrive at k-13.

Rex smirked ever so slightly. The Feluscia mission had been all the talk scientific community, Starfleet had found a planet covered in plants so strange and new, they didn’t know how to even start classifying them. He’d secretly hopped he’d get on the list of the expedition—but leading it? Oh this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Yeoman,” he said, “I’ll need some help getting my things to the shuttle bay in about half-an hour, think you can help me?”

She smiled slightly. “Not at all, and you don’t need to worry about telling Captain Huff, I just came from her office, she thought you’d be up for it, you’re shuttle will be ready by the time you’re packed.”

I'll get you my pretty....and your little NakSanders too!!

::Runs away, as fast as he can go looking for a House...or some water to dump on Bethany::

Cosmo literally collapsed on his bed. No second thoughts, just sleep. The entire experience of what seemed like months physically and mentally exhausted him. His body ached and so did his psyche.

The whole incident had been rather traumatic to be honest. At first, he’d thought what a wonderful experience it would be to see how his ancestors conquered the seas. But the long he’d been in that godforsaken illusion, the longer he just wanted the hell out of it.

It had occurred to him that no proof they were actually not still in the illusionary world of the aliens existed. Somehow, that seemed rather insignificant. They were home, and that was all that mattered.

The warmth of sheets felt good against his body. And softness of the bed felt like a cloud compared to the hammocks he’d slept in on the ‘other’ Hood.

There were countless reports to file. A lab that needed tending too, experiments to check on, lab pets that needed fed, plants that needed tended. but somehow it all seemed inconsequential.

He didn’t look back though. He didn’t look foreword. Only the present. Who could say where they could have been? Where to road would go? No one.

One by one his leaves fall. One by one his tales will be told.

And slipped into glorious, peaceful sleep.

Why in God’s name had he come back up onto the deck?

Cosmo would probably ask himself that same question fifty times before the Hood finally crashed head long into the battle with the pirate ship. And each time he couldn’t find a reasonable answer…other than it seemed like the thing to do.

Sure, he’d faced death a few times before. But for some reason, this was so very different. On the real Hood he felt safe and secure…even when the red lights flashed and klaxons wailed. But here in the open air of the sea…death stalked him all around.

The ominous feeling of pure helplessness hung over the Hood. Yet, determination was there. They would win. He knew it…they would defeat the pirates…and prove their worth to these wretched aliens who saw fit to judge all other species to their own standards.

He glanced across the deck of the Hood. The collective soul of the crew nervously awaited the confrontation that awaited them just beyond the ever narrowing horizon. He’d joined Starfleet to make a difference…and now was his chance.

Suddenly he felt a rush of adrenaline flow through his body as he placed his hand on the cutlass at his side. “Yo ho, me matey’s…yo ho!”

Lt. Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

SD 0503.25

>Begin<

With the churning blue seas below him, fluttering canvas above him, and the wind all around him, Commodus ‘Cosmo’ Rex stood on the spar deck of an ancient sailing vessel. A few moments before he was aboard a modern Federation command ship, sipping coffee and eating honey crullers.

The wispy sea air swirled around Cosmo as he leaned next to the railing. A few feet away from him stood the impressive wheel that would guide them through this ‘test.’ Sighing he reached and removed the his hat, which was appropriate for an officer of his rank and stature—not to big, not to many feathers, but enough to show the redshirts he out ranked them.

As annoying as the entire affair was, the idea of actually being on a real ship was…captivating. Ever since he’d came aboard the Hood his biggest complaint was the lack of a true physical connection with the universe—that certainly wasn’t a problem now.

As the boat swayed with the sea, Cosmo realized what unique but decidedly dangerous situation the crew of the Hood was in at the moment. Although he’d spent many nights in the jungle alone with the elements, with few real technological creature comforts, he wasn’t so sure that the rest of his “mateys” were quite so fortunate.

Which cause the normally reserved Cosmo Rex to pause ever so slightly in his train of thoughts. At the moment, the seas were relatively calm and gently pushing the man-of-war along, however, as things tend to do on an ocean—he was assuming from the rather saltine air they were on a terran-like ocean—a strom could kick up at any moment, and when it did, the crew wouldn’t have any clue how to handle a massive behemoth like this.

If that weren’t enough to make someone sweat, the fact that perhaps only he and maybe a few others on board had any knowledge of how navigate using the crude instruments that would likely be awaiting them in the map room, would likely send shivers down even the ‘fearless’ Vulcan’s back—especially if the crew of Hood was supposed to navigate their way to some far off destination on the this little ‘test.’

The challenges awaiting them, were enough to make Cosmo shiver his timbers.

>End<

Happy Belated BirthDay Huffy!

I think someone else got it, (hey, there were only 2 possible responses), but my guess would be "true." Paramount is very finicky about their "intellectual property." Use of the names Star Trek™, Starfleet (TM?) are potential trademark violations, and simming involves producing derivative works of copyrighted material.

::snickers::

J.A.G. Officer and Scheduling? (two of the four...its early...don't ask me for any more :lol: )

So what is Dark Helmet in Romulan? All I know is Spaceball which sounds a lot like English.

tr'Dark Helmet :o

Can I have mine changed to:

Sexxy Rexxy

::snickers::

Lt. (Jg.) Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

SD 0410.31

>Begin<

Never a romantic, Cosmo found himself plunged into the middle of a soap opera. His assistant had fallen, literally, head over heals for the woman who had saved his life. Surprise, surprise. Initially Cosmo had told himself he wasn’t going to get involved in the whole affair, but as cheesy dramas tend to do, he had been drawn in, reneging on his promise to himself, and even indulging the whole affair.

And when O’Claire had come ‘waltzing’ into his botany lab with that loud-mouth from Medical, he had even gotten protective of Root—the irony.

Cosmo sighed to himself, listening to whatever it was Random had been asking him about, something about water and motions or something. He wasn’t even paying attention to her.

If this were really a Soap Opera, Cosmo would be the evil step-mother who secretly plots against everyone, or at least some people. He had made up his mind that he wanted Root to have a chance with the girlie, and despite his inner voice yelling at him, he had decided he didn’t want her to be with that jack ass from medical.

He smirked, visibly, as the soap stars left the Botany Lab. Being a botanist had it’s advantages, especially when someone you know is in need of flowers.

>End<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Only take the time from the helter-skelter, every day you find everything's in kilter, you don't need a reason, let the day go on and on.” –Wild Child, Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (Enya)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lt. (Jg.) Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

SD 0410.15

>Begin<

The subtle sounds of page turning and the occasional sipping of a cool liquid running down the throat of a relaxing officer were all that was heard in Cosmo Rex’s quarters.

For the first time since he had come on board the USS Hood, he was relaxing. There was no crisis to solve now, only the every day bothers that could wait for a few hours.

He laid sprawled on his orange couch, enjoying a few moments under a sun lamp he had ‘borrowed’ from the botany lab—his job had perks after all. Letting his skin absorb the artificial sunlight, he read an old Earth story, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” by Ernest Hemmingway.

Times like this was when he was at his most content. Lazily laying about his quarters, basking in the warmth of artificial sunlight, sipping from the bottle of sparkling wine he had smuggled on board.

One day, he planned to make this his life style. What more could anyone ask than lazing around reading and basking in the sun?

He recalled fondly his childhood days in the Amazon, when he’d climb into the canopy and idly become part of the jungle it self.

That was the worst part of being on a starship for Cosmo. The lack of connection with nature. A star ship was cold and metallic—he urged for the warmth the sun, the feel of wind upon his cheeks, the smell of the earth beneath him.

Sure there was the botany lab, where he could smell the sweet fragrance of orchids, feel the humidity created by the tropical plants, but it wasn’t real—it wasn’t the same.

In his own quarters he’d tried to compensate for the change; raising the temperature and humidity, green it up with some real plants—he’d even considered having a pet. About the place he’d thrown bamboo rugs and artifacts from the Amazon, but still it wasn’t the same as living in the jungle.

Part of him longed for home; part of him yearned for excitement of space. But he was young and he’d have plenty of time to become hermit later on in life.

For now he’d go where ever his heart and his mind would take him.

He laid the book down on his bare, but muscled chest for a moment absorbing the sun on his face. It was indeed a rare pleasure for him to simply vegetate. He closed the book, placing a book mark where had last read and placed the book on the floor.

He lifted a hand turning on the timer for sun-lamp.

He closed his eyes, letting the day go on around, he just sat and listened, he felt alive—nothing was missing—the rain could fall around him—he didn’t need a reason—he let the day go on and on.

>End<

Lt. (Jg.) Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

SD 0410.03

>Begin<

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.

Never shall I forget that smoke.

Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.

Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.

Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.

Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never. -- Elie Wiesel

The viewscreen of the Hood flashed in a bolero of sound and motion. The USS Hood had unleashed her destructive power upon the plague factories of Martedi. Like the stories of the gods of old raining lightning bolts from heaven upon the sinners of the Earth—the Hood had lashed out at genocide factories.

At some level, Cosmo was glad—ecstatic at what they had done. It had required every ounce of reserve in him to keep from decking the Martedi minister when Cosmo was “interviewing” him in the brig. But on another level, there was a sense of defeat to the whole thing.

Sure the genocide machines were gone; but had the ideas died with them? Had they done enough? Would the masterminds behind these atrocities be punished accordingly? And even if they were, how would that atone for the deaths of innocent people?

The reality of the barbarity of the Universe began to hit Cosmo as he stood there. His entire life, he had lived in the tranquility of Federation worlds—mostly on the utopia of 23rd century Earth.

He had never known hardships, never gone hungry, never gone with out fresh water. His life had been easy compared to those who had came before him. Never had he fallen prey to the maniacal desires of a corrupted mind.

But here, on Martedi, the people did not have that utopian life that had been afforded to people like Cosmo. It wasn’t fair, he thought standing there. And that was the real horror that had started coming over him—the Universe wasn’t fair.

Then something came to him as an epiphany. A few days, even hours ago he had been unsure of the decision to be a Fleet officer. He thought his life lacked direction, cause, purpose. Not now though; he wanted to make a difference. A difference in someone’s life. He wanted to help people.

If he could make just one person’s life better—he would be a better man. And it was that dream, that gloriously idealistic dream that had first born the Federation.

And now Cosmo vowed to himself, that he would continue that dream. His life now had purpose, direction, reason, cause. He had something to work for—the betterment of the Universe. To make the Universe fair. Because to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.

Some people would call him an idealist, that the Universe was not fair, that was it’s nature. But in his heart, he knew that was wrong—he knew that the Universe was only what we made it to be, and that if we believed and worked for a fair universe, where all men, women, people were free then it would be so.

Today would be a small victory for the cause, but the battle for freedom was far from over.

For as long as he would live, this seemingly trivial moment would be the moment that defined the rest of his life, he would forgive, but he would forget this moment which turned game his life meaning.

Never forget.

>End<

Biography updated again, some minor changes and most notably an addition of a photo-shopped photograph of Hans Seiben. :)

Yo, Hansy, No photo showy uppy ;)

Thank you Blurox, that was the year I was looking for. I had heard the 1986 from the last time the volcano had any activity, just got the numbers confused.

 

I remember visiting the volcano site a few years back, they have a great observitory up there that I was very impressed with. It was amazing to see the damage the previous eruption had caused and still was visable. You see pictures, but nothing ever compares with the real item.

 

I even think I have a few postcards I purchased way back when... wonder where they are.

As noted earlier, the Mt. St. Helens eruption, would be dwarfed if the Yellowstone Caldera we're to erupt again. Talk about VA all over the place. Scientests feel that if a SuperVolcano were to erupt it could put then entire globe under slight darkness from Volcanic Ash.

Interestingly, one theory about the Dark Ages, is that they literally were darker. Scientests know that one of these so called SuperVolcanoes erupted in the earlly 1100's. The think that their could have been so much ash put into the atmosphere that it literally darkened the globe. Food for thought.

California has been feeling a whole lot of Earthquakes here of late. In fact volcanologists are keeping a close eye on Mt. St. Helens. I think that is the Volcano they're watching.

 

 

-Jerry

That would be correct, actually it had a small steam eruption just the other day, they are expecting a real lava eruption anytime soon. (It originally erupted in the early 1980's killing several people and doing millions of dollars in damages when half the side of the mountain when BOOOM causing lava and these wonderful things called Lahar's to sweep accross the landscape.)

You know, the entire Pacific coast is like one big lava pit waiting to happen?

For Example,

Mt. Rainer, the picturesque backdrop to Seatle, could more or less wipe out the University of Washington's Campus should it ever erupt again.

Yellowstone Caldera: Yellowstone National Park is more or less the reminants of an ancient Super Volcano that erupted with so much force it completly destroyed the mountain (Crater Lake is another example of a Caldera.) The Yellowstone Volcano had erupted once every 700,000 years or so. Last Erupting oooo a little under 700,000 years ago. Should it ever erupt again, it is estimated the entire Snake River system could be destroyed. Recent movements of steam pockets and irregular eruptions of the geysers of Yellowstone, indicate Volcanic activity.

Mt. St. Helen's Remain a dangerous threat, as shown recently.

and basically any of the mountains along the Pacifc Coast can be considered "Volcanoes." :P

As Mr. Precip pointed out, Earthquakes can occur almost anywhere that there in an active fault line (or simply a fault line.)

Although the intersting thing about them is that, while you may have thought the Earthquake hit right at you, the actual EpicCenter of the Quak may have been hundreds of miles away.

Even more amusing, is that if and when we have a quake on the East Coast, our quakes tend to be stronger in magnitude, because the waves travel easier through the solid base rock of the east coast than they do in the fractured stuff out west.

Interestingly enough, a quake in California is actually registerable upon siezmographs in places like West Virginia!

And to Sketti's point--there is an active fault that runs along the back-bone of the Appalachian Mountain Range.

Another interesting thing, is that most geologists don't even pay attention to "Rechter" scale readings anymore. They use something called the Mercator (Or M something or other :P ) Scale that measures the ammount of Damage done by a Quake, which can better show the intensity of the quake than can the Rechter scale.

::looks up:: Oh good grief....somewhere Dr. Bob is proud of me!

INCIDENT REPORT

Lt. (Jg) Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

Stardate 0409.09

TO: Captain Huff, CO USS Hood

CC: Commander Noah Ksanders, XO USS Hood

Fwd: Medical Dept.

SUBJECT: THE CRYSTAL INCIDENT

>Begin Report<

Summary:

During our last mission to Chartreuse, we took many samples for further review, at the request of Starfleet Science Corps. Among them were several crystalline gems that were about the only thing on the planet that weren’t green—hence why they were so intriguing. The items were catalogued and stored in geology storage lockers, as per standard regulations.

Incident Review:

Apparently, the gems were radioactive, causing a crew member to become ill. This was a regrettable situation, especially since the solution was simply placing the crystals in a lead containment box.

Some debate, however, has arisen as to why they were not initially stored in containment boxes in the first place. Upon review of the logs from the officers on duty who cataloged the gems in question, they were not radioactive when stored—which only raises more questions.

Upon review of the initial scans taken before the gems were initially put into storage and those taken before they were properly contained show slight phase changes in the crystalline structure that would seem to indicate that a change occurred during warp travel. This however is just a hasty hypothesis and would require a full investigation into the crystals.

Recommendations:

As previously stated, the situation is regrettable but it seems that no procedures or policies were violated or allowed to lapse. However, I believe that the situation has shown that a new policy for storage procedures needs to be put in place.

It is my recommendation as Chief Science officer that no reprimands be placed in any of the files of the Science officers who placed the gems into storage. I would also recommend that the following additional policy be adopted:

Any alien item being placed in storage will be routinely scanned after it is initially placed into storage, on a weekly basis.

>End Report<

Lt. (Jg.) Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

SD 0408.13

>Begin<

Cosmo watched as his team shimmered and dematerialized in the transporter room the USS Hood. Normally he would have gone with his team; his job was Chief Science Officer. But for some reason he had decided to sit this one out and watch from the sidelines.

Something in the back of his head told him not to go, he wasn’t sure exactly why, but all he could think about as he stood on the pad ready to beam down was the last away mission he had gone on. The mission to Chartreuse. While he didn’t expect to come back glowing, he didn’t want to take a chance on getting infected with what ever this plague on the planet was.

If his grandmother saw him, she’d call him a coward—and she’d be right. Cosmo sighed to himself as he exited the transporter room, He only hoped nothing happened to the team, if it did he would never forgive himself for it, if something happened.

He paused a moment as he stepped out on the deck. He had decided to monitor the mission from the bridge, but first he wanted to stop by his quarters and grab a quick change of uniforms. The one he had on was uncomfortable and the shirt had a stain where he had dropped a donut on them earlier while reading about the Martedi Plauge.

He turned to his right and entered a nearby TL. He grabbed one the handle and spoke. “Senior Officers Quarters.”

The TL hummed as it moved upwards. The one good thing Cosmo could see about being the Chief Science officer was that he had quarters of his own. Initially, his junior officers quarters were also vacant, but that soon changed, and with in a few days of coming on board—he was sharing a room with 3 other officers. Not that he minded, they were all on different shifts and rarely saw each other—but it was nice to have a place of his own.

The lifted halted and he exited onto the deck. He walked down the corridor towards his quarters. Stopping to say hello to a passing officer, he walked towards the door. He smiled to himself as the door slid open.

But as he entered, he felt suddenly aware that he wasn’t alone in his quarters. He paused deathly still as the door slid shut.

>End<

^ Has managed to get something said about him by three of my persona's

Reality Bites

Some Minor Updates.

DUTY ASSIGNMENTS

Ensign Cosmo Rex

CSCI | USS Hood

Stardate 0407.16

TO: All Science Personnel

CC: Hood Command Staff

>Begin Report<

Overview:

Over the next few weeks and months, we will be conducting many experiments and gather a great deal of information. It is my goal that this process happen as smoothly and as efficiently as possible as to facilitate the most amount of work possible.

Part I-Duty Assignments

Alpha Shift:

Bridge: Ensign Rex

Geophysics Lab: Ensign Akeen

>>Message Truncated<<

Part 2- Laboratory Research

Any officer wishing to participate in one of the following projects may contact me. If no officers contact me, project assignments will be made by me.

MAJOR PROJECTS

1) Spatial Density Scans- We will be using new equipment on loaded at Jupiter Station to determine the density of space in the Alpha Quadrant.

2) Cataloguing Stars/Gaseous Anomalies of the Quadrant- Much of the Quadrant remains unexplored and uncharted, part of our mission will be to correct that.

3) Long Range Surveys- We will be conducting several long-range surveys of under developed races and planets.

4) Mapping Gravimetric Currents and Solar Winds- We will be conducting a study on Quadrant wide patterns of gravity wells and solarwinds.

MINOR PROJECTS

Anyone wishing to engage in individual research please contact me for approval. All projects whether already in process or yet to begin must be approved.

Additional Notes:

If you have any concerns, problems with Duty Schedules, please contact me. Thank you. Also some one will be needed as a lab assistant to help keep the Lab pets fed, watered and cared for, if your interested again please see me.

>End Report<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Level 8 Priority Transmission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TO: Vulcan Fleet, Commander Khevio

FROM: Ambassador Neptune Rex

SUBJECT: VULCAN WITHDRAW

Commander Khevio, acting in an official capacity, I must respectfully ask you to withdraw all Vulcan forces from the Sol System immediately. If you do not respond by withdrawing the Vulcan fleet from the Sol System, I am afraid we will have to make you leave.

Respectfully yours,

Ambassador Rex.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Level 8 Priority Transmission

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~