Application for Somarium
[Player name] Selina
[Age] 35
[Personal Journal] selinamoonfire
[Other characters currently played] Peggy Carter - Captain America: The First Avenger - th3rightpartner
[Character name] Janice Rand
[Age] 24
[Canon] Star Trek XI
[Point in time taken from canon] A few months into their five year mission.
[Background]
Janice had what she thinks of as a normal childhood growing up in Seattle. Her parents are happily married. She has two brothers, Benjamin and Sirri, who she spent most of her time helping get into or out of trouble, depending on the situation. Benjamin was fascinated with starships and was always showing his little sister schematics and models of his favorite designs. Janice became just as fascinated with the designs, which is at times reflected in her artwork. She lacked Ben’s engineering ability so she never seriously considered anything related to space as anything more than a daydream. Sirri was the prankster of the three and Jan was his favorite target. Most of the time, Jan accepted these pranks with good grace, though at times she would retaliate with practical jokes of her own.
After high school, Janice attended college, working as a barista while earning a degree in business, but eventually she realized that she didn't have the temperament to work effectively in the private sector. After many discussions with Ben, she realized that her childhood love of space and ships hadn’t diminished and she decided to enlist in Starfleet. At the Academy, her talent for seeing patterns in numbers and data made administrative duties a natural fit for her. In most of her classes she was in the top percentiles, though she struggled in some, mostly sciences with a slant toward biology, and was tutored by her friends to keep up her marks.
During her final year at the Academy, she was either in the right place at the right time or in the wrong place at the right time, depending on a person’s point of view when she was assigned to the Enterprise during the Narada incident. Kirk and the rest of the crew were able to stop Nero from destroying Earth, but the Enterprise was heavily damaged in the battle and it would have been easy for chaos aboard the ship.
Janice was one of the many people who stepped into the administrative vacuum that was created by the many injuries and deaths aboard the ship. Taking a role that hadn’t quite been assigned to her, Janice helped to maintain organization amongst the confusion, a trait that was eventually recognized by Starfleet.
When it became necessary for a yeoman to be assigned to Captain Kirk, many beings were considered, but Admiral Pike suggested Janice for the post. Though, Kirk had not directly noticed Janice, he had seen the results of her work and agreed that she would be a good choice for the position. Janice, on the other hand, has never quite understood why she was selected since she believes she only did what was necessary. Though unsure of why she was chosen instead of someone more experienced, she was thrilled to be assigned to the Enterprise as the Captain’s Yeoman.
Her family doesn’t quite understand her decision to enlist or her decision to accept a post on the ship that she could have easily died aboard, but most of her family members are supportive. Sirri is the most outspoken of those who have been against her decision and this has caused her relationship with her younger brother to deteriorate.
During her time aboard the Enterprise she has had to deal with a variety of situations that were both personally and professionally challenging - including a faint, but carefully suppressed attraction to her commanding officer - and is slowly growing into her role as Captain’s Yeoman.
[Personality]
Professionally, she strives to act in the best interest of her captain and Starfleet. To Jan, remaining calm in a crisis is vitally important along with thinking things through carefully before acting, though she will react impulsively when pushed. Usually she will try to mediate a situation, but if she cannot find a common ground or if she feels that she will say or do something inappropriate, she will try to walk away and deal with the problem when she’s in a better frame of mind.
Jan rarely lingers on the past. The present and the future are what matters and self-reflection that leads to doubt or questioning past decisions is to be avoided. She believes in learning from her mistakes, but she knows that if she spends too much time second guessing her actions in the past, then she won’t be able to function in the future. In many ways, she lives by the words of one of her favorite songs: “Let it be.” Some things cannot be changed and that truth needs to be accepted. But if there is a possible solution, Jan will try to find it with every bit of energy she possesses.
This doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have issues with the past and isn’t trying to cope with them. After the Enterprise returned from the confrontation with the Narada, Janice got a tattoo of a compass rose on her left hip. It was her method of coping with everything that had happened during the Narada Incident, the loss of Vulcan, and the deaths of most of her classmates. It’s also a reminder that she’ll never forget the way back home. The choice of its location was due to needing it to be somewhere that would always be covered while she was in uniform and wanting it to be somewhere that only a select few people would ever see. The tattoo is for her, not others.
As the Captain’s Yeoman, she can be polite, friendly and outgoing. When she’s off duty, is more reserved and shy. If she is uncertain of how to act in a situation, she will err on the side of formality. When she’s comfortable with people, she can be geeky and has an off beat sense of humor. She also is very affectionate with people she’s close with if they don’t mind the attention. Being away from her family is the hardest thing about being on the Enterprise. She especially misses her brothers and rarely talks about Sirri because of their ongoing estrangement. Janice can have a quirky sense of humor with her friends. She loves art, music, and vintage pop culture.
In romantic relationships, she is cautious. During her second year of college, she was in an emotionally abusive relationship. In the beginning, everything seemed normal but as the relationship progressed, her boyfriend tried to help ‘improve’ her. Her friends and family intervened and Janice realized what was going on and ended the relationship. She dated a little afterward, but hasn’t dated anyone seriously since. This may be why she didn’t fall for her commanding officer as has been implied happened to the version of her in the Prime universe.
[Abilities]
Janice does not have any mystical abilities or unusual physical strengths. She has a talent for seeing patterns in data. She has strong mathematical and organizational skills and is proficient in sciences that are based on mathematics. When she was at the Academy, she was trained in the basics of combat and survival. She also has a knack for making fantastic coffee in most situations. Jan is also an artist with some drafting experience because of the time she spent helping Ben with his studies. She draws and paints but prefers working with permanent markers.
[Other important stuff]
She can make coffee with a phaser if she has to. Seriously, do not get between this girl and her caffeine supply. It’ll get scary.
[Sample post]
[First Person]
If you could go back home, would you? Why or why not?
Of course I’d go back. My family and friends are there. They’re probably terrified that something terrible has happened to me. Something terrible has happened to me. I miss them. And I have my duty on the Enterprise. I’m needed there and I need to be there.
What were you doing before now?
I was working on some paperwork for the captain. Some reports that needed to be filed in the morning. But I’m not sure how I got here. Everyone’s told me that this place is a dream world. Does that mean I fell asleep at my desk and somehow I found my way here?
You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?
I’m sure I should go after the bad guy; the needs of the few cannot outweigh the needs of the many. But, I couldn’t turn my back on a friend. Not when they might die. And, you said that the bad guy would be hard to catch, not that he’d be impossible to catch. I just - [She pauses, shrugging slightly and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.] I just couldn’t not help my friend.
If you could destroy a city, how would you do it?
Even if I could destroy a city, I wouldn’t. [But Jan knows that really isn’t the answer the interviewer wanted. Sighing, she can’t help comparing this interview to some of the psych exams she’d had after she enlisted. Though, their questions hadn’t been as odd as some of the ones she’s being asked now.]
Ignoring the fact that innocent beings would die…Destruction is a waste of resources. Instead, I would deal with its population. If I had to destroy a city, I would cut off all the supply chains into the city. [Yes, even when planning destruction, Janice cannot completely pull away from her Captain’s Yeoman mindset.] Without food or water, the populace could be dealt with, hopefully, minimal resistance.
Now if we just want to level the city, then I’d find some devastating weapon that would turn the place to rubble before anyone could even think of defending the site.
Is the best part of waking up having Folger's in your cup?
Folgers? Usually I drink this coffee I get from a shop near Pike’s Street or one that was a few blocks away from the Academy. But whatever the type, coffee is one of the most important parts of my day. I doubt I could function without it. I even made coffee with my phaser once because I needed my caffeine fix.
What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
I wasn’t sure if anyone here would know about Monty Python. [Jan isn’t quite sure if the interviewer is joking or not so she continues.] If you really do want an answer to that…if you give me some paper, or my PADD and some more variables, I’ll try to figure it out for you.
How is space?
Space is amazing. I used to read these ancient science fiction books when I was a girl and it’s nothing and everything like they described. [Her tone becomes more exuberant as she speaks.] Space is beautiful and terrifying and in so many ways, Doctor McCoy is right. It is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence. But there’s also something awe-inspiring about being among the stars and visiting worlds that no one else in the Federation has ever seen. There’s no words to describe it. Maybe I could draw something that’s close, but it still wouldn’t show you what it’s like to be so close to the stars.
[Third Person]
Janice carefully checked her reflection in the mirror, straightening her Starfleet uniform. She was dressed as she would have been if she’d been on duty on the Enterprise except that her hair was swept up in the chignon that she wore when she was meeting with one of the admirals.
Picking up her Dreamberry, Janice moves to her desk, sitting down in the worn but comfortable chair and staring at the communicator. This shouldn’t be so difficult. She wanted to be useful, find a purpose while she was here, but - it seemed that if she actually tried to find some sort of job, it meant that she was giving up. But, she needed the credits if she didn’t want to end up sleeping in the street.
No, this wasn’t giving up. This was coping with the situation until Doctor McCoy or the captain found a way to pull her out of this place. If she could help someone while she was here, then maybe there was a reason for her to be here in the first place.
Sighing, she turned on the Dreamberry before she lost her nerve, shifting into the mindset that she normally used while on duty. She introduced herself carefully, explaining who she was and what her post had been before arriving in Somarium.
“For the past few weeks, I've been at a loss for something to do that was in the scope of my duties on the Enterprise. I'd like to maintain that connection to home, so I'm offering my skills. Basically, I was responsible for organizing the administrative duties for our captain. I was his personal assistant.”
She then listed an array of skills from typing to organization. On a whim she also mentioned her experience drawing up blueprints for her brother, Benjamin, and the art classes she’d taken before enlisting.
When she was sure she’d supplied enough information to give someone the idea of what she was capable, she smiles almost shyly. “I’m not sure if any of my skills are needed here, but I’m hoping that someone may be interested in having an assistant or at least having someone help with whatever projects they're working on at this time.” She ends the broadcast with a polite goodbye and sets the device back down on the desk. She shouldn’t be nervous. That wouldn’t accomplish anything, but she can’t really help it.
Sighing quietly, she picks up her sketchbook and opens it to the first blank page she can find, doodling images of starships and skylines while waiting to see if someone might have use for a yeoman who was realities away from her ship.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] I love playing Janice and I’ve been looking for a new place to put her in. Somarium is a great game so I’m hoping that she’ll fit in and I’ll have a chance to play her more
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] Again, the one about being nice to other players. I like that there’s rules to help keep the drama to a minimum.
community.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] Steve!mun started it when she conned me into playing Peggy. :P
[Any questions?] Nope!
[Age] 35
[Personal Journal] selinamoonfire
[Other characters currently played] Peggy Carter - Captain America: The First Avenger - th3rightpartner
[Character name] Janice Rand
[Age] 24
[Canon] Star Trek XI
[Point in time taken from canon] A few months into their five year mission.
[Background]
Janice had what she thinks of as a normal childhood growing up in Seattle. Her parents are happily married. She has two brothers, Benjamin and Sirri, who she spent most of her time helping get into or out of trouble, depending on the situation. Benjamin was fascinated with starships and was always showing his little sister schematics and models of his favorite designs. Janice became just as fascinated with the designs, which is at times reflected in her artwork. She lacked Ben’s engineering ability so she never seriously considered anything related to space as anything more than a daydream. Sirri was the prankster of the three and Jan was his favorite target. Most of the time, Jan accepted these pranks with good grace, though at times she would retaliate with practical jokes of her own.
After high school, Janice attended college, working as a barista while earning a degree in business, but eventually she realized that she didn't have the temperament to work effectively in the private sector. After many discussions with Ben, she realized that her childhood love of space and ships hadn’t diminished and she decided to enlist in Starfleet. At the Academy, her talent for seeing patterns in numbers and data made administrative duties a natural fit for her. In most of her classes she was in the top percentiles, though she struggled in some, mostly sciences with a slant toward biology, and was tutored by her friends to keep up her marks.
During her final year at the Academy, she was either in the right place at the right time or in the wrong place at the right time, depending on a person’s point of view when she was assigned to the Enterprise during the Narada incident. Kirk and the rest of the crew were able to stop Nero from destroying Earth, but the Enterprise was heavily damaged in the battle and it would have been easy for chaos aboard the ship.
Janice was one of the many people who stepped into the administrative vacuum that was created by the many injuries and deaths aboard the ship. Taking a role that hadn’t quite been assigned to her, Janice helped to maintain organization amongst the confusion, a trait that was eventually recognized by Starfleet.
When it became necessary for a yeoman to be assigned to Captain Kirk, many beings were considered, but Admiral Pike suggested Janice for the post. Though, Kirk had not directly noticed Janice, he had seen the results of her work and agreed that she would be a good choice for the position. Janice, on the other hand, has never quite understood why she was selected since she believes she only did what was necessary. Though unsure of why she was chosen instead of someone more experienced, she was thrilled to be assigned to the Enterprise as the Captain’s Yeoman.
Her family doesn’t quite understand her decision to enlist or her decision to accept a post on the ship that she could have easily died aboard, but most of her family members are supportive. Sirri is the most outspoken of those who have been against her decision and this has caused her relationship with her younger brother to deteriorate.
During her time aboard the Enterprise she has had to deal with a variety of situations that were both personally and professionally challenging - including a faint, but carefully suppressed attraction to her commanding officer - and is slowly growing into her role as Captain’s Yeoman.
[Personality]
Professionally, she strives to act in the best interest of her captain and Starfleet. To Jan, remaining calm in a crisis is vitally important along with thinking things through carefully before acting, though she will react impulsively when pushed. Usually she will try to mediate a situation, but if she cannot find a common ground or if she feels that she will say or do something inappropriate, she will try to walk away and deal with the problem when she’s in a better frame of mind.
Jan rarely lingers on the past. The present and the future are what matters and self-reflection that leads to doubt or questioning past decisions is to be avoided. She believes in learning from her mistakes, but she knows that if she spends too much time second guessing her actions in the past, then she won’t be able to function in the future. In many ways, she lives by the words of one of her favorite songs: “Let it be.” Some things cannot be changed and that truth needs to be accepted. But if there is a possible solution, Jan will try to find it with every bit of energy she possesses.
This doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have issues with the past and isn’t trying to cope with them. After the Enterprise returned from the confrontation with the Narada, Janice got a tattoo of a compass rose on her left hip. It was her method of coping with everything that had happened during the Narada Incident, the loss of Vulcan, and the deaths of most of her classmates. It’s also a reminder that she’ll never forget the way back home. The choice of its location was due to needing it to be somewhere that would always be covered while she was in uniform and wanting it to be somewhere that only a select few people would ever see. The tattoo is for her, not others.
As the Captain’s Yeoman, she can be polite, friendly and outgoing. When she’s off duty, is more reserved and shy. If she is uncertain of how to act in a situation, she will err on the side of formality. When she’s comfortable with people, she can be geeky and has an off beat sense of humor. She also is very affectionate with people she’s close with if they don’t mind the attention. Being away from her family is the hardest thing about being on the Enterprise. She especially misses her brothers and rarely talks about Sirri because of their ongoing estrangement. Janice can have a quirky sense of humor with her friends. She loves art, music, and vintage pop culture.
In romantic relationships, she is cautious. During her second year of college, she was in an emotionally abusive relationship. In the beginning, everything seemed normal but as the relationship progressed, her boyfriend tried to help ‘improve’ her. Her friends and family intervened and Janice realized what was going on and ended the relationship. She dated a little afterward, but hasn’t dated anyone seriously since. This may be why she didn’t fall for her commanding officer as has been implied happened to the version of her in the Prime universe.
[Abilities]
Janice does not have any mystical abilities or unusual physical strengths. She has a talent for seeing patterns in data. She has strong mathematical and organizational skills and is proficient in sciences that are based on mathematics. When she was at the Academy, she was trained in the basics of combat and survival. She also has a knack for making fantastic coffee in most situations. Jan is also an artist with some drafting experience because of the time she spent helping Ben with his studies. She draws and paints but prefers working with permanent markers.
[Other important stuff]
She can make coffee with a phaser if she has to. Seriously, do not get between this girl and her caffeine supply. It’ll get scary.
[Sample post]
[First Person]
If you could go back home, would you? Why or why not?
Of course I’d go back. My family and friends are there. They’re probably terrified that something terrible has happened to me. Something terrible has happened to me. I miss them. And I have my duty on the Enterprise. I’m needed there and I need to be there.
What were you doing before now?
I was working on some paperwork for the captain. Some reports that needed to be filed in the morning. But I’m not sure how I got here. Everyone’s told me that this place is a dream world. Does that mean I fell asleep at my desk and somehow I found my way here?
You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?
I’m sure I should go after the bad guy; the needs of the few cannot outweigh the needs of the many. But, I couldn’t turn my back on a friend. Not when they might die. And, you said that the bad guy would be hard to catch, not that he’d be impossible to catch. I just - [She pauses, shrugging slightly and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.] I just couldn’t not help my friend.
If you could destroy a city, how would you do it?
Even if I could destroy a city, I wouldn’t. [But Jan knows that really isn’t the answer the interviewer wanted. Sighing, she can’t help comparing this interview to some of the psych exams she’d had after she enlisted. Though, their questions hadn’t been as odd as some of the ones she’s being asked now.]
Ignoring the fact that innocent beings would die…Destruction is a waste of resources. Instead, I would deal with its population. If I had to destroy a city, I would cut off all the supply chains into the city. [Yes, even when planning destruction, Janice cannot completely pull away from her Captain’s Yeoman mindset.] Without food or water, the populace could be dealt with, hopefully, minimal resistance.
Now if we just want to level the city, then I’d find some devastating weapon that would turn the place to rubble before anyone could even think of defending the site.
Is the best part of waking up having Folger's in your cup?
Folgers? Usually I drink this coffee I get from a shop near Pike’s Street or one that was a few blocks away from the Academy. But whatever the type, coffee is one of the most important parts of my day. I doubt I could function without it. I even made coffee with my phaser once because I needed my caffeine fix.
What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
I wasn’t sure if anyone here would know about Monty Python. [Jan isn’t quite sure if the interviewer is joking or not so she continues.] If you really do want an answer to that…if you give me some paper, or my PADD and some more variables, I’ll try to figure it out for you.
How is space?
Space is amazing. I used to read these ancient science fiction books when I was a girl and it’s nothing and everything like they described. [Her tone becomes more exuberant as she speaks.] Space is beautiful and terrifying and in so many ways, Doctor McCoy is right. It is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence. But there’s also something awe-inspiring about being among the stars and visiting worlds that no one else in the Federation has ever seen. There’s no words to describe it. Maybe I could draw something that’s close, but it still wouldn’t show you what it’s like to be so close to the stars.
[Third Person]
Janice carefully checked her reflection in the mirror, straightening her Starfleet uniform. She was dressed as she would have been if she’d been on duty on the Enterprise except that her hair was swept up in the chignon that she wore when she was meeting with one of the admirals.
Picking up her Dreamberry, Janice moves to her desk, sitting down in the worn but comfortable chair and staring at the communicator. This shouldn’t be so difficult. She wanted to be useful, find a purpose while she was here, but - it seemed that if she actually tried to find some sort of job, it meant that she was giving up. But, she needed the credits if she didn’t want to end up sleeping in the street.
No, this wasn’t giving up. This was coping with the situation until Doctor McCoy or the captain found a way to pull her out of this place. If she could help someone while she was here, then maybe there was a reason for her to be here in the first place.
Sighing, she turned on the Dreamberry before she lost her nerve, shifting into the mindset that she normally used while on duty. She introduced herself carefully, explaining who she was and what her post had been before arriving in Somarium.
“For the past few weeks, I've been at a loss for something to do that was in the scope of my duties on the Enterprise. I'd like to maintain that connection to home, so I'm offering my skills. Basically, I was responsible for organizing the administrative duties for our captain. I was his personal assistant.”
She then listed an array of skills from typing to organization. On a whim she also mentioned her experience drawing up blueprints for her brother, Benjamin, and the art classes she’d taken before enlisting.
When she was sure she’d supplied enough information to give someone the idea of what she was capable, she smiles almost shyly. “I’m not sure if any of my skills are needed here, but I’m hoping that someone may be interested in having an assistant or at least having someone help with whatever projects they're working on at this time.” She ends the broadcast with a polite goodbye and sets the device back down on the desk. She shouldn’t be nervous. That wouldn’t accomplish anything, but she can’t really help it.
Sighing quietly, she picks up her sketchbook and opens it to the first blank page she can find, doodling images of starships and skylines while waiting to see if someone might have use for a yeoman who was realities away from her ship.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] I love playing Janice and I’ve been looking for a new place to put her in. Somarium is a great game so I’m hoping that she’ll fit in and I’ll have a chance to play her more
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] Again, the one about being nice to other players. I like that there’s rules to help keep the drama to a minimum.
community.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] Steve!mun started it when she conned me into playing Peggy. :P
[Any questions?] Nope!