Gnai

“All you ever were was a little bit of the universe, thinking to itself. Very specific; this bit, here, right now.”

Iain M. Banks

Ensign Gnai (/ɡnaɪː/) is a Galadoran currently serving as a Science Officer aboard the USS Artemis-A.

Appearance

Height (outside of suit): Indeterminate blob
Height (inside suit): 5'0" / 153 cm
Hair: None
Eyes: None
Build: Stocky mechanical suit
Voice (suit): Mechanical and monotonous, from speakers
Voice (projected): Quiet and soft

Suit Specs

Designers: Gnai, and its mentor, Gnai ^[1]
Arm Weight Limit: 558 lbs / 253 kg ^[2]
Power Unit: Galadoran light-cell technology ^[1]

Early Life

Gnai budded off of another Gnaijan Galadoran, like every one of its identical peers, in the clonal domed city of Anan on the northern continent of Galador 2. As a young Galadoran, it had spent time floating about with peers, fascinated by everything that it came upon. It sought out a mentorship with an older Galadoran, an engineer by trade and amateur scientist, and focused its energy more into understanding the universe around it. This Galadoran, who had also gone by the name Gnai when outside the hive city and amongst humanoids, had told it stories of the wider universe, flashing wonder and excitement that Gnai mirrored in its own tendrils.

Pushed on to apply to Starfleet Academy by its mentor, Gnai soon found itself in need of a travel device - a containment suit to propel it outside of the water and interact with the world. It worked under the guidance of its mentor, creating a suit of their joint design.

At the Academy, Gnai studied primarily in the sciences, specializing in astronomy, what had fascinated it initially as a youth. It also obtained a secondary major, specializing in nanotechnology, after its mentor. Sure, it had the same dreams as a lot of Galadorans had, of ever more efficient sources of energy, but it was also practical. Having a better understanding of engineering would mean that it could update and upkeep its suit far better.

Service

			Alternate History

Fresh out of the Academy, the newly minted Ensign Gnai was assigned to the USS Artemis-A... but instead of ending up on the ship, it soon found itself trapped on Romulus with the rest of the main Science staff of the ship (Commander Genkos Adea, Lieutenant Jovenan, and Lieutenant JG. Gila Sadar), abandoned there by the ever-chaotic CloQ ^[3]. One final wrench in its plans of a normal first assignment - they were trapped on Romulus in 2374. Unbeknownst to them, Captain Benjamin Sisko and Garak's plot for dragging the Romulan Star Empire into the Dominion War had somehow failed to go off. All that they knew was that Senator Vreenak was still unassassinated, and headed back to the Hall of State, the building that housed the Romulan Senate. For the Romulans to join the Dominion War, the team assumed that he would have to die ^[4].

One of the first steps that the team took, after Gnai joined it, was to determine how to properly disguise themselves. A Betazoid, an Edo, a Mizarian, and a Galadoran would raise eyebrows - and likely alarms - if spotted milling about the capital city of Ki Baratan. As soon as it had proposed disguising itself as some sort of robot, the group was interrupted by a Romulan civilian, who promptly fled as soon as he had laid eyes upon the gathered officers ^[3]. The team gave chase, and Lt. JG. Sadar managed to block the Romulan's escape long enough for Cmdr. Adea to knock him out with his cane. Now burdened with an unconscious Romulan, Lt. Jovenan and Gnai hid the body back in a very convenient locker in the room they had first met in. It was during this trip that Gnai learned the reason why they were back in 2374 - the others had just come from an alternate timeline in which Betazed had remained occupied by the Dominion far longer than it should have ^[5]. Confused, it continued to try and work at accessing the PADD that the Romulan had dropped, before asking what their mission was exactly - a tall order, given that it was unable to read the Romulan language that the PADD was written in ^[6].

The next bombshell dropped when Gnai was informed of the true mission - the assassination of Senator Vreenak. It had missed the discussion before, in which the team had decided upon that course of action, and it was only during that brief moment of calm that it thought to ask why they were really there in the first place. Stunned into silence, Gnai pondered the mission, clearly as apprehensive about the whole thing as the rest of the team. It was a lot to ask of an officer fresh out of the Academy. Soon enough, the team of blueshirts found themselves sneaking after a disguised Jovenan - the unconscious Romulan civilian had turned out to be quite a blessing in disguise - as they made their way through the administrative building towards a workshop that Lt. JG. Sadar had found through the PADD. When there, Gnai offered up a suggestion: perhaps they could use some of the tools stored away in this workshop as part of the disguise? It reasoned that civilian engineers might be able to get into military installations, such as the defensive turret that Cmdr. Adea had spotted en route ^[7].

As they discussed the strategy for overtaking the turret and using it to shoot down the Senator's shuttle, Gnai focused its efforts on its own disguise. With the help of the replicators in the lab, Gnai created rolls of mirrored foil and paint ^[8]. Best not to leave any part of it showing. The science blue of its chassis was painted over with a drab Romulan grey by Lt. Jovenan, as it affixed the foil to the tank, turning it into a one-way mirrored surface. To finish off the robotic façade, Gnai attached a few scrounged up metal plates from the lab to the frame holding its tank.

Now fully disguised as two Romulan engineers, followed by a Mizarian and her robot companion, they made their way to the turret. At the entrance to the base of the artillery, a group of Romulan soldiers acted as security, and stopped the officers, demanding to know why they were here and why they had brought an alien to such a sensitive location. Gnai remained silent, trying to emulate some ideal of a robot that it had in its head ^[9]. Thankfully, some quick thinking from the others rescued this attempt, and they found themselves in the base of a large Romulan turret. Cmdr. Adea ordered Gnai and Lt. JG. Sadar to work on framing the Dominion for this attack - discarding various replicated ketracel white tubes and a strange prosthetic face mask of the Commander himself - as he and Lt. Jovenan worked on the firing controls. Frazzled, they tried their best ^[10].

Soon after they had finished their haphazard frame job, the Senator's shuttle entered targeting range. With seconds to go, Gnai expressed its regrets about the mission to Lt. JG. Sadar, who echoed them. The shuttle was hit, and it careened into the turret, crumpling the building into a mess of metal and fire, killing the team instantly ^[11]. Unbeknownst to the team, this had been all a massive mistake - by trying to recreate Sisko's plans, they had inadvertently started a war with the Romulans, forcing the Federation to fight on two fronts during one of its most dire moments. And like dominoes, one act lead to another, eventually ending with a Betazoid coup and the subjugation of the Federation under the heel of Empress Tevet Elain. CloQ rewound time just a fraction of a second before they all perished, and dropped Gnai into yet another stressful circumstance - the courtyard of a Betazoid prison colony ^[12].

In a flash of white light, Gnai found itself unadorned with mirrors and staring up at the snow falling from an open sky onto the austere grey walls of some sort of prison complex. Much to its delight, Captain Addison MacKenzie of the USS Artemis-A was nearby - it had recognized her from the PADD that had displayed its deployment orders as it left the Academy - as well as the two Vulcans: Ensign Savel and Lieutenant Commander Salkath. Trying to get ahead of any future questions, it announced itself to the captain, and rattled off the details of the mission that it had just abruptly departed. This was met with the first of what would likely be many eyebrow-raises from Ens. Savel ^[13]. Introductions were short, if they happened at all, and the group of Starfleet officers shortly found out that they were in fact personae non gratae at the complex. A Betazoid woman reacted negatively to any attempts at contact, and soon they found themselves staring down a brutish jailer and his four guards. Gnai was absolutely terrified, and found itself clamming up once again ^[14].

The guards restrained the officers, dragging them away for an unclear 'further processing', into the drab and monotonous interior of the prison. When they finally stopped, the jailer informed them that they were being charged with "High Crimes against the Dominion" - terrorism and conspiracy - which would be punished with hard labor. Gnai was worried, immensely so, that it was being charged for its connection to the assassination of the Romulan Senator in 2374... somehow ^[15]. After further inquiry - followed then by a sharp blow to Ens. Savel's gut - the jailer revealed to the team that their crime was attempting a coup d'état on a Dominion-controlled colony. And that Starfleet and the Federation had declared such an act to be unsanctioned. Gnai instantly began to worry for real now about the assassination and the consequences that it might face for such an act, pontificating on it while they were escorted from the processing to their cells. Locked away next to Lt. Cmdr. Salkath and across from Cpt. MacKenzie and Ens. Savel, Gnai's worries only grew as it realized the magnitude of what they had all done prior to arriving at the prison. It didn't help that the other prisoners of the cell block they were in were vocally displeased about their chatter ^[16]. The team planned for the following day: splitting up to talk with the others and hoping that this would prove less adverse reactions from the general populace. While stuck in their cells overnight, Gnai and Lt. Cmdr. Salkath chatted briefly, with the Lt. Cmdr. offering to inspect Gnai's containment suit for damage the following day, which it appreciated. Gnai also suspected that the walls were made of a composite of duranium after closer inspection, passing this along to Lt. Cmdr. Salkath ^[17].

The next morning, after brief conversation with Lt. Cmdr. Salkath and the other officers, Overseer Drox woke the rest of the cell block up and announced that they were all behind schedule. Somehow, she was worse than the previous jailer (as promised). After informing the other prisoners that their mealtime was being cancelled due to the presence of the Starfleet officers - a clear attempt to foster division between the prisoners - they were marched outside to begin the work for the day. The officers were tasked, alongside a few of the other prisoners, with extraction and sent down deep into a cave nearby to the prison, watched from above by guards and the sadistic overseer ^[18]. Deep inside the cave, the officers were confronted with the harsh reality of the prison's labor force, watching as another group of exhausted and grimy prisoners made their way back up the same tunnel they were descending, after having worked through the night. As they reached where they would be working, the other prisoners started immediately, giving the occasional glare back to the Starfleet officers who were decidedly not. Gnai wanted to push ahead on the plans to interact with the others, offering to go as a representative of a non-Federation species, but this was quickly overshadowed by Ens. Savel's plan to start a fight and get sent to the Overseer. This sounded like a horrible plan to Gnai, the proud coward that it was, and instead Gnai looked to the captain for some semblance of reason ^[19]. As soon as it set off to meet with the Caitian that the captain pointed out for it to make contact with, everything vanished again. Much to Gnai's delight though, the crew was back on the ship, and set to dock at Deep Space 9 for shore leave, with CloQ vanishing into thin air before their very eyes. Everyone was back in one piece and it could finally get started with its time on the USS Artemis-A ^[20].

			Shore Leave: DS9

			A Trip To Sickbay

[WIP]

			Relaxation: Doctor's Orders

[WIP]

			Interrogation

[WIP]

			Setting A Baseline

[WIP]

			It's Just Tricorder Training, What Could Go Wrong?

[WIP]

			Pirates of the Gamma Quadrant

[WIP]

Relationships

			On Galador II

Gnai
Mentor

Back on Galador II, Gnai was apprenticed to another Galadoran, an aging engineer who had once traveled the stars. It was awestruck with the stories that its mentor - named Gnai - told it, and eventually ended up taking on its name when it left Galador II to join Starfleet. The design of Gnai's suit was a joint effort between mentor and apprentice, based on the suit that Gnai had worn when it had traveled the galaxy.

			On the USS Artemis-A

Jovenan
Department Head

Gnai first met Lt. Jovenan on Romulus in 2374, after being snapped there alone. It took a liking to the Lieutenant, after her cheerful introduction. She seemed to be of a similar demeanor to Gnai, it thought. Hopefully she didn't hold its unquestioning involvement in the assassination plot against it in the future.

Gila Sadar
The Lieutenant (JG)

Gnai also met Lt. JG. Gila Sadar on Romulus. For an extended period of time, it wasn't certain what her name was exactly - names were a foreign concept to Gnai, coming from a species that didn't really have them. So it just kept referring to her as Lieutenant.

During the mission, it ended up paired off with Lt. JG. Sadar, mostly as the two least-disguisable in the team. They both were stationed at the bottom of the Romulan turret as everything went wrong...

Genkos Adea
The Mildly Terrifying Commander

The final individual from the USS Artemis-A that Gnai met on Romulus was Cmdr. Genkos Adea. It doesn't know what to make of him, nor of his strange gestures (winks are not standard practice in species without apparent eyes, or eyelids). Humanoids really are strange, aren't they? Gnai's impression of Cmdr. Adea was that he was decidedly a man of action, cracking skulls with his cane and cussing out Romulan guards.

Cmdr. Adea was quite kind when Gnai went in for a physical, and let the whole thing be conducted telepathically. Gnai appreciated that, as it finds expressing itself somewhat better through telepathy, rather than through its speakers. After the physical, at the Commander's suggestion, Gnai met with him and his dog Toto in the Arboretum on DS9.

Addison MacKenzie
The Captain

Gnai's Captain aboard the USS Artemis-A. Gnai wants to do its very best to stay on her good side, lest it get kicked off of the ship or out of Starfleet and lose access to the various scientific resources that were aboard. Unfortunately, it has already informed her of the failure that was the blueshirts' attempt to bring the Romulans into the war and right history... the exact thing that landed a third of the Artemis's crew in prison.

During shore leave, she welcomed Gnai to the ship formally. What started as a very standard welcome soon turned into a bit of an interrogation, as Gnai was properly introduced to the Captain. It's not certain how to feel about any of this.

Savel
Bad Luck

Gnai first met Ens. Savel at the Betazoid Prison Colony when they were all snapped there by CloQ. Ens. Savel raised his eyebrow at Gnai, which it took note of. It clearly wasn't making a good first impression. This impression was further soured by Ens. Savel's idea to start a fight in the prison. Why??? Gnai thought that was a profoundly stupid idea, and it was just going to get them in trouble and hurt... Thankfully, CloQ pulled them all back to the Artemis before anything bad could happen.

Gnai's luck around Ens. Savel only continued to get worse as they went on shore leave. Not only did it end up trapped on a cruise ship in the Gamma Quadrant with him, trying to outfox pirates who had taken it over, but Ens. Savel was also in attendance at the disastrous tricorder training session on Bajor. Both Gnai and Ens. Savel made it out unharmed, but the same could not be said for their crewmates. Gnai hates to be superstitious... but the facts don't lie. Whenever it's on a team with Ens. Savel, someone is getting hurt. Or captured. Or both.

It's a shame, because Gnai has found him to be very pleasant to be around. If it ignores all the chaos, that is.

Salkath
The Mechanical Counselor

Much like Ens. Savel, Gnai met Lt. Cmdr. Salkath in prison. He didn't raise an eyebrow at it. Perhaps Gnai had made a better first impression on him. It hoped that much, at least. Having such a massive moral dilemma as a first mission was bound to lead to some strange impressions. When imprisoned in adjoining cells, he offered to inspect Gnai's containment suit for damages. Gnai was very appreciative of this offer, as while it had a modicum of engineering experience, having an actual engineer to help would be far better.

When the mission was over, and the crew was set loose on DS9 for their shore leave, Gnai reached out to Lt. Cmdr. Salkath to see if he would make good on his promise to look over Gnai's suit. He was interested, and the two of them got to work. After Gnai had ensured that its suit was in good condition still, it asked him a very personal question - if he could take a baseline, and be what Lt. Cmdr. Salkath later dubbed its "mechanical counselor". The Vulcan agreed, and Gnai considers him a confidante - someone who knows all the details about its suit that it was wary to share widely. And perhaps, someday: a friend.

File:Ensign Chevalier.png

Jaseb Chevalier
The Roommate

Gnai has now met its roommate/bunkmate. They both partook in Lt. Jovenan's tricorder training session on Bajor, and met on the shuttle over. Ens. Chevalier informed Gnai of some sort of welcoming gift that he had for it, as well as proposing some sort of system as their schedules had not overlapped for a meeting yet.

Then everything went horribly wrong. Gnai was not anticipating seeing its roommate's severed leg across his lap the same day that it met him, but their tricorder training session on Bajor went even worse than it could have imagined. Who expects mines on a training mission?

Jozial Renirs
???????

Gnai first met Crewman Renirs on the tricorder training mission arranged by Lt. Jovenan in Bajor's Rakantha Province. She seemed exceptionally flippant, and like she was trying to be annoying on purpose. It worked at first, but Gnai tried to be patient, and push her towards being a better crewman. It even helped her with her tricorder! But as soon as she mentioned a mysterious cave, Gnai's curiosity overrode any semblance of caution.

That was a mistake, and Gnai feels now like it was the reason why Renirs got so injured when stepping on a mine. It tried its best to act as a medic for her, staying by her side and assisting the tense beam-out process. On the shuttle Kerynitis, it was able to diagnose her with multiple burns and a concussion, so it tried to keep her talking while they made haste to the province's hospital. It still feels horrid for what happened to her, even though she made a full recovery.

Service History

Starfleet Service Record

Insignia	Rank	Dates	Posting	Assignment
	Cadet	2397 - 2401	Starfleet Academy	Cadet
	Ensign	SD 240102.27 - Present	USS Artemis-A	Science Officer

Awards and Service Ribbons

For award descriptions, see: Awards and Service Ribbons

Awards and Service Ribbons

Award	Name	Date/Assignment	Citation
None
Service Ribbon	Name	Date/Assignment	Citation
	Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon	2401 Starfleet Academy	Awarded to those who have graduated from Starfleet Academy. "Though you’ve technically already earned this ribbon, as your commanding officer, I get the pleasure of officially presenting you with the Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon. Welcome aboard the Artemis!" ^[21]
	Defense of Temporal Flow Ribbon	240105.24 USS Artemis	"For your efforts in combating CloQ and all of [their] temporal misgivings." ^[21]
	Prisoner of War Ribbon	240105.24 USS Artemis	"While we weren’t incarcerated long, the experience is one that I hope none of you ever has to experience. Or experience again." ^[21]