Randal Shayne/Professional History: Difference between revisions

{{Logo and Ship|USS Triumphant|Defiant}}

[[Operation Bright Arrow (Darwin-A)]] Shayne's first goal is to serve the fleet in any way he can. When he heard that a special exploratory/ search and retrieve mission was being undertaken, and that one of the two starships to participate in the mission needed a helmsman, Shayne jumped at the chance. It was during this mission that Shayne was first given command of the bridge, if only for a few minutes. This is also where his friendship with Varaan began to take shape. After accomplishing their mission (searching for the criminal Raikenoff) Shayne was offered a position onboard the ''Darwin-A'' as her helmsman. Despite his short time aboard, Shayne felt a deep connection to his vessel.

{{Logo and Ship|USS Darwin-A|Horizon}}

[[Silent Night (Darwin-A)]] Shayne's first mission aboard also turned out to be one of the strangest. A catastrophic malfunction of the life support systems necessitated the immediate evacuation of the entire crew. With limited notice and a ship that was rapidly becoming uninhabitable, Captain [[Renos]] ordered all hands to abandon ship, and seek refuge on a nearby Class M planet, populated by a pre-industrial civilization. Because of the extreme distance between the crew and any sort of outside Federation assistance, all hands were encouraged to take up some sort of employment, in order to sustain themselves while help made the journey to the Delta Quadrant. Shayne's reclusive nature and tendency to prefer isolated settings led him to take on the unfortunate position of nightman. During his time there, he encountered a sickly young girl who was suffering from a deadly infection, brought on by a botched amputation. Compassion immediately overrode his commitment to the Prime Directive, and he insisted on bringing the poor girl into the warmth of his cabin, shared by three others. Shayne nearly exposed their true identities to the girl as a result of his actions, but Doctor Graeme Cook was able to operate and save the girl from the infection, without giving away their status as aliens. For his actions on the surface of Turisan II, Shayne was awarded that Captain's Commendation, something he still doesn't understand fully to this day.

[[Awakening (Darwin-A)]]  Borg. Lovely. Shayne had suspected that being stationed on the Collective's back door would lead to some close calls, but inwardly he'd hoped that such an encounter might be avoided. No such luck. Communications had picked up a Borg transponder signal nearby, and the Darwin-A was ordered to investigate. Upon arriving at the planet in question, PR-652, sensors reported a strange phenomenon- a cloud, miles across, rising from the surface, and approaching the ship. After a short time, it became clear that said cloud was composed solely by Borg nanites- trillions of them. Fleet Captain Renos ordered that First Officer Maxwell Traenor take a team to the surface, to scan for other Borg lifesigns, and to assess the situation. Shayne was assigned to that team. After a bumpy start, the team finally made it to the surface, finding the world a scorched, barren wasteland. An investigation revealed the presence of a Borg crash sight. A highly unusual sight awaited them. One barely functioning Borg drone was attempting to re-assimilate another equally damaged drone- with little success. The team slowly realized that the nanites in space had left the bodies of the drones. As such, their bodies were collapsing, and their minds- as they soon found- were beginning to reassert themselves.  

The group of Borg had lost contact with the hive mind, and were confused- dangerously so. A shield was activated, preventing the shuttle from leaving. The team set about attempting to disable it. While Lieutenant Logan set off an explosion to distract the Borg, Shayne and Lieutenant Brell proceeded to approach the now unmanned command center. To their horror, they came across another half-functioning drone, asking for their help. Despite their better judgment, Shayne and Brell attempted to communicate with it, and ask for its help. Highly suspicious, it refused to help them in their endeavors at first. However, after realizing that the Human-Bolian duo was not a threat, Six of Seven, as she had identified herself as, lowered the shields surrounding their shuttle. Traenor, Logan, and the two officers, along with Six of Seven, converged on the shuttle, but Commander Traenor refused to bring the unstable drone with them. Shayne protested this decision with great heat, and bordered on gross insubordination, before reluctantly relenting and leaving her there. Mere hours later, Renos ordered the entire planet scoured of all life, to prevent the Borg from resurfacing there.