Damien Black: Difference between revisions

===On Ramatis===

Xandeus grew up as a ‘prodigy’ in various subjects, seemingly excelling at multiple fields of academia without much effort, and as such, he was always expected to do great things. Between his sister Tilminé’s position as future Royal Aide and Xandeus’ academical records, the Filistrien family was often considered quite blessed in terms of their children’s prospects. The resulting spotlight on the two older siblings led to a rift between particularly Xandeus and the youngest child, Hecaies, who felt overshadowed by his older siblings' accomplishments.

<br><br>Xandeus too bought into his own hype and figured great things were in store for him, but as he got older, the gap between him and his peers narrowed, and eventually, he was faced with the terrifying possibility that he was, in fact, just like everyone else. In an attempt to prove reality wrong, Xandeus set his sights on a glorious career in Starfleet. It didn’t work out that way...

<br>After three failed attempts at the Academy's Entrance Exam, and a fight with depression brought on by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy, Xandeus opted to go the ‘rough-and-tumble’ way about the future. He enlisted as a menial crewman, and is determined to claw his way up by any means necessary. Preferably without a fourth Exam attempt.

Xandeus' first posting was a Communications Operator on the medical ship, the [[USS Braveheart|USS ''Braveheart'']], where him and an entire Communications-team was responsible for coordinating relief and evacuation efforts whenever the Ship attended a planet-based emergency. The work was busy and had real merit, and Xandeus was '''good''' at it. He worked at it tirelessly, sometimes a bit overzealous, but his supervisors were the first to admit that he was doing good work. After close to a year aboard the [[USS Braveheart|''Braveheart'']], a transfer order was put out for experienced communications staff to bolster the crew aboard the experimental vessel, the [[USS John Paul Jones|USS ''John Paul Jones'']], where Starfleet was testing out a new type of communications array. Xandeus was on the shortlist for the transfer staff, and since then, he's been part of the [[USS John Paul Jones|JPJ]]'s crew. He started out in much the same position as he was in before, proving his worth and his capabilities to his new superiors, and eventually, an exciting new opportunity presented itself.

<br><br>The resident Chief of Intelligence saw Xandeus' zeal and ability to combine improvisation and tried-and-tested techniques as a valuable tool for an Analyst, and had the young man pegged for Intelligence training. Xandeus took to it like a fish to water, and within a year, he'd earned his division transfer and his first step onto the ranks of Petty Officer. He spent more than a year as part of the Intelligence outfit aboard the [[USS John Paul Jones|JPJ]], until word reached them that the [[USS Excalibur-A|USS ''Excalibur'']] was being retired, and a new ship - the [[USS Artemis-A|''Artemis'']] - was being deployed in her stead under a new Captain. In the spirit of cooperation and bolstering the Federation's presence in the Borderlands, the [[USS John Paul Jones|JPJ]] drafted together a list of plausible transfers to the new Vessel, and wouldn't you know, Xandeus was on the list...