What is your relationships with your bridge crew like?

lady0mystery

Did you ever, in your mind, actively purse a friendship or a intimate relationship with any of your bridge crew for your captain character in STO?

or are you one of those people who tends to stick with the strict non-fraternization rules for the captain?

The reason why I'm asking this is because for a while I've been kind of writing stories based on my Bridge crew, and also my captain's interactions with them.

I then did Daz Studio renders of some of those scenes, such as the scene where my Captain fell on top of her number one during an accident, and somebody walks in on them like that. and when I showed my friend, he commented it kinda looked like they were in a TRIBBLE relationship.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/SailorAurora/Vuclans4_zps9b4e718c.png

That got me to thinking... My captain is a female Vulcan, and so is her Number one. I've been playing around with the idea of having them be in a relationship, but I don't know...

The relationship they have is mostly close, having forged it under less than ideal circumstances (the loss of many lives, war, etc). her number one, T'empi, often acts as an advisor to her Captain T'ania most of the time as seeing she is far more older and experienced than her Captain. In many ways, The Number one by all rights should had been the captain instead of T'ania but She got the ship for various reasons, despite the fact that She was but a cadet straight out of Starfleet Academy.

Being Vulcan, T'ania would certainly never admit to feeling insecure in her role as captain, and even feels that T'empi should had the role over her because of it being more logical or something. There's also the fact that She's kind of short for a Vulcan... 5'3.... which makes her seem younger than she really is... which often leads to people not taking her seriously as an Captain.

So T'empi often leads her support, believing in T'ania's abilities as a Captain.

Having them become intimate in that way would certainly be interesting, and add another facet to their relationship.

but I can't help but worry about what regulations would have to say about this, you know? plus, there's also the chance that any interactions I write about them might just end up being straight up Vulcan TRIBBLE, and I want it to be more than just Vulcan TRIBBLE.

hmmm... what do you think?

hfmudd

One of my characters has a great deal of (mutual) unresolved attraction/chemistry/tension with his Andorian XO. Neither of them has ever acted on it, despite a lot of the close calls that writers love teasing fans with. The matter is further complicated by her being part of a married quartet back on the homeworld.

I should also mention my Gorn freighter captain. Back when he was in the Gorn Space Navy, he had a star-crossed relationship of his own with a female in the Intelligence branch; it never went anywhere, in large part due to the whole "two different worlds" thing. Now that he's "retired" (ie, secretly working for the Resistance), someone thought it would be amusing to make her his liaison / "handler." She's not under his command - if anything, it's the other way around - but she is represented in-game by a bridge officer (Science), so I'll mention it here. Their scenes together tend to have a lot of reminiscence and regret over "what might have been", and the occasional tentative gesture toward (re)kindling... something.

scififan78

My Alien (Cardassian) is married to his Operations Officer (Alien Cardassian). Other than that, all of my captains have only professional relationships with their crews. However, my KDF Science officer (Ferasan) has a history with my Fed Science officer (Caitian).

Ch'ula was raised in a colony in the Hromi Sector. Child to farmers, she always had an interest in health and science, a far departure from her species' natural instincts that made them excel in the tactical fields. She may have prefered science but, she was an avid hunter as well. She met Captain Kurr while he was on rotation to the colony. A Caitian in the service of the Federation, she was warned to stay away from him. Their common passion for science however drew them together. She bacame an understudy to Captain Kurr. She learned very quickly and after a couple of years working together, Captain Kurr began pushing her to join Starfleet. Considering that as an option to further her studies in science, she reluctantly agreed. Ch'ula was surprised to find that she had been accepted into the accademy. She would begin her studies in just three short months. Two weeks after her acceptance, Captain Kurr was reasigned as Captain of the USS Takao. The rest of the Starfleet contingent was pulled due to escalations of Klingon attacks on transport lanes. This did not deter her from her goals. Ch'ula was determined to try and find a way to work with her mentor someday. Five weeks til her departure, tragedy struck. The Borg attacked the colony. Many were assimilated. The lucky ones were killed, including her parents. Ch'ula and a small group survived the attack. Feeling abandoned by Captain Kurr and the Federation, she made her way to her people's homeworld of Ferasa. There she joined the Ferasan military hoping to one day exact revenge on those that she felt wronged her. When Ferasa allied with the Klingon Empire, Ch'ula immideately transfered to the Klingon Defense Force. Now in command of her own ship, she searches the stars for any chance to strike at Kurr and the Federation. To bring vengance upon her mentor turned nemesis.

cmdrscarlet

Personally, I like the idea of social "tension" - the kind between Riker and Troi or T'something and Archer (if I recall that right). But I'm a fan of regulations so the bridge crew would *not* have personal relationships.

I'm not saying you shouldn't explore that further. And your writing doesn't have to be "TRIBBLE". They could be sitting having a meal when the conversation turns a little flirty (if Vulcans do that), then they "retire" after the meal. Or maybe they wake up after a passionate evening (if Vulcans have that) and get to work.

So, the fiction can be overtly suggestive without being graphic - if you would want their professional relationship to become personal. Otherwise, the tension alone can make great interactions I think.

Good luck!

OH - have you considered joining the Literary Challenges? I'd be interested to see your take on the topic

twg042370

They're a combo of meat shield and dress up dolls for me.

coupaholic

I don't RP but I do get sentimental with my Boffs and I treat them as I would a party in an RPG or something.

Because they stay with me permanently I would buy blue Doffs off the exchange at the beginning of a character once I have the ec. I would also plan their abilities ahead so I need to do as I level is add skill points and promote them, as if they are naturally gaining experience as they work with me I suppose.

A Boff is for life, not just for Christmas

thlaylierah

They talk entirely too much.

At the most inappropriate times.

I want a "Silence BO" option added to the game options menu.

kamiyama317

I admit it. I have a bunny crew and a bunny away team.

Though the crew are all female Saurians because I wanted the efficient trait. I try not to look at their faces.

hypl

As a Vice Admiral, my character doesn't have much time for developing more complex relationships with the main bridge crew since she's constantly busy coordinating fleet operations. Only few of the bridge crew have remained with her over the course of 3 years so far, while others have been lost in the line of duty or reassigned.

She maintains a steady friendship with everyone she works with, even having the entire bridge crew dine together once a week to help keep that friendship strong through this time of war.

treness

My Captain is male but as kamiyama317 puts it I also have a bunny away team. One of my Andorian Females R'shee gets all the best spec equipment though as she was my first officer.

captnurntumber

Ok, I've really missed something. How can you have relationships with the Boffs?

deyvad

I hate my bridge crew, I'm pretty sure they're plotting against me, especially my senior medical officer who keeps telling me I'm unfit for duty, had to have my Jem'hadar officer lock him in the brig to make sure I don't deal with a mutiny.

marcusdkane

lady0mystery wrote: »

Did you ever, in your mind, actively purse a friendship or a intimate relationship with any of your bridge crew for your captain character in STO?

or are you one of those people who tends to stick with the strict non-fraternization rules for the captain?

The reason why I'm asking this is because for a while I've been kind of writing stories based on my Bridge crew, and also my captain's interactions with them.

I then did Daz Studio renders of some of those scenes, such as the scene where my Captain fell on top of her number one during an accident, and somebody walks in on them like that. and when I showed my friend, he commented it kinda looked like they were in a TRIBBLE relationship.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/SailorAurora/Vuclans4_zps9b4e718c.png

That got me to thinking... My captain is a female Vulcan, and so is her Number one. I've been playing around with the idea of having them be in a relationship, but I don't know...

The relationship they have is mostly close, having forged it under less than ideal circumstances (the loss of many lives, war, etc). her number one, T'empi, often acts as an advisor to her Captain T'ania most of the time as seeing she is far more older and experienced than her Captain. In many ways, The Number one by all rights should had been the captain instead of T'ania but She got the ship for various reasons, despite the fact that She was but a cadet straight out of Starfleet Academy.

Being Vulcan, T'ania would certainly never admit to feeling insecure in her role as captain, and even feels that T'empi should had the role over her because of it being more logical or something. There's also the fact that She's kind of short for a Vulcan... 5'3.... which makes her seem younger than she really is... which often leads to people not taking her seriously as an Captain.

So T'empi often leads her support, believing in T'ania's abilities as a Captain.

Having them become intimate in that way would certainly be interesting, and add another facet to their relationship.

but I can't help but worry about what regulations would have to say about this, you know? plus, there's also the chance that any interactions I write about them might just end up being straight up Vulcan TRIBBLE, and I want it to be more than just Vulcan TRIBBLE.

hmmm... what do you think?

With regards your Vulcan ladies, on the one hand, I would say go for it, but equally, I feel that the dynamics of the relationship could have the impact of clouding emotional judgement for missions... Equally, it would be interesting to see Vulcans undertaking a relationship which would be considered illogical (ie no offspring)

As for my own characters...
Past Crew:
Marcus Kane's best friend was his tactical officer, and former Academy roommate, and I always wrote him as treating subordinates as friends rather than 'underlings', but never to the point that it affected his authority. It's quite likely that his executive assistant, Amanda Palmer, had a crush on him, which as a married man, he would never have acted upon, and likely been unaware of, other than denials of his wife's jealousy towards her...

Previous Crew:
Now-captain Amanda Palmer, has a similarly relaxed style of command as her former mentor, but nothing beyond professional camaraderie with any of the officers under her command. Ops Manager Brandon Mayer is married to another officer, but as he is not another bridge officer, there is not potential for their relationship to interfere in any way with their duties.

corbinwolf

Admittedly I find the conversation with them one sided...

That being said, however, I wont deny that my VA has had to keep at bay certain desires for his Andorian 1st officer and ... ahem, a liberated Borg female... who has become quite the asset to his ship.

:rolleyes:

centersolace

Sometimes. The problem I have is that as good as the character creator is, there are a lot of weird limitations that prevent me from fully appreciating my Boffs. Not being able to use off-duty outfits, the Videk robes, and the M.A.C.O./OMEGA Force outfits on Boffs, not to mention the fact that you can't really make young/adolescent characters or females with chests smaller than a B-Cup, or fat people really well.

There's supposed to be three adolescent characters, one of them in robes/a dress, a fully armed M.A.C.O. unit for warzones (my captain ain't no dummy), as well as a few species that aren't in the game yet. The decided lack of those options kind of ruins the fun.

shevet

Several of my character Tylha's (rather large and varied) bridge crew have appeared in the literary challenge threads... her relationships with them feature a little.

Her relationships are all strictly professional, though - so far, at least. I've toyed with the idea of introducing a little romance into Tylha's life, but there are three main reasons why I haven't... First, she's a rather driven, married-to-the-job sort of person; secondly, she's self-conscious about her facial scarring and doesn't consider herself attractive; thirdly, Andorian relationships are complicated.

grylak

My KDF captain keeps 'abusing' his Orion female XO. But she puts up with it cos she's plotting to take over when the time is right.


I did originally have Stunshock in a 'attracted but dont act on it' kinda thing with Talaina, my Andorian XO. But after reading some bios in game, I realised everyone has that, so I scrapped it. But Talaina does suspect the doctor, Luawra, has a thing for Stunshock, so though they are friendly, there is some tension there. Luawra doesn't have feelings for Stunshock, she's just a bit of a flirt, She finds it helps calm down her patients.

So instead, I've got it where Stunshock is seeing my alt toon, a vulcan freighter captain and trader, but he hasn't told the rest of the crew.

marcusdkane

shevet wrote: »

Several of my character Tylha's (rather large and varied) bridge crew have appeared in the literary challenge threads... her relationships with them feature a little.

Her relationships are all strictly professional, though - so far, at least. I've toyed with the idea of introducing a little romance into Tylha's life, but there are three main reasons why I haven't... First, she's a rather driven, married-to-the-job sort of person;

Have to admit, Palmer's of a fairly similar attitude, so I doubt she'll be becoming emotionally involved with anyone, so I can understand that, however...

shevet wrote: »

secondly, she's self-conscious about her facial scarring and doesn't consider herself attractive

That's not to say that someone else might not look past the scarring and see her attractive... Pete was clearly very fond of her during her time in New York

shevet wrote: »

thirdly, Andorian relationships are complicated.

Am I right in thinking Andorian quads are arranged, much like Vulcan betrothals? If so, maybe you could introduce others in Tylha's quad

ironphoenix113

The way I've written my captain's story is that the Athena spends more time away from dock, on the front lines and just generally away from home than even long range exploration ships. As a result, relationships are a fact of life on the ship. Bryan's policy is "Don't let it interfere with your duties," but otherwise, he leaves his crew to go about their own lives. As for Bryan himself, I've hinted at his relationship with his first officer, a Trill women named Ibalei Zera, but if you want to know how it turns out, you'll need to read my entry to the latest literary challenge when I finish it.

EDIT: Another reason for Bryan's lax restrictions on what he permits while his crew are off-duty is because he expects an extremely high amount of operational discipline from them on-duty and at red alert. Sort of similar to how the Turians in the Mass Effect series are.

sparklysoldier

I just finished writing the last boff bio this week along with Azera's first captain's log detailing her thoughts and feelings about each one, and it's been a great way of exploring each of their characters and her own character's reflection in how she feels about her crew. She's an extremely young captain, barely out of the academy, and so tends to be very informal and friendly with the senior officers, seeing herself more as their representative than their leader. Most of them are a good deal older than her and so her attitude's more a cheerfully responsible class president than a captain, respecting their judgement and leading by consensus partly because, at this point in her career, she doesn't feel comfortable pulling rank on them.

On the one hand, that endears her with most of the bridge crew: she and her Andorian first officer Corspa became fast friends, she's trying to reach out to and encourage the shy but fiercely determined Trill science officer Auslaz, and she worries about her troubled Betazoid officer Luverala. On the other hand, it frustrates some of the more experienced and formal officers, like her brilliant but arrogant Andorian engineer Nyzoph and her cynical human security chief Angel Cregin. It's especially led to a complicated relationship with her Bajoran chief medical officer, a former Vedek named Kwam: his mysterious but kindly interest in her life is matched only by her efforts to avoid thinking about the hard questions he believes she should be asking, like where she really came from and what her lifelong nightmares and flashbacks actually mean.

She wouldn't get into a relationship, though, until perhaps the very end of her story. One reason is that she believes she has to protect each of them equally, and getting romantically involved with one officer means favoring him above the others and losing her sense of perspective. However, she never really had a boyfriend even in her academy days: she feels like falling in love with anyone she's met since waking up from stasis would mean giving up hope of finding her home. On a very deep level, she's holding onto a dream of someday reuniting with her family, her people and a destined soul mate, and only after she's learned the truth and let go of that dream will she be able to completely embrace the Alpha Quadrant as her home.

flatmatt

Can't say I really do any real RPing, but all of my main's crew are carryovers from my City of Heroes heroes. As such, my captain is married to her chief engineer. (Though I sometimes think there's some UST between the Captain and her chief science officer, but that's non-canon.)

I figure if Riker and Troi can get away with it there must not be a problem with it.

silverjdgmntdrgn

Mine can be seen actually, I wrote short stories with them, mostly in a series.

http://valhallashiplog.tumblr.com/ as well as the same username on deviantart and livejournal.

gulberat

Of my main toons...one I don't know about, but for these three I have a pretty good idea what the crew dynamic was.

My Cardassian is an exchange officer--a fully-commissioned Cardassian gul who was serving in a junior capacity on a Starfleet vessel when disaster struck, forcing him to use his experience to take command. This began his rapid rise through Starfleet ranks. His relationships with his crew are what I'd describe as collegial. I also suspect that he is fairly strict when it comes to fraternizing in the ranks, on his ship. While he tries not to run his ship completely like a Cardassian vessel, at times the influence does still come through.

My other main Federation character, Alyosha Strannik, is a Devidian in human form. This rules out any possibility of his being attracted to any of his crewmembers on a physical level. His Aenar XO, Chirithraz th'Valek, is someone he's known since the Academy, and who has known his secret. This makes the two of them like brothers, but there is nothing else there beyond that. I think Alyosha is more tolerant of fraternization than Gul Berat is, though he disapproves of any behavior that interferes with an officer's performance. So I don't see him actively encouraging such things (though I am sure he would attend a shipboard wedding if invited ), but he will not discipline it unless it becomes a problem.

My KDF toon...unfortunately the game didn't let me play him as I wanted to, so he ended up being sidelined to dilithium farming. But had I been able to play him as I envision him, my Nausicaan, General Jesror Krantak, is a far stricter, more controlled, more disciplined man than the stereotype of his race. (Think of him as the General Chang of Nausicaa.) He has absolutely zero tolerance for such "antics" aboard his ship, as he would call it. Uniform regulations, too, are strictly enforced--any member of his crew, male or female, who does not see fit to dress properly for battle (i.e. no skimpy outfits allowed), will be disciplined. Of all of my toons, he is the strictest of all in this regard.

chandlerashari

Well my main, William is having a relationship w another ship captain Varen, a trill.

The other relationship is between my former chief engineer Pscal and first officer V'nia (both andorian). They both moved out when a command positioned opened up on the USS Beijing, a previously mothballed Ambassador class cruiser.

Vnia was offered the commision but refused as she wants to settle down, after an arrangement to concieve with another andorian couple they met during pscals command school stint on san francisco in 2411.

My CMO Bajoran Alarima is concieving with a civilian doctor on the USS Nova Scotia (my mains ship).

Click on my sig for the full bio :-)

burstorion

My ship crew would be for all wants and purposes...like the crew of the Nadesico (yeah, the anime) - a group of misfits that should never be in command of a ship

My (visible) crew is:

My guy, a tee shirt, cutoff jean wearing disgrace to Starfleet that by miracle or divine providence has the survivability of a cockroach that applies to his ship too

My Saurian tac, who seems to think hes Golgo 13 (black winter coat, black trousers, black boots and completed with the overcharged plasma sniper rifle)

My Saurian engie, who is a games fanatic and cosplays Sara Croft from Tomb Raider 80: Vulcan tomb edition (and fyi, she does )

A generic alien princess sci (as there -has- to be one)

A bajoran engie who hates being on the ship - aka the straight man of the insanity

A Bolarian girl tac who is a war nut, choosing 'dakka' over viability

A standard human blonde ditz sci (barely able to stand up straight but can calculate pi to 67 places)

Another human sci who just goes with the flow (tempted to make her a gothy type..)

..No uniforms are worn (except war nut) and general craziness is expected

sumghai

I think a diagram would best describe the relationship between the senior officers and crew of my ship:

http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/Doodle-USS-Odyssey-crew-relationship-chart-353600847

user839020189287

"What is your relationships with your bridge crew like?"

I like to give young aspiring bridge officers a chance to step up and see if they have got the right stuff or not. Am of the belief that cream rises and **** floats.

Sometimes, my bridge officers get a little cocky and complacent. Guess that old Klingon adage about familiarity breeding contempt still does ring true... then we practice airlock drills.

smokeybacon90

Any sense of individuality, informality or emotion is utterly repressed and rooted out under the Captain's iron fisted authoritarian tyrannical leadership. At the slightest notion of incompetence, disobedience or rebellion, they are promptly teleported into the nearest quasar.

koppenflak

sumghai wrote: »

I think a diagram would best describe the relationship between the senior officers and crew of my ship:

http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/Doodle-USS-Odyssey-crew-relationship-chart-353600847

I find it hilarious that you've had to map out the entire mess so you can work it out in your head.


As for my Captain...

You'll find any previous personal records with Starfleet Intelligence, redacted after shenanigans that MOST DEFINITELY DID NOT OCCUR while serving as a Starfleet Liaison to the Romulan Star Empire during the Dominion War.

...The only remaining material on the service record detailing this incident is a filing number for a disciplinary record. :P

sumghai

sumghai wrote: »

I think a diagram would best describe the relationship between the senior officers and crew of my ship:

http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/Doodle-USS-Odyssey-crew-relationship-chart-353600847

koppenflak wrote: »

I find it hilarious that you've had to map out the entire mess so you can work it out in your head.

Hahaha!

Nah, the relations are quite clear in my head, but I figured that a visual method would get the point across much, much quicker

gulberat

I love how one of the combos says, "Danger: Do Not Mix."