Thread: Tales of the Expanse (me and DuxT)

The bridge was a bustle of activity voices filling the vaulted space as course corrections were made and fluctuations in the Gellar Field smoothed out. Members of the ship's priesthood paced the edges of the room, incense burners in hand as they recited prayers to protect the vessel for the upcoming transition to real-space while their counterparts in the Tech-Priesthood did the same for the ranks of cogitator banks. About the only one missing from the bridge was the Lord-Captain himself. With just a few minutes before the translation, though, the door opened and Lord-Captain Jacob Morek strode onto the bridge of his ship. Standing at about 5'8, Lord Morek looked the part of a naval officer albeit being the first Warrant Holder of the Dynasty in generations to have not actually served in the Navy though replacing the traditional naval overcoat with a large, black greatcoat reminiscent of a commissar's, though bearing the Morek Dynasty's emblem on the shoulders and right breast. As an extra affection, he wore the coat draped over his shoulders like a cloak. His long, dark hair was tied back and held with a simple black ribbon while his bright green eyes took in the activity on the bridge as he walked to his command throne. Taking his seat, he turned to his new First Officer - recommended by his younger brother. So, he said, his prominent eye teeth becoming visible as he spoke, you've seen the crew in action for this trip through the warp, what's the opinion of someone with actual experience in His Glorious Navy? Jacob already half-expected the answer - bridge crew and other officers were given a bit more autonomy aboard His Light Triumphant than they would have on a Dictator that was serving with the Navy. Formality was also a bit more lax the helmsman dressed more like a simple dock worker than a man trusted with guiding a vessel the size of a hab spire while the Chief Gunnery Officer who also pulled double-duty as head of the Light's armsmen lounged back in her seat like a cat, seemingly unconcerned about the view down her shirt that she was giving the auspex operator behind her. Despite all of this, the crew had leapt-to when their task required it and generally proven that you don't have to look good on parade to be a top-rate crew. And they had still shown respect for the chain of command as well as more direct respect to Lord Morek, though some of the latter had an undertone of cautious optimism Jacob had only been in command of the vessel for about a month since they left Scintilla and there had been no noteworthy problems on the voyage through the Maw or since their resupply at Footfall. He had proven himself competent at the routine aspects of command, now they waited to see how he would do under pressure. A curious trait of House Morek's scions - for generations they have all borne very prominent, almost fang-like, eye teeth. How prominent these have been has varied - Jacob's grandfather, Arenthius, had had them long enough to cause a mild speech impediment. Rather than have the teeth removed or filed down, he had undergone extensive speech therapy to compensate in order to keep the fangs to add to his intimidating visage. Jacob's father, Nathanius, and both of his brothers, Maximillian and Sebastian, had been on the smaller side of the scale, but they too had borne the slightly overgrown teeth. Jacob's own were short enough to not interfere with his speech, but still long enough that they were hard to miss when he smiled or spoke.