<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/3/32/OdedFehr.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Commander Kar'tak Timor Vanzell, First Officer (http://elliquiy.com/wiki/Kar%27tak_Timor_Vanzell)<br/><br/><strong>Location:</strong>Bridge<br/><br/><strong>Time:</strong>Mid-morning<br/><br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Captain Lyra Core, Anyone else on the bridge<br/><hr/><div style="text-align: justify;">The sparring session with the Chief of Security had gone well. Lieutenant Beyett was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, just as his records had indicated. The session had also served as a workout for Kar'tak, and he could still feel it in his thighs and shoulders, especially where he had endured a few heavier blows. After the session, he had returned to his quarters where he cleaned up and dressed in preparation for the mid-morning shift-change. He knew the captain would already be there - early, as usual. Kar'tak would be early as well, but his eagerness for the day to begin was not quite as deep as the Captain's was, especially since he needed time to pray.<br/><br/>The Bajoran in him treasured every moment of his prayer time. Exiting the shower, he sat down yoga-style, naked on the floor of his quarters, the backs of his wrists resting on each of his knees. Eyes closed he meditated and whispered prayers in his native tongue, prayers that had been passed down for centuries through his mother's family, and eventually to him. At the end, he inhaled deeply, feeling even more refreshed now, spiritually as well as mentally and physically. He rose to his feet, finished dressing, and made his way to the bridge. <br/><br/>Once he exited the turbolift, he noted that the mid-morning shift-change was already underway. Ensign Snowpaw, Chief Par and a few other crew had already been relieved. Kar'tak set about his rounds - visiting each station, gauging with his own eyes the status of each one. If there was something he was not familiar with, he would ask. On occasion, he would even quiz a random crewman about their current duties, all part and parcel to keeping the crew on their toes.<em> "Preparation is often the difference between victory and the shame of defeat," </em>his Klingon father had often reminded him, and it was a proverb that Kar'tak always kept close to heart.<br/><br/>As expected, the Captain sat in her chair and was currently engaged in conversation with Lieutenant Commander Walker. This surprised Kar'tak, because he could not recall ever seeing Walker on the bridge before. For her part, the Captain appeared calm and impassive - as usual. Of course, the ship could be separating into a thousand pieces and she'd probably still look exactly the same, he thought. Or at least he knew she would try to.<br/><br/>Walker was dressed in casual clothing - which meant the visit was likely of a -personal- nature. Kar'tak found that curious, as he would never have guessed that the Captain would socialize with he human regardless whether she was off-duty or on. Kar'tak resisted the urge to move closer, to listen-in on their discussion. If it was truly meant to be private, they'd likely be talking in the ready-room, but still, Kar'tak felt it would be bad manners - and an ill start to their shift - if he simply barged in on a conversation that might be better left unheard.<br/><br/>Lieutenant Commander Ares Walker... Kar'tak definitely remembered the man's file. Upon coming onboard as the Captain's XO, Kar'tak had spent his off-duty time browsing -every- service-record of every crew-member. It took some time, and for the most part many of the records started to blur and look the same after awhile, but Walker's file had been different. -Quite- different. There were many... anomalies in his record that stood out and made the man rather unique, from his lack of Starfleet Academy training, to sealed record of his duties during the Dominion war. It was also interesting to note that the man had never been subjected to a psych evaluation, which was basically unheard of for Starfleet officers. Despite the numerous degrees and massive knowledge the man possessed, Kar'tak was extremely wary of anyone who bucked regulations and was deemed an 'exception' in so many ways.<br/><br/>To fill his time while the Captain was occupied, Kar'tak went to his station and picked up the datapad and began to read through the daily reports. Nothing out of the ordinary that he could see on cursory examination, just the basic stuff, from stuck turbolifts to loose power buses needing repaired. It continued to amaze him how often the 'little things' seemed to need attention on a ship as advanced as this one, but he definitely understood that quite often, the little things were what mattered most.</div>