Writer: Isra
Name: Gabriel Sotir
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Sexual orientation: Homosexual
Play-by: Zachary Quinto
Amherst crew info
Background: Military
Rank: Sergeant Second
Specialization: Medic, backup surgeon; also head xenobiologist when on planetary expedition.
Years of service: 11
Appearance:
Gabriel is taller than most men by a hand's span, standing easily at 6'4”. There is little of the accompanied bulk that might make such a frame formidable, though, for while there is undoubtedly breadth to his shoulders and chest, he has and always will be lean of body. This lithe form is not to be mistaken for weakness, however; whipcord thin as it is there is an undeniable solidity to him. It belies a strength not often witnessed until it is too late to undo what has been done, powered by lean, compact musculature and deft, precise movement. There is not a single thing Gabriel does unless he intends to do it, each twitch, every gesture deliberate and portraying a sense of vast, restrained energy just beneath the skin. Never does he stumble, trip, or stagger, each action smooth and graceful and one hundred percent controlled. Fumbling fingers or uncertain hesitation are a sure sign that something is amiss with him.
Additionally, Gabriel is impeccably, almost obsessively neat. Never is a strand of rich, chocolate brown hair out of place, trimmed short and immaculately groomed. Smooth skin is of an even complexion that tends a bit more toward pale than tanned, and even though he makes a point to shave daily he almost always shows hints of a five o'clock shadow. His eyes are dark, liquid pools of raw umber, keenly perceptive and strangely intent. They are the single feature most prone to showing emotion when his control slips; though the rest of his face might be calm, placid, the storm will be brewing in his gaze. Equally present is the potential for sorrow, for lust, love, for passion... assuming they show anything at all.
As with everything else, no matter what Gabriel chooses to dress himself in, it is always neat, always clean, never a speck of dust and certainly no frayed threads or holes. Generally, he can be found in the typical uniform of an Amherst medic, and if his buttons seem shinier or his whites almost luminescent, it is only because of the particular care he takes of his belongings. Should you catch him out of uniform, Gabriel tends towards simple ensembles in various shades of black, white, and earth tones. Occasionally, if he's feeling particularly adventurous, he might slip into something in shades of dark blue or green.
Personality:
Some people would call an advanced intellect a blessing. Others might consider it a curse. For Gabriel, it's a little bit of both. There's no denying that he is far smarter than average, and with parents every bit as intelligent as he is and who put an early emphasis on learning, that's hardly a surprise. As a youth he all but devoured any bit of knowledge that was offered to him. He also found a great deal of joy in music, and even though he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, Gabriel delighted in memorizing the words and patterns. The more difficult the song, the more joy he seemed to take in the learning of it, a pattern that continues to this day. He craves intellectual challenge like a starving man craves food, and there is little that makes him happier than to be absorbed in some sort of mental exercise that actually proves to be difficult. Of course, it's a double-edged sword; to have nothing to turn his attention to makes each and every moment seem to drag on forever. Gabriel is still on the fence as to whether it's worse to flat out have nothing to do or to have menial tasks that are far too easy to complete to occupy his time.
For as long as he's been able to remember, it's also made it difficult for him to bond with others on an emotional and intellectual level. With the latter, there's simply too much of a gap between Gabriel's intelligence and that of the average person. What they might consider to be important or interesting or fascinating, he mind find trivial or dull or completely average. For the sake of another's feelings, a normal person would probably lie and at least pretend to be interested, and Gabriel knows this. He also knows that he's completely incapable of doing so, not necessarily because his morals are too strong to allow him to lie, but because he's absolutely terrible at feigning false emotion. Sure, he can say the words, but unless you've got all the observational skills of a rock, you're going to be able to tell that his heart isn't behind them.
It's not that Gabriel is a heartless automaton ruled by logic. He does feel, and his emotions run deeply and intensely. He is perfectly capable of falling in love with someone, or hating someone, or being angry or getting hurt. The problem he has is in the expression of those emotions; while he's perfectly capable of telling a person “I'm angry at you and this is why”, in his experience his forthright way of speaking and his chronic inability to sugar-coat the truth tends to make the person he's confronting more upset than he generally is, which in turn annoys him even further (emotional reaction is to be expected, of course, but acting unnecessarily tragic is ridiculous especially if he was the one airing a grievance to begin with), and if he should have the misfortune of explaining that to them as well, they only get even more upset... Usually, it's just easier in the long run if he doesn't say anything at all, which tends to make him seem emotionless at times. What few personal relationships he has outside of his immediate family are predominantly only physical in nature, and those men he (discreetly) brings to his bed are made clear on the fact that their bond goes no deeper than a quick tumble in the sheets.
Gabriel is under no illusions as to who's to blame in those more uncomfortable situations; that is, no one. He is the way he is, and other people are the way that they are, and there's not much to be done about it. He fully acknowledges that he has enough quirks to irritate another person just as much as they can irritate him, many of which can be categorized as a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The issues aren't enough to interfere with his daily life; he doesn't need to touch everything three times, or walk two circles forward and four backward before exiting a room, or anything on that sort of extreme level. Most noticeable is that he's something of a neat freak. Gabriel can't stand clutter and disorganization. His quarters and work station aboard the Amherst are always impeccably clean and well-kept, and if he walks into a messy room you can all but see his fingers twitching with the urge to tidy it. Everything has its place, and while he's not going to throw a huge fit if you accidentally move something or over the accumulations acquired by a social visit, neither will he tolerate someone deliberately destroying his space. This neatness also extends to his person; Gabriel might not dress in the latest of fashions should you ever somehow catch him out of uniform, but whatever he's wearing will always be clean and in good repair, as will he. He will without fail shower every morning, and while he can't help the occasional stubble on his cheeks, he also shaves daily.
In addition, Gabriel prefers to keep to a set schedule. He is prompt and perfunctory, never late and rarely more than a few minutes early to where he needs to be. Spontaneity doesn't necessarily completely ruin his day or send him into a downward spiral of failure from which he cannot recover, it's just something he dislikes because it challenges the control he has over his life. Again, everything has its place, and in this case, the time of day during which it should occur, and he prefers to keep it that way. Gabriel can work under pressure if need be, and he'll do so admirably, but he's not the sort of guy to do anything by halves, and he will insist on having the minimum amount of time necessary to complete a task before moving on to the next. When, inevitably, something changes to throw off his neatly planned out day (he knows that it's bound to happen simply because of the law of statistics; or, in layman's terms, shit happens) he tries to consider it a challenge of wit and adjust his strategy accordingly. Generally it's just a pain in the ass, but sometimes it proves entertaining.
With his love of neatness, cleanliness, and an orderly life, one might wonder just why Gabriel decided to pursue xenobiology when he very well could have done anything he so pleased in a cushy office somewhere. His answer, quite simply, is that it brings him peace. There's something cathartic about being out in the wilds of a strange new world; no one around, nothing in front of him but the next step to his next destination. For a short while he is no longer a slave to his intellect, no longer an outcast because of it. He is an utterly independent person by nature, disliking the need to rely on other people for any reason, and out in the wilderness Gabriel no longer has to worry about social norms and awkwardness and hurt feelings. There is only the hunt, the safe capture of specimens for study, the utter pleasure at being the first to discover new species and new ways that life finds a way to work. It's like meditation for him, a time to relax and unwind before he has to mingle with a throng of people again, an escape from the endless frustration of having to censor and moderate what he says just so another person can understand him.
It's a bitter irony and he knows it, but Gabriel's life isn't made up singularly of planetary excursions and bouts of social awkwardness. Xenobiology is useful only when they're planetside, so aboard the Amherst he earns his keep as a medic and, when necessary, as a backup surgeon. Quite conceivably he could provide some assistance in most of the medical and scientific positions aboard the ship, if necessary, but even he enjoys some free time on occasion. He has his family, and though they're few and far between, some friends. They get to see a slightly different side of Gabriel; warm, in his own way, with a dry sense of humor that can cut if you don't know him well enough to know that he's joking. He enjoys a good laugh, a good meal, a good book and a glass of wine. Though he can't sing, he can play most any instrument well, and occasionally enjoys fiddling out an elaborate little tune or rhythm on them simply for the challenge of doing so. For all its quirks and foibles, ups and downs, life itself is rarely without a challenge to turn his attention to, and he can live with that.
History:
Birth: Born to Anastasia and Dareios Sotir, the younger of a pair of twins. The Sotirs are a military family; his mother a doctor, his father a weapons tech specialist, neither have the time for much hands-on raising of their sons, leaving much of the hard work to nannies. Neither boy wants for much, though they are never spoiled.
Age 6: Both Gabriel and his brother already advance far beyond their peers intellectually. Tutors are hired rather than limiting them to the schooling provided on whichever military base they are stationed in at any given time. Gabriel shows a more general affinity for learning as much as he can, while Nikodemos quickly becomes more enamored of mathematics and computer sciences. The brothers also try their hand at music, Gabriel because he enjoys it and Nikodemos almost as if he simply wants to prove that he can.
Age 13: Both brothers already have the equivalent of a high school diploma, but in spite of heavy pressure from their father to also go into the military (and a fair amount of attempts to pull strings), they are not permitted to attend basic training early due to physical limitations. Gabriel instead focuses on knocking out basic, prerequisite classes at college and quickly picks up an interest in biology.
Age 16: Basic training is a pain in the ass but he goes through with it anyway, not out of any sense of obligation or duty but because being in the military opens up far many more doors than you can in a civilian scientific career. His general interest in biology quickly evolves into a keen fascination with xenobiology, which becomes his main focus. In order to increase his usefulness aboard a ship, Gabriel also pursues a career in medicine. Not every ship needs a xenobiologist, but medics are indispensable.
Age 18: After a gratuitous amount of study and practice both on Earth and around a few colonies, Gabriel receives his first posting aboard a ship. He is also given the rank of Corporal in spite of his lack of ship experience, largely in part because of his father. His first tour is scientifically stimulating but otherwise uneventful, if also rather disappointingly short.
Age 21: Gabriel is reassigned to the Amherst for its next voyage. Much to his surprise, Nikodemos is there as well, though there is a world of difference between them now; Gabriel is promoted to Sergeant Second and is an exemplary officer, while Nikodemos has since been busted down from Corporal to Private due to a number of infractions and prefers machines over people. They don't have much time to spend with one another due to differences in rank and profession, though Gabriel makes every effort to reconnect with his twin.
Age 27: He remains aboard the Amherst for its second voyage, enjoying the extended trips even if he and the Captain do not see eye to eye on everything. While he delights in exploring new worlds and discovering new types of animals, Gabriel is understandably less than pleased that they manage to crash on an alien planet that is apparently beleaguered by some sort of equally alien menace. But the creatures, though...
Dragon
Name: Baldorth
Colour: Blue
Hatching date: 10.8.28
Baldorth very quickly brings to mind the image of a wisened old man, somehow seeming like he possesses ancient knowledge even as a fresh hatchling. He’s a poised and careful creature, moving with purpose from day one and he’ll never seem to have any of the clumsiness that the young have. If anything he’ll never seem to appear young at any stage of his life. Such is the vastness of his apparent wisdom that even the queens will sometimes look to him for guidance.
And yes, he is very clever and tends to know things that he doesn’t seem like he should, but he’ll also often surprise folk with his oddness. He’s a quirky little fellow that has zero cares in the world for how anyone views him and it’s not uncommon for him to be caught chuckling at his own silly jokes or situations. He is insatiably curious about the wonders in life and almost childlike in his delight at learning something new. There will be just as much joy in being able to help others learn and he’ll show infinite patience if he’s asked to help.
His desire to make others happy, or keep them safe will sometimes overshadow what actually needs to be done. He can be badly overprotective and won’t hesitate to try to shield his rider or others he cares about from the evils of the world. If he could go fight Thread without his rider even having to know it exists he would because he won’t be able to bear watching them suffer.
Name: Gabriel Sotir
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Sexual orientation: Homosexual
Play-by: Zachary Quinto
Amherst crew info
Background: Military
Rank: Sergeant Second
Specialization: Medic, backup surgeon; also head xenobiologist when on planetary expedition.
Years of service: 11
Appearance:
Gabriel is taller than most men by a hand's span, standing easily at 6'4”. There is little of the accompanied bulk that might make such a frame formidable, though, for while there is undoubtedly breadth to his shoulders and chest, he has and always will be lean of body. This lithe form is not to be mistaken for weakness, however; whipcord thin as it is there is an undeniable solidity to him. It belies a strength not often witnessed until it is too late to undo what has been done, powered by lean, compact musculature and deft, precise movement. There is not a single thing Gabriel does unless he intends to do it, each twitch, every gesture deliberate and portraying a sense of vast, restrained energy just beneath the skin. Never does he stumble, trip, or stagger, each action smooth and graceful and one hundred percent controlled. Fumbling fingers or uncertain hesitation are a sure sign that something is amiss with him.
Additionally, Gabriel is impeccably, almost obsessively neat. Never is a strand of rich, chocolate brown hair out of place, trimmed short and immaculately groomed. Smooth skin is of an even complexion that tends a bit more toward pale than tanned, and even though he makes a point to shave daily he almost always shows hints of a five o'clock shadow. His eyes are dark, liquid pools of raw umber, keenly perceptive and strangely intent. They are the single feature most prone to showing emotion when his control slips; though the rest of his face might be calm, placid, the storm will be brewing in his gaze. Equally present is the potential for sorrow, for lust, love, for passion... assuming they show anything at all.
As with everything else, no matter what Gabriel chooses to dress himself in, it is always neat, always clean, never a speck of dust and certainly no frayed threads or holes. Generally, he can be found in the typical uniform of an Amherst medic, and if his buttons seem shinier or his whites almost luminescent, it is only because of the particular care he takes of his belongings. Should you catch him out of uniform, Gabriel tends towards simple ensembles in various shades of black, white, and earth tones. Occasionally, if he's feeling particularly adventurous, he might slip into something in shades of dark blue or green.
Personality:
Some people would call an advanced intellect a blessing. Others might consider it a curse. For Gabriel, it's a little bit of both. There's no denying that he is far smarter than average, and with parents every bit as intelligent as he is and who put an early emphasis on learning, that's hardly a surprise. As a youth he all but devoured any bit of knowledge that was offered to him. He also found a great deal of joy in music, and even though he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, Gabriel delighted in memorizing the words and patterns. The more difficult the song, the more joy he seemed to take in the learning of it, a pattern that continues to this day. He craves intellectual challenge like a starving man craves food, and there is little that makes him happier than to be absorbed in some sort of mental exercise that actually proves to be difficult. Of course, it's a double-edged sword; to have nothing to turn his attention to makes each and every moment seem to drag on forever. Gabriel is still on the fence as to whether it's worse to flat out have nothing to do or to have menial tasks that are far too easy to complete to occupy his time.
For as long as he's been able to remember, it's also made it difficult for him to bond with others on an emotional and intellectual level. With the latter, there's simply too much of a gap between Gabriel's intelligence and that of the average person. What they might consider to be important or interesting or fascinating, he mind find trivial or dull or completely average. For the sake of another's feelings, a normal person would probably lie and at least pretend to be interested, and Gabriel knows this. He also knows that he's completely incapable of doing so, not necessarily because his morals are too strong to allow him to lie, but because he's absolutely terrible at feigning false emotion. Sure, he can say the words, but unless you've got all the observational skills of a rock, you're going to be able to tell that his heart isn't behind them.
It's not that Gabriel is a heartless automaton ruled by logic. He does feel, and his emotions run deeply and intensely. He is perfectly capable of falling in love with someone, or hating someone, or being angry or getting hurt. The problem he has is in the expression of those emotions; while he's perfectly capable of telling a person “I'm angry at you and this is why”, in his experience his forthright way of speaking and his chronic inability to sugar-coat the truth tends to make the person he's confronting more upset than he generally is, which in turn annoys him even further (emotional reaction is to be expected, of course, but acting unnecessarily tragic is ridiculous especially if he was the one airing a grievance to begin with), and if he should have the misfortune of explaining that to them as well, they only get even more upset... Usually, it's just easier in the long run if he doesn't say anything at all, which tends to make him seem emotionless at times. What few personal relationships he has outside of his immediate family are predominantly only physical in nature, and those men he (discreetly) brings to his bed are made clear on the fact that their bond goes no deeper than a quick tumble in the sheets.
Gabriel is under no illusions as to who's to blame in those more uncomfortable situations; that is, no one. He is the way he is, and other people are the way that they are, and there's not much to be done about it. He fully acknowledges that he has enough quirks to irritate another person just as much as they can irritate him, many of which can be categorized as a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The issues aren't enough to interfere with his daily life; he doesn't need to touch everything three times, or walk two circles forward and four backward before exiting a room, or anything on that sort of extreme level. Most noticeable is that he's something of a neat freak. Gabriel can't stand clutter and disorganization. His quarters and work station aboard the Amherst are always impeccably clean and well-kept, and if he walks into a messy room you can all but see his fingers twitching with the urge to tidy it. Everything has its place, and while he's not going to throw a huge fit if you accidentally move something or over the accumulations acquired by a social visit, neither will he tolerate someone deliberately destroying his space. This neatness also extends to his person; Gabriel might not dress in the latest of fashions should you ever somehow catch him out of uniform, but whatever he's wearing will always be clean and in good repair, as will he. He will without fail shower every morning, and while he can't help the occasional stubble on his cheeks, he also shaves daily.
In addition, Gabriel prefers to keep to a set schedule. He is prompt and perfunctory, never late and rarely more than a few minutes early to where he needs to be. Spontaneity doesn't necessarily completely ruin his day or send him into a downward spiral of failure from which he cannot recover, it's just something he dislikes because it challenges the control he has over his life. Again, everything has its place, and in this case, the time of day during which it should occur, and he prefers to keep it that way. Gabriel can work under pressure if need be, and he'll do so admirably, but he's not the sort of guy to do anything by halves, and he will insist on having the minimum amount of time necessary to complete a task before moving on to the next. When, inevitably, something changes to throw off his neatly planned out day (he knows that it's bound to happen simply because of the law of statistics; or, in layman's terms, shit happens) he tries to consider it a challenge of wit and adjust his strategy accordingly. Generally it's just a pain in the ass, but sometimes it proves entertaining.
With his love of neatness, cleanliness, and an orderly life, one might wonder just why Gabriel decided to pursue xenobiology when he very well could have done anything he so pleased in a cushy office somewhere. His answer, quite simply, is that it brings him peace. There's something cathartic about being out in the wilds of a strange new world; no one around, nothing in front of him but the next step to his next destination. For a short while he is no longer a slave to his intellect, no longer an outcast because of it. He is an utterly independent person by nature, disliking the need to rely on other people for any reason, and out in the wilderness Gabriel no longer has to worry about social norms and awkwardness and hurt feelings. There is only the hunt, the safe capture of specimens for study, the utter pleasure at being the first to discover new species and new ways that life finds a way to work. It's like meditation for him, a time to relax and unwind before he has to mingle with a throng of people again, an escape from the endless frustration of having to censor and moderate what he says just so another person can understand him.
It's a bitter irony and he knows it, but Gabriel's life isn't made up singularly of planetary excursions and bouts of social awkwardness. Xenobiology is useful only when they're planetside, so aboard the Amherst he earns his keep as a medic and, when necessary, as a backup surgeon. Quite conceivably he could provide some assistance in most of the medical and scientific positions aboard the ship, if necessary, but even he enjoys some free time on occasion. He has his family, and though they're few and far between, some friends. They get to see a slightly different side of Gabriel; warm, in his own way, with a dry sense of humor that can cut if you don't know him well enough to know that he's joking. He enjoys a good laugh, a good meal, a good book and a glass of wine. Though he can't sing, he can play most any instrument well, and occasionally enjoys fiddling out an elaborate little tune or rhythm on them simply for the challenge of doing so. For all its quirks and foibles, ups and downs, life itself is rarely without a challenge to turn his attention to, and he can live with that.
History:
Birth: Born to Anastasia and Dareios Sotir, the younger of a pair of twins. The Sotirs are a military family; his mother a doctor, his father a weapons tech specialist, neither have the time for much hands-on raising of their sons, leaving much of the hard work to nannies. Neither boy wants for much, though they are never spoiled.
Age 6: Both Gabriel and his brother already advance far beyond their peers intellectually. Tutors are hired rather than limiting them to the schooling provided on whichever military base they are stationed in at any given time. Gabriel shows a more general affinity for learning as much as he can, while Nikodemos quickly becomes more enamored of mathematics and computer sciences. The brothers also try their hand at music, Gabriel because he enjoys it and Nikodemos almost as if he simply wants to prove that he can.
Age 13: Both brothers already have the equivalent of a high school diploma, but in spite of heavy pressure from their father to also go into the military (and a fair amount of attempts to pull strings), they are not permitted to attend basic training early due to physical limitations. Gabriel instead focuses on knocking out basic, prerequisite classes at college and quickly picks up an interest in biology.
Age 16: Basic training is a pain in the ass but he goes through with it anyway, not out of any sense of obligation or duty but because being in the military opens up far many more doors than you can in a civilian scientific career. His general interest in biology quickly evolves into a keen fascination with xenobiology, which becomes his main focus. In order to increase his usefulness aboard a ship, Gabriel also pursues a career in medicine. Not every ship needs a xenobiologist, but medics are indispensable.
Age 18: After a gratuitous amount of study and practice both on Earth and around a few colonies, Gabriel receives his first posting aboard a ship. He is also given the rank of Corporal in spite of his lack of ship experience, largely in part because of his father. His first tour is scientifically stimulating but otherwise uneventful, if also rather disappointingly short.
Age 21: Gabriel is reassigned to the Amherst for its next voyage. Much to his surprise, Nikodemos is there as well, though there is a world of difference between them now; Gabriel is promoted to Sergeant Second and is an exemplary officer, while Nikodemos has since been busted down from Corporal to Private due to a number of infractions and prefers machines over people. They don't have much time to spend with one another due to differences in rank and profession, though Gabriel makes every effort to reconnect with his twin.
Age 27: He remains aboard the Amherst for its second voyage, enjoying the extended trips even if he and the Captain do not see eye to eye on everything. While he delights in exploring new worlds and discovering new types of animals, Gabriel is understandably less than pleased that they manage to crash on an alien planet that is apparently beleaguered by some sort of equally alien menace. But the creatures, though...
Dragon
Name: Baldorth
Colour: Blue
Hatching date: 10.8.28
Baldorth very quickly brings to mind the image of a wisened old man, somehow seeming like he possesses ancient knowledge even as a fresh hatchling. He’s a poised and careful creature, moving with purpose from day one and he’ll never seem to have any of the clumsiness that the young have. If anything he’ll never seem to appear young at any stage of his life. Such is the vastness of his apparent wisdom that even the queens will sometimes look to him for guidance.
And yes, he is very clever and tends to know things that he doesn’t seem like he should, but he’ll also often surprise folk with his oddness. He’s a quirky little fellow that has zero cares in the world for how anyone views him and it’s not uncommon for him to be caught chuckling at his own silly jokes or situations. He is insatiably curious about the wonders in life and almost childlike in his delight at learning something new. There will be just as much joy in being able to help others learn and he’ll show infinite patience if he’s asked to help.
His desire to make others happy, or keep them safe will sometimes overshadow what actually needs to be done. He can be badly overprotective and won’t hesitate to try to shield his rider or others he cares about from the evils of the world. If he could go fight Thread without his rider even having to know it exists he would because he won’t be able to bear watching them suffer.