Species: Chakat
Gender: Herm
Born: 30 July 2294
Mother: Argento
Sire: T-Bird
Height: 165cm

LONGSTOCKING

Generic feline chakat. Lieutenant, Chakonan Security Forces (engineering specialist), retired. The middle of eight siblings (four from each parent), all of whom are strongly artistic: there are painters, poets, writers, and sculptors in hir immediate family. Longstocking, however, is at heart an engineer; machines are hir first and truest love. Needless to say this has led to a certain amount of estrangement with hir family, though there is no malice in it. They simply don't understand hir and shi doesn't understand them. Shi joined the Chakona Defense Force as a way to pay for college, and shi stayed after graduation because work was readily available. Shi isn't the most brilliant of engineers but shi does bring an artistic flair to hir work that seems almost magical: shi can solve problems that stump the geniuses. Shi lacks ambition, though, and ended up commander of Small Craft Repair Station Sigma one-seven more or less by default. Shi sticks with the military life because it imposes a structure on hir life without the need for hir to pay too much attention to it hirself. That's why, at 39 years of age, shi's still only a Lieutenant. The arrival of Professor Moseivitch and his mysterious alien artifact shocked Longstocking out of hir comfortable groove; suddenly shi finds hirself embroiled in intrigue and controversy. Shi also meets Darkstar, who takes command of hir surroundings as naturally as breathing. Longstocking sees in Darkstar a reflection of what shi hirself might have become... and the aura of loneliness around Darkstar awakens a sympathetic twinge in Longstocking's psyche. The deciding factor, though, is how Darkstar insists on helping everyone around hir, even when it would be safer and easier not to. Longstocking cannot endure that someone so full of compassion should receive none hirself. Gradually, without at first noticing, Longstocking falls in love with Darkstar. Then Longstocking has to watch hir best friend die and only Darkstar has the necessary experience to offer appropriate comfort. Longstocking decides to chuck hir coasting life and become Darkstar's full-time mate.

 

Sample art by and copyright to Yoshi.

  Go to Cast Listing.           •             Go to Story Index.           •             Go to main Den page.