The Pioneer Six - Session 0 - Part I
Posted on Thu Jul 9th, 2026 @ 7:10am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Junior Grade Rachel Sinclair & Ensign Connor Turner & Ensign Millicent Ambrose & Petty Officer 1st Class Kaylara Loran & Lieutenant Junior Grade Stefan Zamfir & Sergeant Tyrigus Fry
Edited on on Thu Jul 9th, 2026 @ 7:34am
3,574 words; about a 18 minute read
Mission:
Episode 18 - The Edge of Darkness
Location: The Quarters of Conor Turner - Deck 3 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 1900 hrs
Millie had sent out word to several people to come join in a game of D&D. She wasn't certain if they had played before but, hey can't hurt to find out.
She had asked Tyr to join in, and then sent a request to Kaylara to bring someone,
She even message Rachel to come to Connor's quarters as well. Millie had let Connor figure out the setup as it was his quarters but there was food and drink available.
Connor's quarters were as immaculate as always. For the evening, he decided to adorn his walls with holographic images of ancient and mysterious demonic style ruins. In the middle of his quarters he had replicated a long, rectangular table that would fit whomever Millie had invited around it. He made certain that the table had red mysterious inscriptions on it. Snacks sat on the table along with coasters. At the end of the table where he sat was a PADD. He sat there, hoping that Millie would bring a crew of people that would not terrify him.
Seemingly the first to arrive, Rachel peeked inside curiously. When she received the invite to something called ‘D&D’ she was intrigued. Millie didn’t seem the sort to lead her friends astray but she did seem the practical joke sort, so Rachel was still unsure what this night was.
Connor looked at the woman who just walked into his quarters and then immediately looked away. He tried to put words together but found them rather lacking. Finally, looking firmly at the table, he asked, "Um, right. Sorry. Um, are you in the correct place? I know that Millie invited some folks to play d&d but she never told me who was, well, coming...."
Rachel blinked in surprise, “Oh…sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. Millie told me to meet her here, though she was a little vague on the details. Something about a game night? I assume this is that ‘D&D’ thing you mentioned. I hope I’m just early.”
The engineer answered, while looking at the table, "Um, well, uh, if Millie invited you, then, um, yes, this is where you're supposed to be." He cleared his throat and remembered his manners, "Right. Well, it is obvious you have never played d&d before. Um, so, uh, can I get you something to drink? Some beer? Something non-alcoholic? Maybe something to eat? Some crisps, perhaps?"
“Oh, um, yes please. Just some water for now thank you,” Rachel replied, feeling more and more nervous. She’d hoped Millie would’ve made it here first so she’d have someone to latch onto for the evening.
"Alright," Connor replied, replicating some water. "Um, uh, I'm Connor. Connor Turner, and um, these are my quarters," he told the mysterious woman. "Um, who are, well, you? I'm afraid that um, Millie, did not tell me who was coming." He brought the water over to Rachel and while pointedly looking at her hand, offered the glass of water to her."
“Thank you, I’m Rachel, Sinclair, assistant chief of security. It’s nice to meet another of Millie’s friends” Rachel replied, feeling a little more comfortable knowing she was in the right place, even if she was early.
Just right after the question was asked, the door to Connor's quarters opened up with Millie stepping inside.
She held a box that look suspiciously like it would hold a rather large pizza. If anyone made that guess they would be correct. She opened up the pizza letting the aroma of freshly baked pizza drift through the air.
"Oh hi, sorry for the late arrival. I wanted to surprise you with Pizza." Millie having a delighted smile.
"Hello Rachel, and Connor we'll be having more join us." Millie's eyes sparkling with her anticipation.
Clad in off duty marine crimson and gold sweats branded with the Cure's logo on the chest and the Detachment and Pioneer's registration numbers on the left leg, Tyr had rounded out the gear with a pair of DnD red and white fireball themed Chuck Taylor's he'd found a pattern in the replicator for. He approached Connor's quarters and the hatch cycled at his presence and he smiled as he entered, looking around. "Hey there..." Then he saw Millie and his face brightened, seconds before his nose told him there was pizza. Moving over to her, he pushed up the sleeves on his sweatshirt and said, "Hiya Millie."
The moment that Millie arrived, Connor was relieved and practically cheered, "Millie! Oh.... Pizza! Classic d&d food." He then looked over at Tyr and said, "Hi. I guess, um, well, we can do introductions in full when everyone arrives."
Switching back to Millie, Connor asked, "Um, Millie? How many more are coming? Anyone I know?"
"Hi there Tyr." Millie giving him a smile and quick kiss before answering Connor.
She found a spot to put the pizza down.
"I have two more people arriving. They are Kaylara Loran, and Stefan Zamfir. They expressed interest, and so here we are." Millie stated, then went over to give Rachel a hug.
"Hi there, glad you could make it," Millie replied giving a smile.
Stefan walked alongside Kaylara as they made their way to Connor's quarters. "Its been a very long while since I've played DnD."
Connor looked only at Stefan, "A long time? Well, you will get back in the swing in no time." He then tried looking at Kaylara and failed, finding her shoulder easier to look at. "And you are, um, Kaylara. I am Connor. So, um, yeah, I guess everyone is here. I have some beers and crisps and Millie brought pizza, so, um.... Right. Want to gather around the table, then?"
"Hi, Connor." Kaylara found Connor's response to her--and his inability to actually look at her--amusing. According to Stefan, he would be their dungeon master. She wondered how she could use this to her advantage. Although she'd probably be more occupied with how the game progressed. Stefan had explained the logistics, but she knew that it couldn't prepare her for how the game was actually played.
Tyr kept his peace, willing to watch and learn at this point.
Besides.
There was pizza.
He helped himself to a couple of large slices and appropriated a beer before catching a seat near Millie. He did keep himself from asking if there was hot sauce though.
Connor kept his eye on Tyr. So, that was Millie's boyfriend.... Well, that certainly was an interesting choice for a boyfriend. I don't get it. And if Kaylara is with Stefan, that leaves me and Rachel as the odd folks out. That's uncomfy.
Connor thought for a few moments longer and thought about the situation. Wait! Is Millie trying to fix me up with Rachel? Is that her goal? We're the only singles here! Connor looked pointedly at Millie.
Tyr caught Connor watching him take a bite from his pizza, then the eye shift to Millie and he chewed a couple of times before saying, "The pizza is good there bud. Should try it."
Millie hadn't forgotten the hot sauce it was in her pocket.
"Don't forget the hot sauce, Tyr." Millie, at the moment not paying attention to Connor's look, there were two other people who had come inside.
"Thanks for coming," Millie remarked to Kaylara and Stefan.
Stefan took a look at Connor, giving a smile. "Thanks for inviting us."
Millie decided to make the introductions. "Okay once everyone is seated, Everyone this is Connor, part of engineering."
She looked at Connor, "This is Tyr, this is Stefan, this is Kaylara and this is my friend, Rachel." gesturing towards each of them, as she said their names.
Rachel gave everyone a nervous wave, “Hi. Nice to meet you all.”
Kaylara listened as Millie introduced everyone, smiling at the last introduction. She found it interesting that only Rachel was her friend. She wondered if Millie had a reason for the way she set the security officer apart. It was a detail that made the intel officer curious--as was Connor's inability to look at her directly.
Grabbing some pizza and a drink, she sat down next to Stefan so he could help with her character if she needed it.
Connor looked again at Millie and Tyr. Hot sauce on pizza? Are they mad? He shook his head and grabbed a slice of pizza and then a beer. I may need more than a few of these tonight. "So, as I understand it, some of you have not played d&d in quite some time and some of you are brand new, so I guess that I should sort of explain how this works. I am the DM or GM, which is short for Dungeon Master or Game Master. Essentially, I provide the background for a story that we all get to act out. It gets affected and randomized a tad by dice rolls. Tonight is what is called a session zero. The point of this session is to sort of get to know each other, create characters, and sort of create the story background. So, maybe we could go around the table and discuss what sort of story you would like and perhaps whether all of you want to meet by chance or know each other at the outset of the game."
Millie noticed Kaylara looking at her and momentarily wondered about it, then her eyes widened, stopping in mid-bite of her slice of pizza.
With a blush she made a correction, to Connor.
"Kaylara is also my friend." She gave an apologetic smile towards Kaylara.
Stefan decided to tease Millie.
"Well what about me?"
Millie blushed a deeper pink. "I am hoping friends" her eyes drifted over towards Kaylara then back to Stefan. "Anyway welcome, glad you all came."
Millie eyes turned towards Connor. "Sorry for the interruption."
Connor shrugged and told Millie, "I don't think I have ever seen a d&d game where there was not an interruption."
Looking at Connor she did give a nod of agreement. "True, very true indeed."
Nothing happened aboard the Pioneer without Tyler knowing, this was literal. He had heard about the D&D game and was ordered by the only person who could give him an order, his wife, to go. So he gathered his dice, and books and made his way over. With the baby coming this could be the last time for a while that he would be able to play.
When he arrived at Connor's quarters on deck three just down the hall from his own quarters, Tyler rang the chime. He thought it best to make his arrival a surprise.
Connor looked at Millie and asked, "Did you invite someone else?"
A confused look at the door, then back to Connor. "I did send out some feelers to see who else would like to come play, honestly, I have no clue who is on the other side of the door." Millie responded.
Happily strafing his pizza with the hot sauce still warm from Millie's pocket, Tyr took a small bite to try the sauce.
Grinning happily, the marine said, "If you didn't invite anyone else. Just ignore em." Then he took a huge bite of the pizza and waited for the hot sauce to burn his face off.
"I can't do that," Connor answered. "It would be rude." With that, Connor got up and moved towards the door and opened it. His eyes grew wide as he said, "Uhhhh, uhhhh, Captain?" Having never met him, he could only assume that someone was in trouble. "What, um, uh, well, can we do for you?"
Hearing ‘Captain’, Rachel immediately stood up and stood at attention like it was a surprise inspection. Her nerves are already on edge meeting so many new people at once, only to add a visit from the Commanding Officer. “Sir”
Tyler stood there, Player's Handbook in hand, an old hard covered one. A copy that had survived the centuries and been through many adventures with him. He also held his dice pouch and a duffel bag. The smile on his face was beaming. "No... no... no... No sirs. I am here for your table, and I am just Tyler..." His voice trailed off as he stepped in and saw Sinclair. "At ease Sinclair. This isn't a Cadet Review its a D&D game. I hope you don't mind. I heard there was a game and this forever DM has been dying to play. So, I am going to be a Dwarven Paladin. What level are we starting at?" Seemingly from nowhere Tyler produced a dwarven looking tankard and placed it on the table. A moment later a bottle of mead was produced. Tyler looked around the room again at the stunned faces. "If it would help I can take the pips off or give you an order to let me play."
Connor watched as the Captain passed right on by him and sat at the table. He gulped heavily. On one hand, this was his Captain. On the other, it meant that he was no longer an odd person out and feeling Millie's pressure of trying to fix him up with Rachel. He paused as he tried to do the mental computations and his brain was failing at it. Hesitantly, Connor replied, testing the waters, "Um, OK, um, Cap, er, Tyler. Just know, I, um, won't give you any special treatment. I know what it is like to be the forever GM, so, um, welcome?"
The nervous engineer headed back to the end of the table and said, "So, as I was saying, we have a lot of new folks here, so everyone will begin at level 1." His confidence notably grew as he sat behind his own personal computer at the DM spot. "So, Tyler here, has already decided to play a dwarven paladin. You missed introductions, Tyler, so if you need any, just ask. Now, as I was saying, we'll go around the table and discuss what sort of story everyone is interested in, so I can craft something that hopefully everyone will enjoy participating. Then, based on that, I'll give some character creating parameters. Rachel was next to him on his right. Deciding that looking in her direction might be too much, especially after the Captain's arrival, he looked at the one woman that he could look at without concern, Millie, and asked, "So, Millie, what kind of story are you looking for? And after you, we can go to Tyr, Tyler, Kaylara, Stefan, and finally Rachel. Sound good?" There was a slight gulp before Connor said Rachel's name.
Eyes widening in shock and panic, Rachel quickly pulled out her small PADD and started researching everything she could on D&D. Races, classes, sub-classes. She had no idea what this game was and didn’t want to embarrass herself when her turn came around. Her fingers danced on the PADD’s surface as she thought to herself, human? elf? Something basic, the magic system seems so complicated..
Tyr had hot sauce burn the back of his throat slightly at the Captain's appearance and he'd been on his feet before his mind fully grasped that the CO was in their midst. The mingling of a...well, THE senior officer aboard went against just about every regulation that had been hammered into him, save one.
The Captain was always right.
Slipping back into his seat, he went back to chewing and added more hot sauce, looking for the endorphin rush. With a sip of beer, he listened to the others discuss characters as he attempted to get a grasp on what was going on and the fact that he'd have to come up with a some sort of toon representing him in the game.
"Captain...Tyler," Kaylara corrected herself. "Glad you're here. We always need a good paladin to go first."
Eyes widened, Millie just stared at the entrance of Tyler then she smiled brightly.
"Glad you could make it Tyler. I wasn't certain who was going to come play."
"I would not have missed this for all the red alerts in the fleet." Tyler sat down and laid out all of his gaming stuff. There was so much that he wanted to add, but decided it best to let Conor be the center of attention here and chime in when needed.
Millie adjusted herself in her seat between Tyr and Connor, thinking of what she would like to play, then it hit her. She'll be a rogue not necessarily a thief but a door opener and a one who likes to tinker making neat gadgets.
"I'll be playing a rogue." Millie giving a laugh. " a halfling. And well for me exploration, and who knows I will find some fabulous gadget."
Tyr chewed on his slice as he realized it was his turn and he said, "Eh. I don't know. When we went to Neverwinter's, I was made up as a barbarian. Big guy with a big weapon I guess," he said after chewing and swallowing. "Will that be ok?"
Millie smiled at that memory of Tyr dressed as a barbarian.
Tyler had been writing out his character as everyone spoke. While his head was done he paid attention to every word that was said. He took a very small joy in making some uncomfortable at his presence. However, he also knew that in due time they would accept him as simply Tyler. Kat had said that this would be good for both him and them, a bonding experience of sorts, now he thought she was right. "Connor, I have one question. What level do we start at?" Then he thought for a moment. "As for me I would like to see an epic kind of story. One that involves gods, and the divine. You know true world effecting, epic storytelling."
Connor blinked twice, letting it sink in that the Captain just called him by name. I guess he was serious, but really, how is he Captain when he wasn't paying attention to what I said earlier. Maybe he's just excited at playing, not DMing. "As I said before, Tyler, everyone is going to start at level 1. So, world threatening, epic storytelling.... Got it." He paused for a moment and asked another question. "Would you, and for that matter, everyone else, want to know each other before actually setting out on your quest? Maybe be from the same town? Or have you all come together out of circumstance?"
"Sorry yes, you did say level one. Excitement got the better of me. Coming together by circumstance always allows for some great role play. You have to wade through those get to know you periods and decide who you like or don't like. A lot of fun." Tyler looked up and spoke with a broad smile on his face. When he finished he tucked his head back down into the book. "Let's see... Veit will worship Dumathoin." He half spoke, half mumbled to himself. Despite the image of the otherwise, Tyler paid very close attention to what the others around him said.
"Since this is my first time playing," Kaylara began, "I'm hoping for some action and a little puzzle solving."
Connor nodded in Kaylara's direction. "OK. Thank you.... Action and some puzzle solving...." He pressed his lips, pondering plots. World ending prophecies are always good, he thought to himself. "Stefan?"
"A fighter or rather a barbarian." Stefan giving a chuckle. He looked at Kaylara, "Puzzles and some fighting. Maybe a ranger or a rogue?"
"As for my story suggestion, a quest to find something rare or hard to find. Or a missing family weapon." Stefan replied.
Rachel just sat there as everyone put forward their ideas. When it came her her turn, she simply shrugged, “I don’t know……something fun?” She asked in a small, nervous voice.
Connor looked over at Rachel, who seemed as nervous as he was talking to her. He met her eyes only for an instant and then looked abruptly away. "But what would be fun for you, Rachel?" he encouraged.
Rachel gave Connor a nervous shrug, “I don’t know. Um…I guess adventure? Finding fun and strange creatures?”
A Joint Post By
Ensign Millicent Ambrose
Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Stefan Zamfir
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Commodore Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
Sergeant Tyrigus Fry
Rifleman, Team 1, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Ensign Connor Turner
Computer Systems Specialist, USS Pioneer
Petty Officer First Class Kaylara Loran
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Rachel Sinclair
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
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