#greskrendtregk

You know how in some videogames certain actions will get you a little "Clementine will remember that" or "Leliana <3 (+10)" message that pops up in the left hand corner? Please envision a "Traxanaxanos was so excited to answer this all day at work +100 Tumblr delight" message in the top left of your screen right now. Thank you for asking me about my favorite non-character, my specialist guy, Greskrendtregk Wildman.

Five facts exist about him in canon: his name is Greskrendtregk (name which has been passed down for five generations), he's a Ktarian, he's married to Samantha, and he was aboard Deep Space 9 when Voyager left. Samantha phrases it as "my husband is still at Deep Space 9" in Elogium, which I think was meant to imply more of a Starfleet assignment than him just chilling there as a civilian, and beta-canon then makes it explicit that he is enrolled in Starfleet as well. So - Deep Space 9 assignment:

Greskrendtregk is an engineer, but not the kind of Starfleet engineer we typically see involved with the engines and the warpcores of starships. I think he's much more interested in the immediate biological needs of living in space: the environmental controls, humidity and breathable air and comfortable temperatures, the structural soundness of bulkheads and walls. He's an HVAC guy, he does structural and mechanical engineering, he's who you call if life-support goes down, or if the ambassador from Betazed somehow accidentally sets the whole station to a relative humidity of 70% instead of just her quarters.

While this is of course a useful skill-set on starships, he's more interested in environemnts that are much more oriented towards long-term or permanent habitation, and preferably stationary (and boy after Samantha goes missing on a two week expedition does this sedentary tendency increase a thousand fold), such as space stations, nascent colonies, and far-flung research stations, which is why he was assigned to Deep Space 9.

Also, because I love him and because I love this ask: a bonus second headcanon!

This is an image I have seen around tumblr. I think it is from Chainsaw Man (?), but to me it is pure Wildmancore.

Greskrendtregk and Samantha's first date was probably her taking him to like an aquarium or a birdblind or something and just infodumping about an animal for way too long but at minute 4 of 26 Greskrendtregk is already like

<<<:3 *planning their wedding*

“Before Mark could reply, Gres spoke at as loud a volume as his soft voice would allow. ‘May I have everyone’s attention please?’ The Ktarian stood in the middle of the room, holding a glass of what looked to Mark like Saurian brandy, and had to repeat his request several times before the room quieted down.

‘I would like to thank all of you for coming. I would also like to thank Quark for his fine catering job.’ The Ferengi bowed slightly.”

and

“‘I agree with Mr. Honigsberg,” T’Pel said. ‘I believe that my husband is alive. Many times over the years he has gone on difficult missions and he has always returned to me. I choose to have faith in his ability to do so again. It is not logical - but the feeling remains, and it would be the height of illogic to deny its existence.’

Smiling wanly, Gres raised his glass and said, ‘Then I propose a toast to the height of illogic. Long may it sustain us.’“

  -from Letting Go by Keith R. A. Decandido in Star Trek Voyager: Distant Shores, edited by Marco Palmieri

4 things:

1. Quark

2. T’Pel and Tuvok confirmed for acting illogically in their love for each other

3. Greskgrendtregk has a very soft and quiet voice and I love that for him

“Again, the short laugh. ‘You may simply call me Gres, Mr. Johnson. It is usually the best that human tongues can do with my name.’ His tone grew more wistful. ‘Samantha was the only human who was ever able to pronounce it properly.’“

-from Letting Go by Keith R. A. Decandido in Star Trek Voyager: Distant Shores, edited by Marco Palmieri 

I’m not sure if this is the originator for Greskrendtregk shortening his name to Gres in beta canon, or if this is following another beta canon novel’s decision to do it. I’ve also seen fic authors shorten his name this way - not sure if it’s because they’re following beta canon or that Greskrendtregk is a lot to type out.

But!

As a person with a long name that starts with a G that absolutely no monolingual English-speaker can get right on the first try I hate this decision. It’s not that humans physically can’t say Ktarian names - Samantha has obviously figured it out and can say it. So it’s more that awkward balking that happens when people just don’t want to try, that annoying little laugh of “oh haha, that’s quite a name/ I’ll never be able to keep that straight” or the immediate insistence of “Well I’m going to call you [nickname].” Greskrendtregk has clearly met that multiple times, and just decided its easier to forward an alternative, a nickname, a shorter version, which I get because its tiring! I have also made the decision of “I guess I will simply be a different person at work” after spending weeks correcting everyone. I get it but it doesn’t make me any less mad about the phenomenon.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64356418/chapters/165519250

Operation -- Deflate!: While docked for shore leave at Starbase 224, Commodore Greskrendtregk and Commander Samantha Wildman board Fortitude to help catalog a number of recently-discovered alien life-forms.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64356418/chapters/165213175

He looks like this body type but with horns! And beautiful long hair! He maybe looses a lot of the underlying muscle in the time Voyager is missing but he remains huge.

I feel like beta canon establishes he’s an engineer? I don’t know why I would have that in my brain otherwise, I hate that idea, engineers are over represented in the fiction. He’s a fucking micropaleontologist or something. He does Ktarian stone throwing, looks at tiny fossils, loves making toasts at parties, and remembers every alien animal fact his wife has ever told him.