Ensign Tho’Bi - Don’t Fear The Vault of Eternal Destitution (Blue Andorian Cult)

[Tobi]

((Deck Five, Section Seven, Compartment Ninety Nine - USS Artemis))

The green eyes staring out at him from the murk of the rucksack had been consigned to the distant past of a few days ago; now the green eyes moved at speed, clambering up climbing poles, scampering along the narrow walkways that crisscrossed the ceiling, or leaping from platform to platform; the little one had become a blur of white and black fur, he was but a planet, lazing in orbit; the cat was at warp, consuming the private little universe of his cramped quarters at speed.

When not in motion, the little white and black cat sauntered, an anointed monarch, taking in her new domain; or she lounged, stretched out in the porthole hammock, tail and various limbs hanging nonchalantly in the environmentally controlled airflow; but not this morning, this morning the cat's small frame had opted for an alternative place of lounging; the young Ensign’s PADD. 

A low rumble and hum emanated from the cat; the young Andorian had learned from Dr. Richards (aka The Mama), this was called purring, and indicated the little one was content; content, and, in this case, intent on not moving.  

((Deck Five Corridor - near the Auditorium, Operations Center))

The young Andorian was ambling; his PADD had remained in his quarters, tucked under the content and intent frame of the little one; and he, who had grown up with best friend, and Ferengi wheeler and dealer, Zee, was on his way to a Ferengi 101 class.  

He wouldn't have minded so much, if it were not for all the other additional classes he was already obliged to take, as mandated by the ill-tempered Sex Pottery Collector, Lieutenant Vailani, and by the deck-stomping, Commander Munro; with all the mandated training, it was a wonder he ever got any actual engineering done.

((Auditorium - Operations Center, Deck 5, USS Artemis-A ))

The young Andorian slumped into the nearest chair and cast a largely disinterested eye around the room; he offered a lazy nod to each familiar and unfamiliar face alike, and pretended not to notice the number of PADDs in evidence.

Bergmen: Hello, and welcome everybody! I’m Lieutenant Junior Grade Ollie Bergmen, Operations, for those who don’t know me, and I’ll be your lecturer today for our seminar on Ferenginar. This session should inform you about and help you learn the specifics of the Ferengi culture, their customs, and what to expect—or avoid—during your visit to Ferenginar on this shore leave.

He had met Zee in Elementary School; a nervous six year old beanpole of an Andorian, unaccustomed to rooms full of people, hiding behind an engineering puzzle, when a short, small framed Ferengi boy had bounded over, with a name tag for him; not because the Ferengi boy had been set such a task by the teacher, but because, as the diminutive Ferengi put it with a grin, he was, “Networking!”.

Imril/Any: Response

Bergmen: I know some of you have a lot of work you need to attend, and some of you already can't wait to see the planet, so I won't drag it out too much today. This will be a little free to inform you based on your questions, yet we still need to point out some things within the mandatory topics, so let’s start with a little video…

The following presentation is intended for entertainment and information purposes only, and does not make, assert, or otherwise imply any indemnity from, safeguarding against, or mitigation of scams, grifts, hustles, swindling, pyramid or ponzi schemes, bait and switches, cons (long or short), fraudsters, shills, or snake oil sellers, kickbacks, shakedowns, or grafts, rackets, confidence tricks, or boiler room scams.

The young Andorian smiled as he imagined Zee attempting to find a loophole in the exhaustive list. As the instructional holo-image played out, he found himself missing Zee; he had often missed Zee while at the Academy, and had imagined absconding upon Zee's ramshackle cargo hauler; but whereas these past flights of fancy had been dramatic, but largely superficial, he now found himself aware of a gathering sense of quiet certainty.

Bergmen: Exciting, right? Ferenginar has so much to offer! So, get a little temperature in this wonderful audience —please, raise your hands if you've already met some Ferengi or visited Ferenginar. What can you tell me about your experience?

So lost in his own thoughts, It took the words of Lieutenant Junior Grade Bergmen, for the young Andorian to realise the presentation was over.

Jaran: I've met a couple Ferengi. We would occasionally make trips to Deep Space 9 when I was a child, and I continued that tradition into adulthood. There were always Ferengi there, especially around Quark's. Even as a kid, they were always trying to sell me something.

Cole: Having met a few, I think they’re capable of growth. Just takes them a little longer. Like bonsai trees.

The young Andorian recalled what his mother had said to him, all those years ago, “Zee is already exactly where he wants to be.” His mother, as was the universal constant, had been proved right; his Ferengi friend never had even a passing interest in joining the Academy. 

Tho'Bi: ::kindly:: I think many are happy as there are.

Bergmen/Imril/Any: Response

Jaran: Are we being a little harsh here, perhaps?

Cole: Jaran, I don’t think it's that simple. Clearly some ::gestures around:: of our crewmates have, unfortunately, had bad experiences and that has led them to have biases towards the Ferengi.

The young Andorian chuckled to himself. He'd certainly had his fair share of trouble in the years of knowing Zee, though never because he was on the receiving end of Ferengi wiles, but only because he was wiles-adjacent.  

Bergmen/Imril/Any: Response

Cole: Personally I try not to judge an entire race solely on how a select few have chosen to conduct themselves, even if regrettably there are vast cultural differences that lead to preconceptions and assumptions.

Tho'Bi: ::nodding:: Yeah… everybody thinks Andorians just solve problems with knife fights ::pause for thought:: …I mean we do …but, still. …you know …bias.

Bergmen/Imril/Cole/Jaran/Any: Response

For as long as the young Andorian had known him, Zee had fretted about spending eternity in The Vault of Eternal Destitution; it drove his work ethic, compelled him to creative solutions, and sharpened his mind to the realities of risk and reward.

Tho'Bi: What they have …works for them. …Profit is their knife fight. 

Bergmen/Imril/Cole/Jaran/Any: Response

Tho'Bi: Maybe the real bias is The Federation's insistence we know best…

Bergmen/Imril/Cole/Jaran/Any: Response

TAG/TBC

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11