LtCmdr Jovenan – An ancient tradition which involves an immortal man entering your house during the night and judging you? Sure, count me in!
Jovenan
((Brew Continuum, Deck 3, USS Artemis))
Munro: I would like nothing more :: to the PADD :: I hope that's something wonderfully scandalous and not work.
Jovenan gestured to the chair on the opposite side of her table with a smile on her face. As her still fairly recent superior took the seat, Jovenan raised the PADD to a higher angle. An unconscious action for her, she had meant to give space to the Commander, although just moments later she realised doing so after the comment about the scandalousness of its content could have made her look suspicious. As much as Jovenan had tried to match Commander Munro’s and Lieutenant K’Wara’s vibes during the awards ceremony, she found it in odds with her character to even begin to pretend she had been reading or watching something inappropriate or gossipy in a public place.
Jovenan: I was just reading through some communiqués I have received, nothing important. ::looks at PADD, slightly puzzled:: Some Ferengi businesses seem to have started sending mass messages to everyone on the ship after we arrived here. Have you seen some of these?
She opened one of the messages in her inbox and turned the device for the First Officer to see. The Commander reacted visibly when she was greeted by the large image of a Ferengi gentleman in a red suit and an abundant amount of white facial hair. The imagery was completed by humans celebrating the character’s appearance by giving him their latinum. Jovenan scrolled further down, making sure that Commander Munro received a representative sample of messages. They each followed the same theme and shared a colour scheme – mostly reds, whites and greens – and each pleaded or ordered the reader to either purchase a product or to patron an establishment. She was vaguely familiar with the concept of “Christmas”, but Jovenan recognised an unfamiliar pattern in there: these messages were aimed at their human colleagues for the purpose of the acquisition of latinum on the excuse of an archaic cultural phenomenon.
Munro: Got to hand it to good old fashioned Ferengi marketing, they know how to stick to a theme.
Jovenan: I think they’re targeting us with these specific kind of messages because of our large human crew compliment. Although, I don’t remember seeing this much… whatever this is when I was in the Academy in San Francisco. ::shrug:: Or maybe I didn’t pay enough attention, since I didn’t have anyone to give presents to back then.
For a decade or so, Jovenan had lived surrounded by a plethora of different species and cultures, but most of the people around her had been humans. Few civilizations were monocultures, and humans, too, had several distinct communities that could be split up all the way down to an individual, each section with their own habits and traditions. Jovenan didn’t know them all, she wasn’t always even able to tell the major ones apart, so it was possible she had never just come in contact with something supposedly common in some parts of the humanity. Still, one would have thought she had known more about a festivity that even the Ferengi seemed to be hyped about. Had they at any point celebrated it this way on the ship or in the Academy? Had she really just… not notice people buying and handing out presents? Did Vitor know about this Christmas thing?
Munro: I think it's more of a loose homage to a time before Earth's third world war in the 20th century, which if I'm remembering my school lessons :: points to PADD :: That's a pretty tame reimagining.
If this was tame, Jovenan was increasingly curious about how the humanity made it to the 25th century to begin with. However strange it was, she stopped herself before blurting her opinions out; it might not go far in improving her relationship with her new boss to make distasteful comments about her species and culture. It wasn’t like her own culture didn’t have things buries in its distant past.
Jovenan: I can see why the Ferengi shareholders would have an interest in reviving those traditions, then.
Munro: I don't judge, I love to shop just like any warm blooded human. We're not that dissimilar from Ferengi's us humans.
A chuckle escaped Jovenan’s lips.
Jovenan: I can’t say I like this meaning of Christmas, but if instead of just buying presents you view it as an expression of love and friendship to the people around you, it’s actually pretty lovely.
Munro: Why don't we go down? I bet they have some bargains to spend our stipend of latinum? If we want to stick to the theme we can even buy some gifts for the crew? You must have someone you'd like to buy a gift for?
Oh? Jovenan pondered for a few seconds. It wasn’t a bad idea at all. She had already expressed her interest in trying to buy something and trying out the resource management aspect that came with the monetary system. Doing so with Commander Munro, who seemed more experienced and less likely to be swayed by too aggressive marketers, would give her some security. And, even if she didn’t end up enjoying shopping, she’d still leave out of it with presents for her loved ones.
Jovenan: Yes, I do! My boyfriend, at least. He gives me gifts for no reason all around the year, so it’s only fair. And… well, I don’t know how close people have to be that they’d get each other Christmas presents. What do you think?
Munro: Response
Jovenan: Then I guess the Captain might appreciate the gesture. And Ms Richards and her children, and… well, they don’t really need to be human either. Almost everyone likes to be given meaningful gifts.
Munro: Response
Jovenan noticed herself getting excited. Vitor had given her the pair of dolls earlier that year, and she had been enamoured by them – both the toys and him. No matter her wariness of the level of insistence with which the Ferengi businesses kept asking people to visit them specifically, she already felt the rush of anticipation in going through the options for each recipient of her gifts. Perhaps, deep down, the Edo weren’t that different from humans or Ferengi either.
Jovenan: How about right now? I don’t have anything scheduled for the rest of the day, so I could go right away. If that suits you, of course.
Munro: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11