MSNPC Rana - Investigation

[Sarah P]

((Observatory, Jorogumo))

Rana: And your ship will cease the activity that may cause damage, then?

Rana didn't like the implication that so much of what kept the Velithari safe, the billions of organisms making up the inner defensive portion of their nebula, could be damaged by a fairly common component of alien ships.

Semara: Exactly right.  We can also set marker buoys around your nebula, makin' sure everyone knows to do the same.  I ain't gonna guarantee there won't be folks who don't heed the warnin', but most everyone steers clear of a Starfleet hazard buoy these days.  :: Beat :: If you'd like, we'll add information tellin' folks to stay clear of the nebula entirely.  Or, if you'd prefer, we can program 'em with protocols lettin' folks know the proper way to make contact with y'all... Or even visit.

Rana had never imagined acting as the representative of her entire people, especially not against so great an...opponent? Ally? What exactly were these Kitomeers trying to do with their buoys and their protocols?

oO Perhaps they seek to mark us for attack Oo

Rana: Marker buoys...our defense has so far been strong enough to keep others out. As for what to tell others about us...I would need to consult our leaders.

All the way back on the main planet. Perhaps a conversation with Shakti was in order, one that would be a lot heavier than determining what, exactly, was going on with the members of just one crew.

Dewitt: =/\= Comms assistant Dewitt to Lieutenant Semara, with respects. =/\=

There was some composure from the male assistant. Rana had to admit that he seemed to be learning. Impressive. Maybe there was a difference between the males of different species.

Semara: =/\= Semara here. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Two pieces of personal news, Ma’am. ::pause:: Your missing relative is alive. We discovered that he sent us a postcard the old-fashioned way. We are writing him back and will use your house phone to call back. =/\=

The males were able to write? Well, if they were able to run communications systems...

Rana clicked thoughtfully to herself. What could this mean about their males, when she put together the way they were treated? Was there another sex in these alternate species responsible for the incubation and nourishment of young?

Semara: =/\= Sounds good...  Anything I need to do 'sides send my regards? =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Sorry, Ma’am. I just wanted to let you know, Ma’am. You might feel the ripples once he gets home. =/\=

Semara: =/\= Got it.  :: Beat, then adding. :: Tell him to not get mud on the carpet when he gets back. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Yes, Ma’am. No more distractions, Ma’am. =/\=

It was an entirely confusing conversation for Rana, and it made her uneasy. The idea of anyone coming into their nebular defensive system at all was an oddity. The aliens being so different...she didn't like it.

Semara: Cap'n Rana, if you'll indulge my curiosity, do the Velithari play music?

Rana: Indeed, we do.

It was hard to imagine a species that didn't have some form of music. It didn't seem harmful, but there was nothing useful involved in these questions. Wasting of energy was dangerous. But here she was, yet again indulging the First Officer's curiously irrelevant questions.

Semara: :: A little smile and a little nod. :: I learned to play somethin' called the violin when I was young.  It's an instrument with a wood body, four strings, and... :: trailing off with a chuckle. :: Never mind.  It's complicated.  :: Beat :: Point is, one a' the many challenges is our music's got a notation - a language and writin' system - all its own.  When I first learned, it was mostly by ear.  That means I'd listen and try to copy what it sounded like.  When I started learnin' the notation, it was harder for me 'cause I came to it later.  :: Beat :: Do you have anything like that?  Where it feels like you should understand, but don't?

Rana: Perhaps. There are some who have considered that the methods of flying ships are far different between the smaller and the larger.

Maybe it would be best to imply a more powerful ship hiding behind Jorogumo, lying in wait in case the ship was being bullied.

Semara: :: A nod :: That's what meetin' a new species is like every time.  We can talk, but we don't actually understand each other, do we?  Makes sense that would be confusin' or even scary.  I know it is for me.

Rana clicked. This first officer had an interesting way of speaking--irrelevant, back to relevant. Irreverent, as well. There was a part of Rana that wondered if this was nothing but a game to her.

Semara: And that's why Dewitt is followin' Starfleet regulation 46A - no uncoded messages when they might be overheard and there's a risk of hostility.  :: A more clever smile. :: Ain't bad for a man, right?  :: Beat :: See, if y'all got a sign that says "keep out", we ain't able to read it.  We ain't sure why you took Matthews - the human male - or if it was intended as a hostile move.  :: A patient, but pointed beat :: Was it?

Coded messages. Of course, they were speaking in code right in front of her--she should have guessed, would have guessed if she hadn't been quick to dismiss it as translation error or the peculiarities of a captain's pet male. Foolish. Ignorant. Not a mistake Rana would make again.

It seemed like the males could be players in this game as well.

Rana: This male--he has a name? Matews? He was in danger. Given what you have learned about our nebula, and what we assumed about your bonded males...we thought perhaps it would be best if he was uninjured.

Semara had almost pieced the system together, only missing the layered aspects of the system. Rana wasn't keen on giving away all of the secrets. In fact, she already found it untrustworthy that they had sent Matews out into the nebula. Regardless of the fact that it was an order, it was putting a...a member of their crew, it seemed, in danger. And it had gone against Rana's own orders.

Semara: Response

Rana: I would believe that you would want him back, regardless of his ::considering previous interactions:: strangeness. We have scanned him more thoroughly, in case his own system carried potentially dangerous microbes to us or the nebula. To my knowledge, he should be the same as he was when he unwisely exited your ship.

If he was always a number-spouting babbler, that was. But Rana kept that opinion to herself. If the communications assistant had learned codes, it was possible that Matews had also done so. Fascinating, truly.

Semara: Response

Rana: Lieutenant Semara -- may I address you as such? This is an appropriate title? It seems that there is more to the males of your species than of ours. They seem...capable, if disrespectful. You mentioned that Matews was instructed, and this communications assistant of the captain's...is it the bonding that changes them?

As useful as it would be to be able to incubate their young in a non-Velithari host, it seemed like things could be different for these species. Rana wanted to get to the bottom of it, before she potentially started a war with a federation of a hundred species.

Semara: Response

TAG/TBC

--

MSNPC Captain Rana

of the Jorogumo

as simmed by

Ensign Thomas Melville-Kilpatrick

Medical Officer

USS Khitomer – NCC62400

K240210TM2