Ensign Reine'X - I volunteer
Reine'X
(( Tseraiq, Qareluun, Aelkuun ))
Reine’X: I’m wondering, is it all right if I ask you a couple of questions? ::She turned to the two K’sélatai now that everyone had settled down with their food.:: I’m interested to know more about the planet and your culture::She paused for a moment to gauge their reactions.::
S’Relaai: Of course! That is what I am here for.
Aleron: We appreciate your kindness. Both of you. I hope you understand that we’re explorers by nature and we like to learn everything we can about a new group of people that we come across.
Orla: Response
Reine’X: But first, I was wondering about Varbuk. How did he actually end up here? Excuse my ignorance, as we are still relatively new to this region of space.
S’Relaai: When we first made contact with peoples from outside of our star system, he was among the first group we met, actually. He and others like him had lost his leader and were looking for a place to go. I think he is one of only … five or so that stayed? The rest wandered off.
oONow that's interesting. I wonder how long have they been in contact with other species.Oo
K’Saalit: He came to me for a job. I gave him one. We have traded much talk about each other’s cultures since. The Valcarians are a fascinating people.
V’Nille: That makes a lot of sense. After Brol Piers died, what remained of his followers would need a place to go.
Orla: Responses
Reine’X: Can you tell me a little bit more about your society. And how does a typical family unit look? -- beyond what is in our official report.:: she winked.
S’Relaai: I do not know what is in your official report, but who we consider family is anyone within the clan. It is our clans that we organize ourselves by and how each clan does things is a little different. We have smaller family units within the clan that I recall is more alike what offworlders expect with a mother and father and children, but we do not put them above the clan.
oOGood to know. This is really interesting stuff...Their structure does remind me of the typical Klingon House structure: Their clans resemble the Klingon Houses more than the small family units offworlders expect; the House comes first, always. Oo
K’Saalit: Each clan has its own territory. S’Relaai’s clan has their homes a fair distance away from here, I think? Mine moved here after the Qareluun Wars, so we’ve adapted from seas to rivers now.
oO Similarities again.. Oo
S’Relaai: Yes, close to the other side of the planet from here, really. I visit them regularly both as part of my job as an envoy and to keep up with them.
V’Nille: That’s fairly similar to how it is on my homeworld. Interesting.
Orla: Responses
Reine’X :Ah, yes. And the current government? I’m just wondering how your relationships are with your neighboring planets?
S’Relaai: The K’Tserai is what you would call our planetary government. It is a representative body that handles anything that impacts us all as a whole. Everything else is up to the individual clans. I am not really informed enough to give details on our relationships with our neighbors but as a general rule, we have maintained our neutrality so far.
Orla: Responses
Reine’X: Of course. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about us and our people, ::she said with a warm, smile.::
Reine'X sensed the others in her party were glad she had moved on from the questions. As a new counselor, she felt it was important to build relationships with these people, and that meant showing genuine interest in them; something everyone in her party genuinely shared.
She was also aware that their captain was an accomplished diplomat, and Reine'X didn’t want to encroach on her role, so to speak. On another note, the Orion realized this was the first time she was truly meeting the captain. And yet, the commanding officer of the vessel didn’t feel like she carried the full weight of command at this very moment. It was an intriguing sensation, sitting at the same table as the captain and not feeling the usual pressure of ranks.
S’Relaai: V’Nille told me a bit about your Starfleet and the Federation it serves. Can you tell me about this Federation?
Aleron: Well, we’re actually a conglomeration of planets from all over. We blend and mesh our lives together, each world contributing to the whole while still being allowed to retain their unique individuality and sovereignty. We have some very strict rules about interference in another world’s governance.
Reine'X nodded firmly in approval. This topic was very close to home.
V’Nille: Remember how I asked if you had faster than light travel? That’s related to one of the rules.
Orla: Responses
S’Relaai: Ah, I see. So like our system of governance. Just … bigger. Are all of the members fairly similar in many respects then, to agree on everything?
Aleron: Well, we’re actually very diverse. Some of our members can be very war-like, while others favor a peaceful approach. Some exhibit greed, while others could care less about wealth and profit. But we all come together to build up each other for the greater good. Instead of making us weaker, our differences actually make us stronger and better.
oO Nicely put. Oo
S’Relaai: That’s good. One reason we have our setup is to better allow each clan to keep its own character while we work to find ways to better cooperate.
K’Saalit: Fighting over Qareluun taught some hard lessons about what disagreements can lead to when left unchecked.
S’Relaai: Yes. There are still negotiations ongoing about many things, but they all happen here in Tseraiq on Qareluun because here we can meet on neutral grounds.
V’Nille: It has worked out well for you in the end, though. You mentioned Qareluun’s resources are what helped bootstrap you for space exploration?
S’Relaai: Correct.
Orla: Responses
Reine'X listened with interest. She now left the others to speak.
Aleron: Don’t get me wrong. We have our differences and sometimes that can lead to some very intense disagreements. But we always come together in the end and reach an accord.
S’Relaai: Intense disagreements?
V’Nille: Mostly in chambers like our Council, which is like your K’Tserai. There are also diplomats whose sole job is managing relationships between members. I will admit that violence has happened but we do what we can to resolve everything peacefully even if it gets to that point.
Orla : Responses
Reine’X: Indeed. With time, we learned to become better at overcoming our differences and finding mutually beneficial solutions.
S’Relaai: I see. That is understandable. If you are ready, we can move somewhere else. Do you have any requests?
V’Nille: Well, we’ve gotten a taste of your food. What do K’tsélai do for fun outside of the water?
K’Saalit: Oh, S’Relaai, you should take them to the arena!
V’Nille: Arena?
Reine’X: ..Arena?
Her voice echoed the word, the idea clearly sparking her interest.
Aleron / Orla : Responses
S’Relaai: ::sighs:: Yes. She’s talking about the fighting arena, probably, where K’tsélai will fight in arranged matches. We do also have public stages for plays as another option. Most of our recreation is done on or in the water, I’m afraid.
oOI'm totally in!Oo
V’Nille: Are these bloody fights?
S’Relaai: They can be, if the fighters consent to it. One of the reasons it’s popular here is that you’ll never quite anticipate what kind of fight you’ll see there. Wrestling is the most common, but I have seen fights with blades, nets, and even firearms happen if there’s a grudge to be settled there. ::beat:: We do have medical teams on standby there for that reason.
oO I consent! Oo
V’Nille: Oh that sounds exciting. What do the rest of you think?
Reine’X: Uhm… and what kind of weapons are we talking about?::She did her best not to sound overly excited, but let’s be honest, she truly was. oOThis is what I’m talking about. It’ll be fun! Oo Anything you could suggest? I wouldn’t mind getting to try some new blades.
Anyone: Response
Reine'X: I will be happy to volunteer to fight in your arena.:: she said, and then looked at the captain for approval.
She was sure that, with some precautions, the captain had no reason to disallow this little cultural exchange.
Anyone: Response
Ensign Reine'X
Counselor
USS Valkyrie-A
V240302R14