ILLUMINARRPG: (05–0942) tlha'nISta'. LONG. Tags Sekal/ McKenzie/ Galk/ Petah/ Solice/ Any present.

Frank Truelove qcwriter at gmail.com
Fri Oct 21 20:53:30 UTC 2022


Mission:  For HonorDay: 5Stardate: 2446.04.28
(Qo'nos — Diplomatic Quarters — aCSO LT tlha'nISta' — 0942)

“Let me be clear,” McKenzie said, pulling himself up to his full 6'2".
“I offered your blade back to you because it held more interest to you
than it did to me. You stated its significance to yourself. That blade
holds no such significance to me. Do Not assume that I have no
knowledge of Klingon culture.”
Lanista could sense McKenzie's ire, which was precisely what she had
wanted to elicit. She had been arrogant. Deliberately. She had made
assumptions about the ambassador, and his lack of progress. This
encounter was partly a science experiment — the testing of assumptions
and modification of those when necessary based upon measurements and
analysis. The process was characterized by the systematic replacement
of knowns for unknowns.
Lani' noted, when she bragged of her first kills, that the ambassador
might have made a slight grimace. ~Does he have disdain for the
culture?~ she wondered.

“There is much,” McKenzie said, “that I find lacking honor in many of
the Klingon ways. But do not assume that I am unwilling to do what is
necessary in the heat of battle. We are NOT in that situation at this
moment.” The man went on. At one point, he made no secret of his
emotions and rolled his eyes. The ambassador turned to Sekal, “Is this
what you bring us to advise us?  Someone who clearly has no idea of
the reason we are here?”  Then he turned back toward Lani'. “Someone
who blithely disregards protocols and agreements that we have already
made with the people we are negotiating with and then castigate me
because I do not want to hold onto her personal weapon?”
~If you think I castigated you over a qutluch, you misunderstand my
tactics here…~ she though.
He paused for a moment. “I also notice that you have not made a
similar offer or cast similar doubts to our Vulcan and Betazoid
members of the team. Am I to assume then that this is some prejudice
that you hold towards humans?”
~I wasn't asked here to test them. They aren't handling the stalled
negotiations. YOU are.~
McKenzie turned and stepped away, “ No, I do not believe that I will
hold onto your weapon and break our agreement with the Klingon
Council. That is what I consider honorable.  I have neither offered
forgiveness for nor care about the method by which you have killed.
I’m certain, by your standards, that you considered them most
honorable. That is between you and your own conscience.”
Sekal intervened, opening the door to Lani more fully voicing her
views of Klingons. After she suggested to the ambassador that he might
deliberately anger his opposite number, McKenzie said, “This is what
I’ve been talking about,” McKenzie cried out.  “We need a more
aggressive posture.  These Klingons are not taking us seriously
because we are being to passive.”
~There! THAT's what I pressed you for~~ Lani' thought, grinning. He'd
just shared that the Klingons were not 'taking us seriously because we
are being too passive.' This corroborated her second theory. Aspects
of the first — that the Klingons did not perceive a decisive advantage
for them to exploit — might still be at least partly true. But
McKenzie had shored up the foundation of the supposition that it was a
perception of Federation passivity in the name of reaching an
agreement that was the stumbling-block in this negotiaton. Klingons
were blunt. Federation diplomacy was predictated on being polite.
After the Battle of Words, which would neither become famous nor the
stuff of songs, Lani' had the opportunity to speak to her Captain
about the strategy for moving forward while the Illuminar's Doctor
tended to Galk's wounds. Lani' noted Galk's taking note of her and the
conversation between she and the Captain as she voiced her view that
none of the 'theater' she proposed to stage needed to be true. It only
needed to persuade the audience.
The half-Vuhlkansu/half-tlhIngan «nungmaH» ("hybrid") was a Starfleet
officer but she had gone on a hiatus in early 2409. Her career path
lead her first back to her roots, aboard her family's privateer vessel
— the Chalche'yon. The most viable excuse for the unheralded family
reunion was, of course, showing off her war prise: the qeylIS mupwI'!
Kahless's warhammer!
tlha'nISta', daughter of QolloH — who was himself the son of DI'al —
enjoyed her exploits with the small crew aboard the Chalche'yon. Only
QolloH was a blood relation, but all those aboard were "family."
Whenever circumstances could be manipulated to involve showing off the
hammer in combat, the House of DI'al would make use of the legendary
weapon. Most witnesses to those events quite 'logically' assumed that
the qeylIS mupwI' was not the genuine article. There were probably as
many fake and fraudulent copies of the artifact as there were
innumerable Houses Minor within the Empire. But whether Lanista or her
father QolloH wielded the warhammer, the crew of the privateer vessel
enjoyed greater successes than they had ever before. 'Privateer' was
perhaps at best charitable. What those who lived and worked aboard the
Chalche'yon were was pirates.
The ship ignored the border between the Empire and the Federation,
operating in and out of Klingon space as necessary and under cloak
whenever and wherever possible. The House DI'al had a reputation prior
to this for being a small family of sell-swords, usually hired for
what QolloH always referred to as "yet another pointless chore."
Lanista objected to the phrase. Her mother Ti'amah had died during one
such "Y.A.P.C." That incident had been the reason Lanista had turned
away from the family business, taking a sort of sabbatical on Vulcan —
which ultimately led to her enrolling in Starfleet Academy.
Lanista had no homeworld. Her parents had told her she was conceived
on a starship in orbit around «QI`tu`» (which was an assertion Lani'
had never believed). The half-breed was born on a different starship
(the Chalche'yon itself). House DI'al did not own or even control any
planets, and it likely never would. Most of the Houses Major, on the
other hand, claimed several worlds apiece!
T'Khasi ("Planet Vulcan") became no homeworld in the final analysis.
While there, Lanista went by the Vulcanian version of her name:
T’srashiva. It was derived from the Vulcan phrase «snertau srashivar
k'zasahr.» The Klingon version of the same expression was «tlha' nIS
ta'mey» and tlha'nISta' was a contraction of that. Both the Vulcan and
Klingon terms meant "accomplishments hinder the chase." This had
always made Lani' wonder what her parents were trying to tell her with
her name(s). While very young, whenever she asked QolloH he would
shrug and urge her to "go ask your mother." Ti'amah would, when
queried about it, typically give a very Vulcan and quite philosophical
explanation that only served to further confuse the very young Lani',
and Ti'amah died before Lani' was older and wiser enough to comprehend
such things.
T'srashiva found no home among Vulcans, but not for lack of trying.
She attempted the Kolinahr (multiple times) and failed it
spectacularly! Conversely, Lani' had undergone and passed the Kahs-wan
Ordeal in a fashion that left her mentors notably impressed. That much
at least was a point of pride for the child Lani'. To get a
full-blooded Vulcan to even briefly let slip the veil of
emotionlessness was an achievement!
Being One-Of-No-World limited Lanista's social options, so she focused
her overabundant energies on exercise and study. She had a talent for
making things work (and understanding when and why they didn't). She'd
learned Engineering (sometimes in the dark with grease-covered hands)
aboard her home-ship as the "Assistant Engineer." Lanista excelled in
Engineering and the various associated Sciences while she attended the
Vulcan Academy. Her academic achievements (as well as her biology and
her prodigious physique) attracted the attention of a visiting
professor. It was this fellow off-worlder who persuaded Lanista to
transfer to Starfleet Academy. He was himself a Starfleet officer.
Starfleet ultimately became Lanista's long-sought-after home. And
while her return to her friends and family aboard the Chalche'yon in
2409 had resulted in welcome delights, the vessel was not "home." It
never really had been and now proved it would still not be.
The adventures of the Chalche'yon's crew brought the band of
'privateers' to the attention of various authorities, but not in a bad
way. QolloH and Lani' (who shared captaincy) would contract with
Federation representatives as often as they would work for this
Klingon House or that. What neither father nor daughter deduced at the
time was that their UFP benefactors were SFI. Eventually, Lani'
returned to Starfleet under that aegis — recruited away from the
pirate ship by the self-same "Academy Instructor" who had been a guest
lecturer at the Vulcan Institute. Having left active duty status in
early 2409, Lanista spent years and years serving as an SFI agent, and
certainly that tenure colored her thinking.
Thus the ruse she proposed to her current C.O. Sekal. Lani's
world(s)-view flew in the face of the reputation that "Vulcans never
bluff." Whenever anyone presented her with such an argument, Lani'
would always say, "And did a Vulcan tell you that?" Concealing the
truth wasn't technically lying, and SFI had honed Lani's skill at
keeping (as well as finding out) secrets. Everything had become
plans-within-plans to her. Life was chess (or xiangqi, or shogi). Life
was kal-toh. Life was klin zha kinta. Was it lying to not tell an
opponent what you planned as your next move?
In response to Lani suggesting to her Captain, "'None of this, of
course, needs to be true. It merely needs to be convincingly sold,'"
Galk thundered, "She speaks the truth, Captain. tlhIngan Hol: qoH
vuvbe' SuS!. The wind does not respect a fool but qoh, fire consumes
all. If there is no qoh then there is no respect." He looked to the
Ambassador. "I have taken the measure of Chancellor Morek and those
that follow him. They are taH'qaq, honorless! The Chancellor plays his
own game of kling'zha for conquest and he is playing you to that end."
(McKenzie's reply)
Galk's laughter rolled throughout the room then he boasted, "The House
of Eshag was the largest and I have taken it from him along with his
life. With the Imperial House and the House of Mohg arrayed against
Morek along with allies his offensive will grind to a halt."
~There! THAT's the decisive advantage they've been waiting for! THAT's
why they've been stalling! With the simultaneous realignments of those
two Houses, the balance of power shifted.~
Galk swore for all those nearby to hear his intent to go to war to
prevent the Khitomer Accords from being violated.
~And that explains the Federation's involvement. A new Klingon Civil
War would be internally wasteful and externally disruptive. We're here
to preempt that.~ though Lani'.
At this time, Petah entered the chamber, carrying Lanista's warhammer.
He exchanged 'pleasantries' with Galk then moved to CDR Solice to
thank her for her services.
Petah had a glint in his eye once he stepped up to Lani'. Her pointed
ears picked up his small growl, which caused the Illuminar's aCSO to
wonder briefly about the near future.
Petah too then spoke of blood being spilt, as Galk had. And, of
course, glory. Lanista felt passion for upcoming conflict swelling
even as she reminded herself she was presently clad in Starfleet
Dress-A's. Petah did not help Lani' calm down any by handing her
hammer back to her. The prospect of a formalized alliance between
Petah and Galk's Houses was raised. Forming alliances pressaged an
expectation of opposing forces being otherwise arrayed against the
individual Houses separately. The full-blooded Klingons in the room
clearly expected violence. Soon. And Lanista had already pledged
herself out loud to it, a fact that was reinforced by someone saying,
"Turn her on Morek and those that sit with him. He will be besieged on
all sides and forced to reach an agreement of peace."
The mention of peace made the erstwhile SFI Agent feel more
comfortable about the potential for impending bloodshed. Lanista
personally had no issues with needful killings. But her Captain most
probably would. She had earlier mentioned the 'terms of engagement.'
She needed those now. "Captain, precisely how Klingon would you like
me to be in this apparently unavoidable blood-letting?:
(Reply Sekal/ McKenzie/ Galk/ Petah/ Solice/ Any present)(Posted by Frank)
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