Episode 2.03: The Trill Question

[Renny]

"OK Gina...," Cole replies, accepting the glass from the bartender with a nod and clinking Regina's glass in salute,
"Here's to....whatever this is."

He takes a sip in response, finding the drink not unpleasant.

He leans in slightly closer to the chief.  "I can't let that one slide.. what's with Tann-Tyra then?"

[Davy, aka GM]

The best he can describe it, the drink has the qualities of a smooth lager - maybe a bit heavy on the malt flavor - with notes of a very good single grain whiskey in the background. It certainly kicks like whiskey.

"Oh, don't get me wrong; your girl's as solid as they come. I just can't be in the same compartment with her," Gina admits, throwing a mischievous smile his way as she adds, "that is, unless you're looking for an excuse for me to pass out in your arms.

"You remember that bastard Niro in Captain Schrepfermann's gang? Well, before we knew anything about him, he was just the new helmsman who was coming aboard right after we got back from the first contact with the Watu. I was the duty yeoman and took the opportunity to give him a quick tour of the ship - y'know, good looking Deltan and all...

"Anyway, we're in the turbolift when, all of a sudden, everything goes black," she waves her glass around for effect. "Next thing I know is that I'm on the deck, flat on my back, with Doc Dourap and Casey looking down over me. They tell me I'm allergic to Deltan pheromones - don't react to them the same way others do. Full on anaphylaxis. I tell ya, I've never been more disappointed in anything in my whole life."

She finishes the last of her drink and motions for the bartender to bring another. "I take regular meds, but, apparently, my system can still get overloaded from prolonged contact - like dinner and drinks. Nausea after about 15 minutes, dizziness after about a half-hour - not in any mortal danger, but still not pleasant. Doc said I could take a double dose of meds as a 'booster' to counter it, but, you know, the side effects are mild nausea and migraines. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Cheers."

OOC: The Ballad of Regina Waymire...

[Nolmir]

"Commander?  May I join you?"  Lt. Voshen approached Tobin on the patio with a fluted glass of small, local crustaceans, a bright floral stalk waggling on top.  He spent an awkward moment detangling the stem from the tubes of his respirator.  "The need to embellish even the smallest foodstuffs here is certainly a choice."

A peal of laughter rang out from the main building.  Ambassador Dax had reached the punchline of some story and was in the middle of replacing an empty tropical cocktail with another one.  "The ambassador certainly does not seem to mind...embellishment."  He clicked his vocoder twice wryly.  "I will admit: it is a strange temperament to see in such a high-ranking diplomat.  But his reputation speaks for itself, of course.  Are all Trill functionaries as...convivial as Ambassador Dax?"

Tobin smiles as he turns to glance inside at Dax as he holds court. "He is particularly gregarious, for just about any species. At least the ones I'm aware of." The officer looks down and picks at his food. "Certainly part of that is just his personality. But I'm fairly certain he also uses it as a tool for his work -- getting people to let down their guard is highly useful. So don't let his charming frivolity fool you, he is a formidable person."

He looks back up at the Zaranite. "You know, Voshen, he does more than just wrangle diplomats. When I was first assigned to Capt. Treyva's command, we worked with him on an operation to take a rogue Starfleet officer into custody. It was definitely a harrowing introduction to this crew," he says, snorting out a chuckle as he shakes his head ruefully.

"But we're supposed to be off duty for the night. Tell me, what do you think of our accommodations? Do they have resorts like this back on your homeworld?"

[socrates200X]

"But we're supposed to be off duty for the night. Tell me, what do you think of our accommodations? Do they have resorts like this back on your homeworld?"

Voshen looked down at his hors d'oeuvre and wrinkled his eyes in amusement.  "On Zaran II?  No, no, nothing like this.  Cloud cover 80% of the year, volcanic ash storms, fluorine atmosphere...but.  The Third Caves of Vas'thath?  Imagine: perfectly symmetrical caverns of iridescent crystal, precise fractal facets, concentric within each.  Zaranite monks add new cuts every cycle, perhaps a millimeter, each one planned and calculated over years.  Maintained over millennia."

He twisted the base of the cup idly.  "I've never been.  I've watched the holos thousands of times, of course, but...my family moved to Argus V Colony before my birth.  Mandated.  By the Great Enumerations.  The very same ones used to construct the Third Caves, ironically enough.  Very devout, my family.  Very observant."

Pushing the dish away, he levelled his gaze at Tobin.  "I'm the third of three sons, Commander.  It is my preordained duty to man my household, never to leave its environs until the end of my days.  My...culture.  I left, and never looked back.  I have experienced wonders and friendship and done and seen more than I could have done in thirty lifetimes at home."

Tapping his fingers, Voshen turned to watch the horizon and took in a slow breath.  "Anyway, no.  Nothing like this."  The susurrus of the waves swelled and ebbed. 

"Is it much the same?  On Trill?  What exactly are we arguing for here?  What are we being asked to defend?"

[Renny]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Cheers."

Cole grimaces in what he hopes is a sympathetic manner and clicks his glass in response.

"That's a tough break, Gina," he sighs, "Here's to boldly going, with the right meds..."

[Renny]

"But we're supposed to be off duty for the night. Tell me, what do you think of our accommodations? Do they have resorts like this back on your homeworld?"

Voshen looked down at his hors d'oeuvre and wrinkled his eyes in amusement.  "On Zaran II?  No, no, nothing like this.  Cloud cover 80% of the year, volcanic ash storms, fluorine atmosphere...but.  The Third Caves of Vas'thath?  Imagine: perfectly symmetrical caverns of iridescent crystal, precise fractal facets, concentric within each.  Zaranite monks add new cuts every cycle, perhaps a millimeter, each one planned and calculated over years.  Maintained over millennia."

He twisted the base of the cup idly.  "I've never been.  I've watched the holos thousands of times, of course, but...my family moved to Argus V Colony before my birth.  Mandated.  By the Great Enumerations.  The very same ones used to construct the Third Caves, ironically enough.  Very devout, my family.  Very observant."

Pushing the dish away, he levelled his gaze at Tobin.  "I'm the third of three sons, Commander.  It is my preordained duty to man my household, never to leave its environs until the end of my days.  My...culture.  I left, and never looked back.  I have experienced wonders and friendship and done and seen more than I could have done in thirty lifetimes at home."

Tapping his fingers, Voshen turned to watch the horizon and took in a slow breath.  "Anyway, no.  Nothing like this."  The susurrus of the waves swelled and ebbed. 

"Is it much the same?  On Trill?  What exactly are we arguing for here?  What are we being asked to defend?"

OOC: Excellent stuff, seriously!

[Renny]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Cheers."

Cole grimaces in what he hopes is a sympathetic manner and clicks his glass in response.

"That's a tough break, Gina," he sighs, "Here's to boldly going, with the right meds..."

"Do you have family in the service, Gina, or is everyone back home in Aus?"

[Davy, aka GM]

"That's a tough break, Gina," he sighs, "Here's to boldly going, with the right meds..."

Regina snickers at the comment, probably a little more enthusiastically than intended.

"Do you have family in the service, Gina, or is everyone back home in Aus?"

"My great-granddad was in Starfleet - enlisted in 2198, I think it was. I remember him telling me all sorts of stories about it, including a scrap with the Klingons just before he retired in '26." She takes a sip, appearing to savor a memory. "He wore his old uniform at my graduation from the ETP. Had the Academy Superintendent fawning all over him."

She sidles a little closer to Cole. "How 'bout you? Your family was rural, like mine, right?"

[Renny]

Cole takes another drink, his tone suddenly wistful.

"Yeah, I grew up just outside Brisbane. My folks lived on a...farming commune, I guess, you'd call it. They didn't believe in technology, so all the farm work was done by hand."

He laughs quietly.

"Ironic that I ended up out here, right?"

[Nolmir]

"Is it much the same?  On Trill?  What exactly are we arguing for here?  What are we being asked to defend?"

Tobin knots his eyebrows in thought. "At its core, Trill culture asks each of us to place something higher than self at the center. That takes different forms for some of us. Those like Dax will know and experience things I could only imagine. I wanted to be like him, you know. Well, not him specifically, but of his ... order, so to speak. That didn't come to pass. At the time, I was devastated. The purpose I had devoted my life to was gone, snatched away by what seemed a manifestly unfair system. That's why I joined Starfleet. I needed some purpose, some higher calling for myself. And I found it, out here in the galaxy, seeking knowledge and understanding. Working hand in hand with my crew."

He glances at the Zaranite. "My people can be reticent. We have a secret that many of us consider far too precious and fragile to risk. And that can be a flaw, no doubt. It may even, in the end, bar our way to Federation membership. But I believe entry to the Federation is a necessity for my people to grow. I hope that the Federation will cause more of my people to see that there is not so much to fear in the galaxy as we have thought. Perhaps it's naive optimism, but I really do believe that, over time, the water of knowledge can wear away at the cliff of fear, until it one day becomes a beach." He smiles. "Perhaps like the one we find ourselves at here."

[Davy, aka GM]

He laughs quietly.

"Ironic that I ended up out here, right?"

"Ironic? Maybe, but definitely something to be proud of. I'm sure we both have a spec or three of the home soil still stuck somewhere we can't wash away, and that ain't a bad thing. Dirt farmers to the core, mate," she raises her glass in salute, then takes a drink. "Teach those mega-city kids a thing or two."

Regina flashes a mischievous smile, which softens into a warmer one as she silently gazes at the security officer for several moments, her eyes a bit heavy with drink. "Shoulda done this ages ago," she says. Seeing brief confusion on his face, the yeoman adds, "Have you out for a drink. Definitely glad I did, finally."

[socrates200X]

He glances at the Zaranite. "My people can be reticent. We have a secret that many of us consider far too precious and fragile to risk. And that can be a flaw, no doubt. It may even, in the end, bar our way to Federation membership. But I believe entry to the Federation is a necessity for my people to grow. I hope that the Federation will cause more of my people to see that there is not so much to fear in the galaxy as we have thought. Perhaps it's naive optimism, but I really do believe that, over time, the water of knowledge can wear away at the cliff of fear, until it one day becomes a beach." He smiles. "Perhaps like the one we find ourselves at here."

"Secrets and faith..."  Voshen stood up, leaving the cocktail on the table and took a long sigh of recycled air, facing the sea.  "I don't envy you, Commander.  Either of you."  He turned to regard Ambassador Dax, who caught his gaze across the crowd and lifted his drink.  Impassive behind his mask, Voshen turned away and moved to leave toward his quarters, but paused.

"You and I needed to leave our pasts behind in order to find our place in the Federation.  I offer that Trill may need to prepare to do the same.  Commander."  The lanky lieutenant padded down the patio and along the sandy beach, waves erasing his long footsteps.

OOC: Requesting a Personal Complication here against my "Exploration Over Tradition" Value in exchange for 1 Determination.  This societal secrecy (through no fault of Tobin's!) smacks Voshen entirely the wrong way, and speaks to every reason he left his planet and why he still resents his upbringing.  Hopefully, by the end of this, he'll come to a better synthesis of opinions, but for the moment, I don't think that he truly believes Trill can or should keep its secret.  Complication would represent that belief and may or may not affect any upcoming diplomacy rolls?

[Davy, aka GM]

OOC: Requesting a Personal Complication here against my "Exploration Over Tradition" Value in exchange for 1 Determination.  This societal secrecy (through no fault of Tobin's!) smacks Voshen entirely the wrong way, and speaks to every reason he left his planet and why he still resents his upbringing.  Hopefully, by the end of this, he'll come to a better synthesis of opinions, but for the moment, I don't think that he truly believes Trill can or should keep its secret.  Complication would represent that belief and may or may not affect any upcoming diplomacy rolls?

OOC: Done. Your Complication will be "No Room for Tradition," and your personal bias against Trill traditions will increase the Difficulty of any task that requires interaction with any Trill, including Dax and Tobin. Give yourself +1 Determination.

Current
Momentum - 0
Threat - 5
No Room for Tradition Complication (Voshen) - +1 Difficulty in all tasks involving interactions with Trill characters.

[Nolmir]

"You and I needed to leave our pasts behind in order to find our place in the Federation.  I offer that Trill may need to prepare to do the same.  Commander."  The lanky lieutenant padded down the patio and along the sandy beach, waves erasing his long footsteps.

Tobin watches the Zaranite leave, concern creasing his brow, then sighs as he turns back to regard the ocean. "Damn secrets. They make everything so complicated," he mutters to himself.