Learning the lay of the land

Posted on 30 Jul 2017 @ 4:44pm by Ambassador Soral Varro & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

3,549 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth San Francisco - Holodeck
Timeline: MD 18 1100

ON:

Allyndra as soon as she had secured permission had contacted Varro. She would need his help both on the inquiry but also she had asked him to come to Akkadia and talk to the council.

The holodeck had been set up to look like the Council chamber on Akkadia. There were going to be nuances that he must be familiar with. There would be things that she would have to talk to him about and yet not bring up as that would put paid to possibly any of them ever leaving again. He must know the history as no one, not even most Akkadians knew.

The Chamber was all wood as most everything built on Akkadia was, the space actually not that large, but the wood was carved in delicate patterns and seats arranged along the sides with seven slightly raised chairs in the front. Seven for the seven greatest houses and the other for the minor ones. For right now all the figures were frozen in place, each chair occupied by a female with at least two of the main ones occupied by women that obviously showed age. As far as she knew those two had not passed on yet.

Servants, all fertile male stood in the various house liveries stood behind and to the right and left of each chair and right behind each chair towered a liveried infertile male. Big and bulky and a left over from when houses had champions that would fight. All for show now but it would be something Varro would have to know.

Varro stood in front of the full length mirror staring at himself. He started from the feet up. Shiny black shoes with a silver buckle. Pure white socks that stretched just under the knee, brown pants that ended just under the knee and covered the top of the socks. He smiled. He had on a white shirt with ruffled cuffs and collar and a brown jacket with tails and a high collar. It had ornate golden beading on the front and down the tails. He reminded himself of an old Earth renaissance noble. He had to laugh and shake his head. It hadn't been the weirdest outfit he had on but...it was up there. He had done a bit of research and wanted to make sure that he looked the part. It was always wise to dress as your hosts.

Sighing he took one last look and headed out to meet Allyndra. It took him a while by shuttle to get to her and he walked into the holodeck. Allyndra's back was to him. "Well...how do I look?"

Allyndra turned. She was not too startled since this was something that was keyed only to the two of them. She had little fear that a stranger would wander in by accident.

"Welcome, and let me take a look," she said and walked around him observing. "Not bad, I see that you got an idea from what I told you. The tails on your jacket need be a bit longer. At least to the back of your knees." She waved a hand and the frozen figures. "The shortest is on the infertile, then longer on the attendants, however considering your position they should be the longest here."

She clapped her hands suddenly and one of the male figures of one of the minor houses came to life and came over. He made a bow, very formal. The right foot far back and left did not move but along with the bow the left knee bent. It was almost a kneel but not quite. The hands and arms held stiffly at the sides. It looked uncomfortable and it was. Allyndra would explain later.

The man kept his eyes on her and said, "Honoured Mother," he then spared glance toward Varro, "Hala illm Warraquim."

Allyndra replied, "A'loe illm Warraquim, mahilini illm Warraquim."

The figure made a small nod of the head but otherwise did not move a muscle. "Kala," he said.

Allyndra nodded and switched back to Federation. "A minor mistake, please sir," she made a gesture and he straightened with a smooth grace. "Freeze programme," she said and then turned to Varro.

"Think you can learn to bow like that? I would help."

Varro thought for a second. "Short answer no, long answer yes with great effort." He made a note about coat tails and lengthening them. He smiled, "My son would laugh at me if he saw me now," he said as he tried to mimic the bow.

Allyndra smiled. "Well even an effort of any kind should help but if you need to just a good bow. The whole thing is designed to be restrictive. For us without diaphragms, such a position for a period of time we would pass out. Trust me I had my share awaiting the Mother to give me permission to breath again basically."

"Now as to the tails, they denote amoung males a ranking." She waved at the now frozen form of the one servant. "He asked if you were a servant of my house and I told him no, you are a guest, a friend. As such that is considered a higher position."

She made a bit of a face. "Now here, we are matriarchal, as such generally unless spoken to, it is not your place to speak. I think there might be some leeway on that." She looked around and then said, "Think you are ready to give it a go?"

Varro gave a nod. It was this that he loved. The thrill of learning new customs and first diplomatic contact. It's why he became a diplomat. "I am ready. We might need to do this a few things for me to get it."

"We will work on it and I am sure you will do just fine. It is when we get to other things that worries me." Allyndra replied. She had told Varro a bit of history and how things had come to this state. It was something even most of the minor houses did not fully realize.

"Computer resume from start." The figure moved back to its place and Allyndra moved beckoning Varro back to the entrance doors. "Computer begin."

There was only a small almost imperceptible change. A slight bit of movement, a little rustle here and there, heads slightly turning toward them but otherwise silent and the servants stood almost as still as statues.

Allyndra took a step forward from the door and then made a deep curtsy. She said nothing hoping Varro would bow. It was all test run though.

"Mother named House Warraquim, please arise. Who is this outsider to this place?" Allyndra rose with long practiced grace making a small motion for Varro to keep his bow. "Ambassador Varro. I have asked him here, there is much that we need to talk about not only for ourselves but what is outside. Let him speak and introduce himself."

There were whispers and the heads of the great houses looked at each other and finally one of the old mothers spoke. "Warraquim asks, one of the great houses asks, who are we then to refuse. Come take your place mother and you Vaaaarrrrroooohhh may speak."

Allyndra moved forward and mounted the short dais and took the empty seat that was center. She made nods to the rest and then sat and waved a hand toward Varro.

Varro had indeed bowed when Allyndra had, he'd also stayed in the bow until he was given permission so speak. When he was he gracefully straightened, his diplomat's face and manners returning. "I bring greetings on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. I am Ambassador Varro and I thank you for the honour of being allowed to here with you today. Your presence honours me." He bowed again at that.

The wizened old lady of house M'aemeka peered hard at him. Allyndra knew she would not be here much longer. Akkadians did not show age until the very end but it also was by custom a status among the houses that such were held in the highest esteem. She tended to be conservative.

"So Ambassador Varro are you here on behalf of that entity which wants to set up a post on Ryng or are you here because of what Warraquim wishes to push? The new mother is somewhat radical in her thinking or do you know anything about that?"

The woman was sharp. He bowed before speaking again. "Most revered madam I am here to talk about all those things but please do not think for one moment that I will push for the best interest of one party or idea over the other. I must say I am quite curious about your world and wish to learn a little more so that whatever we talk about can be beneficial to your people, world and houses, and also to those who are blessed to know you and possibly call you ally." He dipped his head in respect. He dared not look at Allyndra to show favouritism.

Mother of M'aemeka sat straight up and there was murmuring of voices. Allyndra said, "Pause programme." She stood and shook her head, "Very good Varro, but always remember to use the term mother even if you do not know the house."

Varro inclined his head. "I will remember that. Some of the Vulcan elder women and priestesses prefer that term as well."

"You know," she said suddenly. "I am not sure I completely explained things here. I gave a brief but to understand you must know our history a bit more. Come," she said and then said, "Computer change programme to Allyndra Ring Rise picnic."

The scene shifted to a glade surrounded by lush vegetation and overlooked the ocean off a short cliff. It was night time, the stars shimmered and a gentle breeze wafted by. It was warm, not hot, not too humid, and on the grass was a large cloth was laid on the ground with a basket. She waved a hand to take a seat. "A calmer setting, there is all sorts of sweet fruit, and juices in there. Before we talk you might enjoy this, it is my favourite times."

She took a seat and looked up, waiting. Slowly a tiny bit of silver light appeared that turned into a crescent that begin to spread until a titanic silver rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon. "Ring Rise," she said.

Varro stared at the beauty. "It's....beautiful." He said. "What is this?"

"It is the rings around the planet, they are tilted and catch the light of the Twins. We call it the Queen of Night's promise." She took a seat and patted the cloth. "Please come have a seat, my guess is we may be watching the Twins come up yet."

Varro sat down. The sight was breathtaking and touched something deep in Varro. He looked on and not only took in the sky but the surroundings. "I am deeply honoured that you would let me come with you. I apologise in advance if I ask a lot of questions. This seems like a remarkable place and I feel that my curiosity has been aroused. "

"Not at all, the more you know the more you understand," Allyndra replied and plucked a flower to weave into her hair. She waved a hand toward the sky and trailed it down toward the sea. "We are children of this place, our entire beings are tied to the rhythm of the suns, the tides, the rings, the salinity of the sea. So much so, sir, that we have never been able to live for long term elsewhere and that is why there is a history hurtful and hidden away and secrets long kept." She sighed and ran the same had over the grass. "I told you about the Fold Ships, we developed those long ago, the ability to go from one place to the next in seemingly no time."

She held her left hand up turning it to and fro. "Just like our ability to regenerate, one would never know that I lost three fingers on this hand. All that and more were things from long ago. You are familiar are you not with Einstein, Daystrom and others? Individuals that seemingly could make great intuitive leaps?"

Varro gave a nod. "Great minds who were able to see more, understand more, dream more, and quite frankly those who had the courage to reach for it. I am very familiar with them."

"Yes, here though we discovered that it was a trait that could be passed on. We bred for that trait, culling and guiding each generation. We called such the Arbiatatru. It means to do things quickly. Earth went from middle ages to the stars in two thousand years, we did that in less than two hundred." She picked up a small stone and tossed it over the cliff into the ocean. "Perhaps it was too fast, in any case, while these individuals made great intuitive leaps, most could only see as far as their next thought. There was no thought as to the consequences of the knowledge they discovered. As I said, we tried to expand beyound here, make colonies as many others have, but as I explained we are intricately tied to this place. Thus when things began to go awry we turned on each other. Then the competition was in warfare, weapons, terrible things and we nearly destroyed ourselves and our world. Finally few of the last finally realized the path they were headed down and that things needed to follow a different path. It was decided that we would return to a more simpler time, a less technological time, and that instead of the depending on what had now become called the A'ksu, meaning dangerous, that what arts and technology we would keep would be distributed amoung the islands as founding houses. Much of what there was from that time was destroyed but not all. We knew of others from the travels and knew that perhaps we might need some of that old technology and thus they were put away, hidden and the location and operation of such carefully guarded. Oh some have tried to come here, and those ancient things have been brought out." Allyndra smiled wryly. "A Fold Ship can invert, project the same field that it uses. A Borg cube, a Klingon warship, moved six million light years away."

"Fascinating." He thought a moment. "There is much history with your people. I do have a question. Can you tell me a bit about how your government formed, has it always been matriarchal? How has the population recovered after the gene selection?"

"As far as the records go, yes, matriarchal." She sighed a moment. "It was considered that the vagaries of wind and wave to make a matron flight, that is to fly to the sea to lay our eggs was indeed dangerous and it can be. Also, males were considered more expendable, for long long ago, in times of famine it would be they who would give up their blood to ensure the next generation." She turned to look at Varro. "Mind you, not respected, but tradition ended up with the females being in charge."

"Fascinating. What about the recovery of the population?" He asked eager to know. The historian in him was intrigued. He hung on her every word.

"As for the rest, what remained of leadership after that terrible war decided not only to return to a simpler way of life but found the Houses. It was thought that by making each group a specialty that it would make each House dependent on the other and thus ensure that cooperation would be necessary. The Arbitaturu, which we now call the A'ksu, or dangerous, the transmission of the trait was carefully watched for and individuals showing the trait discreetly bred out. It is still there, diluted perhaps and we no longer pursue it quite as much, but those that still show some trait are watched to see if they try to see the consequences of their actions."

Varro shook his head. "It's funny how no matter the planet, no matter the civilization we all strive for perfection only to discover that it can be our undoing." He sighed. "I have another question. I have some gifts of the mothers, a material for clothing, gowns, that is native to Vulcan and only allowed on Vulcan. I have called in a favour and gotten permission to gift them to the house mothers. Will that be allowed?"

"Of course, but let me inform them first. They will not like to be caught off guard without offering something back." She was puzzled though. "You mention only allowed on Vulcan, would that not cause a problem then?"

He shook his head, "No I have permission to use this as a diplomatic gift. It's quite alright." He said. "Nothing is necessary in return." But he understood the diplomatic system.

"But it is, for us culturally. Houses give things to each other all the time, in a way this is like a house meeting with another house. Now then," she said standing and then suddenly twirling about. "Enough of such things. Do you want to know why we call them," she waved a hand following the arch of silver light, "The Promise?"

Varro smiled a bit, "No but I would love to learn."

Allyndra turned and then stretched like a dancer. This would be both a dance and a story, and the stories tended to be told in the way of dance. Mostly the dance would be a water dance but there was not really needed right now.

She took a few twirls and then used her wings to hover and then moved and in a song began to sing.

"Once long ago, there were two lovers. Their love was so great that the gods grew jealous. The gods got together and decided that they would separate the two lovers, so they came down to the world and took them and fixed them in the sky so that they could only see but not touch one another. Instead of their love dying, it grew greater and greater until it shone with a brilliance that made the gods turn away. Realizing their mistake and shame most hide away, but one goddess knowing that she could not undo what had been done decreed that when the lock and key aligned the lovers could kiss. She then took the moon and fashioned it into a set of rings as a promise that the gods would never do something like that again."

Varro hung on every word. The story was deeply beautiful, sad, and really touched his heart. "That...that is a beautiful story." He sighed. "No mater what the society is love always holds a bit of tragedy to it, doesn't it?"

"In a way, but I think the moral of the story is that it is not outside forces that control us but our own desire. Ah well, just a bit of child's story." She laughed lightly and then settled back down. "I have been putting a lot of tales that I remember down in a log. Perhaps you might find it interesting."

Varro gave a nod. "I very much would. Your planet is remarkable and I am deeply honoured that you would let me be a part of this." He said honestly. "I promise to do my best for you."

"Oh I know, just I feel sometimes treading a very fine line between things without the catch of wings to stop the fall." She waved a hand again. "In a way, I can see how this is so much more peaceful and a way for living, but I have seen so so much that we need to encompass some of the old things. I worry you know, worry if I see enough of the consequences of my actions."

Varro nodded as she spoke. "I can understand. I'll tell you what lets not give into worrying now. I say we get some rest and then meet again to go over things once I've studied a bit more and we do a full run through. What do you say?" He needed time to study and to contact a few Vulcan sources.

"Sounds like sound advice," Allyndra replied and then said, "Computer end programme."

Everything faded away to reveal a black room with odd silver strips of a base holodeck. She sighed. "Well Ambassador, shall we?" she put and arm out.

Varro smiled and he helped her up and then tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. He had a lot of people to talk to today. "How about lunch first and then we'll meet again tomorrow?"

"Very good, it sounds like the most diplomatic solution in the offering right now." Allyndra laughed and nodded then made a bit of curtsy. "Just want to get out of this outfit first. I swear I cannot breath properly."

Varro laughed, "Yes the tails wouldn't do outside this setting."

OFF

---
Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
Earth

&

Ambassador Soral Varro
Diplomat
Earth

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