Test Drive #7 - Ten Forward and Captain's Yacht

[ten_fwd_mods]

Option 01. Ten Forward: The first thing you see is a bar. A large, lively bar filled with many different faces and many different smells, sights and sounds. This is Ten Forward, the Enterprise's off-duty lounge; feel free to get acquainted with your fellow travelers and try to find somebody who's in charge: this is your new home now, after all...





Option 02. The Captain's Yacht: Oooh, you sneaky stowaway! You've found yourself in a very exclusive part of the ship: Captain Picard's personal craft, used for short jaunts when a shuttle just won't do. (One must retain some decorum, after all.) It may not be as large as the Enterprise itself, but there are sure to be some surprises aboard once people start snooping.


[OOC: The Captain's Yacht is located at the very base of the Enterprise's saucer portion, so if you put someone in there you can also play them trying to get back to somewhere they know!]

Comments

[the_blood]

"MALES!" she snarled, standing. She started to stalk out then was brought short by a shield Theiorn tossed in her path. She spun to glare at him.

"The ship is still unknown, Lady, it would not be safe for you to wander alone. If you wish to leave, I shall come with you."

"If either of you come with me, there is little point in leaving!" she snarled.

"Then you might as well stay and finish your meal," he replied pleasantly.

[deadmanbusiness]

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you like that," Theo says. "Please forgive me."

[the_blood]

She pursed her lips, glaring at him. "It apparently matters not the world or species, if it walks on two legs and is male, it is all the same," she growled as she dropped into her seat again, fuming.

[deadmanbusiness]

Theo restrains himself from saying 'one could say the say the same of women' because he doesn't want to upset her any more than she was. But he gives Theiorn a look that says it.

"Does that mean you accept my apology?"

[the_blood]

Theiorn's lips twitch behind her.

She huffed a bit. "Does it matter if I do?" she asked, tartly.

[deadmanbusiness]

"It'd make me feel better, but if that's not important to you..." Theo shrugs. She is going to need to learn how to be civil to males or else other problems will happen.

[the_blood]

She sighed heavily. "Fine, fine, I accept your apology. I suppose you can't help being born male," she muttered.

[deadmanbusiness]

"There's always gender reassignment surgery," Theo says before he can help himself.

[the_blood]

"There is always...what?" Theiorn spoke for both of them, so terribly confused.

[deadmanbusiness]

"There's a... medical procedure ... a thing that healers can do to change a person's gender. Turn a man into a woman."

[the_blood]

Her mouth actually fell open and there was shock and horror on both their faces.

"Who...would want to?!" they asked, almost in unison.

[deadmanbusiness]

"There are some people ... at least in my world... who feel like they've been born the wrong gender."

[the_blood]

"I... have trouble imagining that," she murmured, a bit awed by the thought. "I have heard of people believing they were born to the wrong realm, or race, or even species... but gender?"

[deadmanbusiness]

"Sure, why not? If species, realm or race is possible," Theo says. Though he suppose if gender is such a ridged concept in their society.

[the_blood]

"Because... it... it's gender. immutable..." she said. She shook her head. "How would you know if you were to serve? What of caste? Would that change caste?" She had seen many things in the webs of dreams and visions, but none as confusing as this...

[deadmanbusiness]

Theo gives a bit of an interior sigh as he has no idea how to explain this thing.

"There are no castes in regards to gender in my world. Or castes in general."

[the_blood]

"How.... do people not kill each other without castes?" she asked, stunned.

"Remember, Landens do not have caste," he said softly. "They manage to survive."

"We were created to protect them," she pointed out.

[deadmanbusiness]

And now Theo gives her a bewildered look. "Why would people go around killing each other because they don't have a caste?"

[the_blood]

"Because caste it the backbone of protocol, and without protocol, how would we stop Warlord Princes from killing too many people?" she asked. Which could have sounded insulting to warlord Princes, except for the fact that Theiorn nodded, agreeing.

[deadmanbusiness]

"We have laws and regulations originally created by the gods and upheld by lawmakers, police, armies and the general population at large. Admittedly the laws have changed over the years - human sacrifice has been outlawed in most areas of the world - and there are people who don't follow the laws, and there is the occasional war... but on the whole it works."

Theo doesn't take it as insulting, it sounds rather like ancient warlords back when the world was younger. He also is perfectly serious about the human sacrifice thing.

[the_blood]

"We have had wars too," she said softly. "But... Human... sacrifice? I do not follow..."

[deadmanbusiness]

Well, this is not going to be awkward at all. If you believe that, there's a bridge over there that's for sale.

"To prove your loyalty to your gods and ask them for a boon of some sort, be it personal or for the well being of everyone, it used to be appropriate to sacrifice a human in their name. The sacrifice also gives the god energy. It's basically killing a person in a ritualistic manner. But we've stopped doing that. Now people just use goats, sheep or cows, animals like that," he explains, not exactly sheepish, but... he knows how some people might take it. Generally not very well. It doesn't help that he acts like they're substituting Sweet 'n Low for sugar. Necessary, but doesn't taste quite the same.

[the_blood]

She actually gave a small whimper, and her eyes lost focus. She swayed slightly, her fingers moving in an intricate dance before her.

Theiorn swore under his breath. "Don't touch or jar her now," he warned in a whisper.

[deadmanbusiness]

Theo is actually flat out alarmed but he doesn't think to touch her. You don't touch people when it looks like they're spell casting (unless you want to stop them). But, he never thought explaining human sacrifice would end with a reaction like this!

"What is she casting?" he whispers back.

(Sorry about the delay today, by the way, should be back now.)

[the_blood]

"I think she..." he started.

A small wooden frame, spools of spider silk in different weights appeared before her.

He nodded. "She is lost in the visions," he said softly.