Third Annual BF betleH Tournament

Third Annual BF betleH Tournament (http://www.betleh.com/cgi-bin/b3/YaBB.pl)

Opening Day - Arrival >> Afternoon >> Talking In The Snow
(Message started by: Ing The Puny on Feb 9^th, 2005, 12:37am)

Title: Talking In The Snow
Post by Ing The Puny on Feb 9^th, 2005, 12:37am

OFF:
A JP by be'thal and Ing, both of KDB, where Ing works as be'thal's assistant.

Main location: the arctic environment room.

ON:
Not a day had passed since the Be'thal had spoken to Ta'pez and already the station was litterered with wanted posters of K'hare doppelganger which of course had no other point but to embarrass and infuriate K'Hare. That Ta'pez was punishing and putting Be'thal into a tough spot was inconsequential.

She had gathered so much anger, she could not remember being as angry as she was now. The small quarters that she shared were choking here and the promenade deck had not helped either.

Be'thal needed some time alone and she decided one of the fake wilderness areas would suit her fine for this. At first she thought it was ridiculous waste of space, but the Federation were known for their lavish waste of resources.

"Well at least I'll have some use for it " she said. She entered the arctic one. A cold storm was running, snow and wind lashing out as if this was not a starbase but Rura penthe.

She walked for a good hour, the area was deserted and it seemed there was nobody else in sight.

She walked up the hill, it was a modest size hill, of no difficulty save for the slippery, ice covered path. Several times she slipped in midstep her rugged armored boots saving her from falling each time.

Once on top, she was rewarded by the sight. It was a truly interesting scenery, even though it was man made and not true to its nature. As she glanced around she was surprised to see another person. A few hundred meters away from her there was another person, whithened by the downpour.

Be'thal walked toward the character not being able to discern the features, she at first thought it was a human judging on the size but as she stepped closer she recognized the features.

"Ing, what are you doing here!" she called out.

Ing startled in surprise, a reaction be'thal had never seen before from her assistant. He turned to her and looked her up and down. "Ah, the snow muffled the sound of your footsteps," he said in realization, "I didn't hear you approach."

Ing waved his arm in a sweep encompassing their surroundings. "Isn't this... interesting? I've never experienced snow before."

Be'thal looked around, somewhat bewildered. "I have seen it a few times when I was a child."

Ing nodded. "Well, that's why I'm here, I wanted to see the environment." Ing paused. "What are you doing here? Most people seem to avoid this particular habitat."

She recovered her sour gaze. "I sought some space from that petaq of brother I have." Ing just looked at her. "He has littered the spacestation once again with those ridiculous leaflets of K'Hare's double."

Ing nodded. "That doesn't seem very... honorable of him. To spread rumors in that way, attack indirectly."

Be'thal snorted, "Honor? Neither of them has known honor for a long time, all the know is to snipe at each other like 2 targh bulls during mating season."

Ing looked at be'thal inquisitively. "This is something I have had trouble understanding. K'Hare has a very strong sense of what honor is, a sense that is shared by be'eQaraH. And according to their definition of the word, they are paragons of honor."

Ing watched be'thal for her reaction

"Do you know why they are feuding Ing?" Be'thal asked.

"Not the whole story," Ing admitted. "K'Hare believes ta'pez is guilty of some great dishonor - that is the root of the conflict. But I don't know why K'Hare believes that, or how the situation got to be what it is now."

Be'thal sat down on the snowy ledge of a boulder that there. "They once served together. Ta'pez was then the XO of the ship, before he got command himself."

Ing nodded

Be'thal sighed. " I don't know the story 100 percent, and K'Hare has never described the details to me, but apparently Ta'pez' one sin is that he is different and not what he appears to be. He is in fact not full blood."

Ing seemed surprised. "But K'Hare teaches the academy for half-bloods…"

Be'thal nodded, "Indeed, and yet Ta'pez is the one who is dishonorable, what tell you that about what he thinks of all of you Ing?"

"Surely there must be more to it. K'Hare believes Klingons are superior, but he has demonstrated that he believes half-bloods can earn honor." Ing considered. "Then again, to K'Hare, half-bloods must *EARN* their honor, against more stringent tests than full-bloods, it seems."

"Indeed there is more to it, his mother is from Betazed."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Ta'pez has not acknowledged his heritage openly, K'hare believes it to be a deception," Be'thal said. "It is a deception, but only because of bigots like K'Hare fear those whose parents were empaths." Be'thal laughed, "And here I am defending him instead of adding onto it. What an irony, is it not?"

"So K'Hare dislikes ta'pez because ta'pez conceals the fact that he is an empath?" Ing pondered. "Obviously, if others do not realize he is an empath, that makes the ability more to ta'pez's advantage. But why is concealing an advantage dishonorable?" Ing asked. " 'Surprise is a warrior's greatest ally.' " he quoted.

"That is something you have to ask your teacher." Be'thal said somewhat cynically. "You could ask him what he is doing meeting Romulans in secret."

"You are referring to our mission into Romulan space?"

Be'thal nodded. "He met with them in the abandoned city, they exchanged something but I could not tell what."

Ing shrugged. "Secret missions are part of life."

"No argument there, but it seems somewhat deceptive to blame the warrior who helped him gain the post of CO of Klach D'kel Brakt." Be'thal replied. "Which is ironic considering it was K'Hare's trap that brought it all up" she added.

"I heard what happened at the time." Ing nodded. "But when we picked up sallon, K'Hare was very uneasy with just being in Betazed space. Perhaps K'Hare has something against Betazeds - or empaths in general."

Ing looked at be'thal again. "You're not...?" He let the question dangle

"Ta'pez is my adopted brother Ing, didn't you know that?" Be'thal said.

"Just making sure," Ing said. "Honestly the thought that someone could read what is going on inside my mind is... extremely disturbing."

Be'thal nodded, "It took me some getting used to, he saved my life, that sort of helped."

A smile flicked across Ing's face, "Is that why the joH adopted him?"

Be'thal nodded. "He was gravely wounded, his face was destroyed, and he lost his memory for two years."

"And so ta'pez gained his status with a House."

"Indeed, once he recovered he went on to serve in KDF," Be'thal said. "We parted on bad terms. Once his heritage became known, I and a few others acted in the same manner K'Hare is doing now."

"So what caused YOU to act in that manner?" Ing asked, curious.

"I didn't believe him at first, I had thought he had played his memory loss all along," Be'thal said. "I was a lot younger then, and saw the world in black and white."

Ing nodded and waited for her to continue.

She got up. "But then he proved himself, he is a warrior, his first command was the Qoj, It was one of the 3 ships that survived the Chackilian invasion of Klach D'kel Brakt, they had fought there the entire time," she said looking out into the distance. "I must say I didn't understand the scale of that battle and what odds he overcame."

"So, since he was a half-breed, he needed to prove himself to you as well?"

Be'thal nodded. "It had nothing to do with his heritage both more with the fact that he was part of my house," Be'thal said. "Although at the time that may have played a role as well." She looked at him. "It does not matter now, Ta'pez is what you and the others can become, strong and powerful irregardless of your otherness."

Ing nodded. "Those who are different have more to prove, but they can still gain equal status."

Be'thal laughed "provided others don't know about their otherness. Do you honestly think Ta'pez would have been given command of a negh'var if his Betazed heritage was known?"

"Well, he would have had to prove himself to those who chose to give him the command, as well as those who would challenge him for it," Ing surmised. "Which, for a ship as large as a negh'var would be a rather large number of people. And hence a nearly impossible task."

Be'thal nodded. "Keep that in mind Ing."

Ing nodded.

"So what brings you here Ing?" Be'thal asked, "Or do you have a brother who has a knack for infuriating your CO as well?

Ing looked up into the storm. "I wanted to see this environment. I've never touched snow before. The real thing is much more impressive than pictures."

Title: Re: Talking In The Snow
Post by Ing The Puny on Feb 9^th, 2005, 4:47pm

Ing goes home after this, where his story continues here:

http://www.batlh.com/cgi-bin/betleHIII/YaBB.pl?board=Day0fb;action=display;num=1107889208

(3rd post down)