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Kita
Apr 13, 2010 22:43:00 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 13, 2010 22:43:00 GMT -5
Scratchin'... hey, I needed a slang term for them.
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Kita
Apr 13, 2010 22:45:03 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 13, 2010 22:45:03 GMT -5
I should probably have made it more plain that the city is full of females, nary a male around, possibly some really old ones or little young ones.
Nah, the Academy part isn't important enough to the story to make it very long. She is going to fail the Academy, as I mentioned earlier because that moves the story along.
I wonder how many writers work so hard to avoid sex as I do? In the stories I mean. lol.
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Kita
Apr 13, 2010 22:54:13 GMT -5
Post by Attero Dominatus on Apr 13, 2010 22:54:13 GMT -5
You can just add that detail about the females in an edit of the previous post.
As for the sex, I personally just allow it to happen but write them non-pornographically (no mention of tab-A going into slot-B). In your story, you could 'fade to black' and jump the narrative to the 'afterglow' where they are laying in bed together or something.
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Kita
Apr 17, 2010 19:48:28 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 17, 2010 19:48:28 GMT -5
true. all true. But if it were this particular story it'd be a pile of pillows instead of a bed. heh
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Kita
Apr 19, 2010 23:32:39 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 19, 2010 23:32:39 GMT -5
…
Ponchi’s mother was not a psychic it turns out. Kita struggled in every class and sometimes failed to grasp the concept much less the details. It was very frustrating not to be able to find a vocation that she could excel at. They tried her at every position on the ship and she was failing and she knew she was failing.
Ponchi, meanwhile, was doing excellent at being a ship’s electrician. She could repair micro-circuitry on a probe or repair. She was getting all sorts of special attention from the instructors while in every class but one Kita might as well not even be there. The only thing Kita was doing any good at was Human Studies where she was the best student in the class.
“Final Exams are soon, Kita, why aren’t you studying?”
“Studying? Ponchi, I’m not going to pass those tests. The only one I’ll pass is one I don’t really need to study for. Want to lay on the roof with me?”
Ponchi gave her a lingering look, “I wish, Kita, but this is too important. I really have a shot at getting on that crew, maybe as Junior Electrician. At least it’s something. I wish you were doing good enough to get on board”.
Kita smiled back. Then she lay back on the pile of pillows with a big sigh. Their relationship for the past two years had been as perfect as Kita could have hoped. She couldn’t complain even if Ponchi flew off on the starship Celesium. Kita would never dream of trying to deny her that, the opportunity of a lifetime.
Kita didn’t know now where life would take her. It wasn’t going to be in space and it wasn’t going to be with Ponchi, that much was becoming clear. Even with days left of her courses at the Academy, she was sure to be “washed out”, Kita didn’t let herself worry about the future. What will happen, will happen. Sometimes you could have no influence on events and you just had to let it go. She was sure her mom or Latas had told her that once.
“I’m really going to miss you, space traveler” Kita said with a smile as she drifted off to sleep.
…
Hundreds of anxious students milled around in the plaza, Kita sitting down on a bench near a fountain the calmest of the bunch. She came to support Ponchi who was almost ready to chew her claws down to the sheath. The second most calm among them was that Nika, she seemed sure and confident of herself.
When several instructors and the headmistress came out to put up the board with the lists of students who would continue their studies they all gathered around. There were a lot of disappointed faces, some tears and some angry words. Fewer than half the students would be moving on to advanced studies and then finally to a ship, many to the Celesium.
Nika, as expected was at the top of the list and Kita was happy, and sad some to see that Ponchi would indeed be moving on. Ponchi really was going to make it to space after all Kita acknowledged. It was an awesome achievement. She wrapped Ponchi up in a hug and nuzzled her neck “You are going to make it Ponchi!”
“What are you going to do now, Kita?” Ponchi asked sadly.
“Visit my mom probably. I haven’t any other plans at the moment. I guess I have time to think about that now”
“Kita!” she heard someone calling and then again closer. Kita soon noticed someone running towards them wearing a red cap with gold frills. A messenger from the Palace she told herself before coming to another realization. “Tersh?”
“Hi, big sister” Tersh said, breathing slightly fast. “I just ran all the way from the palace”
“Tersh you could get in trouble wearing that Royal Messenger outfit, is Mom with you?”
Ponchi waved and asked “So you’re the indomitable little sister? Nice to meet you, I’m Ponchi, um, best friend”.
Tersh shook her head. “Kita, I am a messenger from the palace. I just got this job, I’m the lowest of them all right now. I have a message for you!”
Tersh dug into the red bag at her side and pulled out a sealed scroll. It had the Queen’s seal on it and everything. “I am not playing, this is serious business. Did you ever get a message from the palace before?”
In two years Kita had barely even seen a messenger from the palace and even then usually just running into and out of the headmistress’ den. She pulled the scroll open, barely noticing that a crowd had gathered around a few instructors among them. When she finished reading it twice she rolled it back up.
“I do not believe this”
“What is it, Na-uh?” Ponchi asked, Tersh looked at her sharply.
Na-uh is a term of endearment of someone very intimate and since Ponchi wasn’t Kita’s mother it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they were a bit more than best friends.
“They want me to take another course, just for me. An ambassadorial class” Kita whispered and then everyone around them began to talk to each other excitedly.
“Have they found Earth?” “Is this really going to happen?” “So soon?” “Did you think it’d be in our lifetimes?”
“That is incredible” Ponchi said. Maybe it’ll be my ship that brings you to Earth, Ambassadre Kita”
“I am not the Ambassadre yet”
“I think me and Tersh both believe you will be” she said, Tersh smiled and nodded. …
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Kita
Apr 22, 2010 1:54:26 GMT -5
Post by Attero Dominatus on Apr 22, 2010 1:54:26 GMT -5
That was well done. Pretty nice surprise at the end of that chapter too, you did good in making it non-predictable.
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Kita
Apr 22, 2010 7:44:36 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 22, 2010 7:44:36 GMT -5
Thanks. I'll try to add more today.
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Kita
Apr 23, 2010 20:44:23 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 23, 2010 20:44:23 GMT -5
Kita had never met or even seen the queen in her life and if her mother had she had not said so. This was a very new experience for her. A bright royal red ribbon wrapped around her neck as was the custom she stood outside a huge wooden double door. There were gray tabby guards on both sides and they wore armor on their shoulders, lower arms and legs as well as helmets. They were armed with spears and short swords sheathed at their waist.
A royal protocol official had instructed one of his aides to put the ribbon around Kita’s neck, she hadn’t any other criticism. That was a relief. Kita didn’t know what other customs might be required, she couldn’t remember anything she had read about the Queen at the moment.
Her mind was almost a complete blank.
Then one of the people bustling about began moving her claws back and forth on a wooden pole set on blocks. This produced a strange woody music, very different than banging sticks together. Kita glanced at it and saw that there were raised portions here and there in a pattern. It must be the pattern that produced the music. Claws striking the raised portions produced the notes.
Ah, Kita now remembered seeing smaller, less elaborate versions in school. It was called a gloat harp. She almost didn’t see the doors opening ahead of her but was soon met by the Caller of the Crown.
“You are the one called Kita?”
“Yes, ma’am” Kita answered and the Caller made a check mark on her notepad and then smiled back “Please follow me into the Crown Room, the Queen is expecting you”. The Caller and his assistants and the protocol officer were all part of the procession into the Crown Room, with Kita in the middle. The room was pretty large and there were attendants and servants along the walls which were decorated with elaborate hangings.
She had heard that some aged males served the Queen but the rumor did not seem to be true at all. As they walked and the music from the gloat harp faded Kita noticed that the Queen was staring at her. Then she noticed others standing in front of the throne were also watching her approach. One of them was the famous starship commandre, Puma.
Commandre Puma had led the first expeditions to more solar systems than any other Kataran. Puma was solid black except for a large white area on her belly and small white spots on her feet and paws, plus the left ear. Anyone on Kataran would have recognized her immediately. She was one of the heroes, something that encouraged Kita to try out for the space service.
Kita was in awe now, something she did not expect before walking into the Crown Room.
“My Queen Aria, I present to you Kita, as requested” The Caller announced when they stopped the procession.
“Kita, come forward, please”
Kita walked toward the throne until she stood next to Commandre Puma. She felt elated to be standing near Puma for a whole second before she remembered washing out of the Space Academy. Then she felt embarrassed and ashamed to be in the presence of the greatest spacer of all time.
“Hello Kita” The Queen said leaning forward “You have quite a beautiful coat, are you solid white?”
“Yes, my Queen” Kita answered and twirled around on the spot. Afterwards she felt quite stupid and childish for the antic, in front of the Queen and Puma too. Her stomach knotted up on the spot and she got a sour taste in her throat. ‘I’m making a fool of myself’ she chided.
“Kita, I have been informed that you have scored very high on Human Studies at the Academy and this is why I have brought you here” The Queen said deliberately slow. Kita wondered if she always talked slow but someone to the side was trying to write this all down feverishly.
“I understand”
“This is a very historic occasion for our planet and our people. I have been informed that our space services believe they know where they can locate the Earth” Kita caught her breath but she was alone in that, everyone else already knew. They still seemed impressed as if they had only very recently learned this though.
“That is extraordinary news my Queen, indeed” Kita answered “It is a great day for our world, may I ask who deduced the location?”
The Queen smiled “Commandre Puma and one of her cub Cadets came across some interesting information during a training course. They followed up on this information and found that scans of a certain distant solar system match perfectly with the surviving logs and records left by the originals.”
“It was the first time I had been through those particular probe records, there are so many after all. We let the Space Information Division update our database but this apparently caught nobody’s eye even there. Personally it would have never occurred to me in this instance to look deeper, but the cadet was insistent” Puma said, looking into Kita’s eyes. Kita barely heard, this was her hero speaking to her for the first time.
“Impressive that you would trust a Cadets’ hunch Commandre Puma, I can see why you earn so much trust and loyalty from your crew” Kita answered without, thankfully, stammering.
“What we want from you Kita, is to take a crash course. I want you to be my first Ambassadre to planet Earth”. Kita had almost expected that after the note and all the pomp and circumstances but it was still quite a shock when it came. Surely they didn’t mean literally the first? Well they all seemed very serious about it.
“My Queen, would not Ambassadre Gwen, who has experience with the Nom and even the Alcoa be better suited for this?”
The Queen leaned back in her chair and smiled. “That is a good question young Kita. It seems that Gwen has, what is the human term, ‘gone native’ on the Nom home world. She knows nothing about humans and it would take years for her to learn. It will be much easier to teach you the basics of being Ambassadre since you know so much about the humans.”
“I am sure that Professora Tonkin knows far more than I do, she has been the Keeper of the Books for so long.”
“Dear Kita. I have been through every possibility, I assure you. Tonkin is an academic, she probably reads too much between the lines and guesses a lot of things about humans that might not be true. She thinks too much, it seems instinctual with you” The Queen explained.
Kita had no answer to that.
“So it is final. My decision is made. You are hereby Ambassadre Kita, the Queen’s Emissary to Earth. I think Commandre Puma wishes to give you the run through before you start the very rushed diplomatic courses”.
“Thank you my Queen. I am honored to have been so chosen to serve you in this capacity…” and Kita would probably have continued to stammer her obeisance if Puma had not grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the Crown Room. She could hear the Queen giggling as they walked away from the throne.
“Come along Ambassadre, it’s time to learn about your new position”
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Kita
Apr 24, 2010 12:44:46 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 24, 2010 12:44:46 GMT -5
Oh Come on, Kita meets the Queen!
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Kita
Apr 26, 2010 12:31:24 GMT -5
Post by Attero Dominatus on Apr 26, 2010 12:31:24 GMT -5
That was very good. I like how she is reluctant (some stories overlook that) about being thrust into a position that she was never prepared for.
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Kita
Apr 26, 2010 13:22:27 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on Apr 26, 2010 13:22:27 GMT -5
She should be relunctant, I think the Celesium is going to drop her in an escape pod and flee... just in case. heh.
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Kita
May 5, 2010 17:15:21 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on May 5, 2010 17:15:21 GMT -5
Over the course of the next several months the newly appointed Ambassadre Kita learned the arts of diplomacy as applied to humans. Katarans had very little knowledge of humans and it frustrated Kita to be tested on things that the testers did not know.
“Ribbons of hard-stone flats as far as the eye can see with these ‘automobiles’ as big as a house traveling upon them” instructor Miriam said hardly referring to her notes “Must be an interesting life to live in automobiles and travel the land on the flats.”
Kita shook her head. “That is not what it says. It says that a small percentage of the people lived in house-sized automobiles. Not everyone, most people lived in houses and drove very small automobiles.”
Trying to extract information about human society from the texts was maddening and hardly scientific.
“You can’t test me and grade me on things that even you don’t know” she had spat out to one of her instructors.
“The Queen simply wants you to be prepared, as much as possible”
“You are presuming a lot. It might be better to go in without presumptions and learn as I go”, and she thought a moment “Things might have changed a lot since the humans who were here left Earth. I don’t want to make myself look like a fool.” ...
“What does a human look like?”
Kita rolled her eyes in annoyance “They come in all shapes and sizes. They have no fur so they cover their bodies. They have tops of hair on their heads, in various colors. Some have no tops and are just skin tops. Basically they have the same arms, legs and two eyes and all that. What those first humans called humanoid”.
“What is the biggest mystery?”
“Why no one other human ship has ever followed, of course. They were so advanced then I can’t imagine how they might be now. I just don’t understand why we haven’t crossed paths out there yet”. ……
The Celesium was to arrive within hours after its shakedown cruise that took it to several star systems. It had made courtesy calls at the Nom and Alcoa home worlds, showing off the new flagship of the Kataran fleet. Kita gazed out of the transparent wall and watched the stars and tried to forget the ride to the space station. The shuttle was cramped and smelled as if someone had vomited. Shuttles were too small for an interior gravity device the weightless hour and a half in orbit, caused stomach discomfort in a lot of people.
The other thing she tried to avoid was that Katarans stared because they all knew she was Ambassadre to Earth up here on the space station. It was a weighty thing to be chosen to go to the home world of the humans. In earlier times there were those who waited under the stars for humans to return, but they never did. Katarans have been obsessed with them for more than 400 years and now it was finally coming to fruition.
One of the stars seemed to be moving quickly and then it grew. People were excited and the crews were moving around busier than ever. “Celesium arriving, berth 3”
The cigar-shaped mottled gray vessel, four hundred metrics long came into view and slide past the viewer. Kita wondered what some of the external bubbles and blisters were, some were likely for sensors and communications. At least a few would be escape pods in case of a dire emergency.
She saw some of the magnetic mooring anchors shoot out and attach to the ship and pull into a berth out of her view. She straightened her fur and stood tall, time to head to berth number three.
There were armed guards at the gate but they saluted her with fully unsheathed claws, a real honor. She saw the gates open and then the airlock. Several technicians moved to make sure everything was okay and then she saw Commandre Puma exit followed by some other crew members.
“Hello Ambassadre, I hope we were prompt enough to suit you.”
“Watching you come in to dock was quite a visual treat Commandre” she responded “I hope your shakedown cruise has gone well?”
“It went very indeed. The past four months were also used to train the new Cub Cadets and I am very satisfied with their performance. I am going to recommend they all be officially recognized as one-stripes.” Puma said “Would you like me to give you a cursory tour of the ship?”
“That would be nice. I am very excited to be stepping aboard your vessel, Commandre”
“Now that you are a high government official, we are supposed to say it is the Queen’s vessel. It’s all in the protocol of course.” Puma responded with a sarcastic grin.
After exiting the air-lock Kita found herself in the “Ready Chamber” where they kept the emergency space suits and equipment and tools commonly used on the outside the vessel, afterwards they were in a corridor.
“Why did you dock using a service airlock?”
“Noticed that, did you?” Puma said scratching her nose “It’s just a little game I play with the helm crew. Have to keep them on the pads of their feet you know”.
Most of the crew quartered four to a room but usually two of those were working so it wasn’t as crowded as it sounded. Many of the quarters were empty while some hatches were shut, Kita presumed someone was sleeping in them.
“I have extra work for the maintenance crews. I want them to do full tests and diagnostics of every system while we are here. We can’t afford for systems to short out in deep space or while we are in transit space.” Puma explained. They entered a lift and exited on the next deck up. Puma led her past a half dozen technicians with their head and hands in hatches doing their tests.
Near the end of that corridor Kita saw a coat that looked very familiar, she put her hand on the shoulder and Ponchi turned around and looked up at her.
“Kita?” she asked “Kita!”
“I see you have found employment, Ponchi”
They both laughed and one look from Puma told Ponchi to get back to work. Then Kita followed her onto the bridge. “You know her?” the Commandre asked.
“Very well” Kita answered and then it dawned on her that she was in the command center of the flagship of the Kataran fleet. “Wow” she said to herself as she took a look around. The four crew members at their station barely acknowledged her presence. Then someone else entered the bridge and handed a purple chip to the Commandre.
“Nika?” she asked.
“Kita! Hello and congratulations on your appointment by the way!” the young Cadet said before returning to her duties. They were disciplined, even while in a berth.
“I have dreamed of being on a ship since I was a cub. It is amazing that it actually came true, even though I am only a passenger” Kita said “When I returned home last week, the whole village threw a celebration for me. I have never been honored like that before. My mom and her beta were so proud. I could only think about my little brother not being there and why and what that means for us as a people”.
“I can understand that Amassadre. That is one of the reasons for having an Ambassadre to Earth, there are so many unanswered questions” Commandre Puma said. “Let me show you to your quarters. I will make sure that your friend, the junior technician, drops by after her shift work”.
“Thank you, that means a lot to me”
Her quarters were about the same size as a crew quarters but she didn’t have to share it with anyone and it came with a tiny lavatory. She would be able to have some privacy on the voyage to Earth. In a cabinet she found a small jug of Rhellowine and smiled as she poured herself a glass and thought about everything.
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Kita
May 6, 2010 22:02:36 GMT -5
Post by Attero Dominatus on May 6, 2010 22:02:36 GMT -5
Well done. I like how they (except Kita) thought everyone lived in RVs and tractor trailers lol.
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Kita
May 7, 2010 8:49:53 GMT -5
Post by Floyd Looney on May 7, 2010 8:49:53 GMT -5
Misconceptions based on extrapolation from the human texts that were left behind about 4 centuries before.
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Kita
May 7, 2010 9:53:47 GMT -5
Post by Attero Dominatus on May 7, 2010 9:53:47 GMT -5
Yes I know.
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