Posted by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) in Laying Cornerstones

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Laying Cornerstones

Posted by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) in Laying Cornerstones
Posted by… suppressed (28) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Seamus looked at her the entire time. Gods above she was beautiful… and gods below she was stubborn! As she spoke, he leveled a look at her and said “Kom tilbake til meg som kvinnen jeg giftet meg med… ikke skyggen av at hun står her akkurat nå.” (Come back to me as the woman I married… not the shadow of her standing here right now.) He paused and held her gaze for a silent eternity. “I love you, Ragna.” and he gestured to the door.

Seamus

Her eyes flashed like he’d slapped her. Who did he think he married? She had always been this way… there was a screaming silent pause in the pounding of her head. Her faze dropped sharply. “Aye, Seamus,” she nodded for lack of anything else to do. “I love you too.” She disappeared out the door and took the lift to the lobby.

Standing outside, Ragna looked up and down the street. Go learn the stories he says, but where to start. Well he also told her to be the Herald, and Ragna knew that stories came from all people. She had duties to fulfill as well. Might as well start there. She had all the paperwork ready, she’d just not taken care of it. She turned toward the city center heading for the building and construction office. They couldn’t build till the infrastructure was in place, and that couldn’t happen without permits. It wasn’t a difficult process, she’d already taken care of it for the meadery, she should have done this a long time ago.

She entered the building and followed the signs for the permit office. Lines, of course there were lines.

Ragna

Lines yes, but to the credit of the Oed V bureaucracy, they moved quickly. She waited less than ten minutes before a voice said “Ragna McKenzie-Edman?” and a tall Andorian male looked around.

Permitting and Planning

In that time, Ragna heard several people talking. She wasn’t eavesdropping, but it happened in crowds. Most were there for the same reason she was. People moving, businesses starting, expansions being made. It was busy, but efficient. There was the typical attempts of bribery and traded favors. From what she could tell though, the people today at least, were immune to such machinations.

Stepping forward to the counter, Ragna pulled the data chip out of her PaDD where she’d been reviewing the forms one more time while she waited. “Yes Sir. I’m Ragna McKenzie-Edman.” To her credit she didn’t flinch at the Andorian. Oh yes a pair of Andorians had attacked her husband, but Ragna held grudges against individuals, not a community. Well, not usually she didn’t. She’d been doing a lot of that lately for the masses of people on Oed. “I’m applying for permits to run base infrastructure out to the land bought by Clan McKenzie-Edman. The Stoneshaw Aswar properties.” She handed over the data chip.

Ragna

The Andorian smiled and nodded. “Oh yes! That purchase agreement made quite the splash around the office, I can tell you. And might I say that is a pleasure to meet the new caretakers of the sections.” He took the chip and inserted it, reviewed a few rings and then said “Well, it seems everything is in order. The only hiccup I see is your submission of the total area seems to be a typo. But I can fix that, no problem.” His fingers moved across the interface and then he flipped the display so she could see the corrections. Everything was the same except for the map of Clan land boundaries and total area. Instead of the original document she had reviewed, it now read ‘one-million-three-hundred-and- forty-eight-thousand-nine-hundred-and-sixty-four acres’. The change was signed as approved by Michael McKenzie.

Permitting and Planning

Ragna was meticulous, she most certainly did NOT make a mistake. She’d just checked everything while she was waiting. However, before her mouth could get her into trouble and she insult the very nice man, he turned the screen around. Her jaw hit the floor and then snapped closed. One-million-three-hundred-and- forty-eight-thousand-nine-hundred-and-sixty-four acres???!!! It looked like Mike’s signature. “May I, umm…may I see the signatory code for that? We only purchased just short of 500,000 acres.”

Ragna

“Of course, Mrs. McKenzie. Or is it Edman? Or hyphenated? Forgive me, but human naming customs can sometimes be a bit convoluted to an outsider. Not like Betazoid, though! Oh my, even they have difficulty with the proper naming conventions in situations.”

Ragna smirked slightly. “Hyphenated, but that’s alright, either will do.” She actually found naming customs fascinating and how they followed lineages and such. She had no idea about Betazoid customs at all. “There are places on Earth that have very convoluted customs as well.”

He pulled up the signatory code and showed it to her. “Additionally, Chief McKenzie authorized the agreement with a digital signet.” and he pulled up the holo representation of the McKenzie signet ring.

Permitting and Planning

Ragna looked at it and pulled up her verification copy on her PaDD. It matched, but she really had no idea how easy it would be to forge such a thing. Mike or Capall would know. Seamus might. How did Mike get the money to buy over a million acres?! The clans had money, but not enough to cover that and keep the clans in all three places afloat. She was going to have to check with Revna. Gods she hoped no one had forged this and done something with the clans’ money. “Thank you,” but she was baffled by it. And if Mike and Revna had, in fact, bought all that extra land, why hadn’t they told her? She could get things set up if she wasn’t told. She would have remembered being told they had over a MILLION acres.

“I’ve already arranged for workers to start laying the lines down, but I don’t suppose you know someone reputable that would take on a job quite suddenly? I don’t think I hired enough people.”

Ragna

The Andorian smiled and said “I’m terribly sorry, but we are prohibited from making recommendations of that nature. But what I can say is that if you were to file a petition to have the infrastructure laid by the government, as the scale will bring a significant uptick to the main power grid…” and he looked at the submission plans again and said “And yes, see here. Your initial plans have a designation for an onsite fusion reactor and supplemental solar and wind energy. That will ensure that your lands will not be a drain on the Colonial infrastructure… indeed it will even ease some of the draw as your plans would supply more than you use. The government provides for projects such as this, in the labor and personnel.” He tapped a few commands and then slid a PaDD to her. “Here. Petition for Governmental Assistance in Critical Infrastructure Expansion. You will pay half of the raw material cost and provide on-site housing for the crews who are building the lines to your land. Everything else will be, if you are approved, be covered by a government grant. The Governor established the program to make building large projects on Oed V more appealing to off-world investors.”

Permitting and Planning

Well that was frustrating. Who better to know who would follow the laws and do the work as it was supposed to be done. She sighed, it stopped favoritism she supposed. Perhaps they had an equivalent of the better business bureau. She looked at the plans he was showing her and nodded. They had discussed power options and sustainability at great length when they were deciding on which parcels to purchase. She skimmed the PaDD as he spoke. It was a good option. “Thank you. I’ll get this filled out and return it. Is there anything else I need to do?”

Ragna

“Oh, just do it here. The fields are mostly mirrored with your initial submission; and I can approve the submission and send it right in. That way you don’t have to wait to come back and then wait for a submission packet to be built. It will save you a few weeks. And I can mark it Priority, so you should have an answer in a few hours. A day or two at most.”

Permitting and Planning

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Th’athaalrik,” she said reading off of the name plate. She glanced around, spotted a chair across the room, “I’ll bring this right back.” She even said it with a genuine smile. She was representing the clans after all. He was going out of his way to help her, and it would be beyond disgraceful to represent everyone else in anything less than outstanding comportment. However, she was going to have words with Revna and Mike for not telling her about this. Oh yes, she was furious with them. Her headache decided to return with a vengeance at that point. Well…if they knew about this anyway.

It only took a few short minutes to fill everything out. Ragna had all the necessary documents on hand, that was one benefit of the highly computerized age they lived in. Thankfully though, she was listed as an owner/purchaser for the property so she was able to sign for everything without trying to reach Mike and Revna. She waited in line again, only a few short minutes, before returning to the man’s window and passing back the PaDD.

Ragna

The clerk reviewed the document and nodded, tapped a few times on the PaDD and then said “There. Done and submitted. Marked for urgent review. Now then, what else can I do to be of help to you?” he asked with a small flutter of antennae and a smile.

Permitting and Planning

Ragna thought for a moment, “I already know some of the structures we will be building, when may we submit those plans? I know we can’t start building until the other is finished.”

He nodded and said “True, but you can submit plans for architectural and engineering review at any time. If any of the responsible parties to the project are affiliated with Star Fleet, you can request Fleet Engineering to do that side of the review. It saves some time as they are not as busy as our Building and Construction Department.”

“Oh, and the housing for the workers? Is that up to us, or are there specifics that should be used?”

Ragna

He smiled conspiratorially and said “It is wholly up to you, but I can say that the better the crews are treated, the better the projects seem to turn out. I’m not saying that they would intentionally do anything to make the project unsafe if they were unhappy… but it does seem that the more they enjoy the environment and the people they are working for, the better the results tend to be.”

Permitting and Planning

Ragna chuckled slightly. “That is anywhere the galaxy over. We all want to be appreciated for the work and effort we put into things.” It looked like she would be buying luxury camping gear. Well that was something she was very familiar with. “Thank you so much for you help, Mr. Th’athaalrik. You made this extremely easy. I hope the rest of your week is pleasant.”

Ragna left the office, sliding her PaDD into her bag. Outside on the sidewalk she looked around. It wasn’t even close to lunch yet. She needed to sit down and make calls, but she wasn’t supposed to go back to the hotel. She sighed, well there were people in coffee shops weren’t there? Maybe some strong black caffeinated coffee would ease her headache some.

She found one a little ways down and stopped inside for a cup to go. She sat outside and tried to contact Revna, but there was no answer. She sent a message instead asking about the change in the amount of land. She was concerned because she hadn’t heard anything about it, and the base work was going to be much more extensive than expected. She explained about the grant, but she was worried someone had forged the documents. Ragna wasn’t sure why someone would do that. She read it several times before sending hoping it didn’t sound like she wasn’t berating them for making the purchase. If they had without consulting anyone… well they had that right didn’t they. She sighed and sipped the coffee and grimaced as it hit her stomach.

Ragna

It wasn’t ten minutes before a reply came in in the form of a text comm from Mike. “It’s correct. Make it happen. Do NOT tell anyone else about this. See you Ina a few weeks, Little Sister.”

Mike

Don’t…don’t tell anyone?! First of all who was she going to tell other than Seamus? And what was Mike doing reading Revna’s mail? Controlling much? Wait…what the crap? Before she could think better of it, she responded, “Don’t you think that is something I should have been told instead of finding out by accident? Can’t prep what I don’t know about, Big Brother.”

The reply was short and pointed. “I thought you were smart? Maybe I should have spelled it out for you.” Unbeknownst to her, Seamus had called Mike for advice.

Ragna read it, got all kinds of mad, ground her teeth to the point of risking chipping them. What the hell? How was she supposed to know that Mike bought all three properties? She didn’t know him! She wasn’t married to him. Hell, she wasn’t Revna. She couldn’t read people. How was she supposed to take care of things if she didn’t know they existed? That wasn’t fair! Her headache throbbed off an on, and as much as she wanted to cuss at Mike, or maybe tell Revna what a jerk her husband was, she didn’t. Mike was her Seamus’ brother, Revna’s husband, her brother too, and her chief. Instead she guzzled scalding hot coffee until she was more worried about being burned than being angry. Then she worked on trying to send a message that hopefully didn’t cause people to continue to be mad at her. It took awhile to write it too, without something snarky and snappish making its way into the letter.

Half an hour later Mike got another message. “I won’t tell, but if Seamus gets mad at me I’m blaming you.” That was meant as a joke. When was someone not mad at her. “Any other surprises I should be aware of? I hope you and Revna are enjoying your honeymoon.”

Revna needed to see about the temporary housing for the workers, if they got the grant. Better to prep though. She had no idea where to go do that though. So it was a search of Oed’s commerce listings. She found a place that sounded promising for the task and headed that way when she spotted the OED Museum. Well that was certainly a place to learn history, wasn’t it? Ragna had no idea Oed even had a museum. It was blissfully cool and quiet inside and she could wander at her leisure.

Ragna

Mike

Ragna made her way around the museum. There were holo displays of what the planet used to look like. It was gorgeous! Vibrant, lush, water everywhere. She watched as it replayed video feeds of the comet strike. The evacuation, the actual strike, the utter destruction. She had no idea a comet could do that. She looked out a window and the barren world, could do, well…that. It hadn’t been that long, in the grand scheme of things, since it happened. And look what they’d done. Oed city was massive, they had a working atmosphere now…or a shield that would allow them to terraform and expand past the domes.

And Seamus was helping make that happen.

She interacted with the holo for quite awhile before moving on. There was a crowd of … well she wanted to say Klingons. It looked like Klingon armor, but only a few were actually Klingons. After they moved away she approached what they were looking at. It was an absolutely MASSIVE battle hammer. Ragna had seen quite a few massive weapons in her life, but this was something all together different. “Who could wield such a thing?”

Ragna

“Urg’tohn. Lord Duroc. Chosen of Kavaar’ton the Builder.” a female voice said from behind her. It came from a Klingon woman wearing ceremonial armor. She was big compared to Ragna. Her jet black hair framed her forehead ridges and a crest was emblazoned on the upper left of her chest -piece. Around her left arm was a piece of bright blue clith with white lettering that said ‘Docent’. “This hammer belonged to Kavaar’ton himself over a thousand years ago. He wielded it in his final battle, and where he fell the blood of the demons he had slain hardened and encased the hammer. There it remained until our Lord Duroc’s arrival almost two years ago.”

Duroc Docent

Ragna turned to look at the speaker. She had met a few Klingons, and they were a physically powerful race. She’d never met one who would be big enough to wield that in battle. Granted she hadn’t met a whole lot of Klingons.

Ragna was good at her job, and she picked up nuances of address and titles and honorifics and such easily. She was also a woman who lived steeped in the traditions of a people with a long rich mythology. The Docent said that this Lord Duroc was the chosen of Kavaar’ton. Chosen how? She was avidly curious. She also said two years ago, so this was quite a recent discovery. “How did Lord Duroc find it after so long?” Ragna asked with obvious genuine curiosity. She was expecting a lengthy, or abbreviated, tale of archeological principles.

Ragna

The Docent smiled and said “Kavaar’ton called to him and his two brothers. They traveled far and fought many battles. Kavaar’ton led them here, to Oed V, and to the exact spot on which you stand.” She looked at the massive weapon with a sincere look of awe. “The mupwI’ you see was encased in the crystallized blood of the demons of long ago. The museum believed it to be a mining tool. In all the years it was held, rhe crystal would not release it. It prevented scans, drilling, blasting.... nothing could even chip the crystal. But when Urg’tohn came near, and in the presence of the Chief Curator of the museum and the Police Commisioner, the hammer shifted… cracking the crystal and falling against the glass where Urg’tohn stood. That is when The Reclamation of House Duroc began.”

Duroc Docent

Ragna looked back at the hammer…the mupwI’. “How could they think that was a mining tool?” She wondered softly. Granted it had been encased in crystal, but it was still massive. She leaned forward, very careful not to touch the glass or cross the ropes. She studied it for a long time. “The craftsmanship is exquisite,” she observed in awe. She looked back at the Docent with a curious expression, “Reclamation?”

Ragna

“Indeed.” she said. “A thousand years ago, on the night he died, Kavaar’ton was betrayed by one of his advisors. And that betrayal led to the knowledge of Kavaar’ton, his very existance, being erased from Klingon history. But Kavaar’ton’s closest friend and ally, General Duroc, spirited away the only living offspring of Kavaar’ton and kept their lineage a secret for a thousand years. The betrayer held all of Kavaar’tons legacy as their own. They built a Great House upon the foundation laid by the hands of rhe Builder. But when Urg’tohn and his brothers proved the legitimacy of their claim almost two years ago, that Kavaar’ton does indeed sit at the right hand of Kah’les the Unmerciful, that House Duroc was founded to honor Kavaar’ton and show the true meaning of loyalty… the High Council had no choice but to grant all of the betrayer holdings as forfeit to House Duroc and to seat Lord Duroc on the High Council as the First Lord Duroc.”

Duroc Docent

Ragna’s face grew pale. A whole legacy buried and forgotten. It was unthinkable, what an evil person. The story reminded her of their own legends and history. Tales of ancient wrongs put right. Finding this must have been similar to finding Mjölnir. “How did the mupwI’ end up on Oed?”

Ragna

The Docent nodded and said “An excellent question. My Lord Duroc and his brothers had made a strong name for themselves, and they were never hesitant to speak of Kavaar’ton. So the betrayers knew the brothers were looking for proof of their crimes. The mupwl’ was in their possession, an artifact… a trophy of their founder’s deception. When they knew the brothers were looking, they ‘gufted’ the relic to this museum. They believed that the cony was too far off the beaten path for the Chosen of Kavaar’ton to ever find it.” and she laughed. “Oh, but they were so wrong.”

.Duroc Docent

Ragna could not fathom such an action. To know your ancestors had made such a betrayal and to not set it right. She knew the world was filled with such people. It was what had caused Mike to be estranged from his family for long, but she couldn’t imagine knowing and perpetuating such a lie herself. She studied the hammer and then the woman curiously. Why had it not been returned? “Why has the mupwl’ not been returned to Lord Duroc’s house on QonoS?” Relics belonged to those whose legacy they told. Oh in a museum or on display it belonged, to tell the story to the masses, but why so far away? Had the museum refused to return it?

Ragna

The woman laughed. “QonoS? Oh little one… you must be very new to the colony!” and she laughed again. “No no no… Lord Duroc does not live on QonoS. He lives here. On Oed V. House Duroc has an official House embassy here. Our House is part of the Klingon Hogh Council, yes. And we have a great deal off holdings there. But Oed V is where House Duroc was reclaimed. Oed V is the first government to recognize House Duroc’s legitimacy. And that is a debt Lord Duroc takes very seriously. House Duroc is the sworn protector of Oed V. The newest class of Klingon dreadnought belongs to Lord Duroc, and it sits in orbit above Oed V as a warning to those who would do this place harm. This weapon-” and she gestured to the massive hammer, “- sits here only sometimes. It is still the favored weapon of Lord Duroc, and has slain several would -be assassins in his hands.” Her face was alight with an almost righteous fury. “This is no mere relic, my dear… this is the very will of Kavaar’ton the Builder, wielded by his mortal instrument, Lord Duroc.”

Duroc Docent

Ragna did not like being laughed at. And little?! Ragna was quite tall for a human woman. She was new to the colony. From what she understood that wasn’t a novel thing to be here. Just because she didn’t know anything about this Lord Duroc was no reason to laugh at her. That would be laughing at that … that … that over inflated … laughing at the Docent because she didn’t know who Revna was. (She couldn’t use Mike, everyone but Revna knew who Mike was.) Her head began to throb hard enough to make the room spin slightly. Perhaps it was time to go. Oh but she was curious, even if that woman had laughed at her. What an incredible story.

She moved around the display commenting outloud to herself about the actual skill of the blacksmith that made it, and the incredible condition it was in after so long. She spoke with quite a degree of expertise and respect. The Docent said it had been incased in a crystal with strange properties, demon’s blood she said. Just one more question then she would have to try and do so.ething about this headache. “Who is Kavaar’ton the Builder? What is his story?”

Ragna

The Docent looked at her for a moment and then said “If you have the time, I will tell you the saga of Kavaar’ton the Builder.” She walked over and spoke toa few others who were in the gallery and gathered them around.

“Come… come one and all. And hear the story of Kavaar’ton the Builder…”

https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf6/oedv/posts/5529/

https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf6/oedv/posts/19213/

When she finished, she looked at the small crowd and said “If you have questions, I will strive to answer them. But do be respectful… House Duroc is sworn to defend Kavaar’ton from any slight.”

Duroc Docent

Ragna listened in rapt eager fascination to hear the story. As the woman spoke her devotion and loyalty was quite clear. Ragna supposed that she could forgive the Docent for laughing at her. Well Ragna wasn’t easily prone to forgiveness but respect replaced anger.

The story stired primal memories in her own soul. The rune of Idun burned against her chest, as if it recognized the story of a kindred spirit. Ragna caught every detail, easily recognizing why the House was named for Duroc and that Lord Duroc was named for one of the warriors who fought at Kavaar’ton’s side. Ragna allowed the story to sit in her mind, to absorb it and let it tell her its own tales. As the crowd dispersed, Ragna approached the woman, “Thank you for sharing your knowledge and stories with me.”

Ragna

“It is always my pleasure to share my House’s history with others. May our glory and honor forever bring shame to the betrayers.” she replied with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “And know that as long g as you breathe the air of Oed V… House Duroc is there for you.”

Duroc Docent

Revna had taught Ragna some formal sayings once about Klingons, but it had been many many years ago, and she had never been able to pronounce it quite right. Which was odd because Ragna was very gifted with languages. She was acutely aware of not wanting to inadvertently insult the woman and put the clan on bad terms, so decided not to make the attempt. “May that glory last beyond the end of days.” It was a traditional toast/blessing back home and she hoped it didn’t offend. Knowing her luck though…

“Thank you again.” Ragna was sure she would be back to learn more later, but as much as she enjoyed the story she felt off about it. Maybe it was just her headache.

Ragna