Posted by Civilian T’Pris (Scientist) in Department Check In:TAG CSO

Posted by Lieutenant Darklis Castle (Chief Science Officer) in Department Check In:TAG CSO

Posted by Lieutenant Darklis Castle (Chief Science Officer) in Department Check In:TAG CSO
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Big snip
“More than likely, it is not a subject that I have studied.” T’Pris responded. “Do you and family traditions that you are fond of yourself?”
~Dr. T’Pris

OOC: Er, thinking on this one .. Gene
OOC: Er, long think?
OOC: lol totally forgot about this thread:)

“We are big on anything that gets people together. And it is never a small thing. Weddings are fun. Don’t get me started on births. Anniversaries and birthdays. Even funerals.” She looked up to the ceiling and thought. “There is a story of our coming to Wolf 359 that there was a meteor shower happening .. the planet passed through a small field of asteroids and that they came down into the atmosphere - so they say - surrounded by shooting star around them.” By her tone it seemed a mix of her wanting to believe and her scientific mind suggesting that was highly unlikely to have that much meteoric drama about them. So each year to celebrate our families coming to settle there, on what is March 19th, we celebrate the Stea Cadea. Star Fall. It’s essentially a family reunion but taking place in a clearing within a forest. There is a large bonfire and lots of food and dancing and singing and storytelling and drinking. It’s a time when we really seem to pull out all the plugs of our gypsy heritage to put on full display there.” There was a pause. “I miss that one.”
- Darklis

“Gypsy? What is that?” T’Pris asked curiously, she was aware of most of the ethnicities on Earth but hadn’t heard of that one.

~Dr. T’Pris

“That is an answer and a half,” Darklis replied with a smile. “There are many places where gypsy folk are but mainly in Earth’s European regions. That was of course before colonization and space travel. Wanderers. Mystics. In my reading we originated East of there but are more famous, or infamous in the European theatre. A stereotype of a gypsy is that of a wandering band of travelers selling their own wares or following circus’ about where we would ply our trade of potions, telling fortunes, general trade of goods and known in general for being thieves and swindlers, troubadours, gamblers and more.” She paused. “That is probably why they often were travelers and moved from place to place. As society became more established they did put down roots and opened shops and the like but retained the name and in many cases the history, reputation and the mystery of the term ‘gypsy’. While somewhat a historic word it still engenders a general aura of curiosity, mystery, suspicion and mistrust. One never knows what a gypsy might do after all and what magic we might possess.”
- Darklis

T’Pris raised an ironic eyebrow in response as her lips twitched. “So your family retains these traditions?” She asked. Though she did find the explanation fascinating. Vulcan had a similar history with some of the fanatics of Surak. Those that took his beliefs so stringently and eschewed contact with ‘aliens’ as it would disrupt their perfect logic. They had ended nomadic once and were disdained by the majority of Vulcan society.

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis emitted a small frown. “The Gypsies typically were not looked upon too favorably even in the more civilized eras. Old habits die hard in families where tradition is paramount. They just change their operation.” She nodded. “That was in part what had us pick up stakes and move to Wolf 359 - not entirely a hey let’s be really nomadic as much as bad blood between other families and the area that disrupted the family businesses. You know, start over on a new world. Sort of. We started over, my ancestors. Mostly above board but still with a distinct gypsy flavor. Rather than being looked at as outcasts and people to be avoided the family is looked at more as an oddity, eccentric, those strange people down the block but put on a good show at festivals.”
- Darklis

“Wolf 359? Was your family there during the Borg engagement?” T’Pris asked curiously, hoping this was not a subject fraught with emotional overtones or that Darklis had lost any family due to the engagement.

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis nodded. “They were. I was born 10 years after. My brother Costi was born on a transport that was evacuating some of the people as were able. His name means steadfast. A noble sentiment in that time.” She paused. “My mother tells about it. Flashes in the far distance. Bright flashes as ships were destroyed. Everyone thought that was it that the Borg were going to come for them next but, in the end, apart from the ships and the devastating battle they were ignored. The planet was untouched. I don’t think any of the people were so untouched by it.” She pulled back one finger, then a second one as though counting. “My sister Ileana was born during the Dominion War not long before the Breen attacked Earth. I guess sometimes it pays to not be noticed. I came along three years after.”
- Darklis

T’Pris listened soberly to Darklis’ recitation, “Many, many people and planets were affected by all the war. Vulcan was fortunate to have escaped serious damage or attack but they worked hard to support the Federation. I was on the Valkyrie at the time. We were not in the frontlines but were a support vessel.”

~Dr. T’Pris

Darklis’ brows creased in thought. “Was that ‘the’ Valkyrie of the Valkyrie class ship, or another with the same name?” The Valkyrie that she knew was a robust ship that was made for more rugged exploration or battle. They were tough ships, or so said one crewman Johansen who had taken shore leave from the Valkyrie when she was young. Johansen had regaled many in the festival tent about her exploits. While it was even at the time of the wars an older ship type she felt sad if it had been relegated to being support. “Vulcan was fortunate,” she said, absently rubbing at her nose. “It seemed hard to imagine that enemies could go that deep into Federation space.” She looked at T’Pris. “You look so young.” She waved her hand. “Yes Vulcans have long lives. Still it doesn’t diminish the fact that you have done so much yet look so young. Many don’t .. wear well those years when they are as dramatic as a Starfleet life might be.” That was more of a thing to be seen in others but not so true of herself .. her own ‘mileage’ in Starfleet was still quite young, as was she.
- Darklis

“For a Vulcan, I am still young but in human years I am ‘middle aged’. I have a 19 year old son who serves as a Doctor on the Asimov. We may not ‘age’ the same in humans but I like to think I have learned some things.” T’Pris mused.

~Dr. T’Pris

“Nineteen,” Darklis said with a smile and a soft shake of her head. “Wow. We could be going out, you and your son and I could be calling you mom.” She laughed suddenly and pushed back her hair. “A rather illogical statement of the day,” she said. “I wonder,” she continued. “Humans when they get old .. they can say things like they are tired of this life just from the day in and day out and the trials and tribulations, that with having seen so much that there is little left to excite.” Whether she was saying this from any experience of hearing it was hard to tell, but it seemed she was pulling this from some inner part of her. “Is it the same for Vulcans? With their longer life, does that sense of .. futility take hold?”
- Darklis

OOC: Bump .. Gene

“No, I can’t say I have experienced that. But perhaps that is because I have kept myself busy with either Starfleet, Medical or Counseling. I think that as Vulcans we have learned to compartmentalize our lives. To live in segments. If we feel that our current path is not fulfilling , we analyze it and change it. I have found that most fulfilling pursuit for myself is in the Sciences. I have never lost my fascination with discovery in whatever form it takes.”

~Dr. T’Pris

“I guess there’s that element of whatever keeps you young,” or so my Aunt Alina says. “She is a consummate flirt which I suppose is her strategy. I’ve always been fascinated by artificial intelligence. After reading a short fiction story called ‘Data’s Brain’ when I was a kid - yeah, a fan fic based on the Enterprise’s old android, and catching up on the Daystrom Institutes explorations in that I have been intrigued. It exploded in the early 21st century after the war rather halted it. How to combat the rise of the augments and their brains. How to build a machine that was like us but not like us. It’s easy to build a computer who can search information in a moment and summarize and collate information. It’s not so easy to test the limits on it. When does it cross the line to Asimov and Peterson or Soong? For every Data you will have a Lore. For every Grok you will have a Skynet. I want to find that thin happy medium T’Pris. Where looking into the Palanir does not deceive one with the output but benefits.” She paused. “Did you know that Daystrom didn’t end with the M-5?”
- Darklis, CSO