steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 25, 2024 12:02:23 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Who, exactly, are we giving stuff out to? Glad that you asked."
"I'm not a historian. However, if you're new to Klingon religion, we used to worship a bunch of gods and goddesses, then some crafty and conniving people convinced us to worship only one of those gods and outlawed the worship of any other gods except for that one. That's literally the 4-second version of Klingon religious history and I'm cutting out a whole lot of everything to pare it down to that."
"There have been 'religious heretics' who have dared to continue worshiping other gods and goddesses (and different versions of the god that we're supposed to worship) all throughout history and they've been dealt with rather harshly. However, within the past fifty years or so, Klingon society has lightened up considerably when it comes to your neighbor worshiping another god. Yes, there are still religious hunters who hunt down religious heretics and whatnot but it's not like the old days. Most young people honestly don't care and as long as you're not in-your-face about it to others, even older people in their 30s and 40s don't care."
"These people are still persecuted but they're also protected under Klingon Empire law and so we go in and deliver stuff to them. It's also a reminder to the various nations not to screw with them too much because... You know... We're still the IKN, we're still the Klingon Empire and, oh-by-the-way, who has more ships and weapons? Not you."
"And it's not just religious heretics but other groups but I'll get into that later."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 27, 2024 12:43:43 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Proxy worship is a big deal here. Terrans probably don't know much about that concept."
"OK, here's how it works. Suppose you want to worship a god that's been outlawed. All of them except for one was outlawed for the longest time but that's beside the point. Doing so will absolutely kill your career and possibly kill you as well (or at least get you thrown into prison). So, what do you do?"
"Well, let's say you want to worship a god that values being physically fast. Well, you don't directly worship the god itself but you do things that the god would do. You would jog constantly and you would keep your weight down. Maybe 'fast' means that you always want the most efficient computer or you indulge in fast driving. In the end, you aren't worshiping a god devoted to speed but you are partaking a lot in activities that involve speed. That's 'proxy worship.'"
"Depending upon who you talk to in the Klingon Empire, proxy worship is either perfectly fine (because you're not really worshiping the god) or illegal and punishable by death (because you are flaunting the will of The One God). Of course, how is anyone to know? Suppose there is a god that picks it's nose and you pick your nose. Does that mean you're involved in proxy worship or that you're just gross (or both)?"
"Anyway, across the Empire, nations can't persecute you unless you overtly worship other gods. You have to have 'god stuff' in your house or on your computer. It's not enough just to say, 'Hey, you drive fast; You must be worshiping the Speed God.' That's the law and... There are some nations that don't obey that law. At all. And that's why we, the IKN, are here: Because there are some communities within these nations that are persecuted under the premise that they are 'proxy worshiping' other gods."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Feb 29, 2024 13:42:51 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Romulans have a weak version of 'proxy worshipping': Unicursalists."
"I'm not going to get into Romulan religion. However, a long time ago, Vulcans and Romulans lived side-by-side. Vulcans are just Romulans but all logical and stuff. Like any other group, though, they inter-bred with one another and got genetic racial traits. Vulcans tend to have longer and pointier ears, their eyebrows are slightly different, etc. so forth. OK, and, supposedly, their brains are ever so slightly different (if you want to believe some of the studies) in that they have greater impulse control or whatever. However, it's not as if they're two separate species."
"Anyway, Romulans and Vulcans started hating each other, separated and now Romulans want to kill Vulcans. And, before you even ask, I really don't care. I know that I'm half-Romulan but I was born and raised in the ROZ and deciding how much you want to hate Vulcans is very low on your priority list, even if you have nothing else to do. Yes, technically, you learn in school how 'bad-bad-bad' Vulcans are but, like most kids, you roll your eyes, smile, nod approvingly and just go about the rest of your days and hope that the teachers and other grown-ups just leave you alone."
"Therefore, it's a bad day for you if you identify as 'Vulcan' in the Romulan Empire. I'm not joking; You WILL go to prison for it and you CAN even be executed for it. Even in the ROZ, it's pretty much frowned upon although, Klingons being Klingons, they have no problem using the 'Romulans hate Vulcans' to gain a negotiating advantage whenever it comes to the ROZ. Although the Klingon Empire and the Vulcan Academy (I think that's what they call themselves) see eye-to-eye on exactly nothing, that doesn't mean that the Klingons aren't above a little gamesmanship when it comes to the topic. Case-in-point: Right across the border from the ROZ inside Klingon territory is one of the few places where the Klingon Empire allows Vulcans to roam around and do Vulcan stuff. Dead serious. And, yeah, that goes over in the ROZ as well as a loud, wet fart during a wedding."
"However, there's a way for you to be 'Vulcan-ish' in the Romulan Empire without joining a Vulcan Fan Club or anything like that. It's called 'Unicursalism' and it's technically a religion. They basically take some text from these Romulan teachings and imply that it means that you should be all logical and stuff. The Romulans see right through it and those guys would be beaten to death and thrown out into the middle of the street but the other civilizations (UFP, Orions, the Gorn) would get on their case and... Truth be told, there are some Romulans (SOME, emphasis on 'some') who just don't care."
"Myself? I'll just keep quiet on that topic. How's the weather where you are?"
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 2, 2024 10:43:54 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"We're at an operational pause. Because, of course, we are."
"Our own ship is held together by glue and strings. The other two ships aren't doing much better. There was a power surge on one of the other ships that I failed to mention earlier. We had to pull away from that ship so that, if it accidentally exploded, our own ship wouldn't be damaged."
"Operational pauses suck because the mission is paused but YOU AREN'T!"
"We've been shuffling around inventory all day. I'm really tired. I'm laying in bed typing this out. The shower smelled bad. The water smelled bad. I don't care. I just want to go to bed."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 4, 2024 12:56:35 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I injured my back. Not in the best of moods."
"We're still in an operational pause. Guess where all the nasty shower / water smell was coming from? The fact that the main water filters were never replaced. See, you're supposed to REPLACE the water filters after a certain amount of time, not CLEAN them. Yes, you CLEAN them on a regular basis but you're supposed to REPLACE them after a while... Which they have not done... Because the IKN are extremely cheap idiots!!! [Ed Note - We significantly cleaned this rant up because the original insult involved a play on words that doesn't translate well for Terrans and would also be akin to a racist insult. The play on words would be, perhaps, something like "she is a busy ditch," in that the two first letters are interchanged to create the real meaning behind words, "she is a dizzy b...". In the case of the actual insult, the two words are innocent-sounding but most contemporary native Klingon speakers would readily understand that what was said was a veiled insult. Furthermore, the word for "idiot," in this case, refers to a class of Klingons known to be wealthy but wealthy due to their extreme thrift to the point where it harms them in the long run. They are, in other words, "idiots in the long term because they are thrifty even when it harms them."]
"Anyway, I twisted my back the wrong way and now I need medication and to not work strenuously. And I didn't even do anything wrong... Except for working hard, of course."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 6, 2024 13:08:43 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I had my back examined. I pulled something and, by 'pull,' I tore something. And now the medical hierarchy are deciding if I need surgery and rest or just a lot of rest."
"I can walk, I can carry light objects, I can even bend over slightly at the waist. Anything else? Only if you want to see me wince and slightly grunt in pain."
"According to the tests, this was probably a long time in the making and wouldn't have been easily detectable on the routine exams that they give to us. And, of course, I'm a half-breed, which makes everything somewhat more difficult."
"I've been restricted to 'desk duty' for now. That, in and of itself, is a lot of hard work. There's a lot of torso-twisting and even sitting down and getting up out of a chair is slightly perilous."
"Fortunately, everyone involved in inventory is sympathetic. Anyone who has worked inventory knows of all of the little cuts, bruises, scrapes, nicks and other little injuries that we suffer through all of the time. Bad back? It was bound to happen at some point. And now it has... At least, for me."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 8, 2024 14:01:06 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Bad news - The doctors have recommended surgery."
"Worse news - They can't do it on the ship or, for that matter, any of the ships in our mission group. I'll have to be shipped 'off-site' and get the surgery there."
"This isn't open-heart surgery (or replacement, for that matter) but, again - I'm a half-breed. And this is the IKN that we're talking about."
"I feel that my chances at citizenship are slipping away."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 10, 2024 10:07:34 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Am I feeling better? I suppose. I still need surgery. That isn't going away."
"What is really making me nervous is whether the IKN is going to kick me out over this. The only reason why I'm even here in the IKN is to get my full citizenship. The IKN is notorious for getting rid of people for the most superficial of injuries or reasons. If they think that you're going to cost them money... You're gone. That's it. There's always someone else that they can find in order to mop floors and push buttons."
"Once I leave the ship, I'm meeting with an IKN career representative to discuss ORR - The Surgical Operation, The Rehab regiment & the Re-integration back into the IKN [Ed note - The acronym is inaccurate; In the Klingon language, all of the words start with the same letter; We used the closest Terran equivalents that we could find]. 'Re-integration' is a bit of false advertising; They're more than capable of telling you to get lost and your 'rehab' is an one-way ticket back to where you live."
"By the way, if I was an Imperial, they'd be able to perform surgery on the ship but would still need to transport me to a planetary facility for rehab. Being a half-breed, no one in the mission group is qualified to perform the operation. Considering the condition of the ships on this mission (and a chunk of the crew -- no offense), maybe I should count myself as being lucky that the surgery is being performed elsewhere."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 12, 2024 13:20:32 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"The IKN does everything on the cheap. I shouldn't have to keep writing it but I do because it keeps happening that way."
"Here's been my travel plans so far: From my ship to a civilian shuttle to a civilian orbiting space station to a local police shuttle to the local police station on the planet to a bus to a civilian hospital where they were supposed to perform the surgery."
"But wait! There's more!"
"As it turned out, there was a miscommunication between the IKN and the hospital about the specifics of the surgery. As it turns out, the surgery team qualified to perform the surgery was only VISITING that hospital, not RESIDING there. The surgery team RESIDES at another hospital which is four hours away which required another bus ride and then to an overnight motel because, by then, there was no chance of having the surgery performed that day."
"And to make this series of events sting even more, the IKN is docking part of my pay in order to pay for the additional bus ride and motel room EVEN THOUGH it was their fault that it was the miscommunication because... You know... They're making extra accommodations since I'm a half-breed."
"If I was an Imperial, I would be in rehab right now (the surgery would've been on one of the ships in the mission group) and likely already had talked to the career representative."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 14, 2024 13:04:01 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"The surgery was quick. Not even an hour. I was told it took slightly longer-than-usual only because the doctor in charge was using me as a real-life example to a group of trainees about half-breed physiology. Charming."
"I'm not in pain but I am far less mobile than even before. No walking without a cane. I am discouraged from twisting my torso in any way. I'm greatly encouraged not to bend over. No lifting of objects that are heavier than a pencil or pen."
"I will note that the staff has been very courteous. I'm not sure many have seen a half-breed such as myself in real life. I am a curiosity, a 'zoo animal,' so to speak. I've been asked at least twice if I'm really from the ROZ. I tell them that I am and they ask general questions about it and to speak some Klingulon to them which I do. Speaking Klingulon always brings a smile to their faces. Someone from the hospital staff is learning Romulan and I spoke some Romulan with them."
"And, right on cue, I've been asked at least once if I have had any children or if I've suffered any false pregnancies because, you know... I'm not modestly-chested like how normal Imperial Klingon women are at my age. I tell them that I'm mostly Klingon except in that area, which gets a sympathetic laugh from the ladies. Note to guys: You will never suffer how women will always share stories of false pregnancies with complete strangers. Ever. This is a 'thing' with Klingon women, much like when Terran women discuss the time that they delivered their children with one another just because... You know... They're both women."
"Anyway, because the surgery was in another hospital than anticipated and because the surgery was on another day than anticipated, that cancelled the original ORR meeting with the IKN career representative and it's been rescheduled as a remote meeting for tomorrow with someone else."
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Post by trynda1701 on Mar 15, 2024 9:52:42 GMT -7
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 16, 2024 11:33:51 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I don't know what to make of the meeting. I really don't."
"I'm not sad. I'm not disappointed. But I'm also not happy or enthusiastic, either."
"The IKN career representative said, in summary, that based upon the surgery and the rehab and the prospects of my future physiological condition, that my career path in the IKN is rather limited. Although my service record has been very good ("Especially for a half-breed!" as they said, in a bit more diplomatic language than what I wrote), it would be very difficult to become an officer since I began as enlisted and that I'm not even a full citizen of the Klingon Empire. When you're an officer, you don't have to pick up heavy objects and re-aggravate the same type of injury that I just went through."
"They aren't outright kicking me out of the IKN. The injury isn't that serious and they don't think that it's going to be habitual AS LONG AS I stop being in inventory which was the source of the problem. However, I AM in the IKN to become a Klingon citizen and so their thinking is that, once I do my time here, I will leave. I countered that I've enjoyed my time in the IKN (not exactly the truth but not a lie, either) and, except for the injury, it has given me a purpose and perspective that I would not have otherwise seen. I don't think that they were expecting that answer but more something along the lines of 'Yeah, I just want to serve out my time and be done with this place.'"
"Anyway, the algorithm is still searching for a place to put me back into the IKN. Until then, I'll be rehabbing at a non-IKN military base on the planet."
"Just shoot me now and get it over with."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 16, 2024 11:37:41 GMT -7
How often are we pawns to the whims of others?
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Post by trynda1701 on Mar 16, 2024 20:38:23 GMT -7
How often are we pawns to the whims of others? True!
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 18, 2024 12:08:43 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Well... At least it's not the IKN Jokush."
"I'm currently stationed at the Wovkav Document Storage Facility. It's a series of buildings where government entities store their non-essential documents, either for retrieval, scanning and/or eventual destruction."
"For the past two days, I've been getting a crash course in organizing inventory transfer requests. I can't lift any of the boxes (for obvious reasons) but I have been going through EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. OF. PAPER. in the boxes in order to assess if it's an inventory transfer request and, if so, from which government department and putting them NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (as one would think to do) but in FORM ID NUMBER order because... I don't know... Government regulations. Ask them."
"I've already found a bunch of misplaced forms that have nothing to do with the task and someone else is, thankfully, handling that aspect."
"My back is feeling a lot better already but I haven't gotten approval to do anything overly physical yet."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 20, 2024 12:00:15 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I should probably describe this place in greater detail."
"OK, first and foremost, we are out in the middle of nowhere. There is our facility and nothing else. OK; Let me back up. The planet itself is not habitable but we're close enough to the sun so that we don't have to be underground. We're essentially a domed-off crater facility."
"Being out in the middle of nowhere, there is only rail service. No joke; There are no roads to this facility. Yes, technically, you can 'off-road' it here in a wheeled or tracked vehicle but that would be extremely... stupid. Also, the security team would be using you as target practice long before you arrived. Not that we have anything super-secret here; Like I wrote earlier, I -- An IKN soldier -- am going through stacks of request forms from other agencies and physically placing them in Form ID order. Star Fleet Intelligence would fall asleep looking for anything valuable here."
"Under the dome, you still need to wear a spacesuit but it's a minimal one. It's only needed in case the dome fails. The dome isn't for environmental, just protective. We have both a physical layer and a deflector shield for micro-meteorites and that sort of thing."
"The Acquisitions building is where the rail line drops anything (people, food, documents, etc.) off. No one is expecting the Emperor (or anyone else important, for that matter) to visit here and so it's all very utilitarian. Living Services building is where you go for food, medical, entertainment, etc. Housing is... obvious. Administration is... obvious. Operations is the building for janitorial and maintenance staff. And then you have the storage buildings themselves. The storage buildings are pretty much 'copy-paste' identical to one another; I've been working in one of these since I got here. The buildings are identified by letter and you always use the letter name [Ed note - She means the Klingon equivalent of 'Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta,' etc.] although, amongst grunts like me, we use names of classic cartoon characters for them [Ed note - She means the Klingon equivalent of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, etc.]. As long as you use them amongst other grunts, no one cares. Administration wants you to use the proper names when you talk to them although they occasionally use those names informally as well because... You know, Klingons DO have a sense of humor. We just don't crush empty beer cans on our foreheads all day long."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 22, 2024 11:04:34 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I've met my Terran half-breed equivalent. Her name is Anka."
"She's a bit shorter than me but as wide as she is tall... And fit. Very fit."
"OK. Let's back up slightly."
"Earlier, I wrote that Terrans acting as Klingons is... ridiculous [Ed. Note - We've cleaned up the original obscenity to its nearest clean alternative] and THAT'S TRUE! If you are born a Terran and raised a Terran but, somehow, through some unexplained mental illness, you think that you can fit in with Klingons (and Imperial Klingons at that!), then you are completely, entirely, without any reservation, a... moron [Ed. Note - Again, she went on a two sentence obscenity-filled diatribe (that we mostly cut out) and we cleaned it up. However, we think we've portrayed the gist of what she was expressing]."
"HOWEVER, if you are a Terran who was BORN into the Klingon culture or, even better, if you're a Terran-Klingon half-breed... Well, that's different. If anything, then even I have some sympathy for you. At least someone like myself had the ROZ to fall back upon. I can go back to 'my people.' A 'pale-sissy'? They've got no one."
[Ed note - We've left the obscenity in; We're aware of the contradiction between her not liking the term 'smoothnose' in describing her but using the term 'pale-sissy' to describe someone else. That's not the contention. There is no real Terran equivalent to the term and she doesn't describe the etymology of the term so we'll describe it here: It's a portmandeau of two words being combined in order to have a new meaning as a combined word. For example, "light" + "house" = "lighthouse." The two words used in Klingon is a small, hairless, basically off-white creature not known for being aggressive (the 'pale') and a pejorative term used for women who are physically weak. The two words are combined to form a new meaning: A female Terran-Klingon half-breed that is regarded as physically and culturally inferior to Imperial Klingons. It's not necessarily a racial slur on the level of 'the N-word' (or, for that matter, 'smoothnose') but you certainly would not use it in front of a Terran-Klingon half-breed without evoking a fistfight.]
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 24, 2024 9:55:50 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"There's so much to write I don't even know where to begin. I don't even know if I have the will to write."
"OK, let's start at the beginning. The Klingon Empire is comprised of a group of nations. Each nation is independent from one another but they all form a common Empire. The 'Empire' portion of the Klingon Empire has many parts. One of those parts is the IKN (The Imperial Klingon Navy) which serves the ENTIRE Empire, not just any one particular nation inside of it."
"However, there are other parts that also serves the entire Empire. There is the IKA (Imperial Klingon Army) and it's subdivisions (Air Force, Sea Force, etc.). You have the IKG (Imperial Klingon Government) [Ed Note - We've "fudged" the IKG in that it doesn't really stand for that but the 'G' in 'IKG' is really a Klingon word for 'empty house' or 'common house' which, used in this context, means an unifying place or a governing place. Also, no one really refers to the IKG as the IKG but usually 'Imperial Government' or just that word (but usually only when the context is clear; The same way that you only use any multi-definition word when the context is clear).]"
"I enlisted in the IKN in order to get full citizenship (not a full citizen; Was born in the ROZ which means I'm a Romulan citizen who enjoys some privileges of Klingon citizenship but not all of it). However, in the Klingon Empire, all of the Imperial organizations allow for interchangeability. Someone from the IKN can transfer to the IKA can transfer to the IKG and any combination of that as well. It's not easy but it can happen."
"And that's... What has happened to me. Except I didn't volunteer for that to happen. At all."
"And it's effective immediately."
"I'm now a part of the IKG."
"Thanks, algorithm. A lot."
"I'll write more when I feel like it."
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Post by trynda1701 on Mar 24, 2024 19:21:43 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "There's so much to write I don't even know where to begin. I don't even know if I have the will to write."
"OK, let's start at the beginning. The Klingon Empire is comprised of a group of nations. Each nation is independent from one another but they all form a common Empire. The 'Empire' portion of the Klingon Empire has many parts. One of those parts is the IKN (The Imperial Klingon Navy) which serves the ENTIRE Empire, not just any one particular nation inside of it."
"However, there are other parts that also serves the entire Empire. There is the IKA (Imperial Klingon Army) and it's subdivisions (Air Force, Sea Force, etc.). You have the IKG (Imperial Klingon Government) [Ed Note - We've "fudged" the IKG in that it doesn't really stand for that but the 'G' in 'IKG' is really a Klingon word for 'empty house' or 'common house' which, used in this context, means an unifying place or a governing place. Also, no one really refers to the IKG as the IKG but usually 'Imperial Government' or just that word (but usually only when the context is clear; The same way that you only use any multi-definition word when the context is clear).] "
"I enlisted in the IKN in order to get full citizenship (not a full citizen; Was born in the ROZ which means I'm a Romulan citizen who enjoys some privileges of Klingon citizenship but not all of it). However, in the Klingon Empire, all of the Imperial organizations allow for interchangeability. Someone from the IKN can transfer to the IKA can transfer to the IKG and any combination of that as well. It's not easy but it can happen."
"And that's... What has happened to me. Except I didn't volunteer for that to happen. At all."
"And it's effective immediately."
"I'm now a part of the IKG."
"Thanks, algorithm. A lot."
"I'll write more when I feel like it." Oh boy!!! I think this might feel a bit like being benched from military service due to her injury. But she's still in recovery! I wait to see where you might go with this, unless this is the natural break in her story. But I'd like to hear more of her thoughts on this transfer.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Mar 26, 2024 14:49:16 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"I'm very depressed at the moment. A lot."
"This involuntary transfer is because of my injury, the MINOR injury that has since fully healed. Completely. Entirely. I'm doing full work-outs again."
"I'm part of the IKG now. The algorithm recommended that the switch be made and... Well, when you are a pawn you will be used as such. And now I have been."
"I'm trying to think of 'silver linings.' I'm not coming up with many. I'm stuck at a facility in the middle of nowhere. Our tasks are very menial. The morale here is... Is..."
"The showers work. And I don't freeze at night while sleeping. And the food... OK, the food is better than on a ship. I can't lie about that. And, sometimes, it's actual 'real food,' as in non-processed and made by a kitchen staff (a volunteer kitchen staff because we don't technically have a kitchen staff)."
"And it's safer than being on a ship. I guess. I think."
"Not happy at the moment. Not happy at all."
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steve
Commander
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Post by steve on Mar 26, 2024 14:52:55 GMT -7
Oh boy!!! I think this might feel a bit like being benched from military service due to her injury. But she's still in recovery! I wait to see where you might go with this, unless this is the natural break in her story. But I'd like to hear more of her thoughts on this transfer. Nope. There's still more story to go with our Klingon half-breed. I suppose, though, that it's very fair to say that we're far closer to the end of this particular story than the beginning but there IS more story to go. But I do wonder who will be next? We've done the Romulans... Been with the Orions... We're here at the Klingons... Hmmm....
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steve
Commander
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Post by steve on Mar 28, 2024 11:56:17 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"Half-credit. I'm getting half-credit for my time in the IKN towards my full citizenship requirement."
"Of course, I'm appealing the decision. I'm appealing the decision for the IKN to drop me; I'm appealing the decision that my time in the IKN should be halved because of the transfer to the IKG."
"I don't know what to do. I really don't. I... I'm really depressed at the moment over all of this."
"I have to get back to work."
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Post by trynda1701 on Mar 29, 2024 10:14:16 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.] "Half-credit. I'm getting half-credit for my time in the IKN towards my full citizenship requirement."
"Of course, I'm appealing the decision. I'm appealing the decision for the IKN to drop me; I'm appealing the decision that my time in the IKN should be halved because of the transfer to the IKG."
"I don't know what to do. I really don't. I... I'm really depressed at the moment over all of this."
"I have to get back to work." Wow! I know how mad I'd be if something like that happened in real life!
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steve
Commander
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Post by steve on Mar 30, 2024 10:50:27 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"We had a drill today. Apparently, there are 'incoming collision' drills. See, when you live on a planet without an atmosphere, meteors are a huge threat. There's no atmosphere to burn them up or make them smaller. Your defenses are usually orbiting satellites that shoot at them to either divert or destroy them. There are also ground-based lasers to shoot at them but, if you have to rely on them, you also have to expect an impact of some type (you, since debris tends to fall to the ground)."
"Depending upon the building, you either have safe rooms or even an underground bunker that you can enter. The storage buildings themselves are 'self-contained,' meaning that they have no basements so there are only safe rooms. Myself and Anka were in a storage building and we had to very quickly run to the safe room and stay there for a little while."
"The safe rooms in the storage buildings are very spartan. There's a crude toilet (chamber pot), a cabinet filled with water, basic food, medical supplies, blankets, a communications device [Ed Note - The exact word has no direct translation; The device itself would best be described as a HAM radio-styled device that is roughly the size of a paperback book. With the appropriate attachments, it would be a capable-enough device for conveying emergency messages or receiving instruction. As typically used in this situation, it would be plugged into a data outlet as a means of direct communication with management during an obvious crisis.]."
"That was the excitement of my day."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 548
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Post by steve on Apr 1, 2024 12:33:24 GMT -7
CONFESSIONAL - FROM A KLINGON CITIZEN
[Note - The text has been edited for clarity and context. It has been edited with contemporary Terran audiences in mind. Idioms and local references have been changed to the most appropriate Terran equivalent.]
"While I appeal the algorithm's decision, I still have to switch over to the IKG. That means new photos, new identification card, surrender all of my IKN-specific gear, acquire the IKG-equivalents..."
"I have also been receiving training on IKG procedures. It's not radically different than the IKN but it's different enough. I'm not on a ship anymore and the branch of the IKG that I'm in isn't involved in combat. They're not even putting me in inventory but just having me perform menial tasks..."
"Anka has been in a similar situation herself, trying to get full Klingon citizenship. She tried signing up for the IKN but they rejected her because it would've been challenging in order to accommodate her Terran-Klingon half-breed biology. She bounced around IKG facilities before winding up here for the past 3 years. She's got another year and a half to go before she gets her full citizenship."
"And, in other news, one of the shuttle carts has broken down. I don't even want to start in on that one..."
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