nexus_sages | (no subject)

James T. Kirk absolutely loves marketplaces.

It's not necessarily because he's looking for anything, per se, although he does often keep an eye out for interesting books to add to his collection, or maybe a bottle of some kind of exotic alcohol, or some kind of pointless alien gizmo with which to annoy Spock with its purposeless existence. No, he just loves the sheer diversity each bazaar brings to the table.

No two markets have ever been alike, in his experience. Sure, it's not quite as exciting and mysterious as exploring deep space, but it's something of a microcosm of the same, all sorts of goods and cultures thrown into close quarters, and one never knows what one might find just down the street.

His shipboard gold uniform may stand out a bit in the crowd as he meanders along, a faint smile on his face as he leans in to examine someone's wares on display, just enjoying being out and about in the fresh air.

[OOC: Retconning Jim eating bacon in this thread. Hadn't fully considered some of the elements in his backstory at the time.]

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"Mm. I am reminded of an axiom that I read not so long ago: that which is absurd, but works, is not absurd."

Jim shrugs, his smile growing slightly wider. "Add 'as long as the admirals aren't watching' and I'll agree a hundred percent."

Edited 2017-05-23 04:44 (UTC)

Shade-Seeker chuckles at that. "Duly noted. We all must be mindful of our audience."

"Who do you have to watch out for?" he asks curiously. It makes sense to him that the head of a guild would be concerned about their reputation among those beneath him, but being a leader rarely means you only have to worry about your own followers.

"Others in the guild, of course, but also I have been helping Martin--the lost heir--where I could, and after this crisis is resolved I hope to speak with him about certain matters in the Empire which need to be resolved. My aspirations will anger some with conflicting agendas, and others who maintain their power by being the door-keepers to greater power, and it would be simple strategy to seize upon any faults of mine to limit my influence."

Jim nods a little. "Sounds familiar. Does Tamriel have any kind of widespread news service?" Given their level of technology, he feels fairly confident they won't have a subspace digital network, but the news was in wide circulation long before the invention of that technology back on Earth. Paper publications and so forth.

"The Black Courier," he answers, "a newsletter published with some regularity." Yeah, Jim, there's no digital network, no Internet, not even a magic telegraph. These people are oooooold tech.

That's about what he expected. "So it'd be entirely possible for someone to run a smear campaign against you without having to rely on word-of-mouth."

"Entirely," he confirms.

Jim makes a sympathetic face. "Hope you have better luck with your news service than I have. It's not even all bad, but there's no shortage of people who want to whine about my age and inexperience, never mind when they found out I skipped some formalized schooling."

"What is your critics' goal?" Shade-Seeker asks. "What do they champion that you oppose, or vice versa?"

"There are some people who feel I didn't earn my post. I'm Starfleet's youngest captain ever, fresh out of the Academy, and I've already got a reputation for not exactly doing things by the book. They'd rather see a more experienced officer in the center seat just because they'd be older and supposedly wiser."

Shade-Seeker nods thoughtfully, mulling the situation over for a long moment. "Then your needs are twofold," he concludes. "First, to demonstrate that the gaps in your education and experience do not parallel an inability to apply correct procedures, and second to demonstrate that your youth and, hm, bold manner are assets rather than obstacles. Yes?"

"Exactly," he agrees pretty much immediately. "I didn't completely skip out on education after I left school; I taught myself and traveled a lot. Starfleet Academy wouldn't have taken me if I couldn't pass the entrance exams, and I wouldn't have passed three years of classes either, but some people just see the years of nothing on my transcript and assume it means I'm a washout."

"I've only had a year to start proving my promotion was not a fluke or a mistake, and I really don't know how long it's gonna take." He certainly doesn't sound defeated, though. Giving up is not in his vocabulary. And if the news want to badmouth him behind his back, fuck 'em.

"Then I wish you good fortune. I suspect the opportunities you need will come with time."

"Thanks. Here's hoping you don't have to deal with anything like it either."

"Thank you, the hope is most kind."

[ooc:seems like a good point to wrap up :) ]

[Agreed. Thanks for the thread, it was fun.]

[Thank you too! :) We will have to have our boys meet up again sometime. At the very least, Jim owes Shade-Seeker some books. ;) ]

[Looking forward to it.]