Fic Update Thread 58: the extra variety

[Mamorien]

San Francisco, 2161 (ST worldbuilding) Chapter Two: The Deck.

“If you can’t win with the cards on the table; change the deck.”

Ambassador Kenzu dh’Frang “Zu-zu”, 2167
“Why will we be voting?”(fn1) When the question was put to Prime Minister Nathan Samuels it was a fair if controversial one, and offered in good faith by both the Foreign Ministers Gora bim Gral and Anlenthois ch’Vendreni “Thoris”. At the time Gral, who during the war had professed his interest in the common Human behavior of idiom, was quoted to say, “Is this another of your ‘elephants in the room’? How amusing.”(fn2) Convinced of the diplomatic negotiations by their respective subordinates in the “Little 6”, both Ministers had initially failed to persuade their heads of state to agree to the voting protocols. To both of their governments, the idea that any “Coalition Plus” organizational articles might be voted into text by anything other than unanimous consent of the “Big 4” was well beyond the bounds of their understanding of the conference.(fn3)

Footnotes.

1. Gora bim Gral cc: Anlenthois ch’Vendreni, to the Prime Minister of United Earth Nathan Samuels. “Conference Voting, RE: Why?.” United Planets of Tellar, Foreign Ministry. Sent, 9 March, 2161. Accessed June 2191.
2. A.N.: The understanding of Tellarite languages has increased since the 2160s. The idea that someone might say something they don’t mean, or elide their meaning in idiom, was once common on the planet but no longer functionally exists. Ambassador Gral often made use of Human idiom, especially in his time on the Federation Council. For more informaiton, I would suggest “The Voice Wars: Vol. 1-7” by Lothu Thehranch
3. Thavof, C. “GRAL FAVORS HUMAN CONFERENCE: Interview with Minister Gral.” Phinda News, March 13, 2161

https://nascentnovice.com/sanfrancisco-2...-the-deck/

And it's time for the long-unawaited follow-up to HNJ spin-off After Action (DC/ItSV), a tale that could only be called Your Friendly Neighborhood Origin Story! Face front, True Believers!

What do you think of when you think about super heroes? Do you think of gods among men, standing tall against unfathomable threats? Do you think of rich orphans using their considerable wealth, power, and no small amount of grit, determination and preparation to protect people against the insanity of the world? Do you perhaps think of a man at the right place at the right time to receive power from a dying alien? Or maybe you think of a man struck by lightning to receive unparalleled speed? Or maybe you’d imagine a young witch that sacrificed her childhood to march headlong into war to make the world a better place?

You probably wouldn’t expect someone like me, Penelope "Penny" Parker, a fourteen-year-old orphan living with her widowed uncle in a modest apartment, to become a superhero. I doubt anyone would consider a girl with chronic asthma and severe astigmatism, almost making her blind, as a candidate for such a role.

Before the spider bite and all the changes it brought, I wouldn’t have picked myself for this either. But here I am, world—like it or not, I'm the one you've got.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66789349