| Personal History |
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Among the Kzinti, the names of Heroes (as the Kzinti refer to themselves) are granted, not given. Until then, they are named for their job duties. Speaker-of-Names, a somewhat small Kzinti, therefore, was literally tasked with speaking names.
Speaker was born in one of the "rural" districts upon the Kzinhome. It was a life of simplicity: of hunting, of rutting with the only quasi-intelligent Kzinretti. When he came of age to be known as something other than "Second Cub of Bah-Tern", he was given the job of sitting by the Elder's side, speaking names to be given to Kzinti who have done great things. The job was inherited from his father, who was eloquent and quick-witted, and shrewd - qualities sought after in coming up with heroic names.
Bah-Tern spent time with his surviving cubs, something that did not happen often in Kzinti culture. (of the litter, First Cub was eaten due to deformities, and Third Cub was a female, a kzinretti. Fourth Cub, unlike his brother, was exceptionally invested in the Hunt.) Bah-Tern spoke to Speaker and his brother of the Federation and its Star Fleet. Of battles fought both with and against them. Of the wonders beyond the stars in the night sky. He spoke also of the honor of the Naming. Of how his father came up with the names...and of the temperment necessary to ensure that Heroes were not unjustly given demeaning names. It was not a position that occurred throughout the Kzinti Hegemony...only to those places where the superiors were too unimaginative to come up with names on their own. The stories of Starfleet filled Speaker-of-Names heart with wonder and desire, and the sacred naming duty filled Speaker with pride and honor. The stories affected his brother differently, though Ripper of Flesh (Fourth Cub's name and duty as he came of age) respected his brother's interest, especially as it hewed so closely to his honored father's own.
Speaker-of-Names eventually joined the Kzinti Hegemony after his father assumed the role of Elder for their Village, following the death of the previous elder. Speaker was lured to the stars by the stories of the Starfleet, and worked diligently until he was posted to a Kzinti Warship posted to the Marquis's sector of space. During one mission, his ship, the Bloodfang, was called in to destroy a brand new warpship, created by one of the races under Hegemony rule...which banned non-Kzinti from operating such vessels. As the Bloodfang closed in on the warpship, which was escaping towards the Federation border, another starship warped in. It was the USS Concord, a Nebula-class Starfleet vessel.
The incoming hail was answered (with Speaker announcing his Captain's name), and the Federation stated their intent: they were there to deny the Kzinti their prey. The warpship had requested asylum from the Concord, and they were committed to granting it. A battle ensued. The Concord was more than a match for the Bloodfang, the photon torpedoes ripping apart the ship. As hull breaches allowed the ship's hull to tear itself apart, the surviving Kzinti were beamed aboard the Concord.
Only three Kzinti survived of the Bloodfang's crew. And of the three, only Speaker seemed happy and content to be there. True to his first name, he would question the littlest things with genuine curiosity. He did not seem to realize that he had been defeated in battle and spared, the ultimate insult to a Kzinti warrior. The other two certainly did, and were trying to tear apart the Concord's brig to do so. When questioned by the Captain of the Concord, Speaker spoke privately. He spoke of the stories his father spun for him, tales of a life more interesting than simple hunting. Speaker was no warrior. Therefore the ultimate insult was not so insulting. As his name suggested...he would rather talk.
Speaker eventually was allowed to enroll in Starfleet Academy, where he learned the hard way about what he called the "manretti" (and the "vulcanretti" and the "bolianretti" and...). He did not do so well with this, adjusting about as well as a proud, conservative man might to the revelation that his pet gerbil could speak all along, and was often in fact more intelligent than he. He would often blunder when speaking to these women, assuming them to be little more than the chattel of their boyfriends or the pets of their teachers (That one confused him mightily...Teacher's Pet still being a derogatory term in use in the Academy.) Still, despite his blunders, Speaker-of-Names wanted to join the diplomatic corps.
However, the diplomatic corps diplomatically chose to advise the nearly eight foot tall, muscled alien who kept insulting women unintentionally to try out Tactical and Security instead. And after trying so hard to curtail his natural instincts, the Kzinti relished his first few lessons in security. It awoke in him the bloodlust that came with being a Kzinti...a thing he didn't think he had because the Kzinti he had grown up with were so much more ferocious than he. This was made apparent when he nearly ripped apart a small (relatively) human male of about six and a half feet tall. The struggle to curtail his natural instincts took on far more importance on that day.
Awkwardness continued into the subject of meals.
Speaker-of-Names was not the first carnivore to enter Starfleet Academy...but they were rare enough to be stared at. And the way that Speaker-of-Names ripped into his replicated, steaming carcasses turned stomachs and eyes quickly. Eating in this way wasn't satisfying...there was no chase...just the rewards. It felt a bit like cheating. But Speaker-of-Names grew accustomed to it as one of the many hardships one undertook to have a chance to explore with Starfleet.
Since the Academy, Speaker has served on two other vessels: the USS Tolkien, and the USS Kir'Shara. Notes from the captains of both vessels indicate that while Speaker-of-Names makes for a fine and intimidating security officer, he has not completely learned to tame his comparative ferocity, nor his bias against women. The Tolkien's captain noted a disapproval in Speaker's demeanor towards vegetarians, while the captain of the Kir'Shara noted that it might be best to give Speaker a private booth to consume his meals behind. The Kir'Shara's captain noted as well a request Speaker-of-Names had submitted to him: the Kzinti wishes to be given a new name if ever he accomplishes something beyond what duty requires: "Cal-of-Names", and if he succeeds in something grand, he wishes to be granted his deserved full name, "Cal-Tern." |
