The IRC round-robin fanfic (currently untitled)

	A bunch of us on IRC one night, decided to sorta start writing
this, back and forth.  I'll go ahead and post it in parts as I edit it
together.  We've agreed to meet on Saturday nights at 9 PM (EST) to work
on it, so if anyone wants to help, show up on #fflive on
anime.terratron.com, on IRC, around then.  We'll pick an order and have
fun.  ^_^

Everyone knows who Windlily, me (Damon), and Panda are.  Stryker is Ben
Kosse.

-----

<Windlily> There had been rumors of a rich mineralogical find on a remote
   planet.
<Damon> On the planet of Janus V, several rare ores were discovered.
   After hearing of the finds, the two megalithic corporations currently
   at the heart of the financial muscle behind planetary exploration and
   development, descended on the planet like vultures.
<Panda> Janus V, being a relatively poor planet on the galactic scale,
   was understandably motivated to seek the highest bidder. Jal was the
   governing official in charge of negotiations for the tiny planet, and
   he was not about to let this opportunity pass him by.
<Stryker> Jal, however, was not the most knowledgable person at
   negotiating. He knew that it would take someone good, and something
   unexpected, for him to secure the best possible price for the mining
   rights. To acheive this end, he was willing to break cultural taboos,
   and, without his advisor's consent, he employed his niece, to do the
   negotiations.
<Windlily> She stood in the tower that tracked all the traffic hovering
   above her small world--more than Kohl normally saw in a year--and
   chewed on her thumbnail. She had a meeting scheduled with one "Doma"
   Intrade in an hour and she was nervous.
<Damon> Anat wondered about the offworlders.  She'd dealt with some of
   the more ignoble houses on Janus V, under the nominal "supervision" of
   her father and uncle. This was something totally different.  Hopefully,
   the tapes she'd studied on the culture and society of Ikhth, the Doma's
   homeworld, would be sufficient.
<Damon> She couldn't be sure, knowing he had probably traveled a great
   deal, and so the cultural body language she had immersed herself in
   might prove useless...or it might not.
<Panda> Still, the tapes had helped her considerably, and Ikhthian culture
   wasn't vastly divergent from Janusian culture. Anat laughed to herself,
   remembering the plate of food that her "cultural upgrading" tutors had
   brought her one evening, so she might sample some Ikhthian cuisine. She
   certainly hadn't expected the food to move!
<Stryker> The hour passed much, much too fast for Anat. After what felt
   like only five minutes, her alarm went off, notifying her that it was
   time to meet this "Doma." She walked off, her long, red, silken dress,
   a signature of her station as the niece of Jal, the planetary director.
<Windlily> She ignored the men's stares as she passed. They did not
   approve of her Uncle's having allowed a female to take charge of such
   an important task. What would they think when the Doma, a reputed
   beauty, emerged from the docking shuttle?
<Damon> There were some who might consider her post as more than a little
   insulting, but as long as Intrade held no qualms, she would play her
   part, and be damned with their opinions.
<Panda> The air-lock doors at docking station 5 slid open with a hiss as
   Anat rounded the corner and entered the egress station. She halted a
   few feet in front of the open doors, and went through her mental
   checklist of things to do and say, all the while still chewing her
   thumbnail. The vapors swirling about the doors finally receded and the
   Doma stepped through the yawning hatch.

   "Umm," Anat stuttered. She was struck by the Doma's unexpected
   appearance of a tall humanoid with two heads; one male and the other
   female.
<Stryker> Anat's hands flew to her sides, as she stood stoic. Waiting,
   still, for the guest to speak first was the Ikhth custom. Anat was so
   speechless, she wouldn't have been able to say anything even if it was
   custom to speak first. Fortunately, her visitor started the
   conversation, as expected. "Hello. This one is the Doma. This one is
   glad to see you here." The Doma's voice was coming from both heads
   simultaneously, and they were in perfect musical harmony. A perfect
   duet.
<Windlily> The lilting harmony startled her even more. She could do
   nothing but hold up her hand, palm upwards in greeting, waiting for
   this strange being to accept it or not. She noticed that the male was
   fair haired and the female dark.
<Damon> "This one is honored," the translator next to her ear echoed.
   "Please conduct this one to the mediator expediently."
<Panda> Anat broke from her reverie brought on by the harmonious tones of
   the Doma's choral voice. "This way then please." Anat turned on her
   heels and began a quick pace, leading the Doma to the conference
   chambers in the commerce sector. The Doma displayed no difficulty in
   keeping up, but the two confused but still melodious voices behind Anat
   made her slow her steady clip.

<Stryker> The Doma knew that the negotiations would be starting
   immediately upon its arrival, and was expecting to be greeted by the
   chief negotiator.
<Stryker> However, it was more than willing to give some leeway towards
   this backwards culture. They didn't even seem to allow women to have
   roles above that of servants and housekeepers.
<Windlily> It frowned at the color of the dress this honorable wore,
   though. That specific shade of red denoted rank and honor in this
   culture.

<Windlily> Anat wondered why one head was smiling and the other was
   frowning. Where they arguing between themselves? This was not in the
   briefing tapes. The male one smiled at her, while the female looked
   sideways at the other!

<Damon> In the luxurious accomodations of the nearly vacant conference
   chambers, sat the Doma and Anat.  Two aides followed them in, and
   waited, standing, by the table. Now both heads were frowning, looking
   back and forth between the three of them.
<Damon> "Which of these is the..." he trailed off.  Confusion slowly
   worked its way across both faces, and then the female one grinned
   suddenly.  "My sincere apologies for misunderstanding."
<Damon> He was both pleasantly surprised, and at the same time uneasy.
   The society of this planet was more advanced than he had anticipated,
   but he hadn't seen it. Negotiations would be touchy, at best. He chided
   himself to be more observant.

<Panda> Anat stood abruptly, her jaw muscles tensing as she fought back
   her irrittation. "I will be your mediator for these negotiations, Doma
   Intrade," Anat began, her voice firm and controlled.
<Panda> "I assure you, I will show you the same respect as your
   competitors the Kurlinians. I hope you will find my abilities
   satisfactory." The Ikhthian emissary sat stunned for a moment, then a
   smile grew in parallel across the faces of Doma Intrade. The harmonious
   voices echoed each other in their response. "Of course. We are
   completely in agreement." Anat smiled. "Excellent. Shall we begin
   then?"
<Stryker> Anat was pleasantly surprised that the Doma had been a little
   surprised to be negotiating with a female. She was also a little
   curious as to what the male half was looking at.
<Stryker> She knew it was looking at her, both now, and when it had met
   her outside its shuttle. It made her a little curious, and a little
   afraid. But she was determined to carry this negotiation through,
<Stryker> and she'd be damned if she'd let this feeling of fear stop her.
   It only took seconds for her to completely regain her composure, and
   she began negotiations properly. "We are here to discuss the mining of
   janite and <insert other mineral>." There was a knock on the door, and
   an aide opened it up to reveal the large, snake-like face of the
   Kurlian negotiator.

Damon Casale, scyth@andrew.cmu.edu

				* Love *
                 Between two people, there is nothing that
                      can draw them closer together