27 Degrees, 35 Minutes, and 2 Seconds North by -71 Degrees, 57 Minutes and 53 Seconds West
Ah'Chet Moon orbiting Geraia, Sirius System
Feburary 27th, 3---

Arjana's mother fussed over her, tugging at her clothes, smoothing away wrinkles that weren't there. Arjana scowled and patted her mother's hands away.

"Honestly, Ma, It's straight. Stop fussing," she said, backing out of her mother's reach, and crossing her arms over her small chest. Her ma sighed and straightened from her crouch.

"I just want you to look your best, love. This is a great honor your grandda is giving you," the older woman sniffed a little and wiped her misty eyes. "Ta think, not only are you being invited to important clan meetings, you're going away to school in just a few months! I still don't know how your da managed to convince me of that one..."

Arjana felt her annoyance fade, she knew her ma was going to miss her greatly, and if Arjana was honest with herself (something the always believed in, just not out loud) she knew she'd miss her ma too. And the entire clan really. Even annoying Sophia.

A knock came at the door, and her da pushed it open. He looked over Arjana and let out a low whistle.

"You look so grown-up, 'Jana. I hardly recognize you, where's my little sea fairin' lass who goes barefoot and hates skirts?" he asked teasingly. Arjana felt her scowl return. She didn't like dressing up in this get up any more than anyone else her age did, thank you very much.

"She's been wrapped up, tied up and strung up in this stupid thing," Arjana replied curtly, gesturing to the 'stupid thing' in question. Her da just laughed.

"We'll be heading out soon, you should head up top now and get on board The Common Ground, Grandda is already up there," he said before withdrawing. Her ma turned and gave Arjana a quick hug.

"I'm for dinner with Sophia, leaving now is probably a good idea, elsewise I'll start bawlin'. So you be strong, and know that I'm proud of you, ya?"

Arjana felt her own eyes start to sting a little, but managed a swift nod, "Ya-ya, mama. I know," she said softly. Her ma sniffed again and hugged her again, this time a little longer and a little tighter.

"Well then," she said, withdrawing, tugging on the corners of her finery once more to erase any evidence of the hug, "You'll be fine." She kissed her daughter's forehead and swept out of the door.

Arjana swallowed, and forced down the sting of her eyes. She concentrated on her image in the slightly grimy mirror in her room. The clothes she wore were old, they'd been in her family for generations. They were the traditional clothing of her clan and they were very vaualable. The loose, ruffled skirt was made of raw silk, dyed a deep and soft blue, it was short, coming down to well above her knees. Her clan didn't believe in combersome finery, one never knew when rapid movement would be nessesary. The top was in two layers. She wore an undershirt, also of raw silk that was plain white and sleeveless. It had a wide neck and scooped hem showing her tanned mid-drift. The outer shirt was also made of silk, but a bit finer in apperance. It also had been dyed with delicate patterns of sea birds in flight along the hem. The background had been dyed the colors of dusk at sea: all dark greens, purples and blues. The sleeves were bell like at the ends, allowing for free movement of her hands and wrists; they were attatched to the main part of the shirt by leather thongs threaded in a criss-cross pattern around her upper arm. The outer layer hung open in the front, but as per tradition, her mother had closed the front, wrapping right over left and securing it closed with a wide belt of layered silk. The wide belt was black, and was embroidered with gold and silver thread in a diamond pattern. Her ma's skillful fingers had tied the wide sash into an artful knot in the shape of butterfly wings.

To complete her finery her ma had leant her some of her few pieces of jewelry. She wore a silver clip on the shell of her right ear, it had a fine chain connected to it that ran down the edge of her ear before threading into the pierced hole in her earlobe. At the end of a the chain hung a dark green stone in the shape of a teardrop. She also wore a collection of five silver bangles around her left ankle, that rattled in a fine tinkling noise when she walked. She slipped her feet into the simple leather sandals on the floor and carefully bent to do up the laces over the top of her foot and around the lower part of her ankle.

Arjana took a deep breath and reached for the last bit of her coustume that lay on the table by her bunk. It was a choaker made of braided leather strips and had her clan's emblem strung on it. Her clan, the L'eauzu 's emblem was of the rare sun bird in flight, its wings outspread, its long feathered tail trailing after it. Necklaces for women, rings for men, given to each clan member when they came of age. At her ceremony, her grandda had tied her's around her neck, whispering to her that she looked as beautiful as her grandma had when she'd worn it years before.

The young girl ran her fingers over the edges of the silver circle, scrutinizing the image. What would it be like to fly like that? Arjana wondered. Without the aid of technology or special things? Just your own power, your own body, lifting in flight, nothing save for yourself and the whole of the sky before you?

But then she heard her father call her name, and it broke her thoughts. Arjana started in surprise. She checked that her choaker was secure before grabbing up her last few things that she couldn't be without. Her knife, which she would belt to her left forearm, a bit of ribbon for her hair, because she knew that it would get unruly soon, and finally, the cloth pouch that she'd kept her Skaa Crystal in these past few weeks.

Casting one more glance around her small room, she bolted, hurrying after her da towards top side, and her grandda's craft. They had a Meet to get to after all.
 

>(-)<

Meets, offical ones at least, were rare. Arjana had could only remember a handful ever being held. But informal meetings between the clans were held all the time, especially between allied clans. These informal sessions encouraged friendships, relationships, and marriages which served to strengthen alliances. Formal Meets were another kettle of fish entirely, as Edwin would say.

Formal Meets were steeped in tradition and had so many rules and laws that it had taken Arjana weeks to learn them all. For instance, in a Formal Meet, each clan had to send their clan head, the clan head's second, and whoever else the Meet requried. If it was because someone had discovered some particularlly vauable crystal, like Arjana had, then whoever made the discovery had to come. Formal Meets were also used to settle disputes between clans, in those cases the injured parties and the accused parties had to come, and they could each bring up to three supporting witnesses each. Needless to say, it could get complicated very quickly.

Also in Formal Meets, everyone wore their clan best. Arjana's father was in traditional clothing same as her, though his was heavier and a great deal more detailed. Her grandda was the most splendid she'd ever seen him. And he carried in his hands his headman's hat, which was a wide brimmed, peaked thing made of straw that had the clan's emblem afixed on the front. It also had a strip of cloth that ran around a third of the rim to cover his neck and shoulders from the heat of the sun. 

Two of her older cousins sailed her grandda's craft, The Common Ground for them. It was the craft that he'd built himself for him and his new bride almost fourty years ago. His marriage had been arranged between him and another clan's headman's youngest daughter. They hadn't known each other for more than a week before they were wed, and found that they had very little in common. The only exception to this was their love of astronomy. The craft was small, but sturdy and had a unique empty stretch of bow where two people could lay back and look up at the stars. Her grandda had built the entire thing just for that, just so he and his new bride could do something that they both loved together. It took time, but from that one love came understanding, which turned to compassion, which was followed by affection and by the time their first child was born, her da, they found themselves in love.

Arjana ran a fond hand over the railing of the craft, knowing that a little of her grandda's soul was in this craft. It would bear them straight and steady, just like her grandda was.

The Formal Meet was being held at one of the Neutral Barges that was at the edge of their clan waters. It was quite the journey, several hours, but they passed the time with stories, word games, and idle chatter. They didn't speak of the reason for their trip, that subject had already been talked to death. They made good time, and arrived second to the Barge.

The Neutral Barges were plain and small. Their top level was occupied by rows of solar panels, and there were only two levels open below. The first was the market area, where the trade fairs were held four times a year, during the first week of each season. The bottom level was for clan meetings, and consisted of a simple round room. The clan heads sat in a half-circle, their supporters behind them, and whoever was addressing the Meet stood or sat before them all, just as Arjana would be doing later.

"Ahhh, Aihou has already come, not surprising, their clan barge is closer to this edge than ours," her grandda remarked, picking up his hat and putting it on his head. Her cousins skillfully piloted the craft up to the dock and moored it. Her grandda hopped onto the dock, sprightly as ever, followed quickly by her da, who offered her a hand up.

"Do you think it will be long before the others come?" her da asked, as they headed for the ladders that lead into the bowels of the barge.

"Not long, the Meet begins at sun-gone. Ahter, Umi, Septeris, and Yajion have further to travel, through waters not their own, but they will have planned for that. Erison and Zepher will probably arrive first," her grandda remarked. The Alliance that her clan was part of dominated the part of the moon where they all lived. Collectively, they controled a fourth of the oceans. They were also a very strong alliance, forged by two clan wars and several generations of inter-marriages. Arjana knew that within the Alliance, her clan was one of the stronger ones, a fact she was proud of. Each clan had its own specialty, for Ahter it was jewelry and other delicate things like the smaller machine parts, Septeris had long ago mastered cultivating silk worms and growing of cotton, so much of the clothing that everyone else wore came from them. These were two examples of how the clans depened on each other, but her clan, the L'eauzu, were famous for their crafts. Like her grandda's craft, each one that came from the hands of the L'eauzu was guarenteed to sail straight and steady and last for decades. And on a planet that was almost all water, craft were a vital part of life, and thus, the L'eauzu were too by extension.

They all turned at the sound of a call, a craft coming in to the docks. The flag that flew from the mast was of a jumping dolphin - the Erison clan had arrived.

It took two more hours for everyone to assemble in the Meeting room, then another hour of informal talking and greeting of long parted friends. Her father spent a great deal of time talking to several of his friends from all of the clans. She knew that her father was slotted to become the headman when her grandda stepped down, and he had risen to that responsibilty by cultivating stong ties with the other clans. She felt her heart swell, she was so proud to be her father's daughter, and her grandda's granddaughter.

Finally, the Meet was begun, just as the last rays of the sun slipped behind Mother Geraia.
 
"The L'eauzu clan calls together this Meet on the 27th day of the second month in the galatic year of 3---. Stand, L'eauzu, and state your piece," intoned the headman from Zepher, who was to run this Meet as it was his clan's turn to do so.

Arjana's grandda stood and walked to the center of the half-circle and turned to face his contempories.

"Fellows, I have called this meet to bring news of both a wonderous and dangerous kind. Wonderous, for it has not occured in several generations, and dangerous for it's potential to cause violence. I have called this Meet to share with you this news, and ask for both your advice and particpation, 'fore I believe this is a chance to aid us all as an Alliance. With that said, I call on my grandaughter, Arjana to explain why we are all here, Arjana?"

Arjana stood and walked to where her grandda stood. She faced the other headman and bowed, holding the position for a count of five as she'd been taught recently.

"The clans recoginze Arjana L'eauzu, speak, daughter," said Headman Zepher in his rumbling, baritone voice. Her grandda descretly patted her hand then re-took his seat in the half circle.

Arjana took a deep breath and willed her rapid heart to slow for she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

"Sirs, I came of age at the end of last year, and upon gaining my first craft, took up the task of Vein Hunting. Six weeks ago, while hunting I found a deposit in my clan waters in an area that has not been mined yet," Arjana opened the pouch she'd carried for the entire six weeks and took out the precious crystal. "This is what I found," she said, holding it up to the light of the lamps around the room. The light hit the crystal and the crystal glowed a strong, steady pure white in response, inticing gasps and exclamations of surprise from everyone present.

"Gods above," someone muttered.

"Rakal ya Rasut," someone else said in wonder, just as she had.

"Skaa Crystal, I can't believe it..."

Arjana walked to the headman on the end of the half-circle, Ahter, and handed it too him. He held it in awe for a few seconds, twisting it this way and that in the light before reluctantly passing it on.

Her grandda stood again and walked to the center of the half-circle.

"If I may, fellows?" he asked the assembly. Zepher waved his consent absentmindly as he took the crystal from the hands of the headman next too him.

"Of course, go on L'eauzu," he said. Her grandda waited until the crystal had made it to the last headman, and gave Arjana a nudge to go and retrieve it which she did before returning to her grandda's side. She held it in her open palm so that all could see it.

"Fellows, I do not need to explain what this discovery could mean for my clan, that much is obvious. However, I do not wish for this to benefit my clan only. We have been friends for many, many years and I wish to see the benefits help us all. I am proposing a new series of laws be made concerning the Skaa Crystal. Instead of belonging to which ever clan that the crystal is discovered in, I propose that it belongs to the Alliance, and that we split the profits evenly among us. This way everyone gains and no one is left hungry for more. What I hope this will do is discourage the bloody fighting that erupted the last time a clan discovered a deposit of the precious crystal."

quiet mutters filled the room, no one present had any mempries of the last clan war, but the horrible, gory stories had been passed down as warnings for all furture generations. Arjana knew that her grandda had lost his grandda when he was only a tiny little to the last clan war.

"Your offer is a good and generous one, L'eauzu, but how to you propose we go about this?"

Her grandda smiled, he and her father had spoken long about this very subject.

"My plan is simple, a mining crew of seven clans men, one from each clan will go and mine the crystal. There is never much, so I do not imagine it taking any long period of time. The crystal will be divided into even portions, and then they will draw lots to see who takes home which part. And we all part ways as the same friends we were when we began. I think that we can collobrate on who and when to sell our crystals but no clan will have a say in anothers business once the crystal is mined and divided. But I hope that we can work together so we don't attract any unwanted attention from pirates or the other clans. Arjana had a wonderful idea for clients of these crystals," her grandda remarked, much to Arjana's embarssement. The clan head focused again on her expectantly.

"Speak, daughter," Zepher said, returning the floor to her.

"W-Well, my father explained how selling Skaa Crystal had to be done real quiet like, because people can get to be pretty greedy and greed leads to all kinds of bad attention for our clans. So I thought that if we were to sell the crystal to the racing communities, we could get the best deals, since racers are always looking for steady, long lasting fuel, it gives them an edge in their races and they have plenty of money. And, because racing is such a competative sport, we can be almost guarenteed a racer's silence on the matter because he won't want us to sell to his competators...sirs," Arjana finished in a rush.

There was a great deal of humming and pleased noises all around.

"Your granddaughter speaks wise words, L'eauzu," said Yajion. Her grandda dipped his head in recognition of the compliment.

"My thanks, headman, we are very proud of her. She has also been offered a place at the GP Academy, which she will be taking," he said softly. That brought a whole nother round of surprise and shock, which made Arjana's face burn again. A quick series of questions about the hows and whens followed which were quickly answered by her grandda before the subject returned to the object in Arjana's hand.

"Your proposal is a kind and generous one, L'eauzu, but this calls for a vote. As per our laws, in creating new ones of this kind, we must be in full agreement. So, by show of hands, all in favor of L'eauzu's laws?" Zepher asked.

There was no pause, every headman raised his hand. They knew they'd be fools not too. They knew that they were pledging that any Skaa Crystal found in their waters in teh future would too belong to the Alliance rather than the clan, but each headman could see the benefits in the long run. Wars were just too devestating when each clan did not have many able-bodied people to spare, and Skaa Crystal was too enticing a prize to ignore.

"Passed, I am pleased to say," Zepher said happily before contiuning, "Each clan will send one of their miners to the L'eauzu clan barge before the end of the next month to begin mining. In the interum, the area where the crystal was found is off limits to everyone."

"No one knows where the Skaa Crystal was found, not myself nor my son, we told Arjana to keep that information a secret to all. She will revel the location to everyone when they arrive, is that fair?" her grandda asked.

"It is quite fair," Zepher replied, smiling warmly at his friend, "that was wise of you."

The headman turned to Arjana once more, "Arjana, as per our laws, that piece you hold in your hand belongs to you and you alone. It is yours to keep, use, sell, barter, or trade as you will, we only ask that you be wary and mindful of its value. There are many amongst the other clans who would kill you for such a prize. And there are those where you are going for school that will recognize it for what it is and do the same, ya?"

Arjana bowed low, "Ya, sir." she answered. The other headmen smiled, Zepher clapped his hands together.

"I declare this Meet adjourned. We shall reconvene one month after the mining is complete to discuss our potential clients," he said.

The Meet broke.