Chapter 59:
[Xyrillians 2032]
Admiral Tarabai Kamath of Earth visited Xyrillia. The delegation all had environment suits which had many improvements in recent years. The helmet part was now transparent and the rest looked somewhat like a normal uniform. It had many hidden protections, some of them magical.
A female Xyrillian, La'zhen greeted them, "There is no need for your space suits, we can help you adapt to our atmosphere."
Admiral Kamath answered, "We will keep them on for now."
La'zhen asked, "But we prepared a wonderful meal for you. How can you eat with those helmets?"
Kamath said, "I will explain why we are appearing to be rude in your culture. Please have some patience as we understand each other's cultures."
La'zhen said, "Of course. We only want to be good hosts."
Kamath said, "I'll show you a video of a different timeline in 119 Earth years from now, which will explain our different perspectives." The Enterprise episode Unexpected started playing.
Kamath asked, "What do you think our culture might have found unacceptable by yours?"
La'zhen asked, "Causing malfunctions on Enterprise while borrowing some plasma exhaust?"
Kamath answered, "No, it was the borrowing in the first place without asking. If your ship asked Enterprise and permission was given, then the accidental negative consequences would be a problem to solve, not an offense. What is the next offense?
La'zhen asked, "Improper relations between species?"
Kamath answered, "Again, not the offense. Relying on Tucker not being aware of Xyrillian reproductive procedures was the offense.
You'll find that the Alliance culture has unified to an extent from their original cultures. We all value honesty."
A Denobulan added, "Actually there have been many pairings among the species in the Alliance, that would have been expected to be unusual. I would guess that if your people openly asked, you would even find willing participants."
Kamath added, "We require only a few modifications to Xyrillian behavior towards other species. Honesty, and fully informing of possible consequences of any interaction, and asking permission for even minor requests, such as making use of a ship's plasma exhaust."
La'zhen asked, "I am curious about this concept of honesty. In the examples you showed, the Xyrillians did not seem to make statements that were false."
Kamath answered, "Withholding pertinent information becomes lying by omission. In both examples there were consequences to those who were put into situations without being informed."
La'zhen answered, "Fascinating. I suppose we can learn to follow this cultural rule. Perhaps you can later give many more examples of the rule is being followed and others of the rule not being followed. We can use that to develop a learning module with a quiz for all Xyrillians to complete.
I do have other questions, you said that Alliance culture has unified to at least this concept of honesty. What other concepts? Also, how did it decide to value honesty?"
Kamath answered, "Yes we will provide you with examples.
Other concepts have been the accepting of other species. Some of the members of the Alliance had previously mostly or only interacted with their own species. Some still prefer that, and certain areas of some planets are set aside for them.
Another recent concept is not accepting slavery or the mistreatment of sentients. This is new, but is a law that applies to all Alliance members. Observers are sent and there are tribunals to judge compliance with this law. The concept applies also to the criminal justice system, to make sure that it isn't used for slavery, or illogically.
Why honesty became a shared concept? Due to the core members of the Alliance were Humans, Tellarites, Andorians, and Vulcans. Of the many original cultures from Earth, the one that emerged in control of it values what they call brutal honesty. The Tellarites have always believed in honest arguments and even insults as a preferred means of interaction. The Andorian system of honor never tolerated dishonesty. The Vulcans have always claimed honesty as a fundamental value. This is not to say that none of those species, or others, are ever dishonest, just that such behavior is considered a transgression. Similarly, criminals can be found among most species, as well as attempts to prevent, discover, and punish crimes."
La'zhen answered, "These rules would be acceptable. We are eager to join the Alliance. Our understanding is that we might be able to perform magic with additional training."
Kamath said, "I do not know your potential, but from canon you have mind arts similar to the Vulcans, and make use of a focus device, a pool of special pebbles. Usually that means that at least some of your species have the ability to be trained in magic. We will not know until it is actually attempted. And we would like to learn your hologram chamber technology."
La'zhen said, "Since we are learning full disclosure, I'll disclose. We hired the Orions to check our abilities, and their Human magical employees reported exactly what you speculated, that our species has magical potential."
Kamath looked amused and said, "Thank you for disclosing that. It will make training you for magic more efficient, since we can skip the initial step of checking for species potential."
La'zhen said, "It is agreed then. We join the Alliance, we trade all technologies, including magic. We will have full transit rights throughout the Alliance. This is exciting."
Within weeks they had hired magical teachers from Earth. Schools were setup on Xyrillia. Due to the extremely high wages of magical teachers, they followed the same pattern used in the Alliance of mostly using non-magical teachers of magic and automated learning, with actual spell-caster teachers rapidly switching between a large number of students.
[Hogwarts 2032]
Three months later a family of Xyrillians rented living quarters in Scotland. They visited Hogwarts Headmistress McGonagall who asked, "What can I do for you?"
The mother of a Xyrillian girl said, "Our daughter has residence in the United Kingdom. Her age on September the first will be 11 in Earth years. We expect that she will attend Hogwarts."
McGonagall said, "This is unprecedented. The admissions book had not been setup for this situation. While you do not have the status of permanent residents of the United Kingdom, you did get the approval to sign a 2 year lease on your living quarters and to be residents for that amount of time. You previously hired a qualified tester to have U'lan Trentar evaluated for magical ability. She is qualified magically.
Very well. She will be expected to conform to behavior standards of Hogwarts students. We reserve the right to end this experiment if this educational facility does not mesh with her needs. I'll be right back."
McGonagall returned with a letter. "Miss Trentar, this letter is for you."
The Hogwarts letter was addressed to "U'lan Trentar. Second chair from the window in front of Headmistress McGonagall's desk. Hogwarts"
McGonagall continued, "The list of supplies can be purchased at Diagon Alley in London. Even though you are living in Scotland, you'll arrive at Hogwarts on September the first by boarding a train from London. Professor of Wizarding Culture James Potter will help you obtain your supplies and introduce your family to our culture."
Harry and Hermione's son James took on the rule of helping guide the British magical community into the future. It helped that he was in charge of the houses Black and Potter, with Harry naming James as being in charge so that Harry could concentrate on helping to run the Alliance. That only 2 of his 8 great-grandparents had been magical was something that the more traditional British wizarding society would object to, but considerable effort was made by me and Section 31 to keep any such complaints quiet.
Most of the staff at Hogwarts spent their summers as traveling teachers, earning far more than their Hogwarts annual salaries. They stayed at Hogwarts because they wanted to. Hogwarts never charged tuition, and its resources didn't allow for large increases in pay for its instructors.
There had been staff turnover. Both Dumbledore and Flitwick had decided that their own talents were unique and were needed for magical inventions. They each took on apprentices, and wrote textbooks, but otherwise were not involved in education. Albus Dumbledore's brother Abe, who previously ran a pub in Hogsmeade, became a traveling magical consultant for large ranches and farms that kept animals for agriculture. A little bit of magic could improve their efficiency considerably. More recently he visited other planets that paid more for his services.
Sinestra was away from Hogwarts for several years, studying astrology in other star systems. She wrote several books, and then returned to teaching at Hogwarts.
[Nausicaa 2032]
Captain Pike arrived and announced, "Alliance of Civilizations arriving for diplomatic discussions."
The Nausicaans replied, "Send a shuttle to the planetary coordinates indicated with your diplomats."
The Nausicaans provided food, a series of meats and sauces.
Pike said, "The arrangement between the Alliance and Nausicaa has been working well from our perspective. We would like to offer you membership in the Alliance."
The Nausicaan leader answered, "At present we have a very lucrative arrangement with the Orions to provide security personnel. If we joined the Alliance, any attacks by Nausicaans would be regarded as an attack by an Alliance species. Sometimes our work can be, well, less than peaceful.
You also don't fight wars. If you did fight the Klingons we would not wish to miss that."
Pike asked, "On whose side? Who do you think would win?"
The Nausicaan answered, "On the winning side. No question the Alliance would win. Better technology, resources and tactics. I am reluctant to acknowledge that the Klingon warrior spirit would not be enough for them to win. Batleth against whatever type of sword you have? I'd bet on the Klingon. Shields, beams, torpedoes, and magic? I'd bet on the one with the better technology."
Pike answered, "I am not sure that you working for the Orions would be as problematic as you think for the Alliance. There are Humans also working for the Orions.
I understand your dislike of the possibility of this area of space becoming peaceful. Perhaps there are other endeavors for Nausicaans such as prize-fighting.?"
The Nausicaan answered, "Perhaps. If we can continue working for the Orions, then we can join the Alliance."
Pike said, "I'll tell the Alliance Council, and see if they'll agree to that."
[Alliance meeting with the Orions, 2032]
The Orion said, "We prefer hostile civilizations that do not want to allow direct trade with each other. You want peace. We can satisfy both. The Klingons are not liking their odds in fighting the Alliance. They asked us to broker a treaty.
When I said odds, I mean literally the odds that the Orion Syndicate is currently offering. 4.38 to 1 in favor of the Alliance winning. Bets are returned after 1.12 Earth years if no war has started."
Khan said, "Excellent. We can hear their demands first."
Daphne asked, "What if both would accept trade with each other. Orion would try to ensure that is not in the treaty?"
The Orion answered, "Of course trade might be preferred. But would either want ships from the other in their space? Ships that can spy? Ships that can be a disguised invasion force? Orion ships can carry trade between sides that distrust each other."
Hermione asked, "Just a question about the odds. You are still giving them an over 18% chance of winning. Why are the Klingon odds as high as they are?"
The Orion answered, "Maybe they can get an alliance with the Romulans. Maybe they have a secret weapon or two. One should never discount an adversary. They built an empire, they are not incompetents."
Khan said, "On another topic. It has been brought to my attention that some feel that violent actions of members of Alliance species working for Orions against non-Alliance species can be considered a cause for war, or at least mistrust of the Alliance by those species."
The Orion answered, "If any were to be visible, we'll make sure that they have Orion insignia, showing who they are working for. If you are referring to Nausicaans, we tend to use them in a highly visible manner in providing deterrence. Human magicals are almost always hidden when conducting missions that might involve violence."
Khan answered, "That is acceptable."
[Starfleet 2032]
With Nausicaa part of the Alliance, they started to begin at Starfleet Academy. They tended to gravitate towards wanting to serve in the Starfleet Marines. Starfleet Marines Director Ling was planning for how to deploy them when they graduate: Enforce no trespassing areas. Provide security for meetings against disruptions. Clear pathways for travel.
The idea was to use them where a visible intimidation factor would be helpful. They could also be used when dealing with dueling cultures that allowed a champion.
The building program of starships was continuing. New designs were incorporated into new starships. Existing starships that required significant changes usually waited for when they been in service for five years.
Subspace repeaters were now present in much greater quantity and capability. Something approaching internet service was now available for crews.
Xyrillian technologies for growing fresh fruits on ships were added even to existing ships. They were limited to specific places on ships, not everywhere, forgoing the convenience of just being able to pick a fruit snack off of a nearby wall.
Their hologram chamber, now called the holodeck was added to new ships. A more limited version was added to existing ships. Their stealth method seen in Canon was not invented by them yet, but it was thought that they could invent it fairly quickly by seeing how it functioned.