Negotii

EARLY LIFE (2373 to 2385) 

     Negotii was born on Ferenginar in the year 2373 to traditional Ferengi parents. His father was a merchant by trade and had eyes on one day working for the FCA. His mother, despite growing social reforms, stayed at home as a proper clotheless female. In 2375, in fears to changes Grand Nagus Rom would bring, Negotii’s father liquidated the family assets, purchased a trade ship, the Latinum’s Gleam, and left Ferenginar. This resulted in Negotii growing up aboard his father’s trade vessel, isolated from the reforms sweeping across Fereginar. Negotii was raised to be a ‘proper’ Ferengi, memorizing the rules of acquisition, and growing the lobes for business. 

     As Negotii grew, he began to show an aptitude for organization, spatial computations, mathematics, and ‘the art of the deal.’ His ability to calculate numbers, odds, and predict numerical sequences gave his father a brilliant idea. In the course of their trade deals, his father would use Negotii to give him the upper hand in gambling and con jobs.

     “Isn’t this cheating,” Negotti would question. 

     “No, of course not,” his father would reply. “You are just guaranteeing the odds are in my favor. When is comes to acquiring latinum, more is good, but all is better.” 

     “Rule number 242!” 

     That was Negotii’s early life. Assisting his father in conning and cheating his way to higher profits until one day it all backfired. 

USS Collins (2386 to 2391)  

     When Negotii was 13, in 2386, their questionable profit-making schemes caught up with them. The Latinum Gleam was attacked by a vessel commanded by Nausicans who had been cheated by Negotii’s father’s schemes. The Nausicans refused to answer to hails and began firing on the Ferengi trader. They would unexpectedly warp out of the encounter before finishing the job, leaving the Latinum Gleam behind. The ship was left dead in space, with failing life support, and the warp core and the threat of breeching. Negotii was able to send out a general distress call before he lost consciousness, like his father and mother had before him. When he awoke, he was in the medbay of a Galaxy class starship, the USS Collins. Negotii learned the crew of the Collins had beamed Negotii and his family to safety just moments before their ship buckled under the damage inflicted by the Nausicans, and exploded. While thankful for saving their life, Negotii’s father was also upset that none of his possessions, or savings, had survived. 

     The Ferengi trio would eventually stay on board the Collins as part of the civilian crew. Negotii’s father worked in ten-forward as a waiter, while Negotii would find ways to make himself useful on-board ship. While on board the Federation ship, and exposed to Federation education, Negotii and his mother learned of many of the reforms on Ferenginar that Negotii’s father had hidden from him. This had caused some tension between Negotii, his mother, and his traditional father.  

     As Negotii grew older he was allowed to do more and more on board the ship. Often helping the various officers in an unofficial capacity. His aptitude that his father once exploited for gambling and con jobs, was proving useful in various aspects of the starship’s operation. For example, Negotii received a glowing compliment from the captain and senior staff when he proposed an entire restructuring of the cargo bay inventory systems, improving efficiency and storage space by 31%. In all, Negotii would spend 6 years of his life aboard the Collins, with Federation ways of life rubbing off on him… though his scheming Ferengi self never fully disappeared. 

     In 2391, at the age of 19, he would ask the captain of the Collins for a recommendation to join starfleet. There was some skepticism at first, as despite his talents Negotii’s Ferengi nature would often surface, but the captain relented and gave Negotii his letter of recommendation. Upon learning of this, Negotii’s father disinherited him. 

     Negotii’s mother, fully clothed now, hugged her son in the shuttle bay. “Good luck my boy! Never lost site of the great material continuum!” 

     “Thank you, Moogie,” replied Negotii warmly, returning her hug. Negotii’s father refused to say anything, and stood there angrily, arms folded across his chest. Negotii said farewell, and received silence in response. 

     “I have no son!” Negotii’s father exclaimed as Negotii boarded his shuttlecraft for Earth.  

     Negotii stopped and turned towards his father. “You’re just a profitless waiter. Rule number 18.” 

     Those were the last words he ever exchange with his parents. 

STARFLEET ACADEMY (2391 to 2400)  

     Negotii arrived at the Starfleet Academy campus in San Francisco in the summer of 2391. He performed well during the Starfleet Prepatory Program and was able to pass his Starfleet entrance exam on his first attempt. While at the academy he would specialize in Probability Mechanics, using his natural talent for numbers and spatial relations to good use. While he was a good student, and never lacking academically, he was never top of his classes. He would actually begin to find his old Ferengi habits began to reawaken while on campus and would eventually lead him into some trouble. 

     Negotii had developed a reputation as someone who could get whatever you were looking for or as someone that could help in some mischievous scheme… for a price. Given the lack of a monetary system at the academy, or the Federation, the price was usually some sort of favor which Negotii would cash in later to acquire more favors by others. By the time he was a senior cadet, Negotii had established quite the network. While most of his shenanigans would get him a slap on the wrist, or a stern talking to, he never got into any serious trouble. That is, until he went too far one day. 

     Near the end of his senior term, he had been approached by a Bajoran cadet who wanted to play a prank on a fellow Bolian cadet. The Bolian had been giving the Bajoran a hard time about still worshipping the Prophets and they wanted some revenge. It was well known that the Bolian had a fear of small rodents. Negotii had managed to acquire a tribble, of all things, and hid it at the Bolian’s lab station inside one of their science classes, intending to frighten the Bolian in front of everyone when they discovered it Monday morning. Unfortunately, the Bolian had been working on a project of creating a hybrid food source through genetic splicing. Over the weekend, the tribble multiplied thousands of times over, not eating all of the Bolians experimental food source, but destroying a large portion of the lab. Furthermore, when teh Bolian arrived at the lab early Monday morning to get to work, they were nearly crushed to death by a wave of cascading tribbles pouring out of the lab doors as it opened. 

     Investigations initially led to the Bajoran and Negotii. However, there was no solid evidence linking either of them to the assault and vandalism. Negotii was allowed to walk away from the incident, but the disappointment in the voices of officers Negotii respected was too much. Despite being cleared, Negotii would confess to his involvement in the scheme. The Bajoran would be expelled, while Negotii would be allowed to stay at the academy. His ‘good character’ in coming forward despite having gotten away with it being his only saving grace. As punishment however, his academic progress for the year would be purged and he would ahve to repeat his senior year. Negotii would transfer to the campus on Melstoxx II for his second attempt at senior year, in hopes that he could leave his reputation behind him and prove he was worthy of being in Starfleet. 

     Between his run ins with authority in his use, and his shenanigans at the San Francisco campus, Negotii found he also had a natural talent for navigating the legal system. Leading him to remain in Starfleet Academy after graduating and attending law school. He remained on Melstoxx II for his law school terms and had hoped to stay on Starbase Bravo after he achieved his law degree. After spending his entire youth on board starships, he had found having a permanent stationary home satisfying.  

STARBASE BRAVO (2400 – Present Day)  

     Upon graduating from law school, Negotii would take a position as an Operations Officer within the Operations Department on Starbrase Bravo. He had also requested a position within the JAG office on board the station but is waiting for a posititon to become available. Until then, he is happy to use his skills to aid in starbase operations.