<div class="floatleft">(https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/images/thumb/7/71/Rodansmall.jpg/800px-Rodansmall.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong>Diplomatic Attache Anatole Kir-Je<br/><strong>Location:</strong>USS Redemption Mess Hall<br/><strong>Tagging/Mentioning:</strong>Ensign Ithali sh'Rhynek<br/><strong>NSFW Warning:</strong><br/><br/>"Part of my expertise is in cross cultural etiquette,"  Anatole answered.  "The Caitians, for example, if they are not familiar with humans, might consider long brightly painted fingernails on a woman as a sign that she was a warrior issuing an open challenge, whereas darker colours are not.  Red, specifically, would be seen as a sign that you wanted to shed blood.  There may not be 14,000 colours of nail polish available but I could tell you how many of them would be received.  Given a chance to review the code that covers the Ushaan-tor, I'm sure I could make myself, if not exactly conversant in it, then at least familiar enough with it to avoid the more common pitfalls.  As far as what I can offer in trade..."<br/><br/>Anatole smiled.  This was a battlefield that he was familiar with.  It was negotiations, pure and simple.  She would seek to gain the greatest price, while he sought the lowest.  He would allow her to set the opening bid, which would be their high mark.  His counter offer would be the low mark and they would settle somewhere in the middle.  He had a certain amount of martial arts knowledge that he could pass on and possibly political influence that she could make use of to further her career.  He doubted that she wanted materials goods or straight up cash but then again she might surprise him.  Or not.<br/><br/>"I'm not certain that I would have anything that would interest you.  Perhaps you could tell me what you want and I well see what I can do about satisfying those needs."  That was, of course, the other part of the negotiations.  Ithali seemed at least remotely interested in him as more than a sparring partner and she certainly was attractive.  Her pale skin and hair would be almost luminous under the right lighting and those curves begged to be explored.  He didn't want to put that on the table right away; it would seem crude and crass.  He was, after all, the more subtle of the two when it came to word play and negotiations.  Besides, if she didn't put it on the table, he could always bring it up later.<br/><br/><em>Let the dance begin and we'll see who it is that pays the band at the end....</em>