Cuna
| Cuna | |
|---|---|
| Grupo | Department of Species Integration of the Superiority |
| Mundo natal | Starsight |
| Universo | Skyward Universe |
“The different ways species act is a strength of our union, not a flaw in it. ”
—Cuna[1]
Cuna is a dione who lives on Starsight and is the head of the Superiority's Department of Species Integration.[2]
Appearance and Personality
Cuna is a tall, slender dione[3] with vivid blue skin and androgynous features. They lack hair and have prominent eye ridges and cheek bones. Cuna wears a set of robes a shade of blue just lighter than their skin tone the first time they meet Spensa.[2]
Cuna is a nonaggressive dione, like most of the other races of primary intelligence in the Superiority. Cuna is cold and calculating, analyzing everything people say, which makes them a skilled politician and an excellent schemer.[4] They are quite smart, engaged in a power struggle with Winzik and the Department of Protective Services. Cuna is also quite caring and affectionate, trying to smile at Spensa, a non-dione facial expression, to be welcoming and make her species' transition to Superiority life as smooth and comfortable as possible.[1]
Although Cuna publicly holds the common Superiority view that aggressive species should not be deemed of primary intelligence, they are more tolerant than many of their colleagues, believing that there is room in the Superiority for species of different temperances than the races of primary intelligence. They conceived the Delver Resistance Program with Winzik, in the hope that when a delver threatened the Superiority, a member of a so-called aggressive species from the program would save the day and convince the races of primary intelligence that some aggression is useful, and that the different ways species act is the strength of the Superiority, not its weakness.[1]
History
Cuna and Winzik created the Delver Resistance Program together, Cuna doing it to convince the Superiority races of primary intelligence that there was value in having more aggressive races in their society, while Winzik' motivation was to provide himself with a fleet of starfighters so he could control the Superiority.[1]
Cuna arranged for Vapor to watch Winzik, suspicious of his motives in creating the Delver Resistance Program.{{book ref|sky2|34]]
Cuna first met Spensa when M-Bot landed in Starsight's docking bay. Cuna then told Spensa they were glad to meet her, as it had been at their personal request that the Superiority reach out to the UrDail. Cuna told Spensa that they had reached out to the UrDail in hopes that they would send pilots to the Superiority's new Delver Resistance Program. Their hope was that if Spensa's training went well, then more UrDail pilots could come to the Superiority and hopefully earn their race secondary Superiority citizenship.
“Let us simply say that I am interested in those who are not possessing...classical virtues. I am very curious to see you fly, Emissary Alanik.”
—Cuna, to Spensa.[4]
Cuna led Spensa to the UrDail embassy, on the way explaining the danger of having cytonics around, but told her that the Superiority needed aggressive pilots to use a superweapon prepared specifically to combat the delvers.
Cuna then told Spensa about the dangers of using AI and radio communications, and told her that the Superiority had exclusive access to cytonic hyperdrives, and that by limiting certain species' access, the Superiority could maintain galactic peace by keeping aggressive and bellicose races isolated.
Cuna then told Spensa that although they as a member of the Department of Species Integration had a certain amount of say in the Delver Resistance Program, the Department of Protective Services, the group that monitored Detritus, was the lead group in the project. Cuna then told Spensa that if she and the other UrDail pilots performed well, Cuna might even shepherd the UrDail to primary citizenship. Cuna attempted to smile at Spensa, but then as alarms went off and a human woman approached the embassy, Cuna held Spensa back and told her that they would handle the situation.[2]
Cuna stepped in front of Spensa as Winzik and Brade approached the embassy. Winzik apologized for the miscommunication of the Superiority Departments, then ushered the group inside the embassy. After arguing with Winzik about Alanik's certification, Cuna told Spensa that Winzik was the head of the Department of Protective Services and that they and him had created the Delver Resistance Program. After Winzik forced Spensa to swear off of using her cytonics inside of Starsight's cytoshield, Brade and him left, and Cuna apologized to Spensa for his behavior. Cuna then told Spensa they had arranged for the UrDail embassy to have requisition privileges to stock itself. After telling Spensa how to contact them, they left.[5]
Cuna also arranged for the UrDail embassy to have communication privileges, enabling Spensa to communicate with the UrDail on ReDawn.[4]
Cuna approached Spensa after her conversation with Winzik on the mining platform being used for the Delver Resistance Program tryout and asked her if Winzik had tried to talk her out of trying out. Spensa said yes, and then asked again why the Superiority didn't want aggressive pilots. Cuna told her there was a delicate balance, and then tells her that the UrDail were the only non-Superiority species who had responded to her call and sent a pilot to try out. Spensa asked Cuna what her true purpose in asking her specifically to try out was, so Cuna told her it was because she wanted to see Spensa's human technology, her light-lance, in action. Spensa then asked why a dione, a creature of primary intelligence, was trying out, and Cuna told her they were surprised and honestly didn't know.[4]