Aekal Donatra

"Fvadt!" A cup went flying to shatter against the hearthstones of the elegant fireplace adorning one wall of the old manor room. "The llaudh, the hnoiyika! How dare he -- treacherous piece of scum!" Crossing his legs, Dhiemm tr'Raedheol, leaned back into the soft, well upholstered couch. The luscious green, velvety hues highlighted his light olive skin. Despite his inward feelings, he kept his voice calm and flat. “H'nah,” he said gently, but steadfast. “Au must keep au voice down... io of the media could hear au.” "Let them hear!" Rh'vaurek tr'Donatra wished feverently for something else to throw, and settled for kicking a chair instead. "Let them all know exactly what kind of dog they'll be 'electing' Praetor!" He kicked the chair again, then thumped down into it, tension bleeding from his frame. "Besides, the servants are keeping them outside the estate boundaries." Exhaling, the grey-haired Rihan conceded, Aekal's brother had a point. “I have to admit, I didn't think he'd stoop to using poison. His family has always been ambitious, but at least his forefathers were... creative.” "He was desperate," Rh'vaurek growled. "He knew there was no way he could win the election fairly." Dhiehmm nodded his agreement. “Still,” he said. “I would have thought he could have at least been more creative. A shuttle accident. Something less crude than poisoning. I guess cunning skips a generation. Look at how obvious his sister was, even the Tal'Shiar wouldn't entirely let her off the hook for having her parents executed.” "I suppose he thought masking the poison as something natural was sufficiently devious. Fvadt!" Bouncing up out of his chair, Rh'vaurek began pacing again. "I'd like to feed him a few doses of taavae berries." Dhiehmm's eyes followed the younger Rihan, he took a breath and hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Perhaps you will get your chance." Rh'vaurek's head snapped around, his eyes lighting with unholy glee. "What do you know that I don't?" he demanded. He considered for a moment the merits of telling Rh'vaurek what he was preparing to tell him, and despite every fiber of his being saying it was a bad idea, he took another deep breath. “As au know, the date to get any io else on the ballot was yesterday. As such, my sources inside the N'Dak Campaign are telling me he's continuing on the assumption that he is h'nah Praetor-elect.” Pausing, trying to get the taste of that miserable word out of his mouth, Dhiehmm held up his hand before continuing. “He wants to speak with you before making an official announcement.” A muscle in tr'Donatra's jaw clenched, twitching ominously. "I'll kill him," he hissed out from between his teeth. Stable, calm and rock-jawed, Dhiehmm held back a sigh. He really couldn’t blame Rh'vaurek, honestly, he wanted to find the little hnoiyika and strangle the life out of him as well. "Na that any io could blame au... but perhaps..." "Perhaps what?" Rh'vaurek demanded. "Perhaps I should sit and smile at my sister's killer?" "Perhaps au should play his gambit," Dhiehmm said calmly. "Rh'vaurek, he's offering to talk to au, there will be na better time to find out what he's hiding. Once he's Praetor... au know this whole thing will be sent to the Tal'Diann and we'll never get any resolution." Rh'vaurek paced across the room to the hearth, grinding one of the cup fragments under his heel, and was silent for a long time. "I want to make a statement," he said abruptly. "And what will au say?" "I'm not sure." He rested his forehead against the ancient stones, breathing deeply. "I'm not the speaker Aekal was, Dhiehmm. But I can't just let this go without a word." Dhiehmm forced a smile. "There will be time for words, Rh'vaurek. H'nah is na time for them. Au sister would na want au turning this into a crusade that could plunge the Empire back into civil war before her body was even cold." "Am I to let a murderer, a coward, and a traitor ascend to the Praetorate without a word, then?" He spun on tr'Raedheol, eyes blazing. The smile faded and for the briefest moment the strong facade of the seasoned political aide who'd served as a close advisor to Aekal for years cracked. “Once we have buried her, once we've had time to catch our breaths... that... that kllhe will pay, Rh’vaurek. I give au my word, I will na rest until he is brought to justice.” "It'll be harder once he's Praetor. Especially he -- you know he'll rewrite the laws." "He does na have the backing of the lower Senate," Dhiehmm reminded him gently. "We will have to move quickly, but our allies will na allow him to act unilaterally." Pausing, he reconsidered his approach. "I understand au are angry... I am too... but the last thing Aekal would have wanted was for the Empire to be plunged into Civil War again in her name. Do na under estimate the Hnoiyika. He has powerful allies and the support of the Galae." "But not the backing of the people." "And he will know that. He will have to be cautious. For all of his... shortcomings, of which there are many, his skill at navigating danger is formidable. This will give us time to uncover the information we need to prove him guilty of this atrocity. Once we can do that, then we will bring him down, but we will do it the way your sister would have wanted -- through the rule of law, not through resorting to his methods." Rh'vaurek hesitated, then shook his head. "I cannot let it go silently, Dhiehmm. House S'Donatra has been attacked today; we must answer." "Then at least promise me you won't make accusations aimed at Destorie," he said finally. "You can make remarks about her 'killers' but do na mention him by name or make references that would easily identify him. Perhaps the words au do na say will be more important than those au do." "I will.... think about it," Rh'vaurek agreed grudgingly. Dhiehmm decided not to press any further and accepted that as a small victory. "I promise au, I will see him brought to justice for what he has done here today."

Aekal Donatra was annoyed. This was not an unusual condition for her recently. Ever since N'Dak had catapulted himself nearly to the Praetorship, her life had become one giant headache. The En'Riov's popularity was alarming, given his violently xenophobic message. That was why a small delegation of senators had turned up at Donatra's estate in Riuurren, asking her to stand for Praetor. They believed she had both the political clout and the public presence to pose a serious challenge to N'Dak, and they insisted that no one else had the appropriate synergy of qualifications. After hearing their list of potential candidates, she was forced to agree. The list of complaints against N'Dak was extensive, ranging from concerns about his anti-Versailles stance to fears regarding his personal ambitions. Donatra's concern was simpler: N'Dak did not trust Romulans. It was clear to her in every move he made, every speech he delivered, every change he proposed. N'Dak trusted no one but himself, and that only partially. And that was what frankly frightened her. At the moment, the En'Riov was thundering against the Federation President, Swaggart, who was not making Donatra's life easier by providing rich fodder for N'Dak's paranoia. Of course, she'd been outraged by his speech as well, but mostly she wanted to shake him. Didn't he realize he was feeding right into N'Dak's plans? Or was he, too, more concerned with his own power than the needs of his people and his allies? It was a moot point, really. She could do nothing to control the Federation President. Her problem now was convincing her own people that N'Dak would cause more problems than he solved. And the latest group on that agenda was the Imperial Party. Which was the current source of her annoyance. Across from her sat En'Arrain tr'Revnor of the Rei'Krannsu (retired). A distinguished older man with the slight thickening around the middle of a military man gone to seed, he was highly regarded in the Imperial Party. He was also scowling at her. Carefully, Donatra chose a response. "En'Arrain, I appreciate your distrust of the People's Party," she said, "but I assure you we have the greatest respect for the Imperial House and the traditions of the Romulan Empire." Revnor snorted. "So much respect you'll shackle us to aliens?" he replied, contempt dripping from every syllable. "Will you make us pets of the lloann'su like the Dead Ones?" "Tradition is one thing, stagnation another," Donatra replied smoothly. "Things are changing, En'Arrain. The galaxy our grandchildren will know is not the one you and I grew up in. If we want the D'Era to retain their high place, we must be willing to create new traditions to stand alongside the old." "You would see the power of the Senate rise out of all proportion to the needs of the Empire." He sat motionless in his chair, staring at her with weighty eyes. Donatra took a deep breath and began cautiously, "I have been a senator, En'Arrain, and I am a politician now… but I was a soldier first, like you. We appreciate plain speaking, I think, you and I?" She waited until he nodded, one slow incline of that greying head. His eyes never left hers. "To speak plainly, then – I have the greatest respect for the Empress. Were I Praetor, I would do all that I could to ensure that the Imperial House had a place of true leadership, befitting its stature." She paused for a moment, wanting to choose just the right words for the next part. Everything might hinge on conveying to Revnor her vision of an ambitious N'Dak reaching for more and more power, until he had the entire Empire in a chokehold – and was still unsatisfied. "But I would rather," she said at last, "see an Emperor become the honored figurehead of an Empire led by the Senate, than see the Imperial House disgraced and dishonored by the machinations of that arrogant puppy, N'Dak." Revnor was silent for so long she began to worry that her words had truly angered him. Finally, he said heavily, "I… need to think on this, Deihu." "Of course, En'Arrain," she responded, hiding her relief. "Thank you for seeing me."