Unexpected Turns

[Chirakis 1]

Unexpected Turns

 

Romulans can be intimidating.

Especially the High Command.

Chirakis can be intimidating.

Today, she chose not to be.

Upon materializing on ch’Rihan, she assumed an unimposing stance, a conciliatory posture in deference to her mission: reconciliation.

When a star not far from Romulan space showed signs of going nova, the joint allied powers were summoned to assist, should evacuations of the Romulan home world and surrounding inhabited planets be necessary. The operative words were, “should evacuation be necessary.” Some ignored those words, elbowing their way into Romulan space in the name of assistance, assuming much and understanding little. The Romulan government became alarmed, and justifiably so.

Since the very nature of Sky Harbor Aegis made the station a crossroads of allied affairs, Captain Chirakis had been chosen to arbitrate. Or be their punching-bag. Or both.

Built and operated under joint agreement of the governments of Bajor, the Cardassian Union, the Ferengi Alliance, the Klingon Empire, the member states of the United Federation of Planets, and the Romulan Star Empire – otherwise known as the Allied Powers – Aegis provided a common area for meeting, discussing, and doing business. By virtue of her position as commanding officer of that station, Chirakis Kirel dealt with all of them on a daily basis. In the mind of Starfleet, therefore, she was a convenient mediator for the current crisis that threatened to grow disproportionately around ch’Rihan.

A soft breeze, fragrant with the pollen of Ipomoea alba, eddied the grass as she waited. It was a common Rihan tactic - the waiting - both to assess the visitor and to unnerve those with less noble motives. Moreover, Kirel was not just Starfleet, she was SI-5. But the affiliation was obvious, and she doubted it would be of much concern to the Romulan High Command.

 

Still, her position in SF Intel gave her certain advantages. As an operative she had become intimately acquainted with agents from other governments. She had worked beside them, fought beside them, and had, on occasion, saved a life. Some had been Rihan. That in itself might give them cause for concern, but certainly not now, not under these circumstances.

 

Thirty standard minutes turned into forty, then an hour. Still she waited.

Several minutes past the hour, the outline of a tall, broad-shouldered Rihan appeared, silhouetted against the setting sun, the alabaster columns of the Romulan government complex forming a classic backdrop. The figure advanced slowly, clad in robes that flowed evenly with every step. A senator, then. Not a member of the High Command. Definitely male, he had a familiar gait, a distinguished bearing, and an expression that only comes with age and experience.

 

His robes snapped in a sudden gust as his face became clear in the waning light. Stopping a few feet from her, a knowing smile played on his lips.

“Chirakis Kirel, Captain and Commanding Officer of Sky Harbor Aegis. You’ve done well,” he said in perfect Federation Standard, each word weighed, each given considerable emphasis.

“Senator Val’rek.” Kirel gave him a respectful nod.

“Come,” he said, shifting to his native tongue, “let us reason together, as we have many times before, hum?” The Elder passed her, moving in slow, even pace toward a stand of willows, one of the seven sacred species planted on government grounds. “Our meetings seem to be in times of crisis. Pity, as I would enjoy meeting you under more auspicious circumstances. But such is not the case, so here we are.

“And don’t mind them,” Val’rek continued with a small sigh as he waved at the too-obvious shadows darting among the trees. “They’ve nothing better to do. Here, even the grass has ears, but still they must follow. In any event, we’ll say nothing they don’t already know.”

They wandered the grove for several minutes before the senator stopped in a clearing and swept his gaze across the night sky, as though hunting for the stellar nemesis now threatening their extinction. Still, he remained reserved, as he had the many times Kirel had the honor to work beside him. Several minutes passed before he continued.

“You’ll not be seeing the High Command. Does that disturb you, Captain?”

Kirel quirked a brow. “I am here to do whatever needs to be done, Senator. How that is accomplished is immaterial.”

“I thought as much,” he said, carefully considering her expression. “You have always been that way, Captain. And ever since....” He stopped and gave a quick glance into the shadows. “But that is something they do not know, nor shall they ever. So back to the situation at hand....

 

“The High Command are exceptionally busy with... military matters. Things I am unable to discuss, of course. And I... am expendable.” Kirel’s reaction made him balk. “Oh, I’ve become quite a radical, you know. Perhaps age has something to do with it. Contemplating one’s mortality is a sobering thing.”

 

Again a pause, this time with a sigh of... remorse?

 

“I suppose I would have been assassinated by now if it weren’t for the power of my house, but even they have questioned my peaceful leanings.

“In any event, I will be your only contact,” he said, turning and drawing Kirel’s gaze to his. “The official story will be that the High Command received you and listened to your plea, there were demands followed by concessions regarding the appropriate behavior of the other allies, and an agreement was finally reached. I will supply you with a list of those concessions, which are minor. Understood?”

“Understood, Senator.”

A gentle grunt signaled his satisfaction as they resumed their stroll. “So, Captain… we find ourselves on the cusp of what could possibly be the most devastating destruction to one species in the history of the quadrant, and we are faced with interstellar war. Strange, is it not, the ignorance of races that call themselves intelligent?”

A rhetorical question. Kirel fell in step and said nothing.

“But from our distress comes hope, not just for the planet, but for the future of relations with our distant cousins, should we survive.”

Her interest piqued, she gave him an eager glance.

 

“Yes, Captain. Vulcan has come to our aid. Of course, their plan may not work, but the most intelligent move we have made in decades is to have put aside our differences with our distant cousins and to have accepted their assistance.”

“Forgive me, Senator, but are you talking about assistance with evacuations or some... other kind of assistance?”

“Another kind, Captain. Assistance with the star. They have a theory, and a plausible one, that may stop the star from going nova. Or something like that.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I never was very good with science. Diplomacy, yes. Science, no.”

Chirakis’ expression was nothing short of astounded.

“Ambassador Spock is en route, piloting what is supposed to be their fastest ship. Our scientists and theirs have been collaborating to create a substance that, supposedly, will ‘turn the star in on itself.’ Again, something I do not totally understand. But all that aside, our scientists have requested the assistance of your new ship, recently christened The Aegean, inbound from Romii?”

Senator Val’rek turned to Kirel, as if asking for verification. “Of course,” was all she could muster, her thoughts consumed with the possibility that Romulus might be spared.

“I’m told that your scientists apparently have information that he might find useful. The ambassador will contact you when he arrives.

 

“And that, Captain, is the end of my message... and, unfortunately, our conversation, one-sided as it was. I wish you godspeed. May your judgment be true, your life long, and your command enduring.”

 

With that, guards emerged from the shadows, taking up escort positions next to the senator, and they moved off. A few minutes later, Kirel was aboard the Revenge, on her way to the bridge.

 

TBC in sim.