Detente and Decorum

[Sorehl 0]

Twenty-one days after the USS Morningstar's departure from the Avalon system...

 

Commander John Blair, newly installed executive officer of Camelot Station, descended the ramp from the Command Center and slipped through the doors into the inner sanctum of his captain.

 

The climate was at once too warm and dry, assaulting his nostrils, but he strode in unimpeded. With a graceless bound, Blair tossed himself back onto the couch, bouncing to rest against the overstuffed cushions against the outer wall. He planted both feet up on the low table, leaning back.

 

On the other side of the office, Captain Sorehl rotated his chair slowly to face him. “I trust you have something on your mind, Commander?” Behind him, a tactical display showed the relative position of five recent attacks against both Dominion and Romulan sites in the Gamma Quadrant.

 

Blair folded his arms. “I know it’s part of your persona, the whole arcane Vulcan brooding in private,” he mused, “but I was getting tired of waiting for you to come out.”

 

The captain tilted his head slightly. “I would have thought a year of Command School might impress upon you a greater concern for decorum.”

 

Blair shrugged. “You’ve got more than enough for both of us,” he retorted. Still, he put his feet down and sat up, looking more serious – maybe Starfleet had taught him something since their last time serving together. “Yorktown is less than an hour out,” he prompted, “are you going to deploy her to find out more about these attacks?”

 

The Vulcan stroked his beard. “Not yet,” he answered. “I’m inclined to let the Romulans suggest a course of action; and I have to consider whether we can share our most recent intelligence with the Dominion.”

 

“Recent intelligence? From our project on the lower decks?”

 

Sorehl shook his head. “No, our away team on T-Rogora confirmed that the Hundred has access to cloning technology. Given the concentration of these attacks on Dominion cloning facilities, it may be relevant.”

 

John frowned. “But why wouldn’t we share…?”

 

“At great personal risk,” the captain explained, “Ambassador N’Kedre avoided an escalation of hostilities between our governments by securing silence about Romulan collusion with the Hundred. She may consider the cloning information equally sensitive to our recently achieved detente.”

 

“Collusion with the Hundred,” Blair repeated, as if saying it would let it make more sense. “Doesn’t look like it worked out for the Romulans, did it?”

 

Sorehl glanced toward the display.

 

“You’re not convinced.” Blair felt a smirk creep across his face. “I know that look – you have a theory, don’t you?”

 

The Vulcan met his gaze evenly. “I lack sufficient evidence to advance a conjecture. For the moment, I am merely formulating.”

 

“I can hardly wait to hear it,” Blair sighed in mock exasperation. He got to his feet, sensing an end to their discussion. “So, no new orders for Yorktown?”

 

Sorehl turned his chair back toward the screen. “No,” he answered, “but have engineering begin offloading construction supplies at once. If things change, I want turnaround to be swift.”

 

“I’m sure Captain Halloway is expecting a personal reception for the new Federation envoy,” Blair observed, walking toward the door. “You know he’ll want her off his ship and in our waiting arms as soon as possible.”

 

“Convey my intent to the good captain,” Sorehl agreed, “I’ll meet him at the Docking Complex upon his arrival.”

 

Blair clasped his hands in front of him. “Will do. I’ll be up on the CC. I know how important it is to have a trained command officer on hand to supervise another fully-automated docking procedure.”

 

* * * * *

 

The Vulcan watched Commander Blair go. Their years together on Aegis had no doubt imbued the former science officer with a collegial attitude that was a marked contrast to Sorehl’s own sense of decorum. In addition to his specialty in sensor design and computer administration, Blair would be well positioned to be the “pleasant, approachable face of command,” and let Sorehl do his job with fewer unnecessary platitudes.

 

With the Romulans and Dominion adding yet another iron in the fire, he hoped such offloading would be enough.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Sorehl