The Right Diplomat

Posted on Thu Mar 17th, 2016 @ 2:21am by Lieutenant Commander Li'thia t'Dharvanek

1,987 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Pathways

Li'thia groaned as she opened her eyes and they were assaulted by the bright light that filtered through the blinds of her apartment bedroom. Oasis Prime was the largest city, if it could be called that, on the planet Terria, and as such was the location of the planetary governor’s office, the spaceport and of course the Federation diplomatic offices. It wouldn't be so bad except that Terria was a desert planet with almost no rotational tilt and Oasis Prime was barely two degrees off of the equator. The sun always beamed its hateful rays down upon Oasis Prime and the smaller community Oasis Minor. Numerous other communities dotted the desert planet, but those were the only two with spaceports and access to the planets only water sources. Everyone else had to pipe water from those two communities or use atmosphere moisture evaporators for water. Or, in Li'thia's case, import beverages for consumption.

The Terrians liked to celebrate. Why, Li'thia could easily guess. Life on the colony world was hard. Squeezing what moisture one could from the air and turning it into water for crops that simply didn't want to grow on this hateful planet wasn't exactly as easy as some thought it would be. Naturally, Terria had support from the Federation, as an Earth colony and Federation member planet the Terrians had access to the same level of technology that everyone else in the Federation had. They just didn't want it. They preferred the satisfaction and rewards that came out of hard work. That being said, they also loved a good party. The planetary governor had invited Li'thia to a water celebration the night before, and being the Federation's diplomat to Terria as well as the de facto commanding officer to the Starfleet garrison due to her reserve commission, she had gone. What she hadn't expected was the amount of alcohol that had been served, most of it illegal. Li'thia, being a full blooded Romulan and as guest of honor, had enjoyed perhaps a little too much of the Romulan ale that had been served at the celebration. Not only did she not have much recollection of the night before, she also had a brain shattering migraine and hangover.

Rolling over in her bed, Li'thia pulled the pillow over her head and groaned again. There was no easy way to get rid of a Romulan ale hangover. The vest thing to do was simply start drinking more ale, the other was to simply take a shot of a tranquilizer and sleep it off. Neither choice was available. To make matters worse, Li'thia heard the sharp beeping of her comm start up. "No," Li'thia pleaded with the merciless device. It only continued to signal away with its annoying beep growing louder each time it rang out. "All right. All right," she said as she fumbled around for the handheld comm. She didn’t wear a commbadge since she never wore her Starfleet uniform, and that was also to her advantage in her endless battle with Terria's damned heat. A cold day was when the predawn temperature was less than ninety.

Her fingers finally found the handheld comm on her night stand, and after two attempts of trying to remember how to work properly, Li'thia grabbed it and pulled it under the pillow. "Yes?" she said, her voice sounding as if she was still asleep, which wasn't too far from the truth.

"Ah, ambassador, good morning to you," the voice of Alexander Wallace, Terria's planetary governor, answered her. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time but I thought I would let you know that a Starfleet cruiser has just arrived and will be entering orbit in just over an hour. The captain insisted that he speak to you immediately, but of course your office said that you weren't available. So, I thought I would inform you personally."

"What ship and what did the captain want?" Li'thia asked, her curiosity aroused.

"The ship is the USS Saratoga, a Typhoon class, and the captain didn't say," Alexander said, his voice putting out a tone that stated that he wasn't happy about that last part.

Li'thia frowned as she thought over the possibilities. The Typhoon class carriers were, like all Starfleet carriers, rare, even more so since they were small and usually assigned to support or specialized operations. "All right, Mister Wallace. I'll be at your office in an hour. I take it there's a car on the way for me?"

"Yes. I assumed you were still at your apartment, so I dispatched a car before I called you. It should be there in a few minutes" Alexander said.

"Ok. I'll see you in an hour," Li'thia said before she thumbed the comm off. Burying her head into her sheets, she groaned. "Damn," she muttered.

* * * * *

Li'thia staggered into Alexander Wallace's office just over an hour after she had gotten the call from him. She was dressed in her typical Terrian outfit for unofficial visits: a pair of dark colored loose pants and a loose shirt over which she wore a tight vest that hugged her every curve. Ignoring both Alexander and the Starfleet officer who wore the rank of a full commander, Li'thia managed to make her way over to the side table along the wall where a fresh pot of coffee had just finished brewing. Making herself a cup and being very generous with the sugar and creamer, she drank the entire cup of hot coffee in on go before she turned towards the two men.

"Reports of my death are not far from being right. Commander, what can I assist you with today?" Li'thia said.

"Lieutenant commander Li'thia Dharvanek, I’m Commander Blake Williams, captain of the USS Saratoga. I've been informed that the Saratoga is to carry you to the USS Hyperion," the commander said.

"What for? No one has told me of anything needing my attention in this sector," Li'thia said as she poured a second cup of coffee and started drinking it.

"All I know is that I'm to take you to board the Hyperion at Earth before the ship departs for Romulus," commander Williams said neutrally.

Li'thia couldn't help but laugh, although it hurt. Anyone who knew her history with the Romulan Empire would know better than to send her along on a diplomatic mission to Romulus. She snorted in laughter and spilled some of her coffee onto her hand. "Ow, hot, hot, hot," she muttered between laughs. Finally looking up at Williams and Wallace, who were staring at her with the same confused expression, Li'thia shook her head. "Are you sure you have the right diplomat?" she asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Li'thia Dharvanek, Starfleet Reserves, currently assigned to the Federation Diplomatic Office on detached duty to the planet Terria to act as the Federation ambassador and representative. The image attached to your file is a bit dated, but otherwise I'm almost certain that I've got the right diplomat," Commander Williams said.

"Almost certain?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow towards the commander.

"Yes, Mister Governor. The woman in the service file appeared to be both sober and presentable as a Starfleet officer," Williams said.

Li'thia's fierce Romulan temper boiled instantly and she slammed her cup down on the table with enough force to shatter the ceramic cup before she marched, or rather angrily staggered, up to Commander Williams. "And just who in the Nine Hells are you to judge me you lazy stuck up overbearing arrogant pig brained sexist moronic common named son of an idiot?" she snarled, poking her finger in the Commander's chest with each word she spat at him. Before he could begin to bristle up and reply, she continued right on. "You can tell Starfleet Command that I want my transfer orders transmitted to me before they dispatch a ship commanded by someone who isn't a sexist pig who graduated 194th in a class of 195 and only has command of a ship Because his daddy plays golf with one of the admirals at Starfleet Command," she finished. When Williams opened his mouth, she speared him with a look that could have melted durasteel. "I dare you to keep pissing me off," she warned.

"I think I'll return to my ship and wait for Starfleet Command to send me my orders," the commander finally said.

"I think that's the smartest thing you've said since I've met you," Li'thia snapped. She glared hatefully until Williams had left the office before she groaned, and this time it wasn't from the hangover. Turning to the planetary governor, she sighed. "I guess I need a ride to my office so I can figure out what's going on," she said.

"I'll have the car ready for you when you get downstairs. Good luck, Miss Dharvanek," Alexander said with a knowing smile.

* * * * *

Li'thia sat at the desk in her apartment and stared at the transfer orders that were displayed. In the three hours since her meeting with Commander Williams in Governor Wallace's office, she had received two comm calls, one from her boss at the Federation Diplomatic Office to inform her that she was being transferred and the other from Starfleet Command to inform her that she was being reactivated to active duty and assigned to the Hyperion. The Saratoga had already departed from Terria, Commander Williams having had his feelings hurt had returned to his ship and ordered it to somewhere far away. Starfleet had rerouted the USS Basilisk, a Nova class survey ship that would take her to Earth. To her understanding, the Hyperion wouldn't be departing at her scheduled time, so Li'thia had plenty of time to get there.

It did mean that she was finally leaving Terria, which after three years, she found that she was reluctant to do so. After all, where else would she be able to get a decent bottle of Romulan ale? Naturally, that question answered itself. The Hyperion was heading for an exploration mission in Romulan space. There would be Romulan ale every where they went. That also brought up a rather sensitive issue that she had tried to bring up with the Diplomatic Office. Li'thia had been exiled from Romulus nearly thirty years before, and she wasn't very keen on returning. There was simply too much anger and hatred that simmered under her calm demeanor when it came to her own species. The memory of seeing her father bleeding to death on the Senate floor before she and her mother had been whisked away to a neutral planet in the Neutral Zone was still too fresh in her memory.

It didn't matter. She was a Starfleet officer and she had a responsibility to her duty as the Hyperion's diplomatic officer. This meant that personal feelings could not interfere with the Hyperion’s mission. Her superiors had stated that they wanted an officer who had firsthand knowledge of the internal workings of the Romulan Empire and understood more of what went on behind the scenes than someone who had simply read a briefing report. Li'thia had snorted at that thought, since she knew from personal experience that intelligence could fall way too short on accurate information and analysis. As sad of a fact as it was, she was the perfect officer for the job. With a sigh, Li'thia groaned. She was the right diplomat for the Hyperion, and she was wishing like hell that it wasn't true.

Her comm badge beeped softly, breaking through her thoughts. "Commander Dharvanek, the Basilisk is approaching at full impulse. She'll be in orbit in three hours," the voice of the space traffic control officer reported.

"Thank you. Please inform the Basilisk that I'll be ready when they arrive," Li'thia said. Signing off, she sighed. Taking a deep sigh, she stood and grabbed her uniform jacket. She had three hours, and she intended to enjoy them.



LtCmdr Li'thia Dharvanek
Diplomatic Officer

 

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