Dinner on Romulus, Part III

Posted on Wed Jan 4th, 2017 @ 9:13pm by Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde & Lieutenant Zhara Rynn & Captain John Theisman & Lieutenant Commander Daniel Divaro & Lieutenant Tristan Balor

1,175 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Into the Raptor's Shadow

-= Previously on the Hyperion =-

"We can handle it," John said diplomatically, although inside he was screaming. In his mind, the Tal'Shiar were the Romulan equivalent of the spooks, the spies of the mighty Romulan Empire. Once Tavik had walked away, John took a deep breath and released it slowly. Taking a few minutes to let the information soak in, he finally followed the Romulan senator back to the main courtyard, where an aide pulled Tavik away for a moment. Spotting Commander Jayde, he walked over and gave his chief of security and tactical officer a worried look.

"I hope you like a challenge, Mira," he said.

Jayde raised an eyebrow. "Of course," she said. "What sort of challenge?"

"Our new Romulan liason officer is apparently a former Tal'Shiar officer," John said.

"That can either help us or harm us." Tristan said firmly as he seemed to walk up to the group from out of no where. Of course, it's honestly hard to miss an officer of his size with a sheathed sword strapped to his back. Regardless, the Chief of Intelligence Officer stopped in front of his crewmates and gave them each a nod before turning back to face the Captain. "However, time will tell with that, Captain." He paused slightly, taking a moment to look around the area before focusing back on the Captain. "My apologizes for my tardiness, Captain. I was greeting my assistant and her handler. I wasn't not aware that meet with go on as long as it did."

Jayde gave a nod of acknowledgement to Tristan as she answered the Captain. "Why did they assign someone with a Tal'Shiar background?" She mentally ran over precautions she would need to make and securities she would have to put in place to ensure the the safety of the ship and its crew. It would have to be handled very carefully to not give offense as well. A challenge indeed.

"It's quite all right," John said, giving his chief intel officer a nod. "Romulans like long waiting periods in any kind of event. It almost a game with them. As to why we got an officer with a Tal'Shiar background, I have no idea. Since the Romulans redid a large part of their military and intelligence setup a few years ago, they have a surplus of officers who have no regular assignment. Either way, I want an eye kept on her at all times. I'm surprised the senator even told me about her background."

Jayde nodded. "There is that," she admitted. "Although why he would say as much is also curious."

"A fear tactic, perhaps?" Tristan question before looking over to Jayde. "Although, you are correct. Revealing the background of their liaison does take away their disadvantage."

"Only time will tell," Jayde replied, nodding to Tristan. She turned to the Captain. "But since we know, I will take care of ship security and Commander Balor can deal with any potential intelligence angles."

Tristan nodded his head slightly to Jayde before looking over to the Captain. "I can reach out to some contacts and see if there is anything they can tell me about our Romulan Liaison."

"The more we know as far in advance as we can find out, the better," John said with a slight nod. "Just keep in mind that every action we make is being monitored, specially here. Caution is the word of the day when it comes to how we handle this."

Jayde bowed to both men. "Indeed. I suggest we mingle and continue this discussion later, after Commander Baylor has a chance to ask around."

"Good idea," John said. "Please tell me that everyone else is staying out of trouble so far."

"So far," Jayde said, a twinkle in her eye.

Daniel was normally not comfortable at formal occasions such as this but to him this one was even worse than normal. Why? Two major reasons--one, Commander Velah, his ex-wife, and two, Lieutenant Val. He knew from previous conversations with his daughter that Sassi wanted him and her mother to reconcile. Well, that wasn't going to happen. He had harbored hopes that he and Lieutenant Val would have a relationship but it appeared that wasn't going to happen either. From the cool, formal way she had responded to his greeting this evening it was painfully obvious that she wanted nothing to do with him--socially or otherwise. And he would be damned if he knew why. She had first indicated to him that it was because he had not told her about Velah and Sassi, when he HAD told her at the first possible opportunity after he'd found out that they would be reporting aboard at Starbase 171. No, it appeared the problem was more than that but he sure as hell didn't know what it was and it didn't appear as if she were inclined to tell him.

John was about to head off and herd his officers back in closer when the Romulan senator who was acting as their host announced that dinner was being served. A few of the Romulans present followed him into the dining room, but the majority stayed back. Feeling as if he were being led to an uncomfortable situation, John led the Starfleet officers into the dining room. A large hand carved wood table dominated the room, with enough room to seat twenty people on the sides. Senator Tavik stood at one end, while John was politely directed to the opposite end. Everyone else was more or less left to fend for themselves as to the seating arrangements, although the Romulans seemed to be letting their guests have the first choice. Sitting down in the comfortable chair, John eyed the first course on his plate. It was some form of grilled sea fish splashed with an orange sauce covered in herbs.

Jayde watched their hosts without appearing to do so. In most cultures, it was customary to let the leader take the first bite, and in her mind, that was the Romulan.

Zhara took a mental reading of the general atmosphere in the room. While this was supposed to be a friendly gathering, she was still cautious. Radical factions were still opposed to this endeavor. She smiled at the Romulan to her right as she noticed that he had not taken any food yet. "As I am not familiar with Romulan cuisine, what do you recommend?" she asked.

"The tentacled sea fish is not bad, although if you're not used to it I would suggest that you not eat too much of the sauce. The rest is simple vegetables simmered in a wine sauce," the Romulan answered as he scrapped the sauce off of his own fish.

Zhara nodded and follow suit. "Thank you for the advice," she said.

(To be continued...)

Captain John Theismann
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Tristan Balor
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Divaro
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant Zhara Rynn
Counselor

Senator Tavik
Romulan Host

Various Romulans

 

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