Joint Duty Log | Capt Ivanova, LtCmdr Waterhouse, Cmdr Grant, LtCmdr Neyes, Noah Waterhouse, Krogoth - "Along The Resolutionary Road"

Posted on Wed Oct 22nd, 2014 @ 10:17am by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Krogoth & Commander Logan Grant, PhD. & Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Commander Tristan Neyes PhD.

2,252 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?

The table was once again set with tea and finger foods, the air of comfort apparent as the young Captain stood at the head of the great glass slab and waited for her officers, the Klingon and the Pastafarian to arrive. If the situation hadn't been so tense, she'd likely have laughed at just how much like a joke the line up sounded like. "Computer, dim lights. We don't need to high beam them." Rochelle said and the room darkened to a more comfortable level with the sound of a cheery chirp.

Amelia arrived first, with her little brother on her heels. Today she'd elected to fall back on the old familiar French braided bun, instead of the softer French twist she'd been trying out lately. Her nose was in a PADD as she sat down at Rochelle's right hand and waited for the meeting to start. Noah came to a stop just as he cleared the door sensor, and looked around quietly. He'd elected for his formal pirate hat, soft leather boots with tonal striped pants tucked in, a nice collared tunic and a belt on his hip. Hearing the doors behind him open again, he quickly sidestepped out of the way of whoever was coming in next.

Logan was next. It took a fair bit of sidestepping to avoid rear ending the slightly taller Pastafarian, but somehow the Kiwi managed to successfully navigate around and to a chair. "You and your sister both do that." He said, looking to Noah, "Don't."

"Don't what?" Krogoth was the fourth addition to the Captain's little party, and this time he was ready for her and her confounded porcelain cups. She'd managed to bruise his ego with her dirty little trick. Shrewd. The big Klingon took up residence across from Noah, his beady eyes locking onto the Pastafarian kid. The rest of them held little interest for him, except for maybe the new, to him, counselor.

Neyes' headaches were hastily getting the better of him, and had managed to ruin most of his working hours since their arrival to K3. For all the people who were susceptible to mood swings, Neyes had never considered himself to be one of them. His honest delight in seeing his fellow crews' smiling faces seemed less gratifying than normal, and his mitigated temper was slight, so much so that most didn't bother to notice. Upon entering the diplomatic meeting area, Tristan managed to get to his seat without any eye contact. Playing at being buried in the information on a PADD, he took his chair next to Logan. Skipping the a nod to Krogoth.

Once he was seated, he rallied his self control and suppressed the throbbing in his temple, "Captain." He greeted to Ivanova.

"Commander Neyes." She offered him a small smile in return. He'd the only one to acknowledge her presence during times when tempers and emotions shouldn't have run hot. It was a concern, to say the very least, but she'd let it go with hope that Andrea's coming arrival would lighten some of the mood... At least for Logan's sake.

Krogoth took his attention away from the Pastafarian long enough to acknowledge the sound of the Captain's voice, his beady black eyes watching her as she took her seat and turned on the PADD laying on the glass in front of her.

"I think we all know why we're here." She began with a light chuckle, "and I can gladly say that we've reached resolution well ahead of sched—"

"This better be what we discussed." Krogoth interrupted brusquely, not of the mind to play footsie with the Federation and their flowery prose. In return he was given the firebird's full attention by way of a withering stare from eyes that should have frozen him solid. Even to a large Klingon warrior, it was rather unsettling.

Rochelle smiled ever so sweetly and reached to tuck an errant strand of hair back behind the ear closest. It was always the same rebellious lock that somehow managed to shimmy from the hold of her French twist or bun or pony tail, and always back behind the right ear it would be cast away to. The same predictable way Klingons could be expected to screw up a one car funeral with their bravado and posturing. "It is. The refugees will leave the planet and have agreed that they have no claim to it or any part of it."

"Good! That'll save you from your personal troubles with the entire situation." The stag bolstered, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest.

"There is, however, one thing that the Federation is requesting of the Empire." The little redhead held up one slender finger and wagged it gently. This was the part she'd enjoy the most, the part where she watched the Klingon stammer and writhe beneath his own honor system. "I think you'll find that it appeals to you."

Krogoth turned his head to look at her sidelong, his joy slowly fading as he waited and motioned for her to proceed. "What it is?"

Sliding a PADD towards him, one that outlined a small treaty, she began to speak again. "The Federation would like to keep an eye on K3 for you and study the development of the inhabitants that are native to the planet. We've done thorough scans that reveal that there's no real gain if you just blaze over them to reclaim territory, no tactical advantage to you having an outpost there... It's just a planet. Not to mention... Killing them off when they only have seed pods available to defend themselves with would be murder and completely dishonorable. It would also give the Federation reason to deal with anyone who would interfere with the natural progression of the planet and its little society."

"And if we agree? What benefit does it give you?" Krogoth asked, reading the words on the PADD.

"Commanders Neyes and Grant can explain to you what scientific data we'd glean from watching their progress." She replied and motioned to the two of them, offering a quick glance to Noah in the process.

Neyes looked to Krogoth, with intent in his eyes, "It's actually very interesting to track the cultural development of pre-industrialized societies in an isolated ecology. So far we have only seen one 'race' among the native inhabitants on the surface, but as time goes on we may encounter a shift in progress. A flourishing proto-colony of individuals often divides, either through war or necessity, and a child colony moves on to another ecosystem. Even with a matter of decades, there can be significant changes in the anthropological identity of the new colony. Of course this is just one possibility, we may also-"

Krogoth's eyes rolled and his big hands balled into fists. A second later and his jagged teeth were exposed, stains and all, in a sneer. "Get to the point, Commander!" He bellowed. If he'd cared to look, and he didn't, he'd have noticed Rochelle's left brow suddenly shoot sky high in a thick mix of warning and intrigue.

Rochelle's eyes darted between Tristan and the Klingon, waiting, watching.

Neyes' brow curved upward as his words had been cut off by the gruff and incredibly rude Klingon. A shock of anger ripped through the calmed counselor. He stared at the PADD on the table for a moment, unable to curb the swelling outburst he felt coming. Since his joining, there had been something inside creeping around waiting for an opportunity to rise up. The throbbing in his head quickly went from a dull tapping to a full-blown thundering drum.

"We science, sir. We like when we science, and in fact it's our reason for being. The fact we are here is a consequence of people who claim worlds just for the sake of owning them, despite their lack of value... Let us science on your worthless planet."

Logan hid his smirk behind a PADD, though his emerald eyes lightened and flashed with the bubbling emotion. Tristan was steadily coming into himself, slowly revealing new facets of wonderful personality that grew to the Commander's liking. This latest show of testicular fortitude in the face of someone as adverse as the Klingon Ambassador was just one more piece of the puzzle that came shining through. He subtly nodded his approval towards the other counselor. "I think what my esteemed colleague is trying to say is that we've had our interests piqued by the beings inhabiting your planet and Starfleet isn't going to just quietly accept any attempt at genocide. This actually could benefit you, they're nimble little creatures and watching them blossom without additional influence could eventually lead to quite a relationship between them and the Klingon Empire when they're ready for it."

Rochelle didn't both to conceal her own amusement at Tristan's little outburst and Logan's reprisal. The fact the Klingon stag was still silent only served to nearly bring her to giggles, but she managed to contain them and gracefully lifted herself from her seat to pour tea for herself and the members of the meeting.

Krogoth's attention snapped to the Captain's movement. It seemed so refined, so benign and he knew that the joke was once again on him. "Fine." He hissed as his cup of tea was sat in front of him. "You people and your science can do whatever it is you feel necessary. You're responsible for anything that goes wrong. If they injure the Empire, we'll come looking for y—"

"Mr. Krogoth... I don't think empty threats are necessary. The Empire and the Federation are allies and we'll continue to scratch your back for as long as you scratch ours. If they prove to be any form of threat to the Empire, we'll assist you in diplomatic talks. We're talking about centuries here." Rochelle finally spoke as she set a cup down in front of Tristan and straightened herself to stand ever so regally behind him.

The stag snorted and grabbed his cup. The porcelain saucer clattered against the glass with the violence of his action, but Krogoth knew if he stepped out of line, if he defied the scarlet savage and her crew, Jokar and Ch'Tan would have him strung up by his entrails. Especially if it was something as simple and stupid as the aliens and that planet jay'. "We'll see if you follow through when the time comes, Captain."

Neyes succeeded in collecting himself back to his normal stature. The soothing effect of his calm and warmth once again took over, and he nodded to Krogoth. "We understand, and you're people are well aware we are consistently true to our word as long as you are true to yours. This will be a test of both our commitments, and I'm confident both the Federation and the Klingon Empire will benefit from this arrangement."

Amelia watched her brother as the conversation progressed. The way he sat silently made her wonder just what was going on in his head. She finally relaxed when he smiled at the spotted counselor's outburst. If anything could put a Klingon in check it was an unexpected emotional outburst; if you're too polite they assume they can barrel right over you, though Amelia did find it a little out of character for Tristan. Get through the meeting first, then see if everything was okay.

"Fine!" The Klingon barked gruffly and picked himself up from his seat. "You have your treaty and your agreement. Get these people off our planet and get them out of our space!" He bellowed, locking his eyes with Rochelle's.

She nodded, unable to contain that same sweet smile. "Consider it done, Mr. Krogoth, we'll be out of here within the next few days as we patch up the Pelican and tie up loose ends." Rochelle nodded to each member of the meeting, "This meeting is adjourned, I'll have Commander Waterhouse forward you the appropriate paperwork."

Krogoth grunted and nodded. There was nothing else to do. Nothing. Each side would get what they wanted. "You're the wrong species, Captain Ivanova, you should have been born a Klingon. I'm sure your crew would agree." He replied, gesturing roughly to the counselors and XO.

"Klingon?" Amelia shook her head with a smile. "Our Captain is a phoenix. And most Klingons I know, know to be wary of fire." She winked as she said this.

The Klingon rolled his eyes at the phoenix's first, "Only the very stupid toy with fire. Children. Morons." He snorted in disgust and tugged on the sash of his house to straighten it, displaying his honor. "Worse are those who try to contain it and think they have control over it."

"They know they don't have a hold on me, Mr. Krogoth." Rochelle answered, her eyes glittering brightly with her own private brand of mirth. If it weren't for those around her, she'd likely have chuckled at the exchange between Amelia and the Klingon stag. "I think we're more than done here. You can continue your discussion over my heritage somewhere else. I suggest the After Dark lounge." She grinned and waved them all off, "Dismissed."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Captain Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC-78213-E

Lt Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Executive Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Lt Commander Tristan Neyes
Chief Counseling Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Commander Logan Grant
Counselor
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Krogoth
Klingon Ambassador

Noah Waterhouse
Pastafarian Minister and Artist
apb Pond

 

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