Deception: The lesser part of Valour – Keeping Score
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
Rh’vaurek gazed around the office, noting the changes; the heavy desk remained but on it stood a vase filled with fresh flowers, over the back of the dark leather chair an elaborately embroidered throw was folded and away from the desk a comfortable seating area had been provided around a low table on which stood a similar, but smaller arrangement of flowers to that on the desk.
It seemed unusually bright, but that may have been something to do with the blow to his head. Isha had given Rh’vaurek several hours to recover after he stumbled back into the embassy and after some rest and first aid the visible damage was lessened, and his head no longer felt as though someone was slowly tightening a duranium band around his skull, if he didn’t move too quickly or stand for long that was.
Her initial reaction had been distress, he remembered that, but Isha did not appear to be distressed now as she took her seat, quite the opposite. Facing him across the desk was one icily angry woman. She did not invite him to sit.
“Well?” Isha said folding her arms.
“Well what?”
“I ask you to do me a simple favour in the cargo bay and you end up unconscious and covered in blood, not all of it your own. I want an explanation, daise'larhudheri.”
Isha’s use of his diplomatic title was unexpected, immediately establishing who currently had ascendancy in their continuing power game. As far as she was concerned, right now he was nothing more than her Chief of Staff.
Rh’vaurek curled his fingers over the back of the guest chair, steadying himself, “Nothing happened Llairhi (Ambassador)?” he replied in kind.
“The sort of nothing that has left you unable to stand upright,” Isha observed, her lips drawn into a thin tight line. “Was it the person you say has been following me?”
“No,” he replied.
“Who then?” she asked regarding him coolly. “You can either tell me of your own accord what happened or I will ask Deletham to use your own facilities to extract what I want to know.”
“He wouldn’t obey you,” Raedheol reacted, incredulous.
“Really? Shall we find out?”
“Let it drop!” he said, angry at her obstinate desire for details, It was one thing taking a beating, but appear diminished in Isha’s eyes was tortuous to him, his chagrin causing a fresh wave of pain to tighten across his brow.
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do in my own office!” she cried, “One day I tell you how important it is not to draw attention to ourselves and the next you are picking fights with random strangers. An attack on any member of my staff is a direct attack on myself and on the empire and I will treat it as such. What happened down there? And sit down before you fall over!” she added with a frustrated wave.
Evidently Isha was still more distressed than she was pretending, he thought, accepting her invitation to sit before she changed her mind and revoked it. Very well, he would tell her, but he would also make her pay for it.
“Milarno followed me down to the cargo bay. He was looking for trouble.” Raedheol admitted, feeling his cheeks darken as he shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Nobody had retaliated with force against his intimidation in years.
“The doctor?” Isha said as though the words did not quite taste right, “I’m sorry, Rh’vaurek, but that doesn’t sound entirely plausible.”
“He’d ditched his comm badge, the boy was looking for fight.”
“And you provided one?”
“I was playing Isha. Only a dha'rudh (idiot) would’ve reacted like that to a bit of harmless taunting. He attacked me, and yes, I struck back, but by all the Elements I was walking away. My back was turned when he knocked my legs away and I hit my head, it didn’t stop that little sseikea (scavenger) thinking it would be a good time to get in a few safe hits.”
“I believe you,” Isha said looking long and hard at Rh’vaurek. She had seen the savage light that now gleamed in his eyes before - Raedheol wanted blood and planned to extract it slowly. There was only one way in which she could prevent that and it likely meant that neither of her Bajoran friends would speak to her again.
“Rh’vaurek, I intend to lodge an official complaint with Captain Tahir, there is no scope for unofficial reprisals.”
She watched as Rh’vaurek shook his head. “No, Llairhi,” he said his lips splitting into a narrow smile, “It isn’t going to work that way. This was not an attack on your Embassy, but an affront to the Empire itself. This is my responsibility and I will not tolerate your interference in any way.”
Isha recognised the change in his mode of speech. She had chosen to address Rh’vaurek as his superior in the embassy hierarchy and much too easily, she realised he had accepted that. Now he in turn was speaking as an agent of the Tal’Shiar demanding the unconditional co-operation of an ambassador without the option of the usual unofficial leniency he extended to Isha.
He had won that one, taking a very quick revenge on Isha for making him answer such a humiliating question; it effectively silenced her on the matter and whilst the first attack may not have been Rh’vaurek’s fault, but the next one certainly would be, and hers too, Isha thought because she would not risk opposing Rh’vaurek on this matter after such an explicit warning.
Isha lowered her eyes, “Very well, Sseibh,” she mouthed the words as she sat back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap.
“Rh’vaurek,” Isha said the hurt of defeat showing in her bright green gaze, “May I ask you as my Chief of Staff to accompany me to the funeral tomorrow? I’m not obliged to attend, but it would be wise to show our involvement with the station community given the unpopularity of this establishment in certain quarters.”
He chuckled humourlessly, “Your timing could hardly be worse,” he said, “You can go and play with the lloann'su by yourself and don’t come crying to me when you find the only reason they put an arm around your shoulder was to make it easier to stick a knife in your back. I don’t have time to waste on a yikh and a stranger who did nothing more outstanding than his duty. One fewer is no great loss, people die.”
Isha nodded, her lower lip clasped between her teeth. “I understand,” she said. “I think this interview is over, Rh’vaurek.” Isha watched as with rather less energy than usual Rh’vaurek pushed to his feet. “When will Iawaiin be ready?” she asked.
Rh’vaurek turned back to her, “A day or two. The recovery process from the procedure is quite long. Darson agreed then?”
Isha nodded.
“We should keep her until you have your information, as soon as she walks through that door she is out of our control and you have nothing to negotiate with.”
“No, it has to be done sooner. Let me know when she is ready, and Rh’vaurek I don’t want to see you around for the rest of the day, please use the time to get some rest, you’re no use to anyone this way,” she added, not unkindly.
OFF:
Isha t’Khellian & Rh’vaurek Raedheol (NPC)
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
| Title | Keeping Score | |
| Mission | Deception: The lesser part of Valour | |
| Author(s) | Commander Isha t'Vaurek | |
| Posted | Sat Dec 20, 2008 @ 2:12pm | |
| Location | Isha's Office, Romulan Consulate, Deck 60 | |
| Timeline | SD4 |
It seemed unusually bright, but that may have been something to do with the blow to his head. Isha had given Rh’vaurek several hours to recover after he stumbled back into the embassy and after some rest and first aid the visible damage was lessened, and his head no longer felt as though someone was slowly tightening a duranium band around his skull, if he didn’t move too quickly or stand for long that was.
Her initial reaction had been distress, he remembered that, but Isha did not appear to be distressed now as she took her seat, quite the opposite. Facing him across the desk was one icily angry woman. She did not invite him to sit.
“Well?” Isha said folding her arms.
“Well what?”
“I ask you to do me a simple favour in the cargo bay and you end up unconscious and covered in blood, not all of it your own. I want an explanation, daise'larhudheri.”
Isha’s use of his diplomatic title was unexpected, immediately establishing who currently had ascendancy in their continuing power game. As far as she was concerned, right now he was nothing more than her Chief of Staff.
Rh’vaurek curled his fingers over the back of the guest chair, steadying himself, “Nothing happened Llairhi (Ambassador)?” he replied in kind.
“The sort of nothing that has left you unable to stand upright,” Isha observed, her lips drawn into a thin tight line. “Was it the person you say has been following me?”
“No,” he replied.
“Who then?” she asked regarding him coolly. “You can either tell me of your own accord what happened or I will ask Deletham to use your own facilities to extract what I want to know.”
“He wouldn’t obey you,” Raedheol reacted, incredulous.
“Really? Shall we find out?”
“Let it drop!” he said, angry at her obstinate desire for details, It was one thing taking a beating, but appear diminished in Isha’s eyes was tortuous to him, his chagrin causing a fresh wave of pain to tighten across his brow.
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do in my own office!” she cried, “One day I tell you how important it is not to draw attention to ourselves and the next you are picking fights with random strangers. An attack on any member of my staff is a direct attack on myself and on the empire and I will treat it as such. What happened down there? And sit down before you fall over!” she added with a frustrated wave.
Evidently Isha was still more distressed than she was pretending, he thought, accepting her invitation to sit before she changed her mind and revoked it. Very well, he would tell her, but he would also make her pay for it.
“Milarno followed me down to the cargo bay. He was looking for trouble.” Raedheol admitted, feeling his cheeks darken as he shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Nobody had retaliated with force against his intimidation in years.
“The doctor?” Isha said as though the words did not quite taste right, “I’m sorry, Rh’vaurek, but that doesn’t sound entirely plausible.”
“He’d ditched his comm badge, the boy was looking for fight.”
“And you provided one?”
“I was playing Isha. Only a dha'rudh (idiot) would’ve reacted like that to a bit of harmless taunting. He attacked me, and yes, I struck back, but by all the Elements I was walking away. My back was turned when he knocked my legs away and I hit my head, it didn’t stop that little sseikea (scavenger) thinking it would be a good time to get in a few safe hits.”
“I believe you,” Isha said looking long and hard at Rh’vaurek. She had seen the savage light that now gleamed in his eyes before - Raedheol wanted blood and planned to extract it slowly. There was only one way in which she could prevent that and it likely meant that neither of her Bajoran friends would speak to her again.
“Rh’vaurek, I intend to lodge an official complaint with Captain Tahir, there is no scope for unofficial reprisals.”
She watched as Rh’vaurek shook his head. “No, Llairhi,” he said his lips splitting into a narrow smile, “It isn’t going to work that way. This was not an attack on your Embassy, but an affront to the Empire itself. This is my responsibility and I will not tolerate your interference in any way.”
Isha recognised the change in his mode of speech. She had chosen to address Rh’vaurek as his superior in the embassy hierarchy and much too easily, she realised he had accepted that. Now he in turn was speaking as an agent of the Tal’Shiar demanding the unconditional co-operation of an ambassador without the option of the usual unofficial leniency he extended to Isha.
He had won that one, taking a very quick revenge on Isha for making him answer such a humiliating question; it effectively silenced her on the matter and whilst the first attack may not have been Rh’vaurek’s fault, but the next one certainly would be, and hers too, Isha thought because she would not risk opposing Rh’vaurek on this matter after such an explicit warning.
Isha lowered her eyes, “Very well, Sseibh,” she mouthed the words as she sat back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap.
“Rh’vaurek,” Isha said the hurt of defeat showing in her bright green gaze, “May I ask you as my Chief of Staff to accompany me to the funeral tomorrow? I’m not obliged to attend, but it would be wise to show our involvement with the station community given the unpopularity of this establishment in certain quarters.”
He chuckled humourlessly, “Your timing could hardly be worse,” he said, “You can go and play with the lloann'su by yourself and don’t come crying to me when you find the only reason they put an arm around your shoulder was to make it easier to stick a knife in your back. I don’t have time to waste on a yikh and a stranger who did nothing more outstanding than his duty. One fewer is no great loss, people die.”
Isha nodded, her lower lip clasped between her teeth. “I understand,” she said. “I think this interview is over, Rh’vaurek.” Isha watched as with rather less energy than usual Rh’vaurek pushed to his feet. “When will Iawaiin be ready?” she asked.
Rh’vaurek turned back to her, “A day or two. The recovery process from the procedure is quite long. Darson agreed then?”
Isha nodded.
“We should keep her until you have your information, as soon as she walks through that door she is out of our control and you have nothing to negotiate with.”
“No, it has to be done sooner. Let me know when she is ready, and Rh’vaurek I don’t want to see you around for the rest of the day, please use the time to get some rest, you’re no use to anyone this way,” she added, not unkindly.
OFF:
Isha t’Khellian & Rh’vaurek Raedheol (NPC)