Interlude – Welcome to the Family (part 1)
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant Commander Bruce Freeman & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC)
Post Details
::ON::
On the day of t'Khellian's celebration, t'Merek had arrived at the box of delights roughly five hours before the event with a brigade of Romulans. They spread out quickly in an extremely organized manner to set up the proper equipment that would prohibit unauthorized personnel from entering armed or carrying explosives, as well as mounting several disruption beacons to stop anyone from teleporting in or out of the place. The Head of Security herself set up two guards roughly every seven meters, which added up, over three stories, to quite a few and led a lot of people to wonder just how many Romulans there were at the Consulate, or if any were actually left. The actual placement and organization, unfortunately, was not what one would call synced with the organization of Yolanthe's staff.
After several hours of running around the bar, setting up equipment and making sure bystanders were kept out, all while trying to keep conflict to a minimum, Arrienye left the bar to go back to the Consulate and get ready for the actual event.
Showering and quickly slipping into her dress uniform, Arrienye ran back to the bar to make the final adjustments to her staff, leaving another hour before the guests arrived.
----------
==The staff room, 15 minutes before the start==
Yolanthe was briefing the skeleton crew the somewhat paranoid head of security had allowed for staffing the function, explaining the set up, the two-layered guest list, the need for subtle and understated service for the dignitaries in the main event, that the real star of the party was the Ambassador's niece, that the bar was limited to standard drinks - "Pel, if anyone wants something from the fine wines and spirits cellar it has to be authorized by the ambassador or her chief aide, that's the head of security, by the way."
At the mention of t'Merek, most of the staff made a face, none of them had enjoyed the security screening they'd been subjected to. Over-thorough was the nicest way of putting it. Yolanthe saw their expressions and sympathized - "Just to be on the safe side, lets have a quick check. Anyone here planning to assassinate the ambassador or any of her guests?"
Everyone put their hand up.
"I am not amused." she told them
"Liar," Pelin nodded at her cyan skin.
"hmmph," It was funny. "Okay, any last questions before we get this party started?"
The doorman, a large Gorn rather incongruously known as Harry, raised his hand. "What about gatecrashers? There's bound to be some."
Yolanthe thought about it. "Try not to let t'Merek's people kill them?"
---------
Chelsea and Rick had received a mysterious invitation which they had been required to hand over for an intense inspection on arrival. It had been impossible to get to see their friend Isha lately as all their attempts since they had returned from their holiday had been blocked with some polite but officious refusal or other and then the arrival of the formal invitation followed by the suspicious scrutiny at the door was beginning to make this somewhat of an issue for the couple who had been so close with the Ambassador until a matter of very few days ago.
Settling on formal evening wear, they had debated and decided against their Starfleet dress uniforms. Now that they walked in to find this party full of resplendent robes and formal attire, Chelsea nudged Rick and whispered quietly. "Are we under dressed?" She smoothed the bodice of her gown and turned to him, looking him up and down to see if he was still as immaculate as he had been when they left their quarters.
Her initial intention had been to check out his attire but as she gave him the once over, her heart swelled with pride at how handsome and grand he looked. She proudly slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and moved further into the room at his side, feeling six inches taller.
Dunham tried not to feel uncomfortable in his suit. He straightened his tie with one hand while holding Chelsea's hand with his other hand. Giving the crowd a professional once over with his eye of scrutiny, he smile. "I think we did good opting to skip our uniforms."
"I agree" she whispered under her breath, smiling all around. "I'm glad we didn't go with the uniforms too - we seem to be the only Starfleet here."
"Good evening. Thank you." she replied at a more normal volume to a waiter who welcomed them in Federation Standard and offered a drink from a tray which she accepted and sipped elegantly whilst Rick was being offered one too.
Dunham took the drink gratefully, feeling slightly socially awkward at such a formal party.
As the waiter moved on, Chelsea murmured to Rick "Do you know anyone here? I don't think *I* do..... so many of the staff have changed suddenly. I wish my ira 'v' Dianvum was here". She was thinking of Rh'varek a lot lately, never more so than now.
"Not yet" said Dunham watching Jarred enter the bar.
Jarred walked into the room, in a rare event he was in his class B dress uniform, the six rows of ribbons neatly pinned to it and one medalion pinned next to all the ribbons that drew one or two stairs from a few indivduals includng a couple of Romulans, Jarred walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. He hated these 'social gatherings' hated them for two reasons, the spies were mingling with the diplomats and they were mingling with the military types, all trying to feel out who was willing to talk and who was willing to play the game that could be called for diplomacy. He picked up the drink the heavy dark liquid slowly sloshed around he took a sip the room was filling with more dignitaries, ~time to play the game~ Jarred thought to himself as he made his way into the crowd to mingle.
Arrienye stood on the far side of the door, with a clear view of the door. She had made sure the guards at the door recorded everyone who had arrived, including times. The only thing she wasn't putting down in writing was what they were wearing. This she took mental notes on, just in case. And she had to admit, she always found these events fascinating, if a bit tedious. The way people related to one another, how their composure changed with each person they spoke to was something she always found interesting.
It wasn't long before she saw her cousin enter, looking quite elegant in his Tal'Shiar dress uniform, along with the added pins he'd received for bravery, or 'foolishness' in his case, Arrienye felt. Maiell had three, so two more than she had, and while some would most likely point them out in conversation during the night, Arrienye knew he wouldn't want to discuss how he got them and Arrienye was probably the only one in the room who knew why.
Gregori had gotten himself settled, determined to meet the rest of the Khelliana later, when he saw a lovely young couple enter, knowing instantly from Rianni's descriptions who they were. Wasting no time at all he beelined to them to introduce himself, "Rick and Chelsea! It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person! I am Gregori Monteros!"
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you too. We've heard so much about you from Rianni." Chelsea smiled broadly and held our her hand to shake his, wanting to address him as Captain Monteros, but not sure if that was correct and too afraid to offend to risk it. Fortunately Greogori was shaking her hand with enthusiasm and didn't seem unhappy that she hadn't used a formal title for him.
~We have?~ Thought Dunham to himself incredulously and wondering who this guy was.
Rick and Chelsea looked as if they had met Captain Monteros, Rick looked like he was out of his element here Jarred decided to come to the perverbial rescue, "Captain, good to see you again," Jarred did his best attempt to cover for the fact the captain wouldn't remember, but he noticed the look on his face when he saw the medal on his uniform.
Gregori turned to the young man who'd just joined them and laughed a little, then a little harder, "Captain Monteros?" He smiled at the young man as he recognized the medal he wore "That's something I've not been called in a very long time, my boy. It seems someone's up on their history because that had to be before you were born!"
As he tried to remember where he knew the young man in intel grey from he turned back to Chelsea, "And, you, young lady, should know that most of what Rianni says about me are probably lies! There's no way I did all of that!" He laughed hard.
"No, no, only good things of COURSE!" she laughed, taking an instant liking to Rhianni's Grandfather who was now shaking Rick's hand and patting him on the top of his arm firmly as if they'd been friends forever.
Dunham returned the handshake warmly and smiled friendlily at the man, being polite, courteous and professional, but still racking his brains as to when he had been mentioned. Was Chelsea just being polite?
Jarred looked at Rick and spoke, "that personel matter we had the meeting over has been fixed, the debreif is tomorrow at four-teen hundred." Jarred said refering to the mission that he and Bruce Freeman had just returned from earlier that day.
Dunham nodded in agreement, but didn't elaborate further on the mission, for two reasons; one they were at a Romulan party, and two it was a party and you don't talk about work at parties. "Let me buy you a drink old man," said Dunham affectionately to jarred with a friendly clap on the back.
Instantly, with such a warm welcome, Chelsea began to feel more relaxed. She was grateful to Gregori for breaking the ice like that. She began to forget that all these severe-looking Romulan dignitaries appeared cold, critical and haughty. She began to remind herself that actually, they were people like her beloved Isha underneath all that.
~Well, some of them are a little bit like Isha anyway. Just a little!~ she thought.
Hadn't she been terrified of Raedheol at first? Not to mention all the stories Isha had told her about the deep, stormy nature of this green-blooded handsome race of icebergs - 9/10th of themselves hidden under the surface.
~They're as real as we are, but they're not free to enjoy it most of the time~ she thought, lowering her tense shoulders and raising her chin to change her body language for the better. ~Rh'vaurek would be ashamed of me if i look as if i'm scared of them~ she remembered.
"May I be so bold as to call you Gregori? Or would that be rude?" Chelsea ventured to Rhianni's Grandfather in a friendly but still respectful manner.
"A beautiful lady need never ask permission." Gregori smiled, "Of course you can call me Gregori, it's a fine name, my mama loved it!"
Chelsea smiled graciously back. "She sounds like someone i would have loved to have met!"
Darson strode into the room as if he owned it, oddly enough resplendent not in his standard cloak and armor, but instead a very impressive and elegant specimen of Marine Evening Dress Uniform Type A (Colonel). Over the armor of course. Most of the real estate on his chest was occupied by massive medal and ribbon racks that expanded from his chest down to part of his abdomen that turned his entire front into a glittering jangling vest. Gold braiding covered his right shoulder, and a pair of white gloves adorned his gauntleted hands. To top it all off, he had his peaked officers cap on, along with a monocle that for no obvious reason whatsoever was stuck to his blank mask.
He looked very important.
One might wonder how he was able to find a uniform that would fit perfectly over his bulk, and if he had had it special ordered, but the truth was much more interesting. In truth, the whole uniform was simply a holographic illusion being projected by his suit’s camouflage projection system. He had spent some time last night making sure that it was in order for the event. So in reality, he was still wearing his armor and all its accouterments, and not the excessive weight of a battalion’s worth of medals.
The one exception was the sword at his side, which was not the standard Marine Officer’s sword with golden handle, but was instead a black evil looking thing. It was because of this that he got into a short but heated argument with one of the guards at the door when he had presented his invitation. Eventually he managed to convince the guard that it was purely ceremonial, and that he had no intention of harming the ambassador or any of the guests at the party.
Even as he walked away though, he could see that the guard was keeping a close eye on him and he grumbled a little bit. But soon enough he hit upon an interesting scene. Chelsea and Dunham, talking with Wallace and another man that he quickly identified from his copious records as Gregori Monteros. He made a small sound of contemplation, before snagging a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and heading over to them.
“Good Evening Commander, Lieutenants,” he said in an aloof, chilly tone, before directing his intense gaze to Gregori, “And you must be…Gregori Monteros. Congratulations are in order I suppose. For both you and your grand-daughter.”
"I would say so." Gregori nodded, Darson seemed familiar, but he couldn't really place it, "Thank you, Colonel."
Dunham had his head tilted slightly to the side, looking at the colonel with a bewildered and quizzical look on his face as the Marine entered the room. He was wondering to himself, if the Colonel ever washed, showered or cleaned himself under that armour. It must get very sweaty. He shook himself out of it, and replied politely "Sir".
Arrienye's eyes went over to the armored figure that entered almost instantly. He was hard to miss and the files she'd gotten on the guests made him easy to identify as well - Colonel Darson. She watched him carefully, quietly admiring the detail of his 'attire' before her eyes fell on the weapon at his side. A quiet alarm going off in her mind, Arrienye, without any hesitation, strode over to where he was standing. She nodded respectfully to those gathered around him, only one of whom she personally knew, Chelsea Addams.
"Good evening," she greeted them politely before turning her attention to Darson. "Colonel Darson, I am Arrain t'Merek, Head of Security. I request you hand over your weapon immediately," she said with no hesitation and in a very no-nonsense tone.
To be continued ...
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant Commander Bruce Freeman & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC)
Post Details
| Title | Welcome to the Family (part 1) | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Lieutenant Commander Bruce Freeman & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) | |
| Posted | Mon Jul 19, 2010 @ 6:19pm | |
| Location | Box of Delights | |
| Timeline | SD27 |
On the day of t'Khellian's celebration, t'Merek had arrived at the box of delights roughly five hours before the event with a brigade of Romulans. They spread out quickly in an extremely organized manner to set up the proper equipment that would prohibit unauthorized personnel from entering armed or carrying explosives, as well as mounting several disruption beacons to stop anyone from teleporting in or out of the place. The Head of Security herself set up two guards roughly every seven meters, which added up, over three stories, to quite a few and led a lot of people to wonder just how many Romulans there were at the Consulate, or if any were actually left. The actual placement and organization, unfortunately, was not what one would call synced with the organization of Yolanthe's staff.
After several hours of running around the bar, setting up equipment and making sure bystanders were kept out, all while trying to keep conflict to a minimum, Arrienye left the bar to go back to the Consulate and get ready for the actual event.
Showering and quickly slipping into her dress uniform, Arrienye ran back to the bar to make the final adjustments to her staff, leaving another hour before the guests arrived.
----------
==The staff room, 15 minutes before the start==
Yolanthe was briefing the skeleton crew the somewhat paranoid head of security had allowed for staffing the function, explaining the set up, the two-layered guest list, the need for subtle and understated service for the dignitaries in the main event, that the real star of the party was the Ambassador's niece, that the bar was limited to standard drinks - "Pel, if anyone wants something from the fine wines and spirits cellar it has to be authorized by the ambassador or her chief aide, that's the head of security, by the way."
At the mention of t'Merek, most of the staff made a face, none of them had enjoyed the security screening they'd been subjected to. Over-thorough was the nicest way of putting it. Yolanthe saw their expressions and sympathized - "Just to be on the safe side, lets have a quick check. Anyone here planning to assassinate the ambassador or any of her guests?"
Everyone put their hand up.
"I am not amused." she told them
"Liar," Pelin nodded at her cyan skin.
"hmmph," It was funny. "Okay, any last questions before we get this party started?"
The doorman, a large Gorn rather incongruously known as Harry, raised his hand. "What about gatecrashers? There's bound to be some."
Yolanthe thought about it. "Try not to let t'Merek's people kill them?"
---------
Chelsea and Rick had received a mysterious invitation which they had been required to hand over for an intense inspection on arrival. It had been impossible to get to see their friend Isha lately as all their attempts since they had returned from their holiday had been blocked with some polite but officious refusal or other and then the arrival of the formal invitation followed by the suspicious scrutiny at the door was beginning to make this somewhat of an issue for the couple who had been so close with the Ambassador until a matter of very few days ago.
Settling on formal evening wear, they had debated and decided against their Starfleet dress uniforms. Now that they walked in to find this party full of resplendent robes and formal attire, Chelsea nudged Rick and whispered quietly. "Are we under dressed?" She smoothed the bodice of her gown and turned to him, looking him up and down to see if he was still as immaculate as he had been when they left their quarters.
Her initial intention had been to check out his attire but as she gave him the once over, her heart swelled with pride at how handsome and grand he looked. She proudly slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and moved further into the room at his side, feeling six inches taller.
Dunham tried not to feel uncomfortable in his suit. He straightened his tie with one hand while holding Chelsea's hand with his other hand. Giving the crowd a professional once over with his eye of scrutiny, he smile. "I think we did good opting to skip our uniforms."
"I agree" she whispered under her breath, smiling all around. "I'm glad we didn't go with the uniforms too - we seem to be the only Starfleet here."
"Good evening. Thank you." she replied at a more normal volume to a waiter who welcomed them in Federation Standard and offered a drink from a tray which she accepted and sipped elegantly whilst Rick was being offered one too.
Dunham took the drink gratefully, feeling slightly socially awkward at such a formal party.
As the waiter moved on, Chelsea murmured to Rick "Do you know anyone here? I don't think *I* do..... so many of the staff have changed suddenly. I wish my ira 'v' Dianvum was here". She was thinking of Rh'varek a lot lately, never more so than now.
"Not yet" said Dunham watching Jarred enter the bar.
Jarred walked into the room, in a rare event he was in his class B dress uniform, the six rows of ribbons neatly pinned to it and one medalion pinned next to all the ribbons that drew one or two stairs from a few indivduals includng a couple of Romulans, Jarred walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. He hated these 'social gatherings' hated them for two reasons, the spies were mingling with the diplomats and they were mingling with the military types, all trying to feel out who was willing to talk and who was willing to play the game that could be called for diplomacy. He picked up the drink the heavy dark liquid slowly sloshed around he took a sip the room was filling with more dignitaries, ~time to play the game~ Jarred thought to himself as he made his way into the crowd to mingle.
Arrienye stood on the far side of the door, with a clear view of the door. She had made sure the guards at the door recorded everyone who had arrived, including times. The only thing she wasn't putting down in writing was what they were wearing. This she took mental notes on, just in case. And she had to admit, she always found these events fascinating, if a bit tedious. The way people related to one another, how their composure changed with each person they spoke to was something she always found interesting.
It wasn't long before she saw her cousin enter, looking quite elegant in his Tal'Shiar dress uniform, along with the added pins he'd received for bravery, or 'foolishness' in his case, Arrienye felt. Maiell had three, so two more than she had, and while some would most likely point them out in conversation during the night, Arrienye knew he wouldn't want to discuss how he got them and Arrienye was probably the only one in the room who knew why.
Gregori had gotten himself settled, determined to meet the rest of the Khelliana later, when he saw a lovely young couple enter, knowing instantly from Rianni's descriptions who they were. Wasting no time at all he beelined to them to introduce himself, "Rick and Chelsea! It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person! I am Gregori Monteros!"
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you too. We've heard so much about you from Rianni." Chelsea smiled broadly and held our her hand to shake his, wanting to address him as Captain Monteros, but not sure if that was correct and too afraid to offend to risk it. Fortunately Greogori was shaking her hand with enthusiasm and didn't seem unhappy that she hadn't used a formal title for him.
~We have?~ Thought Dunham to himself incredulously and wondering who this guy was.
Rick and Chelsea looked as if they had met Captain Monteros, Rick looked like he was out of his element here Jarred decided to come to the perverbial rescue, "Captain, good to see you again," Jarred did his best attempt to cover for the fact the captain wouldn't remember, but he noticed the look on his face when he saw the medal on his uniform.
Gregori turned to the young man who'd just joined them and laughed a little, then a little harder, "Captain Monteros?" He smiled at the young man as he recognized the medal he wore "That's something I've not been called in a very long time, my boy. It seems someone's up on their history because that had to be before you were born!"
As he tried to remember where he knew the young man in intel grey from he turned back to Chelsea, "And, you, young lady, should know that most of what Rianni says about me are probably lies! There's no way I did all of that!" He laughed hard.
"No, no, only good things of COURSE!" she laughed, taking an instant liking to Rhianni's Grandfather who was now shaking Rick's hand and patting him on the top of his arm firmly as if they'd been friends forever.
Dunham returned the handshake warmly and smiled friendlily at the man, being polite, courteous and professional, but still racking his brains as to when he had been mentioned. Was Chelsea just being polite?
Jarred looked at Rick and spoke, "that personel matter we had the meeting over has been fixed, the debreif is tomorrow at four-teen hundred." Jarred said refering to the mission that he and Bruce Freeman had just returned from earlier that day.
Dunham nodded in agreement, but didn't elaborate further on the mission, for two reasons; one they were at a Romulan party, and two it was a party and you don't talk about work at parties. "Let me buy you a drink old man," said Dunham affectionately to jarred with a friendly clap on the back.
Instantly, with such a warm welcome, Chelsea began to feel more relaxed. She was grateful to Gregori for breaking the ice like that. She began to forget that all these severe-looking Romulan dignitaries appeared cold, critical and haughty. She began to remind herself that actually, they were people like her beloved Isha underneath all that.
~Well, some of them are a little bit like Isha anyway. Just a little!~ she thought.
Hadn't she been terrified of Raedheol at first? Not to mention all the stories Isha had told her about the deep, stormy nature of this green-blooded handsome race of icebergs - 9/10th of themselves hidden under the surface.
~They're as real as we are, but they're not free to enjoy it most of the time~ she thought, lowering her tense shoulders and raising her chin to change her body language for the better. ~Rh'vaurek would be ashamed of me if i look as if i'm scared of them~ she remembered.
"May I be so bold as to call you Gregori? Or would that be rude?" Chelsea ventured to Rhianni's Grandfather in a friendly but still respectful manner.
"A beautiful lady need never ask permission." Gregori smiled, "Of course you can call me Gregori, it's a fine name, my mama loved it!"
Chelsea smiled graciously back. "She sounds like someone i would have loved to have met!"
Darson strode into the room as if he owned it, oddly enough resplendent not in his standard cloak and armor, but instead a very impressive and elegant specimen of Marine Evening Dress Uniform Type A (Colonel). Over the armor of course. Most of the real estate on his chest was occupied by massive medal and ribbon racks that expanded from his chest down to part of his abdomen that turned his entire front into a glittering jangling vest. Gold braiding covered his right shoulder, and a pair of white gloves adorned his gauntleted hands. To top it all off, he had his peaked officers cap on, along with a monocle that for no obvious reason whatsoever was stuck to his blank mask.
He looked very important.
One might wonder how he was able to find a uniform that would fit perfectly over his bulk, and if he had had it special ordered, but the truth was much more interesting. In truth, the whole uniform was simply a holographic illusion being projected by his suit’s camouflage projection system. He had spent some time last night making sure that it was in order for the event. So in reality, he was still wearing his armor and all its accouterments, and not the excessive weight of a battalion’s worth of medals.
The one exception was the sword at his side, which was not the standard Marine Officer’s sword with golden handle, but was instead a black evil looking thing. It was because of this that he got into a short but heated argument with one of the guards at the door when he had presented his invitation. Eventually he managed to convince the guard that it was purely ceremonial, and that he had no intention of harming the ambassador or any of the guests at the party.
Even as he walked away though, he could see that the guard was keeping a close eye on him and he grumbled a little bit. But soon enough he hit upon an interesting scene. Chelsea and Dunham, talking with Wallace and another man that he quickly identified from his copious records as Gregori Monteros. He made a small sound of contemplation, before snagging a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and heading over to them.
“Good Evening Commander, Lieutenants,” he said in an aloof, chilly tone, before directing his intense gaze to Gregori, “And you must be…Gregori Monteros. Congratulations are in order I suppose. For both you and your grand-daughter.”
"I would say so." Gregori nodded, Darson seemed familiar, but he couldn't really place it, "Thank you, Colonel."
Dunham had his head tilted slightly to the side, looking at the colonel with a bewildered and quizzical look on his face as the Marine entered the room. He was wondering to himself, if the Colonel ever washed, showered or cleaned himself under that armour. It must get very sweaty. He shook himself out of it, and replied politely "Sir".
Arrienye's eyes went over to the armored figure that entered almost instantly. He was hard to miss and the files she'd gotten on the guests made him easy to identify as well - Colonel Darson. She watched him carefully, quietly admiring the detail of his 'attire' before her eyes fell on the weapon at his side. A quiet alarm going off in her mind, Arrienye, without any hesitation, strode over to where he was standing. She nodded respectfully to those gathered around him, only one of whom she personally knew, Chelsea Addams.
"Good evening," she greeted them politely before turning her attention to Darson. "Colonel Darson, I am Arrain t'Merek, Head of Security. I request you hand over your weapon immediately," she said with no hesitation and in a very no-nonsense tone.
To be continued ...