Unity – Romulan Ale.
by Commander Richard Dunham & Commander Karen Villiers
Post Details
Dunham worked his way through the corridors of Deep Space five. He had been pondering a question for the last half hour. Where could one get a good bottle of Romulan Ale? As he was going to take Chelsea over to dinner at the ne w counsellors quarters, he had thought it appropriate to get himself a good bottle of the stuff. He had concluded there was only one place on the station that had fine vintages of the illegal drink, the Romulan consulate.
Dunham soon arrived and looked around. For a familiar face.
Rh'vaurek stepped quietly up behind the pilot, "What are you doing lurking in my embassy, Dunham?" he asked, "If you're looking for Doctor Adams, she isn't here."
Dunham turned and smiled "If it isn't my favourite Romulan." He gave Rh'vaurek a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Actually you're just the man I wanted to see. I need a favour"
Rh'vaurek pointed at i-Orinwen who was located at her desk nearby; "You did not see that," he said before turning back to Dunham. "Everyone wants a favour. Come this way and maybe you can do me a favour too."
"Of course." said Dunham with a smile, following the Romulan deeper into the consulate. "So what can I do for you?"
"I am going to show you something, and I want your opinion," he said walking into the ambassadorial suite. Rh'vaurek did not routinely ask for the opinion of others, but this time, a fresh and uninvovled eye might just see through the fog that had been placed around the issue.
Dunham bit his tongue back and resisted the urge to make light of a situation that had seemed to turn serious. The Romulan had a grimmer air than usual, and it worried Dunham a little. “Sure, what you got?”
Rh'vaurek didn't sit but paced over to the desk as he spoke. "You already know that I was given specific orders to stay away from ch'Rihan until Isha's visit, given their source I took them seriously and I have remained here. Since then I have received two reports, the first states that the USS Freedom was attacked and that Isha was among the casualties."
Dunham almost choked on the gum he had starting chewing. His first thought was Chelsea was not going to like this. "Is she ok? Whats the deal?" He took a glass from a table and poured some water into it from a jug. He took a drink to clear his throat.
"Normally I would give this no credence, but I have picked up a lot of subspace traffic originating from her mother's House; Llaiir t'Khellian is not known to play games or involve herself with politics, that's her husband's role. But this appeared to come from Isha's mother."
"Her mum?" It was occuring to Dunham that he really didn't know allot about thw women wh had set him up on that first date with Chelsea, and in turn had started an amazing relationship. He did feel he owed her one.
"Just as I was ready to violate my orders and hunt down that bloody klingon for letting her be killed and then to do the same to every last member of Isha's marital family I receive further communications. The Senate hearing has found in favour of Isha, her son and his co-conspirators are to be executed and that Nniol, the brother of her husband has been exonerated of charges of treason. Dunham, there's only one reason that Isha would have caused the Senate to reach that decision - she's been playing us all and together with Nniol they staged the attack on this station and the whole farce in order to bring down the conspirators so that there would be no opposition to their alliance."
Dunham spluttered the water he had been drinking from out of his mouth in shock. "No way!" This was all getting very deep, for Dunham. He tried to make it a personal goal to keep his life as simple as possible. He already felt his feet begin to get wet in the mirky waters of Romulan politics. But he still couldn't beleive that Isha who he had know only briefly could be in on this.
Rh'vaurek sat heavily on one of the sofas his elbows on his knees, for once his natural cockiness had deserted him, "she's betrayed me, Dunham, and it gives me no comfort to know that I was right about her all along. Hell, I should have killed her forty years ago when I had the chance."
He poured another glass of water for Rh'vaurek. Rick handed it to him, and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Call Me Rick." He scratched his the stubble on his chin in thought. "Look Rh'vaurek, I have not been on this station for that long, few months at best. Its been a whirlwind of drama and action since I got here. In That time I met a Romulan. Her name her was Isha. Now I don't know a lot about Romulans or Politics, or spies and assasins. But I do know people. Isha is a good person. I'm sure of it."
Rh'vaurek took the glass and held it between his hands. "My job is to see through lies, Rick, to pick my way through all the shades of grey and find what is at the heart, but in this, I'm blind. I can only see what what an ambitious and angry young man once saw - I'm too inclined to go with my instincts like I did last time, and I was wrong then about her motivations, though it was years before I knew that and before I stopped persecuting her. What if I was right?"
Dunham nodded in thought to Rh'vaurek's words. He felt for the guy and the pull he was in. ~The webs we weave~ he thought to himself. "Rh'vaurek you have a better perspective on these sort of things than I do. But what does your heart tell you? What's your gutt instinct? Mine is that their is more than this than meets the eye, and that Isha may well be caught up in something that is even beyond her ability to control, maybe just maybe it might be worth giving her the benefit of the doubt?"
"Your instinct is telling you that Isha is a good person. For sure her motivations are both more complex and more simple than those of the average citizen. We don't really have the concept of 'the benefit of the doubt' if I deem her guilty then it is up to her to prove otherwise if she can."
Finally he raised the glass to his lips draining it in a single swig, "This is between us, Rick, don't mention a word to Doctor Adams," Rh'vaurek pushed to his feet, giving no indication of what he had concluded about Isha. "What was it you wanted from me?"
"Of course I won't." he said in seriousness. To the question Dunham chuckled and looked a bit sheepish. "Actually I was wandering if I could get a bottle of Romulan Ale off you?"
"Ale?" Rh'vaurek was surprised - the demands made on him were usually more difficult to accomodate, "Ale I can manage, here." He crossed to a cabinate and extraced an open bottle and two glasses."Try this one, if you like it, the Ambassador will not miss a bottle or two. I ..."
Dunham took a sip straight out of the bottle to give it a taste. Yep the new Romulan Starfleet counselor would like that. Dunham’s eye brows raise at the last statement. He leaned over Rh’vaureks shoulder to take a look at the message. But he couldn’t read Romulan.
A piercing chirp interrupted. Rh'vaurek handed one of the glasses to Dunham before moving to the desk. "The latest from home," he remarked taking a sip of the burning liquid. To an astute observer something in his manner might have suggested it was not the first he had had that afternoon.
As Rh'vaurek scanned the incoming message, he placed his glass on the desk and folded his arms. "You're a sound judge of character, Rick," a genuine compliment from someone who considered himself to be in that category.
"What does its say?" said Dunham curiously
"In brief, it says 'Hru'hfirh Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t'Illialhlae has had executed Nniol tr'Illialhalae, brother of her husband, the late Hru'hfirh Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae ..." he paused as he chose the jist to tell Dunham; it was an audacious asserion of authority, "this is a quote from Isha ... 'The feud between the House Illialhlae and the Klingon House Va'ral is over, peace bought with the blood of my husband's brother, a sacrfice through which his name will remain an honoured one in this House; the same distinction will not be afforded to anyone who seeks to revive the conflict - he or she will be named a traitor in the eyes of the House and of the Empire. Think well before you oppose my leadership, for with our House the Empire will stand or fall, and in the name of the security and continuance of the Stelam Shiar, I will not hesitate to act.'"
Rh'vaurek sat back in his chair and reached for his glass draining the remaining liquid in one go.
Dunham let out a held breath between clenched teeth “That all sounds awfully complicated, I thought my family. It’s peanuts compared to this.” He indicated at the screen with a gesture of his hand. “So all’s well that ends well?”
"He must have found it crushing when he realised what she was going to do," Rh'vaurek said, with a chuckle still amazed that she had done it. "She's decisively cut off any opposition and at the same time thrown in her support with the Praetor ... she's on her way back too," he added, though he chose not to relate to Richard the additional message he had received from Latasalaem detailing Isha's latest assignment.
Dunham clasped his hand on Rh'vaurek's shoulder. "See all good." He smiled.
"All good," Rh'vaurek agreed. "You should go, Dunham. I'll have a case sent to your quarters. Not a word to Doctor Adams," he repeated, he was going to have enough trouble keeping Isha on track when she returned without Chelsea berating him for not trusting Isha.
The decision to execute her son and husband's brother could not have been easy for Isha and as always when she subsumed her own instincts for the greater good there was sure to be fallout, and asusual, it would probably be directed at him.
Off
Lt Richard Dunham
Squadron Leader
erie'Khrein Rh'vaurek Raedheol
Acting Romulan Ambassador
NPCd by Louise
by Commander Richard Dunham & Commander Karen Villiers
Post Details
| Title | Romulan Ale. | |
| Mission | Unity | |
| Author(s) | Commander Richard Dunham & Commander Karen Villiers | |
| Posted | Thu Dec 24, 2009 @ 3:32pm | |
| Location | Romulan consulate. | |
| Timeline | SD16 Current |
Dunham soon arrived and looked around. For a familiar face.
Rh'vaurek stepped quietly up behind the pilot, "What are you doing lurking in my embassy, Dunham?" he asked, "If you're looking for Doctor Adams, she isn't here."
Dunham turned and smiled "If it isn't my favourite Romulan." He gave Rh'vaurek a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Actually you're just the man I wanted to see. I need a favour"
Rh'vaurek pointed at i-Orinwen who was located at her desk nearby; "You did not see that," he said before turning back to Dunham. "Everyone wants a favour. Come this way and maybe you can do me a favour too."
"Of course." said Dunham with a smile, following the Romulan deeper into the consulate. "So what can I do for you?"
"I am going to show you something, and I want your opinion," he said walking into the ambassadorial suite. Rh'vaurek did not routinely ask for the opinion of others, but this time, a fresh and uninvovled eye might just see through the fog that had been placed around the issue.
Dunham bit his tongue back and resisted the urge to make light of a situation that had seemed to turn serious. The Romulan had a grimmer air than usual, and it worried Dunham a little. “Sure, what you got?”
Rh'vaurek didn't sit but paced over to the desk as he spoke. "You already know that I was given specific orders to stay away from ch'Rihan until Isha's visit, given their source I took them seriously and I have remained here. Since then I have received two reports, the first states that the USS Freedom was attacked and that Isha was among the casualties."
Dunham almost choked on the gum he had starting chewing. His first thought was Chelsea was not going to like this. "Is she ok? Whats the deal?" He took a glass from a table and poured some water into it from a jug. He took a drink to clear his throat.
"Normally I would give this no credence, but I have picked up a lot of subspace traffic originating from her mother's House; Llaiir t'Khellian is not known to play games or involve herself with politics, that's her husband's role. But this appeared to come from Isha's mother."
"Her mum?" It was occuring to Dunham that he really didn't know allot about thw women wh had set him up on that first date with Chelsea, and in turn had started an amazing relationship. He did feel he owed her one.
"Just as I was ready to violate my orders and hunt down that bloody klingon for letting her be killed and then to do the same to every last member of Isha's marital family I receive further communications. The Senate hearing has found in favour of Isha, her son and his co-conspirators are to be executed and that Nniol, the brother of her husband has been exonerated of charges of treason. Dunham, there's only one reason that Isha would have caused the Senate to reach that decision - she's been playing us all and together with Nniol they staged the attack on this station and the whole farce in order to bring down the conspirators so that there would be no opposition to their alliance."
Dunham spluttered the water he had been drinking from out of his mouth in shock. "No way!" This was all getting very deep, for Dunham. He tried to make it a personal goal to keep his life as simple as possible. He already felt his feet begin to get wet in the mirky waters of Romulan politics. But he still couldn't beleive that Isha who he had know only briefly could be in on this.
Rh'vaurek sat heavily on one of the sofas his elbows on his knees, for once his natural cockiness had deserted him, "she's betrayed me, Dunham, and it gives me no comfort to know that I was right about her all along. Hell, I should have killed her forty years ago when I had the chance."
He poured another glass of water for Rh'vaurek. Rick handed it to him, and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Call Me Rick." He scratched his the stubble on his chin in thought. "Look Rh'vaurek, I have not been on this station for that long, few months at best. Its been a whirlwind of drama and action since I got here. In That time I met a Romulan. Her name her was Isha. Now I don't know a lot about Romulans or Politics, or spies and assasins. But I do know people. Isha is a good person. I'm sure of it."
Rh'vaurek took the glass and held it between his hands. "My job is to see through lies, Rick, to pick my way through all the shades of grey and find what is at the heart, but in this, I'm blind. I can only see what what an ambitious and angry young man once saw - I'm too inclined to go with my instincts like I did last time, and I was wrong then about her motivations, though it was years before I knew that and before I stopped persecuting her. What if I was right?"
Dunham nodded in thought to Rh'vaurek's words. He felt for the guy and the pull he was in. ~The webs we weave~ he thought to himself. "Rh'vaurek you have a better perspective on these sort of things than I do. But what does your heart tell you? What's your gutt instinct? Mine is that their is more than this than meets the eye, and that Isha may well be caught up in something that is even beyond her ability to control, maybe just maybe it might be worth giving her the benefit of the doubt?"
"Your instinct is telling you that Isha is a good person. For sure her motivations are both more complex and more simple than those of the average citizen. We don't really have the concept of 'the benefit of the doubt' if I deem her guilty then it is up to her to prove otherwise if she can."
Finally he raised the glass to his lips draining it in a single swig, "This is between us, Rick, don't mention a word to Doctor Adams," Rh'vaurek pushed to his feet, giving no indication of what he had concluded about Isha. "What was it you wanted from me?"
"Of course I won't." he said in seriousness. To the question Dunham chuckled and looked a bit sheepish. "Actually I was wandering if I could get a bottle of Romulan Ale off you?"
"Ale?" Rh'vaurek was surprised - the demands made on him were usually more difficult to accomodate, "Ale I can manage, here." He crossed to a cabinate and extraced an open bottle and two glasses."Try this one, if you like it, the Ambassador will not miss a bottle or two. I ..."
Dunham took a sip straight out of the bottle to give it a taste. Yep the new Romulan Starfleet counselor would like that. Dunham’s eye brows raise at the last statement. He leaned over Rh’vaureks shoulder to take a look at the message. But he couldn’t read Romulan.
A piercing chirp interrupted. Rh'vaurek handed one of the glasses to Dunham before moving to the desk. "The latest from home," he remarked taking a sip of the burning liquid. To an astute observer something in his manner might have suggested it was not the first he had had that afternoon.
As Rh'vaurek scanned the incoming message, he placed his glass on the desk and folded his arms. "You're a sound judge of character, Rick," a genuine compliment from someone who considered himself to be in that category.
"What does its say?" said Dunham curiously
"In brief, it says 'Hru'hfirh Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t'Illialhlae has had executed Nniol tr'Illialhalae, brother of her husband, the late Hru'hfirh Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae ..." he paused as he chose the jist to tell Dunham; it was an audacious asserion of authority, "this is a quote from Isha ... 'The feud between the House Illialhlae and the Klingon House Va'ral is over, peace bought with the blood of my husband's brother, a sacrfice through which his name will remain an honoured one in this House; the same distinction will not be afforded to anyone who seeks to revive the conflict - he or she will be named a traitor in the eyes of the House and of the Empire. Think well before you oppose my leadership, for with our House the Empire will stand or fall, and in the name of the security and continuance of the Stelam Shiar, I will not hesitate to act.'"
Rh'vaurek sat back in his chair and reached for his glass draining the remaining liquid in one go.
Dunham let out a held breath between clenched teeth “That all sounds awfully complicated, I thought my family. It’s peanuts compared to this.” He indicated at the screen with a gesture of his hand. “So all’s well that ends well?”
"He must have found it crushing when he realised what she was going to do," Rh'vaurek said, with a chuckle still amazed that she had done it. "She's decisively cut off any opposition and at the same time thrown in her support with the Praetor ... she's on her way back too," he added, though he chose not to relate to Richard the additional message he had received from Latasalaem detailing Isha's latest assignment.
Dunham clasped his hand on Rh'vaurek's shoulder. "See all good." He smiled.
"All good," Rh'vaurek agreed. "You should go, Dunham. I'll have a case sent to your quarters. Not a word to Doctor Adams," he repeated, he was going to have enough trouble keeping Isha on track when she returned without Chelsea berating him for not trusting Isha.
The decision to execute her son and husband's brother could not have been easy for Isha and as always when she subsumed her own instincts for the greater good there was sure to be fallout, and asusual, it would probably be directed at him.
Off
Lt Richard Dunham
Squadron Leader
erie'Khrein Rh'vaurek Raedheol
Acting Romulan Ambassador
NPCd by Louise