Unity – Hard to swallow - of stew and pride.
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
Leaving her new boss' office, Arrienye looked down the hallways for a while before following it slowly, finally ending up in the reception area. She sighed, making a contemplative face before she noticed the young receptionist. She immediately straightened her demeanor, and her face took on a more serious look. She took a deep breath, glancing at the receptionist before striding over to where Isha said her office new office was.
After her summary dismissal Nahir was surprised to be asked to man the desk at all but it seemed there had been a problem with her replacement; she had not yet heard what, but then most of her 'friends' had mysteriously melted into the background. Nahir paid little attention to the woman who passed by, she was more intent on removing her belongings from the desk and placing them into the small crate on the floor before her forced retreat into the back offices.
Walking inside, Arrieyne looked the room over. It was pretty standard, just what she expected. It had a desk with a computer terminal, a chair, and not much else save for the the usual.
Sitting down, she shifted in her chair. It was uncomfortable, she decided after about five minutes. Getting up, she looked over the room once again before sitting down at the edge of her desk. Kicking her feet almost childishly, she looked over at her computer terminal.
Arrienye spent the next few minutes checking through her options through the computer until she finally got bored with that too. She moved uncomfortably, but the movements did little to ease the discomfort she felt in her own skin. In this place. Feeling a bit cooped up in the office, the young woman left it, going back into reception.
Nahir had just picked up her crate and was talking to the successor of her successor, the words, " ... is an unpredictable susse-thrai," might just have been discerned before recommending to keep security around at all times because the ambassador had had some " ... undesirable guests ..."
It was not i-Orinwen's place to suggest who they might be. She curled her fingers around the handles of her crate and lifted it from the desk. She had taken a big step, she had made a powerful alliance and made a powerful enemy. It would pay off, she told herself as she turned and found herself face to face with the woman who had arrived just before lockdown and later emerged from the ambassador's office.
"If you give me time to dump this I can show you round," she said to the newcomer.
Arrienye blinked at the sudden offer. She swallowed silently before giving the woman a nod. "Do you...need help...with that?" she offered back, a bit clumsily before clearing her throat a bit.
Nahir's lips twitched briefly into a smile. Everything had been going so well and then the ambassador had gone mad, she would have to ask Rh'vaurek why the ambassador had taken such a dislike to her, if she could. He seemed to be able to deflect every question she asked him about anything. Nahir returned her attention to the woman, "i can carry it,come along," she suggested, "I am Nahir i-Orinwen, working in linguistic cryptology," she said.
"I see," Arrienye said with a nod. "I am Arrain Arrienye t'Merek, Diplomatic aide and Head of Security," she introduced herself back.
The deeper they got into this side of the consulate the less comfortable Nahir became Where were the airy hallways and the chances to meet important people? She had not yet learned that it was in dark narrow corridors and poky rooms that things got done; the outward trappings of power little more than window dressing.
Perhaps, she reflected, that was what Rh'vaurek had meant when he told her that Isha was the smiling mask of the Stelam Shiar, an acceptable front behind which the workings of Empire could go on.
After a few minutes of ineffectual enquiries she shoved her crate in a corner and sighed.
"Done?" Arrienye asked her, looking down at the shorter woman.
"Until I'm assigned a workstation it looks like I'm setting up shop in that corner," Nahir said in a pensive tone.
"Hm," Arrienye just said, simply acknowledging her statement. "At least you're alone in it," she supplied. She always thought things could be worse.
Nahir considered that for a moment, "Or someone could install a shelf and then I'd have to share it," she said a little dejected. This was not quite how she had expected things to happen. "Let's head to the canteen, look around and you'll see that no-one bothered to install replicators back here, they're strictly a front of house luxury and usage is closely monitored. Today's slop of the day is an approximation of osilh," she said without enthusiasm, she had grown used to the perks that came with being front of house.
"It isn't any different on a lot of ships," Arrienye pointed out, following the younger woman.
There was one dish on offer and as they joined the queue it was being stirred in a bubbling vat by a cook who looked as sour as her cooking probably tasted, even the smell of the fresh bread to accompany did little to lift the mood. "Its not usually this busy, but they've had to extend service, most people have the sense to eat out and at their own expense but they don't really have that option today," Nahir explained taking a bowl from the top of the stack as person by person they moved up the line, the cook doling out the stew like an automaton.
Arrienye took a bowl herself, letting the woman drop the 'food' into it. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't give a disgusted face. After all, she hadn't tasted it yet. Not that she was optimistic about it. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked Nahir, already moving to a table and sitting down.
"... two weeks. The last one he'd had for years and he let the ambassador trade her to Darson for information ..."
" ... and she was already a trained professional ..."
Nahir heard as she passed by the table where a group of Rh'vaurek's back room staff were eating as she made her way to the one that t'Merek had chosen. The comments were followed by a ripple of ill disguised sniggers. She clutched her tray, setting it down with a clash on the table opposite t'Merek.
Arrienye looked up at Nahir as she put down her tray rather violently. "Maybe you should try it first instead of assault your food right away," she advised, taking a small bite herself. She had definitely tasted better. But then again, she'd tasted worse as well. The soldier wasn't listening to all the chatter going on around her. She was never the type to follow gossip. Instead, her mind tended to work like a filter, only picking up words of interest.
As she sat Nahir exhaled and rested her elbows on the table. "You don't like me very much, do you?" she asked tentatively. She could see it in t'Merek's eyes and manner, disdain that flowed too far beyond reserve. "I listen too much," Nahir said.
"You talk too much," t'Merek said instead. "And it's not that I don't like you. I'm always like this with everyone I meet," she admitted. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a people person. You'll have to forgive me if I offend. It's just my manner," she warned, taking another bite of her food.
Rh'vaurek had told her the same thing, only he had clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her before whispering it into her ear.
"I'm not offended," Nahir said her inexperience apparent in the admission, "well, just a bit, I don't know what really. You know I took a top level course in linguistics before Serona, I am fluent in six alien languages, and here I am not able to communicte. I owe an enourmous debt to my family, they spent a lot of money securing me a position where I could make myself useful to the ambassador and secure her patronage, and now ... " Nahir's shoulders drooped, "she's taken a dislike to me for some reason and I'll not be able to do what my family expect of me ... and I'm talking too much again," she said as nature forced Nahir to take a breath.
"Don't worry. In comparison to me, most people talk too much," Arrienye pointed out, sipping the light drink she'd gotten to go with her food. "If the Ambassador doesn't like you, there has to be a reason. Maybe you should take everything you said and done into consideration," the older woman advised. She didn't really approve that Nahir had let her parents pay for her to be there. Though Arrienye was a noble, from a wealthy family, she had never accepted help from them to advance her career. Not that they offered her much help, aside from sending her here, which, at least in Arrienye's eyes, was no help at all. In fact, going from First officer of a ship to someone's little assistant was quite a backdrop. The fact that she was given an extra job in Security was only making her feel slightly better.
Nahir picked up her fork and stabbed at the least offensive looking lump in her stew, "There's something in what you say," she told the older woman, and whilst she might still be green she knew how to take advice. She chewed in thoughtful silence, but everything that the ambassador had required of her Nahir had done, effciently and without question. "I just don't know, Arrain t'Merek," she said as her fork hovered again over the bowl as her eyes selected the next most edible looking morsel.
Again the mechanics of eating provided silence and space for contemplation. "I think," Nahir said eventually, "that I may never know, and even if I worked it out and begged the Ambassador's forgiveness I would be unlikely to receive it. She is a great Lady, I am just another back room drudge. The best I can do is to make the best of what I have and the position I now hold, not the one I used to," she said, showing a streak of pragmatism usually masked by her bright and seemingly dauntless enthusiasm.
"That's probably smart," Arrienye said, eating quietly. "And it might turn out for the best. Perhaps the Ambassador is testing you somehow," she offered to the young woman. "When I was younger, I wished to be an Engineer, but because there was more need for Security at the time, I was put there for a specialty. Now I cannot imagine myself doing anything thing else. So, I believe it's best to just make the best of everything because you never know. It could really turn out to be the best thing," she said.
Could a screeching rage really be considered a test? Nahir wondered, considering the fiery and somewhat disturbing demonstrations of ambassadorial grace and dignity she had witnessed.
But t'Merek's advice, and presence was sobering after Nahir's time among the 'Desk Girls' a group who i-Orinwen was now beginning to consider the one with the least grounds for their confident arrogance, a demeanour that she had, until recently shared.
"I was chosen for something else," Nahir admitted without giving details, "if I can't perform, then, well, I'll find myself back behid a desk and I'll never remember that I was ever considered," speaking the unspoken
"Guess not. But, if you perform well here, you might eventually come to a crossroads and be able to pick where you go further. Only this time, it will be your choice, which will make it taste much sweeter," Arrienye told her, sitting back as she took a break from her soup, taking her drink to wash the taste out for a bit. "And you will feel more confident in your choice instead of having to be put somewhere by someone else."
It had only been a few mouthfuls but Nahir had given up on the food, she had not even touched the soft bread. She swallowed and looked directly at t'Merek. Nahir processed information very quickly, and whilst she might not yet have a conclusion about her own future, Nahir would reach it soon. And then she needed to keep her mouth closed ... that would be a challenge ...
"Arrain t'Merek, you've given me a much needed slap in the face, figuratively, and that I should be thankful for ... " finally she laid down her fork. "Would it offend you if in future I sought your advice?"
"Not at all. Feel free," Arrienye told her, not minding in the least. She was used to officers under her coming in for advice, though they were mostly of a professional nature. But, here and there, they tended to take on a more personal note.
OFF
Arrain Arrienye t'Merek
Security Chief and Diplomatic aide
Romulan Consulate
&
Nahir i-Orinwen
Cryptologist
NPC by Louise
Trying not to be a complete twerp.
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Commander Isha t'Vaurek
Post Details
| Title | Hard to swallow - of stew and pride. | |
| Mission | Unity | |
| Author(s) | (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Commander Isha t'Vaurek | |
| Posted | Thu Apr 22, 2010 @ 7:46pm | |
| Location | Romulan Consulate/Reception area | |
| Timeline | SD17 - 13:50 |
After her summary dismissal Nahir was surprised to be asked to man the desk at all but it seemed there had been a problem with her replacement; she had not yet heard what, but then most of her 'friends' had mysteriously melted into the background. Nahir paid little attention to the woman who passed by, she was more intent on removing her belongings from the desk and placing them into the small crate on the floor before her forced retreat into the back offices.
Walking inside, Arrieyne looked the room over. It was pretty standard, just what she expected. It had a desk with a computer terminal, a chair, and not much else save for the the usual.
Sitting down, she shifted in her chair. It was uncomfortable, she decided after about five minutes. Getting up, she looked over the room once again before sitting down at the edge of her desk. Kicking her feet almost childishly, she looked over at her computer terminal.
Arrienye spent the next few minutes checking through her options through the computer until she finally got bored with that too. She moved uncomfortably, but the movements did little to ease the discomfort she felt in her own skin. In this place. Feeling a bit cooped up in the office, the young woman left it, going back into reception.
Nahir had just picked up her crate and was talking to the successor of her successor, the words, " ... is an unpredictable susse-thrai," might just have been discerned before recommending to keep security around at all times because the ambassador had had some " ... undesirable guests ..."
It was not i-Orinwen's place to suggest who they might be. She curled her fingers around the handles of her crate and lifted it from the desk. She had taken a big step, she had made a powerful alliance and made a powerful enemy. It would pay off, she told herself as she turned and found herself face to face with the woman who had arrived just before lockdown and later emerged from the ambassador's office.
"If you give me time to dump this I can show you round," she said to the newcomer.
Arrienye blinked at the sudden offer. She swallowed silently before giving the woman a nod. "Do you...need help...with that?" she offered back, a bit clumsily before clearing her throat a bit.
Nahir's lips twitched briefly into a smile. Everything had been going so well and then the ambassador had gone mad, she would have to ask Rh'vaurek why the ambassador had taken such a dislike to her, if she could. He seemed to be able to deflect every question she asked him about anything. Nahir returned her attention to the woman, "i can carry it,come along," she suggested, "I am Nahir i-Orinwen, working in linguistic cryptology," she said.
"I see," Arrienye said with a nod. "I am Arrain Arrienye t'Merek, Diplomatic aide and Head of Security," she introduced herself back.
The deeper they got into this side of the consulate the less comfortable Nahir became Where were the airy hallways and the chances to meet important people? She had not yet learned that it was in dark narrow corridors and poky rooms that things got done; the outward trappings of power little more than window dressing.
Perhaps, she reflected, that was what Rh'vaurek had meant when he told her that Isha was the smiling mask of the Stelam Shiar, an acceptable front behind which the workings of Empire could go on.
After a few minutes of ineffectual enquiries she shoved her crate in a corner and sighed.
"Done?" Arrienye asked her, looking down at the shorter woman.
"Until I'm assigned a workstation it looks like I'm setting up shop in that corner," Nahir said in a pensive tone.
"Hm," Arrienye just said, simply acknowledging her statement. "At least you're alone in it," she supplied. She always thought things could be worse.
Nahir considered that for a moment, "Or someone could install a shelf and then I'd have to share it," she said a little dejected. This was not quite how she had expected things to happen. "Let's head to the canteen, look around and you'll see that no-one bothered to install replicators back here, they're strictly a front of house luxury and usage is closely monitored. Today's slop of the day is an approximation of osilh," she said without enthusiasm, she had grown used to the perks that came with being front of house.
"It isn't any different on a lot of ships," Arrienye pointed out, following the younger woman.
There was one dish on offer and as they joined the queue it was being stirred in a bubbling vat by a cook who looked as sour as her cooking probably tasted, even the smell of the fresh bread to accompany did little to lift the mood. "Its not usually this busy, but they've had to extend service, most people have the sense to eat out and at their own expense but they don't really have that option today," Nahir explained taking a bowl from the top of the stack as person by person they moved up the line, the cook doling out the stew like an automaton.
Arrienye took a bowl herself, letting the woman drop the 'food' into it. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't give a disgusted face. After all, she hadn't tasted it yet. Not that she was optimistic about it. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked Nahir, already moving to a table and sitting down.
"... two weeks. The last one he'd had for years and he let the ambassador trade her to Darson for information ..."
" ... and she was already a trained professional ..."
Nahir heard as she passed by the table where a group of Rh'vaurek's back room staff were eating as she made her way to the one that t'Merek had chosen. The comments were followed by a ripple of ill disguised sniggers. She clutched her tray, setting it down with a clash on the table opposite t'Merek.
Arrienye looked up at Nahir as she put down her tray rather violently. "Maybe you should try it first instead of assault your food right away," she advised, taking a small bite herself. She had definitely tasted better. But then again, she'd tasted worse as well. The soldier wasn't listening to all the chatter going on around her. She was never the type to follow gossip. Instead, her mind tended to work like a filter, only picking up words of interest.
As she sat Nahir exhaled and rested her elbows on the table. "You don't like me very much, do you?" she asked tentatively. She could see it in t'Merek's eyes and manner, disdain that flowed too far beyond reserve. "I listen too much," Nahir said.
"You talk too much," t'Merek said instead. "And it's not that I don't like you. I'm always like this with everyone I meet," she admitted. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a people person. You'll have to forgive me if I offend. It's just my manner," she warned, taking another bite of her food.
Rh'vaurek had told her the same thing, only he had clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her before whispering it into her ear.
"I'm not offended," Nahir said her inexperience apparent in the admission, "well, just a bit, I don't know what really. You know I took a top level course in linguistics before Serona, I am fluent in six alien languages, and here I am not able to communicte. I owe an enourmous debt to my family, they spent a lot of money securing me a position where I could make myself useful to the ambassador and secure her patronage, and now ... " Nahir's shoulders drooped, "she's taken a dislike to me for some reason and I'll not be able to do what my family expect of me ... and I'm talking too much again," she said as nature forced Nahir to take a breath.
"Don't worry. In comparison to me, most people talk too much," Arrienye pointed out, sipping the light drink she'd gotten to go with her food. "If the Ambassador doesn't like you, there has to be a reason. Maybe you should take everything you said and done into consideration," the older woman advised. She didn't really approve that Nahir had let her parents pay for her to be there. Though Arrienye was a noble, from a wealthy family, she had never accepted help from them to advance her career. Not that they offered her much help, aside from sending her here, which, at least in Arrienye's eyes, was no help at all. In fact, going from First officer of a ship to someone's little assistant was quite a backdrop. The fact that she was given an extra job in Security was only making her feel slightly better.
Nahir picked up her fork and stabbed at the least offensive looking lump in her stew, "There's something in what you say," she told the older woman, and whilst she might still be green she knew how to take advice. She chewed in thoughtful silence, but everything that the ambassador had required of her Nahir had done, effciently and without question. "I just don't know, Arrain t'Merek," she said as her fork hovered again over the bowl as her eyes selected the next most edible looking morsel.
Again the mechanics of eating provided silence and space for contemplation. "I think," Nahir said eventually, "that I may never know, and even if I worked it out and begged the Ambassador's forgiveness I would be unlikely to receive it. She is a great Lady, I am just another back room drudge. The best I can do is to make the best of what I have and the position I now hold, not the one I used to," she said, showing a streak of pragmatism usually masked by her bright and seemingly dauntless enthusiasm.
"That's probably smart," Arrienye said, eating quietly. "And it might turn out for the best. Perhaps the Ambassador is testing you somehow," she offered to the young woman. "When I was younger, I wished to be an Engineer, but because there was more need for Security at the time, I was put there for a specialty. Now I cannot imagine myself doing anything thing else. So, I believe it's best to just make the best of everything because you never know. It could really turn out to be the best thing," she said.
Could a screeching rage really be considered a test? Nahir wondered, considering the fiery and somewhat disturbing demonstrations of ambassadorial grace and dignity she had witnessed.
But t'Merek's advice, and presence was sobering after Nahir's time among the 'Desk Girls' a group who i-Orinwen was now beginning to consider the one with the least grounds for their confident arrogance, a demeanour that she had, until recently shared.
"I was chosen for something else," Nahir admitted without giving details, "if I can't perform, then, well, I'll find myself back behid a desk and I'll never remember that I was ever considered," speaking the unspoken
"Guess not. But, if you perform well here, you might eventually come to a crossroads and be able to pick where you go further. Only this time, it will be your choice, which will make it taste much sweeter," Arrienye told her, sitting back as she took a break from her soup, taking her drink to wash the taste out for a bit. "And you will feel more confident in your choice instead of having to be put somewhere by someone else."
It had only been a few mouthfuls but Nahir had given up on the food, she had not even touched the soft bread. She swallowed and looked directly at t'Merek. Nahir processed information very quickly, and whilst she might not yet have a conclusion about her own future, Nahir would reach it soon. And then she needed to keep her mouth closed ... that would be a challenge ...
"Arrain t'Merek, you've given me a much needed slap in the face, figuratively, and that I should be thankful for ... " finally she laid down her fork. "Would it offend you if in future I sought your advice?"
"Not at all. Feel free," Arrienye told her, not minding in the least. She was used to officers under her coming in for advice, though they were mostly of a professional nature. But, here and there, they tended to take on a more personal note.
OFF
Arrain Arrienye t'Merek
Security Chief and Diplomatic aide
Romulan Consulate
&
Nahir i-Orinwen
Cryptologist
NPC by Louise
Trying not to be a complete twerp.