Almost an Apology

Posted on Sat Oct 6th, 2018 @ 12:05pm by Commander Abigail Prescott & Telhas thu'S'Terion Sa-Shasol'kor t'Cheleb-Khor

1,375 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: The Return to Faltan
Location: Romulan Embassy Building Site
Timeline: MD10 - 1900

Telhas was not totally sure why he had chosen the building site of the embassy for the meeting. Partly because he felt that he, somehow, would be more influenced by Nevala's personality here, partly because it was the place where at least for him the trouble began. But that was not everything. Whatever else added to this decision, he was not aware of this.

When the time for the meeting arrived, he had been at the place already for an hour. First, he had walked along everything, then he just stood in the middle of the ground, proud, with great dignity, as the wind from played with his robes. He was there unarmed, without Cheleb-Mor, just as he had been in Tesyn. Only that this time the reason was different. He wanted to show he was no harm. Although Mint had already gotten the expression that he would be more dangerous than it appeared, a situation he felt horribly sorry for. There was no excuse for yelling telepathically at those who wanted to help.

He sensed Mint's arrival, although he looked into a different direction, at the silhouette of the mountains. "Abigail, thank you that you found time. I hope you do not mind meeting here?"

"No, I don't mind," Mint shook her head despite the fact he wasn't looking at her. She looked around the area and noted how efficiently the staff had cleaned the area during the investigation and after.

"How are things going? I hear Captain Refelian is stepwise getting back to duty?" Telhas sounded tired, but friendly. He slowly turned around to face her. "Please communicate him my compliments."

"Things are moving, a little faster than molasses in January, but they're going slowly," she used the old Earth saying without regard for if he would understand, she shrugged but smiled at the mention of Refelian. "Yes, he is. Stubborn man that he is, he is returning to full duties. But he is very close to full strength again. It's amazing how quickly he was able to recover. Doctor Aereen did a great job fixing him up."

Telhas smiled softly. "I have good news. First of all, for you. The Tal Shiar should have left already. I did not check if they stayed here cloaked, but my orders were clear and I doubt that they oppose me. This is connected with the second good news, Nevala will be released. Soon."

"It's honestly a relief to know they've left," Mint rubbed the back of her neck and stretched it, as though a weight had just been lifted. "And I'm very glad to hear your wife will be returning to your side soon! I hope she is in good health."

"We will see once she returned," Telhas replied without any sign of emotion. "Tomorrow I will start to build the embassy. Again. If I am lucky, I can give Nevala a more cosy home than ship's quarters when she is back."

"It will be nice to see things getting back to how they should be," she said as she moved to stand next to Telhas. "But I know you didn't call me here to tell me this, Telhas."

"Abigail, I am also here to share some information," Telhas said gravely, "and they are not good. I investigated personally and tried to find out who would be powerful enough for the attack on an embassy. I found names of organizations, Red Guard and Sacred Bones. I found a priest of Sacred Bones. I know that there is a plague and that they are killing the ill to please their gods. The population seems to even support this, at least a part of the population. Those priests even kill children. I saw it in his mind."

"The last intel report to come in mentioned these two organizations as well," Mint frowned before sighing. "Though they didn't mention the plague or killing the ill." She ran her hands through her hair and stared at the mountains in silence for a while. "Telhas, I don't want to know how you got this information, but I appreciate you sharing it with me."

Telhas shrugged. "Well, I think we have an agreement to share information. Although I have to admit that I should have met with you every evening as I promised, and not just..." He stopped and thought for a moment if he should apologize, but he considered it a sign of weakness. "Anyway, this is not all the bad news. Victoria Saracenti is on this planet. Some know her as Fallen Angel. Leader of Death Squad, a group of Terrorists who are found guilty for crimes in the Romulan Star Empire and, if my information is correct, also in the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets. If she is here, her terrorist group is not far away. I know this because she is responsible for the bombing of my embassy and Nevala's abduction. She confessed it to the Tal Shiar. She demanded the departure of the Tal Shiar in exchange for Nevala's freedom."

Mint sighed and rubbed her face, Dufrai had mentioned the Death Squad earlier as well. "My CIO reported in to me just before I came here, she too mentioned the Death Squad being here," she continued to stare at the mountains. "This is not good," she swore under her breath and frowned. "So the Tal Shiar listens to the demands of this terrorist group? They're that bad?"

"Yes," Telhas simply replied. "I will send you a copy of the Romulan files on them. Take these as a sign of my good will. I know that I did not..." He paused and re-phrased the words in his mind. "Let us just say, I have not acted properly towards you within the last days. There is no excuse to this, and I will not excuse. This is just for you to know that I am aware of this."

"We have both had a lot going on," Mint waved her hand to indicate the station in general at this. "I hardly expected everything to be as it normally would given the circumstances. However, who am I to turn down such knowledge," she smiled and gave him a shrug. "I would appreciate all information I can gather on this group. We need to come up with a plan to stop them from doing whatever it is they're planning."

"Even if we can stop them, we may not like the methods we need to apply," Telhas said sincerely. "And to be honest, I prefer to stay neutral. Faltan itself is of no interest to me, or the Romulan Star Empire. My embassy will be a safe place for anyone here, but I will not take any aggressive action." He sighed. "Although I would love to do just that."

"Faltan is nothing more than a strategic place for us to have a base," Mint pointed out. "We have no real interest in the planet or its people. But we will work to stop terrorists from decimating their population. Also, what if they're using the people of Faltan as a test bed, if this plague is something meant to decimate Federation forces, or decrease Romulan numbers even further? No, I won't stand for terrorists doing such things. Interest or not in this planet."

"I already paid a heavy price. I will not pay more," Telhas stated. "Abigail." He bowed his head and left, but as he left he sent her a thought. He sent it gently, so that it would not cause any pain. You may call in one favour from me. It is your decision what, and when. If it is against my ethics, it is forfeit. I grant you this one, for the trouble I have caused bringing in the Tal Shiar. Decide wisely. Do not reply, they may have a mole here.

As the words gently floated through her mind, Mint kicked a rock out of her way and sat down, still staring at the mountains. A small smile formed on her face momentarily. But then the gravity of the words sunk in and she sighed. Despite being out in the open and completely alone now, Mint began to meditate, trying to calm her mind.

 

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