The Grand Opening, Part 1
Posted on Fri Nov 16th, 2018 @ 3:54pm by Captain Horatio Refelian & Commander Abigail Prescott & Lieutenant Colonel Ethan St Clair JAGC & Captain M'Mira & Major Michael Tritter & Major Sam Braddock & Lieutenant Commander Catrina (Cat) Tendai & Lieutenant Calista Aereen MD & Lieutenant Mika Rai'z D.Sc. & Lieutenant JG Eleanor Phoy & Lieutenant JG Shannon Cosantior & Rakena Kejaad & Telhas thu'S'Terion Sa-Shasol'kor t'Cheleb-Khor & Candy Templeton
4,020 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
Mission 2: Into The Breach
Location: Function Hall, Diplomatic Hub
Timeline: MD03 - 1845 Hours
Front Row
Mint wandered in and over to her seat, but didn't sit down. She looked around and spotted M'Mira. Smiling she approached her. "Lots of people here," she said looking around. "Haven't been able to chat in a while, we need to hang out after this."
Purring, M'Mira agreed. "Yes, we do. This has been much morrre fun than rrrruning the place when the Captain was shot," she told her friend. She completely switched subjects and said, "Arrre you surrre that you did not put on perrrfume? You still smell less stinky than norrrmal." She uttered that last sentence in a very quiet whisper so nobody else would know that M'Mira found Mint to be stinky.
"I'm not wearing perfume," Mint rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face. She leaned in and whispered almost directly in M'Mira's ear. "Don't react now... I'm pregnant." She stood straight again and pretended to examine the crowd.
Unable to contain herself completely, M'Mira looked over at Mint and her jaw dropped. "Who? What? How?" She paused and then tried to pass off calmness, "Well, I know how, but...."
"I'll explain later," Mint said, chuckling. "Too many ears here, especially one set I don't want to know about this," she added. "Don't breathe a word to anyone. Not until we are ready to announce it," Mint looked to M'Mira. "Promise me, M'Mira..."
"I won't brrreathe a worrrd of it," she said in a quiet hiss. "You know I won't. I know how to keep a secret forrrr my BFF!"
"I know," Mint frowned slightly. "But I am worried about this, especially with that reporter here," she scowled slightly, but then pushed a pleasant smile onto her face as her eyes roamed the gathering crowd again.
"Candy?" M'Mira asked curiously. "I *LIKE* her. She's rrrreally sweet. Why arrrre you so worrrrried about her?"
"Because she tried to get me expelled from the Academy because I had an open relationship with her brother and she didn't like it. She spread vicious false rumours about me," Mint whispered in her ear. "I was investigated by the board of directors. Those rumours? Followed me through my career and nearly made me quit. This," she gestured to the station in general, "is the only place the rumours haven't followed me. And if she finds out about my current relationship, she'll do her best to ruin me."
"Do you rrreally think she would be that petty, Mint? How long ago was that? You both have carrrrreerrrs now.... And she seemed like she was trrrying to be nice to you...." M'Mira tried to reconcile the differences between two people that she liked. "Maybe you should talk to herrr?"
"Hah, her? Nice to me?" Mint shook her head. "No, M'Mira, that was false sweetness. She knows I dislike being called 'Abby' and insists on calling me that just to get under my skin. Just wait until news regarding my relationship breaks."
"I don't know what you see in, well...." M'Mira looked around to see if she was being overheard. "Your partnerrrr, anyways? He's so oooollllllldddddd! You'rrrre going to have a kid the age of his grandchild. Talk about confusing!" She shook her head. "I will listen to what you say about Candy but she seems as sweet as herrr name to me."
Mint rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Old doesn't mean bad you know," she grinned at M'Mira. "Just means more experienced and established in their career of choice," she shrugged. "And it's not like we intended for this to happen. As for Templeton," Mint nearly growled. "She acts all sweet and kind, but beneath that? She's out for fame and glory any way she can get it. If that means ruining people? She doesn't care."
"I can't believe that," M'Mira answered with her eyes widening, nearly heart broken. She tried to change the subject. "He could be your dad. Too old," M'Mira said with a purr.
"To each their own," Mint shrugged. "But we can discuss this more after the ceremony."
"Fine, fine, fine," M'Mira replied with enthusiasm. "But, the moment after it is done, we'rrre going to get some quiet time!"
"Quiet time....sounds nice..." Mint sighed, still looking about the crowd. "I better mingle before Refelian gives me trouble."
Catrina managed to find where it was that she was supposed to sit and hovered around the general area, tugging at the collar of her uniform. The one thing she could never get to fit comfortably was this. She noticed Mint talking with M’Mira and gave a small smile. She let her eyes scan the room, making sure everything looked okay. She hoped that the decorations looked as good to everyone else.
Noticing Cat, Mint excused herself from M'Mira for a second. "I told him," she whispered as she came up beside Cat. "Both things," she added, looking around as though she was surveying the room. "All is well, thank you," she smiled, then spoke louder. "The decorations look great, you did a good job."
Catching what Mint said, Cat gave her a smile, speaking softly. "Glad it all turned out okay." Her eyes followed Mint's, going back to speaking normally. "Thank you, Commander. And I appreciate the help with the color choices."
"You are most welcome," Mint grinned. "I should probably go talk to some others," she said with a shrug. "I'm just glad I don't have to speak," she added in a conspiratorial tone, "I'd probably lose the rest of my dinner..."
"Go on, go be all commander-y. I'm hoping I don't have to talk either," Cat said with a smirk, "Don't think I could handle it myself. Too much in my head." She patted Mint on the shoulder and went looking around a bit, seeing if anyone wanted to talk to her before everything started.
Mika had walked in, and looking as if his thoughts were far away, sat down in a chair next to hers.
Spotting Mika walking in, then sitting down, Cat realized he looked like his mind was a million lightyears away. Double-checking the decorations one last time with a quick room scan, she sat down in her seat. "Mika, you alright?"
her voice having gotten his attention, Mika looked over to her, and a moment later he smiled. "I'm alright. I just have a lot on my mind."
Cat smirked and couldn't help but agree. "Sounds about like all of us at this point. If you wanna talk, you know where to find me."
He nodded, realizing he wasn't alone. "I appreciate that, and I hope you know that goes both ways."
"I do, thanks Mika. Right now, I'm just hoping everyone appreciates the work it took to decorate in here." Cat shrugged. "Though I have Mint to thank for the color choices."
“Oh...” looking around them, Mika appeared sheepish. His eyes finished scanning the room before returning to her, "Everything looks great. Please don't take it personally that I hadn't noticed immediately. My head was still in a lab when I walked in."
Cat smiled. “It happens, don’t worry about it. I’m distracted too. I’m glad you like it though.”
"I do," he returned her smile, his eyes looked her over intently. He'd been concerned about her. "How 'are' you doing, aside from all the decorating?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yeah I'm okay. Lot going on is all. I'm good." Cat gave the best convincing smile she could, trying not to let her friend worry.
Aereen entered fidgeting with her dress uniform slightly she moved to the front row and settled into her seat, nodding to the others.
St Clair had hoped he would have something to justify taking him away from the event, unfortunately he was there and made his way to his seat next to the Chief Medical Officer.
The Major was not a pomp and circumstance kind of guy, he much preferred being in the thick of things if you will. However, he was voluntold to make an appearance and he would do as ordered. The large man had an unmistakeable presence, being seven foot tall and about three hundred and fifty pounds tended to do that. But he looked like a fish out of water, his uniform neatly pressed and everything to standard, but he seemed... edgy. This was not his environment at all. He moved to the front row, found his seat and tried to "hide" as best as one his size can.
Sam walked into the massive function hall and was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of people that had gathered. He was clad in his Service Dress Blues with a high choker collar and a stiff white belt. The left side of his chest was covered in a plethora of shining medals that extended halfway to his shoulder and a set of gleaming golden wings above them. Looking around at the throngs of people, he made an effort to to get caught in it and looked around for Colonel Haversford.
A buxom blonde, who dressed to make sure that she was noticed, walked into the room. She was dressed in a navy dress and stiletto high heels that helped her emphasize her swinging hips as she walked. Her brown eyes appeared to be wide and somewhat vacant but they missed nothing as they swept the room. Candy made her way up towards the front, excusing herself as she passed by anyone, not allowing any to stay in her path. She caught the sight of the major and his metals and made her way up to him and said, "That's quite a bit of brass that you're wearing there...."
Sam smiled at this and gave the woman a slight nod. “What can I say? The Corps likes me to look cute in a uniform.” He said, a hint of good natured sarcasm in his voice. “And who, might I ask, are you?” He inquired.
"Me?" The blonde asked with a small giggle. "I'm just Candy." Taking on an interested and cutesy tone, she asked, "And who might you be, handsome?"
“Major Samuel Braddock, I’m the Marine Squadron Commander here but you can call me ‘Sam’.” He said quickly. There was no doubting she was attractive but Sam was wary of newcomers, especially those with no purpose. “So what brings you to this dog and pony show?” He asked, with a hint of thinly veiled playfulness in his tone.
"I'm here to report on it," she answered in a bubbling, unconcerned tone. "So, Sam, what purpose does the Marines have here? I mean, are you not usually used to invade places? Are we expecting some sort of trouble?"
Sam smirked a little. He didn't plan on falling into the trap of providing too much information to a reporter, especially since nothing was 'Off The Record'. "Marines are more than glorified ground pounders. We're researchers, engineers, firefighters, and so on. We're just here to help out where we can and if necessary, we can intervene as needed quickly and efficiently." he said, giving the standard company line.
Playfully, Candy gave a light tap of Sam's shoulder and laughed. "Oh, come now! Doesn't the Fleet have all those things too? So what would your purpose be? Certainly, something more...."
Sam continued to dance around the real answer to Candy’s query. “There’s nothing more, of that much I can assure you. We are simply here to augment Starfleet’s humanitarian and expeditionary capabilities and contribute to that section of their mission if we should be so required by commands in the sector.”
"I'm a simple girl, Sam. That's a lot of big words that really confuse me." She leaned against him, allowing her body to press closer into his and said, "Maybe you could let me know what you said in words that I can understand?"
Entering the ceremony, she scanned the area quickly as her eyes stopped for a second at the Romulan couple and the slide to the Cardassian pair then looked at Candy. Eleanor shrugs seeing the reporter here, but this was after all a formal thing. Looking back at the front row seeing some of Command and guest that were important. Eleanor stayed put and waited for this forsaken thing to be done.
Colonel Haversford hated dress uniform functions. It always made him feel like he was being suffocated by bureaucratic rubbish. He nodded to the Starfleet Officers as he made his way to the other Marines in the group, “Braddock, Tritter.” He said with a nod to both Major’s.
Tritter noticed the Colonel heading his direction, after their greeting, the Major nodded slightly and stated, "Colonel" to the other man, a simple yet respectful acknowledgement of the Colonel's presence, he felt like a fish out of water and was doing his best to not act completely out of place
His conversation with Candy over at this point, Sam nodded respectfully to the Colonel.
“You two ready for the bullshit parade?” Haversford asked with a smirk.
Tritter chuckled quietly and replied with "As ready as one can be Sir", his heavily accented voice had a hint of being less than thrilled about the "show" that was to follow.
“Good.” Haversford said before turning to Braddock. “What about you Major?”
Sam smirked a little. “It’s not so bad, sir. We stand, salute, and sit through a couple of speeches. After that, they roll out the good booze and we get to have a good time.”
M'Mira rushed over to all of the Marines, her tail swishing rapidly from side to side, and in a hurried voice said, "Now, now, gentlemen.... It is time to starrrt finding your seats. Marrrines are overrr therrrre. Seated to left of the podium. If you need any drrrinks orrr food, I shall see to it, but please, be seated."
Tritter raised an eyebrow at the feline who approached them, he simply gave her a slight nod. But he wasn't cattle to be corralled, when the time was right, he would move.
M'Mira acknowledged the nod but did not see the Marines move. Were they all this annoying? They must have all learned from the Major, she decided. Well, let the marines be the fools that they were. She headed to the VIPs and decided to make sure that they were all comfortable and getting seated.
“Nothing for me, Commander.” The Colonel replied.
Sam fought the urge to hiss at M’Mira. The fact that she had the unmitigated gall to give them orders in front of a superior officer in such a condescending manner left a bitter taste in his mouth. Firing off a momentary glare, he turned back to Colonel Haversford.
“That thing has been a pain in my ass ever since the XO tasked me with the MTAC project.” He said to the Colonel, his veneer of professionalism slipping for a moment.
Despite having left, the Caitian had extremely keen ears and she physically bristled when she heard the Major call her a thing. This was not the place to cause a scene and she was much better than he was. He was not even cute! The nerve of that marine! Forcing herself to move, her tail stayed straight upright, warning anyone who could recognize it that trifling with M'Mira would be a mistake.
Further Seating
Ensign Shannon Consantior, wearing her proper uniform found the area for junior officers and sat. It was in the back of the room and she was among the first to arrive so she was able to snag a chair along the back wall, near a door. More out of habit than anything. And not just for intel spook reasons, she just didn't tend to like ceremonies and always had one eye on the door.
Yeoman Duffel squeezed through the crowds of people to find a seat. “Hey Shannon, any chance I could sit here? She said festering to the free seat next to the Ensign.
Cosantior glanced at the Petty Officer wondering when she gave permission to use her first name. "It's open Master Chief." She said to the woman she mostly only knew through her personnel record, having not directly interacted with her much so Shannon's natural reserve came into play.
“Thanks.” Freya said with a smile. “Seems like a good turn out.” The Yeoman said as she glanced around the hall.
Shannon gave a polite smile and nodded, "Seems to be yes." Though it hadn't been required a large number had turned out. Shannon herself was curious and tended to be ok at ceremonies as long as she wasn't the center of attention.
“A lot of work has gone into this event. I’m looking forward to the after party.” Duffel replied with a smile.
VIP Section
Telhas and Nevala arrived early. Maybe too early, but they both agreed that after what they and the station's crew had been through in the past weeks, this would be the right sign of their commitment. If there were any security concerns left, they did not show it. At least not openly, but Telhas had taken his Rod of Kel with him. The ivory-like item with its platinum inscriptions looked like a kind of sceptre to those who did not know what it could be, hence to almost everyone except those interested in ancient Vulcan history. He was dressed in the navy blue silky robes of a Vulcan duke, but had added the green sash of a Romulan ambassador and the golden eagle on the sash, which denoted him as a senator.
Nevala was dressed in a long gown, which let her shoulders free and was a stylish mixture of Vulcan and French fashion in different shades of purple. She wore no visible makeup, but this only added to the overall impression of class and high rank. Her only jewelry was a thin, silver necklace with the Romulan eagle in the middle, just above her heart. It added perfectly to the overall appearance. Besides that, her charming smile was more a decoration than her necklace.
The couple went to their seats, chatting a little bit about how well the decoration of the room had been selected. "A most aesthetic arrangement," Nevala concluded.
Flanked by Gul Reskat, Rakena Kejaad entered the VIP section. The Cardassian woman wore a cranberry coloured sari and bronze toned jewellery. The Military Officer accompanying her wore an embellished uniform.
Rakena made her way towards the Romulan Ambassador, thinking the time opportune to foster a meeting.
Telhas looked at the Cardassian couple as they approached. This gave him enough time to decide that the woman would be the ambassador. He gave her a respectful nod and said "Madam Ambassador, I presume?" Nevala followed his lead and bowed her head as well.
Shooting a quick look to Gul Reskat, prompting him to stop where he was to allow the Ambassador to approach alone. Rakena took a few paces and extended her hand. “Ambassador, it is the highest pleasure to finally meet you.”
Without hesitation Telhas took her hand. "Duke Telhas t'Cheleb-Khor thu'S'Terion," he formally introduced himself, although she probably knew his name, "and may I introduce my lovely wife, Duchess Nevala e-T'Daran thu'S'Terion."
"Madam Ambassador, it is my pleasure to meet you," Nevala extended her hand. "The dress perfectly fits you. What a great sense of style!" She smiled her most admiring smile, emphasizing her recognition. "It is Terran fashion?"
Rakena nodded. “Quite the eye my dear.” The Cardassian woman, adjusted the draping of her sari. “I spent a short time on Earth and was quite taken with some of the gorgeous styles I saw in the Eastern Regions.” Placing a hand on the Romulan woman’s arm, Rakena asked. “Have you ever been to Earth, Nevala was it?”
"Unfortunately not, Lady... uhm..." Nevala tried to find any information on the Cardassian Ambassador's name, but she could not remember. "I am so sorry, but could you please tell me your name? I have been abducted soon after arriving here and those criminals just released me yesterday, so I could not read all diplomatic reports yet." Nevala's expression showed she made no joke.
The Cardassian woman smiled. “Rakena Kejaad. But please Rakena will be fine darling.” She was already quite taken with the Romulan woman’s charisma.
"If I may give you an advice, Madam Ambassador," Telhas said sternly, "Whatever security forces you have deployed to your embassy, double them. This planet is not safe and the government is rather hostile."
Rakena shot a glance to Gul Reskat, who approached delicately. Rakena simply nodded to Nevala without a word.
A Caitian came up to the group, "I am sorrrrry, did I hear you say that this planet is not safe?" M'Mira bristled at the comment and her tail drooped. "If therrrre is something that you think we could be doing betterrrr, I should be glad to hearrr it."
Telhas raised an eyebrow. "Commander, did you not learn in your academy that it is considered quite rude in diplomacy if officers below flag rank interrupt talks between ambassadors?" He smiled coldly. "But as you asked, how would you call a planet where the embassy of a major power is attacked and the ambassador's wife abducted? Safe? Or rather a hot zone? Please, I am curious to hear your answer."
"I would say that these arrre merrrrely isolated incidents. Do rrrrememberrrr that we only rrrrecently arrrrrived herrre again. Many systems werrre inoperrrable and rrrrequirrred rrrepairrr. I, myself, had no Chief Engineerrrr until after the Ambassadorrr's wife was abducted. It could be said, perrrhaps, that non-militarrrry should have waited to arrrrive until prrrroper prrrreparrrations could have been made to make cerrrtain that all was well," M'Mira concluded.
Telhas's smile got even colder. "Good to know. This means that Starfleet invited us to open an embassy, let my quote, 'whenever our resources allow', hence immediately, although neither the base was operational nor the planet was save. I will have a talk about this with the admiral as soon as she arrives. Surely she will understand that under these circumstances I have to request a re-fund of the additional expenses for the Romulan Star Empire. I hope you are willing to repeat this to the admiral, I mean that non-military should better have waited despite the fact that the invitations to open embassies stated nothing of this?"
M'Mira simply smiled at Telhas and said, "You can lodge whateverrr grrrievances you have with the Federrrration. The facts arrrre the facts and the rrrrest is above me. Howeverrrr, I know that the Captain is making everrrrything as safe as possible. Have no fearrrr." Turning the subject back to the ceremony, M'Mira continued, "It is time to take ourrrr seats. Would you kindly move towarrrds them?"
"I fear nothing except loss of mnhei'sahe, or my wife" Telhas stated proudly, "And thank you for informing us that the ceremony will begin. We will find our seats."
Nevala was surprised that her husband stated so openly that he feared to lose her, and she felt it one of the most romantic things she experienced so far. Romulans did not talk too open about their feelings, and definitely not in such a public environment. This meant a lot to her. "Commander, you may leave now, thank you," she said with a friendly smile, but decisive tone. Then, with a much softer tone she turned to the Cardassian Ambassador "Lady Rakena, I hope we will find time to continue our talk and exchange some of our knowledge of foreign cultures. Although I am afraid that I have seen much less of the galaxy than you.”
The older woman smiled graciously and took Gul Reskat’s arm as he led the way to their seats. Much of the Romulan’s story resonated with Rakena. For the first time since arriving, she wondered if she hadn’t made a mistake in taking this post.
Podium
The narrator approached the microphone, “Honoured guests, the ceremony is about to begin. Please take your seats.”
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