An...Inquiry

Posted on Sun Feb 4, 2018 @ 4:09am by Valasa Caenala & Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Intelligence/VIP Quarters
Timeline: MD 32 | 1100 hours

Alex sat back in his chair. He had to talk to the Ambassador to learn more about the planetary alliance. And other things. But a standard interrogation wouldn't work in this case. A diplomatic conversation might be the best route for a variety of reasons. He nodded and sat forward, "Computer, what is the current location of Ambassador Caenala?"

"Ambassador Caenala is located in the VIP quarters on Deck 5." The computer replied with it's simulated feminine voice.

The Intel Chief nodded. A place more neutral for one. And for two, a place where she might feel more comfortable and relaxed. Perfect. Alex left the office and headed to the VIP quarters. Upon arrival, he pressed the door chime and waited.

The Romulan had roused from her place of rest upon the couch, the days activity taking it's toll. Between the attack and talks she'd not slept for a good 48 hours at this point. She had PADDs strewn about the coffee table and the upholstery of the couch, one of which her face had adhered too. With a sleepy sigh she sat up and gave her face a quick wipe.

"Who is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"Lieutenant Rho," he called out. He didn't feel he needed to announce his position as the Intel Chief. She would have remembered him. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, Ambassador."

"Would it make any difference if you were?" she asked rhetorically as she got to her feet. Walker over to the door with an exasperated sigh. Being a former intelligence operative herself she was drilled to remember and recall key information, so of course she remembered Rho and his position, and it followed that Mr Rho wanted to vet her. With that in mind she pressed the button next to the door and greeted the Intelligence Officer with an irritated glare. "Let's get this over with." the Romulan said with vexation.

Alex grinned at her comment but determined to leave it alone. When she opened the door, he could tell by the look on her face that this would probably be a short visit...if she could help it. "Straight to the point, I see," he said, stepping inside. "I'm in good company, then. So, how does a Romulan go from being a hard-nosed Tal Shiar operative to diplomacy and championing the rights of the little man?"

Valasa tracked Alex with her head and looked at him with a haughty smirk. "You're playing your hand a little early there aren't you?" She said as she made her way back to the sofa and flopped down.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps not," he added with a smirk. Alex sat down in a chair opposite the couch and leaned back. "I saw the report from Starfleet Security on Deep Space Nine as well as the resulting interrogations. They were thorough, to say the least." He looked at the Romulan Ambassador as several thoughts flowed through his mind. Going back to his past, he continued, "But maybe our meeting could have been better started off with this. Aefvadh, Ambassador. Auethn qiuu mnek’re?" All of which, the universal translator made known as Be welcome, Ambassador. Is all well?

"As well as can be expected." Valasa responded dryly.

"With the pleasantries out of the way," said Alex, "About my question..." Alex took a seat in the chair opposite her, yet did not get too comfortable.

Valasa sighed heavily with a thoughtful expression, seriously considering her words. "When I was a child, growing up I idolised our government. The Imperial Romulan school curriculum made it their goal to indoctrinate the children under their care but I took it a little deeper than most. I worked hard to get into the Tal Shiar, thinking that was the best way to furfill my duty as a citizen. Once I'd gone through the academy and got my first posting, lets just say the reality didn't match my expectations."

That was easier than I expected, Alex thought to himself. But then again... "I'm sure you probably aren't the first Romulan that didn't have something from the Imperial Romulan State not meet their expectations. But, how so? Was it the posting or just Tal Shiar operations in general?"

"Maybe a little of both." Valasa replied "I didn't like the politicking inside the organisation, and one of my first postings was behind enemy territory. The Federation's got it's problems, but its a damn sight more sorted out than the Romulan Empire was. Though I wouldn't have acted on it without Hobus."

Alex was making some mental notes as the conversation progressed. Did not like the politics of the Tal Shiar. Why? First posting did not meet her expectations because it was behind enemy territory. Interesting for a Tal Shiar agent...they all seem to like infiltration. But the Hobus incident was the trigger for it all. "Hobus triggered a lot of things, Ambassador. But what was it about your first posting behind enemy territory that didn't meet your expectations? Was it your Federation contact...what was his name again?"

"Nice try Mr Rho." Valasa said with a wide smile "I didn't have a contact, as I've explained numerous times. My contact behind enemy lines was another Romulan posing as a Vulcan at Amonak Space port on Vulcan proper, Centurion Nendas, who was arrested following my defection. I was at the bottom rung so didn't know much more about any additional operatives, but I understand that his documents lead to the capture of several more operatives."

She shook her head. "No, we're told that the Federation is honourless and weak, relying on the civilisations it assimilates to maintain it's dominance over the quadrant, and that the Romulans would suffer the same fate. As I'm sure you're aware, in the Empire aliens within our territory are considered second class. The idea that newly incorporated species would be considered as equals is a notion completely alien to the Romulan people, and a measure of my sense of duty was to prevent the Romulan people from becoming subservient. When it became clear that would never come to pass if we allied ourselves with the Federation my principles began to unravel."

Bottom rung and no contacts...spoken like a true former Tal Shiar, thought the suspicious Intel Chief. Alex returned her smile and nodded. "Thank you. A guy has to start somewhere. The Federation does well at incorporating others into it." He then cleared his throat and coughed a little. "I don't suppose I could excuse myself a moment for a glass of water?"

"If you must." Valasa replied placidly

Alex got up and went to the replicator to order a glass of water. As he stood there drinking it, he attempted to probe the Ambassador's mind in order to confirm what she was saying and maybe even learn some new information.

Valasa's surface level thoughts were disorganised. The first concrete thought to come through was the equations for warp travel, then a Romulan hand disruptor which exploded into its constituent parts. Valasa went through and named each one in quick succession. Once that was done the image faded into several martial arts stances, first Romulan ones, then common Klingon and Federation ones, along with their appropriate counters. Each of them were connected to a memory of the academy at which she trained. Though the resolution of it had dulled somewhat, the drills themselves were still as sharp as the real thing.

Then there was a flash of something more raw underneath the regimented distractions, pure emotion. Her commander's face as she arranged a meeting. Dark figures, the only things resolvable about them being the star fleet com badges on their chest. Everything was tainted in the feelings of guilt and remorse.

And then, a moment later, the drills resumed once more.

Alex took another slow drink of the water. He perused the thoughts that were on the surface of her mind. The Intel Chief was reminded of other Romulan minds he had probed before. They were tactical on the surface and constantly reviewing things. He was about to probe deeper in search of his goal when he caught an image, a memory, of her face surrounded by raw emotion. He paused, observing all that he could. The figures were dark, shadowy perhaps, and all that he could make out were standard issue com badges on their chests. Starfleet officers...attending a meeting. Guilt. Remorse. Could this be the meeting that they had just had or a past one? Making notes, he pressed on through the drills, attempting to probe deeper into the Romulan woman's mind. If she truly had been Tal Shiar, he expected to find some severe roadblocks.

A flash of what could be described as impatience flashed acroos the woman's mind. "Are you about done with 'getting your glass of water'." She asked sardonically. "Honestly if one of your bugs is acting up you could have come up with some reason to get me out of the room."

Alex put the glass back in the replicator for recycling and headed back to the couch. Picking up on her impatience, he smiled. "No bugs in the VIP quarters. Besides, we have other ways." He sat back down. No mental shields or roadblocks of any kind. Not even a screaming thought to exit her mind as he probed deeper. "So has this been the first time that you've met with a group of Starfleet officers regarding your current situation?"

"No." She shook her head "Obviously I talked to admiral Breckenridge over the day-just-gone and quite a few individuals from the diplomatic corps before that." A vivid image of the admiral, then less coherent ones of the other ones, with blurred features, though some of them stood out clearly, ones that she had noted something odd about. "I would assume that more than a few of those would have been," there was a slight pause in her speech "Spooks, I think you humans say. SF Intelligence like yourself. But that aside," She dismissed the images with a wave of her hand, "ever since the IRSA named me Ambassador I've made sure to keep the Diplomatic Corps apprised of my situation."

"Yes, spooks," he said. "I'm sure there were some in the meeting." He inwardly grinned at her inclusion of him with the humans. It was a confirmation that she had no idea he was in her head. If she did, she wouldn't have referred to him as human. "That's a very good idea, keeping the Diplomatic Corp informed. So when did the IRSA name you as their Ambassador?"

"Well, technically yesterday, though I've been acting in that role unofficially for the last few years now." Valasa replied. She tapped her forehead with two fingers and winced slightly. "Is this going to go on much longer." She inquired "The longer this goes on the more fatigued I seem to be getting. As much as I want to allay your concerns I'm useless to anyone if I pass out on the job."

Alex grinned. "Humans indeed. It could go on just a bit longer, though. But since a tired Ambassador would not be a good thing in this circumstance, maybe I should let you get some rest." Regardless of the sudden change, Alex was still very skeptical.

"I would appreciate that." Valasa replied

"Very good then," said Alex. He stood and thanked her for the visit and water. "Until next time, Ambassador."

She gave Alex a half hearted smile and wave. "I hope it's a long wait" she said under her breath, the words echoing across her mind.

Alex paused at the door as he heard a last minute echo. He nodded and headed on out.