A seat at the table
Posted on 06 Aug 2015 @ 1:31am by Commander Karen Villiers
Edited on on 06 Aug 2015 @ 1:31am
1,547 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
M13-B: The Big Goodbye
Location: Deck 7, Diplomatic Officer's Office
-ON-
Kiscad embraced his brother with a deep love for the blood they shared. They had endured much, had seen the last of their people nearly killed in a futile war against the Klingons who attacked them helplessly on refugee worlds. Over a dozen warbirds nearly identical to the Scimitar lay hidden in Reman insurgent cells, awaiting activation. Kiscad hoped to change the situation, and these men coming to him were the start of this change. Remans had been left out of public decisions due to Romulan interference, but after Hobus there weren't enough Romulans to suppress the former slave state. If they didn't become a legitimate state, they would become conquerors, and only time would tell if that path lead to extinction or the birth of a savage new power.\
"Tirso, My eyes grow fond after such time apart. I am deeply gratified to see you." Kiscad embraced the REman once again before moving to the next one.
"Hjid, How the cruel twists of aging have distanced me from the fine features you carry." Hjid, a youthful Reman looked deeply honored and bowed at the waist. The points of his ears were prominent and rose well above the top of his skull.
The third reman, a female by the name of Ovhrin actually embraced him. "Kiscad! I was so worried I would never see you again!"
"Ovhrin... it was a close thing, just as I imagine it was a near thing for you to have held our people back from throwing themselves onto a Klingon House war. We all serve."
The four of them stood together in the transporter room a moment longer before Kiscad walked to the door. As the doors opened to the wide and bright corridors of the starship the Remans shielded their eyes. Kiscad had become accustomed but had forgotten for his peers it would still be a harsh adjustment.
"Use the veiled lids until your eyes stop watering, our desert genes haven't totally left us." Though vestigial, they retained a secondary eyelid, virtually translucent at this point in their evolution. He lead them throughtout the ship, showinf what it could do, and drawing a few stares from the passerby who only knew Remans as a dangerous undercaste of Romulans also the Thalaron Core incident. When they had arrive3d at the standard Guest quarters, another rankling emotion passed through him. The Romulan and Klingon delegations got VIP diplomatic suites and status, but what of the Reman people?
"I must see Commander Villers... about something. Please remain here, I will be back soon."
He had a comm badge, this much was at least provided for him. But treating his people as irrelevant would only end in disaster for everybody.
=/\= "Kiscad A'Klaree to Commander Villers, I'd like to speak with you at some point in the near future, can this be accomodated?"
Karen looked up from her schedule, =^=Of course, Mr A'Klaree," she replied, "I have a window free now if you'd be available to join me.=^= The room wasn't exactly fully in order, but it was truly the one gap in her program today so he'd have to live with the packing cases.
When he arrived there was a certain expectation that she would be professional and tidy, however the doors parted only for Kiscad to stare in wide eyed disbelief at the packing crates and partially assembled furniture, wall tapestries, personal desk effects all in a delicate "pending" state, as though at any moment they would re-arrange themselves. He took a step in, and saw Commander Villers still at work behind a desk of unknown make-up owing to the tonne of padd's, slips, assignment forms all to be processed.
"Commander Villers, It is I, Kiscad. Should we talk here, or a more quiet locale?
Karen raised an eyebrow, "We can go through to the lounge," she said, "as you can see I'm in the middle of unpacking, it should be a little less chaotic through there." It also gave Karen the opportunity to explore, something she had had no time to do in the hour she had been aboard. "This way."
A short distance down the hallway they passed through the double doors into the VIP Lounge. At this hour it was deserted. "What can I do for you Kiscad?" she asked, letting him set the pace.
"I am very grateful for your time. There is a matter I wish to discuss with you however, and I feel it will be uncomfortable to handle. I apologize in advance."
"Please don't apologise," Karen said as she hoisted one of the upturned chairs from the nearest table, "Feel free to speak, and sit," she added as she took down a second chair for herself.
"Presently there are just under twenty thousand Remans left. The majority of them are in five refugee zones throughout the Hobus relief zone. Recently, during the house of Torath's conflicts one of these camps was nearly destroyed, of roughly 5,000 refugees only a dozen survived. We are in danger of extinction, and we are presently under the heat of a most daunting issue, irrelevance. One quarter of a race is wiped out by rogue Klingon house members and there are no reactions from any Alpha Quadrant powers. The Klingons washed their hands of it by saying those responsible were killed."
"Too many lives have been lost on all sides," Karen replied. "Its beyond my power to change what has already happened. Unless you plan to refugee to Federation territory I don't see how I can help you."
"My point, is that we need a fresh start, and one is not likely to be found on this side of the wormhole. There are twelve vessels similar to the one the Enterprise faced in the Bassen rift conflict, all in hiding. This force, though mighty, would fail in any attempt to carve out an empire for ourselves so now here we are. I ask for a chance that our people can join diplomatic proceedings, and pursue a chance for peaceful relocation to the Gamma Quadrant. We will be able to fend for ourselves, but we need the chance to meet as equals. We are held separately, with no equal recognition to our sister race, we are doomed to obscurity here."
Karen had been warned that this might be the case, so she was prepared for the suggestion, "Imperial ambitions don't sit well with diplomacy," Karen replied, "Better to find a vacant territory you can mould to your own shape and defend, than expand and conquor," she said.
"Commander Villers, we were doing just that when a single raider wiped out 2,500 Remans uncontested. That was space "allocated" to us, and we were livestock under the knife for the Klingons. Perhaps you can suggest a vacant space for molding?"
"You're not unique in being targeted by Klingons," Karen reminded him, "though perhaps less well defended than many of the other settlements. I am sorry for your loss."
"...So long as Remans are held in a separate esteem as lesser Romulan we will be relegated to backwaters and denied any proper chance to flourish.Our warbirds are in hiding as we understand the quest for Empire will kill us more surely than the attrition that is being allowed to happen. Is it narrow minded culture to assume Romulan affairs and Reman affairs would align? We only seek a place in the discussion as fair partners, there are so few of us left that soon we will be but whispers and impotent to affect our futures."
"What do you suggest?" Karen said, "I can negotiate, but only if I know exactly what you hope to achieve, and how."
"My people are at a tipping point, if they have no safe haven they will burn themselves out in pointless conflicts. Pointless and bloody. I seek equal representation as a separate delegation from the Romulans. Our delegations goals are to become a member of the interstellar community with our own identity. This can be accomplished by allowing our representation and voting rights within the ships diplomatic department, if an opportunity becomes available wouldn't it be understandable to have a Reman speak for Remans?"
Forewarned of the request by Da'nal Karen had already made some ground preparations, but before she took her final decision she'd wanted to hear it in person. He seemed sincere in his desire, and whilst she had yet to meet with the Romulan delegate she had no problem with telling them to like it or lump it.
"I will give your request thorough consideration, Mr A'Klaree," she said, aware that he would probably assumed this was a brush off. "You'll have my result by noon."
"My thanks, I know there is much for you to do already." Kiscad did wonder at her intent, but given the nature of diplomacy he erred to dare on the side of hope that she would actually grant his request. "I feel that will be all for now, was there anything you needed of me, any service I could provide?"
"I've all I need for mow, Mr A'Klaree," Karen told him, "Oh, and you might want to make sure your bags are packed," she added with a sly wink.
Commander Karen Villiers
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Kiscad A'klaree
Reman Delegate
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