Wrecked and Reckless

Posted on 21 Jun 2009 @ 1:32pm by

2,983 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: M2: Aggressive Negotiations
Location: Isha's Quarters
Timeline: Early Morning

OOC: This happens shortly after "Reporting on nightly visit"

On reflection, hers was the preferable prison, Isha thought as she sat beneath the window with her knees drawn up beneath her chin. Outside the stars streaked by taking her closer to home, there was none of the claustrophic 'ambiance' of a cell, the menacing feeling of being constantly watched. Had Isha been a less responsible person she might have run long before now, she had the friends and resources to disappear, and if she did those that were currently trying to pull her in all directions would have no interest in her – exiles were as good as dead.

"Come in," Isha said as she rose, her melancholy interrutped by the door chime. "I did not know if you would agree to see me again on my own terms, Lieutenant T'Pal," she said, "and I thank you for coming here rather than me ... well, you know."

T'Pal watched the Ambassador for a moment after stepping through the door, trying to guage her, before she responded. A smirk ....or was it a small smile.....formed around her mouth. "You go to see Nniol and you think I won't agree to see you, Ambassador? Of course I would," she said, her voice neutral.

"I expected you would have a few questions for me," Isha said moving towards her replicator, "I am grateful that you are able to raise them here, in surroundings that I find comfortable rather than ... well, can I get you something before we begin?"

"No thank you," T'Pal answered. It was the second time the ambassador referred to being in her assigned quarters was preferable. She had a few things on her mind, but was curious. "Rather than where?" she asked.

"Rather than somewhere less comfortable," Isha replied as she brought a pot of tea and two cups, just in case her guest changed her mind. "I don't think you're a fool, Lieutenant and I am not about to treat you like one ... I'm sure that you know more or less what has occurred since we left DS5."

Isha sat and tucked one leg up beneath her as she poured herself some tea. The other cup she left standing empty.

"Yes I know indeed," she stated, not telling Isha that she had already reviewed the security recordings, although the she should at least suspect it. "I am responsible for the security of this ship, Ambassador, and that includes yours. Doing what you did could have caused a breach and compromised that for all of us. I cannot believe that you risked it without informing me.. no, let me rephrase that.... Actually I can...." she stated. "I am not a diplomat, so I will be blunt.. What the hell were you thinking?"

With a flick of her wrist Isha threw her little dampening device on the table, "I hardly thought it would obscure everything, and Elek was never going to have monitoring disabled. Nniol had to think that he could speak ... he isn't a fool either," Isha said. "No matter how much I wish he was. I don't really think I compromised anything, here we all are, exactly where we are supposed to be. No breach, no nothing really. - I also was not aware that I was required to inform you when I wish to confer with a member of my own House."

"T'Pal picked up the little device and inspected it. "If he is in the brig and is charged with acts of terrorism against the Federation, you have to," she said coldly. "I am not opposed to what you did, I would have supported it, I am opposed to "how" you did it." she said. "And I didn't say you compromised anything, I said it could have caused a breach......" she added.

"I did not accept the charge of terrorism as valid. Though I am beginning to believe that assertion might not be altogether false," Isha stretched her arm along the back of her chair as she eyed the woman across from her. She found herself in the mental space between despair and breakdown, a place where she took refuge and could achieve an almost clinical rationality but it was that same detachment that caused her to take disproportionate risks. "Really, Lieutenant, I think you're just a little miffed that I effectively kept you out of the loop, understandable, I suppose," she shrugged.

"I am not *miffed*, Ambassador, I am highly annoyed. Your opinion of our prisoner holds little meaning for me, but you are not on Romulus, you are a guest on this ship and you will refrain from visits to the brig which is a secure area, without my prior approval, " she stated. "If you mean *out of the loop* as being uninformed of your little endeavour, yes, but it is not just personal as you think." She didn't bother to expand on protocol. Her eyes were cold and indifferent, whatever possible connection made before, was no longer there. "An action like that only serves to decrease the measure of trust, of which there was little to begin with. To make that clearer for you; I didn't *trust*you in the beginning and I *trust* you less now." She placed n slight accent on the word, referring to the Romulan meaning of the word.

As she watched, Isha wondered what Nniol had made of T'Pal's curious blend of features, nothing pleasant, she imagined as her gaze flickered over the uneasy blend of ears and ridges. The ambassador might have asked her but she had no particular wish to provoke T'Pal, she was still trying to work her out.

"Perhaps you think that if he had asked there and then I would have dropped the field and jumped into the first shuttle we could find ... I'm as keen to find the facts as anyone, but I'm not sure I'm keen enough to find out that way ..." Isha left that thought hanging; despite what she had told Elek, she did not yet know the answer herself.

T"Pal paused before she responded. "He did ask you to assist him and he still seems very confident, more confident than what you are. Would you think it is possible for him to have an agent on the ship? I can not believe he would entrust getting out of the brig at the correct time to you only," she said.

"My dear T'Pal," Isha said as she stretched, "I hardly care that you will never be my friend, and as to my husband's brother - well, I would prefer not to possess that sort of confidence. You said, T'Pal when we first met that you would like to do him harm ... though perhaps they were not your exact words ..."

That caught T"Pal's attention, she wanted to know what this woman had in mind. With a slightly raised eyebrow she answered evenly: "Then again, perhaps they were… " she said, smirking inwardly, but only a faint hint appeared around her mouth knowing Isha would notice it.

As she leaned her cheek on her palm Isha smirked. So far she had kept her customary courtesy of speaking in Federation Standard with the lloann'na but now she switched – T’Pal appeared to understand enough of Isha’s own language to follow her meaning – and to use Rihannsu made it much, much easier to retract the conversation and for them both to claim misunderstanding if the bargain proved not to be to their liking.

"What a shame that you have decided you are unable to trust me,†Isha said tilting her head a little further as she regarded the security chief from another angle. “If we are going to conspire, T’Pal we need to have a mutual understanding not only of our own, but of each others limits and boundaries. Mine is a very clear and simple motivation - given the right circumstances, I am willing to go as far as it takes to scrub the taint of treason and terrorism from the floor of my House.â€

"Fair enough," T'Pal said and leaned back in her chair, crossing her long legs, but not breaking eye contact. She understood exactly what Isha did by switching to Rihannsu. ""Do you like hunting, Ambassador?" T'Pal asked cocking her head slightly. "There is a certain, unique thrill to the hunt, especially if you know that the prey is very dangerous....It makes the killing so much more... satisfying, knowing that make that particular place safer," she said in a conversational tone. "Sometimes you have the opportunity to get to know your prey intimately, which can only strengthen the merit of the hunt. Of course, one would take a trophy..." she added. She wasn't going to take risks without rewards.

"If you agree, T'Pal, he's yours. I don't share your hunger, but I understand, and will reward it," Isha said. "If we leave this ship, which we must, it will not take long for him to subjugate me - if I knew that I had someone with me who could keep me aware of who I am supposed to be ... for a while at least, until someone else can find me and slap me out of it. " Isha eyed T'Pal again, "I know what he’ll do with me but, I don't know what he'd do with you. I need to get us to the senate with him thinking that I am willing to be his consort. For you, well, you will find yourself in the heart of his base of operations; I will do what I can to help you there, but I don't know how great that help will be.

"I’ve spent a whole ten seconds planning this, T'Pal. I know it makes my position here sound questionable and that if you were so inclined you might consider me to be such a risk that you are inclined to ignore my diplomatic status until and have me properly incarcerated until we reach Romulus … I don't think that you will, though."

The Security chief snorted. "A risky plan," she said with a smirk Whether she was smirking at Isha for suggesting it, or whether she smirked at the challenge and the opportunities it presented was anybody’s guess. "And what happens next?" she asked almost amused.

"At the moment we plan to petition the Senate there are all sorts of charges being levied by both sides – they would welcome the chance to have those fall away without discussion – that is what we would make them think was to happen – if Nniol and I approached them jointly with a solution there would be a way out without litigation. Nniol will think that I am beaten and will intend only to publicly affirm his position – I will make him believe it, after all that belief is what will keep me safe. However, when I reach the senate, I will speak against him.â€

"*We plan? Who is in your *we*?" T'Pal asked with a raised eyebrow.

Isha linked her fingers together in her lap, "When we last spoke, T'Pal you asked me why I did not consent to Nniol's request and kill him later ... I have thought about that and if I were working alone it would be exactly as I told you then - I might begin with the best intent, but I would never reach my goal. I was trained to be a politician and raised to make a pleasing wife, not an assassin. I'll not act alone, at this I would I would fail. So you see that as of yet, 'we' is a figure of speech."

T'Pal nodded, not saying whether she accepted Isha's explanation or not. She simply indicated that she understood. "Ambassador, if *we* are going to enter into this *endeavour* together, I will need a bit more than words, Ambassador. Nniol has someone on this ship, get him for me and we have a deal," she said

“I suppose he probably has,†Isha said, she had not missed T’Pal’s earlier question, merely put it aside. “Do you not think that your resources are more likely to successfully unearth an intruder than mine?†Isha could not keep the incredulity from her tone.

T'Pal shrugged. "I didn't say that you will have to do it alone, but, Madam Ambassador, you have a *resource* I can't reach unless I do a mindmeld again, and then I will kill him..." she said slowly getting up.

"I can hardly ask him to tell me," Isha said, her enthusiasm wavering. It was an insane plan ... really, just as Elek had suggested she should not go near Nniol again.

"I am sure you could find a way" T'Pal said with a clear question in her voice. "Or what..... do you not trust yourself when you are close to him?" she asked her head cocked to the side.

Isha was not about to relate her history to T'Pal, it had taken enough out of her to tell it to Elek, "Its too easy for him to get beneath my skin," she said simply, "I thought I could keep my composure when I spoke to him earlier, it turns out that I couldn't and he will only continue to erode my confidence."

This honest self-disclosure wasn't something T'Pal had expected and she raised an eyebrow. Something in her wanted to exploit that further, not to harm Isha, but because it could be used to their advantage, but decided not to push that ... for now. "Pity," she said thoughtfully. Between being Klingon and Vulcan, sympathy was simply something T'Pal simply didn't possess. Different degrees of respect and loyalty perhaps, but sympathy...no.. "Without knowing who that person is, I won't even consider going with this *endeavour*. The risk outweighs the benefits.." she stated.

Isha flicked her gaze up to meet the other woman's, "And if I choose to do it anyway, Lieutenant?" she asked in very plain and clear Standard.

"Alone?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, suspicious.

"Should I deem it necessary, yes." Isha continued to watch T'Pal as she spoke, "I will, of course inform you should I feel the need to confer with my husband's brother again."

T'Pal laughed sotlty ominously. "You? Completely on your own? When you yourself said that you would fail if you acted alone? What's changed in the last few minutes, Ambassador? ... Unless there are indeed someone else in your ...*we* " she said. T'Pal was still willing to go along, but not if there was significant reason to believe that Isha would betray them, especially if it would appear as if she did.

"I might fail, but I will have tried and I will know the truth of that even if no-one else does ... but we're speculating, Lieutenant. You are right that it sounds contradictory of me to say so - but for me to consider it I would have to see no other option. Right now I'm on my way home and I stand a greater chance than he does of winning, I can face him in court, I assure you of that. I hope that I do not have recourse to the other option."

T'Pal nodded slowly. She might be quick tempered and cynical, but she was no idiot... and she was fair. The woman was determined and was she said seemed honourable enough. "Alright, I will go along with you, but I am warning you...I want to find that intruder on this ship and I will expect you to assist me if I need it and if I find any hint of betrayal on your part, I will kill you," she stated. "For that I am willing to do what it takes to bring Nniol down."

Somehow Isha found that cold and rather blunt statement of intent was more disturbing than the prospect of her potential execution; at least her government would be quick about it. She doubted that T'Pal would extend the same consideration.

"I imagine you would do just that," Isha said unblinking, realising only as she spoke that her throat was dry. "I will assist where I can of course in finding your intruder ... but for the rest - I need more time to formulate this plan. We should talk again before we commit ourselves, Lieutenant T'Pal, I don't want to find my throat cut because you mistakenly deem an action I find necessary to count as a betrayal," Isha chose her words carefully, not entirely certain that the hybrid would be too particular which one of them she killed.

Isha was right, but T'Pal was guided by her own sense of honour. "I agree, Ambassador. We should plan it carefully. Now if you excuse me, I have an intruder to catch," she said with a hint of a polite smile.

Isha rose and nodded her assent.

As the door closed behind T’Pal, Isha dropped back into her chair staring down at her knees where her hands knotted into fists and white knuckles stood out stark against the sober fabric of her dress.

Frustrated, Isha rose and dashed the half full teapot away, turning aside as it smashed into the floor and shattered, spilling liquid up the wall and over the carpet. Isha wished dearly that there was someone she could talk to, but every time she opened her mouth the complications in her life seemed to increase exponentially.

Isha returned to the space beneath the window and folded her arms around her legs. She turned her head away from the room, unable to shake the helpless emptiness that seemed to surround her, she rested her cheek on her knees and stared out of the window, looking for answers in the night.

---

Ambassador Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t’Illialhlae

Lt T'Pal
CSEC/TAc

 

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