Finding common ground....eventually

Posted on 21 Jun 2009 @ 1:37pm by

1,598 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: M2: Aggressive Negotiations
Location: Main lounge
Timeline: Right after T'Pal's meeting with Isha

ON:
A slender finger tapped the table slowly, a sure indication that the person who it belonged too was considering options, well that was if you were observant enough. And that observation would be very true. T'Pal was comtemplating confronting Elek about his actions with the Ambassador. It would be within her rights and possibly to be expected. Also her Klingon self won't hesitate to march into his office and demand an explanation for his motivation not to inform the security chief of allowing a Romulan ambassador to visit alone with a romulan prisoner, when they boith knew just how dangerous the prisoner was and when it was not exactly clear what kind of influence he still exerted over the Ambasador.

But she waited. She waited to see what the El Aurian would do. Confront him she would eventually if he didn't come to her" Sipping her tea after finishing her plate of food, she stared out of the viewport. Always aware and alert of her surroundings, yet she allowied her mind to soak up the simplicity of watching the lines of starts as they streaked past.

Elek saw the lieutenant as soon as he walked into the lounge. She looked deep in thought, and he suspected the reason for that was him. He felt his reasons were valid enough, at the time, but he didn't know if the security chief would see it like that. He didn't if if *he'd* see it like that, if the tables were turned.

He decided to take the bull by the horns.

Walking up to her table, he said, bluntly, "Lieutenant? I owe you an apology."


She was aware of him approaching and turned slowly to face him. "An apology should not be neccesary, Mr Elek," she responded in measured tones.

Elek's left eyebrow quirked. "Maybe not 'should be', Lieutenant, but it is."

He slipped into the chair opposite the Klingon-Vulcan hybrid. "I took the Romulan ambassador to meet with Nniol, without consulting you. I should have done, but I had to make a snap decision. I apologise for keeping you out of the loop."

"As said, if you had consulted me in the first place, you wouldn't have needed to apologize," she stated flatly. Leaning her elbows on the table she closed the gap between them. "I have enough to worry about regarding the security of the ship, I don't need officers sneaking around my back. What you did was unethical and carried consirable risk to the security of this ship. And I don't care how much you thought you can trust the Ambassador," she said with her annoyance showing in her voice.. "However." she continued now more evenly. "I do understand that you meant no harm, and we did gain intelligence. Let me ask you this. How did she talk you into going along with her idea?" she asked interested. She asked for a reason.

"Let me assure you, Lieutenant," Elek said, with a hint of steel entering his voice, "I did not 'sneak'." He smiled again, suddenly becoming amiable again. "In fact, I was quite brazen about it. I made the call ... it was wrong. As to your question, the ambassador had told me the history of her House, and Nniol's machianations to gain control of it. After her explanation, she asked if she could visit Nniol again. I felt that such a visit, with just her and Nniol present, could glean some more insight."

"If you were so *brazen* Lieutenant, we would be having this conversation," T'Pal said evenly, and would have gotten up and left, was it not for the fact that there was reasonable logic to Elek's answer. She had not forgotten how well he did with his interrogation of Nniol and she respected hik for that. "Apart from the intel, what other insight did you glean?"

He sighed, and leaned back in his seat, waving away an approaching waiter. "As it turns out, we gained more of an insight in both their characters. Isha's inner turmoil and Nniol's ... ability to be a really cold-hearted basterd." He gave an ironic laugh. "Then, I guess you know that, having had to go inside his mind."

"Indeed" T'Pal said, a shadow crossing her features. She was less guarded than she had always been. Not everyone here was on enemy... although she was looking for Nniol's man on this ship. However she doubted if it was Elek. "Tell me about you impressions about the ambassador. How vulnerable is she?" T'Pal didn't trust her and made no secret of that fact.

"Nniol's her weak spot, and she hates being seen as weak. I had to almost forcibly insist that I went with her to see him - if it had been up to her, she would have gone by herself." Elek shrugged. "She has a very strong personality - she's had to have, having built up the House over the years. But Nniol can get to her - he knows what buttons to press. I suspect she knows some of his buttons too, but she's playing those cards close to her chest."

That was exactly the kind of information T'Pal was after. But they could not discuss it there. The fact that Isha wanted to see Nniol alone strengthened her suspicions. "Walk with me," she said getting up and they made their way to her office. It was only when they were seated that she continued. "What do you think would have happened ahd you not gone with her?" She wanted his opinion, even if it was a very subjective question, though valid under the circumstances.

Elek rocked back in his chair. "She would have been in there longer, I'm sure of it. Nniol would have had longer to wear her down, perhaps even get her to agree to his plan. I had to give her a very sharp mental nudge to get her out of there when I did."

"Niol has been very confident from the start and I can assure you, he did not build his plan around the Ambassador's abilily to get him out of the brig. She would have been an added bonus. He has someone on this ship and I want to find that person. I want to flush him out. And a key might lie in the relationship between those two.." she said.

"You mean a spy?" Elek was shocked at this, and there wasn't much that shocked a 572-year-old. "In Starfleet?"

T'Pal snorted. "Why are you surprised?" she asked a rhetical question. If only he knew... It had been her world for nearly thirty years, although she was less involved in intel gathering than she did the dirty work. With Aktuh's appearance, she was right back in it again. Her thoughts were entirely her own though.

Elek quickly recovered, mentally shaking himself to regain focus. "There's hatred between the two. Cold, hard despicable hatred. Nniol wants the House for himself. Isha wants to remain in control. Nniol has ... raped her on several occasions, and he clearly uses that sexual power over her to have some degree of control. He also fathered her second son."

Her brow furrowed slightly at this information. It certainly filled some gaps in her understanding of Isha. "It will prove a challenge to expose her to him again," she mused. She needed another plan. "Did you detect any weakness in Nniol we can use?"

"He's ... arrogant, overbearing, convinced of his own superior intelligence. He looks down on everyone and anyone. I think that's a chink in his armour - when I went back to speak to Nniol a second time, he felt he was one up on me because he knew things that I didn't. Isha believed that, if I had been in there longer, he may have told me something useful." Elek sighed. "I think that boat's sailed for me now. It might be worth getting someone else to try."

'You have done very well Lieutenant and I commend you for that," she said in all fairness. "I am just wondering at the validity of more interrogation in the traditional way....." she said her voice fading as an idea or two struck her. Elek was a logical choice knowing that he had spent the most time with Nniol. "I want to run a few ideas by you," she mused and got up pacing her office. "He detests me... thinking I am some mutt. If I appear in the brig.. at night..... drunk.... play on his arrogance... he might boast a little too much..."

Elek nodded. "I concur," he said, careful not to show too much emotion. He knew that T'Pol was only half-Vulcan, but he didn't want to offend the lieutenant with overt shows of emotion, just in case. "Especially if he thinks that you won't remember much in the morning. Klingons are often know for their ... sterotypical love of ale, and their inability to always remember many of the previous night's events. Nniol may allow his dislike of you, and his stereotypical dislike of all Klingons, to cloud his judgement."

T'Pal smirked as she answered. "Good, I will set it up from the security side and I would like you to be in the observation room in contact with me. You might have insight into the situation I don't ... We will have one shot at this. because I don't exactly feel like doing another forced mind meld," she said flatly.

Elek nodded. "I'll be there, Lieutenant. Trust me, I wouldn't miss this one for the world."

Lt (JG) Termin Elek
CDO / Counselor

Lt T'Pal
CSEC/TAC

 

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