Diplomatic Intrigue

Posted on Sat 3rd Jun, 2017 @ 2:06am by
Edited on on Thu 8th Jun, 2017 @ 2:18pm

640 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Unity Week
Location: Pearl With a Chainsaw, Deck 666

One of the Ophir girls was ahead of the party. Though it wasn't obvious, the Ophir sisters were more than just secretaries and attendants: they were security. When she reached their destination, she glanced at the mural of the girl in a grove of bamboo holding a chainsaw, and then at the matte-on-gloss characters on the door, before opening it and holding it open.

"Thank you, Aura," Corundum Jewel murmured as he swept into the restaurant. There was a quiet susurration of conversation, and a young woman wearing an elegant and heavily embroidered áo dài. «Miss Pearl,» Jewel said, speaking in their native language, Bokuhua. «How wonderful to see you again. Are you busy tonight?»

The hostess bowed deeply. «Never too busy to serve one of your esteemed rank, Minister,» she responded in the same language. «When I heard that Chopped Liver was inbound, I set aside the private dining room for you. I only regret that our partners, the Ripper sisters, are not here -- the Bunkamatsuri is starting tonight, and they have gone to sell beoseos yakisoba at a stand along the parade route.»

Jewel chuckled. «And are the lovely Rippers explaining what beoseos is?» His eyes held a twinkle of humor.

«Only if they ask,» Pearl answered, her expression matching the quiet humor. «Which, in my experience, few do. At any rate, if you'll follow me?»

«Of course,» the Envoy said, and the party followed the hostess to the stairs and down, across the walkway in the miniature garden, and behind the larger than life statue of Enlightened Master Kong.

Pearl slid open some lattice-and-paper doors, waited for the others to enter, and then followed, closing the doors. She walked to the banquet table and touched a hidden control. «We may now have a reasonable expectation of privacy,» she informed the others.

«Excellent,» the Envoy said, going to the table and taking a seat. «Is there anything particularly important that you have to disclose since your last report?»

As the other members of the Envoy's party took seats, Pearl shook her head. «A few days ago, there was something which deeply disturbed several of the station's senior officers. But my sources haven't been able to pick up on exactly what. I do know that a prominent retired Starfleet admiral arrived without fanfare, and departed the same way, apparently rather abruptly.»

Corundum nodded, looking thoughtful. His eyes went to his identical twin brother Jargoon, his intel secretary. «Jar? Any thoughts?»

Jargoon shook his head. «Nary a one," he confessed. «The only retired Starfleet admiral I can name off the top of my head is Wildrose.» The others chuckled at the self-deprecatory lie. They all knew that Jargoon Jewel could probably name the majority of Starfleet officers of the rank of Commander or above who were likely to be within five light-years of Vanguard.

«Did the negotiations with Colonel Drake go well?» Pearl asked.

«They never started,» Jacinth Jewel said, his tone unhappy. «He sent flunkies to meet us.»

«Now, now,» Corundum soothed his legal secretary. «Sending subordinates to meet us was a wise move on his part. It enabled him to find out at least the surface level of what we wanted, without giving anything up in return.»

«The interesting question,» Jargoon said, sounding thoughtful, «is how long he will now make us cool our heels.»

«And whether the length of the wait tells us anything,» the final brother present, Spinel, said thoughtfully. «Is the Colonel exceptionally busy managing his empty station? Does he need to consult a superior before he makes a decision?»

They were all silent for a long moment, and then Corundum sighed. «Questions we simply do not have the data to answer at this time. So... let us have dinner. Miss Pearl? Bring us something splendid, and quite fattening.»

 

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