Brunch

Posted on Sun Jun 9th, 2024 @ 4:59pm by Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance & Captain Mira Rodale

Mission: Cat in the box
Location: USS Chuck Norris/USS Nocturne
Timeline: Present

on:
{USS Chuck Norris, Personal quarters}

Kolar set up on the bed and looked around with a pout. Mama wasn't here, but Vaytoc was. He slowly started to slip his legs over the bed to slide down, watching Vaytoc. Of course He noticed. One eye open, and he started to stretch.

"Mama?" Kolar said

Vaytoc cocked his head to one side, sensing she was far away, but she was OK.

Kolar's little feet landed on the floor, and he started walking for the door. It opened, and he was in another room. "Mama?"

"I told you, she overslept, something we should be doing. Besides, Mira may have an open door policy, but I doubt Lance does." Chin told Zimia, but the woman just wouldn't listen to him.

"imia" Kolar grinned as he played with his little ship on the floor

Zimia came in and picked him up, looking around. "She isn't here."
Tapping her commbadge, she said, “Mariten to Lance.”

=/\=“Go ahead, Yeoman,” =/\= Kevin replied.

“Do you know where the Captain is?” Zimia asked, shifting Kolar to her hip.

=/\= “At this time, I would imagine that she is in the gym,”=/\= Kevin answered.

“I would have thought so too, but I already checked there. When I didn’t find her I went to her quarters. Kolar and Vaytoc were there, but no Mira.” Zimia waited but got nothing back then she heard the red alert pgo off.

"Well, crap that's not good," Zimia said to Chin, who was running out the door to get to his post. Zimia frowned and walked into Mira's room. "Ok, more panicking." She said, then put a few toys on the bed waiting for the ‘we have been boarded’ signal to come over the comm.

{USS Nocturne}

Ambassador M’Niras laughed. "It looks like you have been missed.

Mira narrowed her eyes. "That isn't funny. If you had let me contact them.."

He waved her away. "Have the rest of the food brought out. " He told his steward.

Mira frowned, here she was sitting in a chair in black leggings and a black tank top on with bright pink fuzzy socks. The socks here a gift from Zimia because, in her words, she needed some pink in her life. Mira wasn't too sure about that, but the feel of the socks made up for them being pink.

Mira uncrossed her arms to pick up her raktajino. "One of these days, Ambassador, someone is going to punch you. Have Crus record it for me." She smiled brightly at the idea while the Ambassador frowned.

"I thought I raised you better than that?"

Mira choked on her drink and then locked eyes with him. He was serious about the part he raised her? "You ?" She would have said more, but Kevin and a few others walked in.

Mira's eyes went to Kevin, and she gave him a soft smile. She was embarrassed to be here in that was her PJs and that he had gotten worried. "Is Kolar ok?" she asked him.

Kevin gave a nod. "He is with Zimia." Mira visibly relaxed at that.

Ambassador M’Niras watched the interaction with interest, then smiled. “Good morning gentlemen it is so kind of you to join me."

Mira looked at him like he was crazy. "I know I didn't. Not willingly anyway. I told you no."

M’Niras took a huge steak off a plate, "you said no to last night. This is not last night." He told her as if he was explaining something to a child.

Mira just raised an eyebrow at him. As Kevin took the seat next to her. She reached out and squeezed his hand under the table with hers.

M'Niras started to cut up his steak. "Tell me about yourself, Lance."

Kevin's face was mostly placid but Mira could detect the slight narrowing of his eyes and clenched jaw. He was angry she realized.

"It is all pretty much in my official record," Kevin replied in a sangfroid tone that hid his true feelings, "Child of an absentee father more concerned with business than his son and an indifferent mother, I spent most of my formative years aboard one on my family's merchant ships, apprenticed to the Captain." The lie was peppered with enough truth that the telling was very convincing.

"I joined Star Fleet after my parents were killed by Orion pirates," he continued as he cut into his steak tartar, "I was going to join anyways but their death is a line of demarcation in my life."

"I didn't do particularly well at the Academy," the lies about his past now gave way to the truth, "but was able to hang in through hard work and an exceptional talent as a thrusterball striker. I was on the Academy team that took the Collegiate Championship in 2378."

He paused as he took a bite of the steak tartar.

M'Niras nodded, " And now you and my daughter..."

Mira had just taken a sip of her raktajino, and Mira choked on his use of the name Daughter, coughing she said, "Since when? I wasn't even permitted to call you uncle. It was always Ambassador M’Niras. Now, don't start interrogating my personal life choices. It's none of your business.

M'Niras growled, so Mira growled right back at him, making Crus laugh. "That's so cute. She is almost like a grownup. It's a good thing we didn't eat you. I bet you would have tasted delicious."

Just as she started to stand up M’Niras yelled, "Sit down and act appropriately. You still have not learned."

Mira returned stiffly to her seat.

"Now Lance, what can you tell me about the situation Mira is in." M'Niras asked.

Mira frowned. "What situation? The only situation I am in is having to deal with you. That was your doing." She pointed at him.

M'Niras growled. "I wasn't talking to you. I have already asked you about your enemies, and you claim not to have any. "

Mira nodded slowly.
M’Niras shook his head at her. "And yet you do."

Mira frowned she didn't have any.......unless you counted the Klingon families that stood against the Klingon empire. Of course, if the Romulans found out she distorted one of their ships, they weren't going right to be happy. "You asked if I was having trouble with the Romulans and the Andorians. I am not. Now, if you would've asked about the 3 Klingon families that were trying to take my son then. Yes, I would have to say they aren't happy, but the plan didn't work. " Mira shrugged, talking a cinnamon roll.


M'Niras put his knife down with a thud. " Do you understand how powerful you have become?"

Mira frowned. "I am a ship's captain."

"No, you were mated to a very powerful klingon who built his own family house out of nothing and fought his way to the Klingon high council. Then you turned around and took control of the house with all its power. You are a Federation Captain in charge of a war ship. Your son has a Q for an uncle. You made friends with a Undine group, and you stepped out of thin air to accomplish all that in a years time. And you wonder why the Andorians are very interested in you. oh yes, one more little thing. You are still enemies with the Orions who, by the way, still think you're their property. "

Mira frowned. Then blinked a few times. Well, that last part she had forgotten about.

"Now Lance, what can you tell me about the situation Mira is in." M'Niras asked with a smirk.

Kevin deliberately took a drink from his water glass to give him time to consider the question. Ambassador M’Niras surprised him. From Mira’s description of the Caitian, he had expected him to be an arrogant, conceited ass. He displayed both traits but no more so than any other Caitian that Kevin had met, and his assessment of Mira’s position was insightful. Kevin distrusted the mostly pleasant veneer that he was displaying but perhaps he could become an ally.

Kevin’s analytical brain took over as he set down his water glass and addressed the Ambassador, “As you have pointed out, Captain Rodale has garnered an impressive amount of political power in the last decade and a half. To such an extent that believing that she has no enemies is impossible, despite her charming demeanor.” He snuck a glance at Mira and gave her a half smile.

Kevin continued, “Even those that she wouldn’t threaten directly can be afraid or jealous of that power and it would be natural for them to attempt to mitigate or acquire it for themselves. I confess being somewhat surprised that the Cardassians have not taken an interest in her. They would appear to be the only major player who haven’t.” He deliberately did not mention their encounter with the Suliban. What does M’Niras know about that, he wondered. The thought that Mira’s enemies extended across time as well as space filled him with dread.

Then something clicked in his brain. “It is surprising that the Federation would assign Captain Rodale and the Norris to Starbase 364,” Kevin continued languidly, “so far from the protection of the rest of Star Fleet and closer to enemies both known and unknown. Perhaps the powers that be are hoping that her hot-headedness will resolve the situation without inconvenience to themselves.” Kevin stared directly at the Ambassador but the Caitian’s expression revealed nothing.

“Or maybe it was done to allow you to keep watch over her,” Kevin concluded.

Mira was still stuck on the she had enemies point. People who didn't like her. When Kevin suggested that bringing her and the ship here was all part of a bigger plan. Her eyes widened as she looked over at M'Niras then Kevin, " but I wasn't in command when we got stationed here? How could anyone have known that Michael Intermeezo would resign?"

M'Niras just grinned at Kevin then nodded his head.

Kevin crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side as he watched the Caitian ambassador. The phrase “grinning like a Cheshire cat” came to mind. “The powers that be must have banked on their certainty that you would not voluntarily leave the crew,” he speculated aloud, “So, transferring the ship to Starbase 364 was the best way to get you here. As to Captain Intermezzo, that was likely serendipitous.”

“You are remarkably observant,” M'Niras pronounced, “Do you play poker?”

“No,” Kevin admitted.

“You should. I strongly doubt that you would ever be taken in by a bluff.”

Mira sat back, biting her lip. "How long have people been playing games with my life, and how do I get you all to stop?"

M'Niras sighed. " Since before, you were seven. You lost your parents because of an attack on me. I tried to teach you to survive any place any time. When you got stranded on." He stopped speaking then grinned."Hell. I can imagine that was the only reason you could survive."

He looked over at Kevin "You can drop this little one off on any planet and she will survive it . But sadly she is a terrible liar."

Mira rolled her eyes on the last point. Why was that a bad thing? "You didn't say how I can get it to stop!."

"You can't." M'Niras told her.

"Yes, she can," Kevin countered before popping a piece of steak tartar into his mouth, "but I doubt that she would be willing to pay the price."

Both Mira and M'Niras turned towards Kevin. Their was silence at the table as he chewed and swallowed. Finally, M'Niras asked with a frown, "What do you mean."

"The easiest way to win is to withdraw from the game." Kevin turned his focus to Mira and said, "Many have interest in manipulating you for their own ends. If you were to remove yourself, they would be forced to find another target for their attentions."

"I have tried to quit playing their games," Mira pointed out, "but as hard as I try, they just keep pulling me back in."

"Quitting isn't enough," Kevin continued, "You would have to sever your ties to the past. Career, friends, family, potentially even Vaytok and Kolar. You would need to hide yourself from the Universe and build a new life, a new identity."

Kevin sparred a glance at M'Niras. The Ambassador's smile had disappeared entirely and was replaced by an unfamiliar expression. Concern? Fear? "The powers that be would not take such an action laying down. They would come after you and use even means to find you, including pressuring those who knew and loved you best."

Mira sat back shocked, " I couldn't break the bond with Vaytoc he would die and I am not sure what would happen to my mind. As to Kolar " she shook her head "I would rather end my life then leave him." Vaytoc and her had been on hell for 4 very long years by themselves. The hardships she went through. The mental pain..... She blinked a few times thinking, then there would be leaving Kevin. Her family on the ship..... A life she was building.

Crus growled. "You already got taken out of the game once. Do you really want to be all alone with no one to care whether you live your die? Perhaps you need more of a Protector. Someone strong like Kolar." Crus laugh."He was able to fend off just about every attempt."

Kevin was struck by a perverse thought. Had her marriage to Kolar been part of the grand plan?

Mira blinked. Her fork playing with her food.

M'Niras growled, " If you walk away have you any idea the amount of people that will be harmed? "

Mira frowned but her eyes never left the plate. There was one option. There had been an opportunity offered she just hadn't wanted it. Q. Still didn't want it but.

A few moments had pasted before M'Niras shook his head. "Now you have gone a done it Lt. Commander. You will never know what happened to her if she dissappear. Did she do it, or was she taken and being imprisoned. " he smirked.

Kevin sat mute and glowered at the Ambassador.

Mira frowned, standing up she went to get more raktajino before taking her seat. "Just tell us your plans for the Romulans, or I am going back to my ship. "

Crus growled. " You have been told your part."

Mira shook her head no. "I am not flirting with Romulans no matter what his age."

M'Niras frowned "Well there is a female Romulan that is interested in human males? I thought between the two of you we would get the Romulans to our side."

The thought of having to flirt with a woman into order to gain political concessions filled Kevin's mind with panic. His relationship with Kera and the whatever with Faline had developed organically from diplomatic contacts and without any purpose or agenda on his part. And then there was the potential harm to his relationship with Mira. "I am afraid that I would be quite hopeless in such a scheme," he managed at last.

Mira frowned, "If they don't want our add in helping them with the Gorn then they can go get themselves eaten."

"It is as much about keeping the Romulans out of the Gorn's camp as it is about keeping them in ours," the Ambassador replied, "And I will remind you that your orders are to escort and assist my mission by any means necessary."

"By any military means necessary," Kevin, having collected himself, corrected the Caitian, "I doubt that martial aid extends to us prostituting ourselves for your convenience."Lance.

M'Niras frowned "You can't be telling me that you are as prudish as she is?" He asked Lance.

Kevin colored. Few, beyond Mira, understood his complicated view of intercourse.

Mira frowned. "I wouldn't call it prudish! "

Crus laugh "Sharing one's self is considered polite. Withholding is selfish. "

Mira's frowned turned into a grin "its called responsibility. So do you even know how many cubs you have running around the galaxy?"

Crus laughed "birth control takes care of that little problem. But seeing as the two of you haven't even." He chuckled "you must be a patient man Lance. I couldn't have waited this long for one woman."

"You misinterpret the situation," Kevin replied blandly, "Captain Rodale is the patient one."

Mira blushed but she let the blame be all on her. She didn't care. " I had planned on staying on the ship we are here for protection."

M'Niras frowned, "No the both of you will be attending the meetings and dinners in your dress uniforms." He snapped his fingers and a man stepped out with a very feminine version of her normal dress uniform.

Mira raises an eyebrow "as a captain I do have my own dress uniform that ."

"You will be wearing this." M'Niras told her. "Lance I expect you to be engaged in conversation at all times. Mira there will be a smile on your face and you will not be argumentative. "

Kevin was not pleased by the idea that he was expected participate in the negotiations.

Mira frowned. "I have a medal for my negotiations with the Romulans."

Crus sneered "that was four years ago your skills have gone down hill."

Mira threw a biscuit at him, hitting him on forhead. "And your reflexes have slowed. Maybe you should spend more time working on them and less time sleeping around." She smiled then turned to the Ambassador "if you have nothing constructive to tell us then we have work to do."

Kevin's comm badge went off =/\="Mariten to Lance, Sir have you found the Captain?" =/\=

Tapping his badge he said " yes Yeoman she is right next to me."

=/\= Captain, Kolar spill his juice on you mattress and well I was changing your sheets and found something I think you should see.=/\=

Mira grinned then leaned into Kevin to talk on his Comm. "What did you find? One of my blades?"

=/\= No ma'am I am not sure what it is.=/\=

Mira frowned, she looked up at Kevin "Do you have your PADD with you?" at his nodded she said "send an image of it to Kevin’s PADD."

Taking his PADD out at the ping sound he opened it up. Mira frowned "Odd I don't know what that is or why it's under my mattress."

I dnn't recognized it either," Kevin confessed, "but I have a good theory as to why it is there.


off:

Captain Mira Rodale
CO USS Chuck Norris

and

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris