We need to talk

Posted on Sat Jul 6th, 2024 @ 12:01am by Commander Kevin Lance & Captain Mira Rodale

Mission: Cat in the box
Location: Romulan base station
Timeline: Present

on:
{Romulan space station, guest quarters}

Mira closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly. Out of fear or shock or anger, she wasn't sure, but she felt cold to the bone. She had made a mess of this. It had just been soooo surprising. Mira had only spent the first 7 years of her life on Trill, and she had what she thought was a normal upbringing. Her mother had loved her father, and her father had thought the world evolved around his wife. When she had to travel away from him, of course, he dropped everything and went with her.

Vanone Rodale was a successful businessman while her mother, Jana Rodale, was a Trill, Ambassador. She had been amazing and so beautiful...... Mira frowned. Had that been why he had always gone with her? Well, whatever the reason he protected her. He always said he had and would always stand between her mother and the universe. Mira had thought that was the sweetest thing her father could have said.

Enough walking down memory lane. When she opened them, it was to look at Centurion Kocas. "How bad was that?" she hoped he told her the truth.

He frowned yesterday day he would have said nothing, but today, he had gotten to know the young Captain and found she had a huge heart. More importantly, she was honest. "Romulans have families as well. We wouldn't be able to betrayal a loved one as she thought you might. The fault lies in her. But I will not be talking about this with anyone."

Mira nodded OK that was good to know.

Jackson nodded, "I wouldn't try to make amends again. I know you meant well, but it's more like pouring salt on a wound. You made the point that you weren't interested. Let it go."

Mira frowned. "I was trying to be nice. I don't want her feelings hurt."

D'klala huffed. "She didn't mind thinking you might betray your beliefs and your man for her." D'klala folded her arms over her chest a little mad at the Romulan woman.

Mira nodded, which was true to. "I hate that men."

D'klala was surprised. "Who?"

"M'Niras! He probably just undermined the whole federation with his low morals. How many people did he think I would have ......indiscretions with and for what? If the Romulans thought that we had no morals, there is no wonder they wouldn't trust us. He had damaged negotiations. "

Just then, Kevin walked in the door she nodded to the three they could leave and gave Kevin a tentative smile. He looked tired he must have had a hard day, and she was just going to add to it.. "I heard you did well in the talks......." Ask about his day. Get a feel for what he thought of things she told herself.

Then before he could answer and more importantly she could think better of it. She blurted out. "She kissed me. I am going to kill M'Niras."

Mira wasn't sure who was surprised more by her outburst Kevin or herself. She had thought to talk to him for a few moments before dropping that bomb on him. Her worried eyes meet his, and she bit her lip.

"Huh? Wait. What?" was all that Kevin's confused mind could generate. It had been preparing a recitation of the events of the meeting with the military attaches when it was suddenly diverted. "Who kissed you?"

Mira wrapped her arms around herself. "Nauarchus Saeihr. She showed up here while I was in the pool... Then she told me how wonderful you handled things but that she thought the Romulans weren't going to join the federation. She kept moving closer and closer to me, so I used my new security bracelet and summoned my security guard, but instead of attacking, she kissed me. Seems M'Niras made it sound like we would all be interested in that sort of thing. " Mira put her hand over her face.

It was all too much to process as Kevin's face scrunched up in confusion and consideration. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, then repeated the process like some demented sea creature. Finally he was able to manage, "Well that explains the urgent desire to kill M'Niras."

Mira nodded. Somehow, she was going to get back at the man.

Sex was transactional. Emotional attachment was a weapon that others used on you. Loving another was weakness. These were all things Kevin had learned in his hard scrambled upbringing, and little that he had experienced as an adult deterred him from those teachings. But looking at Mira in this state of distress and remembering the bonding that they shared through and with Kolar this past year made him question those tenets. Here he was, with the power to hurt or heal her. As she had the same power over him.

"Did you enjoy the kiss?" he asked softly.

Mira blinked up at him her mind hadn't even thought to go past the 'by all that was holy she kissed me' stage.

Mira sat down quickly on the floor, caught between a sob and a hysterical laughter at his question. She shook her head no. "it had been more traumatic than anything else. She then tried to blame my race for some of my people being polyamorous." She rubbed her forhead "as if all of us were? And I have no idea what her plan had when you came back to the room. "

Mira sighed. "I am sorry. I only wanted to protect you from her unwanted advisement, and then she..." she waved her hand around, drawing a blank at what had just happened. "M'Niras has damaged relationships with the Romulans and the federation. He made them think that we wouldn't even be loyal to one another and that cheating was normal. No wonder the Romulans do not believe in us!"

Kevin sat down next to Mira and put his arm around her, pulling her close in a reassuring hug. "It fills me with warmth that you want to protect me," he whispered before kissing her on the temple. After a beat, he continued, "M'Niras likely had a more devious reason for suggesting that we would be willing to prostitute ourselves for 'the cause'. It is my observation that politics is as much about gaining leverage by any means necessary as it is about coming to consensus. Even Ambassador Wyrick wasn't completely immune to its utility but," Kevin was starting to feel like a looped recording, "the Odinsku were a special case."

His relationship with the the Odinsku shieldmaiden had grown organically from the woman's fascination with and inexplicably lusty desire for Kevin. Wyrick had encouraged the affair and used it as a demonstration of their compatibility with the Federation and its values. So while she didn't order Kevin into the situation, she happily took advantage of it.

"Before I met you," Kevin admitted, "I would have accepted and followed through with the Ambassador's instructions. I can't speak to the Triumvirate's state of mind or reasoning for accepting such a dubious proposition but I doubt that the offering has much impact on the Romulan position. The discussions...interrogations rather...in the military attaches' meeting kept returning to the broken Federation promises of a humanitarian spacelift from Romulus. That weighs much more heavily than any implied lack of morals."

Mira snuggled closer to Kevin. "So because the federation promised something they can't deliver on, the Romulans don't want to help now. That is understandable. If I were them, I would just be looking for a way to get my people to safety and not wanting to fight a war. This mission was doomed before we got sent here. I am going to ask the Klingons to watch our backs on the way back to the base. I believe that will be the time the Gorn will attempt to attack. "

"By refusing to fight the Gorn they secure peace in the short-term," Kevin speculated, "giving them time to concentrate on getting their people to safety. I have been thinking of the size of this station and it's reason for being built. There is no military, economic or exploratory reason for a base of this size here. But it likely could support over five million people. About one percentage of the estimated population of Romulus. What if all of this is to buy time to relocate the population of Romulus out of the range of the supernovae?"

Mira nodded. "I was thinking the same thing about the base. The Holodeck quarters would make life so much better for families stuck on a base. "

"Well, it is all speculation that is way above my assigned responsibilities," Kevin said, "Now that the Klingons are here, the Romulans will go through the motions of considering their point of view before rendering a decision in a couple of days."

Kevin got a mischievous look in his eye and he pulled Mira over to straddle him as he sat, "So, are we going to the official dinner or are we going to play hooky and order room service?"

Mira grinned, "Oh I think I am way to traumatized to deal with any more ambassadors for tonight. " She grinned "and you have a big responsibility of keeping me from killing M'Niras. " she frowned "that's if M'Niras doesn't show up here and I kill him or Crus." She pressed her forehead to Kevin's trying to keep a straight face.

Kevin tilted his head slightly to the right and moved in for a kiss. He was angry at the Nauarchus for emotionally harming his love but he couldn't fault her for her desire. Mira was a beautiful, confident, intelligent woman. And a damned good kisser too. He marveled yet again that such a woman could love a man like him.

The kissing continued for several minutes and was only slightly broken by Kevin tapping his comm badge. "Ensigmmmm...mmm...Roberts," he spoke between kisses.

=/\= "Lieutenant Commander? Is everything alright?" =/\=

"mmmm...Yes...or rather no. The Captain is very distraught over the...mmmmm...incident with the Nauarchus," Kevin was having serious trouble maintaining his focus on the conversation. Fortunately, Mira took pity on his state and moved to alternating between kissing his neck and nibbling on his earlobe. Unfortunately, that was even more distracting.

=/\= "Should we summon Lieutenant K'ner or Lieutenant T'Pralik?" =/\=

"No!" Kevin objected in a more strenuous tone than he had intended. Zefram bless it, Mira knew how to disconcert him. "The Captain doesn't want to be disturbed. You....three need to...keep...aahhh... everyone out...especially Ambassador M'Niras and his....minions." That was it! He rolled Mira onto back and kissed her passionately.

=/\= "Yes, sir." =/\=

Kevin was too preoccupied Mira to reply.

=/\= "Lieutenant Commander? Are you certain everything is alright?" =/\=

Kevin ripped the comm badge off of his tunic and tossed it in the direction of the beach.

:off

Captain Mira Rodale
CO USS Chuck Norris

and

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris