TF01 3,Cat And Mouse - Part 2 4,by Marcus Priddey Star Trek: The Next Generation -------------------------------- "Cat And Mouse" - Chapter 2 ----------------------------- by Marcus Priddey ------------------- Silence. It can be quite eerie how silence can be the loudest thing that one can hear. Picard seems to recover his composure first. "The Romulans?" "Or, to give them their correct name, the Rihannsu, yes." Then, in absolute outrage, Worf rumbles "The Romulans," with particular emphasis on the Federation name for our allies "are without honour. They attacked Khitomer and brutally killed almost everyone there. It was a civilian outpost. It was a cowardly attack and there was no honour in it." Now this really raised my hackles. It annoys me when a species stick to their own code of honour and expect everyone else to be the same. Anyone who doesn't must be without honour I thought sarcastically. "Without honour?! Only the Rihannsu could have mnhei'sahe." "Mnhei-what?" asks Riker <> "Mnhei'sahe." My father replies. "The Ruling Passion. It is what a Rihannha lives by. I'm sorry, but there is no translation. I could attempt to explain it but philosophers have being trying to do that for millenia. You will just have to accept that the Rihannsu are as honourable as you or I. If I might suggest, I do not believe we can accomplish anything more today, so shall we reconvene here at 1300 hours your time tomorrow?" "Agreed." comes the response. "If there are no more questions...?" "Captain? Sir?" This to my father. I can not help but smile as I sense what Doctor Crusher wants. I can see by the bemused expressions Picard and my father are wearing that they have a fair idea as well. Picard looks towards my father. "My daughter will be happy to help you with your enquiries Doctor." "Thank you." "Thank you all for attending. Dismissed. Number One, Commander Data, if I might see you in my ready room." And with that everyone stands to leave. A few minutes later I find my self back in one the claustrophobic lifts with Doctor Crusher. "Deck 12" she orders. I grumble. "Pardon?" Obviously, I grumbled a bit louder than I expected. I smile as I explain "It's just that Felysians are used to wide open plains and big ships. I know that the Enterprise is perhaps the biggest ship in Starfleet, but our flagship, the FNV Felys is almost twenty kilometres long with lifts about three times as large as this one." Astonishment crosses Crusher's mind and settles one her face. Before she can reply the doors open. She walks ahead of me with a muttered "This way" and we enter sickbay. She is approached by a Vulcan. "Doctor Selar, did you get those samples I asked for ready?" "Yes Doctor. They are in the laboratory." "Good." She then turns to me. "If you would wait by the bio-bed, I won't be long." and with that disappears through the doors Selar came out of. I walk over to the bio-bed and jump up on it and start to look at everything in curiosity. The Human expression "Curiosity killed the cat" often amuses and is quite true in the case of my race. Sickbay was empty, when, a little Tellerite hobbles in bawling her eyes out. Looking around and seeing no nurses I go over and hunch down beside her. "What's wrong, little one?" Sniffle, hiccup. "My leg!" Sob. "It's broken an' it hurts!" Sniffle. I smile. "I'll tell you what. I'll turn around so you can jump on my back and we'll go and find a medic, okay?" "Ohh-kay." And with that I stood up and turned around. "I can't get up there! You're a gia... oh WOW!" I gaze at her, waiting. I did not have to wait long as she grabbed fistfuls of my fur and started to clamber up until she sat astride me. It was at this point that Doctors Crusher and Selar re-entered. "Oh, my." "Fascinating." I pad silently over to them where Selar lifts the little girl from my back and walks off. I then change and am again looking down at Doctor Crusher. "I thought Q had made a reappearance then, when you did that. What did you do?" So the questions have started. "Felysians have two forms. One is as you see me now, a pale skinned humanoid, if slightly taller than most with silver hair designating me as a higher caste Felysian. The other is as you just saw - a feline resembling that of a white panther on your planet. Kroys, the lower caste Felysians have black hair and black fur in their feline form." "Fine. If you would sit on the bed. By the way, call me Beverly..." and so began the poking and prodding and the endless multitude of questions. ******************** A few hours later, back on Felys in Capitol, approaching the Rihannsu embassy, I was trying to think of how to explain about the recent events without giving Commander Rataq a premature coronary. As I arrived, I was ushered straight through to Commander Rataq's offices to find him sitting at his desk gazing at his terminal and completely ignoring the glorious sunset in the picture window behind him. I said as much. "Ta'khoi." He looks up at me, glances behind him for a brief moment, grunts and then turns back to his computer "Ta'rhae." I chuckle in exasperation. Same old Rataq. Observing him at work, it strikes me that he is not old, it is just the flecks of grey hair and worried frown on his face which makes him appear older. I approach his desk and help my self to a seat opposite him. "I thought you might like to know how the negotiations went." "Hmmf" came the response. He tries to make it appear that he is complete disinterested, but his mind tells me otherwise. I can play along however. I rise as if to go. "As I said, it was just a thought." I turn to leave when: "Ie, hnavif'rau nio bhveinu re h eliu lloan'mhrahel!" "lloan'mhrahel vr'Enterprise, irrhaimehn rha'sien Picard..." "THE ENTERPRISE!!!!!!" roared Rataq. I knew this was going to happen. I listen as Rataq mutters to himself, forgetting (I wonder what it's like to forget) how sharp our hearing is. "It is bad enough that we have to ask for help from the Fed's but it is a worse humiliation for them to send the Enterprise!" I try to placate him, "What happened between your father's commander and Captain Kirk and Spock was over 80 years ago with a different Enterprise..." "SPOCK!!!!" So much for trying to placate him. "Are you aware that there are rumours that Spock has joined an underground movement on ch'Havran that proposes we rejoin with our relatives, the Vulcans!" "Is peace so bad?" I ask him "Your people have benefitted enormously since allying with us." He stops his pacing and slumps down in to his chair staring dejectedly at his screen. I lean across his desk and look at him in the eye. "We have another meeting with them tomorrow at low sun. Come with me and you will see that I will act in your best interests. If you do not like the way the negotiations are going then we can stop and the Emperor will appoint someone else, but I vow to you, that I WILL get you your metal no matter what the cost!" "Very well then. I will accompany you tomorrow." He looks at me, rather plaintively. "Is it true that they have a Klingon on board?" I smile in sympathy. "Yes, I'm afraid so. He is their Chief of Security and I can imagine the headaches he'll have when his captain tells him that there will be a Rihannha on board." He smiles at that. ******************** The next day, back on board the Enterprise, facing Picard from one end of the table in the observation deck, I introduce the Rihannha ambassador. "Welcome aboard, Commander Rataq." "Captain, with all due respect,I do not feel all that comfortable here so can we just get on with it please?" "Very well" says the Captain, sitting. "I have been ordered by Starfleet Command, in the interests of fostering peaceful relation with the Romulans" I raise an eyebrow, which he notices "sorry, the Rihannsu and the Felysians, to provide whatever help and resources we can provide. However, I am curious as to why this metal is so important?" I look towards Commander Rataq. My duty of Arbiter is almost at an end. All I had to do was to get Commander Rataq to sit at the same table with the Federation and open a dialogue. Once he starts talking, all I really have to do is make sure that both sides come off equally well. I can see that Rataq is nervous though. Although it must be cold in here for him as it is for me, there is a line of sweat on his brow. <> He glances at me in response to my message and then levels a steady gaze at the captain. "As you know, our ships are fuelled by a forced singularity. However, to create this, we need to tap into "otherspace". I apologise, but I am not a technician and that is the best way I can explain it. To stop this "otherspace" from flooding into our space, however, we need a valve to regulate the flow. This is the purpose of Sykylium 435. Unfortunately, in the Empire, our own supply which comes from Emefv IV, a similar asteroid to your Regulus One..." "Regular. The asteroid is called Regular." "... Regular has now been exhausted. This means that without further supplies these "valves" will weaken and be unable to be replaced thereby causing the end of our fleet and the collapse of the Empire. This is why we have asked your Federation for help." All the while Rataq was saying this, never once did he remove his gaze from Picard's eyes and never once did his voice crack. In a lower man, this would have been seen as begging, but the dignity in the way Rataq held his composure was nothing less than astounding. Picard clears his throat. I await his response with baited breath. It all hinges on his reply. I could just reach in and pluck his thoughts before he knew them himself, but that would be against everything I've been taught. Even though he will help, as ordered to, the wrong phraseology now could destroy everything. to be continued...