The Diplomats' Day

Posted on Fri Feb 12th, 2016 @ 7:15pm by Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Commander Patrick Leroy & Lieutenant JG Quentin Dobry

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Diplomatic Offices

* Diplomatic Offices *

“Anything yet, Aure’l?” Kh’ali called out.

“Not yet, sir,” Aure’l answered, “though it will take some time for the signal to get that far out. The ambassador from Brenari sent her arrival time, however. We have also received replies from the rest concerned and all are in agreement. They will be standing by for updates.”

“Excellent, thank you. I have a few things to see to regarding Indra Nyyar. Call me if you hear from Zee and when Quentin arrives, send him straight in.”

Kh’ali rubbed her temple and sighed aloud. The Nyyar situation had blown up in a big way. She picked up the padd containing the report and her door opened to admit Quentin Dobry.

“Good evening, Kh’ali. I got here as soon as I could get myself together and decent. What’s up?”

She motioned him to the chair before the desk. “A looming headache, that’s what’s up, and its name is Zikar.”

“Uh oh,” Quentin muttered.

“Yes.” Kh’ali began to scroll through the report and share the highlights. “Let’s see...Zikar receives notice of divorce proceedings and flips out at the Nexus Club. That display you witnessed. Nyyar, the terrified wife, takes off and ends up being chased through the Pit by one of his goons. She hides there, seeking safety with one of Suresh’s men. Suresh decides to be helpful and transports them down, hiding the pair out in one of his and Seyla’s cathouses. As screwy as that sounds, it was actually a brilliant place to hide her. With me so far?”

“This could be straight out of one of your romance novel plots,” Quentin commented.

“No kidding. I wish I’d thought of it and written it.” She shook her head briefly. “Now for Act Two. By some colossal stroke of bad luck, one of Zikar’s men was lounging in the lobby of that house having a drink and saw her and Eldren Tohr as they were going out to dinner. This part comes from the man himself, Samir, who was picked up by security following tonight’s events. On Zikar’s orders, he followed them to dinner and back. He says that a little later, Eldren Tohr departed with a bag. He was ordered to contain Nyyar and that Zikar would meet them there. According to his statement, he went upstairs and entered her room as she was enjoying a drink at the bar downstairs.”

Now Quentin cursed softly. “What are the odds of that? The one place he would likely never look and his man just happened to be there. I'm not going to like how this turns out am I?”

“No,” was Kh’ali’s succinct answer. “The rest of this came from the statements Eldren and Suresh gave to the Royal Guard, and the security feed from that apartment.” She glanced at the padd, then continued. “Nyyar returned and was ‘contained’ by Samir. That means he roughed her up a little and called Zikar, who arrived a few minutes later. Zikar and Nyyar conversed for a bit and things were calm. Mostly him demanding she come home and her at first hesitant, then seeming to give in. It was then she managed to get to her earring that contained a distress signal - given to her by Eldren. She took her time, hoping someone got the signal. It was while she was getting her clothes that ZIkar lost his mind and began to whip her with a hanger.”

Quentin stiffened and a growl escaped him. “Where is he now??”

Kh’ali held up her hand. “Getting there. That’s when Eldren, Suresh, and house security burst into the room. Eldren stopped him. At that point. Zikar leveled his phaser at Nyyar, apparently shouting something about her death being Eldren’s fault, and fired. Eldren lunged at him, stabbing him in the throat with his knife and luckily the shot went wide. Zikar is officially dead. The Royal Guard was called and Eldren took Nyyar to Piper Medical Center.”

“Are you sure this isn’t the plot of one of your novels?” Quentin asked, then rubbed his forehead. “That’s fucked up.”

“Completely,” Kh’ali agreed. “Dr. Harding reported that she was in shock for a while, and had bruising and minor internal injuries, all repaired. He’s keeping her overnight so Raj can see her.” She laid the padd aside. “I notified Lt. Bajun so she can recall the divorce order and cancel the request to reinstate Nyyar’s Bajoran citizenship.”

Quentin looked puzzled. “Why cancel the reinstatement?”

“Because,” Kh’ali leaned forward, lacing her fingers together on top of the desk. “Her husband was killed while in the act of beating her, then attempting to kill her. He was a very high-ranking Cardassian official. Under Cardassian law, such reprehensible acts are not tolerated. They may be many things, but family is sacred to them. As a Cardassian citizen, and his wife, she’ll have no trouble inheriting everything he had. If her citizenship there had been revoked, they could argue that she lost all rights to Cardassian property. That now-dead bastard owes her big time. She can deal with the citizenship issue later.”

“That now-dead bastard does but no amount of money or property can ever make up for the life he stole from her,” Quentin grumbled. “But at least she’ll be very comfortable for the rest of her life.” Something she’d said had him curious. “I didn’t realize Nyyar and Eldren Tohr were that close. What a tangled web, huh?”

“It is.” Kh’ali nodded. “From what I understand, it was Eldren’s shirt in the wardrobe that sent Zikar over the edge.” She shrugged. “I don’t even want to think about it. If she’s happy, I don’t care. It does, however, make me realize what good fortune I’ve had.”

“Oh? LIke your cousin trying to kidnap D’veidh and kill you?” Quentin teased.

“Hush you.” She smiled and relaxed back in her chair. “The Brenari ambassador will be arriving in four hours. She wanted to be sure you were still here on the station. You’ll meet her transport when it arrives.”

Quentin groaned. “She’s old enough to be my grandmother.”

“She is but she’s bearable and if she’s on our side, the rest will fall in line. You know this. We’ll take her to dinner tomorrow night after she’s had time to rest up after the trip. Also, stay put. I am expecting a call from Zee’Hrai any moment now.”

As if on cue, Aure’l’s voice came through the comm, alerting them the channel was open.

Kh’ali turned on her view screen and pressed the panel. Zee’s face appeared on the screen.

“Ambassador Zee’Hrai. On behalf of Starfleet, I give you our most respectful greetings.” She bowed her head, then smiled, switching to a more familiar tone. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Zee. This place isn’t the same without you.”

“It is a pleasure for me too, Ambassador Kh’ali.” The divitian responded with a slight bow of the head “But you can drop any title in our unofficial talks, I remember the effort made by you and the Federation in the time of need of my people and how you put your life at a risk during my time on starbase 900 when killers were sent after me. This I do not forget and you’re the one person I honor myself to call a friend. What may I do for you?”

“I wish it were purely a pleasure call,” Kh’ali replied. Across from her Quentin cleared his throat and smiled at her choice of words. She tossed a padd at him. “But this time, it concerns grave matters. My first question likely will show how serious this is. How soon can you get here?”

“That must be really serious.” Zee’Hrai smiled of that thin lipless smile “Giving me a little time for some preparations, I could be there in a few days. Now tell me, what is this matter that takes away your ease of mind?”

A potential danger that affects many of us, and possibly you before us.” She filled him in on the sphere recovered by Seren and Aros and its purpose. She went on to outline the potential danger should the Krenim decide to recover it. “I’ve spoken with almost all of the friendly governments in the Jathlin Arm,” she finished. “All are in agreement. Ambassador Willa from Brenari will be arriving here in four hours.”

“You’re right.” Zee’Hrai nodded “If things are like that a great danger is upon us indeed… I’ll requisition the battleship of my clan and try to be there as soon as I can. Try to keep Willa’s temper at bay in the meantime.”

Kh’ali began to laugh, as did Quentin. “I’ve promised her Lt. Dobry to attend to her so that should do it. Once you are here, we can all sit down and make some arrangements with Admiral Wegener for a timetable regarding the arrival of other forces. There is one other thing.” She told him, briefly, of the patrol team moving towards that area. “The ship appears Borg but it is ours, and it’s safe.”

“I’ll diffuse the information in our forces so that they will not try to destroy them,” Zee’Hrai nodded “And if that is all, I’ll go making preparations for departure at once. I’m looking forward to meet you in person again Kh’ali.”

“I am happy you’ll be back,” she answered. “Travel safely.” She closed the channel and turned to Quentin. “That’s a relief. Zee may not always think so, but he carries a lot of weight in this quadrant. With him and Willa both here in person, that should convince any who are hesitating.” she sighed and fell back into her chair.

“He would come if you told him you needed a drink of water but were too busy to get it yourself,” Quentin observed with a smile.

Kh’ali reached to grab another padd to toss at him but her desktop was empty. She smiled and shook her head. “Give me that padd so I can throw it at you again?”

“No way,” he answered. “If I have to meet Willa in four hours, I’m taking a break till then. I want to stop by sickbay and see Nyyar anyway.”

Kh’ali waved him towards the door. “You deserve a break. Give Nyyar my best and I’ll see her tomorrow once she is home.”

Dobry saluted and hurried out of the office. As she watched him go, Kh’ali decided that where Nyyar was concerned, Quentin was the one who would go get that drink of water for her. She laughed for a moment, then opened a channel to Science. It was time to remind Patrick he needed to come back to reality and get something to eat.

**************
Lt. Commander Kh’ali
Welcoming An Old Friend

Lt. Dobry
Taking One For The Team

Zee’Hrai
Old Friend Answering The Call