A Request From Divitia Prime
Posted on Wed Jun 29th, 2011 @ 11:29am by Admiral Ricky Wegener & Captain qeraQ' & Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Commander Patrick Leroy
Mission:
In Our Time of Need
Location: SB900 - Main Conference Room
Timeline: Four hours after the Divitian's arrival
Ricky had finally gotten the word that Zee'Hrai was ready to begin the talks. Still not knowing what the Divitians required from the Federation, Rick was very apprehensive. Their initial introductions had gone well and he didn't catch any type of veiled aggression or hostility towards the UFP, except maybe from their Captain, who didn't seem to trust anyone.
"Computer, send a message to Commander qeraQ' and Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali: report to the main conference room in twenty minutes sharp. Divitians are ready."
After an acknowledgment beep he was certain the two had received their messages.
Right on the nose his XO and the Chief Diplomatic Officer walked into the conference room and sat on opposite sides of him as they awaited the Divitian delegation's arrival. Zee'Hrai had told him thirty minutes and he wanted to make sure his group was already ready and waiting.
The doors hissed open as the Divitian delegation made their entry in the room. Surprisingly enough the delegation was composed only by Zee'Hrai and two bodyguards. In perfect silence the Speaker reached his assigned seat in front of the Federation Personnel and his two guards positioned themselves right behind him, they seemed unarmed, nonetheless ready to jump in the Speaker's defense in a moment notice. Zee'Hrai's dress was somewhat sober compared to the one he wore on his arrival on SB900 - a plain grey uniform with decorations on the shoulders and chest to be attributed most probably to status and family of origin.
Once seated the Speaker looked at his audience nodding a brief salute.
"I thank you in the name of the Divitian Republic for welcoming its humble servitor to this meeting. May the stars shine upon us and illuminate our wisdom."
Once he was seated, Kh'ali rose to her feet. By Divitian custom, as a woman she should not stand when the Speaker did as that would indicate her intention to be on equal footing with the being. It was only once he was seated and it was officially time for business that she did so. Bowing low, she spoke at some length in flawless Divitian, welcoming the Speaker and his delegation to the station and expressing the Fleet's wishes that their business be concluded successfully and to both parties' mutual satisfaction. Once she was done, she retook her seat and inclined her head to the Admiral and qeraQ'.
"Zee'Hrai, I consider it an honor to be meeting with you today. I hope that we can provide whatever assistance, or give you any information that you require. And on that note, what is it that the United Federation of Planets can do for the great Divitian race?"
The Divitian breathed deeply setting his hands on the table as if searching for the right words "As you know, Divitia Prime has undergone a terrible catastrophe. An ion wavefront of unknown origin has swept the capital planet bringing terrible destruction and casualties. We are slowly rebuilding but the need is great especially for food and medical supplies, structure and materiel in second order. Production capacity was concentrated mostly in the capital solar system and our colonies and mining facilities are not enough to support the current number of needy population. Our allies of the Union are proving themselves slow to react and I... The Republic, doesn't want to lose anymore of its citizens." The Speaker took a brief pause watching each Federation member in turn gauging their reaction. His guards were still as if carved out of stone.
"Be known to you that I'm fully representative of the Republic with the power to conclude here on Starbase 900 any treaty I will deem fit. The Republic's offer is simple: mutual defense pact, no Divitian ship will remain indifferent to a Federation distress call. Opening of direct trade routes and markets with the divitian planets in exchange for a full-scale recovery program on Federation's part."
"Full scale recovery?" Ricky said. "Speaker, I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware that the ion wavefront had caused so much damage to your peoples. Have your people assessed the problem enough to find a potential starting point on recovery? And how much time do we have?"
"It has and I'm afraid we have no time left. The world surface is almost ninety percent poisoned, unable to sustain life anymore unless by artificial means but resources are running low. This is putting at great risk also the population of starbases and outposts who depended heavily on the Capital for supplies. Evacuation of the critical areas has been undertaken and extra ships would be a great help as also finding suitable planets where to build temporary refugees camps. If, as I think, you've already explored this part of space surely you'll have filed a handful of planets eligible for colonization. I would rather have refugees close to Federation structures, this is going to be more efficient saving much time and countless lives. Moreover, Divitia Prime needs extensive terra-forming now and from what I've studied of your people your science is quite advanced in this field. When the situation will be normalized the Republic will take back to the Capital planet all of the citizens hosted in the refugees camps."
The Speaker paused an instant a stern look in his eyes as if the words he was about to say weighed heavily on him: "We need help. These are the matters of utmost urgency. There are more but any further subject and details can be elaborated on in next meetings."
"In that case, Zee'Hrai, I will commit resources from Starbase 900 immediately to begin working on the problem. If we need to call in more assistance from Starfleet I will do so, but I can send two ships of personnel now to begin helping you and your people find a solution."
Kh'ali nodded in agreement. "I will oversee the drafting of an agreement between us that covers the offer by the esteemed Speaker and what the Fleet will provide. Once it is satisfactory, it will be passed on to Admiral Wegener for review."
qeraQ' looked around the room trying to hide his concern. An unknown civilisation, that called themselves an empire, being located near Federation facilities was a tactical risk. On top of that a part of him worried that this agreement was very one-sided. Were they biting off more than they could chew and leaving the station at risk. The atmosphere in the room, and protocol, stopped him from being able to comment. He was, however, uneasy.
Kh'ali glanced at Ricky, then her gaze moved on to qeraQ'. Her pleasantly neutral expression never changed, but it was likely her thoughts mirrored those of the XO. And as soon as this meeting broke up, she intended to find out. In the meantime, she had her part to play and turned back to the Speaker.
"I will be available at your convenience to put the agreement together. Also, if there is anything else you may require, you have only to say the word and my staff will see that it is done." She smiled only for a moment. "Admiral Wegener?"
"One concern I have, Zee'Hrai, is the thoughts of the Divitian people," he said as he sat back in his chair. "I know that you are a proud and highly intelligent race, with many other races under your wing--and I also understand that you are authorized to speak for the Divitians as a whole, but..." he hesitated, a bit unsure how to put it. Finally, he just blurted it out. "Essentially, Speaker, how are they going to take to an outside group coming in to help your planet in this time of trouble? I don't know the feelings of the Divitians towards the Federation, but I know that many of the races here in the Delta Quadrant aren't very...receptive of us being here."
The Speaker leaned back on the seat fingers steepled against chin: "Of course I understand your concern Admiral. Divitia has enemies that will probably try to undermine any possible cooperation between our two peoples. On the other hand Federation is not loved within the Jathlin Arm, it is watched upon with contempt by most and with outright hostility by some. What happened to Divitia Prime has definitely tilted an uneasy balance in the quadrant. Everyone is taking sides now and Federation cannot afford to remain out of this." Zee'Hrai paused watching intently the Admiral to gauge his reaction "I have to admit... Divitia's choice is the easiest for we have none. But if the Republic, as a power in the Arm, ceases to be... I do not think that Federation will become more respected. Help us and you'll gain a steadfast ally and our eternal gratitude."
The XO cleared his throat, seeing an entry to get something useful from this exchange, "So naturally you will be sharing information on these other parties with us. Tactical information and intelligence is always useful when considering 'mutual defence'"
Zee'Hrai smiled with the Klingon officer's request "Your cautiousness is commendable Commander qeraQ' a virtue typical of any good executive officer caring for his people. You see, we are alike in this... If need be, we'll share what we know. But I'm sure no one in this room desires to become entangled in a full war scenario. I hope this is sufficient to appease your mind?"
"I can assure you, Zee'Hrai...we want no part in a war if it can be helped," Ricky said. He understood qeraQ's line of questioning, and agreed with it, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it and he would make sure that Kh'ali would have a clause in the agreement about the sharing of tactical information and intelligence on an as-needed basis. "But I appreciate your willingness to share the information, should that situation arise. Is there anything else that the Federation, or Starbase 900, can do for the great Divitian people? If not, I will need to start assembling a crew to proceed to Divitia Prime to begin assessing the situation and working on a plan to fix it."
"I think that for the moment we should focus on the evacuation of people from the endangered zones and the building of a thorough supply chain for the bases and outpost at the moment cut off from the main routes. I would suggest to establish a crisis commission made of Divitian and Federation personnel to work together and to cope with any other problem as they come up and to plan all the steps of the operation."
"We will need full scientific data on the incident to enable us to best understand what has occurred, and details of the technology behind it." qeraQ' had switched his mind back to his engineering days, entering any situation, battle or technical, without full preperation was foolish. "Also any briefings you can give our engineers will help them to assess what we can do to help and what technology we have that is compatible."
Kh'ali nodded, rapidly making notes in the padd before her as the suggestions flew. "So noted, Commander. We should also consider, and quickly, where the survivors will be relocated short term and begin to make preparations there as well."
"I think we can take care of that while the ships are in transit." Ricky turned to his XO. "Commander qeraQ', I am putting you in charge of this mission. Your command and engineering skills will make you a very valuable asset, but Commander Frost will be doing most of the leg work." He didn't wait for the Klingon to answer before he continued. "Take both the Hammond and the Takei to Divitia Prime with as many engineers and science officers are you can hold and leave me a skeleton crew for the base. I believe they can handle things on this end for now. Also, get with Major Kamarov to assign a company of marines to act as security for both of our ships and to assist in the evacuation of Divitia's survivors, if that is required. I believe our security chief will be needed here and Kamarov has been chomping at the bit to give his people something to do."
"I will begin preparations for departure immediately."
"This is going to be a quick turn around, Commander," Ricky replied. "I expect you to be ready to head out in less than twelve hours with everything you might need on board the ships. If you need further assistance, I can reallocate another ship from the task force, but I want your initial assessment first." He turned to Zee'Hrai. "If that is all, Zee'Hrai, I would like to get our people packed and ready to help as soon as possible."
"I agree with you Admiral, I have nothing to add for the moment. Time is of the essence." Answered the Speaker.
Rick nodded. "You're dismissed Commander qeraQ'. Commander Kh'ali, I would like to see the first draft of the agreement between the Divitians and the Federation as soon as possible so that our new friends will have time to read it over before they depart." She nodded and Ricky asked one last question off the Speaker. "Will you be staying with us long or will you be returning with your ship to Divitia Prime with ours? I would think that an escort from your group would only help expedite our entry into your area of space."
"I would like to enjoy your hospitality a little more, Admiral, and help to the best of my possibilities acting as liaison between Federation and Divitia in what challenges are to come to both our peoples."
With that, the meeting was adjourned and the first official agreement between the Divitian peoples and the Federation was in the process of being formalized. Hopefully it would be all that Ricky hoped it would be...
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A joint post by:
Lt. Cmdr. Kh'ali
Chief Diplomatic Officer, SB900
&
Cmdr. qeraQ'
XO, SB900
&
RADM Ricky Wegener
CO, SB900 / TFCO, Task Force 38
&
Speaker Zee'Hrai
Leader of the Divitian Delegation
