Blind Briefing

Posted on Sat May 11th, 2019 @ 1:06pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie & Kodria Mizu & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott & Baroness 3rd Class Sarika & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 @ 4:49am

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Conference Room 8, Deck 10, Near the Airlock
Timeline: 2396, shortly after arriving at the Artan Orbital Fortress

Cybernetics had been found to be less secure than they thought now that Schwein's had not only been compromised, but so too had the training program she had requested from Baroness Sarika. It scanned as normal, but had some nasty overlay within it, which nearly killed the silver haired pirate. It would have succeeded too, if she had been alone. Parts of the program had even been modified to further corrupt her cybernetics with an anti-Borg virus that had crippled her for days with migraines even after the code had been wiped.

This was why in this next briefing about the upcoming Tribunal extra safety precautions were being taken with Baroness Sarika, whom had not only cyber-eyes, but cyber-arms. There was no telling if she was infected with any sort of malicious code or not. Just to be sure, there were dampening fields in place in the chosen conference room and one Ensign Mona Gonadie was here, who claimed to be able to see through any lie with her Miradonian eyes.

Enalia just had to await the arrival of one of her oldest and closest friends.

Fiddling with the PaDD in front of her, she didn't like this whole game of deception with people she liked, but she knew it had to be done. She preferred it when she knew there was a good outcome or when there was a nice surprise at the end, sure... but this... This felt like her mother was forcing them to stoop to her level and she didn't like it.

“So what’s the purpose of this meeting, Captain?” Paris asked in the straightforward manner for which she was known. Paris was laboring under the assumption that anyone cybernetically enhanced was compromised since the pirate Queen of the Artans had made it abundantly clear that was one avenue of attack she was employing. Ideally if it didn’t succeed it still managed to foment distrust and suspicion within their ranks, which Paris recognized. But she had her own plans and machinations, and was determined that the queen of the Artan fleet was going to suffer an ignominious and thoroughly humiliating defeat.

Or a terrible accident; which Paris was, in truth, still debating.

"I'm told that we have a lovely update on the status of the Tribunal to look forward to and as such things are best done in person for security purposes, Baroness Sarika will be delivering the report herself." Enalia motioned around the room. "Hence the extra precautions. I just worry since her arms and eyes are both cybernetic. It may not go well at first so I'll need some help calming her down."

Standing to the side was Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox. The Flight Chief of the Hera, but also one of Enalia Telvan's chosen Baronesses for the upcoming tribunal. As such, her presence at the briefing was requested although the quiet officer felt that her presence might also be required to help calm the extremely gregarious Baroness Sarika.

Having only met once, Dox took an immediate liking to the admittedly foul-mouthed Baroness and was truly hoping that it was only her cybernetics that were at risk for corruption and not the woman herself. But she was nervous as she stood, unspeaking, near her bond-mate and assistant Flight Chief, Mona Gonadie.

"Two security teams are on standby, Captain. My best officers." Paris considered her next statement, brow furrowing as she shifted in her seat, then she pressed on. "Meaning no disrespect, Captain, but how verifiable is intel from Baroness Sarika? She's still a person of interest in one of our incident reports, is she not?"

"I trust her with my life, just as I do with everyone else in this room. However, if her cybernetics are compromised, we must take precautions. Also, to allay any suspicions that her mind has been altered, that's why Ensign Gonadie is here." Enalia set aside her PaDD and tried not to fidget any further.

"Would you care to brief us on what precautions to which you are referring Captain, or are they a secret?" Again, Rita was of the school of asking a question if you wanted an answer, and she never minded being the dumb one in the room willing to ask.

"The dampening field to disable her cybernetics and Mona to make sure she's not lying for the basics. Other than that, I'll ask her a few questions that only she and I should know. If she answers them correctly, all is well. If not... Then there's something rotten in the Nibenheim..." The spotted woman was obviously nervous, still doing her best not to fidget. "The hard part will be keeping her calm. Suddenly going blind and not having the use of your arms..."

Which is when the security checkpoint at the docking hatch reported in. "Checkpoint one to Captain Telvan. Captain, Baroness Sarika just boarded and is being escorted to your location now."

"Thank you. We're ready to receive her." Enalia straightened up in her seat and readied herself to activate the dampening field with the manual switch that had been installed just under the table.

"Captain, if memory serves, she's a hugger." Dox turned to offer a suggestion. "With your permission, I can meet her at the door and hold her so she can't hurt herself when the field activates and hopefully keep her calm."

Looking around from the Captain to Paris and back, Dox continued. "If she's still herself, she liked me and hopefully I can talk her into listening. If she's not, I'm... best suited to be between her, you, Commander Paris and Ensign Gonadie.

Enalia thought it over a moment before nodding consent, giving time for Baroness Dox to take her place by the door. "Right then, if we're ready."

Which was right before the door opened and in came the excitable woman known as Baroness Sarika. "My bitches! It is soooo good to see you all again!" Immediately she went in for a hug on the nearest person, which was the resident Romulan. "Have I got some stories for you!"

Suddenly her red cybernetic eyes went dom and her arms went limp as the door behind her sealed itself. Her now useless eyes went wide, not knowing what was going on. "What the... The FUCK IS GOING ON!!! I CAN'T SEE! YOU FUCKING BITCHES!"

"I've got you, Sarika." Dox said somewhat softly, as she wrapped her arms around the silver-haired pilot. "But I need you to listen to me an try to be calm. Please..."

Tucking her head over to the side of Sarika's to keep her from getting head butted and tucking her outside leg behind the Baronesses to remove any leverage with her legs, the much heavier Dox had a firm grip as she spoke.

"Arenara has compromised Baroness Schwein's cybernetics, and we believe yours as well. And even unintentionally, I cannot let you endanger the Princess, so I need you to calm down and listen to her!" The verbiage was a Gambit. Sarika was fiercely loyal to Enalia, and Dox was hoping that speaking to that loyalty would get through to her as she continued to try and struggle.

Sarika paused in her struggles, realization hitting her. "Compromised?... The holo-program... Those fucking bitches! I'll fucking kill them all! No... This isn't the time for that..." Slowly, she calmed down, though her eyes were still wide and searching. "Ok... I'm... I'll be ok... I just want to skull fuck that fucking bitch now though... All the precautions we've taken, and she gets around them anyway..."

'I want to hold her down for you.' the red-headed Romulan thought to herself as she looked over to the Captain and Paris for the cue to continue.

"This is where we enact some sort of antiviral or signal blocking mechanism... who was in charge of this part of the plan?" Paris asked of the room.

"I've got it," Mona replied, patting a small case at her hip. "Any and all signals are being blocked now and as soon as I have the go-ahead, I can start a scan."

"Okay, I'm gonna to lead you to your seat and we can figure out our next step together." Dox said, lightening her grip just enough to move Sarika over to the open seat as she positioned herself behind the compromised fellow Baroness.

"Ok... So... It seems we both have a lot to brief each other on then," began Sarika.

Enalia nodded and leaned forward. "That we do. Sorry about all this but my mother has forced us to take some extreme measures, even with our closest allies."

Sarika grinned and shrugged as best she could without the use of her arms. "It is what it is. This is pretty much the state you found me in, isn't it? In that slave pen, waiting to die, useless cybernetics hanging around my neck. I assume you have a plan this time as well?"

The spotted woman chuckled softly and leaned back in her chair. "Just like in that bar on Setlak Prime."

"You crazy..." Sarika shook her head and leaned back as well. "Can we skip the bar fight with the Andorian Imperial Guard and get right to the Rigelian whiskey this time?"

"You're really you and fully dedicated to our side, aren't you?" Enalia finally asked, glancing over at Mona to see what her reaction to the Baroness's answer would be.

"Until the day I die, I will be your friend and would never knowingly betray you, Princess." As she spoke, Mona watched closely, but could see no hint of untruth in Sarika's voice or demeanor. She then nodded to the Captain, giving the Baroness the all clear.

"Then let's make sure your cybernetics are clean, shall we?" Enalia replied, finally smiling, the tension finally starting to drain out of her.

"Okay..." Dox let out a light breath at the signal from the Captain. She didn't have any history with the impertinent pirate beyond a few shared hugs, but was fond of the woman and recognized how important she was to Enalia, and that was enough for the anxious aviatrix to feel relieved for her Captain and friend. "...Ensign Gonadie is going to come over and Purge your system."

Stepping to the side to give Mona access, Dox nodded over to her Miradonian mate. "She's the absolute best there is. And... the Princess and I trust her with our lives... and then some. You're in good hands and we're going to make this right in no time, Sarika."

The slightly-less-portly pilot chose to wear her feelings for Mona on her sleeve in the moment, hoping that the tone of her voice would be reassuring to the incapacitated pirate and help.

Sarika nodded blindly, her eyes finally closing for a moment. "Ok, if you trust her... She's the 'donian, right? Got one in my crew. Lovely man. I'd trust him with my life."

"Yes, that's her." Dox replied, smiling even though Sarika couldn't see it. She kept her hand on the Baronesses shoulder, reassuringly.

Mona pulled out the specially prepared set of tools for the cleansing of the cybernetic parts of Sarika. She first scanned for malware, the feathers on her head floofing up as she did so. "I'm detecting malware all right. In your left eye and left arm." She then took out a cyber-key injector and linked it into Sarika's systems, downloading the suite of cleansing software and starting the process. "That should take care of it after a few minutes. It definitely has the same signature as what Schwein was infected with though."

"That explains the headaches at least..." Sarika grumbled, trying to hold still.

“How are we scanning the hardware? No offense, but compromised cybernetics with software is one thing, but cameras, recording devices and scanners could also have been installed without knowledge. What steps are we taking for those?” Again, left out of the loop, Paris asked direct question to address her concerns. After all, while she did not think like a sneaky pirate, she had certainly seen her share of espionage over the years, and this seemed reasonable to her.

"That's what this little scanner is for, Commander," replied Mona, holding up the first tool she was using. "It scans for foreign attachments and data streams as well as malware. From what I'm seeing, it used a combination of the sensors in your left eye and arm and for transmission... I assume you plug in to recharge?"

"Yeah, every night when I'm sleeping on my lef... That fucking bitch... My charger is infected too, isn't it?" Sarika was barely containing her rage at this point.

"I'm guessing so. We'll need to send some equipment with you to cleanse it." Mona replied softly and reassuringly.

"While we're waiting on that, how about we begin the briefing?" Enalia prompted, trying to get things moving, but still clearly worried about one of her oldest friends.

"Yes, and you're not going to like it." Sarika flopped her right arm a bit, obviously trying to gesture with it. Instead she just ended up frowning. "Your mother decided to petition the Arbiter of the Tribunal, Captain Magnus to level the voting properly now that we have fourteen Baronesses. Since the vote would require a fraction over nine, now we need a full ten votes instead of rounding to nine. We have six solid, she has three solid... The two first class bitches are abstaining of course... The rest are undecided."

"So the problem is how we get the Romulans on our side instead of hers, and secure the three undecided votes," Sarika added. "Freedom is all nice and beautiful talk, but the older ones remember your mother and the fear and terror she wreaked across the stars."

“Fear will make people do very stupid things. Let me guess, she’s currently spreading propaganda that should the captain win, that will be the end of their lives as they know it, since she will bring sweeping change and do away with their traditions. Whereas her benevolence is well known, and all who aid her will be recognized, while those who oppose her know what will come of it?” While she knew nothing about pirates or their mindsets, people really hadn’t changed over the course of Rita Paris’ lengthy lifespan, and motivations by commanders and politicians also tended to follow familiar patterns.

“Also, why is the science department not involved in this operation, out of curiosity?” Paris added, as it seemed odd to her that an inventive pilot was currently acting as a science officer in this particular scenario.

"In the interest of keeping as few people involved as possible," replied Enalia, looking none too pleased with the news she had heard. "The less the crew has to gossip about, the better."

"I've also worked with cybernetics like these before. They're not too dissimilar to those of the Thunderchicken or the systems I've helped other crew members with," Added the brightly plumed Miradonian, tapping the controls of the anti-malware device. "That should do it. I'm not detecting any further compromised systems."

"May I have my eyes back at least please?" the silver haired pirate asked softly.

Standing at her side, Dox looked up silently at the Captain and Commander awaiting their answer.

Looking around, Paris realized the question was somewhat directed in her direction. As she had very little idea of what was going on, Paris shrugged broadly. “Frequency jamming is blanketing the conference room right now, so even if anything is still compromised it can’t broadcast. If that’s a question to me, I don’t see why not.”

Enalia took a deep breath and let it out slowly before toggling the switch under the table, turning the electromagnetic jamming field off. "If you're clean, then there's no point to keeping it on and depriving you."

Sarika blinked a few times and flexed her arms as her arms and eyes restarted, Then smiled at Enalia, finally able to see her clearly. "Thank you. So...I suppose this means it's even more important that we get all the other Baronesses on our side."

"We have a plan in effect for gaining some support, but it's not going to help us with the old guard." Enalia leaned forward and picked up her PaDD, once again working now that the field was down.

Sarika nodded and stretched her sore shoulders out, not used to her arms hanging limp like that. "Yeah, those old bitches really need to get with the times. We can't go around harassing people like we used to just because we think they've got some ties to someone we don't like. We can't rule the spacelanes with fear like in your mother's day. Freedom to do what you want is one thing... But..."

"When it infringes on the freedoms of another, then we have an issue," finished the Trill Captain with a lopsided grin.

Sarika grinned wider. "And that's how it should be."

"Freedom for all," Enalia chuckled heartily as she flipped the PaDD in her hands. "So now... Who are the undecided Baronesses?"

The cybernetic pirate then pulled out a piece of paper with a written report on it and unfolded it, sliding it over to Enalia. "Bloody Batra is so far abstaining of course, being first class... but I think that if we can convince her that she can kill all the Syndicate she wants with you, she'll vote for you. Flora Tyrel, no one knows what that old bitch is ever thinking. She'll likely not even show up until the last vote. Lilly Von Schtupp, the information broker, is mainly hanging around the station these days and I don't have the funds to secure a vote from her. Thankfully, neither does your mother. She's asking for either one hundred bricks of latinum or your jade fire dragon tea set."

Enalia's eyes shot up in alarm at the mention of the tea set. It was worth several moons on its own and was the centerpiece of her Swiss collection. "I'll consider it. Please continue."

The cyber-armed pirate scoffed slightly before continuing. "Marelith is concerned about the timing of the recent attacks and is worried about the future as well, but if there's no proof, she means to abstain as well. Garan and Terethis are so deeply in the Queen's pocket that I can't even get an audience with them. As for Seinae, she feels she owes her a debt and her honor demands it be repaid, even with the timing of that aid after the attacks being a bit too convenient. And of course you know Merinda von Stolina is sitting this whole thing out to act as peacekeeper as the highest ranked Baroness, just in case. Which doesn't help at all, really."

Sighing, Sarika leaned back and stretched her arms behind her head. "Which means we have pledged support from me, Baroness Dox here, Schwein, Snodarss, Frederica von Grelica, and Mirana."

Leaning in, the anxious Romulan lieutenant interjected, hesitant at first, "Baroness Sienae swore a life debt to my mother over twenty years ago, and if she has any sense of M... of honor at all... of being Rihannsu... then that debt should supercede this."

By the end of her brief statement, her nerves were mostly gone, except for pausing to stop herself from using the Rihan term for honor as it was actually her own name.

"I've an introduction and a redirection or two, if I may?" the anachronistically-uniformed Starfleet siren stood, looking to the Captain for permission, then she came around the table, extending her hand in greeting. "Baroness Sarika? I'm Rita Paris. You come highly recommended. Sorry about the subterfuge, but now you understand the necessity."

Sarika slowly stood, her eyes widening in amazement. She reached out both hands to shake the commander's hand gently. "You're the bloody Rita Paris... From the poster the Princess kept on her wall growing up... Her bloody Idol... In the bloody flesh... On her bloody ship... That's why she was missing for four bloody years... I thought you were just someone that kind of looked like her and the Princess had dressed in the old uniform, but, you're actually her, aren't you? Your pulse, blood pressure, air pressure, none of that wavered when you told me your name..."

Glancing over at the pirate princess turned Starfleet captain, Paris smiled, a self-effacing expression. “I am indeed Rita Paris… I’m not exactly THAT Rita Paris, I’m… a different edition, if you will. It’s a long story. But yes, I am her, she is me. Nice to meet you, Baroness Sarika.” Rita returned the handshake gently, maintaining eye contact.

"You didn't need to..." Enalia groaned, blushing bright red and doing her best to maintain her composure but failing at it. "Anyway, now that we're all introduced... Where were we?"

Trying to help the Captain change the embarrassing subject back to business, Dox, who was still standing to the side of Sarika, added, "The old guard Baronesses. And what, if anything, we can do to change their minds."

"Ah, yes, indeed." Finally releasing Rita's hand, Sarika returned to her seat, still in awe. "Ahem... Well, we could try blackmail or bribery... But I doubt any of you would go for that, and personally, I'm not fond of it either. Which leaves us with appealing to their grandmotherly side. Garan and Terethis are both grandmothers and Therethis' only granddaughter is a member of Magnus' crew. That being the case, she has to stay out of it... However... If we can force an audience with the old bitch..."

"Considering what Arenara wants to do... force you to give her a grandchild against your will... that might be a good angle to get them to at least listen to reason." Dox added, looking to the Captain as she took a seat finally. "Bribery to get them on our side might not be a good tactic, but is there anything we have that we can give to get a sit down with them? A gesture of good faith?"

Enalia thought about it for a moment before replying. "Well, I could give her the tea set that I stole out from under her at an auction some years ago..."

"That might at least ease some tensions..." commented Sarika softly. "The one thousand year old Romulan set made of emerald china, right? I had forgotten about that."

“If nothing else, it does show just how willing you are to negotiate, captain,” Paris chimed in, moving to take her seat. “She threw that out there as an unreasonable demand to see if you would come to the table to parley. While I’d wager she does want the set, she wants to test your commitment more. I’d say take a meeting with her at the very least and be prepared to pay her price if you think she’s serious. Or she might be dangling that as a false hope as she doesn’t ever plan to change her vote. You know these people captain- I’m just whistling in the dark.”

"Yeah, but I'm relying on you to be my light in the dark," Enalia leaned back and sighed heavily. "Ok, so that's two literally priceless tea sets I'll have to give up for this... Anyone else want a tea set while I'm handing them out?"

Sarika raised one hand. "I'd actually like the tea set that we used on the Garan... If you still have it..."

"I... Yeah..." The spotted Captain smiled softly at the memories of the old plastic tea set. It had nothing but sentimental value, but she had kept it anyway. "It's tucked away in storage. The teapot is a bit melted, but all the teacups are ok. No idea how they survived, but they're yours."

“Captain, I’ll not hear this defeatist talk,” Paris responded sharply. “A psychological profile of these women would be ideal, but you are the ones who have known these women for your entire lives, so in theory you should be experts on their behavior. I’m just walking in here, so when I say I am whistling in the dark, that means I am operating on practically no data, no personal experience and no foreknowledge of these people. You three have known them for literally decades. Ideally you should know them well enough to divine both their surface as well as secondary motivations, and understand how to appeal to them.”

It was a bit of a sharp rebuke, but listening to Enalia already throwing in the towel instead of rising to the challenge was simply not going to do at all. If she was going to win this she had to want it, and she needed to be confident in the maneuvers she understood. Because if she showed this level of indecisiveness and capitulation to the actual baronesses, she would be finished before she started, unless she just out and out murdered her mother.

Which was one of many plans Rita Paris now had spinning in the background, which she was deliberately not telling her captain nor anyone else for a number of reasons. In this affair, she trusted her own counsel, and she had no intention of losing. But she couldn’t let the captain be beaten before she began.

The spotted woman looked up at her first officer oddly before continuing. "As Commander Paris has said, we should be able to divine their motivations. So then, let's go through the list and do that."

Looking over the piece of paper Sarika had handed her, she looked at the names of the Baronesses that were decidedly on the side of her mother first. "Baroness Garan, provided I can get an audience with that tea set, is your classic Yakuza type. She prefers to rule her crews with a tight fist and a kind hand at the same time. Once you're part of her crew, the only way to leave is in a torpedo casing. If we returned to raiding merchant lanes today, she'd be perfectly happy. She's also got a soft spot for family. Of all the Baronesses, she's the only one that's ever been able to intimidate me, though I was young at the time..."

"I remember your mother beat you most of the night after that..." Sarika added softly.

"If we could just get rid of her..." Enalia shook her head and moved on. "Then there's Baroness Terethis. She's got a life debt to my mother. It's also about the only thing she takes seriously. She's also a traditionalist."

"Meaning she'll push for the head of the family to remain in your family no matter what," interjected Sarika.

"Exactly." Enalia then went on to the next one. "Baroness Seinae, we have a plan in progress to handle her. It should cover Baroness Marelith as well." Enalia glanced up and looked at the others. "Marelith has an overinflated sense of law and order and acts as a judge if there are disagreements between crews. She also heads up the task force we run that hunts down rogue pirates that Tortuga Station is tired of."

Sarika grinned and pointed into the air. "She gives them a fair trial before turning them over to Starfleet Security. Or the Klingon Defense Forces. Whomever has a higher bounty."

"Law and order among thieves..." muttered the spotted captain before moving on. "Baroness Flora Tyrel... My grandmother appointed her and I've never actually met her. She shows up to vote at functions now and then and just leaves."

Sarika nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've only seen her once and she had a distortion field around herself so my scans and sight were fuzzy. I don't even know what race she is."

"Vulcan." Enalia interrupted, setting the paper down. "She asked my grandmother for a ship and crew for something and that's all I know. If anyone else can logic out that one, by all means..."

"Which leaves Baroness Lilly Von Schtupp, the information broker. She wants one hundred bricks of latinum or a tea set worth three times that..." Enalia sighed heavily. "If I send her the latinum, I tell her she's not as valuable as the centerpiece of my Sweden collection. If I send her the tea set, I tell her I'm desperate."

"Von Schtupp wants something else. The money or the tea set are distractions... she wants to be pursued. You've got something she wants. Information, if she's an information broker?" Paris offered, as the dual offers showed a surprising lack of focus for a secrets peddler, at least to her mind, and hinted at a deeper motivation.

"Which means she's testing our information network to see if we can figure out what secrets she's after in time..." surmised Enalia. "Good thinking."

Listening intently, Dox might have been a part of this world as a child and teenager, but its more complex machinations were somewhat beyond her. She was however, a fast learner and the ins and outs were coming back to her. "Captain. Are there any of the undecided Baronesses where getting THEIR favor first might sway one or more of the others. Even lean them closer to our side? The most respected or the most feared, for example?"

"That's probably one of the reasons the two first class Baronesses are abstaining for now. Most of the others look up to or fear or idolize them. Though Bloody Batra..." The curvy Captain shook her head. "If she didn't have morals, that woman would be as bad as my mother..."

Sarika nodded and sighed deeply. "That woman... On the bright side, she's had so many problems with the Syndicate that if she thought she'd have more luck going after them with us than under your mother..."

Having listened and digested, Paris felt she'd made enough connections to contribute. "Can anyone challenge a sitting Baroness for her seat? Or is it a hierarchy system where you have to be promoted to the rank? How does all of that work, because I am thinking that's another potential avenue of opportunity for motivation."

Enalia punched up the Artan bylaws and started scrolling through them to the particular chapter on her PaDD. "It's setup similar to Klingon ships. The second in command can challenge the Baroness at any time for her position. However, the Baroness chooses the duel type. I can bring them up on charges as well, but not during a tribunal, and not without due cause. If a man is ever named Baroness..."

"It's only happened once..." Sarika interjected.

Enalia's demeanor turned grim at that thought. "I think that might be half of Bloody Batra's issues, if I'm to be honest..."

"Elaborate please? If we can swing a vote just by the Captain promising sexism, that's an easy out right there," Paris opined. Out of her element she might be, but this was strategic planning, and this was somewhere she could contribute with just a little information to work with. "Also, do we know of any second in commands who might be motivatable to challenge their Baroness? It might cause a swing vote, and if nothing else fomenting dissension in the ranks sows its own chaos and will keep the Baronesses less focused. Thoughts?"

Enalia thought on the sexism thing as Sarika chimed in grumpily. "Mine challenges me daily... That doesn't help us though. Intel like that is hard to get and the only one that might have it..."

"Currently isn't talking to us," Finished Enalia, having completed her thoughts on the Matriarchy. "I just realized that out of all of our leadership roles, the Captain of the fleet is the only one that's even allowed to be male. We're so steeped in tradition and heritage, we even took the old lessons from the old Trill Matriarchy days and ran with them like they were latinum wrapped in bacon dipped in booty. That's another thing that's going to have to change."

"As for your question though," Enalia paused for a moment in thought. "I've always heard that there was a lot of dissent in Terethis' ranks. Is that still true?"

"Not after she spaced half a dozen people and broadcast it for the whole family to see. Called it a lesson in tradition." Sarika shook her head sadly as she described the incident. "The poor souls were woefully underprepared for a raid because of bad intel and they barely made it out alive. Then she goes and blames them of being lily-livered and tossed them out the airlock herself one at a time just to make a point. The intel agent, she tortured to death. This was of course while you were missing."

"I see..." A mix of emotions was going through the Captain right now - regret at not being there to remove Terethis from her position when that happened, anger at herself for allowing this to go on for so long, sadness for the crews under people like this... She did her best to remain the impassive and strong fortress on the outside, but she was pretty sure her facade was crumbling by now.

As the Captain and Sarika talked, Mnhei'sahe's stomach tightened and her face had taken on the stern facade familiar to anyone who had known the young Romulan woman's mother. Listening, the young pilot could no longer hide behind pretty speeches from Captain Magnus or Baroness von Alcott about fighting for personal freedoms or some noble cause. This was what it meant to be an Artan Baroness. This was the world she had so willingly accepted being a part of, and in the moment, she felt disgusted. But she kept her face neutral as she listened.

“Hell of a traditionalist,” Paris growled, noting the look on the face of Lieutenant Dox, seeing this might be the first time that she really considered just whom she had thrown her lot in with, and perhaps begun to realize just why Rita had been so adamantly opposed to her joining the pirates as a ‘sideline career’. “Well, if I wasn’t motivated before, captains who space their crews for failure are people I like to call, ‘should be removed from power and put in a hole somewhere’. So it sounds like dissent beneath the Baronesses is a bit of a strategic dead end, then?”

Sarika stood up for the Captain though. "To be fair, Magnus has been following Enalia's orders to guide the fleet and family towards a kinder and gentler path. He even brought her up on charges several times, but with the Princess missing... Well... The queen came back out of retirement and started fighting against him on things like that. Hence why we have people like them still. Most of the Baronesses aren't filthy murderous bitches unless we have to be. And even then, we uphold the code."

Sarika shook her head and continued. "As for dissent among ranks, if we had more time maybe. With the Baronesses we're talking about though, it's a good way for their seconds to get killed unless they're really sure of themselves. Plus, what if they're just as bad?"

“In this instance, the ‘what ifs’ are all too many,” Paris grumbled, then sighed. “So, we’ve got strategies for possibly converting a few of the baronesses to the captain’s cause, but basically this is all spinning our wheels in the mud because the captain seems certain her mother is determined to force this to a duel one way or the other. Do I have that much of the situation down, or am I missing something?”

"We're missing her plans," Enalia stated simply, setting her PaDD on the table. "And I guarantee she's been planning this from the moment she decided to demand my obedience. That's the kind of woman she is. Remember the plans I've woven around this ship and crew? Your meeting with Sonak on the flight deck, for instance? She's where I learned all that from. Unfortunately in this case, I'm well behind the curve and she knows it." Enalia grinned that piratical lopsided grin of hers though. "But I have a secret weapon. I have a far better crew than she ever will. Even if the vote fails and we go to a duel, we can win just because of that. We just have to watch out for her tricks and sabotage and make sure my ship actually works."

Feeling hesitant to say anything, Dox quelched her anxiety for the moment as she wasn't here simply as a pilot in this instant. "Even if she insists on forcing a conflict, it will be beneficial to have swayed as many Baronesses as possible, I'm thinking. You win the duel and you... we... need that support to keep the organization from falling into chaos in the aftermath."

"Excellent thinking. Especially since two of my biggest supporters don't even have their own crews," Enalia added. "I've encouraged Schwein to rebuild, but after she lost her entire crew and all her ships... I don't think she has it in her."

Enalia wasn't entirely sure she should reveal this next part, but went ahead anyway. "Before the auction, I tried to talk her into naming you her second, even if only for the day, but she refused. Instead, she talked me into making you a Baroness ID. For better or worse, you're in this world again. Hopefully, together we can see the family through to better times and my mother can spend some time in a Federation prison. If she isn't somehow killed, that is..." She really hoped it wouldn't come to killing her, but she knew her mother. The woman would likely find a way to force her death on her daughter's hands.

“All right, so what is her plan? Some of you have literally a lifetime of dealing with her, one might imagine that would lend itself to some degree of divination of intention? And as it seems to be a foregone conclusion that regardless of any other outcome she will force this to a duel, she’s going to find out that the squeaky clean Starfleet officer has entirely different rules of engagement when it comes to dealing with murderous pirates,” Paris fairly growled. The entire situation stunk, and struggling to try to make sense of it while she made her own secret plans and machinations was getting on her nerves. But she was trying to keep a cool head and wring some productivity out of this meeting beyond debugging the first Trojan horse that had been sent their way in the form of the cyber-infected Baroness Sarika.

"She knows there's a legitimate chance she can lose the vote. But if she pushes for combat, it might just be... honestly... to kill you, Captain." Dox added grimly. "She needs an heir. YOUR heir. And if you won't give her one on your own terms, blood on a sword would give her all she needs. And we can't let that happen."

The Trill Captain nodded. "Exactly that. She's put a lot of work into my genes and she made sure the lab that did that work couldn't reproduce me or talk about it. I also made sure the samples she had of myself and my sister were destroyed. She's going to use the boarding claws on the Bloody Rose as soon as she can to latch on and try to get to me. She's also one of the three people that taught me swordplay. I've been practicing with Schwein for that reason."

"As for her preparation plans, if I were her, I'd have seeded spies, willing and unwilling, in every crew years ago. Sarika's second, Marelith's first mate, a couple of the Romulans... She already has the old guard Baronesses in her pocket, but I'd have a few of those crew seeded as well - probably the advisors. She has the holographic maids bugged so don't discuss anything around them. They've been that way since they were installed. I have the access codes though so I'll forward those."

Then another thought occurred to Enalia. "Has any of the tech from Meroset been proven safe? We confiscated quite a few of those bracers from the Amazons and Minotaurs, didn't we?"

“I’ve begun testing with them at the moment, yes. What do you have in mind, Captain?” Paris replied cagily. That was another one of those cards she was hiding up her sleeve- literally in this case- and she basically distrusted everyone with any of the information of what she had planned. Her ramped-up paranoia told her in this instance to trust no one- particularly anyone in the room, at least when it came to her plans for the Tribunal.

Enalia eyed her first officer for a moment, sensing that she had something up her sleeve, figuratively speaking. "Just looking for an edge. I won't be able to wear a suit of armor under my white uniform so I'll need to visit the armory again and look for more options."

"White uniform? Part of the Tribunal I assume? I mean, you weren't going to be doing this in your Starfleet dress whites I assume?" Paris asked, turning over ideas in her mind.

"No, I'll be in my Artan Royal Uniform. Remember the white, gold, and platinum thing with the cape and tassels that made me look like I was fresh out of some animated war holo?" Enalia waved her hands in the air as she described the outfit.

"Ahhh, the BIG pirate outfit," Rita nodded, then crossed her arms beneath her prodigious bosom. "All right, let's recap. Fomenting dissent with the ranks of Baronesses who are problematic, and they are old and evil tyrants, set in their ways. We can't do anything about them at this point, and we have to just watch for attacks from any, possibly all of them so they can curry favor with Mommy Dearest. Dox, you'll have to handle the negotiations with Sienae in place of your mother. As you are setting up the meetings with the ones you think can be swayed, we have to figure out what Von Schtupp wants, because it's likely to use information she's gathered- if properly motivated she could be the key to this whole thing."

Turning, Rita eyed the spotted Captain. "You have some work to do, Captain. The old guard will be a lot more enthusaiastic about someone taking over who has a plan and a platform, rather than 'I'ma wing it'. I would suggest that you start drawing up the compacts and plans for how YOU would like to see the Artan fleet run- what policies, what codes. Give them a reason to stand beside you now and follow you into the future, aye?"

Enalia nodded thoughtfully. "I came up with a one hundred year plan when I took command of the Hera and indirectly, the family and I asked Magnus to begin implementing it. I think it might be time to revisit that plan - add some details and reveal it. It was meant to revisit the ideals of my great grandmother, with a few of my own ideals I picked up in Starfleet."

For the first time in the entire meeting, Rita Paris smiled- the genuine, real deal. Nodding, she uncrossed her arms. "I am so very glad to hear that, Captain. I'd like to hear it myself when you're ready."

"We're gonna get through this, Enalia. I swear I will do my damndest to pull this off without a casualty, but that vote isn't always up to me. The one thing I'll ask of you- of all of you- is trust me. Believe that no matter what I may say or do, I have your best interests at heart. I," Rita stepped over and leaned against the table beside the spotted captain. "In turn, will believe the same of all... of you..."

It was a flaw in her character, a fault in her espionage training and an asset at times. But Rita Paris could not convincingly lie, and as she tried, the truth in her own realization overcame her delivery as she realized it herself. The smile kinda froze in place.

"My life and soul are in your hands," Enalia replied immediately, ignoring the obvious verbal stumble. She knew Rita couldn't lie, but even to reassure people like this that she trusted them? They were definitely from two different worlds, as the woman that was raised to become a pirate queen was taught how to tell a crowd a lie, get them to believe it, and even believe it herself. Thankfully, she hadn't used that particular skill since her Valedictorian speech in the academy.

"Aye! Good enough for me!" Sarika added, standing and pumping one cybernetic fist into the air.

Picking up on Rita's words and the awkward meaning behind it, Dox smiled... but it was a hollow thing. Every step she took towards Enalia's world seemed to take her further from Rita's and she felt very alone in the room for it. The young, insecure Romulan instead simply nodded, not having any words to add.