A Matter of Honor

Posted on Sat May 25th, 2019 @ 7:46pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Fri Jun 21st, 2019 @ 2:43pm

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: The Artan Family Fortress
Timeline: 2396

The meeting between Captain Telvan and the assembled Baronesses that support her on the Artan council had gone well.

While the concrete evidence linking the Queen Regent of the family to the numerous conspiracies of collusion with the Orion Syndicate and the attempted murders of both Baroness Schwein von Allcot and Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox was still being sought, the was enough circumstantial evidence to sow significant doubt. The seeds had been planted.

But before the tribunal could begin in earnest, there was more to be done. And this was a task that was to fall to Captain Telvan's chief flight officer, Mnhei'sahe Dox.

The anxious lieutenant walked at a brisk pace with a PaDD in her hands down the ornately decorated corridor of the Artan family fortress. Through the transparent aluminum windows on either side of the walkway was a view of a spacious arboretum that Doc caught herself glancing towards as she reviewed the data on her PaDD. At her side, matching her pace with easy was the Captain's personal Yeoman, Ila Dedjoy.

As Dox walked, she put the PaDD in her back pocket and tugged on the tunic of her crimson uniform. "I'm glad the Captain insisted that you come with me. I... I honestly have no idea how I'm going to do this, Miss Dedjoy."

Ila smiled gently and rested a hand on the back of Dox's shoulder to offer her support. "If I may offer some advice, you share more in common with the Baroness than differences. Perhaps keep that in mind when making your case. Though after your speeches in front of the others, I think you'll be fine."

Nodding silently for a moment, Dox looked down as they walked and thought to herself, 'That's what I'm afraid of.'

Then, she took a breath to collect herself again. "Thank you. And, I wanted to say that I'm happy to see you again. I know between the Anansi incident and the Section 31 base, we haven't exactly shared the most positive memories on the ship together, but I'm glad for the opportunity to rectify that."

"Well, there's not much threat of being eaten alive here and even if they tried to poison or stab me..." Ila chuckled softly. "I wish them luck. I even made sure I could be spaced safely, just in case. No repeats of my own twin sister's..." Clearing her throat, she glanced down at her own PaDD. "Yeah... If you need to use me as a shield, please don't hesitate."

Letting a slight smirk out, Dox was clearly uncomfortable, and not just because Ila's words reminded her of her own near-death experience of being beamed into space without a suit. "Well... let's hope it doesn't come to that. With any luck, I can remember something useful to say and not just lock up."

"So..."Dox continued, changing the subject a bit. "...how much further to... where are we meeting them, again?"

"It should be the meeting hall just ahead. The one with the tan and green columns at the entrance." Ila motioned towards the entryway that they were coming up on, the double doors opening as they approached.

"No time like the present, I suppose." Dox sighed.

Gulping, the Red-headed Romulan pilot adjusted her uniform top one last time. "Imirrhlhhse." She muttered, cursing in her native Rihan under her breath as she arrived at the doorway. She was far enough from the assembled Romulans inside so her voice wouldn't carry even to their sensitive ears, but the sight was intimidating enough.

Like every corner of the Artan Fortress, the conference room was an ornate affair. A large enough room to meet with a hundred people or so, the ceiling was a dome lined with a pearl filagree running up and down the curves. The walls of the room appeared to be lined with ornate reliefs of swirling flowers on thorned vines covered in gold leaf. Yet another example of the wealth Dox knew was accumulated through generations of illicit activities.

Activities she used to be quite the part of when she was a young smuggler. When she first met the woman she was to meet with today. Baroness Sienae Nei'rrh of the Romulan Refugee Corps. One of a number of Romulans that Dox and her mother once transported from Romulus to freedom.

In the center of the room was a large, 'C' shaped table of reddish wood surrounded by large carved high-back chairs. And standing in a cluster near the closest part of the table was an assemblage of Romulans, talking among themselves, barely pausing long enough to acknowledge Dox's arrival.

The Baroness was easy enough to spot - most of those assembled were wearing traditional Romulan garb. Checkered tans, browns, and greens in a conservative paneled manner. The Baroness was wearing what appeared to be something that a seat cushion factory threw up with added gold shoulder boards and tassels. The pattern was an orange and green camo print with circuit-like lines printed across it. Other than that, the whole thing looked so wide and bulky and just... Out of place... Just like the old 2350's Romulan military uniforms, but somehow larger and more ostentatious.

'Maybe I should have worn the Green Baroness uniform after all.' Dox thought to herself as she straightened her back up and walked in, doing her level best to match that martial stride Rita Paris was known for that helped her project some measure of confidence. As she walked up to the assemblage, she spoke in the clearest and strongest voice she could manage. "Greeting. I am Baroness Fifth Class, Mnhei'sahe Dox. I come on behalf of Princess Enalia Telvan, thank you for allowing me this audience."

"Ah, the new Baroness! I had heard you would be paying me a visit." Sienae spread her arms as best she could, given her attire, greeting the younger Romulan. "Your mother and I worked together for several years. Fortunately, I was able to cut a deal with the Artan's to represent the Romulan refugees when you were young due to my experience as the commander of a D'deridex. I hear that you've done well for yourself since the Forager and your mother's mission was put out of commission by the Starfleet that you now serve alongside our Princess." Her plastic smile never wavered, but she was obviously searching for a reaction - she and the others in the room were definitely Romulan pit vipers.

"Thank you." Dox replied somewhat plainly, keeping her face neutral. "Well, the Reman uprising put our mission out of commission by allowing the Tal'Shiar to strengthen its grip upon the people. But we are hopeful that with the aid of Captain Telvan at the head of the family, that reunification can find fresh footing. On that note, my mother sends her regrets that she could not be here herself to greet you, but she entrusted me to speak on her behalf in this meeting."

"Those were indeed hard times and much has changed since then. Please, I am sure you have risked much to speak on behalf of her, the Princess, and I presume yourself as well." The elder Romulan in the Tackiest Couch Cushion motioned for Mnhei'sahe to make her case.

Nodding, with her arms crossed behind her back, Dox spoke. There was the slightest of tremors in her voice at first, betraying her nervousness more than she would have liked. "Indeed. Much has changed. In the last few months, we believe that the Queen Regent has, in an attempt to undermine the authority of Princess Telvan, been involved with a number of plots designed to destabilize the family's holdings. Plots designed to exploit weakness she has created in order to buttress them herself in an attempt to sway the votes in this upcoming tribunal to her favor."

"In specific, your vote, Baroness." The young pilot had found her voice and was projecting herself throughout the room, ignoring the questioning glares of Nei'rrh's crew and fixing her attention on the Baroness herself.

"And why is my vote in particular so critical to such a... Proceeding?" She had obviously changed her wording, instead choosing something more diplomatic, her face still that of a rigid and well trained Romulan commander.

"It is important to the Princess to resolved this matter in the tribunal in order to effect a peaceful exchange of power and avoid unnecessary conflict. At current count, the Queen Regent has three Baronesses declared for her. The Princess has six. There is one Baroness who is abstaining at this time and four who are undeclared. You are one of those four and the Princess would like the opportunity to present her case to you and, if possible, secure your vote."

Then Dox's tone dipped to a more stern one. "And It is my hope, that the debt you swore to my mother will, at the least, prompt you to listen to what I have to say here today. The Queen Regent is attempting to manipulate you."

"Then please enlighten me as to her manipulations," Seinae prompted, still not giving anything away.

She held up the PaDD in her hand for all to see. "17 days ago, Baroness Schwein von Allcot, the adjunct to Princess Enalia Telvan, was the target of an assassination attempt on the holodeck of our ship. A Starfleet vessel. The holodeck program had been corrupted with malware that infiltrated the Baronesses cybernetics while the program itself had overridden the ships safety protocols with a scenario designed to kill the Baroness. Thankfully, she was not alone that day and I and the crew were able to defeat the program."

"In that program, was a threat recorded by Arenara Artan and a perfect recreation of the bridge of her own ship. An 8 second recorded loop of her actual bridge played back in detail. On this PaDD is the information we were able to collect from that recreation." Stepping up, she handed the PaDD to the Baroness who eyed it suspiciously.

"The bridge recreation used a scan of her actual bridge and as such, recorded a significant amount of data. Including her ships location, where it was headed, and who she was in contact with, and when this all occurred. As you will see, the Queen Regent was in communication with the Orion Syndicate on her way to the Aehallh station to meet. If you'll note the time stamp, Baroness, that meeting occurred a week prior to the Orion attacks that crippled your own fleet and decimated your ranks."

Watching the look on the older Romulan woman's face, Dox could see the wheels turning in spite of any efforts to not give anything away of her own thoughts. It was often said that subterfuge was second nature to the race and detecting it just as natural to them. "Oh, and it may be of interest for me to remind you that the date of my induction into the ranks of Baroness was recorded officially... only two weeks before that."

Standing with her arms folded behind her back, Dox waited for the Baroness Nei'rrh to process the information provided and come to the conclusion she knew the Romulan woman would be drawn to. There was no way that the attacks that slipped past all of their defenses as if they weren't there could now be seen as coincidence. Nor could the ease in which the Queen regent came to the rescue.

The inner workings of the Baroness's mind were spinning and not in a good way. She had expected this sort of thing to be presented to her, and indeed, this was one of the reasons she had gotten close to the Queen Regent in the first place. To be handed exactly the evidence she had been looking for though... Still, she could give nothing away, just in case the wrong people were watching.

"I suspect that this is all trickery in order to misdirect you," Sienae stated, trying to keep her face impassive and condescending as she tossed the PaDD onto the conference table. "Lies and deceit abound in the underworld and if you believe everything that you see and hear, you will soon be lost. Besides that, this is circumstantial and planted evidence at best. For your sake, I hope you have stronger evidence at the final hearing."

"Rest assured, we will." Dox replied, eyes fixed on Sienae's. Something more was going on here that Dox was just becoming aware of, but she had cards of her own yet to be played. "Although my being misdirected was likely not counted on... Just my death. A death that you were intended to be blamed for."

This news actually elicited a semblance of an emotional response from the olive-skinned woman, her eyes widening slightly. "Do please explain."

"An assassin droid, placed in a crate on board my Artan ship tried very, very hard to kill me and in doing so, killed an officer under my charge." Dox was angry as she recounted the incident and that anger was now projecting throughout the room.

"The droid was disguised as a Romulan ceremonial pendant, claiming to be a family heirloom. Those crates were presented as gifts to me from the Baronesses. And this crate was logged as coming from your ship, Baroness. The box housing the pendant was embossed with my Grandmothers name and a photo of my Mother, myself, and you standing on the deck of the Forager. Someone put a great deal of effort into attempting to create a number of false trails, but we are investigating the truth.

"This and the other charges against her will be proven. And when they are, it will place the Queen Regent in direct violation of the treaty and Charters the Artan Family has with the Federation. That treaty is what allows you all to conduct your business in this sector without facing charges yourself. So, I would ask you who truly has the interests of the family at heart?"

"This is indeed dire news. You have my deepest condolences for the loss of your officer." The Baroness bowed slightly, having recovered her composure quickly. She had no doubt that the assassination attempt was from the Queen Regent, but she had to cast doubt and dispersion off her herself at the very least for the time being. "But I ask you this. Would not the evidence of such a mastermind be layered several times deep? If it does truly lead back to the Queen Regent, I will look forward to such solid evidence as you provide it on the day of the hearing. Until then, I am forced to treat it as a coincidence and an unrelated incident. Perhaps it was a present from the Tal'Shiar. We both know how impressively stealthy they are and how duplicitous their threats and words may be."

"Thank you, Baroness." Dox returned the bow, processing everything that she had just been told. The tone of Sienae Nei'rrh was somehow off to Dox's ear. A lifetime of weaving through Romulan lies gave her a decent ear for picking it up. And she was absolutely being lied to, but it was in just what she was being lied to about that gave her pause. Until she thought back to Nei'rrh's earlier words and the pieces began falling into place for the young Starfleet officer.

"As for your words, I will give them serious consideration as well. Misdirection... does seem to be at play here." Looking back at the senior Baroness, Dox allowed no smile to crack her facade but she hoped her meaning was understood without tipping either woman's hand.

"If I may, It has warmed my heart to see you again, Mnhei'sahe. You have your mother's ears and your father's passion. I trust that they will both serve you well in the coming days." Placing her right hand over her heart, Sienae respectfully bowed her head.

"Thank you Baroness Nei'rrh. Your words honor me and I too am glad to see you again. It is my hope to speak again at the resolution of this affair and I thank you for your time and this audience." Dox returned the gesture, placing her own hand over her heart, located on Romulans below the right breast, and bowed her own head.

Though the Romulan Baroness did not allow the Fortress's holographic maids to serve her during functions or meetings, her enemies had other ways to spy on her. Thus the Ferengi spy inside of one of the shrubbery pots that had been beamed in shortly before the meeting. Grinning widely, he knew that he had earned some extra latinum this day. Arenara would be pleased at the developments that this meeting had brought about.

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As the meeting adjourned, Dox and Dedjoy made their polite exit. Once the pair were halfway down the corridor and Dox was moderately sure nobody could still hear her as the doors had firmly reclosed, she turned to the doll-like Yeoman with a slight smile.

"Believe it or not, I actually think that went well." Dox commented, still speaking softly just in case. "She wouldn't say it out loud, but that comment about misdirection... I think she already had her own suspicions and just couldn't acknowledge them."

"I'll have to take your word on that. I don't have enough experience with Romulan culture to say one way or another. I did detect a noticeable rise in her heart rate a time or two and that was one of them, but..." Ila shook her head and glanced down at her PaDD. "I just don't have the experience to interpret her responses. I'm sorry I wasn't of more help."

While they walked, Dox turned around to look suspiciously at the room. "With most Romulans... It's what's not being said that you need to listen for. I almost forgot that myself."

Looking back at Dedjoy, Dox raised an eyebrow. "One of them what?"

"Her comment about misdirection... Her heart rate shot up. I could see it in her jugular." Ila clarified nervously. "Also when she learned of your assassination and when you handed her the PaDD.

"That all but confirms it, Ila. Thank you She did have her own suspicions, and she doesn't want it known that she knows just yet, I'm thinking." Dox whispered. "Any interesting reactions from the others in the room?"

Ila shook her head, her hair bobbling lightly. "They seemed genuinely concerned at the mention of the assassination attempt, but that was all I could really gather."

"Well, hopefully, that means that her crew is still on her side. We'll see." Dox said as the pair continued to the lift to return to the Hera. "I wish I had better news to report to the Captain. But this may be a case of the door still being open being the best news possible. And at least nobody tried to kill anyone at this meeting."