Carrot Or The Stick

Posted on Sat Sep 7th, 2019 @ 11:00am by Riov (Captain) Dalia Rendal & Deihu (Senator) Verelan t'Rul
Edited on on Sun Sep 22nd, 2019 @ 6:25pm

Mission: Family Detention
Location: Could be anywhere!
Timeline: 2396

The elder statesman was weary as she returned to her quarters on the starship. It had been an exhausting confrontation with her granddaughter, which was somewhat to be expected. Combative, untrusting and confrontational, the young woman was headstrong, prideful and irrational. She clearly did not grasp any of the practicalities of her situation, she did not seem to understand the extreme peril she was in at the moment, nor did she seem to understand the opportunity she was being offered. Yes, she had been kidnapped, but she was a Starfleet officer. It wasn’t like she would have come had diplomatic entreaties been offered. So there had been some offers, some threats, some promises, and punishments. The Romulan way, as it were- at least, according to the current political climate.

In truth, she was protecting Jaeih Dox at the moment. Torturing her was certainly on the table, as was torturing her granddaughter. But those were options that could be investigated if other possibilities and avenues were exhausted. There was a significant opportunity here, on a multitude of levels. Her granddaughter was a Starfleet officer and understood the Starfleet mentality- how they thought, how they operated, how they maneuvered. That could be invaluable were she to be swayed to their cause. Additionally, she was a decorated pilot and officer, who again, would be quite a coup to recruit to bring back to the Star Empire as a propaganda victory.

But on a personal level, the role of Deihu was a hereditary role. As her son was certainly in no position to inherit her mantle, there was some hope that with some grooming and convincing, the regrettably named young granddaughter might just be a potential replacement for the aging senator to take her place on the floor of the Imperial Senate in a few years time. The possibility was an exciting one for Verelan, as she had no true heirs until this recent discovery, and it was highly unlikely that she was going to produce any at her age. So the discovery of her redheaded granddaughter was thrilling to her- if she could be swayed.

Now came the challenge of convincing her to see the wisdom of shifting her loyalties to the Star Empire, and crusading to make the changes from within that she wished to see, rather than battling them from without. Which might be made easier without the constant pressure from Rendal to simply overwhelm the young woman and force her to submit. Coercion did not always yield the most positive results, and she had the luxury of time. She understood that Rendal had her own agenda, as well as a desire to be avenged for her losses. But those goals did not have to be mutually exclusive in her mind, and even as she contemplated that subject, she was surprised to see Rendal herself awaiting her outside her quarters.

Clearly the woman was that anxious for a progress report. Or that determined to maintain pressure on her… or both.

Riov Rendal was stoic in her posture and demeanor as she greeted the Deihu with a slight nod. "Deihu. I trust your meeting with your granddaughter was at least marginally fruitful? There was no report of her being beamed into less... accommodating... quarters." Indeed, she was here for an update and to offer an idea to the elder statesman - hopefully as the woman's own idea, but she had no delusions of outwitting this one as she had done so many others. No, it was best to offer up any advice openly and with respect... at least for now.

“As initial meetings go, it could have been worse,” the Senator offered optimistically as she stopped outside her quarters to discuss the matter with the commander. “She is still defensive and confused, and she does not grasp the complexity of the situation as yet… she shows a particularly distressing propensity for linear thinking that may prove problematic, but I suspect that I may have planted seeds that may yet bear fruit. An orchard is not grown in one season, after all.”

"She is young and has not spent her life in the types of lives we have where every word may mean many different things. I have found such thinking to be common among those of the Federation." Rendal paused a moment, choosing her words carefully before proceeding. "However, there are many similarities between the Federation and the Imperium that we could show her... Her namesake abounds on this ship in the people that run it and I believe it may give her a new appreciation for our way of life if you were to give her a tour. A well-guarded tour, of course. It may show her that like those in Starfleet, we perform our duties with honor and pride and that we are not some wicked evil hiding on the other side of some imaginary line like some sort of zula beast out to get her."

“That can wait,” the elder Romulan woman sighed. “First she needs to embrace the realities of her situation and realize where she is and what her options are and are not. Then she needs to consider that possibly we are not monsters, and that perhaps the years of boogeyman stories are not who we are, and that she might actually consider trust as an option. Then there is the possibility that should she drag her heels for too long that there are alternative methods of persuasion, and that she does not have the luxury of waiting years to make her decisions and hiding away from the universe.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, the career politician massaged the skin there.

“Why are you here, Captain? You have your own agenda, I know, and you have your own thoughts as to how this plan should be carried out. So are you only checking for a progress report because you cannot access the reports yourself, or because you want to establish a timeline to see how long until you can stage a coup and take over this operation to pursue your own plans and schemes?”

Riov Rendal realized that she may have pressed her agenda a bit too quickly and bowed her head politely. "I merely wish to remind the Deihu that while she has the patience of the elements, those that I am indebted to..." Here she paused a moment, meaning her superiors in the Tal'Shiar. "As well as those in Starfleet, such as the captain of the ship we are after, are not so patient. By the time we reach ch'Rihan, one, or both will have plans in motion against our own."

“Of that I have no doubt,” the Deihu snapped in reply, instantly regretting it. To let the Tal-Shiar know that they were getting under her skin was a tactical error, and the last thing she needed was to let the ambitious captain know that she was getting somewhere with the Senator who needed to be the picture of cool confidence. Her plan was sound and it would work- she just needed time and patience, and to be persuasive and clever.

“The prize you seek will place itself in harm’s way- the loyalty that these people place in one another is quite strong, and Enalia Telvan is a hotheaded rebel who will ignore Starfleet protocol, secure in her ability to evade our sensors and cross our border. All while blissfully unaware that we will know precisely where she is… and that she and her starship of secrets was the actual prize all along,” the politico arched an eyebrow and smirked.

“The Tal Shiar will spend decades unraveling all of the mysteries onboard that shadow vessel, the very negative image of Starfleet itself. Which means, of course, that Starfleet will not be able to acknowledge her loss, otherwise they would have to admit to an act of war in crossing the Neutral Zone in a warship of the Federation.” Smiling, she locked eyes with the Star Empire captain without a starship. “No, this plan will work and the headstrong and overconfident pirate will play into our hands, and the idealistic and stubborn pilot will be the key to the prize. Patience, Captain Rendal. These are but the opening moves of the game, and the long view will serve far better than rash and rapid action.”

"Then I will trust in your wisdom, Deihu," With another bow of her head, Rendal left off the implied 'for now'. "If you will excuse me, I have matters to see to aboard my vessel. Reports wait for no one, unfortunately."

“Of course, Riov,” the Senator replied, realizing that from here, the progress report with the Tal Shiar would be filed, and plans and schemes would be underway to undermine her efforts, to circumvent her plans and prevent her from accomplishing her goals her way. Instead they would be twisted to accomplish the desires of the police state that the home of the Rihannsu had become these past fifty years. No longer the honorable warriors, but the sniveling backstabbing cowards of the galaxy who would accomplish their goals by any means possible, which usually meant falling short and looking moronic in front of the rest of the galaxy. All while those who still strove to bring the4ir people back into the light were ground beneath the heel of the bloody Tal Shiar.

I pray you will listen to reason, Mnhei’sahe. Or else I’ll have to make good on that threat to your mother. And if that doesn’t work… Veleran shuddered to think of what fate might befall the willful redhead if she could not be swayed or manipulated into seeing reason.