Close Encounters of the Romulan Kind (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 03 Apr 2017 @ 11:29pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Sub-commander S'anara Valdran

1,752 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 14 - Statecraft
Location: IKS DuJa'Q - Corridor / Valdran's Quarters
Timeline: MD 03, 1830 hrs

[ON]

Lamar Darius trodded swiftly down one of the corridors near DuJa'Q's primary hangar bay. He'd been hard at work for the last week and several days, assigned to the flight control maintenance crew on Kreanus and charged with performing all manner of repairs, upgrades, and optimizations on a plethora of different support craft that he knew little about. The Federation shuttles were familiar to him, but the Klingon technology was about as foreign as their respective customs.

Once his shift had ended on the unfamiliar starship, he'd finished up his work, packed his tools, and headed straight back to his makeshift quarters that he'd been assigned. His old school Starfleet uniform was covered in splotches of dark grease and other lubricant stains which blended nicely with the sweat stains on his back and beneath his arms. He felt dirty and exhausted, but also relieved that his work was done for the day.

He came across no one as he made his way through the narrow corridor which seemed a bit strange to him, and almost as if on cue to break up the monotony of his simple existence, he rounded one of the junctions and suddenly found himself face-to-face with another crew member. It was a woman -- Romulan, he quickly ascertained by her short hair style and uniform. She was tall and slim, with black hair and green eyes that he stared into for a very long moment before he realized he was blocking her way.

"Sorry..." he mumbled to her, stepping aside to let her pass.

S'anara was making her rounds around the IKS DuJa'Q when she came across the human male. She studied him as he attempted to get out of her way. "You are from the Galileo?"

"...Yeah. Why?" he hesitantly answered. He didn't know who she was or what her affiliation might be, and tried his best to not reveal too much information. "Where are you from?"

"Romulus. I'm S'anara Valdran, one of the commanders of the Kreanus Colony....mere engineer on this ship." S'anara lowered her head a bit for the introduction.

He regarded her with intrigue, not quite sure if she was the enemy that had destroyed his starship or a proponent of some other faction. He'd learned that Kreanus was a very diverse place with multiple special interest groups. "Romulus, huh? So you...command the colony?" His eyes became a bit narrow. "You ordered the attack on Galileo?"

"No. That was my colleagues. If the decision was up to me, I wouldn't have attacked your vessel, but alas, I'm a mere voice in the chorus." S'anara shrugged.

"Huh." He eyes her suspiciously. "Well your colleagues killed my friends," he said bluntly. "Now I'm stuck here with the rest of my crew." Lamar wasn't sure exactly what he was trying to convey aside from latent anger. Maybe he secretly hoped she would make amends, but that possibility seemed distant.

S'anara nodded, "And it seems we're also putting you hard at work." she commented looking him over. "Why don't you join me to my quarters. You're free to my sonic shower, and we'll honor your fallen comrades."

The offer of a shower was more than enticing. In fact, Lamar hadn't even seen one on the starship up until this point. Combined with the offer for a drink, he found it hard to resist. "I guess," he agreed. "Better be a good drink though..." he mumbled under his breath. "Lead the way, colony commander."

"You may call me, S'anara." she replied as she led him down the corridor to her quarters. Because of her rank in the colony, she was able to snag one of the better crew quarters on the Klingon ship. "You may wash up in there." she pointed to a doorway leading to an adjacent room. "Would you also like something to eat?"

He stepped inside and let out a soft whistle at the spaciousness of her living quarters as well as the amenities. His own 'guest' accommodations paled in comparison which made him grumble. Nevertheless, he looked towards the sonic shower where she gestured and quickly began to strip off his dirty garbs. "Yeah, I could eat. As long as you're offering," he answered over his shoulder. He left a trail of clothes down the small hallway leading to the shower and didn't even bother to close the door before he stepped into the tub.

S'anara arched her brow as he began stripping down the hall, leaving his clothes on the floor. "Humans..." she muttered under her breath as she picked up his discarded garments and quickly placed them in the cleaning processor. Shaking her head she walked over to a storage closet and found some spare clothes for her guest to wear.

It seemed like an eternity during which he stood under the sonic shower. The pulse vibrations slowly cleaned his skin and sent moist tendrils of dirt and grime dripping down his legs and into the drain. With a hand placed firmly against the wall in front of him, he ran a hand through his short hair and then the stubble on his cheeks. He needed both a shave and a haircut, but both were in short supply.

Five minutes after he'd entered, Lamar emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked slightly refreshed and more vibrant than before, and wandered over to where the Romulan was currently standing. "Thanks. Haven't had one of those since Galileo was destroyed."

S'anara only nodded in response to the poignant fact. "I placed your clothing in the cleaning processor, in the meantime..." she pointed to the folded clothing on the nearby table, "there is a spare outfit for you to wear."

He looked to where she indicated and saw a stack of clean civilian-looking clothes. The dull gray colors weren't exactly the most fashionable, but they seemed to be the right size and fit. He dropped his towel and quickly pulled on the pair of pants and then the shirt. Both felt a bit tight against his muscular frame, but nothing too uncomfortable. "I'm guessing you don't make a habit of picking up strays in the corridors and giving them a place to change?"

S'anara didn't look away as his towel fell to the floor in fact she admired the human's physique. The clothing was a bit snug, but it did compliment his attributes. "No... you're actually the first." She commented before grabbing two glasses from a cabinet and a bottle filled with an ultramarine colored liquid. "I also promised a drink." She placed one glass on the table and handed Lamar the other as she poured the liquor into hers. "Romulan Brandy."

He looked at her curiously while also not hesitating to take the offered drink. He'd never had a Romulan extend any sort of courtesy or invitation to him in his life, and he stared into her pretty green eyes while he raised the glass to his lips. He let a hefty swig of the liquor swish into his mouth and down his throat, then suddenly coughed as the potency and flavor of the alcohol caught up to him in mere seconds. He could feel his insides warming from the liquid and already a light buzz was entering his head. "...That's some heavy shit," he mumbled in between coughs, his eyes partially watering.

S'anara smirked as she watched the human pant. "This is not Romulan Ale...the Brandy is meant to be savored and drank with ease." She explained and then demonstrated by taking a gentle sip of the liquid. As she swallowed she held out her glass to stare at the blue liquor; there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "This is only distilled in the Umrika province on Romulus. Family owned...manufactured this perfection for centuries, the envy of the entire empire. Rivals tried to replicate it on different worlds, but nothing compare. Now, all the remain are the memories."

Lamar followed her lead and took a second, much slower sip from his glass. He let the liquor wash around his palette before swallowing while listening to the brief history she provided. He never though he would ever do it, but he raised his glass to her in sympathy. "To Romulus, then," he cheered. "That must have been hard for you," he then added after a moment of reflection. While he'd never had much love for the world, the fact that it'd been obliterated was something he could never wish on anyone. Especially the innocents. "For what it's worth, I think Romulans aren't a bad people."

S'anara nodded her head, appreciating the toast and the compliment at the end. "I never hated humans or the Federation. You were worthy rivals, but I respected you." Her green eyes shifted to meet his, "Truth be told; I preferred how relations were during the war, when we were allies."

Looking around and finding a rare nearby couch, he wandered over and sat down to rest his fatigued legs. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Or something like that?" he replied before looking up at her. His mind continued its train of thought and progressed to the next logical question. "So...are we friends, then? I mean, your people -- well, the general -- destroyed my starship. But now I'm here having a drink with you in your quarters..." he shook his head at the absurdity of the whole situation. "What am I supposed to think about you? You know, aside from being a young and attractive Romulan lady."

"If it is any consideration, I didn't approve of the General attacking your vessel, my recommendation would have been to spare your ship and the others the General attacked. I would apologize but we both know it's useless." S'anara commented as she moved to sit down next to Lamar on the couch.

"Why don't you give it a try?" he answered, his eyes narrowing a bit. "There's an Earth saying from a couple-hundred years ago...assumptions are the mother of all f--k-ups." He looked down at his glass and swirled the azure liquid. "Better to try and fail than to not try at all, right?" he asked, looking up at her with an expecting look.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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CWO3 Lamar Darius
Support Craft Pilot
IKS DuJa'Q
[PNPC Saalm]

Sub Commander S'anara Valdran
Foreign Observer
IKS DuJa'Q

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