Establishing the Romulan Connection, Part 1

Posted on Sat Dec 9th, 2023 @ 4:00pm by Commander Chalan Kendri & Lieutenant Commander Jorel Torin II & Ensign Dramin & Ensign Annika Wiseman

1,553 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Campor III - Duveek Settlement
Timeline: MD C20 0900 Hours

The away team assigned to work in the Romulan settlement convened in Transporter Room 3 shortly before 0900 hours. Commander Chalan was there only to beam down for a short while, and then Lieutenant Torin would take over diplomatic relations and Commander Tomm would run point on security.

"Commander Tomm and Lieutenant Torin have selected each of you for this mission. There beta and delta shift crews as well. I don't know the situation, we may not need a full team down there 24/7, so if things are quiet, a few of you may be able to move around a bit. No one goes anywhere alone. No one mans any station in the Romulan settlement alone. Always have a buddy. That's an order," Kendri stated. "Other than that, I'll be out of your way for this one, but available if you need anything."

"Commander, Lieutenant, anything to say before we go?" Kendri asked as picked up a supply kit.

“I’d just like to emphasize we’ve been invited by the Romulans to be down there. Be smart, be vigilant, and to employ a Terran aphorism, “watch your ass,” Tomm announced.

Vevi fought an urge to roll her eyes. She was a Marine, and an infiltration specialist. Save HER ass? More like save HIS. He was the redshirt here. Still, she didn't say anything. She simply nodded and tossed Ruby over her shoulder. "I am ready."

"If anything goes sideways, save your ass and ask questions later. I'll make sure the diplomatic situation gets figured out later on and make sure that the Federation doesn't go to war with the Klingons, nor the Romulans," Jorel replied as he holstered his phaser and grabbed his own kit.

Annika looked around, this wasn't exactly something she expected to go smoothly, she checked the charges on her phaser and rifle, "I assume we'll have a billet or our own little shack in the settlement?"

"Aww, Starfleet can't sleep in the grass? What's the matter, sweetie, afraid of bugs?" Vevi tossed back.

Annika reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a yellow box "You left your snacks on my desk." indicating the crayons inside.

Vevi smiled, and took a crayon. "Awesome!! I thought your boss's girlfriend might've stolen them. Unless those were YOUR underwear I saw in the Vulcan's flight office the other day doing patrols? Now I'm confused..." She smiled again, and then turned away. This was fun, but she had bigger fish to fry.

Annika smiled, "At least I get some."

"So do I, but not with Vulcans. I prefer my men to be less logical..."

Commander Tomm had heard enough and cleared his throat to get the ladies’ attention.

“Lieutenant….. Ensign….. can we do without the jibber and chit chat? Grab your gear, get up here, so we can go to work,” he ordered.

"What is jibber?" Vevi asked Annika. Humans were WEIRD. Of course, he wasn't human, was he? But close enough.

Kendri whispered to Kobi as they stepped onto the platform. "Are you grumpy? You seem grumpy."

Kobi whispered back, “ No, of course not. It’s just time to get to work and we don’t need any distractions like their extraneous bullshit. There’s a time and place for everything, Kendri. This mission is serious. Can we go now, Commander?”

"Sorry, Commander," Vevi said, cutely. "I am done now."

Annika stepped on to the platform, "I think I'm good for now, we have a job to do."

"Yeah, lets get down there before they start asking too many questions," Jorel replied, stepping up onto the transporter pad and telling the chief to energize.

The transport didn't take more than a few seconds and the group was down on the planet below in the Romulan section. Torin was curious as to how the Romulans lived down on this planet, especially since the Klingons lived so close by. Torin looked over at the group and asked, "Who was it that we were supposed to meet with?"

"Romulans," Vevi said, wrinkling her cute blue nose.

Annika looked around, she resisted the urge to make a snide comment again. She took off her pack and set it on the ground and unzipped her jacket, "I guess out welcoming party didn't get the right time to meet us."

"Well, I suppose we shall have to wait." Dramin reckoned. He'd opted not to say anything for the time being, not wanting to interrupt any of the conversations happening around him. Looking around them he had to admit the Romulan population had made a rather nice settlement for themselves; the architecture reminded him of something medieval, with the angular roofs and all. He wasn't here to sightsee, though. Honestly, he didn't know why he was needed when the Columbia's chief diplomatic officer was also here and far more skilled in negotiations and mediation than he - but he decided not to say that. Being here was a privilege that someone higher up had decided to give him, and he was going to make good use of it.

Commander Naleema and the settlement's counsel's chair, Kekana approached the group walking with some urgency.

Naleema's hair was jet black, straight, kept half up and pulled back away from her face, showing off her olive skin and prominent ridges above her browline, the length of hair spilling down her back. She was slightly taller than Kekana. Kekana's brow ridges were subtle, barely visible, and her hair was more of a chestnut color and wavy. She dressed more casually than Nalema, her clothing more loose fitting and rugged.

Shan's face lit up in recognition of Kekana. She had been their escort on an away mission he had been a member of when they first arrived to Campor III.

Commander Chalan stepped forward and greeted the pair. She had not been formally introduced to Kekana; however, Commander Naleema had been a member of the delegation she had met with several days prior.

"Greetings Commander Naleema, and you must be Council Chair Kekana. I'm the first officer of the USS Columbia, Commander Chalan," she added for the benefit of Kekana. "Lt. Commander Kobi Tomm is our Chief of Security and will be coordinating security efforts across the planet and with the USS Columbia," Kendri gestured to their Trill security chief. "And Lieutenant Jorel Torin is our Chief Diplomatic officer. He's specifically assigned to work with you and your team here," she gestured toward Torin.

"I'll let them introduce their team members." Kendri nodded to Kobi and Jorel.

“Commander, Madam Chairman, these are my colleagues, Ensign Annika Wiseman, Diplomatic Officer from Earth, and Mission Specialist Vevi Zh’Kahlol of Andoria. On behalf of the Federation and Columbia, we appreciate your hospitality and cooperation regarding this delicate situation. Feel free to come to us with any security, safety, or tactical concerns. We strive to do our best,” Tomm proclaimed.

Vevi was already posted at the door, her rifle at the ready. She simply nodded at the introduction.

Annika was looking around and thinking inward, Things were already looking like it was going to get complicated again, add in she was introduced as a diplomat just added fuel to the fire that was about to burn, she just politely smiled as the rest made conversation, she needed a moment to figure out who the players were in this game of chess, and part of it was who was on their own side.

Jorel smiled and waited for the introductions to get to him as he saw that he was introducing Shan from Ops and Dramin from the JAG Corp. "Well, these two lovely people are Shan, one of our operation officers and Dramin, one of our JAG Officers who has been filled in on what was going on down here. Thought he could be helpful in understanding everything that's going on down here."

Once Jorel was done, he looked around as he listened to everyone else start talking, taking everything in that was going on. He saw several people doing something similar to old Earth metal working and he was intrigued. However, Jorel knew that he was needed here in this moment, but wanted to go take a look later on.

Naleema raised an eyebrow as she eyed the junior officers and then Jorel. "Seems Starfleet has sent us quite a few diplomats. We'll see you you do under pressure," she commented dryly.

Not a diplomat, ma'am, just a lawyer - those were the words on the very tip of Dramin's tongue. Words that remained unsaid, nonetheless, knowing that it'd be a bad look to disparage the chief diplomat's goodwill. The Kelpien's eyes drifted down towards his PADD, on which he'd taken hours to compile notes on the colony itself, diplomatic techniques and others he felt might be useful. It wasn't too different from preparing for a pretrial conference really. He only wished he'd had more time that he'd been given - trial prep often started weeks in advance, after all.

>> Part 2 >>


Commander Chalan Kendri
First Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Kobi Tomm
Chief Security Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Jorel Toren II
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Columbia

1st Lieutenant Vevi Zh'kahlol
Intelligence Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Annika Wiseman
Intelligence Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Dramin
JAG Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Shanir th'Kaasnik
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

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