The Formal Dinner (part 5)

Posted on Sun Aug 7th, 2016 @ 10:04am by Commodore Samantha York & Kalikana (Kali) & Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Tate & Lieutenant Arnon Barak MD, PsyD & Lieutenant Illise Hale & Lieutenant JG Victoria Drani M.D. & 1st Lieutenant Leroy Mangalia & Keelan

1,193 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shadow Dance
Timeline: Day 1, evening

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

King Mrowen raised an eyebrow. "It is considered impolite to leave your seat during a royal dinner."

[NEW]

"Forgive me Highness," Leroy said looking to the Monarch. "I mean no disrespect at all, I just needed to ask the Lieutenants opinion on a private matter."

"Do private matters hold more significance in your culture than Royalty?" Keelan asked. "It is impolite to say the least to rise unbidden before the King in his presence without asking his permission to do so?" He pointed out.

"They clearly do not know our customes," Mrowen replied to Keelan. "Take no offense from it."

The King turned to Leroy. "URGENT matters, yes. Private matters, however, can wait until after dinner."

Tate glared at Mangalia nearly snarling. This would be her first test and if she was to amount to anything on Calypso, she needed to show strength and authority. Now more then ever in the presence of the King. "Your highness, I assure you Lieutenant Mangalia meant no disrespect. However his concerns will wait until after the dinner." She now turned to the King offering a bright smile. "Please forgive us, your highness has honored me with this seat and cuisine. I will remain here until I am relieved by your highness and I look forward to what the rest of the night has in store for us."

The King smiled at Tate, pleased at her response.

Keelan smiled as things with Tate were going well; she could be shown more favor as a sign of things to come. "Does that man outrank you on your vessel?" He asked. "I would hate for this to be a conflict when you return?"

"No sir. In terms of rank I am his superior however given the nature of my assignment, he does not answer to me, separate chains of command." Jennifer replied courtly.

Victoria watched the exchange with interest. Keelan seemed to show alot of interest in Tate. That could be both a good and bad thing. She wondered how the Jenfrans would take to an outside culture clashing with theirs--if they were tolerant. From what she was gathering, Keelan seemed nervous about upsetting the King. 'Good thing we're not Cardassians,' she concluded in her thoughts as Cardassians showed little patience with other species and cultures--something she knew all too well.

The meal progressed with little drama. Each course brought more food and more wine. Finally, after the dessert was served, the King stood and, glass in hand. "First, a drink to our guests. We thank you for your company this evening and look forward to the morrow when we can show you more of our fine world." He raised his glass. "To Starfleet."

"To Starfleet," the other Jenefrans echoed, taking a sip from their glasses.

"After your tours, please take time to visit our commerce area in the heart of the city. There you will find the finest Jenefran goods for sale." The King gave the Starfleet officers a bright smile, knowing that if they liked what they saw, it would bring other ships and perhaps open up trade with other planets. To him, the greatest advantage to joining the Federation was the intergalactic commerce.

"Finally," Mrowen said, pausing to make sure he had everyone's attention, "I am most pleased to announce that tomorrow evening we celebrate the marriage of my daughter, Princess Kalikana to Keelan, my Vizier and head of the Jenefran Council. They have been engaged for far too long and we welcome our guests to join us in celebrating this momentous occasion." He paused for the applause and cheers of the other council members. "I also wish to announce that as my daughter has not yet recovered from the death of her mother, upon their nuptials, Keelan will become next in line for the throne of Jenefra." He raised his glass again and waited for the others to do the same, then drak a toast to the couple.

Kali was grateful for a lifetime of training on how to stay calm on the outside and not betray her inner feelings. Marry Keelan? She would NEVER marry Keelan. She'd tried a dozen time to tell her father as much, but he refused to listen. And now he'd made a public announcement that she would marry him tomorrow. Tomorrow? There wasn't time to prepare. What happened to the weeks of planning? The gown? That would at least give her time to come up with something. But tomorrow?

And then she heard his second announcement. No! Did her father not realize that Keelan did not have the best interest of the kingdom at heart? He only cared about himself and his own ends. Why did no one but her see that? And why was he overlooking her right to the throne? Something was seriously wrong. What had happened in the past two years? She took a sip of her drink and pretended that all was well. She would have to come up with a plan of action tonight.

Sam had felt absolutely nothing from the Jenefrans while she had been here. No random surface thoughts, no deep emotions. She'd only felt this with two other species and it was almost uncomfortable to someone used to the constant hum of thoughts around her. However, she was suddenly aware of a deep distress coming from the Princess. Was she not pleased with this news? She would have to ask her later, when they had their meeting.

Arnon's sensory empathy confirmed for him what he could already see, no matter how hard the princess attempted to mask her feelings. Her biological and emotional responses indicated what Arnon believed to be extreme displeasure, perhaps even extreme panic and alarm at the king's announcement. He suspected that this spelled trouble, trouble that would almost certainly involve the crew of the Calypso and their mission here.

With nothing to be done at the moment, Arnon went back to eating his superb dinner and drinking the fine spirits offered by the Jenefrans.

Keelan watched not the princess but the Federation personnel; they were going to be the wild cards; if they decided to put political clout this could be bad. Several of the people seemed to be also observing the reactions of the crowd. Though Keelan had little experience he did not know the 'Federation People' very well or how they would react to the news?

Illise toasted the couple along with the rest. Unlike the telepathic crew-members she had no way of knowing about the princess' internal distress. She did however, understand the political posturing involved in making such and announcement during what was most likely the most important diplomatic event to be held in centuries. The King had chosen his venue well. Illise couldn't help by wonder if there was more to it than it seemed.

(To be continued...)

King Mrowen
King of Jenefra

Keelan
King's Vizier, Head of the Jenefran Council

1st Lieutenant Leroy Mangalia
Flight Leader

Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Tate
Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant Victoria Drani
Chief Medical Officer

Kalikana
Princess of Jenefra

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Arnon Barak
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant Illise Hale
Chief Science Officer

 

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