Negotiations (part 1)
Posted on Wed May 27th, 2020 @ 1:34pm by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant JG Ronnie Wolfe & Commander Hans Munich & Lieutenant Commander Damion Wolfe & Major John Kayhill & Lieutenant Aenar Torek & Lieutenant Lei Shan & Lieutenant JG Teenah Spartacus
1,158 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: Food for the Gods
[CONTINUED]
[OLD]
"I am Munich of the Calypso. All repairs to the Computer complex have been repaired, Can I speak with my representatives that should be to you by now?" The computer had the message displayed on the screen of the monitor.
The representative walked in just in time to hear the message come across the screen. He stared at it for a long moment, then copied it down and hurried out.
[NEW]
[Conference Room]
The man walked back in, holding a piece of paper. He handed it to the person at the head of the table who read the message. He looked at the group.
"What is this Calypso?" he asked.
And there it was. Sam hesitated. They clearly had the technology to send a message out into space, so they knew about space travel, and probably had it at one point. Was this breaking the Prime Directive? No, she decided. "Our ship. We were visiting the city when two of our women were kidnapped."
There was another conversation. "There is no body of water near the city."
"No, there isn't," Sam replied. While she didn't think telling them they had a starship was violating the Prime Directive, she wanted to be careful about what she said when. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we came in response to the message your machine sent out. And now, we are here, before you, to get our people back."
Another conversation ensured. "Bring them here."
Two of the guards walked out.
Thy'Las remained cautious. She didn't like revealing too much information, but she knew holding back too much would also be dangerous. She kept quiet, but observant, as she positioned herself by York. At any minute these people could switch from curious, to dangerous, and she wanted to be ready. Her blade was still within reach and her skills were just as sharp.
Spartacus stood near Samantha; looking about she spoke up.
"It is usually considered polite to offer refreshments while we wait." Spartacus tapped her foot.
Standing next to the Chief Medical Officer, Aenar chuckled quietly at Spartacus' spirit. Much like he imagined the others, he was keeping his eyes and ears open, trying to parse the reactions of their hosts for meaning.
John waited to follow the Commodore. It was interesting how some of them thought the Commodore was talking of a sailing vessel. Had they made the wrong assumption of these people knowing how the technology worked? Were they ancestors of a time when technology and space held greater importance. He had heard of some civilizations that they turned their back on travelling into space, once they found out about how vast it was and how many other species they could come in contact with.
"If you were actually guests, that would be an option," one of the eight replied. "But that is yet to be determined."
The door opened again. Four guards walked in, followed closely by Shan and Ronnie, carefully surrounded by four more guards. Another eight came in behind them, lining the back wall.
Shan swatted at the hand of the guard who was dragging her along, yanking herself free the instant they came to a stop. “Mitts off, Kujo,” she spat.
"We're okay," Ronnie assured Sam briefly.
Sam glanced at Ronnie and let her know she undderstood. She could feel the tension in the room rise. This was not good. "How are you?" she asked the two women.
"They are not permitted to respond," the senior of the eight said. "They were given to us and will be reprocessed before being allowed to join our society."
“I’ve been stunned, chained, and thrown into slavery, how do you think I’m doing?” Shan snapped. “And I’m not asking permission to speak from you,” she glared at the guard who had been dragging her.
"They are members of our crew," Sam said, more firmly than before. "They are not from this planet, and are not constrained by your rules."
"They were given to us by the priests," another man said. "They belong here now. As do you. We could use your unique abilities."
Each of the guards drew a weapon. It looked like a cross between a slug-thrower and a disruptor. "Remove your weapons."
Sam looked at the guards, then turned back to the circle of eight. "We came here in answer to a call for repairs by your computer in the pyramid." She nodded to the paper. "As you received a message from commander Munich, you clearly know what I'm talking about."
"All those who are sent here belong to us. It is the law," a woman replied. "Two a year is barely enough to maintain a diverse gene pool."
That's all they wanted? Sam's telepathy told her it was mostly true. Genetic diversity and skilled workers. "Let us go and we can help you."
Thy'Las looked to Kayhill, wanting to make sure they were both on the same page should they need to defend themselves, before looking to the guards with the weapons. She edged closed to Sam, eyes locked on the guards, before saying. "Wouldn't you prefer your own people for your diverse gene pool? If you know we aren't from around here than aren't you risking contamination or something? Are you even sure mixing your DNA with ours will even work?"
John slowly, began to unbuckle his obvious weapon belt, eyeing the individuals pointing his weapon at the Commodore. He gauged their heights compared to his, their distance from the Commodore and everyone else, and the shape of the room.
"Commodore", John said, blinking his eyes slowly. "I think it might be a bright idea to give them the weapons."
Once more he blinked his eyes.
He had a couple of flash grenades on his belt that he could easily activate when giving them to the individuals and he would still have his hidden phaser available.
Sam felt Teenah's fear, as well as the eagerness of John and Thy'las to defend the team. She made eye contact with John. She gave a half shake of her head. Not yet. "I don't think you realize that if I don't reply to that message, my First Officer will know something is wrong and come down here with a hundred security officers and Marines." She stood taller. "I am the captain of the Starship Calypso. I came here to negotiate, not to fight. But if you will not desist, you will leave me no choice."
(To be continued...)
Commander Hans Munich
Executive Officer
USS Calypso
Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant Thy'las
Security Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant Aenar Torik
Chief Science Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant JG Lei Shan
Chief Operations Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant JG Ronnie Lancaster
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Calypso
Lieutenant JG Teenah Spartacus
Counselor
USS Calypso
Major John Kayhill
Marine CO
USS Calypso
NPCs played by
Commodore Samantha York
Commander Hans Munich
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