< Katra Station / Deck 11 / Romulan Embassy > KovninMuch could be said about people with a similar mindset:
Their potential to be friends, their potential to flawlessly work together: the romanticised idea of soulmates…One overlooked thing about similar minds though was their potential to
dislike and disapprove one another.
Similar minds shared similar flaws and the means to
spot them...
And for none this applied more than for Kovnin and Commander Tomax; two cynical old souls yearning a
better;
an easier time… Kovnin detested the Commander and had been glad the minute he got to set foot aboard Katra, which made phrasing the request that showed up on the screen in front of him especially bitter to read out...
"Rhienn has been busy with assisting me with other things lately. There is much to do. Forward the requests to me and I will see to squeeze them into my schedule." He actually thought it was a good sign to than the other way around - having to work so hard to make connections. Putting his emtpy mug on Kovnin's desk, Jarok moved to sit down in a chair. "Unappetising things?", he prompted, looking back at the elderly Romulan.
“Will do, Ambassador…” He began quickly, and gave the young man an approving nod.
Ambassador Jarok had been an odd one; a little difficult to pinpoint, yet all in all Kovnin had nothing to complain - which
by his standards had been a standalone compliment.
He knew that Sirol had enjoyed speaking to him, which had been
a standalone compliment of hers too…
Jarok appeared invested in his work, yet level headed enough to not lose himself in personal dreams and aspirations. Qualities Kovnin liked.
He quickly looked at the mug. A part of him had hoped that the Ambassador would have brought him a full one with fresh tea, but instead he was simply spamming his desk.
Charming…“As for the unappetising part. I have a request from one Lieutenant… Sylvia Allistair… She asks you to relay her formal apology to Commander Tomax for calling him a... Quote: Cowardly little spineless piece of green-blooded…. I really should not read the rest of that…
Looks like his cloaking maneuvre during the battle temporarily evoked some… False ideas…
I honestly think relaying that may cause more harm than good, but… Alas… What even do I know…?” The sass in his voice was real. According to what Kovnin knew, no insult towards Tomax had been in any recorded transmission, so pointing out that there in fact
was seemed like a bad idea for everyone involved…
With a shrug he swiped to the next message and looked up to Jarok again.
“Here is our ‘friend’ Tavrik messaging the Embassy again... This time complaining that Katra and it’s festivities last week lacked positive Reman representation. He asks you to give a statement…” The old man slightly rolled with his eyes, then leaned back in his chair.
Even though his comments may have indicated otherwise, Kovnin enjoyed his job. A nice relaxed desk job in an interesting new place. The only thing he did dislike were some assorted ‘customers’...
“...I’m sorry you have to deal with this. Speaking of dealing with... Liabilities. I heard we get a fresh badge of Tholians too.
Who looks at the most stuck up, least likeable faction in the entire alpha quadrant and thinks ‘We need more of these?!’.
Unbelievable… Must be someone with a morbid fetish for the weird; devoid of all emotion… Speaking of… I wonder where Sirol is with my granddaughter… What’s taking them so long?...”_________________________________________________
< Katra Station / Deck 11 / Embassies > Sirol & ArrhaeThe child cheerfully hopped while walking, and every now and then Sirol had to take the girl's hand to prevent her from bumping into other people.
It was more than obvious that Arrhae was high-spirited and full of energy. Considering the long travel, it did not come as a surprise to the scientist, yet, Sirol nevertheless had to admit, that it was a new sort of challenge to have an eye on the child
nonstop.
The last time she had seen Arrhae had been almost a year by now. Since then she had grown a little, and gained
a lot of skittishness…
“Oh, look!” The child exclaimed, and once more freed herself from Sirol’s hand, running towards a starfleet technician who was hunkering down and opening a panel, leading into a Jefferies tube.
“...You're fixing something in there?”The starfleet officer was visibly confused at being abruptly addressed, yet as soon as he spotted the child turned around and gave her a sheepish grin.
“Naaa, just finding me a quiet place.” He joked. And while Arrhae understood the Joke and giggled, Sirol did not, and took him at his word.
With a frown she gave him a disapproving look, then took Arhae’s hand again.
“Come now, the Embassy should be… Right at the end of that junction and then the next corridor. You do not want to be late, do you?”Arrhae bobbed up and down.
“I dunno. What’s an Embassy anyway?”Slowly trying to get the child to move forward with her again, Sirol tilted her head at the question.
“It is… Where Ambassadors and their staff work. They are… Representatives… In a way.”“What's a representative?”Sirol raised one eyebrow.
“Someone… Who has been sent to speak on behalf of their people.”“...Like you with Colonel Averek?”Sirol stopped for a moment, and gave the child a surprised look.
“Who told you about that? Not quite... That was… A little bit different. Yes, I was relaying messages, because my superiors would not listen to the Remans, but they would listen to me. That was not my profession; it was my solution.”“Oh… Okay…” The child spoke, acknowledging the explanation - or at least the parts she understood, until she suddenly looked up to Sirol again.
“...And that’s what grandfather is doing? Speaking for people? But all he ever does is complain about the people… When I’m gonna be a Commander, I’ll listen to evenerone! Pinky promise!”Sirol did a polite bow towards the child, and placed a hand on her tiny shoulder.
“Your grandfather is helping the one who speaks for the Romulans. Just as I was helping Colonel Averek.
People who help the ones in charge are every bit as important, don’t forget that, little Commander.”With that, Sirol - once more - reached out for the child’s hand, to lead her down the next corridor.