Chapter 21
Serpalal Prime awaited the Orion like a green beacon. Layers of dense clouds encircled the planet, trapping warm air close to the surface to make the kind of warm, humid environment perfect for reptilian life forms. Somewhere beneath those clouds lurked the capital Serpyrl and the prime minister.
“We’ve reached standard orbit,” Cooper said.
“Good. Commander Boutwell, Lieutenant Hurd, and I will beam down to meet with Prime Minister Serlinum. Lieutenant Ramirez, you’re in command until we return. If there’s any trouble, you’re to get the Orion out of the system immediately and report to Starfleet Command.”
“Yes, sir,” Ramirez said with a gulp.
Brett waited until the turbolift doors to say, “Are you sure this is wise? The captain and first officer aren’t supposed to go on an away mission together. Someone should stay here with the ship.”
“What, are you scared?” Robyn asked, smiling at him.
“No, I’m just not sure it’s smart to put all our eggs in one basket. Besides, my presence might agitate them. I’m not exactly the most popular person with Serparnians.”
“Brett, please, I need you for this,” Robyn said.
The pleading in her tone gave Brett no choice but to accept. “If that’s what you want. But if we make it out of this I’m going to report this gross breach of etiquette to Command,” he said, returning her smile.
Beside him, Hurd shifted uncomfortably. Brett didn’t know why Robyn wanted him along. Maybe she thought a pair of trained eyes would help spot any problems. Intelligence operatives were supposedly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. That might come in handy if things went south. Given the nature of their mission, Brett wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the Serparnians became less than gracious hosts.
As he stepped onto the transporter pad, Brett wished he could take a phaser along. But bringing a weapon to a diplomatic negotiation was a good way to make a bad situation a lot worse. He would have to hope things didn’t go quite as bad as he expected.
They beamed into the middle of a great hall. Unlike Serpalal III, the hall was not a simple mud dome, but a stone building large enough to hold the Orion inside. Along the wall were portraits of great Serparnian leaders, antique swords fashioned from crystals of various colors, and suits of metal armor worn by ancient Serparnian warriors. If Brett didn’t know better, he would have sworn they’d beamed into a medieval castle on Earth.
“Greetings. I am Chief Steward Streng. The prime minister is expecting you. If you’ll follow me.” Streng motioned for them to proceed along the great hall, towards a set of clay doors four times taller than Brett manned by a pair of burly Serparnian guards. They wore armor similar to that on display in the great hall and a sword of blue crystal at their hips. These he supposed were ceremonial only, although he had no intention of finding out about the sharpness of the blades first-hand.
“We’re grateful Prime Minister Serlinum could meet with us right away. We have matters of great importance to discuss with him,” Robyn said, her voice stiffening into its diplomatic mode.
“Of course. These are very dangerous times. Forces are gathering that mean to throw the entire
He led them down a set of stairs that wound underground like those of the prayer pit. Along the way, he paused to describe the history of the paintings mounted on the walls as if he were their tour guide. From what Brett gathered, the history of the Serparnian people wasn’t dissimilar to that of humans: a lot of violence and various tribes scrambling for power until they nearly wiped each other out. Like humans, first contact with a neighboring species had snapped the Serparnians out of their self-destructive spiral. But from what Brett had already seen, not all the violence and tribal warfare had been stamped out quite yet.
At the bottom of the staircase another pair of guards opened another set of massive doors. This opened into a dining room as ornate as the great hall. A trapezoidal table made of black stone dominated the room, two dozen of the uncomfortable wishbone-shaped chairs arranged around the table.
A high-pitched warble like that of a bird on Earth came from some kind of Serparnian flute. At this noise, the guards in the room touched the hilts of their swords while Streng turned rigid. A door at the end of the hall opened to let in the prime minister and another set of guards.
Prime Minister Serlinum was shorter than Brett and even Hurd. His scales had an olive-green finish dulled with age. He leaned on a walking stick carved of blue crystal like that of the swords the guards carried. From what Brett could tell, the walking stick was not a prop.
At Robyn’s cue, Brett and Hurd bowed to show respect for the prime minister. While bowed, she said, “Prime Minister Serlinum, I am Captain Robin Lichen of the United Federation of Planets. It is an honor to meet you.”
The prime minister motioned for them to rise. “I am grateful to the assistance the Federation has provided my people over the years.” Prime Minister Serlinum’s reptilian eyes bored into Brett. “This must be the infamous Captain Boutwell. Clearly the enemy’s report of your death was exaggerated.”
“Just barely, sir,” Brett said. He waited for Serlinum to give some kind of signal to his guards to take Brett into custody or to have him killed outright.
The prime minister did nothing. “The Sunigwil was a terrible tragedy. Those were dark times I fear we may see repeated if these rebels have their way.” Serlinum motioned to the table with his walking stick. “Let us sit down and discuss the business that has brought you here.”
Serlinum sat at the head of the table with Streng behind his chair like a good lackey. Robyn took the seat at his right with Bret and Hurd next to her. The Serparnian chairs had little in the way of support for human frames; Brett crouched on the bottom cushion and hoped this meeting didn’t go too long.
Robyn described the attack on the Orion by the Serparnian warship, though she didn’t give too many details about the condition the Orion had been left in. “This ship we believe was purchased in pieces from various sources and assembled somewhere else,” she said, her eyes darting over to Hurd, who looked less comfortable than Brett.
“We have not heard of such a warship before. As you know, our fleet is small and poorly-armed. We do not have anything capable of attacking a Federation starship as you described,” Serlinum said.
“I understand. Is there any information you have about this Serparnian Liberation Army that might be of use to us?”
“From what I have heard of them, they were nothing more than a motley collection of troublemakers until a year ago. We do not know who is behind this transformation of theirs.”
Robyn nodded and then looked over at Brett. The worry in her eyes told him the hardest part was coming up. “As I’m sure you can understand, Prime Minister, the Federation is very concerned about the disruptive influence of these rebels. We are here to offer you our assistance in finding them and stabilizing the region.”
“That is very generous of you. Chief Steward Streng will turn over all information we have on the rebels. I hope you find it useful.”
Streng took a datapadd from his belt as if he’d anticipated the prime minister’s request. He gave the padd to Robyn, who passed it over to Brett for safekeeping. Resisting the urge to read it now, Brett stuffed the padd into his pocket.
“My superiors also have asked me to inform you that should events in this region continue to escalate, they will have no choice but to more directly intervene for humanitarian reasons.”
The prime minister’s reptilian pupils narrowed at this. “You may advise your superiors that such a decision would be unwise. We Serparnians do not have the advanced technology of the Federation, but we will strongly defend our freedom. I trust you understand.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Very good. I will discuss what you have said with my advisors. In the morning I will let you know the decision. Until then, Chief Steward Streng will lead you and your companions to your quarters. I have arranged for a banquet in your honor tonight unless you are too weary from travel.”
“We would be honored to dine with you tonight, sir,” Robyn said. She rose from her seat, bowing to the prime minister again. Brett and Hurd did the same, staying low until Serlinum left the room.
“This way, please,” Streng said, motioning for them to go back the way they’d come.
“A banquet? Great, and me with nothing to wear,” Brett muttered.
No comments:
Post a Comment