The Seelie Arrive

Posted on 07 Mar 2020 @ 2:25pm by Commander Kristiana Petrova & Captain Mallory Thorne

738 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Changing Faces
Timeline: MD 03 - 1030 hours

=/\= Begin Log =/\=

Captain Thorne had decided to meet the delegation from the Seelie Coalition without any of the representatives from the Terran Union.

This decision was not made out of spite, even if that may have been fitted into the feelings somewhere. No, she had been considering it during the course of their trip to the prearranged meeting spot and decided that having the Union ambassador there would make this less "neutral ground," and may in fact start everything off with hostility. From what she'd read, the secretary of the Seelie was prone to that anyways...so Mal decided to not poke the bear.

While Roman attended to diplomatic duties with the ambassador and her staff, Mal and Kristiana went to the shuttlebay to meet the landing craft.

"Ugh, do I have to come?" Kristiana whined. "You know I hate this kind of thing. Official meetings. Politicians. All that - that - smiling, laughing at their stupid jokes, pretending to be nice. We hates it, precious."

"Yes, you do," Mal said dryly, side-eyeing the other woman. That last sentence was familiar in some way, but she couldn't seem to place it so she didn't worry about it for right now. "I don't like it either, but I'm not going to do this alone again like I did with the Union delegates, and I really have no idea what's going to happen with this group."

Kristiana made a face. "Meh. Alright. But you owe me a drink." she grumbled.

The captain chuckled. "I think I can manage that," she said as they--and their small security entourage--approached the door to the shuttlebay. It opened before them and they stepped inside just as the back hatch to a small but unique-looking shuttle popped open.

Out walked a very tall but human-looking woman who...looked unhappy to be there, to say the least. Her eyes looked more like a wild animal's as she stalked forward, looking everywhere as if expecting an ambush.

"Secretary Rau?" Mal asked politely.

"Yes," the woman inclined her head very slightly, but her eyes remained on Mal's. "Captain Thorne?"

"Yes."

Rau's eyes jumped to Kris and the others. "And who are these?"

"I'm Kristiana Petrova, two-ex-oh on the Odin." Kris introduced herself, wearing a soft smile that didn't extend to her eyes. "And these are Lieutenants Emerson and Lake, and Ensign Palmer, here to help ensure your safety."

Rau eyed the group of them and then let out a snort. The smirk that went with it suggested it had been a laugh. "We will assure our own safety," she said seriously. "I assume the Terran Union is already here?" She looked around the shuttlebay, perhaps seeing if the ambassador was there.

Mallory nodded, feeling tension gripping her back straight up to the base of her skull. "They are on board," she agreed, "but this is my ship, so just I and my crew are meeting you."

The tall, muscular woman lifted her head slightly--as if considering--then nodded once. Approval? "Thank you for hosting this little gathering, Captain Thorne. We will not need much. There is only myself and my associates behind me." Of which there were only two. "We will only require one room."

Well, Mal didn't want to think that one through too much, but then again...shapeshifters... Maybe they just made a nest and huddled like birds. Fuck if she knew. "My two-ex-oh here will be seeing to your arrangements."

Something about Rau's smug sense of self-importance rubbed Kristiana the wrong way. Well, rather everything about Rau's smug sense of self superiority made her skin crawl, but she was professional enough to at least make a conscious and laudable effort in hiding it, wearing a practiced half-smile, even though it didn't extend to her eyes. "Guest quarters have already been prepared and authorizations are taken care of." she simply replied.

"Thank you," Rau said with a faint smile. Her eyes--which now were slitted like a snake's--centered on Kristiana. "What do those authorizations include?"

"That the computer recognizes you as a guest, allows you passage to unrestricted areas of the ship and the use of food replicators throughout the ship." was Kristiana's ready reply.

"Acceptable," Rau said simply. "May we see our quarters?"

"Of course. This way, please." Kristiana motioned down a corridor, though as she did she gave Mallory, Emerson and Palmer a nod, letting them know she had this. Only Lake followed Petrova and Rau.

 

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