Sunday, July 27, 2014

Present From The Past

Literary Challenge 57 - The Sheliak Corporate
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"Jolan'tru, Captain Beringer".

"Greetings, Ambassador V'Sar. Thank you for coming."

The Romulan nodded his head and entered Kathryn's Ready Room after she waved toward a chair in front of her desk. His hands were clasped in front of his long robes which flowed gracefully as he walked the short distance to the chair and sat down. Following V'sar, Kathryn circled to her seat opposite him and also sat down, then straightened her on-duty jacket.

As Kathryn called the Ambassador to her office she started the conversation. "Concerning the Sheliak, I'm curious about the Romulan perspective."

V'Sar raised eyebrows quickly as he thought. "D'Tan has no quarrel with the Corporate. He is a peaceful man and is designing the Republic to be the same way. Yet, he is not afraid of conflict for the preservation of what is left of the Romulan race, Tal'Shiar notwithstanding. Therefore, it is our interest to maintain good will with the Sheliak. Obviously, I am here to make that a reality, but the Sheliak are ... resistant to our current suggestions for a new treaty."

Kathryn nodded as V'Sar spoke. "If I may, I have a point of view I'd like to share." Seeing V'Sar not respond for a second, Kathryn continued, "as you may know, the Sheliak are afraid."

The Ambassador cocked his head as if unprepared for the statement. "Forgive me, Captain. I wish to understand."

"The Sheliak want a new territorial treaty because the prior treaty involved a government that no longer exists. As you aware, they are an ... exacting ... race. So anything presented to them must not have room for anyone to wiggle. It is my estimation, they are afraid of what D'Tan and New Romulus will do without the legal constraints of the previous treaty. They are afraid of what the Romulan could do, not what is being done. We need to assuage those fears. How far is D'Tan willing to go with the negotiations?"

V'Sar stood and paced the floor for a few steps before turning to Kathryn. "Captain, D'Tan is willing to rewrite the entire treaty in order to maintain the status quo. Any plans to colonize other worlds will be an effort to expand quickly. The territories within the previous treaty would be very challenging to make comfortably habitable even with our natural resistances, so to speak."

Kathryn thought for a moment. "Do the Sheliak know this?"

"Of course not. As you know, negotiating is a power game. If the Sheliak knew this position we would be at a disadvantage."

"But if the status quo is desired, then what is the advantage to secrecy."

V'Sar smiled, "for its own sake, Captain Beringer."

Kathryn frowned slightly. "I see. May I make a suggestion?"

The Ambassador spread his hands out, "of course."

She stood from her chair and handed V'Sar a PADD. He took it and slid his fingers up and down the screen. as he read, his countenance was one of confusion. "This is the exact same treaty but with name changes?"

Kathryn shrugged. "Why not? If the Sheliak are worried about a possible future, and the Romulans want the status quo, then why not introduce an ... update, so to speak, to a perfectly functional treaty from the past?"

"But what if the Romulan Republic ... updates, its position?"

Kathryn looked as neutral as she could toward V'Sar. "I think we should cross that bridge when get there. For now, let's solve one problem at a time and the current problem is dealing with a race that is afraid of what the Romulans might do. Since, as you say, D'Tan wants to handle the future like he is handling the present, then why not give the Sheliak a treaty that honors that idea. The Sheliak may be less resistant to further negotiations ... now."

V'Sar smirked. "Interesting point of view, Captain Beringer."

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Cast:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Ambassador V'Sar - Michael Fassbender


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