The transporter technician, a young Betazoid man, stood at attention as his superiors came into the room. He had already been warned of Garak's and Lior's arrival by one of his friends operating the suttlebay. Inwardly, he flicked his gaze briefly towards them, and noticed the presence of a security ensign, who also stood at attention behind the rest of them. Naturally, he felt their mixed emotions: excitement, nervousness, some uneasiness… Of course, Admiral Saavik shielded her feelings very well, but he was surprised as how little the Cardassian revealed. He tried not to focus on any of them; he did not want to pry.
He checked his controls and spoke up, "Admiral, the Romulan ship is ready for beaming up their officers," he noticed his voice shook slightly as he addressed her, happy as he was since he had been given the chance to finally see the admired Vulcan. "They wait our signal, ma'am."
Admiral Saavik nodded to him. He inwardly felt the increasing trepidation on the Romulan as he sent the confirmation to the Rhian'Unnr and next two figures started to materialize at the room.
In seconds, the two Romulan officers were standing in front of them. The commander, a stern woman who could be the stereotype of a Romulan except for her striking blue eyes, looked extremely somber and the emotions that flowed towards him were no different; she only cheered up slightly as seeing the other Romulan man awaiting her. Her accompanying officer, a younger slender woman, caught his gaze as he looked upon them. He immediately evaded her and kept his most professional stance. Her very dark eyes, almost matching his, had seemed too old and weary, and troubled thoughts irradiated from her mind.
The Romulan man had snapped at attention and saluted the moment the other two had appeared at the transporter room, and surprisingly, the Rhian'Unnr's commander had turned towards Saavik and had come to attention too, her officer following suit.
A bit startled, Song had squared herself mirroring the Romulan higher ranking officer. Even if Romulans were strict enforcing their own military discipline, they were also known for their disregard towards the other races; they hardly gave any respect to the Federation representatives in their meetings. However, the Romulan flag captain seemed to be an exception. The young Betazoid could feel her high esteem for the Vulcan admiral.
"At ease," promptly Saavik ordered, "Welcome to the USS Numancia, Commander Raghnill."
He could feel as some tension went away, even if the general atmosphere was still very grim.
The admiral had turned slightly to look at his captain. "This is Commander Song, Numancia's commanding officer."
"Welcome on board, ma'am" Song echoed.
"You already had met my chief tactical officer, Centurion Lior," Raghnill continued with the introduction. "My science officer, Centurion Inara."
"Shall we proceed to the ready room?" Saavik politely enquired.
"Yes, Admiral," the Romulan commander replied.
And she turned towards the doors, closely followed by her aide and Commander Song, who flanked her. The Romulan man stayed behind and waited until his commanding officer passed by his side to step behind her. Out of uniform, he looked like a rogue fighter, but still very much a soldier.
Garak also lingered at the transporter room; the Cardassian flashed him a smile once the Romulan officers were leaving. "Interesting?" he directly asked him. That shocked the technician, but Garak was not looking for an answer. He abandoned the room the next instant, and the lone Federation security officer left with him.