The party sat down; Captain Bolerov sat at the head of the table, Ambassador Donatra sat to his immediate right, Commander Kolvash to her right, Subcommander Tolkaan to his right, and Centurian T'osa to his right. To Bolerov's left was Doctor Dorrin Rass, to his left was Lieutenant Commander T'nia, to her left was Chief Engineer Tom Kelly, to his left Lieutenant Elaine Davies, to her left Lieutenant Tony Moreau, and at the opposite end of the table was Commander Stephen Kirk.
The Romulans watched as the Federation crew picked up their napkins and placed them in their laps. They did the same. As previously organized, the captain had some ensigns from maintenance serve the food. First came the Waldorf salad. Stephen bowed his head while the other Starfleet officers began eating. As he raised his head, he noticed the Romulan officers weren't eating yet.
Kirk turned to T'osa. "You didn't have to wait for me." He said smiling.
Before T'osa could answer, Captain Bolerov explained. "It is Romulan etiquette to wait until the hosts have started before the guests eat." He turned to Ambassador Donatra. "We learned that lesson a couple of nights ago."
Bolerov would do well to stop butting in, Kirk thought. "I see," Stephen simply replied. He bagan eating his salad.
"I see you were paying attention," Donatra complimented as she finally took a bite. "That honors us. Thank you." The other Romulan officers smiled and nodded.
Tolkaan pointed to the overhead speaker. "I hope it's okay to admit to some illegal activity," he said with a slightly twisted smile. The group turned and looked at him intently. "Despite our history of hostilities towards each other, I have always enjoyed listening to Earth music, especially classical music."
"Yes, it is so much fuller than Romulan music... and so much more varied." Commander Kolvash concurred. He feigned a surprised look on his face. "Oops... I guess I just admitted my guilt, too." The group smiled.
"I won't reveal your secrets, but I expect your votes at the next election." Donatra quipped. The Romulan officers laughed. The Federation officers chuckled politely.
The salads finished a few minutes later. On queue, the same 'waiter' ensigns, whom Stephen recognized from maintenance, served up the soups, New England clam chowder. Kirk wasn't a fan of clams, but he knew he'd have to stomach this 'for the team.'
The Romulan delegation seemed to enjoy the chowder much more thoroughly than Stephen did. "This is absolutely marvelous!" Donatra proclaimed. The others nodded in agreement as they inhaled their portions. "You know," she continued, "although I only spent a few days on Earth, I was absolutely fascinated by the culture... or should I say 'cultures'. I have been to, or read about, many worlds. Almost all of them, at some point in their development, unified into a single culture, a single society. Earth, however, has retained its individual nations, despite having a unified voice in the Federation. Visiting each nation is like visiting a small world unto itself. I wish I could have stayed longer."
Kolvash looked a little skeptical. "Such divisions would seem to weaken the planet. You know... competing factions competing for equal voices, equal shares of resources, and so forth."
Bolerov nodded. "You know, at one point, Earth was exactly as you described." He smiled. "In fact, at one point in our history, my nation of birth and my Commander's nation of birth were bitter enemies." The Starfleet officers chuckled as the Romulans listened intently.
Kirk didn't find it overly humorous that his captain had chosen him to represent a historical 'enemy.' Kirk decided to pick up where his captain left off... interrupt HIM for a change. "Such conflicts over ideological differences almost destroyed our world more than once. Each nation was so convinced that their was was the ONLY right way to live that they were willing to engage in lengthy wars just to prove their point."
"Earth isn't alone in that kind of history. Romulus shares a similar past... as do many worlds." Donatra shared thoughtfully. As Donatra spoke of the past, her own memories of the recent past came to her. She had been a military officer for so long that she initially hated the notion of being an ambassador of good will to the Federation. After all, she had initially helped Shinzon in the Reman's coop of the Romulan Senate. It wasn't just for ideological reasons, however. In the beginning, possibly, but she was eventually attracted to Shinzon personally... more accurately... his power, his drive, his desire. It wasn't until she realized the full extent of his plans for galactic conquest that she made up her mind to turn on him. That act was what kept her from being summarily executed. In the end, the High Command told her she was being re-assigned to the ambassadorial division of the civilian government.
It wasn't until she reached Earth that her opinion of the new position began to change. Her eyes had opened when she realized what she had been told of the Romulans age-old 'emeny' was completely wrong. The Federation embraced her with open arms. There was no lack of discipline, no anarchistic evil. They were just people, not that different from herself. The dinner they hosted two days ago cemented her commitment to her new position. She honestly didn't care if she ever sat in the commander's seat of a warship again.
"Actually," Lieutenant Kelly started, bringing Donatra from her haze, "it wasn't until the vulcans contacted us that we realized Earth was a really small pebble in a pretty big pond."
"You're welcome," T'Nia commented with a remarkably straight face. Everyone laughed.
"Eventually, the Earth governments came together in a new kind of United Nations. But, the world leaders decided to keep the nations as individual nations, complete with their own local leadership. We kept that model even when the United Federation of Planets was established. Each world would retain its individuality, it's own leadership." Bolerov concluded. He had been tempted to imply that Romulus still employs its strong-armed notions of growth by conquest, but at the last minute thought better of it.
"Romulus is much different." Tolkaan interjected. "Our world is one unified body. The Senate controls the activities of the entire Empire. Each senator is given authority over a region. He has subbordinates under him or her who control districts. Districts are divided into city-states. One empire, one group of people, one goal, one vision. Personally, I prefer our way." He folded his arms triumphantly.
"Apparently, the Remans aren't too happy with it," Tony countered with a knowing smile.
"The Remans are a backwards scourge and must be dealt with... harshly... for their treason." Kolvash retorted, obviously upset. He gripped the table tightly.
Donatra put her hand on Kolvash's shoulder. Almost instantly, the anger from his eyes vanished. He let go of the table and looked down, somewhat embarassed. "It's not the government the Remans dislike, Lieutenant," she replied calmly, "it's their lack of representation on it. Our new Senate is attempting to address their concerns so they can put an end to the violence." She patted Commander Kolvash on the shoulder and smiled. "Obviously, not all of us agrees with the Senate's course of action."
Captain Bolerov considered his next words, but he couldn't help but agree with Kolvash. "I suppose I would have to be one of those who disagrees. I find it a difficult notion to reward treason, murder, and attempted genocide with a greater say in government."
Commander Kolvash's face lit up with the hopes he had found a kindred spirit. "Absolutely." he concurred as he pointed to Bolerov. "It sends the wrong message. We become as bad as Klingons... promotion through attrition."
Captain Bolerov was about to speak when Donatra interrupted. "Now, now," she began, waving her hands to prevent the two from riling each other to a fever pitch, "our government has very specific reasons for their actions. We must trust to our leadership."
Bolerov and Kolvash eventually softened. "I suppose you're right." Kolvash relented.
Donatra knew part of the reason for the Senate's desire for a peaceful solution. The Dominion War had been particularly brutal on the Romulan fleet. Until they were able to improve their cloaking devices to where the Dominion ships couldn't detect them, even their mightiest ships were little more than target practice. While cloaked, Romulan vessels couldn't raise shields; so when the Dominion fired on a cloaked ship, it was virtually defenseless. Though they would never admit it to outsiders, the Romulans lost well over two hundred ships. They simply weren't prepared to go into another protracted conflict with an enemy of unknown firepower. What little intelligence they had gained on the Reman warships Scimitar and Rapier were enough to intimidate the Senate into pursuing a more peaceful solution.
"Let us change the subject," Donatra offered, a hopeful look on her face. "what is next in this wonderful feast you have prepared for us?"