"Captain," G'ershen started in his typical news-reporter voice, "tell me a little about this vessel." The black rod-mounted microphone was maneuvered in between the two gentlemen. Despite his age, Bolerov was almost a full seven centimeters taller than the reporter.
It must be an intergalactic constant, Bolerov thought. No matter what planet they are from, all reports sound exactly the same... and they made him want to toss them out an airlock. He was already done being nice. Bolerov was now down to polite. "What would you like to know?" He replied coolly.
"Well, I've been told this is the first Federation vessel to be officially classified as a warship. Is that true?" The reporter looked anxious, as if hoping to bait him. His almond-shaped brown eyes sparkled again.
"Not exactly," Bolerov replied flatly. He leaned his head closer to the mic, but continued looking down the hall. "This vessel is officially designated as a dreadnaught mark two class starship."
"So, vessels like this have been around before, hence the mark two classification." This question was worded slower.
"The dreadnaught project has been around for almost a century. The project was indefinately paused while other ship designs were put into production."
G'etheren nodded. "So, was the quest for alpha quadrant superiority the main reason why it was restarted?"
"What?" Bolerov began. It took Andrei a few moments for him to figure out the question. Once again, he was being baited. He shook his head. "No, no... nothing like that. Starfleet's main purpose has always been exploration. The recent wars showed us we need to defend ourselves, too. The dreadnaught two starships are meant only to keep the peace."
The reporter looked startled. "Wait... do you mean there's more than one of these?"
Bolerov hesitated. He knew they would be putting some kind of spin on this. He wasn't sure how to answer. They never should have let an old wardog like him be the PR person for this. "Well no..." he said after a pause, "the Warlord is the only dreadnaught two in in production, but, um... there are plans for more." They approahced the turbolift doors. Thankful to be changing the subject, his voice perked up. "Alright, we're heading to main engineering. It will be a bit cozy, so everyone make room." The group of six crammed aboard the octagonal turbolift cabin as the door slid shut behind them. Bolerov spoke to the ceiling, "Main engineering." The car began moving sideways, then down, then sideways again.
"Captain," G'ethren began slowly. "This ship looks quite impressively large from the outside, but it hardly seems large on the inside. Is the size of the vessel some kind of psychological intimidation?"
Bolerov cast him a truly confused look. "Where do you come up with these questions?" He asked finally. His mood had fallen from polite to tolerant.
The romulan reporter looked surprised. "Captain, I meant no offense. I thought it was a legitimate question. If you don't feel like answering..."
He quickly realized he was playing into G'ethren's hand. "No, no... I um... just... thought it seemed trivial. It's size is for several reasons. First, there's a dual hull system in place. The outer hull is ablative armor. Secondly, there's quite a bit of power being generated for the different systems on this ship. So, all the tubes, pipes, and conduits take up room, too." The turbolift doors opened... and not a moment too soon for Andrei's liking. As he stepped out, he concluded, "Also, quite a bit of this ship is automated, so those systems also require a lot of room." He motioned to everyone else, "Please, come this way." In his head, Bolerov envisioned walking them into the shuttle dock down the hall, then opening the door into space.
As the other passengers stepped out, the reporter commented, "I've also been told there are permanent static fields place over several areas of the ship to prevent others from detecting exactly what's going on inside the ship."
"Yes, that's true," Bolerov answered. He began leading them down the hall to the double doors of engineering.
"That's a lot of secrecy, don't you think?"
Bolerov was getting fed up with the questioning. He stopped and stared at the reporter intensely. "If that is what is takes to maintain an advantage over an enemy, then so be it. There are, after all, many species who pride themselves on keeping secrets, aren't there?" They came to the engineering doors. It was then that Andrei decided he needed to get away for a few minutes, but he wasn't about to leave these reporters in the hands of his lesser staff. Tom would most certainly say something he shouldn't, he thought. T'Nia, however, was vulcan. As he had come to realize, she was also quite calm under fire. She would serve well as a voice of reason in his absence.
Still feigning shock at Bolerov's last statement, Andrei made his move. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are some issues I need to deal with on the bridge. I shall return shortly." He put his large hands on T'Nia's shoulders. She turned and raised an eyebrow to him at the gesture. "Until then, I leave you in the capable hands of my second officer, Lieutenant Commander T'Nia." He spun her around. His expression was a forced smile. "Commander, I will return. Please see them to the designated areas we talked about earlier."
Her gaze never changed, but her brow raised further. He was ditching them with her. Apparently, the captain had enough and was now leaving a manipulative romulan reporter in her hands. She wasn't sure if this was a compliment or not, but the situation was upon her. "Yes, Captain," she replied calmly.
With that, he let her go. "I shall return, everyone. Good bye until then." He spun on his heel and left the stunned group behind as he made quickly for the turbolift.
"That was odd," G'eshren commented. He recovered from his shock quickly, apparently sensing fresh meat. His predatory smile returned. "Well, Commander, I believe you were going to show us main engineering."