§ § § -- sometime in 2297
In the morning both Lauren and Kylie were very surprised to find they'd slept after all. "Probably out of sheer exhaustion," Lauren said, "but I'm glad we did."
"I think all that food knocked us out," Kylie said. "What a hostess that Mei'hna is. I'd have dinner at her house any day. So what do we do, wait to be summoned?"
A knock on the door precluded whatever Lauren might have said, and Kylie went to open it, revealing Inriya. The Deltan looked as drawn and worn-out as Kylie and Lauren had felt the previous night, and her face was very somber. "Morning, friend," Kylie said.
"Greetings. The Supreme Ruler wishes to reconvene in the dining hall over morning meal," Inriya said with unusual formality. "You will follow me."
Lauren and Kylie shrugged and trailed Inriya out of the room; they made a stop for the Romulan contingent, then descended two stories and hiked to the vast dining hall in a nearly funereal silence. Here they met T'Rala and Christine; however, Arzi herself was nowhere to be seen. "Where's the Supreme Ruler?" asked de Hermosa.
"She will join you at her convenience," Inriya said remotely. "Please be seated and I will have the food brought in." She left the hall, and Kylie and Lauren watched her go, both thinking she seemed rather forlorn.
"So we now try to salvage this unsalvageable situation," Annedae t'Llihhirran said sourly. "This has been a colossal waste of time thus far. Are these worlds worth the effort?"
Mei'hna eyed her, speaking gently and making her words seem more ominous. "Do the proceedings bore you, old friend? Or have you merely been frustrated by the lack of sufficient opportunity to carry out whatever insidious plan you and your lackey have dreamed up?" T'Llihhirran turned deep emerald and fell silent.
No one said anything more till Inriya returned just ahead of servants bearing large trays loaded with food. Perhaps recalling the interrupted meal of the night before, the diners maintained their silence for the next half hour until they had satisfied their appetites. In all that time there was still no sign of Arzi, and by now they were beginning to wonder at her continued absence. But Inriya offered no explanations; instead, when she noted that they'd pretty much had their fill, she arose and addressed the group as a whole. "We shall now commence with the negotiations. I am the stand-in for the Supreme Ruler."
"What goes on here?" Omiosiro muttered so that only his own party overheard him. "I find all this to be one large farce. I begin to sympathize with the Romulan woman."
"Her Supremeship must be ill," Kylie said, touching off grins in the others from the Federation contingent. "Frankly, I think we're better off."
Inriya settled herself into Arzi's chair and regarded the group with a closed expression before nodding. "I charge both sides to make their cases by stating what they can bring to this world to aid in its prosperity and well-being."
Lauren and Kylie caught Mei'hna's quick glance, and as one they all stood up. The others stared, and even Inriya's remote façade dropped. "Both sides have advantages; each can bring something the other can't," Lauren said.
"We have the medical team," Kylie said.
"And we, valuable agricultural knowledge," said Mei'hna. Lauren's gaze strayed to the other members of Mei'hna's party. Tr'Nhiekhran's dark features went slack with surprise and then dawning optimism; tr'Teisianh and t'Llihhirran seemed shocked. "I submit," Mei'hna continued, "that if we all work together for the common good, the Clanim system will gain the most benefit. It has become clear to me from several days of studying your media that even without the food embargo from your sister planet, your people can barely feed themselves. We have advanced agricultural techniques that can be put into practice on Clanim II. My husband and I are primarily farmers by trade: it was this knowledge that qualified me to bring a party from the Romulan Empire to offer assistance."
"Traitress!" yelled tr'Teisianh.
"Silence, you fool!" Mei'hna snapped. Tr'Teisianh shot to his feet and whipped a Romulan phaser out of his clothing; beside him, t'Llihhirran began to shout furiously in her own language. But the real surprise was tr'Nhiekhran, who leaped from his chair, arrested his fellow security guard in mid-motion, and proceeded to deliberately break the other man's arm. The crack of fracturing bone made faces go pale, and even Christine and T'Rala had to work to keep their breakfasts down.
"You are heavily outnumbered here," tr'Nhiekhran advised with deceptive calm while tr'Teisianh sagged to the floor in agonized slow motion. "Hear me well, t'Llihhirran—your scheme will fail if you attempt to carry it out beyond this point. Unless you wish to be the sole cause of a full-scale war with the Federation, you will sit and hold your uncharitable tongue, and perhaps you'll learn something from beings who prefer to work for the greater good rather than for their own pitiful ends." He sat back down, keeping a sharp eye on the stunned Rihannsu aide.
"Wow," uttered Kylie, then pulled herself smartly together and cleared her throat. "In addition to the agricultural knowledge the Rihannsu bring to the negotiating table, we bring medical skill. Dr. Chapel and Nurse T'Rala, please advise what you've learned so far about the disease that's been spreading through the population."
"The symptoms are uniform," T'Rala said, Vulcan calm firmly back in place. "Patients invariably exhibit whitening of hair, either in patches or as a uniform fading of color; their skin should normally be a bright pink, but washes out to gray. There is also rapid weight loss and lack of appetite."
Inriya gasped, attracting everyone's attention. "Those are signs of starvation! Lack of nutrition manifests itself most noticeably in extreme loss of pigment in a Clanimid. Is that all this disease is? Starvation?"
Christine spoke then. "The starvation itself is a symptom of the disease," she said. "After exhaustive examination of numerous blood samples, we discovered a peculiar virus in the blood of affected people—and the virus is Deltan in origin."
Inriya's face paled and she covered her mouth with both hands; her eyes grew round with horror. "No," she moaned. "Oh, gods, I knew I was to be punished for my role in this reign of terror, but never did I dream it would be in this fashion!"
"What're you talking about, Inriya?" Lauren demanded.
"There is a minor Deltan viral infection that usually announces its presence by causing hair to grow on our heads," Inriya said painfully. "It lies latent within most Deltans, but in most cases never becomes active. However, I noticed hair on my head several weeks ago and realized it had awoken within me. I had medication to defeat it. But I neglected to recall the fact of its highly contagious property, and now it has escaped into the population at large! I have brought misfortune upon countless innocents!" Inriya's voice rose into a wail and she began to rock back and forth in the chair, her eyes unfocused. "It is my just punishment for allowing my blood sister to carry out her plans without mediation!"
"Oh, geez," muttered Kylie, and Lauren coughed loudly to cover a very inappropriate laugh. She noticed the dubious look on Christine, the exasperated expressions of the security men and the ever-so-slight expression of strained tolerance on T'Rala's face, and cleared her throat to stave off any further amusement.
"Dr. Chapel, this medication Inriya took to combat her infection—do you think it'd work on the Clanimids?" Lauren asked.
"As long as it's safe for ingestion, I see no reason why not," Christine said. "T'Rala, you used to know that woman, didn't you? Can't you talk some reason into her?"
T'Rala might have sighed. Without replying, she rose from her chair and approached Inriya, reaching out and crisply snapping her fingers an inch from Inriya's nose. The Deltan woman reared back, startled, eyes huge. "Cease these histrionics at once," T'Rala said without inflection, "and have someone bring your supply of this medication to us. If it is shown to be safe for Clanimids, it can be synthesized and administered to the affected ones."
Inriya stared at her for a long moment, then nodded abruptly, brightening with hope. "Yes, of course, of course! Guard!" She clapped her hands sharply and spoke to one of the natives, who immediately left the hall. "Ah, T'Rala, my dear old friend, you have done my soul good. Perhaps I can still be of worth here. Perhaps, with the assistance of all you good people, it will be possible to bring order to these worlds."
"We shall see to it," Mei'hna said and smiled. "Well, Aniol, I imagine you've suffered long enough, lying there writhing in pain while we ignore you for the sake of the negotiation process. Hweiai, call up to the ship and tell them to beam Annedae and Aniol up: the latter to sickbay and the former to the brig."
T'Llihhirran sat up. "You can prove nothing," she barked.
"What need do I have of proof? You implicated yourself in front of all these people, even those who don't speak Rihannsu. You have made a few too many careless remarks in your attempt to control Aniol's reckless actions, and thereby given away the fact that you are part of whatever ideas he had to disrupt the resolution of the problems here. I make no doubt that you hoped to step into escalated chaos and take over completely while no one could mount a defense." She sighed and remarked with amusement to Lauren and Kylie, "I find world domination a very tiresome motive for mayhem, don't you?"
"Overdone to death," Kylie agreed with a perfect poker face. Lauren nodded, but she could feel her lips twitching and ducked her head to hide her sudden grin. They all watched as the injured tr'Teisianh and the sullen t'Llihhirran vanished amidst showers of crimson sparks.
"My crew will handle them," Mei'hna said with satisfaction and looked around the table. "Mnhei'sahe has been well served today. Now that we have eliminated the troublesome ones and found a likely solution to the problem of this disease, we have only to deal with the Supreme Ruler."
"Also known as 'the fun part'," Lauren said, and Kylie grinned rueful concurrence. "Is she actually sick, Inriya, or just sitting this out till she feels like showing up?"
Inriya shook her head, but before she or anyone else could speak, the guard who had been sent to get her medication returned, handing a small bottle to Inriya. "Mistress, the Supreme Ruler is up and about," he reported, "and she has announced her intention to join the gathering."
"Then have fresh food brought in so that she may eat," Inriya said, slipping out of the raised chair and taking the bottle to T'Rala. "My medication, T'Rala. Please, the moment you ascertain its usefulness or its lack, do inform me."
"I will get word to you," T'Rala promised with a nod.
"Escort the medics to the hospital lab," Inriya called, and several Clanimids accompanied Christine and T'Rala out of the hall. The remaining contingent made themselves comfortable; the food arrived soon thereafter, and directly behind it came Arzi. The ruler swept in with her usual imperious style and seated herself on her ornate raised chair at the head of the table, waiting while servants dished out breakfast for her and placed plates and utensils in front of her. Just when Lauren was beginning to wonder if they were expected to feed her as well, Arzi picked up a fork and dug right in, ignoring her guests until she had sated the worst of her hunger and then eyeing each one in turn.
"Has no one anything to say about what you intend to do to solve the problems in my realm?" she demanded, finally breaking the silence.
"We merely waited for your signal," Mei'hna said with a relaxed smile at her. "May we regale you with our solutions?" Arzi nodded, and in turn Mei'hna, Lauren and Kylie explained the agreement they had reached and apprised Arzi of the progress of a cure for the disease. Arzi, looking quite flabbergasted, stopped eating and stared at them.
"Is this so, Inriya?" she asked.
Inriya nodded. "Every word is the truth," she assured Arzi. "I was witness to all that was said here." She looked at Lauren and Kylie, who both nodded once, and took a deep breath. "We need only ask you to step fully into your position."
Arzi blinked. "And by that you mean…?"
Lauren gathered her courage. "Fifteen years ago, on the Spirit of Achievement planet, you freed yourself from an untenable situation at the death of your slaver, M'sis'tenk. I still remember your words from that day—that, though you knew you would pay for her death with your own, you would be dying in freedom."
"You have the power to change the way these worlds are run," Kylie took up the appeal. "You can reform the government and bring in representatives of every political division on both planets, who will work together so that all can benefit. You can eliminate the social hierarchy that's been the cause of so much misery for so many years. You can change the class structure so that the professions of merchant and farmer are seen as the noble occupations they really are, rather than as something low."
"And I dare add that the life of a farmer is unrewarding enough on the large scale," Mei'hna put in with gentle humor. "These good people work hard every day to produce all the delicious foodstuffs you sit there enjoying this very moment, and what is their thanks? They are looked down upon and denied their say in the government. The merchants have much the same problem, though they too work hard to see to it that the public has access to the items needed in their daily lives. On this planet, the idle rich elevate themselves into the very slaver status that made your own life such misery at one time. Surely you, having known the same existence that these people know, can empathize? Surely you can see what a perfect position you are in to better their lives and gain favor? For if you let the status quo continue, your rule will not last very long, and it will be remembered with shame at the very least. I am certain this is not the legacy you wish to leave behind."
"If you really value the freedom you obtained at such a high price," Lauren said, standing up and leaning over the table in entreaty, "you'll honor it by clearing the way for every person in the system to live a life free of prejudice and hardship."
Arzi stared at each woman as she spoke, her mouth hanging open, her face slack with astonishment. Slowly her cheeks began to turn the pinkish purple characteristic of Clanimids, making them all quietly brace themselves for another explosion of temper. But Arzi's blush this time was that of the embarrassment brought on by realization.
Barely above a whisper, she said, "You have opened my eyes…all of you. From the moment I put on my former slaver's tiara, I could see only the soft, rich life that awaited me, the one I spent so many years watching M'sis'tenk lead. I lost sight of the goals I had set myself the day I bought my freedom by killing her. And my poor blood sister has stood by my side all these years, watching me grow more and more like M'sis'tenk every day, always doing what I asked without any questions." She gave Inriya an apologetic little smile, and Inriya smiled back. "You are right—and you especially, Lauren McCormick, because you forced me to face the memory of my slaver's murder; and more than that, you reminded me of the price I am obligated to pay for that deed. No longer will I compromise the honor of that freedom, nor will I shirk the obligations I took on.
"I thank you, all three of you. Please, tell me how I can repay you." Arzi gazed hopefully at the three ambassadors. "Name your price."
"My only request is this: that my small planet have the first right of trade with your system. As I told the Federation ambassadors last night over glasses of wine, my husband and I reside on a nearly-forgotten planet in the outer reaches of the Romulan Empire, and life is peaceful, though not easy. We receive little aid or attention from the homeworlds, and it would assist us greatly to be able to exchange foodstuffs for the enjoyment of both sides," Mei'hna said with a slight bow.
Arzi beamed. "Consider it done, my lady! And you?" She addressed Lauren and Kylie simultaneously, and the two friends looked at each other.
"Just be sure you follow through on your promises," Kylie said finally, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm just wondering one thing. You'd been looking to join the Federation, weren't you? What happens now?"
Arzi laughed and admitted, "Clearly we are still not ready to become Federation members. Perhaps it's not our fate. But I think to honor the memory of the experiment we three, and Inriya, were once participants of. The Clanim worlds shall remain unaffiliated and friendly towards those who show us friendship—in the spirit of amity and cooperation that that experiment tried to teach us."
"I propose a toast!" Inriya cried. "To friends, from all worlds!"
Servants filled glasses and everyone, security guards and all, raised them. "To friends," came the chorus, and they all drank.
"Not bad," Kylie commented, swallowing the rich-tasting juice in her glass, "but I think it would've been even better with some of Mei'hna's wine."
Mei'hna grinned broadly amid the laughter. "The sentiment is highly appreciated," she said warmly. "Perhaps we can imbibe later, when we have formalized all the agreements we've just reached this morning, so that we can properly celebrate."
"I look forward to that," Arzi said. "I am finished here; let's repair to the governmental chamber and begin making the changes."