Chapter 10

Hiro is Caught Off Guard

Stardate 2345.166

The negotiations in the Altair system were the latest Federation attempt to stabilize relations with the Romulans. Literally years of effort had gone into arranging for this first meeting to take place. If all went well today, there was hope at the highest levels that a lasting peace could be forged. Captain Hiro Mifune thought the whole endeavor a colossal waste of time. He had a bit of first hand experience with the Romulans, and knew they had little interest in any kind of peace, let alone a lasting one. No, this was just another, albeit more sophisticated, effort to probe for potential weaknesses in the Federation. He was certain the Romulans would be trying their damndest to bribe, threaten, or otherwise subvert, any delegates they could to undermine the cohesion between the various systems that made up the Federation of Planets. As he made his way to the reception hall for the initial meet and greet, he fully expected that within short order, some glad handing Romulan commander was going to subtly imply that he would really be grateful if only the Captain would provide certain "insights" into the intentions of the Federation. Hiro found the whole prospect tiring, but his was not to reason why.

The room itself was the largest in the station, taking up the entire first level. Since it was at one end of the structure, it was topped by a transparent dome that allowed for a 360-degree view of the deep space surrounding the station. The view was essentially the same no matter in which direction you looked, but permanent staff found the view calming, and most made a point of visiting it once a day.

In the distance could be seen a series of a small blinking buoys that marked the edge of the neutral zone between human and Romulan space. Permanent staff frequently took two-man maintenance craft out for a spin to relieve the boredom of deep space duty, and the buoys were a necessary reminder of where not to go. On more than one occasion, two people who were otherwise occupied, had the mood broken when the on-board computer loudly announced an imminent violation of the zone's boundary.

Normally, the room served as a gathering place for station personnel and the occasional visitor, and contained numerous small tables and comfortable chairs for that purpose. Most of them had been taken out for the negotiations and replaced by small bar tables designed to keep everyone on their feet and moving around as much as possible.

Even though he was to be the Federation Ambassador Norman Albright's attaché for this particular mission, he was still expected to mix and mingle with the Romulan delegation and then report back regularly on anything substantive he might find out. It suddenly struck him that his mission was suspiciously similar to what he was condemning, (in his mind at least) the Romulans for attempting to do. No! The Federation people were the good guys here. He couldn't forget that. Still, it was something he filed away to think about later. Maybe there were some similarities between them where common ground could be reached.

The Federation delegation entered the reception room to find the Romulans already enjoying the food and drink. The details of the available comestibles, Hiro knew, had taken a full six months to settle on, in behind the scenes preliminary negotiations. His assignment in this initial meeting was to shadow the ambassador and ensure that he got adequate face time with his appropriate counterpart. This one of many tasks for the week, involved the Captain playing wingman by decoying lesser functionaries into separate conversations, so the ambassadors were free to get down to brass tacks as it were. The ambassador's Romulan counterpart also had a wingman for exactly the same purpose, one Commander Lhallianen T'Lyret E'Vor Ruwon. The name itself was daunting enough, and Hiro was in no uncertain terms, NOT looking forward to this. The thought of having to be on his feet for hours, added to the boredom and misery that was just beginning to settle in. After this initial reception was concluded, he was also expected to be on his best behavior, socialize with the Romulans, and gather any intelligence he could. Because the Romulans would be doing exactly the same thing, every player in this game knew that information was the end goal. In addition, since everyone had been thoroughly trained on how to not give any important information away unless specifically ordered to, the end result was endless small talk revealing absolutely nothing. And Hiro had to endure this for the entire week the negotiations were expected to run.

So, if any nugget of information was gleaned from a conversation, the functionaries, at least, knew that it was useless by definition; the result of a conscious decision to actually release that particular piece of intelligence. For the ambassadors however, it was a different story. Every piece of information they came across required an accompanying white paper, (written by the functionary of course), consisting of tens of pages of "analysis", detailing every possible permutation of meaning that could be wrung out of it. There was an old saying from the twentieth century back when computers were first coming into widespread use: Garbage in, garbage out, or GIGO as it was commonly abbreviated. It meant that if one of the parameters of a calculation entered into a computer say, was inaccurate, the end result could not be relied upon to be accurate. As computers became more and more sophisticated, and the inputs and outputs more esoteric, this view still remained prevalent among the higher ups, who never actually deigned to soil their hands by actually working directly with those same computers. The Captain knew that among the worker bees who actually worked with the things every day, the acronym GIGO stayed the same but came to mean Garbage In, Gospel Out. In other words, if it was spit out by a computer, it was the answer and beyond reproach regardless of whether it made sense or not. To him, this saying seemed particularly appropriate here. The top brass, academics and other grand poobahs, had analyzed this particular situation over the ages and decided "this was a worthwhile effort", therefore it was. Never mind that shuttles full of resources had been brought to bear on such things in the past and nothing of significance had ever come of it. Well, again, his was not to reason why.

The Captain noticed the ambassador's counterpart across the room. As anxious as he was to get this whole charade over with, he knew how the dance had to be played out. In the finest traditions of live theatre, the ambassador could not just walk up to his opposite number and start talking about the reason this whole thing was put together in the first place. No, he had to make small talk and act as if the threat of interstellar war was the last thing on his mind. Hiro had the Sisyphean task of dragging the ambassador from one lower level functionary to the next one up the chain, and the next, all the way up the ladder until he finally got to the Romulan ambassador himself. The Ambassador, of course, did not have to keep track of any of these people. That, fell to Captain Mifune and his fellow wingmen, who had to stay up the night before, going over the intelligence reports of the bios of every Romulan expected to be at the conference, memorizing names and faces so they could whisper discreetly into the ears of their charges any relevant information as they approached the next rung in the hierarchy. Getting one of those names or ranks, or any number of other details wrong was akin to tripping over your feet when dancing, and considered a major embarrassment for the ambassador, and potentially career ending for the wingman. Hiro had seen it for himself. At a function welcoming the Ixian system into the Federation five years ago, an Admiral from that world had been asked how his son was faring at Starfleet Academy. It turned out he did not have a son, apparently a source of embarrassment in Ixian society. The Lt. advising the official who had asked the offending question was packed off to Earth that very day. He was still a Lt. as far as Hiro knew. The high-level people used such small talk as a sort of one upmanship of their counterparts. "I know you have a son. What? You have no information on my personal life? One point for our side!"

These thoughts ran thru his mind as he and the ambassador finally started to get close to his Romulan counterpart. Hiro was trying to remember if the person in front of him was the commander of the flagship just visible outside of the space station or the Romulan General's adjutant; things were starting to blur together after an hour of this. At long last he heard the ambassador starting to wrap up his conversation with the Romulan under-Ambassador and they started to make their way over to their final stop. As they approached, Hiro did not see the Romulan Ambassador's aide. Not unusual as he might have sent her on an errand of some sort. He did quickly cover up his annoyance however, because to have your counterpart engage you with his assistant, while yours was conspicuously absent, was a major embarrassment in the kabuki theatre that was diplomatic politics. He saw the concealed glee on his charge's face as they approached.

Hiro whispered to him.

"Ambassador Jakan has two sons he's quite proud of, both commanders of their own birds of prey. His assistant is Commander Khallianen T'Lyret E'Vor Ruwon, commander of his flagship. She belongs to a very old and influential family in the Empire. She distinguished herself in the Spica campaign."

"Weren't you involved in that somehow?"

"Yes, briefly. Wrong place at the wrong time more than anything else. It's where I first met my adopted son though.

"Commander Ruwon has been military all of her career. She's a pretty good chess player and lets the Ambassador beat her regularly."

"I seem to remember you being a decent player yourself. Weren't you ranked a master or something?"

"Yes, but that was quite a few years ago. I haven't played much since."

"And didn't you give the Vulcan champion a run for his money back in your academy days?"

"Well yes, but to be fair, he did have nine other opponents at the time. And he did beat me eventually."

"Yes, nine other grand masters if memory serves, all defeated handily. You were the only one left standing. Yes, I remember now, the Vulcans never were able to live that down!"

The Ambassador could not hold back his laughter at the memory.

"When we heard about your match we immediately notified our ambassador on Vulcan. He made an excuse for a last-minute reception for their high council just so he could drop that gem on them before they actually found out about it through their own channels."

Hiro didn't know quite what to say. He wasn't one to brag about his accomplishments. He remembered it felt glorious at the time. It was the first and only time he ever saw a Vulcan start to panic.

"Hiro? Did you hear what I said?"

"I'm sorry ambassador."

"This is an important mission Captain. I need you to be on point at all times. I said I want you to get a game with her. See if you can get any useful information."

Hiro was caught off guard. He still had to write his report and had been looking forward to some much-needed down time after that.

"Sir?"

"Something wrong with your hearing Captain? Sure you don't need to have it checked out?"

"No sir. I mean yes sir; I'll see what I can do."

"You'll do more than that Captain. I want a detailed report from you first thing in the morning."

"Yes sir," Hiro said deflated as he saw his quiet evening rapidly slipping away.

"Now, let's see if we can meet the Ambassador before his assistant comes back. Do you know where she is?"

"No sir, she could be any one of the higher-ranking female officers."

"Intelligence not have a picture of her I take it?"

"Correct sir. They said they did not get a final list of who was to attend from the Romulans until relatively recently, and so did the best they could given the short notice."

"No problem. I'm sure she'll show up as soon as she sees us here.

"Ambassador Jakan, a pleasure to finally meet you. Let me introduce my assistant. This is Captain Hiro Mifune, director of our fleet in this sector. What happened to your assistant Ambassador? Get lost at the buffet?"

Jakan looked annoyed but quickly hid it. He looked over Hiro's shoulder.

"Ah, here she is. Ambassador, Captain, let me introduce you to the Commander of my flagship, Lyret Ruwon."

Hiro turned just as he was taking a sip of his drink. Years later he would remember this moment, because his first thought seemed so inconsequential given who was standing in front of him with a Mona Lisa smile combined with a look of gotcha on her face. The first thing that went thru his mind was: "What's with the headdress?" Ruwon had three of them holding up quite a fetching mound of hair that if let loose looked to be long enough to extend to her waist. And she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. His momentary paralysis lasted for only half a second however, before he spit out the sip of the drink he had just taken, and promptly dropped his glass, which shattered on the hard floor; this last alerting the whole room who, en masse, turned to look at the Ambassador and him. The Romulan Ambassador for his part looked as if this one moment was worth the entire trip. Hiro saw that his boss apparently was thinking the same thing. This was way more than a point or two in the one upmanship game. He saw that Ambassador Albright turned a singularly unflattering shade of red, but to his credit, managed to maintain his composure and comment to him dryly:

"So I'm guessing you two have met before?"

"Well, ummm… yes… As a matter of fact… umm."

"Your Captain here actually saved my life once Ambassador."

The Federation ambassador looked at Ruwon, trying to maintain what little ground he had left.

"Is that a fact? How did he manage that Commander?"

The Romulan Ambassador was not about to cede the advantage.

"Yes Captain. Ruwon has told me the story many times but I was always interested in hearing your version. Seems pretty incredible to me. From what I understand, it was the Spica campaign, when fighting between us had broken out. Pretty fierce fighting if I remember correctly, and you, apparently, took the time to engage in a sword fight to save my Commander here."

Hiro didn't think it was humanly possible, but his boss' shade of red jumped up at least three notches. The fact, the Captain belatedly realized, that he had been ambushed by an expert, was no consolation. He tried to think of where the most remote backwater that existed in the Federation was, and seriously wondered if they would allow him the privilege of cleaning the latrines there for the rest of his career. No, probably not. From the look on the ambassador's face, he was already roasting him in his mind, on a particularly dull spit. This was sooo bad! What his Ambassador did not know, and what he now had to figure out a way to finesse, was that in his after-action report of this particular incident fifteen years previously, there was nary a mention of his rescue of anyone except the orphaned street urchin whom he would later adopt as his own. And even then he'd only said he found him alone in an alley near his dead mother, no mention of any swordfight. At the time, he'd thought it wise to omit these facts. If he hadn't, his judgment would have seriously been questioned; putting down a perfectly good phaser to start a sword fight against two trained soldiers, AND save an enemy damsel in distress? There was NO way he could explain that!

Which, of course, neatly summarized his current predicament, because everyone was looking at him to do just that.

"Well, it was quite a while ago and I don't really remember much about it."

"Oh don't be so modest Captain," said the Romulan Ambassador. "After all, you managed to best the Romulan sword fighting champions simultaneously! It must have been glorious!"

"Champions. Really?"

His Ambassador chimed in. "So you DO remember. A swordfight? What happened to your phase rifle? Did you lose it earlier?"

"Well, as a matter of fact…"

"He actually threw it aside and challenged both of them to a fight to the death. Said he was having a bad day and needed to work off some tension," Ruwon stated helpfully.

Mifune glared daggers at Ruwon. She returned his gaze with a look of bemusement on her face as if to say "What?! Did I say something wrong?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way…"

His ambassador abandoned all attempts to save him.

"Well how would you put it Captain?"

"Yes Captain, don't be so humble," Ruwon added. "I know from experience that your katana skills are quite formidable, but I've been given to understand you know a thing or two about chess as well. Weren't you some sort of champion or something?"

A lifeline?! Was that a lifeline she just threw him?! He could not imagine a drowning man, surrounded by sharks and piranha at the same time, desired a way out as much as he wanted one right then. Even though a small part of his brain was raising red flags like crazy, he grasped at the line like the desperate man he truly was at that moment.

"I used to play a bit. I was only champion at the academy though."

"For the entire time you were there I understand," she pointed out.

"Well, yes, but…"

"I've been playing since I was young. A wonderful game of strategy. I am not a champion or anything, but I would consider it an honor if you could take the time to give me some pointers."

Hiro recovered his composure with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Yes Commander, I would be happy to. Perhaps when the ambassador's schedule permits we…"

"How about right now Captain? I am quite sure you have had enough of this theatre for one evening. I know I have." Hiro found the Commander's directness a bit disconcerting.

"That sounds like an excellent idea", opined Ambassador Jakan. Captain, the Commander has a wonderful collection of antique chessboards and pieces, going back to when the game was invented on Romulus almost two thousand years ago. She brags enough to the rest of us about her hobby. You, at least, have the ability to truly appreciate her collection."

The Federation ambassador realized that he has been thoroughly outplayed by his Romulan counterpart, and actually maneuvered by him just as if he had strings attached to his arms and legs. What could he say however? He wanted Mifune and Ruwon to talk, and had even ordered Hiro to do so earlier. No, it was time to concede this round to the Romulans. The conference had just begun and he had been in much rougher spots before. His victory later in the week would be all the sweeter given the events of today.

"Captain, I agree with the esteemed ambassador. I'm sure you could use a break anyway. Why don't you go with the Commander and we can talk later?"

The Federation ambassador turned back to the Romulan, dismissing Hiro with a wave of his hand.

Well, Hiro thought, THAT wasn't good. Being summarily dismissed, by the ambassador himself no less, from such an important function was detrimental to one's career at best, no question. Latrines it was, he thought with dark humor.

"Yes sir."

The Federation ambassador continued talking with Jakan, ignoring Hiro completely.

Ruwon led Hiro out of the reception hall toward the docking bay. Since this was a rather small space station they did not have far to go. Truth be told, he was relieved to get out of the spotlight. Whatever happened for the rest of the evening could not possibly be worse than the scrutiny he had just been subjected to. It was bad enough that his friends would have felt sorry for him, but his enemies would now be salivating at the prospect of vying for his, he presumed, soon to be vacant position as principal attaché to the ambassador for this quadrant. Hiro, of course, knew the Romulans had planned the events at the reception, all so they could get him alone with Ruwon. Anyone would have to be blind not to be aware of the allure she posed to any male within shouting distance. He was sure her considerable charms had been utilized to great effect on many other occasions just like this one. Despite his recent fall from grace though, if nothing else, Captain Mifune was still a professional. Short of knocking him out and dragging him off to Romulus, there was nothing they were going to get out of him that he was not specifically ordered to divulge. He sighed. Well she was very attractive and charming; and he was dying to know what was up with those things she wore in her hair.

Ruwon was deeply ashamed at what had happened at the reception. These types of underhanded manipulations were one of the things she felt was wrong with the current leadership. When she had reported the events of fifteen years ago, she never thought it would come back to haunt her after so much time. Apparently, the more devious minds in the Intelligence Directorate had very long memories. A few weeks ago they had showed her a picture of Captain Mifune and asked if this was the same Starfleet officer who had saved her life. How she wished now she had said no! Maybe it was the environment in which she had spent her formative years. Hers and the rest of the four origin families on Romulus took pride in maintaining a strong sense of honor and tradition; a characteristic apparently lost over the millennia in the rest of Romulan elite society. Her intelligence people had it all planned out. The surprise introduction to put him off guard; the invitation for a chess lesson to appeal to the Captain's vanity; the tour of her private quarters to see her collection. All calculated to gain his sympathy and affections. They even had the audacity to ask her to sleep with him! She had refused to participate in the whole plan at first. It was only when she learned the "suggestions" could be more accurately described as "threats against her family if she did not cooperate", did she relent. On one thing however, she had stood firm. Under no circumstances did she have any intention of becoming intimate with the Captain. She had not slept with any man yet, and was not about to have her first time be with a disgusting human!

She was actually overdue in finding a mate in the sense that most of the women in her family were paired off by their mid-twenties. As the heir apparent to the current Pid-Kom or matriarch of her family, she had obligations that had precluded her from doing anything about that part of her life. She was not overly concerned however, as she had no shortage of suitors vying for her attention. She did recognize, on an objective level of course, that there was a certain appeal to the human Captain. The memory of him casually dispatching two Romulan champions at the same time was hard to forget, and would, she told herself, not fail to command the attention of any female. And, she reminded herself, the Captain would be considered very handsome by any humanoid standard. But, she was a Romulan and he was a part of the Federation, which meant that any kind of relationship would be doomed from the start, and she had no interest in putting herself in that position!

It didn't take long for them to reach Ruwon's ship. At first, Hiro thought that the Romulans were motivated by the same things that his people were. That is, they simply wanted to pump him for intelligence or anything that might aid them in the upcoming negotiations. Upon further reflection however, a simple chess match between him and Ruwon would have been sufficient to accomplish that. All of the rest of their elaborate scheme seemed to be overkill. Besides, they had to know that embarrassing him and therefore humiliating his Ambassador, Hiro would henceforth be frozen out of the remainder of the negotiations, and not be in a position to provide any information to them, let alone anything that could remotely be classified as useful. What could they possibly be playing at?!

Ruwon had to confess to a bit of nervousness as she approached her quarters. She had read the reports on the brutishness of human males, and although she was pretty sure it was all propaganda, "pretty sure" was not a certainty. She felt quite confident she could defend herself, as she had numerous weapons hidden in her room, but if it came to that, the diplomatic fallout would be considerable and something she would rather avoid. So far however, the Captain had been a perfect gentleman, acting more grateful than anything else. On the way here she had noticed him looking at her hairpieces. His curiosity was understandable, as they were not worn in the same way as far as she was aware by any other humanoid species, and were not fashionable even in Romulan society outside of the four families. Romulan women tended to wear their hair short and thus had no need for such adornments. To the families by contrast, the hairpieces signaled rank or standing, and were quite an effective weapon as needs required. All family women were trained in their use from a young age.

The women had come to rely on the hairpieces, and so had developed a tradition of wearing their hair long to accommodate them. Over the ages, they had started wearing their hair longer than was strictly necessary for this, largely to distinguish themselves from other Romulan women. Defying rules and convention was just a side benefit she thought with amusement. Maybe that was also why the families were considered outsiders, followed her original thought closely.

"Here we are Captain, after you."

"I wouldn't dream of it Commander, they are your quarters."

Hiro gestured for her to enter first.

Without thinking about it, Ruwon did what she always did upon entering her quarters, and removed her hairpieces, letting her hair fall down her back. As useful as they were, they could get a bit tiring if worn for any length of time, and she was always grateful for the chance to shed them when she could. Belatedly she noticed Hiro calmly staring at her. Not with surprise or anything like that, more like some of the Romulan men she was used to. Were males the same no matter where one found them?

"Is something wrong Captain?"

He paused for a second before looking from her hair to her face and answering.

"No, not at all, why?"

"You seemed distracted. Were you wondering about my hairpieces?"

He paused. "Yes."

"They are called Terseht Maat. They have been a part of my family's tradition for thousands of years. The design in the middle is my family's crest."

"Yes, I see. I did notice you seem to have worn them on both occasions that we've met."

"I never got to thank you for saving my life. I am in your debt Captain."

The abrupt change of subject and the sincere look in her eyes threw him. In a night of "last things expected", this was just the latest installment. At this point he was about ready to give up on trying to maintain control of the situation. He didn't know what to think. He knew the Romulans were manipulating him for their own advantage. He just couldn't figure out how her last statement helped them in any way.

"You look confused Captain. Perhaps your culture is different from ours. Please forgive me if I have caused offense."

"Not at all. It's just that I was not expecting gratitude…"

"From a Romulan you mean?"

"Well yes. Romulans are not known for appreciating a good turn, no offense."

"Maybe the Romulans you know Captain. I can assure you we are not all ungrateful bastards."

"It is my turn to apologize Commander. I appreciate your thanks, and please forgive my crude turn of phrase. Humans, as I am sure you are aware, are entirely lacking in manners."

He made a slight bow, which made her smile.

"Point taken Captain. It seems both of our societies could use a few lessons in the true nature of the other's culture."

"Yes. You were telling me that the design of your hairpiece had been in your family for quite a long time?"

"Well these three pieces are themselves over two thousand years old. They were passed down from mother to daughter until I inherited them."

"May I?"

"Certainly."

Ruwon handed him one of the pieces to examine.

"Why do you wear three of them? I seem to remember you only wore one when we first met.

"Within our family, roughly speaking, it is a way to signify rank. Our matriarch, my mother, wears four of them for example."

"I've never known any other Romulan women to wear them. In fact, you're the first one I've seen with hair that isn't cut short."

Ruwon smiled. "And we constantly hear comments to the effect that we are out of fashion. I am sure we are, but the traditions of the ancient families go back to the origin times, and we feel it important we keep the values embodied in those traditions alive."

"Families? You mean there is more than one?"

"Oh yes. There were five families that led our society through the dark times. Without the leadership the families provided, we would have destroyed ourselves."

"The dark times? You mean the Time of Awakening?"

"The Dark times preceded the Time of Awakening by many millennia on the origin world. From there, our race went to Vulcan. But I see you know something about our history."

"A bit. I studied archaeology so I know something of ancient cultures."

"Someday you'll have to tell me what the Federation thinks they know of Romulan history. Maybe I can give you some insights into our true culture in exchange for the chess lessons."

"It would be my pleasure. Damn!"

Hiro had been examining the hairpiece, which came apart into two pieces unexpectedly, causing him to drop the jeweled part. He quickly picked it up. He was embarrassed and started to apologize.

"I am so sorry! If I broke it I'll make sure we take care of any repairs."

"No need Captain. It's designed to come apart like that. Sometimes, in less formal settings when I just want to hold my hair up, I take the jeweled part off and use the pin by itself. Wearing them can get tiring after a while. Besides, the pieces are quite sturdy and not easily damaged. See, they snap together like so."

"I see."

She handed it back to him.

"The long part seems more like a dagger than a pin Captain. You sure this thing wasn't originally used as a weapon?"

He said this half seriously, but part of him really wondered about it.

Ruwon chuckled. "Well, nowadays it is mainly used for ceremonial purposes."

Not quite answering the question Hiro thought. The "pin" certainly looked deadly enough. It was very sharp on the business end, and the other piece had five very sharp points as well. In fact, it resembled a shuriken, albeit one with a lot of jewels on it; five precious stones to be exact; spaced evenly around the edge of the piece giving it a nice balance. Could this be the Romulan version of the ancient Japanese weapon?

"Do the stones stand for the five families?"

"Very perceptive Admiral. As a matter of fact they do. The red one, the fire diamond represents mine, the Ruwon family.

"And the others?"

"The blue diamond is for the Khellian family, the green, the T'Kari."

"They're all diamonds?"

"Yes."

"I've never heard of a green diamond."

That seemed to make her sad.

"It's very rare."

"Something happen to that family?"

"Sadly we do not know. During the Time of Awakening, as you know, there was a rift in Vulcan society. At the time, the five families were all influential leaders. All of them wanted to immigrate to Romulus, as they did not agree with Sarak's, at the time, radical ideas regarding logic and non-violence. But, the head of the families recognized the need to have at least one family stay behind to try to bring the people back to the old ways. The T'Kari family stayed. The other four left for Romulus, and we have not heard from the T'Kari clan since."

"Have you tried to find them?"

"Yes, but our resources are limited given the current relations between the Federation and Romulus. Our families are looked upon with some suspicion; we are considered something of a cult back home, so we have to tread rather carefully."

"But it's been such a long time. Surely you would have heard something by now."

"Well initially, the split between the Romulans and Vulcans was very bitter and communication was impossible given that climate. It wasn't until about five hundred years ago that covert attempts were made to re-establish contact. By that time, we could find no records of the family. We can not be sure of course, and there is always hope, but we assumed they were lost in the unrest following the exodus."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Yes well, it's ancient history, but as I said we still have hope that one day we will be re-united."

She quickly changed the subject.

"If you don't mind me asking. What ever happened to that street urchin you saved on Spica 4?"

"Well he was orphaned, so I had to bring him back to our lines. It took of couple of days and by the time we made it back I'd grown kind of fond of him, so I ended up adopting him. Best decision I made in my life. Right now he's at Starfleet Academy and doing quite well."

"Why did you save me? I was your enemy."

Hiro was taken off guard by the suddenness and sincerity in her voice.

"I did not like the way your sergeant was treating you. No man should treat a woman that way."

Ruwon paused, thinking about what he said. She was a bit embarrassed about it.

"Is that what you humans call pity?" She said with an edge to her voice.

Hiro could not help but take offense.

"You know Commander. Maybe you should just have left it at a simple thank you. It's getting late and we both have a busy day tomorrow. Perhaps I should take my leave."

He turned and left without saying another word. Ruwon was glad that he did. Pity from a human! By all rights she should have gutted him where he stood!

Hiro had stayed up late writing his report. Since his encounter with Ruwon was the only one on one private contact the Federation delegation had been able to establish so far, everyone was very interested to know how it had gone. They seemed to put much stock in Ruwon's description of her family structure and the fact that the families were not that well thought of by the existing power structure on Romulus. Hiro knew where they were going with that. They figured they could somehow encourage and support a dissident faction within the Empire. Good luck with that he thought. From his experience he knew that the Romulans took a dim view of any group not expressly loyal to the leadership. If Ruwon's little group of families was viewed with suspicion merely because they were a cohesive group, Hiro knew that they had little wiggle room to accomplish much of anything, let alone become a viable alternative to the current leadership. Further, the families, as part of the Empire, were well aware of this fact of life, and would not be willing to stick their necks out based on anything the Federation could conceivably offer them. When the Ambassador heard that he had ended his encounter with Ruwon abruptly however, he got mad all over again.

"You mean to tell me Mifune, that you had a chance to get valuable information from a woman who has the ear of the Romulan ambassador himself and you blew it off?!"

Hiro thought he had been angry before, but this was a whole new level. The Captain had heard that when the ambassador really had someone in his crosshairs, he started using their last name regardless of their title. He figured now was not the time to point out that cultivating the Commander's clan was a waste of time. Hiro was also about to question the "valuable information" comment but thought better of it.

"Do you understand what's at stake here? DO YOU?! Nothing important. Just preventing interstellar war with our most dangerous enemy! That's all! Nothing you'd be concerned about I'm sure!" The ambassador practically shouted.

The Ambassador went on in this vein for a good ten more minutes. The upshot was that Hiro was ordered to apologize to both the Romulan Ambassador and Ruwon, beg their forgiveness, otherwise grovel in their presence, and upon pain of every torture device known to man, salvage whatever rapport he had begun with the Commander.

Although he was not aware of it, Ruwon had had to endure a nearly identical dressing down from her boss. After listening to the recording of their conversation, the Romulan Ambassador had immediately summoned her to his quarters.

"The human saved your life and you felt this was justification for insulting him? Am I understanding the situation correctly?"

"Sir, that's not…"

"So now you are insulting my intelligence? Is that what I'm hearing from you now? Do I need to remind you Ruwon, of how you got your position as Commander of my flagship? Do I need to remind you that your family name does not inspire confidence in the Empire?"

Both Ambassadors, if they ever could find out, would have found it amusing that they both started using the last name of subordinates with whom they got angry.

"Ambassador, I greatly appreciate what…"

"Did I ask you a question Ruwon?! Did I!? This is what you are going to do. You will talk to the Captain again the first chance you get. You will express extreme regret for your behavior last night. You will get him to your quarters again using whatever excuse you can, and he will have a good time! We need to get more information about Starfleet defenses in this area, and unfortunately, you are our best hope to do that... for now. Do not make me regret supporting that crazy family of yours. Are we clear?"

Ruwon was painfully aware the Ambassador's words were no idle threat.

"Very clear."

"Good, I hear the Admiral frequents the gym in the mornings. Get down there first thing tomorrow and work whatever magic you can. Dismissed."

After his early morning dressing down, Hiro was too worked up to follow up on his original plan of returning to his quarters to get some much-needed sleep. He decided to stick with his normal morning routine of hitting the gym and doing a few kata. That was the easy part of his upcoming day. How he was possibly going to salvage anything with Ruwon was beyond him at this point. I mean, the woman actually appeared to be angry with him for saving her life. Even for a Romulan that was a bit much. Was that really it, or was there something else he had said? He didn't know. He did know that Romulans were as a rule, very proud. Not to the psychopathic extent that Klingons were, but more so than humans. He also knew that the concept of altruism, while not exactly foreign to the Romulans, was not exactly what they would consider a desirable characteristic. Maybe Ruwon was just whatever the Romulan equivalent of embarrassed was. As he worked through the forms, the beginnings of a plan began to take shape.

Ruwon made her way to her quarters, still angry from her late-night meeting with the Ambassador. First, pity from a human no less, then being lectured to by the Ambassador as if she were a child. And the day was only going to get worse! She had to actually be civil to the man!

To get a better understanding of human culture and perhaps some insights into how to proceed, she had met briefly with the diplomatic team's cultural attaché. If not for his council, she would have refused to meet the Captain again, consequences be damned! He had explained that many human males embraced an ethos called chivalry; basically a way of thinking that dictated strict codes of behavior toward females. Specifically, that it was the duty of all males to protect the "virtue" and physical well being of all females. She was skeptical at first, but had done some research on her own and found some incredible examples in history of human males actually sacrificing their lives over the slightest insult to females they deemed to be in their care. Did the Captain really view her as being "in his care"? It was all very confusing, but did seem to explain why he had saved her in the first place.

If she was going to "run into" him at the gym however, the first thing she needed to do was ask the computer what a gym was and what one did there. When she found out she was perplexed at first, as Romulans did not "work out" per se. They did engage in physical activity, but it was generally required training for the military or some such, and so tended toward things that were more akin to the martial arts; they did not exercise for it's own sake. She decided to wear the clothes she used when doing her forms; that being the closest equivalent that she owned to what the computer described as "workout clothes". Feeling a bit out of place, she left her quarters and headed to the "gym".

Hiro found the martial arts room open. The station's personnel had learned his morning routine and tended to leave the room open so he could go through his exercises undisturbed. It also had additional martial arts equipment if his kata were not enough to work off the frustration he was feeling over the way things were going for him so far on this mission.

As Ruwon approached the gym her anxiety level rose. It had not occurred to her until she actually reached the door of the gym, what her orders were requiring her to do. How do you pursue a man? She had just realized that that was what she was being asked to do. She had never in her life done such a thing. In the past she just sat back and males always gravitated in her direction. If the Ambassador had asked her to deflect some male's advances, that she knew how to do quite well from many years experience. But getting one interested in her on purpose? And one who was already angry with her? Ruwon was totally clueless as to how to proceed. First she had to find him though. She entered the gym and stopped. The room was a very large, circular space, which took up an entire level in the station, surrounded by smaller rooms that ran around its edge. It was filled with every kind of exercise contraption imaginable, none of which she had any inkling as to how to use. Large windows allowed anyone who was interested to look into the rooms and see what was going on. She could see that the Captain was not in the open space, which meant she had to look into each room to find him. And if she did that, how was she going to make it seem like she was not doing it to meet with him on purpose? Or, was that what she was supposed to do to get his attention? She had no idea. She did know that this was not going to be a good day.

Hiro was in the middle of one of his more difficult kata when he sensed that someone had entered the room. Most people knew he preferred solitude when he worked out, but sometimes those who did not know who he was would enter occasionally. This was not unusual, and he assumed that one of the groups of people who were watching him from the outer room had come in to get a closer look. Since he was fully immersed in completing an upcoming leap and near simultaneous sword strike, he ignored whoever it was.

Ruwon proceeded around the edge of the gym, trying as nonchalantly as she could, to see which room the Captain was in. She had gotten nearly halfway around the gym before she spotted him alone in a room a bit larger than the others. He was going thru what looked to be set exercises with his sword; the same basic idea as the forms she was used to. A small group of people was looking thru the window admiring his technique. She could understand why. She was not that handy with swords herself, but recognized an expert when she saw one. She was not sure why no one was entering the room, but knew she had to in order to talk to him. As she opened the door, she heard a collective gasp coming from the small crowd. Belatedly she realized she must have committed some sort of faux pas by going in and disturbing him. Well, he wasn't her Captain, so they could judge all they wanted, she had work to do. She had noticed what looked to be statues of the upper torso and head of men over in a corner. Practice dummies. They would do. She walked to the far corner of the room, pointedly ignoring Hiro and began to arrange five of them in a rough circle with a diameter of fifteen meters or so.

Hiro had just finished up his last kata. He looked up to see who had entered the room and was startled to see that it was Ruwon. He quickly dismissed the idea that she had come to see him, as she had walked past and started re-arranging the sparring dummies, ignoring him completely - she was probably still mad at him. The group of people outside of the room was also looking at Ruwon, doubtlessly wondering who in their right mind had dared interrupt the famous Captain's morning routine.

My God she was beautiful, especially in whatever the hell that get up was she was wearing. Her hair was held up with the three hairpieces she normally wore, exposing her exquisitely delicate, perfectly pointed ears. He mentally took it back. The onlookers were not thinking about him at all.

Just then she folded her hands, made a short bow to each of her "opponents", and slowly dropped to one knee with both hands on the ground, looking for all the world as if she was waiting for the starting gun of a foot race. Ruwon held that pose for a full two seconds before leaping straight up into the air. Everyone, including Hiro, gasped at the unexpected move. While still in the air, she took her hairpieces in hand and launched one of the daggers at a dummy, hitting it right between the eyes. Because she was also twisting at the same time, her hair moved into a perfect fan around her head. She then landed in the exact crouch she had begun the exercise with, holding it for a couple of beats before beginning a series of slow moves resembling Tai Chi more than anything else, save for the very pointy objects she still held in her hands.

A larger crowd started to gather outside of the room as word spread around the station about what was going on. It occurred to Hiro that it was rather undignified for a Starfleet Captain to be gawking open mouthed at anything, let alone a Romulan. He started one of his more complicated kata.

Commander Ruwon was in the zone. Although that was not what she would have called it. She enjoyed doing her forms as it relaxed her mind and always helped her think more clearly about any problem she might be facing at the time. Her perception narrowed to include only the practice dummies and everything within the circle they formed. She did not hear the gasps of astonishment at her performance made by the crowd outside, nor that Hiro had begun another one of his own forms. As she began the final set of moves, she thought she had an idea of what to do about the Captain. When she finished, she would challenge him to a chess match. Perhaps belittle his expertise a bit. That would appeal to his sense of competition and he would have a hard time refusing the challenge. She would let him win of course; that never failed to put her Ambassador in the right frame of mind when she needed to ask a favor.

Having finalized her plan of action with regard to the Captain, Ruwon put all of her attention toward finishing up her form. The final part called for her to attack each opponent, after parrying and dodging imaginary sword thrusts. It seemed simple but was actually quite difficult as the parry and dodge had to be quick to be realistic, which could throw off the attack on the next opponent. There was a reason Ruwon was considered an expert in the discipline however. She nailed the first dummy with a dagger and a throwing star, leapt to the side to avoid the "attack" of the next one as she threw one of the stars and hit it in the chest. Similar fates befell the ones that were left, at which time she went from leap to starting crouch in one smooth movement. She then got up and bowed to each of the dummies, simultaneously quietly reciting the ritual words thanking her "opponents" for helping her in her journey to be the best she could be.

Hiro's kata was not up to his normal standards to say the least. In his defense the Romulan Commander was a powerful distraction, and not just for him. The crowd at the window had grown considerably larger since she had started her form. None of them were looking at him. When he saw that she was coming to an end of her form, he hurried his so he would be done shortly after her. As they both finished up, the crowd erupted into applause. They had seen him with his swords before, but never two masters performing at the same time, and certainly not this particular Romulan martial art. It was a totally new experience for them. Hiro took the opportunity to approach Ruwon.

"We seem to have an audience," he said smiling.

Ruwon looked over to the window, noticing the crowd for the first time. She had heard the noise, but it had not occurred to her that it had anything to do with her.

"It appears so."

"Commander."

Ruwon looked away from the crowd and focused on Hiro. She had no expression on her face and he had a brief vision that he was an insect she was about to stick a pin in with one of her daggers. It gave him pause. Ruwon recognized at once that Hiro appeared hesitant to talk to her. She could not fathom why this would be so, but recognized the truth of it nonetheless. When he didn't continue she spoke up.

"Yes?"

"About last night."

When he hesitated again, she began to get impatient.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to apologize to you. I forgot my manners and did not behave as a gentleman should. Please forgive me, and if you would still like me to give you a few pointers on chess, I would be happy to meet at your convenience."

Now it was Ruwon's turn to hesitate. She struggled to control the anger that immediately welled up in her. Whether this was because he had beat her to the apology she was about to give him, the fact that she suspected he was pitying her again, or most likely she had to admit, that he had managed once again, to cause her to be at a loss for words, she couldn't truly say. Damn that man! Wait, was this the chivalry thing she had read about? She seemed to remember something about "gentleman" being tied up with the whole concept somehow. Was he trying to manipulate her in some way? She felt herself starting to get angry again. Maybe she should just take his apology at face value for now and see how things developed.

"Yes Captain, a chess game would be… I would like to learn more about the game from you."

The Captain noticed the hesitation and play of emotions that went across her face. For a second he thought she was going to lash out at him again.

"It's settled then. Just let me know when you have time and where you would like to play when you get a chance, and I will make myself available."

"My quarters, this evening at 1900 hours."

Damn, her directness was disconcerting he thought to himself.

"I uh…"

Ruwon felt herself getting annoyed again. Was she being too abrupt for human sensibilities?

"Unless that is too inconvenient for you."

"No, not at all. I look forward to seeing you then."

Hiro presented himself at Ruwon's quarters promptly at 1900 hours. He was again in a frame of mind where he was unsure what to expect. Part of him had thought he ought to decline the invitation and see if they could meet in a more public place, just to mitigate some of the uncertainty he felt. But then he thought of the reaction of the Ambassador. He could hear him in his mind's eye.

You're acting like this is your first date Mifune! Man up and get on with it!

No, he was just going to have to see it through.

"Thank you for coming Admiral. Can I offer you something to drink?"

The mission's cultural attaché gave her this idea. It was apparently the custom in human culture to offer a beverage to put a guest at ease. Why it was necessary to be at ease, she had no idea, but it seemed to have the desired effect; the Captain visibly relaxed.

Hiro was worried that Ruwon was going to be angry with him. Whenever they met, she always appeared to be holding back one strong emotion or other. When she offered him a drink, he at least knew that the evening was starting off well.

"Yes, that would be nice, thank you. Is that your chess collection there?"

"Yes. Would you like me to tell you about it?"

"Of course."

"There are only about ten sets here. They're a small part of the collection I have at home. Some of these have special significance, and I find they help me relax. I am sure you understand. You are very good with your Katana I believe it's called. I'm sure you've immersed yourself pretty deeply into Japanese culture."

Hiro smiled at her comment.

"It seems your intelligence people know their jobs well. I am sure you know every detail of all of my interests.

His reference to the fiasco that was their initial meeting of the previous day made her laugh and seemed to break the ice.

"Yes they do. Too well sometimes I must say. But yes, I did read about your interest in the culture. What drew you to it? Your profession exposed you to many different types of civilizations, yet you spend much of your time immersing yourself in one confined to a small part of your own planet.

"My original ancestors came from Japan, and my family has maintained many of the traditions from that time. The martial arts are just one of those traditions. Most have nothing to do with fighting. I can trace my family's ancestry quite a ways back to well before we had spaceflight. Not as far back as yours I am sure, but many hundreds of years."

Ruwon began to realize that despite her expectations, they did have at least the reverence for family in common. She would have never thought it possible a few days ago, but had to admit she was becoming fond of the Captain.

"We have something, for example, called a tea ceremony…"

"Isn't that a beverage? There's a ceremony attached to it?"

"Sort of. The actual ceremony is used to promote harmony between people. The tea is incidental to the main purpose. If you like, I can show you sometime."

"I would like that. I've always wanted to know about other cultures, but my position does not allow me to indulge that interest very much."

Unsaid was what they both knew was the truth. The Romulan Empire was more interested in subjugating other cultures, not studying them.

"Is the ceremony complicated? Can you show it to me now?"

"Well it requires a bit of preparation, and to really understand its true purpose, you cannot do it halfway. Maybe later in the week. You were going to tell me about your chess sets?"

Ruwon proceeded to give him a tutorial on the significance of each of the sets in her collection. Afterwards, he went back to his quarters with not only new appreciation of the game of chess, but also a more nuanced understanding of a Romulan society that may not be as one dimensional as he had previously believed.

Both of them enjoyed talking to each other and neither regretted not getting to the chess match.

Commander Ruwon's day was settling into what promised to be another exercise in tedium. The intelligence people had called her in yet again to give them more detail about the Captain's family. They assumed he came from a prominent family from his description, and wanted to determine if there were opportunities to compromise him through them. She found the whole idea distasteful as well as dishonorable, and deliberately downplayed Hiro's family's prominence. A thought ran through her mind questioning exactly where her loyalties lie, but she quickly dismissed it – some things were just dishonorable and that was that. On top of that, yet another of the Ambassador's flunkies had an "issue" of utmost importance to talk to her about. It turned out he was unhappy because his quarters were not sufficiently close to the Ambassador's, given his perceived status in the diplomatic pecking order. Most of the Ambassador's people had an inflated view of themselves, and felt that no matter how trivial the issue, dealing with any of her subordinates was beneath their station. The result was a daily list of mind-numbing tasks she was forced to ride herd on, even if she did not personally have the expertise to solve the problem.

Given that this was what she had been dealing with every day during this diplomatic mission, her evenings with the Captain were rapidly becoming a welcome relief. Yesterday, he had invited her to his quarters to show her his art collection from feudal Japan. Granted, they were holographic images of the real thing he had left on Earth – he had explained that they were much too valuable to carry with him on missions – but his obvious passion for the pieces had been deeply infectious and she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. They had yet to engage in their original pretext for meeting – the chess game – but she was sure they would get to it eventually.

The following evening, she invited him to her ship to demonstrate some of the finer points on the forms in the martial art she practiced. The Captain had proved surprisingly adept at some of them. She attributed this to the fact that their respective disciplines were similar in many ways. The throwing dagger proved to be difficult for him but he was a sport about it.

Upon hearing that she had been in his quarters, the head of Intelligence for this mission had been livid that she had not informed him ahead of time – he looked at it as a lost opportunity to place listening devices there. She had purposely not told the intelligence officer for this very reason, but he did not need to know that. What she did do was plead ignorance and tell him that the Captain had informed her that his quarters were swept daily for such devices. She had no idea if this was true or not, but she was pretty sure the man would believe her – it fit well with the paranoid worldview most Romulan leadership held, especially ones involved with the Intelligence Directorate. He had assured her that their new devices were thoroughly undetectable and she now was the owner of three of the small bugs. The next time she visited his quarters, she had been ordered to hide as many as she could.

Which seemed like more and more of a moot point as they day wore on. They had not agreed to meet again when they parted yesterday evening, and she had not heard from him despite leaving a message earlier. She did not want to admit to herself how much this bothered her. Hiro's company was a welcome respite from the tedium she was forced to endure as the ambassador's chief aide, and she was really looking forward to seeing him again.

In her last meeting with her Ambassador, he had let her know that he was getting impatient with her lack of progress. He had wanted her to actually have relations with the Captain (she couldn't bring herself to be more explicit than that), and she had refused. She had no idea whether she wanted to be intimate with Hiro or not, but she most assuredly was not going to do it at the behest of her boss! And even if she did, she certainly was not going to tell him about it! On top of that, she did not really believe Hiro was interested in her in that way. She knew he enjoyed her company, as she did his, but that was a far cry from wanting to bed her. Her boss then had threatened that she had better come up with some usable intelligence or she, and by extension, the rest of her family, would regret it. The only realistic option she felt she had, was to break off contact with Hiro and claim that he was the one who had done so. A flimsy story, but the best she could think of.

For Hiro, it was getting increasingly difficult for him to justify spending time with Ruwon. Other members of the delegation had made progress with their opposite numbers, so Hiro was no longer the only game in town. If he was not getting any actionable intelligence, so the ambassador said, why was he continuing to see her? He had actually ordered him to discontinue further contact with the Commander. Hiro's protests that he "might" get some information, or that forging a friendly relationship might yield benefits later, did not even sound convincing to him. Creating a relationship with your opposite number would normally be a good strategy. The implicit assumption being that those relationships can be continually used to help both parties on an ongoing basis. In this case however, there was no "ongoing basis" between the Romulans and the Federation. Both Hiro and the Ambassador knew that the parties rarely talked – this was the first meeting, official or otherwise, the two adversaries had had in over ten years – and a backchannel as it was referred to, was not only nearly impossible to maintain given the scrutiny along the neutral zone, but was next to useless as the two sides effectively never met to discuss anything. No, he was going to have to reconcile himself to the fact that tonight was probably the last time he would be able to see Ruwon in an unofficial capacity at least. The thought saddened him more than he cared to admit. Unlike Ruwon, Hiro knew exactly why that was so. Only one other time in his life had he felt this way and a senseless tragedy had taken it away from him. He had resolved not to let it happen again. So much for resolutions he realized sardonically. She was leaving at the conclusion of the negotiations and he would never see her again. That's why he was putting so much planning into this evening. If it was the last thing they did together, he was going to make sure it went perfectly.

Unless.

The beginning of an idea began to form in his mind. It was kind of crazy, but it might just work.

The first indication she had that this day would be anything but ordinary was when a young Starfleet Lieutenant in full dress uniform presented himself at her ship's docking bay and requested permission to come aboard. At the time she was sitting in a meeting with Ambassador Jakan and a few of his people, going over the day's interactions with the Federation delegation. Her aide thought it sufficiently important to interrupt the ambassador's meeting. Afterwards, Ruwon had a suspicion that her aide was more interested in the inevitable ruckus that the Lieutenant's request was bound to cause more than anything else. Ruwon quietly told her to send the Lieutenant up to the bridge and that she would be there shortly to see what he wanted. When she told the ambassador what was going on , he assumed there was an official message for him and insisted on going to the bridge to meet the messenger personally. Of course, all of his people had to go as well. The minute they all entered the bridge the Lieutenant came to attention. Ruwon recognized him as the Captain's aide. He had what looked like an elaborate scroll in his hand, and an equally elaborate looking package at his feet.

"Commander Ruwon, I have a message for you from Captain Mifune. Permission to relay it to you Ma'am?"

Ruwon hesitated. The ambassador would be highly offended that a formal message such as this did not go through him. She also knew that his curiosity regarding the nature of the message would at least allow her to hear what it was.

"Go ahead Lieutenant."

The Lieutenant hesitated and looked at the Ambassador.

"It's alright young man, we are all friends here. Read your message."

The Lieutenant continued, "Captain Hiro Mifune requests the pleasure of Commander Khallianen T'Lyret E'Vor Ruwon's company at holodeck 3 at 1900 hours today. Do you accept this invitation?"

"That's it?" The ambassador asked incredulously.

"No sir. There's more if Commander Ruwon accepts."

"She accepts. What's the rest?"

The aide politely ignored the Ambassador and looked at the Commander. Ruwon knew the magnitude of what was going on here. By ignoring protocol in this way, Captain Mifune was certainly ending his career. He was, she suddenly realized, also declaring in an unambiguous way, his desire to share her company. The analytical part of her mind remembered what she had read about chivalry in humans. There was a part about "grand gestures". Well, if she did not quite understand what they were before, she knew now. She couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"Well Ruwon?", the Ambassador blurted out.

"I accept."

"Then please accept this gift as a gesture of appreciation from the Captain Ma'am. I would open it as soon as you get to your quarters. It's something you will need when you meet with him later."

The Lieutenant and even her own aide were smiling through this whole exchange. Ruwon could tell the Lieutenant was thoroughly enjoying making the Ambassador and her uncomfortable. The indignation on the faces of his aides was just an added bonus in their minds. He remained at attention until it occurred to her he was waiting for her permission to leave.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Please tell the Captain I looking forward to meeting with him."

He saluted and exited her bridge smiling all of the way.

Everyone on the bridge was riveted at this point. Nothing like this had ever happened in the experience of any Romulan present. It was not something that ever happened on Romulus for that matter. Dire consequences would have ensued for anyone who dared try it. Insubordination, embarrassing the Ambassador. For that matter, under normal circumstances, Ruwon might have challenged a Romulan who did this to her to a duel on general principles for the embarrassment he had caused her. This was something that was going to be talked about for a very long time she thought unhappily.

The Ambassador seemed to be at a loss for words. Everyone was looking at him wondering what he would do. On the one hand, he wanted Ruwon to get closer to Mifune, and this invitation seemed to prove out his strategy, as it appeared that the Captain was very much interested in his Commander. On the other hand, he had just been deeply insulted and a strong response was warranted. If a Romulan had done this, he would have executed him personally on the spot, and he seemed inclined to go after the Lieutenant right now to do just that. Seeing this, Ruwon stepped in, although she suspected from the look in her aides' eyes that they almost wanted the Ambassador to try.

"Ambassador, may I speak to you privately?"

"What?"

"May I speak to you in my ready room?"

"Yes, of course."

Ruwon's ready room was sparse and functional, save for one of her favorite chess sets; the oldest one. Seeing it she couldn't help but think that she had not yet had an opportunity to have that promised match with Hiro. As soon as she closed the door to the room, the Ambassador spoke up.

"What is this all about Commander? I need to send a protest to that dog of a Federation Ambassador. He is going to pay for this insult!"

"I would advise against that Ambassador."

He looked at her as if she just lost her mind.

"I believe the Captain was acting on his own."

"That. Is. Preposterous! The Federation leadership has its hands in everything that happens here. The Ambassador probably ordered that Captain to pull this stunt personally!"

"If we were dealing with another Romulan, I would agree with you. Captain Mifune is a human however, and they don't necessarily think in the same way we do. You asked me to get close to him. That, I have managed to do, and this bid for my affection is the result. If his Ambassador finds out about it, I strongly suspect he will be forbidden from carrying out whatever plan he has in mind, and will be summarily shipped back to Earth. If that happens, the information he promised will be lost."

This last was a desperation move on Ruwon's part. What on Earth would be called a "Hail Mary". Hiro of course, had promised her nothing of the sort. She was even unsure whether the invitation meant he had any affection for her at all, and to be fair, she did not know whether she had any for him either. But any chance of her seeing Hiro again and finding any of this out, depended on her persuading the ambassador that it was to his personal advantage to let her play this out on her terms. She knew her story was a bit flimsy and he was understandably suspicious.

"What type of information?"

"He wouldn't say, just that it was important."

"And when did he tell you this?"

She knew this question was a trap, as he would have listened to all of the tapes of their conversation in her quarters the previous evening.

"He showed me a note, he was afraid there might be listening devices."

He still was not convinced.

"And you think this information will be helpful in our negotiations?"

"I believe the Captain when he tells me the information is very important. Whether it will help with these particular negotiations, I have no way of knowing," she hedged.

The Ambassador paused to think over what she had just told him. She knew him well enough to know that she was going to get her way. The Ambassador had a very keen sense of self-preservation, and at the very least, figured he could claim to his superiors he had an inside track to the leadership of the Federation. If the information turned out to be valuable, all the better.

"Alright Commander, I will not say anything to the Federation ambassador. But I want you to record everything that is being said between you and the Captain. You were given recording devices I believe; they should work fine."

"I cannot do that Ambassador. The devices will not work in the holodeck. That's the reason I suspect that the Captain wants to meet there. The projectors, as you know, interfere with any kind of technology not native to the deck itself."

Another lie. She had no idea whether this was true or not either, but the Ambassador was not about to admit he was ignorant of the fact.

"Oh yes, I forgot. I want you to brief me as soon as you are finished with the Captain, are we clear?"

"Yes sir. If I am to be on time Ambassador, I need to go to my quarters right away."

"Yes, of course. Dismissed."

Ruwon wondered what had possessed her to tell her boss that Hiro had intelligence to share. It was a desperate move, but in retrospect, the one thing that persuaded the ambassador to let her have her way. She had been so afraid that he was going to inadvertently mess up her meeting with the Captain that she had just blurted it out. Well, now she was truly committed. No matter how enamored he might or might not be, he was honorable, and was not about to compromise the security of the Federation over her. She would have to think of something else. Perhaps if she went to the gym and did some forms to clear her head; she had just enough time before she had to meet Hiro. First though, her curiosity about the box got the better of her, and she headed to her quarters.

As soon as she arrived, she undid the elaborate packaging. It took a while but she finally lifted what looked to be a rather complicated and elaborately decorated garment to the light. She found a note in the bottom of the box and carefully put the garment down to see what it said. She was flattered to see her full name printed on the outside in an elaborate script. Most Romulans had trouble remembering a full name after only hearing it once, and Hiro was human. She opened the envelope; there was a very short message inside.

"Commander Ruwon. Please accept this humble gift and wear it this evening. If you would like assistance in putting it on, please contact Lt. Iwata on my staff." The note contained the Lieutenant's contact information.

Ruwon could not imagine it being all that complicated, but decided to try before she headed to the gym. Half an hour later, tired and exasperated, she contacted a smiling Lt. Iwata who invited Ruwon over to her quarters.

Lt. Iwata was a very pleasant, diminutive woman, who apparently knew everything there was to know about the garment, called a Kimono, and its history. She regaled her non-stop on its origins and significance in Japanese culture for an hour or so, as she attached this and cinched that. Altogether a very pleasant experience Ruwon decided.

The Lieutenant stepped back and admired her handiwork.

"Ok, looks pretty good. How does it feel on you Ma'am?"

Ruwon looked at herself in the full-length mirrors Lieutenant Iwata had set up in her room. Apparently, Hiro had anticipated she might need a bit of help as the Lieutenant had all the tools at hand any well-equipped tailor would; either that or she did this full time. Not likely given the exacting nature of starship duty. The Captain had certainly gone overboard with whatever he had planned. Ruwon could not stop the sense of anticipation that was threatening to overwhelm her.

"Fine I suppose."

A worried look crossed the young woman's face.

"Is something wrong Ma'am?"

"Oh no Lieutenant. It's just that I've never worn anything like this before."

Lt. Iwata laughed.

"Well, I imagine there are not many Kimonos on Romulus Ma'am. It looks great on you though. Now for your hair."

"My hair?"

"Yes Ma'am. I see you've brought your hairpieces."

"Yes I did, but I was hoping I would not have to wear them tonight. Are they really necessary?"

"Well no Ma'am. But the Captain specifically requested your hair be up. I think I have something here."

"He wants my hair up? Is that part of what we are doing this evening?"

It appeared to her that the woman was suddenly being a bit cagey about her response. When she did her best to avoid Ruwon's gaze, she knew the she was hiding something.

"I couldn't say Ma'am. "

"I must confess Lieutenant Iwata, that all of this has gotten me very curious about what is going to happen. Even so, I've had to wear those heavy hairpieces all day and would prefer to be more relaxed this evening."

Ruwon felt somewhat guilty about manipulating the young Lieutenant in this way but was nevertheless surprised at her reaction. Her eyes grew wide in what she thought was something akin to fear.

"No Ma'am! You cannot do that! The Captain insisted!"

"Yes I can. Unless of course you tell me why he insisted on me wearing a hairpiece?"

"Not that you wear a hairpiece Ma'am. He wants your hair up."

"What can that possibly have to do with what we are meeting about?"

Iwata started to become cagey again.

"I couldn't say Ma'am."

Ruwon's frustration with the behavior and customs of the human race, never far from the surface, began to boil over.

"Then I guess the Captain will have to be disappointed."

Naked shock and fear played across the young officer's face, presumably at the thought of letting the Captain down. It occurred to Ruwon that Captain Mifune appeared to inspire quite a bit of loyalty from his staff – either that or fear. She almost felt bad enough to let her off the hook.

"Please Ma'am! Please don't make me say."

"Tell me why."

Lt. Iwata hesitated for a second and then said resignedly.

"Ma'am, please don't tell the Captain I told you this!"

"Of course Lieutenant."

"He told me to make sure your ears were exposed."

Ruwon was at a loss for words and did not bother to hide the fact that she was totally perplexed by this. The woman's obvious extreme embarrassment only furthered her confusion.

"My ears?" Was all that she could think to say.

"Yes Ma'am. He was quite adamant about it."

"But why? "

Iwata turned an even brighter shade of red, a reaction Ruwon had been briefed was a sign of extreme embarrassment. She started to get concerned.

"I am not positive Ma'am, but I believe he thinks they are particularly attractive."

This was getting to be too much for her.

"I have read that humans are prone to trying to derive humor at the expense of others. Are you or the Captain attempting to mock me?"

The young woman became alarmed.

"No Ma'am! Honestly!"

She seemed sincere enough, but her revelation was so different from the way the Romulans thought about such things, that she found it hard to wrap her head around it. Or was it that different? If she was honest with herself, although she had read quite a bit on the subject, she had never experienced an intimate relationship, and thus had no actual personal experience to draw upon. For all she knew, she was forced to admit, this way of thinking could be common among Romulan men as well.

"Alright, where are the hairpieces? Please tell me they are lighter than mine."

Lieutenant Iwata let out an immense sigh of relief and quickly retrieved the pieces before Ruwon could change her mind. They looked nothing more than intricately decorated sticks to her. After the woman was finished, Ruwon looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit that the Lt. knew what she was doing. She had never looked quite like this before, but was pleased with the result.

Just then there was a knock at the door. In response to Ruwon's look of inquiry, Lt. Iwata said.

"That would be the Captain. I let him know you were coming and he thought it would be easier for you if he escorted you personally to the holodeck."

"He didn't think I could find it on my own?"

"Oh no Ma'am! It's not that. He just thought that because of the way you are dressed, you would feel more comfortable if he walked with you. Come!"

That chivalry thing again she thought. She could get used to such treatment if she didn't watch herself. The Captain's attire was almost as elaborate as her own with the exception of the addition of his sword tucked into the belt.

"Hello Captain. I must confess that I am very curious as to what is about to happen given all the work you just put your young aide through."

Hiro had stopped to admire the Lieutenant's handiwork and paused before answering her. His eyes lingered on her ears for long enough that she began to feel uncomfortable.

"All in good time Commander."

"Shall we proceed to the holodeck Captain?"

"Yes, of course. And thank you very much Lt. Iwata, you've done an excellent job."

The Lieutenant bowed. "My pleasure ma'am."

"You brought your sword with you Hiro. Are you planning on using it this evening?"

The Captain laughed.

"It is just ceremonial I can assure you." He placed her arm around his. "This way."

As they made their way through the station, they got more than their fair share of second looks. Apparently, dressing up as characters out of an ancient Japanese history book, was not as common as one would have thought Ruwon reflected with some amusement.

The station, like most, was normally staffed with a limited number of people. The stations were designed as remote outposts, keeping watch over strategic areas of space. As such, the only time they became crowded was when the occasional starship came by for minor repairs, official visits, or shore leave for starship crews on deep space duty. With the talks in full swing and at least five ships docked, the station had more people walking around than it had had in quite a long time. Although both the Romulan and Federation leadership had left strict orders for their respective personnel to be on their best behavior, there had inevitably been some minor conflicts that each had had to deal with.

Although her relationship with Captain Mifune was the most successful so far, there were other ongoing attempts to duplicate that success. During negotiations of this sort, it was not unusual for the opposing parties to try to forge personal relationships to further each other's agendas, and all personnel on both sides of this particular diplomatic mission, knew that this was part of the process. It was therefore a surprise to the Commander that, as she rounded a corner with Hiro, she was confronted by three fellow Romulans, one of whom made a derogatory comment that she did not quite catch.

She spoke to him in Romulan so Hiro would not understand.

"I am sorry centurion, what was that you said?"

"You heard me." Spat the Romulan.

Even though she had come far in the Empire, it was still an environment where men dominated in positions of power. As such, they sometimes took liberties with her they would never have taken with another man. She had learned the best way to deal with such situations was to make it very clear who the senior officer was.

"No, I actually did not hear what you said. Please repeat it."

"I said you should be ashamed of yourself. The humans are the enemy and everyone knows you've been consorting with this one like a common whore!"

"What did he say Commander?" Hiro asked.

"Nothing important Captain."

The other centurions, seeing that things were about to get out of hand, moved to restrain their companion. He was having none of it however. Ruwon tried to keep her anger in check. She was not sure if she was angry because his statement was not true, or that others could see that she might want it to be true. In any case, her temper was getting the best of her, and she instinctively reached for her hairpieces only to have her hands come away with the useless sticks that the Lt. had used to hold her hair up. It didn't help her mood that she felt faintly ridiculous in the kimono she was wearing and had not anticipated anyone seeing her, especially another Romulan.

Upon hearing her remark to Captain Mifune, the soldier switched to English.

"Nothing important?! So now another Romulan is not worth listening to? Now that you've got a human boyfriend, none of us are good enough for you?!" He said mockingly.

It had become apparent to Hiro that this Romulan had managed to acquire some of the secret stash of genuine alcohol that the bartender in the station's lounge kept for special occasions. "Special" meaning when anyone was willing to exchange something extremely valuable for it. He had no idea what they had given the bartender, but he did easily see the effect the alcohol was having on the three men - they were obviously very drunk. And, he thought, he was betting Ruwon had no idea the three were not really in the best control of their faculties. He moved to interject himself into the conversation, and touched Ruwon's arm to get her attention.

"Commander. I think these gentlemen have just been celebrating a bit too hard in the station's lounge. We should just go; we'll be late for what I've got planned."

Unfortunately, Captain Mifune's action only seemed to make the Romulan angrier. As he and Ruwon started to move away, the centurion could not leave well enough alone.

"You want to know what I called her human? I told her she was a whore for selling herself to you!"

The movement was quicker than the Romulans had time to realize. In the blink of an eye, Hiro unsheathed his sword, drew it over his head so as to avoid injuring Ruwon, and brought the blunt end down within a few millimeters of the space between the man's eyes. One centurion staggered back and nearly fell over his own feet. The other just stood there, his eyes wide in shock. The object of Hiro's attention knew better than to move, and looked too afraid to even take a breath.

Ruwon was again shocked at the deadly calm Hiro exhibited when angry.

"Now son, I realize you've over indulged in the local firewater, but this is a Starfleet space station, and around here, we treat a lady with a certain respect. I know you didn't really mean what you just said, so I just wanted to give you an opportunity to express your regret for your words to the Commander here before you and your friends go on your way."

The centurion appeared to wrestle with the risk of Captain Mifune really hurting him, versus saving face with his friends, and did not immediately respond. He started to object, so Hiro "encouraged" him by resting his sword on the bridge of the soldiers' nose. Unfortunately he had more guts than brains and responded angrily.

"Human, you will pay…"

Loudly, and in perfect Romulan to the surprise of everyone, especially Ruwon, Hiro interrupted him.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate son. You evidently do not have a very good grasp of English, so let me be perfectly clear."

He flipped the sword over and rested it between the Romulan's eyes. It was very sharp and quickly drew a bead of blood that slowly trickled down the bridge of the centurion's nose.

"You have got five seconds to apologize to the Commander, or I can guarantee the loss of a body part. Your choice."

All color drained from the man's face.

Ruwon meanwhile, recovered from her initial shock and realized that if things escalated any further, both of them would be in trouble. She was acutely aware, more than most, the damage Captain Mifune was capable of inflicting with his sword. As he moved to follow through with his threat, she quickly put herself between him and the soldier. She put her hand on the Captain's arm and looked him directly in the eye.

"Hiro please! I am sure the centurion didn't mean anything by it, did you centurion?"

The soldier, eyes wide, shook his head vigorously. Or at least that's what Ruwon thought he was doing, as the man was afraid to move too much lest Hiro's sword cut even deeper.

"You two. Please escort your friend to his quarters and make sure he gets some rest, and let's all forget that this happened. Hiro, I am anxious to get to the holodeck. I am sure these men can handle things from here."

The Captain, who had not yet moved, nor taken his eyes off the man, quickly sheathed his sword and smiled at the Commander, the incident forgotten.

"As you wish."

As the men quickly headed away, Ruwon asked Hiro about his grasp of the Romulan language.

"Apologies Lyret. It was supposed to be a secret."

Understandable she thought. His job, just like hers, was to get information from the other side. Secretly knowing the other's language was a definite asset.

"Well then, should we proceed to this surprise you have for me?"

They reached the holodeck without further incident. When he opened the doors, the first thing she saw was a meadow in the middle of a forest. Sunlight poked through the trees and revealed a small structure on a slight rise some distance away, surrounded by short green grass. An altogether peaceful scene she thought to herself.

"Shall we?" The Captain invited her.

Lyret preceded him onto the holodeck but then stopped to appreciate her surroundings. They were in a glade, populated by various creatures from butterflies to mottled baby deer, none of which seemed to have any kind of fear of them. She did not recognize the animals as such of course, but was still struck by the serenity of the scene.

"It is very peaceful here Hiro," she said with a bit of melancholy.

Hiro noticed her mood, but was unsure how to respond. He assumed she was upset about the altercation earlier. Well hopefully, what he planned would improve her disposition. He had some very important news to tell her, and wanted a good memory of their last time together if she did not take the news well. They made their way toward the structure in the distance, enjoying the scenery as they went.

The Captain, she found, was well versed in the accompanying flora and fauna, which made for a pleasant leisurely stroll, and they shortly arrived at their destination.

"This, Lyret, is what is known as a tea house. It is used exclusively for performing the tea ceremony. The ritual is…"

"Hiro, I have something I must tell you."

"And I have some news for you as well Lyret. But let's do the tea ceremony first. Its purpose is to promote harmony and relax the mind. Whatever problems you have right now, it will help ease their burden."

Lyret nodded in acquiescence, and Hiro had her remove her shoes and kneel on one side of the tea service. He knelt on the other side and commenced the ceremony.

At first, Lyret was struck by how prolonged the simplest gestures could be made to look, but as Hiro whisked the pale green tea into a froth, poured it, and wiped the rim of the cup, she gradually began to appreciate the repetitiveness of the observance. Every gesture had its place, and she found herself beginning to relax and enjoy the experience. She watched Hiro and wondered how hands so practiced in meting out violent death, could suddenly be so deft at the gentle art of the tea ceremony. The thought came unbidden to her mind as to what else his hands might be good at, and she quickly lowered her face to hide her embarrassment. Despite her resolution of only a few days previously, she could not help but be strongly drawn to the Captain. When the ceremony ended, Hiro took her hand and led her to the cushions that lined the walls of the teahouse. She did not resist.

A few hours later Lyret roused herself. This could not wait any longer.

"Hiro, I have something important to tell you."

Not one to prolong painful moments, she continued.

"We cannot see each other privately after this. My ambassador has raised concerns that I have not been able to get any usable intelligence from you."

Both she and the Captain were realists, and the only reason their private interactions were sanctioned was because their respective bosses expected something tangible, in the shape of usable intelligence, to come out of it. As the days had gone by and nothing of significance had been forthcoming, their superiors had lost patience with the effort. Since both Ruwon and Captain Mifune were both high-ranking officers, their ambassadors felt their talents could be better used elsewhere.

Ruwon did not know exactly how Hiro would react to the news. She thought it could range anywhere from anger to surprise. She secretly hoped he would be at least a little sad. What she had not expected, and in short order brought her anger to the fore, was that the Captain actually started laughing!

Ruwon did not trust herself to say anything. She calmly gathered her things and got up to leave.

Hiro, still laughing grasped her arm.

"I am sorry Lyret. Please sit back down. To tell the truth, I am relieved. I was afraid you were going to tell me you were pledged to another, or did not really care for me. What you just said was frankly a relief by comparison. I have news as well. In fact, my superiors have expressed a similar concern. I disobeyed a direct order in seeing you today."

Ruwon quickly went from anger to concern.

"They won't execute you will they Hiroshi?!"

Hiro laughed. Lyret made a mental note to educate him about the consequences of laughing at Romulan women.

"Oh no, nothing so dramatic! I imagine they will send me home and demote me. Whatever they do Lyret, I knew the consequences before I came here today, and it was worth it to spend these last few moments with you."

"Oh Hiro!"

She grabbed him and kissed him passionately. After a long moment, he pushed her away. She looked a bit confused.

"I have an idea though; if you would like to hear it?"

Ruwon couldn't help but be suspicious.

"I am listening."

"I have to warn you ahead of time however Lyret. My idea will allow us to see each other as much as we want while we are on this mission, but it will require us to trust in one another, and it is not without risk. And, I can guarantee you our employers will be very unhappy with us if they ever found out."

"Hiro, I have to tell you. I would never do anything to dishonor the Empire, or myself, even for you.

"No, I don't expect you would Lyret, and neither would I. I do however, see a benefit in our continuing to stay in contact with one another. I have noticed for example, that there is a certain tension between you and many of your fellow Romulans."

"You are very observant, but I fail to see what that has to do with the issue at hand."

"Well, if you were to manage to seduce a particularly useful bit of information out of me, would that be helpful in shoring up your standing with your superiors?"

"Of course it would. But eventually, I would have to betray the Empire by giving you some usable intelligence as well."

"Yes, but there are secrets Lyret, and then there are secrets. As you know, there is some information that may be perceived as more valuable to one side than the other. Also, if you tell the Ambassador that even though you've managed to get me under your feminine spell, I will eventually get suspicious if there is not good, verifiable intelligence going in the other direction as well, I am certain he would understand that you would have to pass something my way."

"I suppose I could tell him that I've managed to get you so wrapped up that you would do anything to ensure you could continue to share my company." She said smiling, beginning to see where he was going with this.

Hiro smiled right back at her.

"And that would have the added benefit of actually being the truth!"

Both of them laughed.

"True or not Hiro, your plan would require a level of trust I am sure, given our positions, we do not yet have in one another. In addition, that first bit of information would have to be very good for either one of our superiors to be fooled. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, who goes first?"

"What if I were to say I could show you how to improve your warp drive efficiency by 10%. And that we are just starting the installation of the upgrades on all of our own ships?"

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"That much?! Our scientists would say that that is impossible. Forgive me if I am a bit skeptical. Are you sure the information is reliable?"

"Reasonably sure. I was the one who developed the technology."

"Hiro! If our security people knew that, they would kidnap you right now!"

"No need. I'll give you, and only you, the information. It would require us to be together for a few hours every day however, for longer than the talks are scheduled to last. You think you could convince your boss to extend the mission for at least another week?"

"For that information, I am sure he would stay here for another year! We would have to verify the information of course."

"Of course."

Thinking out loud, she said.

"But we don't have anyone qualified to do that with us. We'd have to bring someone here from Romulus. We are not authorized by Starfleet to bring any more ships here though. How would we get around that?"

"Well there's no way we can spend more time together unless you can pass me some valuable piece of information. If you do that, my Ambassador will be convinced that our relationship is bearing fruit and he will most certainly agree to extend the mission."

"That just might work Hiro, but again, as much as I enjoy your… company, what you are asking me to do amounts to treason, and I don't know how comfortable I am with that."

"Lyret, let me assure you that although the obvious short-term benefit to my proposal will be our being able to spend more time with one another, I would not have proposed it if that was all I was contemplating. If you speak with your Ambassador, I know he will agree to our first exchange of information. After that, maybe not. But even if he were unwilling, I would urge you to think about how much more ability you would have to shape events in the empire if you had important information others did not. I am not talking about personal power per se, but rather the ability to better keep your family, and the rest of the Romulan people, safe from the more extreme elements of both of our respective leaderships. I know it's true for the empire as well, but we've got admirals who would like nothing more than to launch a fleet across the neutral zone tomorrow. What if we could work together to neutralize these elements? Would you consider that treason or preventing a destructive war you know neither side can win?"

Ruwon thought for a moment.

"You present a persuasive case Hiro."

"All I ask Lyret, is that you think about it. You would not have to pass anything along you felt would compromise your position or the Empire's. Truth be told, some of the things we may think are important, may be totally irrelevant to you. Just think about it Lyret. Your ambassador will agree to the first exchange, the information I will give to you is too valuable for him to refuse."

"What if he passes false information to you?"

"I would advise against it. He would be sacrificing a potentially valuable source of information for short term gain. We have very good ways of verifying things just as you do. If your information is not good, I will not give you what you need to complete the improvements to your ships. Remember I told you it would take a number of days for me to pass along everything you need? Well, there are some critical things that I will give you only on the last day."

"How will we know that what you are giving us is going to be worth anything? You are asking us to just trust that whatever you give us will be valuable in the end?"

"No, of course not. On the first day I will give you verifiable evidence that what I say is true. Besides, if you are still unsure, just give me information in exchange that you do not consider that valuable."

"You would find that acceptable?"

"Initially yes, and I have confidence you will eventually come over to my way of thinking."

His smile was infectious and she could not help returning it in kind.

"We will see about that."

"Yes we will. May I suggest we take it slowly then? Run my proposal by your superior and see what he says. Tell him that I will work only with you alone on this. Suggest to him that in your opinion, my ambassador will not let me meet with you again unless I can pass along some reasonably valuable piece of information to my people, and in fact, I will probably be arrested and sent back to Earth because of my indiscretion today, so he needs to act very quickly."

"How soon do you expect to be sent away?"

"There is a ship leaving in the morning and I fully expect to be ordered to be on it."

"If you are arrested immediately, how will we be able pass any information to you?"

"I will tell my people that I defied orders to meet you one more time because I thought I was on the verge of getting some valuable information from you. That should buy a little time, and get me one last meeting with you, if you, or better yet, your boss, personally asks for it.

"Here, take this data stick. It lists upgrade schedules for our ships, and preliminary data on what we have done to improve their performance. If you have one of your warp engine experts back home take a look at it, I can assure you they will recognize it as authentic.

"Thank you again Lyret for meeting with me today. If we do not see each other again, know that I have appreciated your company more than I could ever express."

"Thank you as well Hiro.

"You know, I do not need to meet with my Ambassador for two hours yet. May I suggest we discuss further the terms of our new arrangement?"

Hiro smiled. Neither said a word for the next several hours.