Myra was surprised as well as grateful that Issor was actually trying hard to be helpful and constructive. What was more, she noticed subtle changes in his attitude towards her, too. Suddenly, he seemed almost friendly. She had no idea what had caused this change in behaviour. It confused her. But she certainly wasn't going to complain. If they were to have any chance of minimising the damage of her blunder, Issor's help was going to be crucial, that much was certain.
She listened intently as Issor explained where she had gone wrong during the meeting. It was an effort - she was still too scared and embarrassed to have an easy time focusing on anything even remotely complex, and Asalooq manners were, without a doubt, as complex as it came. Somehow, however, not least thanks to Issor's efforts to explain in a way she would understand - he even used easy, recognisable examples, Myra noticed with surprise - she managed.
Slowly, it dawned on Myra. All the time, she had gone over everything she had said and done in her head, thinking that some kind of unintentional gesture or well-meant, but ill-chosen remark had gotten her in trouble. However, it wasn't anything she had said or done. It was something she hadn't done, hadn't even noticed. She couldn't for the life of her remember Feurna making the kind of gestures Issor described, but if her colleague said she had, it had to be true. Myra simply hadn't noticed, had been too tense and unaware of the importance of this sort of thing. Now, belatedly, she remembered vaguely that her briefing papers had, indeed, contained something about hand gestures. Even then, she hadn't realised how important it was. She remembered trying to read everything she had been given and miserably failing. It had just been so much material. She should probably have started with the most important documents, but she had been completely at a loss as to which documents these might be. Scared to ask anyone for help (she hadn't forgotten how the First Officer had treated Issor), she had simply picked documents at random. Apparently, the ones she had chosen hadn't been enough to make her realise how important certain kinds of gestures were for the Asalooq. What a mess. And it was all her fault.
"Thank you," she said quietly, "I really appreciate your trying to help, and it was a very good explanation. I'm quite sure I understand my mistake now. Maybe that's going to help in limiting the damage." She would have to talk to the Captain about this. The very thought was almost enough to make her freeze in terror. But she had been the one to make the mistake, so it was the least she could do to own up to it.
XXX
Issor hesitated for a moment, probably thinking about a suitably polite answer. Before he could say anything, they were interrupted by Myra's communicator. Her anxiety rising, she took the call. "Velna to Dhawan," she heard the First Officer say in her usual brisk manner. She stared at the com badge in horror. This was her worst expectations come true. Having to deal with the Captain would have been bad enough, but Velna? Myra had a distinct feeling that being court-martialled and locked up would have been preferable to facing the XO's wrath. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to get out a confirmation.
"Ensign, I want you to come to my office as soon as possible," Velna ordered. She didn't sound particularly friendly, but Myra couldn't quite decide if it was just her normal businesslike manner or if she was angry. Well, she would find out soon enough. "Understood, Ma'am. I'll be there in a couple of minutes," she said, trying to sound as meek as possible so as not to aggravate Velna even further. Velna didn't comment. "Is Ensign Issor with you?," she asked instead. "Yes, Ma'am," Myra confirmed, feeling, absurdly, as if she were betraying her colleague, sacrificing him to the First Officer out for young Ensigns' blood. "Good. Please tell him to come, as well, I want a word with him," Velna said.
"Well, you heard her… she wants us both in her office," she said to Issor after the com link was closed, "I don't think you've got anything to worry about, though. She probably just wants you there for an expert opinion on Asalooq culture." At least, she hoped that was the reason. She'd have hated it if she had, somehow, gotten her colleague in trouble as well.
Myra couldn't quite read Issor's expression, but it had to be uncomfortable for him to be facing Velna again. She'd have liked to say something encouraging, but she couldn't think of anything she considered safe. Therefore, they made their way to headquarters in silence.
The look on Velna's face was far from encouraging. Myra hadn't been quite sure from her voice, but up close, there was no doubt: She was definitely angry. "Ensign, I'm disappointed by your behaviour. Very disappointed," she told Myra after only the most perfunctory of greetings, "We are here to establish a positive relationship with the Asalooq. That is a huge responsibility. The least a Starfleet Officer should do in such a situation is properly read their briefing documents - which you, apparently, couldn't be bothered to do. Did you think you were too clever to actually have to study? I bet you were… it's always the same with people who come from the Academy with good grades after a sheltered youth on some… holiday planet... they all think they know everything already. Obviously, you are no exception, Ensign Dhawan. But I'm telling you this just once: you'll have to change your attitude very, very quickly if you want to stay here and succeed. This is not a game. Understood?"
Myra, fighting back tears, could only manage a silent nod. Miraculously, the XO let it pass, turning to Issor next. "As for you, Ensign Issor, I would have hoped you'd do a better job at keeping your colleagues from making mistakes," she said. It was so blatantly unfair that Myra almost protested. She stopped herself in the last moment, fearing she'd only make things worse for Issor as well as herself. Velna didn't seem like the type to be moved by that kind of complaint.
"Honestly, I've got no idea what they teach at the Academy these days. We're lucky there isn't a war on - if this is what can be expected from the recent graduates, the Federation would lose in about a week," Velna said, a clear note of scorn in her voice, "Anyway, this isn't my problem to deal with. The Captain will see you two about your blunder in a couple of minutes."
XXX
Captain Peña stared at the splitscreen image of Admirals Lorraine and Schneider, Commanding Admirals of Cardassian Border and Occupation Command and Outlying Regions Command, respectively. Why Lorraine was in on the discussion was completely unclear to the Captain. He would have much preferred for the hot-headed Admiral to stay out of his life as much as possible, but he was logged in, and there was nothing to be done. "What are you two commanding officers doing to rectify this?" demanded Lorraine, as if Peña and Robinson had just released fifty Denebian slime devils on his front lawn. In fact, this was none of his business, but Peña was patient by nature, even if he had to remind himself of that.
"As I said before, Admiral, we are still assessing the situation and possible options. In fact, I'm having Ensign Dhawan come in right now, and also my Asalooq officer, Ensign Issor." "You should court-martial them!" roared Lorraine. "And your counsellor too! And if," he added to Admiral Schneider, "the Captain and the Commander here refuse to do that, you should do it and put them right on the list as well, and the XO's, and the whole incompetent bunch!"
That he wasn't foaming at the mouth was everything. Peña could barely stop himself from rolling his eyes. Something in Lorraine truly ticked him off - and he was no longer used to bouts of temper at his age. Fortunately, Schneider was of the same mind as Peña. "You can't charge people with being unlucky, Vince," he dismissed the senior officer's ranting. To Peña and Robinson, she shook her head. "But you have to get things under control quickly. We know little about how public opinion works on Asalooq, but you cannot turn the population against UFP membership, not so soon after they entered. It could destabilize the whole sector, once the Romulans and the Cardassians and the Breen get wind of this. Gentlemen, I'm getting the impression here that you're not using your assets as effectively as you could. I understand that Mr Issor is an Ensign and a…perhaps, a difficult personality, but Captain Peña, you need to activate his potential as a cultural translator. I'm sorry we cannot supply you with more personnel, but the shelf is way too bare when it comes to post-first contact specialists."
Peña and Robinson exchanged looks. Starfleet was too defence-centric, as Miguel was starting to understand. What good was being able to fight off an invasion if the slower, immensely difficult but equally important work of building Federation society could not be done? In his early days, Miguel had learned that what you defended was ultimately more important than how you did it. If the Federation turned into a heap of squabbling planets, held together by a common military establishment, was it really worth defending? The mere fact that he was asking those questions in his head was worrisome.
"The sociologists say that a public apology will go a long way, and sources inside the Asalooq system indicate the same," Robinson remarked, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "The problem is, we can't afford to make things any worse. We are going to work this out, Admiral, but it will take a few hours at least." Miguel nodded his agreement. Robinson seemed gruff in his manners, but the morning's news had obviously put the fear of God into him, and maybe made him understand how tricky it was to negotiate the Asalooq Community.
"Let's bring in Ensigns Issor and Dhawan," Peña proposed. "We can reconstruct the whole event with Mr Issor's help and maybe even start drafting the apology. You are welcome to join the discussion, Ma'am," he added, addressing Schneider. She shook her head, clearly wanting to get Lorraine off her screen as much as Miguel did. "No, I will let you handle this. But get back to me before you take any action. This is technically a diplomatic matter. The members are sovereign entities, after all."
The two officers on Asalooq nodded dutifully and Robinson turned to Peña as the screen went dark. "Damn, Lorraine is a bag of hot air, isn't he?" Miguel sighed. "Indeed, Commander. About our two Ensigns – I'm not quite happy with how they handled themselves, but I would rather take care of this afterwards. Rectifying the situation has priority, don't you agree?" Robinson waved the remark aside. "It's all good, Peña. Don't worry about me ripping their heads off. And I agree we have to get a handle on the whole thing before it blows up even more."
Glad that they were in agreement, Peñal called the two Ensigns in, thinking that they were probably happy to get away from Commander Velna.
XXX
Captain Peña, at least, looked noticeably less angry than his First Officer. That came as no surprise to Myra - unhappy as she was at having disappointed the Captain, she knew that whatever he had in store for her couldn't be worse than facing Velna's wrath. In her short time of being part of this crew, she had already developed an almost superstitious fear of the First Officer - and she was pretty sure that it was the same for most of the young Ensigns on board. It was certainly true for Issor, that much she had been able to see even through his Asalooq self-control.
After the formal greetings, the Captain studied the two Ensigns for a moment. Myra didn't quite know what that was about, but felt quite uncomfortable - not that it was an unfriendly kind of scrutiny, like she would have expected from Velna, but she simply hated being centre of attention. Even more so if she had recently messed up. Peña didn't comment, however, but addressed the main issue right away. "Well, Ensign Dhawan, I'm sure you are aware by now that your behaviour at the meeting was less than helpful," he said. At least he didn't shout. Myra nodded miserably. "Yes, Sir," she said quietly.
Peña paused for a moment before continuing: "But I'm sure Commander Velna has already made that very clear. My main interest right now is mitigating the damage. Do you, by any chance, know what exactly you have done to insult the Asalooq?"
"Yes, Sir," Myra said, "I do now. Ensign Issor has explained it to me. He says that councilwoman Feurna made hand gestures that symbolised she was… willing to engage in deeper discussions, instead of making small talk. I didn't understand the significance of the gestures then. But she got the impression that I ignored her because I considered her… insignificant, or something like that. Maybe it would be best if Ensign Issor explains the details, I'm not quite sure I've understood them all correctly yet."
XXX
Peña nodded and turned to Ensign Issor; his Academy records indicated that he was very well capable of expressing himself, and that, having lived in two cultures, he was indeed able to explain his own. It was just a matter of getting him to do so in front of himself and Robinson. Peña eyed the Asalooq Ensign and declared: "I happen to agree with Ensign Dhawan. Currently, you, Mr Issor, are the only one in the room whose explanation is substantially more than an educated guess."
The Captain had decided to make as rational a point of it as he could, hoping that good reason (which was at least in part universal) could be the lever to get Issor to explain properly. "In light of that and of the importance of this situation, your advice would be enormously helpful." He had not said opinion, let alone decision, because he surmised Issor would be more comfortable advising than doing anything more decisive. For a human, such a distinction might have been an academic subtlety, but for an Asalooq, it could well mean the difference between a real answer and a dodge.
Peña saw the Ensign's eyes dart across the room, from himself to Dhawan and Robinson, then back to the Captain. Then he nodded thoughtfully, cleared his throat and spoke. He repeated the explanation he had given to Dhawan earlier, expanding on the social context: "Usually, the choice of any member of Asalooq society to not engage in discourse will be respected, if signalled correctly. However, the form of social gathering called Uwnehi is specifically designed to allow in-depth discussions of subject matter more easily than normal. In that context, it's a grave breach of protocol if someone ignores, and, well, devalues how the person initiating discussion has exposed herself. For us, starting an in-depth conversation is… how can I say this… a large step. We assume a vulnerable position. Being rejected at this point, without good reason, is hurtful and diminishing to our status, especially if the rejected individual is of high rank." Robinson asked, his voice much more reserved than usual: "Will the fact that Ensign Dhawan here didn't know about the hand signs make any difference?" Issor considered the decision for a moment, and Peña wondered if the man wasn't among the more thoughtful young Ensigns he had met in his time. "If it is brought to Councilwoman Wahne's attention in the proper manner, it might. It is…proper for Asalooq to forgive slights of this nature if addressed right. Our society has outgrown an earlier stage where there was considerable feuding," Issor added, almost defensively.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me all this when I straight-up asked you on the ride home, Ensign Issor?" Robinson growled. The answer was quite obvious, Peña thought, but Commander Robinson was no diplomat, not even a very good communicator, and about as sensitive as Petrov. "I asked you if Emeryx's comments had any merit and you said no!" Captain Peña saw the Ensign swallow, his eyes darting up and down. Among his people, the Captain assumed, nobody was ever this confrontational. "Lying to a superior officer is not a smart move, Mister, and if I wanted, I could have you brought up on charges for that kind of thing!" Peña recognized that it was time to head off Robinson before he talked himself into a rage. "If I remember correctly, Commander," he interjected calmly, "you asked a suggestive question, geared towards the negative; correct me if I'm wrong, Ensign, but I believe the… threshold for contradicting a suggestive question asked by a superior is rather high." The irony of the situation didn't escape Peña - he had just erected a threshold equally high for Issor - but he was certain he was right. "The way you posed your question, Commander, made it almost impossible for Ensign Issor to reply accurately. Now… I agree with the Commander, Ensign, that you should still have done so; as officers, we don't have the privilege of following our social instincts," he added sternly in Issor's direction. "But it does explain the Ensign's reaction." Robinson had little choice to concede, because it was unproductive to keep harping on about past events, but he did so grumbling. "Well… do you have anything to add, Ensign Issor - really this time?" he asked gruffly. Issor shook his head.
Peña nodded, confident that they really were done. "Thank you, Ensign. Miss Dhawan, gentlemen… I believe we have an apology to draft?"