V'lor followed Jablonsky into the hallway outside the SAAAB meeting room. "Why are you admitting her?"
Jablonsky stopped and turned towards her - V'lor stopped as well, and Jablonsky waited on his reply until the other board members had meandered out of hearing range. "I just want to help bring the Cardassians into the Federation. I'm sorry, but she was the only applicant who came even close to anything we would allow through these doors."
"Perhaps you should have looked harder." The ice in V'lor's tone matched her cold steel-blue eyes and seemed to fit nicely in with the weather outside. In fact, if V'lor had been anyone else, Jablonsky would have commented on the careful art that shone through in her personal interactions. "Or perhaps we should wait. After all, our first attempts to bring the Klingons into the Federation failed, and there is no reason to assume that events will transpire any differently here."
"Walk with me, V'lor." Jablonsky put a hand on his colleague's shoulder and guided her into a transparent aluminum-enclosed tunnel that branched off from the main Starfleet Academy complex and crossed through a well-maintained garden. "We need - " He cut himself off, as if he was about to say something that he didn't want her to hear. "Look at where we are now with the Klingons. They've come nicely into the fold."
"You should know from experience that the Cardassians don't do anything nicely. And they aren't nearly as stupid as the Klingons - they might use this as an opportunity to get a spy into Starfleet." V'lor was confident that this point could be the one to convince Jablonsky to let go of this 'promising young lady' and do something more reasonable to make the Cardassians feel like part of the Federation.
"Captain, which Cardassians are you talking about, exactly? The Obsidian Order is long gone and so is her father..."
"Gone, sir. But perhaps not dead." V'lor knew this was a dangerous thing to bring up with a skeptical man like Admiral Jablonsky, but she felt obligated to cover all the bases, especially on such a potentially sensitive subject.
Jablonsky sighed. "Oh, spare me. You know I don't believe in any of that wishy-washy nonsense about temples and prophets and demons and devils."
V'lor raised an eyebrow. "Very well, sir. In fact, neither do I. I simply thought it would be prudent to bring up the subject." The two officers had reached the main Starfleet building, and as they entered, they took their separate ways down the corridor stretching around the perimeter of the building, Jablonsky heading towards the basement for another meeting and V'lor heading to her small apartment on the roof level to meditate. After all, it wouldn't be proper to participate in such an emotional encounter without giving it time to dissipate.
(A/N: Don't worry, you'll get to actually meet Lenzet in the next chapter.)