Diplomatic Encounters, Chapter 2
The away team would consist of Kirk, Spock, an unwilling and disgruntled-looking McCoy, Lieutenants Uhura and Sulu, and Ensigns Harvey and McAllister as security detail. Minutes before the Enterprise was slated to arrive in orbit over Telophon, the team met in the transporter room where Scotty and his crew were ready to beam them planetside. Kirk confirmed that everyone understood the situation and their specific duties as impartial observers, then the team took up positions on the transporter pad.
"Alright, Mr. Scott, the ship is yours. Take good care of her until we're back," and Kirk winked at Scotty who grinned back.
"Understood, Captain. An' good luck to ye." He saluted, confirmed they were ready, and then Kirk and the others could feel a familiar tingling sensation as they dematerialized and left the room in silence.
The team rematerialized in a very similar-looking transporter room on Telophon. They were in New Anglion, a town on the outskirts of the area settled by Terran colonials and where in fact a small number of Telonians had already moved since peace talks had begun. The distance of the town from the power centres of either party made it an excellently unbiased location to hold negotiations; the cohabitation of the two races was also a good climate in which to come to an agreement.
Kirk stepped to the fore of the Enterprise group and quickly looked over the small group assembled to greet them. There were three humans; the leader was a tall, authoritative-looking man with gray hair and dark eyes. The two men standing slightly behind him seemed to be aides of some sort. There were only two Telonians present, and both appeared to be female; even so, they towered above the humans, their necks long and elegant with wide violet eyes that blinked rapidly. Their build, while remaining feminine, was almost fearsome in that it rendered them significantly larger and stronger than anyone else in the room.
One of the Telonians stepped forward and extended a hand to Kirk, who accepted and felt his enveloped by the other. He'd been prepared for the Telonians' larger size, but the two females in front of him were unexpected. He wondered if the males were even larger than these two, and quickly gained a new appreciation for the colonials for lasting so long in a war in which they were already outnumbered.
"Greetings," the Telonian spoke, and her voice was like a soothing whisper. She was still blinking far more often than any of the humans, and Kirk decided that as an attribute it was extremely disconcerting; humans subconsciously perceived rapid blinking as deceptive. "I am Elin, and my companion is Sharin. We are representatives of the Telonian negotiating party."
"Captain James T. Kirk of the Enterprise," he responded confidently, and repeated the greeting to the other party, whose leader introduced himself at Councilor Mathiasz. Kirk introduced his crew and managed to sneak in a meaningful look at McCoy, who tried to right his unhappy scowl.
"We are honored that Starfleet has sent their most distinguished and promising Captain," Mathiasz began. "There are some who would wonder whether your promotion has come too soon, but I for one have great admiration for your part in the recent events with that Romulan ship, and welcome you sincerely to Telophon."
Kirk bristled a bit at the insinuation that he was too young for his command, but couldn't ignore the blatant compliment, and tried out his best gracious smile as he thanked the man. Damn, but he regretted blowing off so many of his diplomacy classes at the Academy.
Mathiasz was continuing. "We have quarters set up for you, and if you like, my aides will show you to them. There is a banquet beginning shortly, and we would be delighted if all of you will attend. Tomorrow we commence our meetings." At that, he inclined his head and excused himself, and the Telonians followed suit. Mathiasz's two aides motioned for the team to follow them, and they wound their way through a series of hallways before being shown a modest but comfortable set of rooms. The aides left then, reminding them that someone would be by to escort them to the banquet hall shortly.
"What do you think, Spock?" It already seemed so natural for Kirk to ask Spock's opinion on unknown situations like this. He found it far too easy to trust this man he'd wanted to strangle just months before, and already considered himself lucky to have such a First. As Spock considered his reply, Kirk and Bones lowered themselves to some of the chairs available. Harvey and McAllister took up positions by the door, and the others followed the Captain's lead in finding seats.
"While I do not believe we have had adequate exposure to come to a strong conclusion regarding the situation, I perceive that both parties are doing their best to ensure that we see everything is going smoothly." Spock tilted his head to better regard the Captain. "This may be for reasons as innocent as to put us at ease in a potentially fragile situation."
"Or it may be because they're planning something devious that'll make this mission way more trouble than it's worth," interjected McCoy darkly.
Kirk rolled his eyes and already wondered if his attempt at torturing Bones was backfiring. "Honestly, Bones, it's not like I asked you to strip and dance for these people. So you can knock off the doom and gloom attitude."
"You got it, sir. But don't come whinin' to me when they double-cross us." Bones crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, apparently done with the discussion for now. Kirk looked over at Uhura and Sulu, who'd remained silent so far. Uhura looked annoyed at the interaction going on while Sulu merely looked mildly entertained.
"Well, we've got a job to do. And creepy aliens or not, we're gonna do it. Without being double-crossed. For once." Kirk grimaced and decided it was better to just stop talking. Luckily, no one besides Spock had as of yet complained about him acting less than the polished, professional Captain. Key word being yet. He was still getting used to it, though.
Just then, a Telonian they hadn't met yet – this one was male, and definitely bigger than the females – appeared at the door.
"Captain, I am asked to bring you to the banquet hall. The meal is ready." This one's voice came across as a whisper, just as Elin's had, sounding almost melodic in its softness. Based on speech alone, it seemed impossible that this species could be responsible for the slaughter of the entire colonial government. But Kirk didn't need his Academy training to know better than to trust appearances alone.
"Well, let's be on our way then." The team of seven followed the Telonian, Kirk actually having to tilt his head back in order to look up at the back of the being's head.
The banquet hall was just as one would expect, a long, high-ceilinged room with an enormous table that sat the Enterprise team and at least ten representatives from both parties. Kirk again plastered on what he hoped was his pleasant, peacekeeping smile, and ensured he was seated near Spock in case of a diplomatic emergency. Even McCoy seemed able to temper his scowl, especially when drinks were offered around. Maybe a nice dinner and drinks wouldn't be too bad, after all. Kirk looked around and saw his crew visibly begin to relax. These were formalities they understood. They could be polite, eat and drink and make conversation. This would be fine.
Mathiasz seemed immensely intrigued in Kirk's history. He continued to pepper the Captain with compliments on his career achievements while querying him on everything from where he grew up to what made him decide to enlist in Starfleet. Kirk had to think fast to come up with something other than "I was drunk and beaten in a bar fight, then Pike dared me to do better than my dad."
Elin, who was sitting across from Kirk while Mathiasz was to his left and Spock to his right, seemed content to listen as Mathiasz continued what Kirk thought of as a polite interrogation. Nonetheless, the man was quite obviously an admirer, and he didn't want to slight him within an hour of their arrival, so Kirk was on his best behavior. It may have been his imagination, but he could almost feel approval radiating from Spock – or maybe it was just a change from the Vulcan's usual implications of complete disapproval with everything Kirk did.
McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu, meanwhile, were sitting together further down the table and were being entertained by stories from their escort to the banquet, whose name they'd learned was Arlin. Harvey and McAllister had stuck together and were discussing security organization for the meetings with a native of New Anglion.
Suddenly, McCoy called over to Kirk. "Captain! Arlin has suggested we take a walk to the old temple just outside of town. It's supposed to be quite a view at night." It didn't come as a surprise that the crew would jump at the chance to be out in the open air.
Kirk looked over at Elin, then Mathiasz, who were both nodding. "It is one of our oldest and holiest sites, and would be an enjoyable outing, I am sure, after spending so much time on your ship. We would be delighted to escort you when you have finished your meal."
As they finished eating, Elin and Mathiasz filled Kirk and Spock in on what Arlin had already told the others. The temple had been built shortly after the colony had been formed, and was a symbolic joint effort made by both species to lead to further cooperation. It incorporated mostly spiritual elements from the Telonians, as the colonials were hoping to learn more about the native customs of their new home. An open ceiling also allowed for a spectacular view of the night stars. It was this that Elin and Mathiasz particularly wanted to display for their visitors.