A/N: Once again, many thanks to Kretolus for his input on this story, with special guest star General Kh'osh! Hope you all enjoy!
It wasn't long before the Mereidex was deployed again, but this time it was alongside Temer and even D'Tan – Irekah was to be the Reman representative for the peace talks between the Romulan Republic, the Federation, and the Klingon Empire – with guests from the Romulan Star Empire, which did not sit well with most Republic officers. It seemed they were determined to force themselves onto every Romulan not currently under their iron-fisted rule, and the thought of having to share the same air as those thugs made her seethe.
Upon their arrival, Irekah had beamed down to the surface along with Lehnat, the only other person on the ship she even came close to trusting. Together, they made their way towards the hall where the delegates were waiting, unsure of what to expect.
"I'm worried, sir," Lehnat said in a hushed voice, not wanting to give the Klingons any fresh reason to believe Romulans were cowards. "What if this doesn't work? What if the Klingons-"
"Calm down, Lehnat," Irekah told her, as softly as she was able, and picked up a mug of Bloodwine. "You and I aren't going to be dealing with the politics here, we're just...a part of Temer's delegation, I suppose."
She sipped the beverage, made a soft noise of approval and knocked back the rest of the drink in one swig, before taking another.
"But what if it still goes wrong?" Lehnat asked again, after a few moments, and Irekah turned to face her.
"Lehnat, has nothing I've taught you the last few days sunk in?" she asked, recalling the impromptu training she'd given her engineer. "Project confidence, even when you don't feel it – especially around Klingons."
Lehnat nodded, straightening her back and taking a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. She met her captain's eyes, took strength from Irekah's calm attitude, then nodded.
"Okay. I'm good," she said, her voice stronger this time, and Irekah slapped her on the back.
"Good girl, now come on, get some Bloodwine down you, it's actually quite good. Then we'll go find D'Tan."
Lehnat did as she was told, choking at the strength of the powerful beverage, and Irekah led her deeper into the hall with a chuckle.
As they expected, Klingons and their allied races were everywhere. A few Ferasans were in evidence, their dark blue fur making them stand out even more than the Nausicaans or Gorn. There were only a handful of Orions in evidence, however, an assortment of women with skin of varying shades of green and very little in the way of clothes.
"Remind me again why we need to deal with the Klingons?" Lehnat asked, wobbling slightly under the effects of the Bloodwine.
"Because Dewa Three, the world we want to settle, borders on their space," Irekah explained. "If we don't want them swooping in and trying to take it from us, we need their permission." The Reman caught the eye of an Orion woman, who gave her a sultry wink, and Irekah cleared her throat as she looked away.
Thankfully, no-one could tell when Remans blushed.
"Besides, I would much rather ally with them than the weak-hearted Federation," she added bitterly, sneering at one of the Federation's delegates. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice.
Eventually they found the Republic delegation, off to one side of the main hall. She made herself known to Temer and D'Tan, who then asked her to speak to some of the other attendees to gauge their attitudes on the alliance.
Reluctantly, she agreed, and set off to find out what the mood was, Lehnat following close behind.
As it happened, the mood was not good. The Romulan Empire had built a reputation built on deception and subterfuge, which the Republic now had to work extremely hard to get away from. Several Gorn had refused to speak to Irekah, and the one who did was less than impressed with the Republic. The Empire's propaganda, painting them as terrorists and rebels, didn't help.
"Centurion?"
Irekah turned to Lehnat, who was looking in another direction.
"What is it?"
The Romulan pointed in the direction she was looking, at a Klingon wearing ornate body armour of dark leather, the armour plates engraved with intricate designs.
"That Klingon. He seems to be trying to get your attention."
Irekah frowned – in as much as a race without eyebrows could – and looked at the indicated warrior, who beckoned her over.
"Well then, by all means," she said, walking towards him, "let's not keep the man waiting."
She managed to grab a pair of mugs of Bloodwine from a passing Orion serving girl, and approached the warrior.
He was at least a head taller than both of them, well-built and muscular like most of his race. His long hair and tidy beard had flecks of grey in them, a sign that this particular warrior was not one to take lightly – an old Klingon was either a coward or exceptionally skilled, and the fire in the man's eyes was not a sign of a coward. A metal eyepatch covered his left eye, adding to his imposing appearance, and Irekah instantly felt a swell of respect for him.
"More Bloodwine, warrior?" she asked, offering him one mug while taking a swig from the other.
"Ha, of course!" he exclaimed, grabbing the offered mug and downing it in one go. His good eye narrowed at Irekah, and he nodded slowly.
"Seeing one of your kind here is a surprise, Reman." He gestured to her with his mug."Aren't you afraid of the light?" He raised his eyebrows, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"I'm surprised you could see me at all, with only one eye," Irekah replied, baring her needle-like teeth in a grin of her own. She downed her own drink in one go as well, setting the mug aside. "And no, we aren't 'afraid' of the light, although that's a common misconception. It just hurts our eyes. But thankfully you Klingons like badly-lit spaces almost as much as we do."
The Klingon barked a laugh, slapping Irekah hard on the shoulder after puuting down his own mug.
"I knew you had the spirit of a warrior! Half the people here," he said, gesturing at the hall around them, "couldn't handle a true Klingon warrior!" He thumped his chest with his fist, his metal gauntlet clanging loudly in the process. "But you..." he jabbed his finger into Irekah's chest, grinning. "You have potential."
"Glad you think so," Irekah said, removing the warrior's pointed finger from above her breasts. "If the Republic is to survive, I firmly believe we will need the strength and might of the Klingon Empire, not the pathetic, mewling Federation," she told him seriously. "A race of warriors, with a legacy of honour that stretches back a thousand years or more? I'll choose that over those do-gooders any day."
The Klingon's eye narrowed once again, and he straightened, adopting a serious expression.
"You'd do well not to under-estimate the Federation. They may prefer peace to war, but I have met and fought many more honourable, great warriors in its ranks than I have among the Romulans. And if they have a cause to rally behind, they are as willing to die for it as any good Klingon warrior." He hummed in thought, looking Irekah up and down. Perhaps I over-estimated you. You are young and brash, and a warrior should know their enemies and allies alike."
Irekah stiffened, unused to such a blunt dismissal of her abilities, especially immediately following some high praise. Even Temer reluctantly approved of her skill, and that man was impossbile to please.
"I know about my enemies just fine, Klingon," she snapped, taking a step closer to him. "Take a long, hard look at my face, what do you see? All you see is just another pointy-eared, green-blooded upstart, but my people have fought their entire lives! Even among our own Empire we were the outcasts, the scorned, the unwanted. We were treated as little more than slaves, or front-line troops when they couldn't do their own dirty work in the Dominion War. The Federation barely knew we existed until Shinzon threatened to burn their perfect planet! We have had to fight for every minute shred of respect we have ever had, and you have the gall to say I don't know my enemies?" Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper, her hands shaking with fury. "I know my enemies well, warrior, because they all left us to rot, instead of giving us the respect we deserved!"
"Centurion, this is important."
Irekah suddenly became aware of the fact that Lehnat had actually been trying to get her attention for several moments, and she turned her baleful gaze to her engineer.
"What is it?" she snarled, trying not to take her rage out on the one person she knew who hadn't really mistreated her. Thankfully, the older woman barely noticed.
"The Mereidex has reported seeing strange ships in orbit...and they are similar to the ships that attacked Virinat."
"Perhaps you'll get to see my 'warrior's spirit' first-hand," she said to the Klingon, backing away from him. "Maybe after this issue is sorted we can try again."
She turned away at last, tapping a few commands on her wristband comm.
"Mereidex, you are clear to engage any and all hostile ships," she said firmly. "Do not allow them to approach the surface and interrupt the talks."
"Understood, Centurion," one of her officers replied, "but we think some Tal Shiar agents have beamed down. We saw one of their ships here, before it was chased off by the Leucosia."
"Shit!" Irekah snapped, causing Lehnat to jump. "Alright girl, looks like this is going to be your trial by fire," she said, pulling her plasma pistol and disengaging the safety. "Hope you're ready for a fight."