Part 14 (1/2)

The h.e.l.l with it, she decided. We all need to hear this. ”Sit down, Admiral. Sivak, pipe it in here.”

”Yes, ma'am.”

Abrik did not look pleased as he sat down.

The screen on the wall facing Nan's desk lit up with the image of a young Delbian woman. This was Roshenz Huaig, Abrik's deputy. She looked surprised.

”Rosh, this is the president.”

”Uh, ma'am, I was trying to reach Admiral Abrik.” The young woman sounded fl.u.s.tered.

”He's in here with me, along with a cast of thousands. I a.s.sume you have an update on the Reman refugee situation?”

To her credit, Rosh recovered quickly. ”Yes, ma'am. I've spoken with Commander Bowles at Outpost 22. She says that the Remans have specifically requested asylum.”

”So we were right,” Esperanza said.

”Not entirely, Ms. Piniero. Their leader, who is called Jianuk, is requesting asylum from other Remans.”

”That's ridiculous,” Jas said.

”I do not agree with that a.s.sessment, Admiral,” Spock said. ”Jianuk was one of s.h.i.+nzon's soldiers. They fought together during the war.”

”Amba.s.sador Spock is correct.” Her initial surprise having pa.s.sed, Rosh was now all business. ”The twenty-nine Remans on the Vkruk were all loyal to s.h.i.+nzon-emphasis on were. They claim to have been persecuted by their fellow Remans because they condemned s.h.i.+nzon's actions. They wish to live out their lives in the Federation.”

Jas looked at Nan. ”What are your orders, ma'am?”

”Still the admiral, huh, Jas?” Nan realized immediately that her tone was unnecessarily snide, but Jas had it coming. Besides, it gave her a chance to think. ”Rosh, tell Commander-Bowles, is it?”

”Yes, ma'am.”

”Tell her to render whatever aid and a.s.sistance the Vkruk requires. Tell them their asylum request is pending, but in the meantime, they'll be guests of the Federation at the outpost.”

”Understood, ma'am.”

”Get right on that.”

”Thank you, Madam President.” With that, Rosh signed off.

Nan looked around the room. Jas sat on the sofa, looking slightly petulant, as if Nan had denied him the right to do things his way, or perhaps as if his deputy had stolen his thunder. Next to him were the two councillors, T'Latrek looking placid, Molmaan looking aggravated. Facing Nan were Spock and Akaar; surprisingly, the Capellan was the more stoic of the two. Spock actually looked thoughtful. Turning to her left, she saw Esperanza, her right hand, and Raisa, looking nonplussed.

”All right, we've got us a mess here. Everyone weigh in, I don't care how stupid you think you'll sound. You can rest a.s.sured that you can't possibly sound any stupider than I'm going to when I give the inevitable press conference that will result from this incident. Raisa?”

”My feelings have not changed, Madam President. These Remans are, for all intents and purposes, refugees from the Klingon Empire. Accepting their asylum request could damage our relations.h.i.+p with the empire.”

T'Latrek said, ”I do not believe that will be an issue.”

”Why not?” Nan asked.

”Because we have a relations.h.i.+p with the empire. This need not be done in secret. Amba.s.sador Rozhenko can plead the Remans' case to the High Council.”

”Wait a minute,” Jas said, ”how do we even know these people are on the level?”

Nan frowned. ”What do you mean?”

”These people were loyal to s.h.i.+nzon-the same s.h.i.+nzon whose first action upon taking over the Romulan government was to invade the Federation. Are these really people we want to just let in?”

”I agree with Admiral Abrik and with Secretary Shostakova,” Molmaan said. ”It's lunacy to let them anywhere near us. Sure, we can repair them and give them a hot meal, but after that, let them find a neutral planet, or a nation that doesn't mind getting into interstellar conflicts. Maybe the Tholians'll take them.”

”If that was an attempt at humor,” Nan said, ”it failed.”

Molmaan smiled, an action his face was ill-suited for. ”I don't have a sense of humor.”

”Worked that much out on my own, Councillor. Esperanza, what do you think?”

Esperanza folded her hands on her lap. ”We still need to inform the Klingons just of the asylum request-if we're going to be pitching Reman relocation to them anyhow, we may as well do this, too.”

Nan nodded.

However, Esperanza wasn't finished. ”But I disagree with T'Latrek on one point. It shouldn't be Amba.s.sador Rozhenko who makes the case, it should be Amba.s.sador Spock.”

Everyone turned to look at Spock at that. For his part, Spock gazed at Esperanza, one eyebrow raised. ”Indeed?”

”You're the best man for the job, Mr. Amba.s.sador. You've spent most of the last decade in Romulan s.p.a.ce, and you're also someone the Klingons have always respected. A plea from you will mean a lot more.”

”I'm afraid I must respectfully decline. My place is on Romulus.”

”Not hardly, Mr. Amba.s.sador,” Nan said.

Again the eyebrow-raise, this time at Nan. ”Madam President, you yourself sanctioned my mission to Romulus.”

”I sanctioned the mission because you made a good argument down on the first floor a couple months ago. But throughout this meeting, everyone's been calling you 'Mr. Amba.s.sador'- except for Molmaan, of course, but Zaldans aren't big on honorifics. You know why we're doing that? Because, to the best of my knowledge, you're still a Federation amba.s.sador. Which means, in real terms, that you work for me-unless you're resigning your post, in which case I'm going to have to have security throw you out, because you will no longer have clearance to be on this floor.” Nan leaned forward in her chair, looking Spock directly in his unblinking eyes. ”Am I making myself completely clear?”

She and Spock continued to lock eyes. Neither of them blinked. Finally, Spock said, ”Very well-I will go to Qo'noS and speak to the High Council.”

Nan turned toward the sofa. ”T'Latrek, if you'd be so kind as to work out the travel arrangements and the itinerary with Amba.s.sador Rozhenko.”

T'Latrek bowed. ”Of course, Madam President.”

”All right,” she said as she got up from her chair, ”that's it. Thank you all.”

Most of those in the room said, ”Thank you, Madam President” before they left. The exceptions were Molmaan, naturally, and Spock, who simply inclined his head toward Nan and departed with T'Latrek.

Esperanza stayed behind. ”What do you think?”

”I think Spock's p.i.s.sed at me.”