Part 20 (1/2)
Yet more chuckles. Esperanza noted that Fred was shaking his head and laughing. This was entirely off the cuff, filling time until the Trinni/ek arrived. The toast to the alien delegation had been written by Fred over the course of the previous week. Normally, a toast wouldn't take that long to write, but Fred wanted to make sure he got this one just right. Plus, he was using this toast as an excuse to procrastinate over the commencement address that the president was going to be giving to Starfleet Academy at the end of the month.
Esperanza also noticed Sxottlan giving her a nod. She nodded back and gently touched the president's leg.
”It also gives me the enviable job of welcoming a new species to what I hope will be a long and fruitful relations.h.i.+p with our United Federation of Planets-and that, my friends, is most definitely work that's worth doing. Please-if you'll all rise and welcome Speaker Ytri/ol and his party from Trinni/ek.”
As Esperanza-and everyone else-got up from their chairs, they watched the doors slide open again, to reveal eight figures. One was human-that was the slim figure of Colton Morrow-and the others were most definitely not. They ambulated in a manner similar to some Earth primates: propelling themselves with their outsized arms as well as their legs. They never stood entirely upright, but rather at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground. Their bodies were covered with dark skin that ranged from an oak brown to obsidian, and absolutely no hair. Their clothes were bright and colorful, with sparkling beads on the shoulders, which differed from how they'd been dressed when Esperanza had spoken with them over subs.p.a.ce. But then, I'm not dressed the same as I was for conversation. We all have our notions of formal wear. Just wish mine allowed me to breathe properly.
Most everyone in the room applauded as the doors slid open. Although they were capable of moving quite fast, the Trinni/ek delegation moved slowly-one might say languidly-toward the table. As they got closer, Esperanza saw that Colton looked concerned.
As soon as they arrived, the leader of the delegation, Speaker Ytri/ol, went straight to his seat. ”This chair is uncomfortable,” he said in a voice that sounded strained.
Okay, this is bad, Esperanza thought. Over subs.p.a.ce, Ytri/ol had had a powerful, commanding voice. His eyes had been wide, his tone enthusiastic. Now he was squinting-and so were the rest of the delegates.
The president didn't miss a beat, despite the breach of protocol. She sat down so she and the speaker were on an equal plane. ”Honored Speaker, it's a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face. I'm President Nan Bacco. Welcome to Earth.”
”Yes, of course,” Ytri/ol said dismissively. ”Why are there so many people here?”
”It's a state dinner,” the president said slowly, ”which in our culture generally means a big crowd. I'm sorry, Honored Speaker, but I was told you approved the- ”
”Yes, I did, but I didn't realize it would be so tightly concentrated.” He sat up straighter, though he was still hunched over. It put him at eye level with the president. ”You are trying to intimidate us!”
”That is not our intention at all, Honored Speaker. We're simply all glad to have you with us. We're hoping for a prosperous relations.h.i.+p with the Trinn- ”
”Lies!” That was another of the delegates. ”You are trying to exploit us!”
Oh, this is getting very out of hand, Esperanza thought.
Colton stepped in. ”Nothing could be further from the truth. As I told you on the Venture during the reception- ”
Another delegate rose from the table. ”That was where it happened! You poisoned us!”
Esperanza noticed the guards starting to move slowly toward the table, as well as the fact that there was unrest at the other tables.
”That's ridiculous.” Colton laughed, but it was a shrill one. ”We have been nothing but friendly.”
The guards weren't the only ones advancing; the stewards were bringing the appetizer, which was supposed to come while everyone got settled. Trinni/ek tradition held that one always drank frimk/ek at the start of any meal, before any other business was conducted-including a toast. The president was going to give the address after the frimk/ek was through.
The delegate who accused them of lying turned to Ytri/ol. ”Honored Speaker, we cannot countenance this-this- ”
He doesn't look very good, Esperanza thought just as the delegate collapsed onto the floor.
Even as the guards now ran to the table, the standing delegate said, ”We must quit this place at once, Honored Speaker, before they violate us further!”
”Do not touch him!” another delegate screamed at the guard who wanted to check on the delegate who'd collapsed.
Ever the voice of calm reason in a crisis, the president said, ”Please, Honored Speaker, let our medical people take a look at- ”
Now Ytri/ol rose from his chair. ”No! I will not allow my people to be dissected by your physicians! We are not laboratory samples!”
”Honored Speaker, we have no intention of- ”
”Take her!” Ytri/ol barked at the other standing delegate while pointing at the one who'd collapsed. ”We will return to our s.h.i.+p immediately! If anyone stands in our way, they will learn what it means to cross the Trinni/ek.”
”If that's what you want,” the president, now also standing, said, ”then the guards will escort you to the transporter bay, and you can be on your way. But I beg you to reconsider. After all our planning, we can't let this opportunity for both our worlds- ”
”Be silent, woman, or we will beat you to death where you stand! Trinni/ek! Depart!”
With that, the speaker led the delegates-one being carried over the shoulder of another-out of the room. Esperanza activated her comm unit and called Sxottlan. ”Escort them to the transporter, but stay at a discreet distance-don't talk to them, don't touch them, and tell Kirti to do whatever they say.”
”Understood.”
Moments later, they were gone, and the outraged buzz in the room started to build.
”I gotta say,” the president said quietly to the remaining people at the table, ”that wasn't really how I wanted my first state dinner to go, exactly.”
Fred looked pained. ”I spent days on that d.a.m.n toast.”
Patting him on the shoulder, Ashante said, ”Have another drink, sweetie.”
A steward walked up to Esperanza. ”Uh, ma'am, what're we supposed to do with the food?”
Esperanza rubbed her eyes for a moment. ”Take the frimk/ek back-it's their tradition, not ours. Just bring out the main course as soon as it's ready. We came here to eat, we may as well eat.”
”Yes, ma'am.”
”Hang on,” Colton said. ”We can't just dump the frimk/ek. It's a sacred tradition of theirs.”
Before Esperanza could say anything, President Bacco said tersely, ”Right now, Mr. Amba.s.sador, I could give a good G.o.dd.a.m.n about the Trinni/ek's sacred traditions.” She finally sat back down and looked at Esperanza. ”We'll have this dinner, and then we're having a meeting in the chateau-I want to know what the h.e.l.l just happened.”
”Absolutely, Madam President.” Esperanza then looked at Colton.
He still looked pained-and scared.
Chapter Fifteen.
WHAT OZLA GRANIV looked forward to most was eating good food.
She had been on Tezwa for four months now. Tezwans tended to make their food spicy to the point of being volcanic. At first it had been something of a relief when she'd started traveling to the areas that were being rebuilt in the wake of either the retaliatory Klingon strike or the terrorist attacks made by Kinchawn after his ouster. Food was hard to come by in those areas-as were water, proper shelter, and plumbing-so the people there were subsisting on Starfleet combat rations. Though initially a palliative to the gut-boiling Tezwan cuisine, after six days of the rations, Ozla had soon come to the same conclusion the Tezwans had when they'd first started eating them: They were appallingly bland.
Not that there weren't plenty of other reasons why departing Tezwa would be an enjoyable experience. On her first day, she'd visited the site of the makes.h.i.+ft hospital where a Starfleet runabout, the Tsavo, had been destroyed by one of Kinchawn's loyalist soldiers. Besides murdering Starfleet personnel, both security and medical, the attack had also killed dozens of civilians, including children. Some of the civilians had been injured while being evacuated; others had just been unfortunate enough to be nearby.
One of those had been Vara Tal, reporter for Seeker. Based on the padd that was somehow recovered from her remains, she'd been interviewing medics, having already spoken to several Tezwan, Starfleet, and Federation civilian physicians. Her last interview had been with Dr. Dennis Chimelis of the U.S.S. Musas.h.i.+, who was also killed in the runabout explosion.
In the months since the crisis, new hospitals had been built to replace the ones that had been set up in buildings not originally intended for medical use. All that remained on the site now was a grave marker, which the locals called a memory stone, for the dozens who died in the explosion.
Ozla's mistake had been thinking that the overwhelming sadness she felt upon visiting the site of Vara's grave would be the worst it would get on Tezwa.