Unsilenced Negotiations

Posted on Tue Dec 10th, 2019 @ 6:24pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander William Gunnison & Lieutenant Alexis Aenera & Commander Ichiko Gail & Lieutenant Commander Calvin Morgan

Mission: Sounds of Silence

Sitting in the brig at a table just outside the cell, Calvin watched the two intruders as they had trouble sitting still in their confined area. He glanced over at Alexis, and then down at the couple PaDDs that occupied the top of the table that the two Starfleet Officers sat at. He waited quietly for Alexis to lead, Calvin considering himself second fiddle in this negotiating.

Abigail walked into the brig and glanced around. It was probably the one place in the ship that always had her feeling on edge, there was just something about it. Likely memories. Drawing in a deep breath, she made her way across to the small table, Lieutenants Gunnison and Matashi half a step behind her.

She had wanted to bring a larger group of her senior staff, as well as delegations from both Marines and Security, but at the last moment she decided to go with a smaller number. Abigail wanted the aliens to know that they were retaking power, but she didn't want to overwhelm them or make them feel threatened, especially when they still hadn't yet determined the extend of the technology that this species had.

"Are we ready to go?" Abigail asked quietly, her voice still scratchy and quiet, but at least she was able to be heard. "Have the alien from the conference lounge and the High Supervisor been isolated as requested?"

"Yes," Will said. "These two. The one who identified himself as the 'High Supervisor' earlier is the one in the more ornate outfit. The other one, the one we first spoke with earlier, seems to be some sort of senior member of their team, possibly what passes for a first officer or senior department head among their kind."

Abigail nodded slightly. "Very well," she turned her attention to Calvin, sinking gratefully into the seat next to him. "I guess we should get this show on the road then," she said quietly.

Calvin shrugged, taking a big sip of the coffee that he cradled. "The sooner this is done the sooner we can bid our guests adieu."

"And I want to strip the hide off of the one that did this to me." Despite the raspiness in her own voice, Alexis sounded as chipper as she could, then shook her head before she could be rebuked, "No, I don't, I just... It hurt a lot."

"Skinning an animal is quite the art to do well," Calvin mused quietly to himself.

"There will be no skinning of anyone or any thing..." Abigail said pointedly, casting a discerning glance at Alexis before she turned her attention back to the two occupants of the cell in front of them. "At least not yet," she followed through.

"Now, I suggest you start telling us who the hell you are and what you were doing on my ship to my people." Abigail addressed the aliens directly, watching them as she spoke, the tone of her voice making it quite clear that this was going to be done her way and her way alone.

"My name is Ran'toth, High Supervisor of my starship, the Graloot of the Arg'osh Republic." The taller of the two aliens said calmly, "We are a Harvester ship, tasked with obtaining pregnane corticosteroid for the Republic's medical use. We have done research to ensure that we can obtain the drug without being observed and with the minimum of disruption to those we harvest from. This is quite embarrassing, Captain, you were not to know we were ever here."

Anger washed over Abigail as she listened to the words spoken. "Embarrassing?" she demanded, her voice rising slightly. "Your primary concern is your embarrassment at being caught? You snuck onto my ship, you attacked and tortured my crew, you violated our physical bodies and you stole from us, and your concern is your embarrassment?" The words exploded forth until her voice started to break from the strain of use.

Turning toward Lieutenant Gunnison, she shook her head slightly. "Contact Starfleet Command and advise them that we will require a security detail to meet us at Starbase 437. Locate their ship and lock onto it with a tractor beam."

Obvious confusion and alarm crossed the High Supervisor's face, "Perhaps there is some sort of misunderstanding. We have been performing this mission for seventy-three Dulen, that would be nearly 50 of your years, and this is the first time we have been discovered. We do not intend to torture, merely cause a small amount of discomfort in order to stimulate production of the drug. We have done nothing to permanently harm you or your people, nor have we done anything to damage or impede your vessel."

"Nothing to harm us?" Alexis couldn't hold herself back, no matter how much she knew she needed to, "Have you ever wanted your head to explode just to get it over with? I couldn't think straight!" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

The second alien leaned forward, hands out in a universal sign of meaning no harm, "You are the one that leaked water? A pain reaction, we see." Its head turned to the High Supervisor, then back, "We did not know, though I eventually suspected and we were to leave sooner than normal because of this. I apologize for that pain, senior scientific officer."

The door to the brig swished open, a figure stood in the doorframe before making her way to join the others. The resident rabbitess entered the room, a stark difference in uniform choices between her and Abigail. The uniform that Ichiko wore was a sleek green with faint white hexagon designs along its entire surface. A strange series of circles and crescents decorated her collar...

A rank. This was Ichiko's uniform all right, but for the Ts'usugi Navy.

She entered with a single cup in her hands, and brought it directly to Abigail's side. Chai. Exactly as she always had it.

"As your preference, Daishirei-kan." a word, a term, one that carried enough respect for Ichiko to nod deeply as she spoke it.

Once the ceremony was complete, Ichiko turned her glance towards the beings in holding. She had been listening in on their conversation, to appear more informed than she had any right to be. "Arg'osh." she said simply. A long pause followed, "Have discussions begun for the terms of their release?"

"Thank you," Abigail said quietly as she wrapped her hands around the cup, savouring the warmth that came to her hands. "They were just expressing their 'embarrassment' at their predicament," she explained to her first officer, the distaste clearly evident in her voice. Clearly within minutes they had already gotten her off side.

"That's unfortunate. I'd hate for there to have to be another incident." the rabbitess turned from Abigail's glance to the two Arg'osh.

"This needs to be resolved quickly, before the Shipmaster's patience runs thin. I propose an exchange." she offered.

"What would be needed to ensure we never hear of an incident like this again? We'll then tell you what we would need to ensure such an embarrassment like this doesn't spread too wide."

The High Supervisor gestured to the scientist next to him in order to let him take the lead in the negotiations, "As the High Supervisor said, we required pregnane corticosteroid, known to you as Cortisol, for our world. We have attempted to synthesize it, however no synthesis has worked, so we must continue our direct extraction from living beings. Even microscopic changes in the hormonal content of this Cortisol changes the therapeutic content of the medicine."

Abigail took a slow sip of her chai, reinforced by the presence of her staff, especially of Ichiko. The Ts'Usugi uniform was definitely a statement piece and she had no doubt it had not gone unnoticed.

Turning toward Ichiko, she raised one eyebrow ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. "We are still in agreeance with our earlier stance?" she queried softly, waiting for the slightest nod from the Rabbitess before proceeding.

Abigail got the nod she was looking for. A subtle people, the Ts'usugi.

"We disagree," Abigail said quietly, her voice, although raspy, still clearly heard. "We have already found you. With a few touches of a button, we can broadcast this information to every ship in the quadrant, and perhaps beyond. Everyone will know how to find you. Everyone will be looking for you. If you trespass on another ship, you will be treated as hostile aliens attacking the Federation and everything it stands for. Now, do you still wish to tell me what you MUST do?" she posed calmly.

The scientist made a nervous glance at his superior, then back to Abigail, "You asked what we required in order to not have this situation happen again. I have given you that answer. If you have another method for us to obtain the Cortisol, I am certain that we would be willing to consider it. We do what we must for our people, just as you do for yours." He gestured to the cup, then Ichiko, "Back in your large meeting room, you had created a beverage from nothing. How precise is it at creating things?"

Ichiko picked up a PaDD from the table, and started to bring up something on it. "I believe they're referring to this, Shipmaster."

The PaDD did not contain a picture of the replicator. Ichiko had scripted a message on it for Abigail's eyes only.

- Dalacari Fabricator can solve this. 12 Hours. Not keen on giving it to them. -

Abigail read the message over and shook her head slightly. "I will not negotiate with terrorists," she said quietly, her voice taking on a surprisingly calm tone. "And that is what I consider you. Terrorists. You show no regard for those you harm along the way, only interested in your own well being. No more. I will cut you off completely." She cast a glance at Ichiko, well aware that the whole good cop/bad cop routine had been shattered, then she slowly turned her steady gaze back to the aliens. "If you wish to negotiate, it will be on my terms."

Ichiko offered a thin smirk at this turn of events, though. Approval over the choice of action. Her glance slid to the captives as she wiped the slate of the PaDD clean.

"First," Abigail stated, holding up one finger, "You will tell my Operations Officer here how to find your people and your ship. Once we have located your ship and determined how many of your crew are on board, we'll move on." She leaned back in the seat, her hands gripping the cup tightly, her fingertips almost turning white under the pressure as she waited to see if they would accept or not.