First Impressions

Posted on Thu Aug 21st, 2014 @ 10:22am by Captain Liarra Von & Commander Jordan Gunning & Lieutenant Commander Drewe Reed & Captain Jeff Smith

Mission: Aggressive Negotiations
Location: Myaz Capital, Sovereign's Palace

[ON]

The Capitol building of the Myaz Sovereignty, like most things in the Sovereignty, was dilapidated beyond the point of repair. If it were a Federation institution, it would have been pulled down and rebuilt in some gleaming alloy but its crumbling white stone stood as a monument to the Galactic reputation of the Myaz.

The ground around the steps where the away team materialised was littered with the detritus of a world populated by hoarders. Their government hoarded useless planets and their people hoarded useless junk. A path had been cleared through the piles, revealing a poorly kept gravel road which ran off into the distance where disintegrating tenements lay in the eyeline of the Capitol.

The Myaz Sovereignty regularly sent diplomatic communiqués talking about their latest annexation and their space was undoubtedly huge. By volume, it was one of the largest power blocs in Galactic South but everything about it was a bit slapdash, even their building materials which meant that the buildings needed to be reconstructed every forty to fifty years.

After a while they'd resolved to give up.

Von tugged at her dress uniform jacket once more to smooth out the lines. In her career in Starfleet Liarra has had to stare down angry Klingons, tackle running criminals, out maneuver enemy warships, and even pretend to be a terrorist while being hunted down by another starship, but this was the first time that she actually was afraid. She was entering new waters, an arena where drawing a phaser faster would not decide the winner. She was nervous, and worried that her nervousness would show through and weaken their position. But that thought only made her more nervous.

As she and her team awaited for the Myaz delegation to greet them, she studied the city's architecture. The intelligence had suggested that the Myaz infrastructure was aging, but she didn't dream that it was this bad. Beyond the buildings in disrepair, the clutter was astounding. She tried to make mental notes of everything she saw, hoping that something, anything, but be useful as a bargaining chip later.

Smith was finding being in a Security Fleet dress uniform disconcerting to say the least, he was a Marine, yet despite this he was a Starfleet Officer and his Commander tasked him to this detail. Upon looking around the beam in site, he saw ruin and general erosion, Oh man what a dump, makes the backstreets of New Sydney look spotless he thought and he did not feel easy and he leaned forward and whispered in Von's ear "Captain I have a bad feeling about this, I advise caution" He said.

Don't worry, Captain. I'm always cautious. Besides, it's not the Myaz that I'm worried about," Von replied, not really having a good feeling either.

Drewe's first reaction revealed her doctor's sensibilities because she couldn't imagine how anyone could remain remotely healthy in such an environment. Attitudes could affect mental health, but no amount of looking on the bright side of a toxic environment could prevent physical illness. "I'm surprised they could survive here," Drewe marveled softly.

Three figures shambled forth from a small side door which lay in the shadow of the giant dark-wood doors of the Capitol. Their shabby robes and unkempt hairstyles were a far cry from the sharp dress uniforms of the Starfleet officers. They spoke to each other in hushed tones as they drew close to the Away Team.

The most advanced of the group eschewed any form of greeting as he reached the officers and his companions continued on past them with leering glances. "Come, come, come." He said quickly and barely audibly. "He's expecting you, he's expecting you."

Liarra gave her team a look and a shrug before following the group back towards the capitol.

The shambolic alien led the team up the crumbling stone steps and back in through the small door. He barely uttered a word as he proceeded through what seemed to be a small museum, full of records of supposedly glorious conquests. The Universal Translator was having trouble making out the words on the banners but many of them appeared to contain the word, "Unparalleled".

Inside was not quite as run down as Liarra expected looking at the building's facade. The carpeting was still rather worn and faded, and the paint was peeling in several places. Still, it looked like the interiors had weathered the years a little better. She tried to study the monuments to the Myaz conquests, though none of them appeared to really match up with the intel. She could gather what some of the banners and displays were referring to, but in most of those cases they appeared to be celebrating victories over barren rocks more than invading armies.

I do not have a good feeling at all, no sir not a good one, Smith said to himself as he looked around at the images as they walked down the hallway. As they entered the meeting room, this one was in slightly better state, but time erosion and lack of maintenance could clearly be seen.

Drewe followed their guide, mindful of showing respect at all times. She may have expressed concern for the population's survival, but she was not going to show disgust or pity. She was a firm believer that people did the best they knew how, and she had to be hopeful that this visit would offer new opportunities to be helpful, assuming the offer was presented in the most respectful and honest way possible.

The shuffling little man came to a halt in front of another grand door, only this one had nothing cut into it. The cessation of his shuffling had clearly been enough to alert those inside of their arrival and the doors swung open grandly. Beyond them lay a chamber which- at one time or another- had clearly been a throne room. In fact two thrones lay stripped of their valuables and abandoned on their ends at the far end of the chamber.

What stood in their place was less surprising to the away team, having seen the state of the streets. There were piles of junk and scrap everywhere, strewn across the room in piles which rose to a couple of metres in some places. Among the poorly equipped guards was another little man, decked out in some of the finery which had clearly been torn from the upholstery of the throne.

He seemed entirely disinterested in the away team as he crouched down, tearing through one of the piles and coming up empty-handed. "Come in, come in, come in." He said in the same speedy, terse way that they had been greeted by their 'tour guide'.

Liarra led the way into the throne room, her officers right behind her. She wasn't sure what exactly she was expecting, but she could definitively say that this wasn't it. "Greetings. I am Captain Liarra Von, on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets."

The little man didn't look like he had much interest in introducing himself. Surely they would be aware of his majesty and brilliance. Their tour guide, who had shuffled into the chamber after the away team, took the initiative. "This is His Majesty Sovereign Hyram of the Myaz Sovereignty."

His bedazzled superior seemed entirely non-plussed at the grand introduction. "Come to take our land away, have you?" He said confrontationally, sidling up to Captain Von and shoving an accusing finger into her shoulder which meant he had to raise his hand above a comfortable height. "Come to take away the Creator?"

Von carefully shook her head. She didn't like being poked and accused right off the bat, but she somehow was able to maintain her composure. "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Your Majesty. We're not here to take anything from you. We are here to offer friendship, and peace."

"That's what they all say." The Sovereign muttered quietly as he backed away from Von, taking in the away team as a whole. "The Creator is not for sale. He doesn't even want you to see him. He doesn't even want me to see him."

This was far from the way most diplomatic visits went and Hyram had already started rooting around in the junk again. He seemed to be looking for something in particular, although quite what that was or how he could possibly find it in there was unclear to the away team.

As Hyram went back to work on his junk pile, Liarra looked back at Doctor Reed. She gave her a look and a shrug, which the counselor should have been able to easily translate into I have no idea what's going on. Do you have any thoughts?

Drewe didn't know what was happening either but she recognized skepticism and the underlying fear easily enough. "Have your people been deceived before, your Majesty? I am sorry for whomever may have deceived you before under the pre-text of peace. I do not blame you for your mistrust, your Majesty." Any negotiation had to start with understanding.

Standing in a parade rest pose and up until know not wanting to look threatening, he decided to ask funny little bedraggled man "Your Majesty Sovereign Hyram I am Lieutenant Smith, might I inquire as to who this Creator is please? As this is the first time any of us have heard of him and Starfleet is interested in making new friends which will one day hopefully become Allies" Smith said, diplomatically.

"Allies, allies, allies." Hyram replied, continuing to busy himself in a pile of debris. "All they ever say- allies. We don't need Allies. We are powerful. The Creator makes us powerful. He's not for sale. No, no, no. Not to you, not to anyone. Not even to them."

"We're not interested in buying The Creator. We know that you are powerful, and that's why we're here. The Federation would like us to be friends, to be able to share ideas and to freely trade. Being friends with the Federation will benefit us both, and there is no need to sell The Creator." Liarra gave Hyram a puzzled look as she processed his words. "Did someone else try to buy The Creator from you?"

The purple patch above Hyram's eye raised quizzically as he sidled back toward the Captain. "Yes. Everybody who comes here tries to buy The Creator. Everybody comes, everybody leaves."

"Would you prefer someone to stay, your Majesty?" Drewe was careful not to reflect the feelings that seemed to underlie the man's words, so as not to make him feel weak in front of the group, but to get at his wants and needs all the same.

Hyram's eyes narrowed as he sidled toward Reed like a suspicious crab. "Stay. If they stay, they take up land, if they stay, they take up resources, if they ssssstay they take up valuable resources! The Myaz conquer so that we always have plenty. Bountiful plenty."

"You know, your Majesty, there are ways to ensure that you always have plenty without needing to conquer. By sharing with the Federation, we can find ways to share resources that are mutually beneficial. We know that you don't need our help to be strong. You are strong without us. But together, we could be much more." Liarra was not convinced that her pleading was going to help. There was always a good chance that Hyram would see right through her. But she had to try. "There are people out there who would try to take your valuable resources by force. I assure you, that is not the Federation's desire. We want to make sure that if, no, when they come for the Myaz bountiful plenty, you won't have to stand alone."

"Myaz are never alone." Hyram replied, keeping his beady little eye on Reed. "Myaz have a glorious empire, with many planets."

Smith looked around "Glorious Empire?!! Your Majesty it seems your Empire is in tatters, we were met by no ships or defences, nor were we challenged, now unless you have a cloaked high tech military facility and army, I would say Myaz has not had an empire for a long, long time" he said looking at Hyram with a curious expresison.

Liarra turns and glares at Smith. Outburst rarely helped in diplomatic situations. She tried to push it aside since what was done is done. She turned her attention back to Hyram. "Your Majesty, what my security officer was trying to say is that your empire certainly has many planets, but it is hard to justify calling them glorious. Most of the planets in your systems are empty, and your military forces somewhat lacking. If someone wanted to attack you, there wouldn't be much that you could do to stop them. They'd take your creator by force. We want to prevent that. We want to help you."

Hyram clearly couldn't tell who to wheel on first. He stalked around for a minute before storming out of the main doors and allowing them to slam behind him, leaving the Away Team in the throne room with their disheveled tour guide. "You should wait here." He said, following his leader.

They always say that first impressions were the most important, but Liarra wasn't sure that either side really put out the best first impression. She wasn't sure how to respond to the travesty they just witnessed. Liarra shrugged as she turned to face her officers. "That could have gone worse, I suppose. At least they haven't kicked us out."

[OFF]

Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Lt. Commander Drewe Reed
Chief Counselor
Starbase 332

Captain Jeff Smith
Executive Officer, Omega Unit
14th Battalion, UFPMC

His Majesty Sovereign Hyram
Myaz Sovereignty
[Played by Jordan Gunning]