"Wolf"

Posted on Fri Sep 5th, 2014 @ 10:59am by Captain Liarra Von & Lieutenant Commander Drewe Reed & Captain Jeff Smith & Hyram

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

The Starfleet officer leading her delegation was disappointed in the way things had gone so far. She had no doubt that the outcome would have been different had Vaishaa not shown up. She considered staying to argue, but she was already on Hyram's bad side, and arguing would only make things worse. Giving him time to think over her words might make him reconsider speaking with her. She elected to give a short bow before backing away from his throne. She was not about to turn her back to Vaishaa, not if she could avoid it.

Vaishaa, on the other hand, held her ground. She made no move to retreat, there was no bowing of her head. She seemed to stand perfectly still, her eyes locked on Hyram and a pleasant expression across her face. It was as though the Sojourner leader hadn’t heard Hyram’s words; they certainly elicited no obvious physical reaction from her. She stood there like a statue for a few moments, watching as the Sovereign grew more and more agitated, shuffling on his throne.

As Smith followed his Captain away, he grumbled about injustice and how Vaishaa spoiled a good interaction, he whispered to Von "Why do I get the feeling the bantha poodoo is going to hit the fan, I do not like what that Vaishaa is doing, it is making me uneasy, how do you Fleeters cope with this type of feeling?" he asked.

Von didn't respond right away. She had a bad feeling too. She only trusted Vaishaa about as far as she could throw her. "Not easily," she answered, her focus never leaving the Sojourner.

Hyram looked like he was about to speak, but before he could say anything, Vaishaa raised her right hand to her mouth. In it, she held a small, black communicator. She activated it and spoke a single word; a word that would be remembered by all of those present and recorded in the history of the Myaz Sovereignty.

“Wolf.”

Almost as soon as she had finished uttering the word, her companions threw off their coats and produced phasers. They broke instantly into two groups, the largest moved to surround the Starfleet team while two others moved to secure Hyram and his people. While they did this, the sound of transporter beams rang through the hall as a dozen columns of matter began materialising around them.

Hyram threw up his hands in shock as he looked around for a way out. There didn't seem to be one. His achievements flashed in front of him. He had been the Sovereign to create life from the dust planet of Irn II and the one who brought the glory of the Myaz to the dirt farmers of Staed and now he was being threatened by these Sojourners.

Everything happened so fast, Drewe didn't know what to think. She didn't have a lot of time to consider the cliché nature of her reaction before they were surrounded. As she took in their new arrivals, she knew she had to keep calm and focused. Taking a moment to center herself, she knew she had to wait patiently to make the right move.

Smith was startled as a large group of Vaishaa's people beamed in, surrounding both Starfleet personnel and the Myaz, Smath automatically went in to combat stance, looking around "I just knew things were going to easy, and now the other shoe has dropped" He said, he had an expandable blade tucked away, but against Phasers and disruptors, pulling it now would only get him killed, caution was the better part of valour in this instance.

Liarra stayed stoic. She was just about the only non-Sojourner in the room that was not in a panic. Part of her was hoping, praying, that nothing like this would happen, but she had been mentally preparing herself for just this eventuality. There was a reason why she had wanted to shoot first, and Von knew that Vaishaa wasn't going to let this go diplomatically.

"Guards, seize them!" Hyram squealed at the top of his voice just as he noticed that all of his guards had abandoned the room. The only Myaz left were himself and his advisor.

Smith looked around and noticed that only Starfleet Officers remained, plus Hyram and his Aide all other Myaz had fled, effectively giving the Orion's the upper hand "Just great, the great and almighty Myaz running before Sojourners, seems only their Leader and Aide has any guts" Smith said bitterly, and used this moment to activate his sub-dermal comm unit.

The Sojourner soldiers outnumbered their captives almost three to one. While some held their phaser rifles up, trained at the Starfleet team or the two remaining Myaz, others were darting around the room securing it. In addition to making sure doors and windows were locked, they were putting up transport inhibitors around the room and activating them. They moved with well-trained precision, clearly this wasn't a spur of the moment operation.

As more Sojourner soldiers filled the room, the once stoic Liarra Von started to crack. But instead of panic or fear, her peculiar response was to laugh. A slight chuckle from her broke some of the tension in the room, though not enough to alleviate any of the concern. "And we're the ones who like to shoot first, eh Vaishaa? Once again, you start showing your true colors."

Vaishaa turned to face Von and took a couple of steps towards her, while still maintaining plenty of distance. Two Sojourner soldiers flanked her now, with their rifles at the ready. She smiled at Von, the same smile she used earlier before the guns came out. "I didn't want things to turn out this way, Captain," she said. "But your meddling has forced my hand."

"Yeah, I'm really good at that," Liarra replied, not backing down from the warlord.

The Sojourner leader looked past the captain to her companions, seeming to scrutinise each of them in turn. One wore blue trimming on her dress uniform. Probably a counselor, Vaishaa thought. The other wore gold trim. This would be a security officer. She kept her eyes on the security officer as she spoke, "You are now my prisoners. My people are setting up transport inhibitors and communication jammers so forget all about help from your friends in orbit." She paused and looked back to Von. "They'll have their hands full soon anyway."

"I'm not too concerned with my friends in orbit. They know what to do in an emergency," Von replied smugly. "I'm sure it will be your ships that have their hands full. I don't set sail anywhere without bringing some of the best in the business."

Vaishaa turned her back on the Starfleet officers and looked back up to the Sovereign. "Your Majesty," she said, once again adopting the exulted tone she used earlier. "I believe we should talk in private. Would you come with me please?"

Hyram continued to hold the pose he had when he had shouted for his now-departed guards, hand out and pointing violently at the groups in front of him. His hand dropped to his side as he realised, after much too long, that they weren't coming. Even his aide had become conspicuous by his attempts to avoid eye contact with his sovereign. Hyram was alone already. He hopped down from his podium dejectedly and trudged toward Vaishaa.

A smile crossed Vaishaa's face as she gestured toward an anteroom off to the side. She then fell in beside the Sovereign as they strode off in that direction, flanked by four of her soldiers. Over her shoulder she called back to her remaining soldiers, "Make sure they don't go anywhere and look after them," she said. "I want my prisoners alive."

---

Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Lieutenant Commander Drewe Reed
Chief Counselor
Starbase 332

Marine Captain Jeff Smith [NPC: Griffiths]
Executive Officer
14th Marine Battalion

Captain Vaishaa [NPC: Deakin]
Sojourner Leader

Sovereign Hyram [NPC: Gunning]
King
Myaz Sovereignty