Bashing Heads

Posted on Wed Jun 16th, 2010 @ 12:02pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Ensign Lhamepha Kitonuh [Byrne] & Admiral Roman Sanchez [PNPC]

Mission: Metronian Diplomacy
Location: USS Endeavour - Conference Lounge
Timeline: MD27 1759hrs
Tags: delegates, fight, argument, metron, translocation

"This is our space, claimed under the Obrinkahn Territorial Laws created by our forefathers two hundred years ago!"

"Your Territorial Laws are irrelevant! They state that any Obrinkahn can warp into any system they like and claim it as their own, regardless of who is already occupying it! Arktina does not recognise those laws!"

The Obrinkahn General, Marstok, threw up his hands in anger, his chair gliding back across the floor as he stood and began to pace. The Starfleet security officers had their hands hovering near their phasers in case he had intended to do some thing more violent. "How do you expect us to come to any sort of agreement with these... inferiors when they won't even recognise our laws?" he snapped at Byrne and the Starfleet officers.

The Arktinan delegate, Ambassador Kritnash, had also stood at this point with his retort. "We don't recognise your Territorial Laws because they are unfair and unjust! They ignore the rights of those who already have a claim of sovereignty over any system you come across! They ignore the rights of not just the Arktinan Assembly and its subordinate arms, but of every other species in this region of space!"

"And what about the rights of those species whose worlds you claim as your own, Arktinan?!" Marstok snapped, clearly thinking he had found the upper hand at last. "Those species, who you yourselves have dominated in order to expand your territorial borders?"

"The species within our region of space that are capable of warp travel have agreed to joining with the Arktinan Assembly as partners, as protected planets. Those who are not yet warp capable, we protect them from the likes of you until they are ready to decide for themselves! We already know of the exploitation of the pre-warp civilisations you have claimed as your own! You have polluted them! Taken advantage of their lower levels of development to turn them into slaves and workers for your mines, your factories, your ships!"

Marstok gave an indignant sigh of disgust. "If they are unable to put together a simple warp drive, then they have no right to decide their own fate - much the same principles as you yourself applied, Arktinan," he gave a pause, obviously thinking to let his point sink in. "We simply put them to tasks whereby they can benefit this region of space, rather than taking up a world full of resources that would otherwise be ripe for the picking!"

Benjamin sat, as he had for the past three hours, with his elbows on the head of the table, and his head in his hands. Ever since he had brought the two of them together, there had been nothing but relentless shouting and arguing - he couldn't even get a word in edge ways to try and calm them down, and so he had eventually given up, and elected to wait until they had tired themselves out. Unfortunately, they had brought along enough energy and hate that it seemed the argument would go on forever.

"You are immoral! These are sentient lives we are talking about! Civilisations who have yet to grow to experience freedom from their world! Would you say the same if they were Obrinkahns that were at a pre-warp stage of development?"

"Yes I would!" Marstok shouted. "If my people were incapable of warp travel, then they would deserve to be treated as inferior by those who were!"

Ben didn't look up at the sound of the door hissing open, nearly drowned out as it was by the shouting of the two delegates. He was silently thankful he had decided to only allow the two of them in, instructing the Arktinan delegate to leave his accompaniment and the Obrinkahn to leave his bodyguard in their quarters. He lifted his head slightly as he perceived a presence come close to his right ear, and the voice of one of the duty bridge officers whisper in his ear.

"Sir, internal sensors are detecting the Obrinkahn in the VIP quarters is attempting to access the computer library."

Grateful as he was for an excuse to leave these two to it for a for minutes, he nodded his thanks to the Ensign and stood, his latter movement catching the eyes of the two delegates enough to make them shut up, if only for a minute or so. "If you would excuse me, there is a matter I need to deal with." Not waiting for a response, he quickly followed the Ensign out of the observation lounge, just catching the beginnings of another argument as the doors snapped shut, allowing him the peace and quiet of the bridge. Taking a couple of seconds to bask in the silence, he then followed the Ensign over to their wall-mounted console, and watched as she brought up the data from ship sensors and automated hacking reports from the ship's computer. There wasn't any doubt; the Obrinkahn bodyguard had obviously been brought on board with the intent to steal information from their computers if he had the chance.

"Shut off all computer access in that room, and send a security detail down there. Instruct them they are to take no action unless action is taken upon them, but they are to stand watch inside the room and prevent any more hacking attempts."

"Yes sir," she replied, as Benjamin walked slowly back towards the door to the observation lounge. Pausing just outside the door's sensor range, he steeled himself for the arguments he would have to once again endure, before stepping forwards into the room.

The sight he saw froze him in place for but a moment. The security guards, who had obviously attempted to stop it, had been thrown onto the floor, unconscious, and the two delegates were literally at each other's throats. As Ben looked more closely, he could tell it was actually the Obrinkahn who had the Arktinan's throat in his hands, while the latter was trying to fight the stronger general off. Not pausing for even a second, Benjamin strode to the nearest security guard, grabbed the phaser from the floor next to him, and fired. He had ordered weapons be set to stun, and was satisfied when he saw the Obrinkahn general go stiff, his eyes distant, before falling to the floor less than a second later. Before Byrne had a chance to lower his arm, or even say anything, there was a bright flash of light, and he suddenly found himself pointing the phaser out across green fields, under a brilliant blue sky, with treetops in the distance.

Lowering the phaser, he spun around, instantly prepared for what he would see. There stood Vice Admiral Roman Sanchez, next to the Metron who had first greeted him upon reaching the Consortium.

"You have failed," the Metron said, in his strangely toned voice. "You were able to decipher the nature of the test, but you were unable to resolve the dispute between the Arktina and the Obrinkahns without violence. You are still a barbaric race."

In the millisecond it took for the Metron to raise his arm before the inevitable translocation Benjamin knew would follow, he reached up and slapped his combadge. "Endeavour, countermeasures!"

As the two officers rematerialised on the bridge of the Sovereign class starship, Benjamin moved to hand the nearest security guard the phaser he still held. "Report," he instructed, moving then to stand in front of his chair, ignoring the Admiral's presence for the moment.

"We're in orbit of the Metron's planet, Commander," Ensign Kitonuh (NPC) replied from the operations console. "The countermeasures worked; the translocation effect was unsuccessful."

Nodding to himself, inwardly very proud of his crew for the feat they had just accomplished, he took two steps forwards. "Open a channel to the Metron planet."

"Channel open, Sir," Lhamepha responded.

"Metrons! I challenge you this; was your test in itself not barbaric by nature? To fling a starship thousands of lightyears to another galaxy away from home, and to force them to become the mediators of a bloody dispute between two implacable enemies? And then, to increase the barbarity, you throw a pregnant woman, who has no connection to this ship or her mission, into that same region of space, knowing that she would be brutally beaten for information she does not posses?"

He stood there, silently looking up at the ceiling, waiting for the sound of the Metron's voice to emanate from the speakers hidden there. Instead, the voice came after a few short moments from behind him - from a presence clearly there on the bridge.

"The woman in unharmed," the Metron said.

Before Byrne could utter another word, Admiral Sanchez stepped forward. "You sent a pregnant woman into a warzone to be brutalised?!"

"It was not a certainty," the Metron's head tilted to the side as he regarded the Admiral who had spent the last few days with him.

"But it was a high probability?" the Admiral retorted. He stood for a moment, as the Metron did not respond, before saying; "The Federation does not wish to be allies with a race as brutal as yours, Metron." The word was not used derogatorily, and it was clear he had been given no other name to call the being by. "Perhaps in the future, when you have become more civilised, we can begin again with this potential alliance." He turned to Benjamin. "Take us home, Commander."

Giving a nod as the Metron faded from the bridge, Ben turned to his helmsman. "Set course for Cestus III, warp eight. Engage."

As Ben took his seat at the centre of the bridge, faintly recognising that the after effects of the illness were still upon him, he watched the Admiral come close to him to speak quietly in his ear. "I hope you made me do the right thing there, Commander. This has potentially blown any chance we had at an alliance with the Metrons." He waited only a moment before turning to leave the bridge and return to his quarters. "I expect your report by the time we reach Cestus, Commander."

---------------------------
Commander Benjamin J. Byrne
Commanding Officer

Ensign Lhamepha Kitonuh (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105

&

Vice Admiral Roman Sanchez (PNPC)
Commanding Officer
11th (Pegasus) Fleet