MISSION POST: Shi Maro Space Station - Day 47 - OPEN

[enterprise_npc]

The air was one of breathless anticipation as all off duty personnel - military and civilian, Aian and Marosi - lined the viewports to watch the Starfleet ship come in to dock. Murmurs raced through the watching crowd at her strange design, at the unfamiliar words emblazoned across her hull

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[enterprise_npc]

Shesta Eneth had watched the arrival of the Federation representatives intently from a short distance away. As the crowd dispersed somewhat and it became easier to distinguish individuals, she found she recognised some of the faces from the intelligence they had gathered. It hadn't been difficult to find a veritable mountain of information on the crew of the Enterprise. Sorting fact from fiction had been trickier. It would be interesting to see how successful they had been.

The crowd parted automatically as she made her way to where one of the more relevant individuals to crop up in their intel had been speaking with a young man in red. "Doctor," she greeted him, folding her hands at the small of her back and inclining her head; "Permit me to welcome you to Shi Maro."

[green_psyd]

His conversation with Robert had been necessarily light. It'd been a relief to be able to talk naturally. But, just as he'd hoped, it wasn't long before as soon as he was separated from Leslie a very important figure head of Aia came straight to him. His gut clenched momentarily but he covered it up easily with a smile and only hesitated a little before clenching his hands behind his back and giving a nod.

"High Commander Eneth. Thank you for the welcome. This is fantastic," he said evenly and calmly sparing a look around. It really was magnificent. He clasped his hands tighter, though, to prevent himself from gesturing too much. And wanting desperately to shake her hand.

He took a moment to reflect on the fact that, yes, this was a little exciting.

[enterprise_npc]

"Please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything you require," she replied. Automatically she sized him up as they spoke: he didn't carry himself as one with military training, but his size and build inferred strength enough to be a threat if pushed. Evenly she added, "And if there is anything we can do to aid in your enquiries, please do let us know. We would like for this matter to be settled as quickly as possible."

[green_psyd]

His eyes flickered back to her when she spoke again. He studied her studying him. His smile only got larger. "I'd like that as well," he said. "But these things often take time." He even sounded like he knew what he was talking about, he mused inwardly. "Actually, even though I've read the briefing, High Commander, I was wondering if I could ask you exactly what the-uh-Icarium" hours of practice in pronunciation, thank you very much, "means to your people? Why it's necessary. I'm sorry, I'm a little fuzzy on the details."

He was telling a half truth. He wanted to see the strength of the emotions he was going to be dealing with. If she was going to size him up he better do the same with her.

[enterprise_npc]

Her eyes narrowed fractionally; she was silent a moment before answering, evaluating the query for hidden meaning. "It powers our ships," she replied, opting for a straightforward response. It was important that their guests understood just how deeply their decision would affect the entire system. She watched him carefully as she continued: "Without it our fleet would be crippled, and the entire system vulnerable to the incursions our ships currently guard against. The other planets in the system lack the military strength to repel such an attack."

It was perhaps a slight overstatement of the severity of the situation. There were other potential power sources their scientists had been exploring as insurance against that very eventuality, and there were deposits - albeit smaller and less pure - of Icarium on Eiyal. But it was true that the entire system would be more vulnerable.

[green_psyd]

"What would you do if Marosi An stopped trading the Icarium with you?" David asked, curiously.

And then another thought came nearly as quickly and almost stumbling over itself to get out of David's mouth before he had time to think it through. "High Commander, why is Aia the only planet with adequate military strength to defend itself against invasion? Granted, your planet's social structure is perfected for the task but certainly there is at least one other planet that has the ability to become technologically advanced to put up their own defense system. Maybe you'd even be able to help them in that task. Why is it your planet that has the monopoly on self-defense?"

[enterprise_npc]

"We would withdraw our protection," she replied flatly; "It would be foolish in the extreme to expend valuable resources defending the very people denying us access to the resource in question-"

She stopped dead, stiffening in anger at the unpleasant implication in his next blurted question. She took a sharp breath, knuckled whitening as she fought for the self-possession to remain civil. "I should be very careful how I phrased my next comment if I were you," she ground out through gritted teeth.

[green_psyd]

He blinked several times at her barely controlled anger. He'd hit a nerve, so it seemed, a very scary nerve. "Uh," he said, trying a few more times before stepping back physically, not able to control the instinctual urge. "I'm sorry," he replied, thinking back on what he'd said. "I meant no disrespect. I think I might have worded that question a little wrong." Or not asked it at all. He snatched a blue drink from a tray as it passed but kept himself from drinking it. It had more been something to distract.

"I apologize if I offended you. I was just curious as to...how the planets themselves had come to rely on your military. I hadn't meant to imply...anything. It's a curious social..." he trailed and cleared his throat. "What would, um, happen to your planet after it withdrew from your protection trade with the Marosi? Would you find another source of power?"

He changed the topic swiftly taking a sip of the, thankfully, incredibly sweet drink.

[enterprise_npc]

For a moment she could only blink, utterly wrong-footed. He seemed genuinely apologetic for what had apparently been a truly inadvertent insult, but she couldn't believe that the Federation would send a negotiating team in so poorly informed of the history and social structure of the system. She frowned. "Perhaps you should discuss the quality of your information with your superiors," she advised dryly. "If you are interested, the history of the situation is neither a complicated nor lengthy explanation."

[green_psyd]

He nodded emphatically. "I'm afraid there isn't much about this system in the database. The report was...an outline."

He took a breath, relieved that his indiscretion was being forgiven. For now.

"Color me interested," he said with a smile. Then made a face. The idiom might be a little confusing. "I'm interested in the history, yes. Any information you can give me is appreciated."

Then he though to tack on, "And I'd also like to know about my other question. If the Marosi were to cease supplying you with the Icarium what steps would Aia take to regain its technological advantage? Militarily speaking."

David wanted to know that both Maros An and Aia had stake in keeping the two of them in the trade agreement; if it was in their best interests.

[enterprise_npc]

She raised an eyebrow at the odd colloquialism, but didn't comment. It was a necessary inconvenience that all the negotiations would be taking place in Standard. "Historically the Alliance was between Eiyal and Aia; Eiyal was first settled as an Aian colony. There were deposits of Icarium there, though of lower quality and all but exhausted by now. When purer and more extensive veins were discovered on Maros An they became an attractive target for the raiders, and eventually they approached us to negotiate for inclusion in the Alliance."

"If I recall my history correctly, in the early days the terms simply involved including Maros An in our patrol routes in exchange for favoured trade status." Shesta shrugged; "Since Laiyka joined, the arrangements have become..." Here she frowned, having a little trouble finding the correct word. "...we have come to rely on one another a great deal more."

[green_psyd]

He took a sip from his drink and shoved his other hand in his pants pocket as she talked, adopting a more relaxed gesture than previously. He let the drink set in his mouth enjoying the sweetness and nodded.

"You both have stock in this trade agreement, then," he settled. It was a little to himself.

"And neither of you have anything to gain if the trade fell apart. The Marosi would lose their protection against raiders and you would lose your resource against protecting from those raiders. So the trade part is clear. It's just the agreement part that we need to work on. This is good, by the way," David said raising the drink.

[enterprise_npc]

She nodded in politely neutral agreement, not quite trusting herself to respond verbally. The casual arrogance of the Federation crew made her blood boil; the unquestioning assumption that they somehow had the right to walk in and pass judgement as they saw fit. Unfortunately they would have no choice but to endure it. Proud as they were of their own armada, a Federation fleet would obliterate them. "We are glad the catering is to your taste," she said, settling on something innocuous.

[green_psyd]

David spent a moment watching her. He rubbed his lips together and squinted at her before sighing and turning his head above her, looking at the crowd around them. He was getting glances from both the Marosi and the Aians. He scratched his brow and finally turned back to her catching the last comment.

His fingers rotated the glass before he asked, "Who was it that first contacted the Federation for help?" He couldn't recall. He would bet it was the Marosi.

[enterprise_npc]

There was a pause. "We are...still looking into that," she replied eventually. The communication from the Federation had said that the message was anonymous, and the efforts of the Aian and Marosi administrations to find out from where it had originated had thus far been fruitless. Simply one more frustration to add to what was becoming quite the fiasco.

[green_psyd]

David's eyes widened with her reply. He looked down at his drink and back at her. This definitely complicated things. Why someone who neither administration knew would contact the federation baffled David.

"Surely the Federation contacted the, um, the leaders, though? I mean, if neither the Marosi nor your people had wanted us to intervene...can we sit down?" David asked. He wanted to know more about this. If their presence here was unwelcome he needed to know.