Romulan + Crab Legs

Posted on 20 Mar 2016 @ 8:26am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Ambassador Olenna Mirok

1,664 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station - Deck 121, Promenade, Restaurant
Timeline: MD 87 - 1330 hrs

[ON]

Sitting by herself at the bar counter of a Bolian-themed restaurant, Lirha was spending her lunch break happily munching on green crab legs and making quite a mess in the process. Unlike Earth crabs, the Bolian variety were much larger and more succulent -- about a meter long in length, which meant every time she cracked a leg open (of which there were ten), a large splatter of crab juice squirted all across the table and on to her bib. She didn't mind much, for the meat was delicious especially when doused with a healthy dose of spices and butter, but it meant that she was not able to read her PADD while she ate.

Instead, she found herself staring at the large LCARS monitor in front of her and watching the latest news and programs from the FNN feed.

Olenna stood from her table. Her new Cardassian friend had talked some sense into her. As she made for the door she noticed a rather striking Orion woman. The recognized her from itelligence dossiers. This was Rear Admiral Saalm. The woman who, Olenna heard, had taken command of Galileo.

She quickly adjusted the collar of her pink suit again. She didn't bother to call after Kattell, instead she came to a stop at Lirha's table and cleared her throat loudly.

"Pardon me Admiral." She spoke politely through partially clenched teeth. "I was wondering when I might run into you."

Lirha looked over to see a Romulan woman with light blonde hair and very blue eyes who had approached her. Wiping her moist chin with the back of her hand, she then nodded while she chewed and motioned towards the vacant seat next to her.

"Hello," she finally greeted after swallowing, flashing a small and polite smile. "Ambassador Mirok, yes?" Saalm recognized the woman's features from somewhere, most likely a personnel file relating to Galileo, but didn't recall ever speaking to the lady.

"Please, Lady Olenna will do." The Romulan sat next to the Admiral. "I'm so sorry for interrupting your meal."

"It is no inconvenience," Saalm reassured her, then slid her plate over to Olenna to offer her some delicious crab meat. "Please, try some. I hope you do not mind seafood." She motioned to the bartender who arrived with a second bib and a plethora of napkins for the ambassador along with a leg-cracker utensil.

"I've just eaten actually." The Romulan said, somewhat taken aback by the offer. She declined the bib and utensils ,and pushed the plate back.

Lirha shrugged without much mind and cracked another leg open. "So...if I remember correctly, you are assigned to Galileo? As an attache, of sorts?" Her hands were a bit messy and she didn't want to tap away at her PADD to verify.

"An Observer for the Imperial Senate." Olenna corrected.

"..Yes, of course. My apologies," Lirha said between chewing bites of delicious crab meat. She then waved an empty leg shell towards Olenna. "And how are affairs back in the Star Empire? Are the relocation efforts going well?"

Olenna pursed her lips, "I should make one thing very plain right out of the gate Admiral." She paused. "I come from a Romulan Colony called Mhiessan, we are rather secluded from the majority of the Empire. Although we offered aid to our people, they declined. I'm afraid the politics and history of the situation are...complex."

Never one to shy from a sensitive subject, Lirha inquired further. "Complex in what manner?" She had spent several years of her career prior to her Galileo assignment as an intelligence officer tasked with monitoring Romulan operations and politics along the wavering neutral zone, and she had a special interest in the subject matter that she hoped the ambassador could elaborate upon.

"At one time Mhiessan was a Romulan Colony like any other." She sighed, "But in the Empire things rarely stay the same for very long."

"My family took power from the Empire's Viceroy, and has held it ever since. Now, because we are so secluded it was a while before the Empire came with vengeance. We repelled them, and took temporary independence. To this day we operate in a very different way from the rest of the Imperial Colonies."

Although her explanation was vague, Olenna knew the whole story would come out sooner or later. Humans were prying.

"Your world is at conflict with the Empire's regime?" Lirha attempted to translate. It wouldn't be the first one, and there had been much fracturing of the Romulan political unit ever since the Hobus disaster. "Have you requested assistance from the Federation?"

Sighing, "In the past we have been." Olenna offered. "The Federation's assistance was not required. Mhiessan is quite self sufficient."

Lirha wiped her hands clean using a napkin then deposited it in her lap. "You have not had any trouble from the Reman separatists?" she wondered out loud.

Olenna stiffled a smile. "Mhiessan keeps a neutral stance on that particular point." She regarded the Admiral with a curious look. She couldn't help but notice a glow on the green pigmented face of the Admiral. Without a second thought, Olenna leaned in and half whispered "How far along are you?" She offered a knowing smile.

Glancing over towards the Romulan then down to her own belly, Lirha looked back up into Olenna's deep blue eyes with a bit of surprise. "Almost four months," she answered with a private smile. "Is it that obvious, now?" She had wondered how long she would be able to hide her pregnancy, and apparently she had reached the end of her privacy regarding the matter.

Olenna smiled, "A mother knows." Her smile broke, "It's the glow." Olenna had three children, and although two had passed on, they all held her heart. Motherhood changes a woman in indescribable ways. "Are you....prepared?" She aske curiously.

"...Prepared?" Lirha wasn't sure what exactly that meant, and now felt a bit apprehensive. "For...children...?" she asked in order to double-check. "I suppose as well as I can be for a career Starfleet officer." A small smile pulled at the edges of her gold lips.

"One is never truly prepared for motherhood." The Romulan said, mirroring Lirha's expression. "How will that affect your career?" She blurted.

As much as the Orion had not wanted to think about that, it was something which had been weighing in the back of her mind for a while. She seemed to be a personal crossroads, with one direction presenting her with the civilian world once again, and the other side pressing her to raise a child within the Fleet. Both had their own distinct advantages and troubles, and she hadn't quite yet figured out what the endgame would be.

"I suppose it depends," she began, picking up another crab leg and cracking it open with her utensils. "It is at least six months of maternity leave but I suppose the bigger question is whether or not I want to raise my children in space as I was raised. There are many...differences between a sedentary and traveling upbringing."

Olenna could understand the woman's choice and reluctance. "It is a big decision to make." She flashed a smile, "I'm sure you'll do what is right."

Looking down to her plate to pry a bit of shell from one of the legs, Lirha doused the seafood with a healthy dose of melted butter and seasoning. "One can only hope.." she murmured under her breath before plopping more food into her mouth.

With a glazed and buttery green finger, she motioned towards Olenna to respond. "Do you have children of your own?"

"Three." She reached instincitely for the back of her neck, allowing her fingers to trace the lines that decorated the skin there. "Hecxe, Hiren, and Lenarra." She had a slight sorrow to her voice.

"Oh? How old are they?" Lirha was an inquisitive woman by nature and very family-oriented. She was interested to hear more about Olenna's children.

Olenna winced a bit, " Both Hecxe and Lenaara have passed on." She said explicitly. "Hiren is 68, and the reigning Lord of Mhiessan." She knew the latter fact would not erase her first statement.

Lirha slowed her chewing and swallowed a lump in her throat when the ambassador revealed the passing of two of her children. Such a thing was never for a parent to experience, in her opinion. "You have my deepest condolences," she said, looking into her eyes with her best comforting gaze. "Perhaps Hiren continues his good fortunes for their spirits?" The Orion concept of death and the afterlife was complex and vague -- there was often little distinction between the spirits and deceased ancestors who watched over the living.

"Thank you." Was Olenna's only response. She raised an eyebrow at the Admiral.

Sucking down the last bit of crab meat from its leg shell, the rear admiral looked down at her plate to see that she had devoured the entree in all its delicious glory. She once again wiped her hands clean then reached into her pocket to procure a small slip of gold-pressed latinum that she placed on the bar counter to pay for her meal.

"I am heading back to Galileo for the remainder of the day. I am not sure if you would like to follow, but thank you for joining me for lunch. Speaking to ambassadors such as yourself is always enlightening."

"My sentiments are quite the same about Starfleet Officers." she eyed the Admiral carefully. "I have a friend to catch, but I will arrange for my things to be taken to the ship tomorrow. perhaps we can arrange a tour?"

"Certainly," smiled Lirha who gave a departing wave to the Romulan then searched out the nearest turbolift to take her back to the airlock.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

AMB Olenna Mirok
Foreign Observer
USS Galileo

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