Tolin Return
Lieutenant Tera zh'Taaliq hit her communications badge, "Captain Villeneuve, you have a moment?"
There was a pause, but fortunately not a long one. It was the captain's night-shift and she might in all probability have been sleeping. Regardless, she responded in a few seconds. "I'm available. What's the situation, Lieutenant?"
"Hate to bother you, ma'am, but we have a transmission from
Tolinar VII. They're requesting to speak to a representative of and I quote, 'the fleet the Federation has dispatched to this region'. We're the closest ship, but in less than five minutes we're going to pass by our closest approach and be headed away from them. I figured you'd want to divert in their direction and-"
"I understand," interrupted the captain with more crossness than usual. She probably
had been sleeping. "If we increase the Tarrak's speed to warp factor 8, what's our ETA at Tolinar?"
"Umm..." zh'Taaliq made a few calculations. "3.2 hours, Captain."
"Then do that. I'll be on the bridge in two hours."
"Going to get some more sleep while you can, ma'am?" said zh'Taaliq?
Captain Villeneuve's response came back immediately. "No, a hot shower will have to do instead. I've got three hours to review everything we know about the Tolin and warn Sector Command that they might be sticking their oar in the current conflict."
A little over three hours later, an alert-looking Captain Victoria Villeneuve stood on the bridge of her ship, the Tarrak. She addressed a human on the main screen. "You have no idea what this is about, Director Boucher?"
"None. I wouldn't even know they had called you if one of our research assistants at the colony weren't close enough to the Tolin to have gotten a causal mention. They're... not very good at explanations. I'll provide you any support I can, but we're just a small research colony."
"What about this research assistant you mentioned?"
"Rartay Aronn. She used to be in Starfleet, I believe, before mustering out due to injury. Managed to make more inroads with the Tolin than any of us. Yes, I'm sure she'd be welcome if she accompanies you to meet with their Steering Cooperative... that's what they call their leadership"
Captain Villeneuve beamed down, leaving her first officer in command on the Tarrak's bridge. She'd elected to take Jan, the Yan-Ros ensign who served as back-up helmsman, with her. It was more because she thought the young man could use a little seasoning on an away mission than anything else.
The beamdown site was nothing special, a lot behind the research colony's main work building. Awaiting her were Director Boucher and a pale Amarki woman with violet hair wearing flared trousers and a diaphanous white top.
"Ms. Aronn I presume?" asked Villeneuve. "I'm Captain Victoria Villeneuve and this is Ensign Jan."
"Yes, I'm Rartay Aronn. It's an honor to meet you, Captain. Even in this remote post we heard heard you were one of the defenders of Sol during the extra-dimensional incursion."
Director Bounher's expression said he had not heard that, but Villeneuve wasn't looking at him. She was startled by realizing that Aronn's eye sockets had something other than eyes inside them. Each eye socket had a sort of faceted crystal that reflected a rainbow of colors.
"Your eyes," she said before catching herself.
Aronn's looked stoic about the captain's surprise and forced a smile. "My medical discharge from Starfleet was due to a loss of vision... I was on the Sappho when it was destroyed. When I came here the Tolin were sympathetic, but not terrible concerned. Then I happened to be of some assistance on a difficult problem, and they were grateful enough to use some of their remnant technology on my behalf. These were a pair of vision devices they had sitting on some dusty shelf somewhere, able to bypass the damaged parts of my visual cortex. It's a different spectrum from what I once saw, but sometimes very beautiful."
The captain cleared her throat. "Yes. You were going to take us to see this Steering Cooperative?"
"Of course. This way."
They walked a short way through what appeared to be an agrarian town, before arriving at what appeared to be a large stone building from the outside. As they traveled, Villeneuve asked, "So Ms. Aronn, do you have any idea what this is all about?"
"The Tolin are able to monitor subspace communications in this area of space. I believe they've been doing it more in the past five years since the Captain Sabek made contact and they were exposed as not being an ordinary pre-warp civilization. They're certainly aware of the growing tensions between the Laio, the Arcadian Empire, and the Ikeigenoites. Ordinarily other people's wars would be of little concern to them, but... well you can read a sector map as well as anyone, captain."
"Tolinar VII lies on the most direct path between Laian and Ikeigenoi," said Villeneuve.
"Exactly. Space is vast and there's no reason warring ships from either side should have to approach their planet, but a station near Tolinar or a supply cache in system could be very useful to either side as a staging area or stop for their supply convoys. And of course, battles are unpredictable and a planetary system gives a fleeing fleet some terrain to work with in extremis. I believe that's what worries them, but they haven't confided in me what they plan to do about it."
They stepped inside the building, dispelling the illusion of its primitive exterior. Aronn confidently led them down a hallway with a metal floor and walls, a throbbing sensation of power similar to what one might feel from the engines on a starship.
"So, uh, what did you do to make these Tolin so grateful?" said Ensign Jan, voice breaking a little as he spoke up for the first time. Villeneuve suspected he was either spooked by their surroundings or a little infatuated with Aronn's graceful beauty. Maybe both.
Aronn chuckled a little as if embarrassed. "I helped them modernize certain aspects of their raiment to be more compatible with their modern lifestyle while being respectful of their traditional culture. Some of it was a bit difficult... but I
remember what color things used to be, you see."
A door slid open to reveal a group of Tolins waiting in silence as they stood around a table. Somehow Villeneuve was unsurprised to see they were wearing the same flared trousers and diaphanous white top that Aronn was.
Aronn stepped forward. "Friends, this is Captain Victoria Villeneuve of the starship Tarrak. She's come in response to your request for a Starfleet representative."
Villeneuve walked up to the table. "Who am I addressing and what can I do for you?"
The Tolans looked something like Amarki, but with the darker blue skin of Andorians. There were fifteen of them. One of them, curiously not the one in the center but a seemingly random one on her right, spoke. "I am Mahari and these are my colleagues on the Steering Cooperative of the Tolin. We are aware of the march towards war by several of the young species in our vicinity. We are also aware that your Federation of Planets has moved a large quantity of ships into the area in recent weeks. We would know your intentions. Is this a war fleet intended to intervene in the coming conflict?"
"No! Those ships are intended for diplomatic outreach and investigation. We're interested in finding out the causes of this war and convincing the species involved to put down their weapons and seek a diplomatic solution," said Villeneuve.
The Tolan glanced at each other, some unspoken communication seeming to pass between them. Mahari spoke again. "I see. And if your efforts to prevent war fail?"
"That would be up to the Federation Council. However I believe it is highly unlikely we would be ordered to do anything that might compromise the Federation's ability to act as a neutral arbitrator for the eventual end of hostilities."
"And you will be talking to all involved parties?"
"Not... my ship itself. The Tarrak is part of Starfleet's general sector patrol. But what they're calling 'Task Force Unity' under Rear Admiral Thuir will be talking to them, yes."
Mahari nodded. "Good. Then we will request that your Task Force Unity deliver a message for us. Interstellar traffic is hereby banned within half a light year of Tolinar, other than Federation ships. This is especially true for the would-be combatants: the Laio, the Arcadian Empire, and the Outer Space Alliance."
"And what should we tell them is the penalty for breaking this rule?" asked Villeneuve.
"Test us and learn," replied Mahari. "In addition, we wish to place agents on 'Task Force Unity' to monitor the progress of your 'diplomatic outreach and investigation'.
"Dear, that's not the way to ask," said Aronn, speaking up suddenly.
The Tolin shifted and another one of them spoke. "What we mean to say is that the Tolin would be grateful if, as a local interested party, the Federation would honor our request for observers on your Task Force. Perhaps the wisdom of our aged species will be of aid in negotiations."
"Of course that is what I meant to say," said Mahari.
Villeneuve's lips were still curled sourly from the first version of the request, but she forced herself to be diplomatic. "I don't have the authority to approve that, but will pass the request to Rear Admiral Thuir. I believe it's likely he'll say yes."
Of course he would. The weight of yet another species watching, especially some ancient remnant of whose capabilities no one was certain, would be another bit of influence to tip the scales. With a job this difficult Thuir couldn't turn down any advantage, no matter how small. Villeneuve rather suspected that this particular 'advantage' would be a pain in the side, but it wouldn't be her pain in side.
"You may go-" Mahari started to say, only to be interrupted by a cough from Aronn.
"We are grateful for your time in meeting us, and we eagerly await the Federation's response. Please leave us to our deliberations," corrected Mahari.
Villeneuve gave a small bow and exited the room with Jan and Aronn. As soon as they were outside she asked Aronn. "Can they actually enforce this no-go zone? If so, how?"
"Darling, I have no idea," replied Aronn. "I don't
think they have any starships, but it's not like them to bluff."
"Whatever the case, Thuir is probably going to agree to the observers and I'm guessing that means I'll be assigned to deliver them to the task force. They seem like a tough group to handle, but...
you seem pretty good at wrangling them," observed Villeneuve thoughtfully.
"Well one does one's best," replied the Amarki.
"What was your rank before you were discharged?"
"I was a lieutenant, why?"
"If you agree, I have the authority to approve your field recall to duty. The circumstances that led to your medical discharge seem compensated for, and right now Starfleet could use someone who can keep these Tolans in line. If you agree."
Aronn hesitated for a long moment. "I've spent a lot of time reconciling myself to a new path in life, but if I could be of
use.... I suppose I could always resign once the mission is done, if I can't adjust myself to Starfleet again. Yes Captain Villeneuve, I would very much like to return to duty."
They shook hands, and Rartay was struck by a thought. "Less than four years," she whispered to herself.
***
Lieutenant Mitchie Peh stared at a letter on a PADD and then pumped her arm. "A little over three years!
Can I call it or can I call it?" she said loudly to no one in particular.
.
