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Toss A Bar To Your Ambassador, Oh Valley Of Fun…
previous posts were (ANU) "What The... Insert Rant Here" / (BAS) "Perfect Sunny Day"
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It was a mistake to speak one's mind at any time, unless it perfectly matched your political purpose; and it never did. Best to strip all statements of real content, this was the basic law of diplomacy.
-From Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars
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Setting: ORION, Valley Of Fun, Fire Dancer Casino
Stardate: 35006.1817
Xana Bonviva had just gotten used to being on The ANUBIS; and was rather appreciative of the people she served with. She was loathe to leave it anytime soon, but she knew that her position did not often leave her with the choice to stay still.
Still as she moved through the casino, ignoring the clinking of the chips, the sips of liquids to her left and right, and thanks to a last minute request to Dr. Bruxa she was able to resist the wafting smoke floating in the air, Xana straightened out the French cuffs of her tuxedo shirt and made sure that the black satin lapels were still perfectly straight on her tux jacket.
Smiling to herself, Xana almost wished that Adriana could be here with her. This was the kind of Ambassadorial assignment she knew that Adriana wished for. And she would have taken her with her except for two things. Whoever sent the mysterious message knew her, knew quite a lot about her, and it most definitely was not about official business. Also before Xana could even tell Adriana about this sojourn, Adriana had left on her own official business.
Not seeing, or hearing from, whomever sent the mysterious message, Xana kept walking through the casino. Suddenly a large Orion man, scantily dressed, carrying a drink tray came over. “She said you’d want this for what’s coming next,” he said, referring to the large rainbow drink on his tray.
“I’m good,” Xana said waving away the drink. “And who is she?”
The Orion man ignored the question. “The show is starting soon,” he continued on. Then he pivoted and walked away.
“No I’m good, thanks,” Xana muttered as she made her way following the crowd to the auditorium.
The auditorium was a large circular room, set off from the main casino gambling area. The stage was a circular stage set in the middle of the room, recessed down, so the crowd could look down on the performer. The crowd took their seats and it was clear that they had seen this act before because there was a rhythmic clapping that began. Spotlights began swirling around the auditorium building up the suspense. Suddenly a disembodied voice said, =/\= Guests we have a special someone here tonight, I’m told. So I’m going to start with our favorite. Put your hands together, Oh Valley of Fun… =/\=
The crowd went wild at that. Although the phrase was innocuous enough, Xana felt a sense of dread and instead of taking a seat, backed up against a wall, prefering to be in the “standing room”.
From across the auditorium a voice began to sing out as the spotlight focused on him:
When a humble singer
Graced your stage
With tales of Ambassador
Along came this tale
From when the silver haired healer came
Death and disease did flay
Xana buried her head in her hands. “Oh dear Gods, no,” she muttered. She stood there and listened to an exaggerated version of what happened with OLTHAR PRIME; never once naming any of the crew by name but it was clear who he was singing about. “Morningstar is going to kill me,” she muttered.
As the singer got to the stage, the audience really got into the act (clearly they had heard this before) and sang the chorus. That nearly everyone in the audience knew.
Toss a bar to your Ambassador
Oh Valley of Fun
Toss a bar to your Ambassador
Oh Valley of Fun
Oh Valley of Fun
Ohhh
Not waiting to hear how the rest of the song went, Xana pivoted and walked out of the auditorium, through the casino, right to the bar. Someone had tried to send a drink to her earlier; perhaps now would be a good time to find out more about that.
The bar was nearly empty; everyone was at the performance or gambling or doing something else. It shouldn’t have been too difficult to get a drink. Any drink. At this point Xana would have settled for some seltzer. Trying to wave down the bartender, the Bolian/Human woman said, “Hello. Can I get something?”
The bartender, one of the few non-Orions who worked here at the casino, was at the other end of the bar. “In a minute; I’m busy.”
Xana looked around. Aside from her, there was a man at the far end who was nursing a beer, and a giggling bachelorette party that appeared to be having a good time with their own champagne bottle. “Uhm, I think it wouldn’t be that hard to get my drink.”
“In a minute,” the bartender snapped. As she made her way over she said, “You’re going to want some kind of fancy drink--”
“I just want a wine,” Xana said.
“--one of those fancy drinks with umbrellas, and we’re all out of umbrellas,” the bartender groused.
“Really a wine is fine,” the Ambassador protested. “Look I just came from the performance and I just want to drink.”
“Did you take the drink earlier? No. You sent it back. And it was because of the damn umbrella.”
“I sent it back because I didn’t know… Oh dear gods,” Xana said as the realization hit her, as she finally got a good look at the bartender. It all came to her at once. The mysterious message. The drink. The snipping now at the bar. The bartender glared at her to be quiet but it was too late. “Selyara?” she hissed.
Selyara, the Section 31 head now disguised as a bartender, huffed out. “You are definitely not getting an umbrella now,” she ground out as she tossed her apron. Grabbing Xana’s arm from across the bar, she walked to the end of the bar where the top lifted up and marched the Ambassador to a room that said “Broom Closet”.
Standing in a closet, in between cleaning equipment and uniforms, Selyara glared at Xana. “Last time I do a favor for you,” she huffed.
Xana softened up at that. “Thank you for letting me know about the song,” Xana said. Looking at the door she said, “I’ll figure out something.”
The Vulcan/Betazoid looked at the Ambassador. “There was a time you would have liked a song being sung in your honor,” she pointed out. When the other woman said nothing the Section 31 head pointed out, “When I worked with you--”
“You worked *for* me, Selyara!” Xana yelped.
“I worked with you,” Selyara rebutted.
“For!”
“With!”
Both women blinked for a moment, distracted by the argument to remember the thread of what they had been discussing. Finally Selyara tossed back her silky black hair. “Circumstances have changed. Not only for you,” she finally spat out. Leaning against the door she said, “It’s changed here too.”
Xana nodded at that. “I know ORION has changed. The new government is not exactly Federation friendly.”
Selyara gave a look over at Xana. “But they’re supposed to be,” she said. Looking at Xana she said, “They’re going to want to meet someone from the Federation. About some mutual acquaintances of ours.”
Before Xana could respond there was a series of loud knocking at the door. “Coming,” she called out. She turned to look at Selyara but there was a mop where the Section 31 head had been. Opening up the door there were 3 large Orion individuals, dressed in all black suits. “Looking for someone?” Xana asked brightly.
The individuals leaned in and hauled her out. “You’re wanted at The Golden Palace,” the lead ruffian said.
=/\=
Setting: ORION, Basher City, The Golden Palace
Stardate: 35006.2245
The trip to The Golden Palace took a short time, but clearly the government representative intended to keep her waiting, as Xana had been sitting in a well appointed office for the better part of an hour. Tapping her heel on the dark marble floor, Xana spun around in the dark guest chair waiting on the other side of a large well appointed dark desk. Looking out the window that faced a courtyard of The Golden Palace, Xana wondered who exactly she’d be meeting. At this late hour, she honestly wondered if they just forgot about her. The only thing that stopped her from getting up and going was that she heard the brutes who had hauled her here on the other side of the door.
Just as she was wondering if it was worth it to stay here or go, Xana heard voices on the other side of the door. As she turned around in her chair, the doors swooshed opened to show an average sized Orion woman in a smart white business suit. As Xana stood up, the other woman walked over to her and said, “Ambassador Bonviva, I’m President Ligalla. I trust you had no problem making it here.”
Raising her eyebrow at that, the Ambassador said, “No, no problems whatsoever.”
The President nodded at that as she made her way over to the desk. “I have to admit I was surprised when I was notified that you were on ORION and didn’t make an official check in.”
Xana remained standing; clearly this was going to be one of *those* meetings. Official check-ins by Ambassadors to Presidents, or other government leaders was expected. If one was on a planet for official business, which she wasn’t. “I’m not here on official business. This is a personal trip for me.”
President Ligalla sat down but made no indication that she wanted the Ambassador to join her in sitting. “Ah, so I’m to understand that you just happened to make a vacation on ORION?”
The azure woman tapped her high heel, the click-clack sound reverberating on the marble. “The Fire Dancer Casino had some entertainment I’ve never heard before.”
The President gave a sharp smile at that. “We’re proud of our local talent,” she said. “Ambassador, though, I have to keep coming back to this...you’re really not here on official business?”
Xana blinked at that. Gesturing to her tuxedo she was wearing she said, “As you may have noticed, I’m not wearing my Ambassadorial robes. I’m not exactly dressed for diplomacy.” Tilting her head to the side she asked, “Was there something in an official capacity that you wanted to ask me?”
President Ligalla leaned back in her chair. “As you know this is a turning point for my people,” she said. “We are trying to forge a new future.”
“Hmmhmm,” Xana nodded, not exactly committing to the Orions long history of piracy, slave-trading, and racketeering. This whole “we’re now a legitimate government” sounded wonderful, and the Ambassador would embrace it. If it wasn’t for things like the large goons who dragged her here or the ominous vibes she was getting from the President, who rumor had it wasn’t exactly lawfully elected.
“And as a free and independent people, we don’t appreciate others interfering in what is clearly a personal matter for the Orions,” Ligalla continued on. Giving a meaningful look she said, “I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate me interfering in your personal affairs. Would you, Ambassador?”
Every alarm and nerve ending went off in Xana. Schooling herself to keep calm, she asked, “My personal affairs? You mean aside from having my life being sung about in casinos?” When the President just gave an enigmatic smile she said, “Come now, we are women of the universe. These half-truths and riddles do not become us. What is it you want to ask?”
The President took her time, sipping an amber liquid on her desk and evaluating the Ambassador as she stood there before her. Finally she said, “One of your ships is causing a problem for my people. I want you to stop it.”
Xana raised an eyebrow at that. “You must think I have far more power than I do. Ambassadors cannot command ships to do anything.” Pausing for a moment she asked, “Out of curiosity, what ship is it?”
“The USS PHOENIX,” President Ligalla said. Leaning in she asked, “Are you sure you can’t do anything? I was certain you had….well I’ll say sway with that ship.”
The azure woman for the first time that night regretted her choice of attire because her tuxedo had an open shirt, as she had opted to not go for a bow tie; and at this point she could feel that she was getting flush, her skin becoming almost the shade of a blueberry. Although her children were on that ship, she knew that the President wasn’t referring to them. In a crisp voice, Xana repeated back, “Ambassadors cannot command ships.”
The space of several moments passed as the two women stared at each other. Finally Ligalla waved off the Ambassador. “Fine, I have no further use for you. I won’t even bother you about this other Federation matter I had here on my desk.” As she shuffled around some PADDs, she finally the one she wanted and leaned back in her chair to read it. “Go, you’re useless. You’re of no use to me,” Ligalla said dismissively.
Xana nodded and said, “Madame President.” Getting no response, she spun around and walked out the door. As she made her way out of the room, the Ambassador wondered if she did the right thing by the ANUBIS, the PHOENIX and...whatever that *other* Federation matter was that President Ligalla alluded to was.
The large brutes who had hauled her here were still hanging outside the door, but now they were playing cards. One of them had the audacity to whistle the song from the casino as Xana walked out. It gave her a moment of pleasure to give them a very undiplomatic gesture on the way out.
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Sarah Albertini-Bond