Lieutenant Ikaia Wong - The Hovan Witnesses
Ka Banning
((Dining Hall – Norsel Corp, Uwe II))
Hopper: So, you’re behind the mining efforts?
Norsel: Not directly. I try not to do anything directly. But I’ve influenced the government researchers to consider the dilithium as an important resource to the project.
That was enough to give Ikaia pause. As far as he was aware, there was no word for “dilithium” in the Uwezo language. It wasn’t definitive proof. But between that and the use of the word “Starfleet,” it seemed like Norsel wasn’t who he appeared to be.
Wong: It seems as if you have a lot of influence in key places.
Saavei: Response.
Galanis: This could be an exchange. We’re all ultimately working for the greater good of the planet, aren’t we?
Norsel: I like to think so. But there are many who don’t see it that way. Sure, you have the fanatics, like Elarrapal, who believe the trees are speaking to them, but then there’s the general public – who are swayed by people like her – and the environmentalists, and the overly-cautious fools at the top who constantly backpedal to appease the masses. It’s like this in every society…
Hopper: Mr. Norsel, the way you’re speaking – it sounds as though you want the warp project to succeed… But we have reason to believe you were involved in the bombing…?
Norsel: Why plant the explosives? Why kidnap Greeta? To move up the timeline, of course. The government won’t be so inclined to listen to the opposition if they think they’re radical lunatics, or terrorists. They’ll crack down on the dissenters and finally permit the use of dilithium in the project that I, and Greeta, have been pushing for.
Galanis: Radical lunacy? What could possibly be so radical about using dilithium for warp? It’s simple enough to prove with sci-...
Ikaia held his hand up in front of Galanis. Calmness was going to be the key. At least for now. And he couldn’t have Galanis worked up either. Raising tensions in the room was a bad idea.
Wong: In short, you’re setting them up. As long as they look radical, it makes you appear reasonable.
Which of course Ikaia was sure was the exact opposite.
Saavei: Response.
((OOC from Keegan – Feel free to add in additional questions/tags for Norsel here if you want, and I can backfill them))
Hopper: Alright, let’s say we buy what you’re telling us. That you’ve been manipulating things to try and expedite the research at the warp facility. If you know so much about dilithium, why don’t you just tell the government what you know?
Norsel: That’s just it. They won’t believe it if it comes from me. I’m no eminent scientist. Just a businessman. A miner. They’ll see my interest as an attempt to profit at the expense of the government. But if a man like Vaarig Greeta – scientist, family man – tells them. They’ll listen.
Galanis: So why the explosion? Why the kidnapping? If Vaarig could figure it out, what was the problem?
Wong: So you needed a face. And Greeta made for the perfect face.
Saavei: Response
((OOC from Keegan – Same, again))
Norsel: The problem was you. You showed up and threw off all my plans. I know you’re off-worlders. Aliens. When my men told me, I logically assumed you were Hovans… But now I know better. ::Pointing to Saavei:: Vulcan. ::To Wong:: Klingon. ::To Galanis:: Centauran. ::To Hopper:: My genetic scanners don’t quite know what you are.
Ikaia’s theory about Norsel being more than he appeared was falling into place. Could it have been that Norsel had disguised himself just like he did for himself and his crew? But that led to a much bigger question - who was he really?
Hopper: You know about the Hovans?! About… The Federation?
Norsel: Of course I do… I am Hovan.
Ikaia looked around the table. Everyone was silent except for perhaps the barely audible shuffling in seats and it seemed to stretch on forever. Someone was going to have to break it. Turns out, it was him.
Wong: …… What…..?!
Saavei: Response
Galanis: …So this isn’t about mining. Or profit. You’re knowingly interfering, trying to technologically uplift an entire species to… what? Make them into a client state of Hova before they even know other worlds exist?
Wong: I think that’s a valid question - what do you stand to gain from this, Norsel?
oOIf that even is your real name…..Oo
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel: Response
Galanis: Our experience with official Hovan policy is one of isolationism. They’ve refused diplomatic overtures from the Federation so far. So which is it? Are you a rogue agent pursuing a personal agenda, or is that isolationism just a cover for clandestine operations like this one?
Ikaia calmly raised a hand at Galanis. This was starting to get a bit too impulsive for his tastes.
Wong: This does suggest you’re acting on your own or as part of a group unaffiliated with the Hovan at large.
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel: Reponse
Galanis: You even used a bomb. You risked catastrophic failure at a research facility, kidnapped an innocent, all to force the government’s hand. That’s not just interference - you’re using terrorism to shape their development. Is this a standard policy when it comes to ‘uplifting’ Hova’s neighbors?
Ikaia looked at Galanis. Kidnapped an innocent? Why kidnap Greeta if they were working together? That didn’t make any sense unless…..
Wong: Unless Greeta wasn’t kidnapped. It was staged and orchestrated by both you and Greeta.
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel: Response
Ikaia leaned forward on the table.
Wong: You can correct me if I’m wrong here, Norsel, but my theory is this - you’ve used this incident to accelerate the time line. It isn’t happening fast enough for you especially with our presence here. It also casts anyone anti-warp or perhaps a better name for them would be environmentalists, as an extremist group. Greeta was going to be returned at a later date.
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel/Galanis: Response
Wong: It was always about the optics. The way things appeared to everyone else. As you’ve established before, if you make the environmentalists look unreasonable, it makes you and Greeta look far more reasonable by comparison. Which would allow you to accomplish your objectives.
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel/Galanis: Response
Wong: But there’s one last dangling thread, isn’t there? And that thread is sitting across the table in front of you. But the way you’re sharing all this information implies something - you don’t think you’re going to get caught. Either, you think that even if you let us go and we do speak up, you think no one is going to believe us or alternatively, you have no intention of letting us go at all because we are witnesses.
Hopper/Saavei/Norsel/Galanis: Response
Lieutenant Ikaia Wong PA-C
Medical Student (MD)
Amity Outpost
V239711IW0