King Toal'Dius - Enemies inside the castle
Jania Nis
(( Rebirthing Rooms, Royal HQ, Koreli IV ))
Moydol: Speaking of faults against nature, are you sure his essence was damaged?
The king straightened in offense.
Toal’Dius: Doctors of my own species have certainly checked them better than your little machine could.
Moydol: It’s just that I’m getting readings similar to a Vulcan transferring a katra or a Trill guardian transferring a previous host. But it’s got nowhere to go.
Rouiancet: Is some part of him, of Ma’det’ain’ths’ng’in’Grend, still alive?
Toal’Dius: Alive, of course not. He’s currently being consumed right in front of you. What makes you think otherwise?
Moydol: Well, in layman’s terms, I’d say someone might be haunted by a ghost!
Toal’Dius: “Ghost” is a poor word for it. You’re perhaps detecting some of his lingering e’Tezel, his essence, as I mentioned.
Rouiancet: But how is that possible?
Moydol: Responses
Toal’Dius’s head swam for a moment. He was giving away the secrets of his people to the Federation. By the queen’s reaction, they clearly had little to no understanding of the process of rebirth until he’d begun speaking to them.
Toal’Dius: There are things here that your people do not understand, Queen Lia'Rou'i'an'Cet.
It would have to be a good enough answer. Lia held up her palms and took a half-step backward. She also calmed her breathing, both for her own sake and to appear calmer herself.
Rouiancet: I assure you, King Toal'Dius, I meant no disrespect. Perhaps, if Doctor Moydol can detect this "essence," we could assist in successfully completing his regeneration.
Moydol: Responses
Toal'Dius: The thing Moy’Dol calls a ghost is nothing supernatural. It’s a natural biomolecular cloud produced after the death of a Zet--it can be used to rehusk the recently-dead.
Rouiancet: If that was the case, we could begin (beat; a glance at Moydol) soon.
Toal'Dius's eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head.
Toal'Dius: You don’t understand. We’ve lost too many of the data points. If we brought him back now, he would be … wrong.
The king himself had lost something like 0.0002% of his data points on his first rehusking, leaving him unable to play the panacleum. It had been a running joke of the kingdom, especially amusing to his brother Grend. After nearly forty years in this new husk, he’d still never been able to pick up the talent again.
Moydol: Responses
Toal’Dius: He was my brother, but I accept that he is gone.
As they spoke, the chief reeve entered the room and approached the king. Toal’Dius looked aside to his chief.
Chief Reeve: My director, a word, please.
Toal’Dius nodded, excused himself, and stepped aside as the chief reeve removed a small personal computer from his belt, similar to what Starfleet might call a PADD. He turned it on and a video from palace security played. Toal’Dius had seen enough of these videos to recognize it immediately, if only for the lack of terms and conditions at the start of it.
It was a five-second loop of the marine passing Queen Lia'Rou'i'an'Cet a phaser. She was armed! He glanced at her from across the room as she and Moy’Dol studied the tanks. Imagine, royalty dirtying their hands by fighting for themselves. Disgusting. Presumably she was as incompetent with a weapon as he would be, but it made her thoughts on him abundantly clear.
Chief Reeve: I’ll send in your security detail, my director.
Toal’Dius: No. Not yet. Keep them on the door.
Chief Reeve: But--you’re in danger, sir.
Toal’Dius: A king always is. Make sure the soldiers following the purple one and the rest of the team are ready to spring, and get me a copy of that communique sent from the homeland.
Without another word, Toal’Dius stepped away. He had probably been away too long already.
Toal’Dius: Pardon the interruption. My chief reeve was providing me with information from the homeland that I may dread to hear.
Rouiancet/Moydol: Response
Toal’Dius: Perhaps it’s nothing. It was an intercepted transmission, and I’ve been told it’s encoded. My men are working on it now.
Rouiancet/Moydol: Response
Tags! and TBC!
King Toal'Dius
Supreme Director
Koreli IV
O240108JN2