MSNPC Governor Reidella - A Change of Heart (Safe Harbor)

[Anath G'Renn]

((Governor’s Manor, Town Center - Safe Harbor))

 

::She and Walter exited the room, giving their guests a moment to talk alone and decide if they wanted a tour of the colony. In the hallway she waved Sqeour over and telepathically instructed him to keep a close eye on the sensors in case of any unknown ships coming to attack them. Not that he wasn’t always keenly observing the world around them for any threats already. But better safe than sorry.::

 

::When she returned to the front room, she could sense that the mood in the room had shifted.::

 

Reidella: We have begun monitoring events in orbit with our sensor array. Do you wish for a tour of the community?

 

ch'Ranni: ::hurriedly:: We believe the Ya-Grhan have arrived. Are you able to detect the incoming ship?

 

::That caught her a bit off guard. Clearly something had happened while she was out of the room. It wasn’t something that she particularly liked. She was used to being the one holding all of the cards and knowing all of the information.::

 

Reidella: ::In a difficult-to-read tone.:: Not at this moment.

 

Stendhal: Yes the Ya-Grhan are here and I guess that they are not coming to join us for a cup of hot chocolate!  

 

Whittaker: Governor- ::he said with obvious unease.:: - we are unable to contact our vessel in orbit and I cannot overestimate the danger the Ya-Grhan pose. They have destroyed countless civilisations for simply existing near to their territory. They dispatched Shanshuri to capture and interrogate us simply because we strayed into their territory without realising it. Counsellor Stendhal- ::he pointed to the Betazoid:: - was a prisoner of the Shanshuri. ::beat:: I know that you are confident in your ability to repel an attack by their forces but what happens if a fleet arrives? How long before your people make a mistake or grow tired or expend their abilities? What about men like Walter Hudson- he can rejuvenate your soil but how good is he at repelling attackers? What about the children of Safe Harbour? Can you say with absolute certainty that your colony will survive? ::his tone had become more and more urgent.::

 

ch'Ranni: Are you willing to gamble with the lives of your people on your superiority?

 

::While she did open her mouth, no words came out to answer that question. She was certainly confident in their abilities. Reidella and the other most powerful espers could hold off a bombardment or waves of attackers. But how long until one slipped through? And Captain Whittaker was right that not everyone had the ability to repel attackers like she could. It was a terrible risk.::

 

Jolara: ?

 

Stendhal: Yes I was a prisoner of the Shanshuri, with my mate we went there to help. They cheat us, they knew our weakness and that we must help anybody in danger and needs. So this darn Ya-Grhan, they used our good intentions against us. Nice, isn’t it? They'll probably use your peculiarity against you too, how ? I don’t know… I would never imagined that somebody would be able to act and put themselves in danger just to hit us. It was a bad surprise. Me and doctor G’Reen, well we were helping to heal their patients with all the kindness of the universe and guess what ? They just try to poison us and to put us in jail!

 

::Reidella’s resolve crumbled. They had convinced her that something had to be done. But what to do about it if not fight? She looked between the officers and their captain, wondering if they had any answers. Surely they weren’t going to suggest abandoning their world.::

 

Reidella: What is is that you recommend that we do?

 

Whittaker: Our scans indicated that your world is laced with large deposits of kelbonite, fistrium and dentarium. Your colony is built on top of a particularly large one. If we could get your people into the nearby mountains- we might be able to use the natural topography and the refractory nature of the minerals to hide from a Ya-Grhan invasion force. Our shuttle's sensors picked up what looked like a particularly large cave system in the nearby mountains?

 

::She knew exactly what they were talking about. They were a bit far outside of town, but the Red Rock Caves were a beautiful natural formation that many younglings of Safe Harbor enjoyed exploring. They would also make for a good spot to hide.::

 

Reidella: The Red Rock Caves. I am familiar with them.

 

Jolara: ?

 

Serinus: Anyone with abilities that can detect, or reveal those in different phase variations would be of great use, in case an invasion fleet were to be landed. A cave system would also be a boon, tactically speaking. Imagine all the choke points, and ambush opportunities.

 

Stendhal: I think that would be the best option. Maybe if you can reveal them putting down or altering their camouflages, they may just escape away or at least they will lose their best card...

 

Whittaker: The alternative, Governor, is that your colony is destroyed and your people become slaves of the Ya-Grhan. With you under their control, the balance of power in this region could be altered. Forever.

 

::Reidella locked eyes with Captain Whittaker, wondering how he knew the plan of these “Ya-Grhan”.::

 

Reidella: ...you feel that is their plan?

 

Jolara: ?

 

Serinus: I would say that makes our next few moves more obvious.

 

Stendhal: Yeah I think is what happened to the Shanshuri, now they are Ya-Grhan slaves and they used them to hit us. They appeared more afraid of the reaction of the Ya-Grhan in case of failure than about us…

 

Whittaker: ?

 

::She had been convinced. Gambling so much on their abilities was not a wise thing to do. At least for the moment, they would have to leave Safe Harbor. If anything happened, she hoped the Columbia would be around to help them avenge their home.::

 

Reidella: Very well. We will evacuate to the Red Rock Caves.

 

Any: ?

 

Reidella: ~ Sqeour ~

 

::Almost immediately, Sqeour appeared in the room, rushing through the door as soon as he was called.::

 

Sqeour: Governor?

 

Reidella: We are evacuating the colony and moving to the Red Rock Caves. Please go to the residential areas and begin gathering everyone together. We will clear the buildings here on the Forum.

 

Sqeour: ::Without betraying any concern or alarm.:: It will be done.

 

::If he found that order odd or concerning, he didn’t let on to that fact. He simply bowed respectfully to her and took off out the door in the direction of the residential quarter. That left her and their new visitors to handle the Forum and getting everyone ready to evacuate. The Forum would actually make a great staging area to get the group together before leaving. The main gate would lead directly towards the mountains.::

 

Whittaker/ch’Ranni/Serinus/Stendhal: ?

 

::Putting an awful lot of trust in the strangers, Reidella opened the door to the governor’s mansion and gestured for them to follow her out into the square.::

 

 

((The Forum, Town Center - Safe Harbor))

 

::The snowfall was becoming increasingly heavy as they made their way down the line of buildings towards their first destination. Still feeling conflicted about the plan, she looked back to the Starfleet officers. Like it or not, she would have to rely on them to help keep her people safe.::

 

Reidella: I hope that you are able to help coordinate the evacuation. We have a very limited leadership. It is mostly just myself and Sqeour.

 

Whittaker/ch’Ranni/Serinus/Stendhal: ?

 

::After passing two empty buildings mostly containing machinery and power generation equipment, they reached the Safe Harbor school. It was an old wooden building with a porch wrapping around the building and large windows allowing the students to see the activity out on the Forum. Reidella burst through the doors without any thought.::

 

::The classroom was remarkably quiet and focused on the history lesson that Victoria Reyes, their teacher, had been giving. Upon seeing the governor of the Order of the Lost Explorers burst into the room with strange alien visitors in tow, she stopped her lesson mid-sentence. Trying not to alarm the younglings, Reidella put on a happy face and raised her mental blocks to keep her growing sense of panic from being so easily detectable.::

 

Reyes: And that is when-  ::In confusion:: Governor?

 

Reidella: Sorry to interrupt your class, everyone. ::Forcing a smile:: We have some visitors today, and we’re going on a field trip into the mountains!

 

Any: ?

 

::The small group of students excitedly grabbed their book bags and began walking out the door onto the school’s porch. As each one passed she counted to make sure they had everyone and that nobody had wandered off. It had been known to happen. She admired Victoria to no end in being able to keep so many young altered under control on her own.::

 

Reidella: ::Conducting a headcount as the younglings left the school building.:: Dolarath, Celdan, Franklin, Ara, Sato, Yanol, and Kaironn. ::She turned back to Captain Whittaker and his team.:: We’ll also need to go check with Doctor Velross. He does have two patients who may need help being moved.

 

::Outside the door she noticed Kelriac and one of his Losarian card player friends. Either he had put two and two together or he had been warned by Sqeour. Either way Reidella was glad to see him. She smiled to the Sopressian old man. Having two more sets of hands to help coordinate the evacuation would come in handy.::

 

Whittaker/ch’Ranni/Serinus/Stendhal: ?

 

 

Governor Reidella of Safe Harbor

Leader of the Order of the Lost Explorers

 

===as simmed by===

 

Lieutenant Commander Anath G'Renn

Chief Medical Officer/Second Officer, USS Columbia

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