Lt. JG Lyra Voss: Cards on the Table
Sarah Terry
((Temurian Settlement - Kiro's Lab))
The atmosphere inside the room was beginning to shift - it was like they were taking turns inching closer and closer to the truth, avoiding a line in the sand they all knew was there. The dissonance between everyone’s words and thoughts was starting to wear on the edges of Lyra’s nerves, but she could feel Evan and A’Mayri’s compassion and it helped anchor her as she spoke again to Kiro.
Voss: If there are answers to be had, we’re happy to work with you to find them. My team are some of the best. We want safe power sources for our customers and you want that too, because getting that means we’d keep coming back. I think that sounds like a recipe for working together.
There was a heavy beat of silence and she saw the way Kiro’s clawed hands gripped the edge of the console he was standing in front of.
Kiro: They are not safe.
There it was, finally in the open between them. It was followed by another stretch of silence, like the words momentarily pulled all the oxygen from the room.
A’Mayri: We understand, Kiro. There would not be protocol reliant on the conditions of their activation and containment if they were safe. ::small pause, her dark eyes fully looking at Kiro's:: Madam is correct, safety is the top priority. Not just for customers, but for those involved through the whole process.
They were being very gentle. But for someone who had built an entire bunker to study how dangerous these cores were, well… he’d still moved a lot of them, hadn’t he? She moved closer to where Kiro stood staring at the fractured pulse of light from the core inside the containment field.
Voss: You’ve known that for quite a while now, haven’t you. Even if no one else wanted to hear it.
It wasn’t a question. Not when they both knew the answer. His claws flexed once behind his back before stilling.
Kiro: oO If I continue, there is no going back to “just trade.” Oo
No, there certainly wasn’t. It was like they were all holding their breath.
A’Mayri::: knuckles clenched as her hands stayed neatly folded behind her, expression still neutral:: I believe what I am about to say could be interpreted as bold, but I suspect that this conversation is no longer just about trade. ::head turned to look at Voss and Ross::
Ross: ::clearing his throat:: Maybe it's time to tell the whole story.
The Temurian was teetering on the brink. She let her silence speak for itself and simply crossed her arms as she leaned back against the console.
Kiro: I think you already know part of it.
She saw Evan nod at A’Mayri out of the corner of her eye, though she kept her focus on Kiro.
A’Mayri: Although my people now thrive on our planet, we were once a struggling race much like you and others throughout the galaxy. We faced death from harsh conditions, hunger, and unregulated emotions that forced us to adapt and overcome obstacles like you and your people are doing now.
Empathy, resonance, understanding. A’Mayri’s steady tone carried a quiet gravitas as she spoke.
A’Mayri: If trading these core’s is what you believe will help your fellow Temurian’s thrive much like how my people adapted to technological advancement and the sciences, then Madam Voss is correct in offering our services to help you understand them better. For the safety of everyone involved, there is no logical or justifiable reason to allow for any other option.
Ross: We've heard stories. That means you must know them too.
The weight of those stories, his experiments, the patterns he had witnessed and confirmed… they hung around his neck like a millstone.
Voss: ::softly:: This room is evidence enough. And I don’t think you would have brought us here if you didn’t believe we could help.
Kiro: ?
A’Mayri: ::an agreeable nod:: We know they pose a great danger due to their instability and factors my colleagues and I do not know of yet. So yes, we only know part of it. Mr. Ross has the funding necessary to complete the trade.
Evan nodded.
Ross: If this is about payment, we have the resources. But in addition to the product we'd be open to invest in some of your... expertise.
He looked at her and she could feel the subtle cue being given. She took a deep breath and prayed the right words would come out.
Voss: We can do this together, Kiro. You’ve studied these cores for longer than we have, and we need your help. If we can figure out a way to stabilize them, your clan will have a technology the rest of the quadrant would sell an arm and a leg for. And even if we can’t… you know this isn’t sustainable. Clan Gespara is the face of these cores. When the rest of the sector realizes how dangerous they are, who are they going to come for? Certainly not your mysterious backers. They’ve shielded themselves. They’ll come for you.
Was that too heavy? Or was it just the truth? Either way, she knew it was plaguing Kiro’s thoughts and it seemed dishonest not to say it out loud. Well… not that they were paragons of honesty at the moment…
Kiro: ?
For a small moment, A'Mayri turned around just enough to hide her face from Kiro. She’d spoken with compelling empathy, but this was a terribly tense situation for a first mission, and Lyra could feel that she’d hit a bit of a wall. Evan didn’t need a Betazoid’s telepathy to notice - with a deep breath, he pushed himself away from the console and straightened up, walking through the room and over to Kiro. When he spoke again, his voice was a little louder, pulling the attention his way.
Ross: Let's say we acquire five of these power cores. As a first... working sample.
Voss: ::nodding:: Enough of a sample size to put them through their paces, but few enough that we have containment space for them all if anything were to go wrong.
Kiro: ?
Evan passed A’Mayri as Lyra stepped away from the console. They exchanged places, almost like they’d choreographed it in advance, and Evan leaned closer to Kiro. For a fleeting second, Lyra felt the rush that must compel people to become intelligence agents - or maybe it was just that she was about to black out from the stress.
Ross: It wouldn't make any sense to take them back to our headquarters. The journey alone would be a waste of resources. ::beat:: We all want the same thing. Figure out what's going on with these things - and optimise for safety. Why not work together?
They were so close. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.
Voss: We can sweeten the deal if that’s what it takes.
Kiro/A'Mayri: ?
Ross: We brought some high level-equipment that might be of help. We can pay a bonus. Let's say as... rent for your lab and your expertise in this matter. Let's run some experiments. If nothing turns up - great, we have ourselves a deal. If something does turn up - no need to upset the apple cart. No pointing fingers. We'll figure a way out to fix this. Together.
They couldn’t say it any clearer. They were here to help. They’d do this together. It could read as conduct unbecoming of a trading company - Kiro might see it that way - but hopefully he would also see their earnestness. After all, he desperately wanted a way out of this - and that’s exactly what they were offering.
Voss: We’ll show you our lab too - compare notes. See if there’s anything we’ve discovered that you haven’t and vice versa.
Kiro/A'Mayri: ?
Ross: Believe me, either way it's the better deal for you than sending us on our way with a danger neither of us understand. God knows, we might be selling these things to a primary school next week.
Ouch, that was a shot, huh. And then Evan straightened back up and looked at her like it was her turn to reel all this in. Kathra… She looked down for just a moment to collect herself. The last thing in the world she wanted was to disappoint him, but she could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. What was the final nail? What else could she say? She opened her mouth, and then the thought hit her.
Voss: I know you love Leda, but you don’t trust her anymore. And you shouldn’t. How closely is she working with the Orions? How much is she keeping from you?
That hit the room like a smack. Revealing yourself as a telepath tended to do that. She simply shrugged at Kiro.
Voss: You suspected me already. Cards on the table. And we’re not bleeding heart altruists either - these cores are a hop, skip, and a jump away from being tiny Romulan singularity drives. If we can help you figure out a way to get them to work safely, we’ll be sitting on a latinum mine so big, whatever profit-share we work out will hardly even matter. Lurtz has the resources, we have the manpower, and we aren’t here to hold anyone’s feet to the fire, which is a damn sight more than you can say about the Orions. We want to be partners. It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?
It would break character too much to cross her fingers, but Four, that was all she wanted to do. Or maybe get a stiff drink. That would also be nice. She just had to pray Kiro would say yes.
Kiro/A'Mayri: ?
Getting an even vaguely affirmative response was enough to sink her shoulders. She didn’t realize just how tightly she’d been holding herself.
Voss: ::trying to hold back a tiny bit of her palpable relief:: That’s a reasonable condition. Anything else you’d like us to consider?
Kiro/A’Mayri/Ross: ?
In her mind, she had melted into the floor. In reality, she had kept her mask tight and managed what would almost pass as a smile.
Voss: Well then, I think we’ve got ourselves a deal, Mr. Kiro! Let’s package some of these cores, grab your data readouts, and then we’ll introduce you to our laboratory and get to work.
The process didn’t take very long. Each core went into a small, portable containment unit, which was packed tightly and securely into a chest, and then loaded onto a hover dolly. The longest part of the journey was navigating the dolly back through the twisting corridors and back up to the surface again. They eventually hit the frosted air and stepped out onto the asteroid’s cold, dusty regolith.
After a few paces, Lyra looked out toward the docking bay. The docking bay with the softly flashing lights. The docking bay right down the path. The docking bay that was supposed to hold the MFT. The *empty* docking bay.
Voss: Um… where the hell is our ship?
Kiro/A’Mayri/Ross: ?