You go with Kirk and Londo to see what kind of treaty can be knocked together. You get the feeling that this should . . . prove interesting. The group, minus Dr. McCoy (who's gone down to Medical) gather inside a small conference room set aside for just this occasion. "Doesn't meet with your approval, Ambassador?" Kirk asks, seeing Londo's face. "What?" Londo says, quickly wiping off the look of disappointment off his face. "Oh, I'm sorry Captain. I'm just used to settings that is a touch less . . . .spartan than this. No offense, meant, Captain." "We do our best, Ambassador." Kirk says in a neutral tone. "I hope that the drinks will meet with your approval. THAT we were able to better arrange, compliments of Mr. Scott." "Ah, yes INDEED it meets my approval." Londo smiles after a belt of Romulan Ale. You smile, figuring that it very well SHOULD, considering all the hoopla that surrounds this stuff in the original series! "Where is this from?" "Romulus, from the Romulan Star Empire." Scotty coughs. "Hard to come by even back where we are from, considering the . . . . unfortunate political relationship between the Federation and Romulans. And now . . ." A prosaic paper, standard treaty material (versus the fancy parchment and ribbon affair that Centauri Prime seems to like) is brought out. Londo shrugs, looks over the legalese of the treaty, and raises a bushy eyebrow at some of the phrases found there. He points at a line. "If I understand this, it says, basically, that you'll be establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with Centauri Prime . . . . and in the future when you re-establish contact with you . . . . universe?! . . . . you'll broker a friendly relationship with the Federation? What . . . .?" Kirk sighs, and then decides to lay the cards on the table (well, besides the ones he has up his sleeves). "Ambassador, I won't beat around the bush here." he says in a calm voice. "We arrived here by accident. On behalf of your, and all the intelligent races, as a dually authorized representative of Centauri Prime . . . . of which gave me authorization to interfere and NOT violate the Prime Directive . . . . we intervened in that little fight with the Shadow. We could use a place that we could get help . . . materials . . . . supplies . . . .exchange 'interesting things.'" "Oh, I'm glad that my . . . representative could get your aid." Londo says, wheels visibly turning in his head (about how he could maybe sweeten the deal for Centauri Prime . . . . he is above all else a patriot to his planet, really). "However....." "Oh, did we mention that . . . unfortunate shower incident you had ABOVE Narn with that shower." Kirk hints, without much warmth in his voice. You get the distinct feeling he's not in ANY mood to revise the treaty, and wants Londo to KNOW it! "You . . . . don't fool around in bargaining, do you?" Londo says, pale and shaken. "No, he doesn't." Spock says. "Not when the concerns for the safety of his crew and his ship are concerned. We need a place as something of a home base in a universe that isn't ours . . . . and may want to harm us for what we have. We'd rather have peaceful relationships, but diplomacy with an established power behind us makes it SO much easier. Our terms are fair, and we just don't feel like dickering over them, as the Captain would say." "Besides, we'll all benefit from the treaty as it stands." Kirk says with a smile. "And with those Vorlons coming . . . ." Londo mutters something that doesn't translate, and scrawls his signature on the treaty. Kirk nods. He wasn't here to make friends with Londo, he was here to win a safe haven for his ship and crew, and he wasn't in ANY mood to dicker with the Ambassador about that! A few minutes latter, the Red Alert goes off and Londo and the others rush up to the Bridge. Kirk gets a hail form the Vorlons basically telling him to get the Enterprise out of the way. Kirk hints that maybe they should run along. After all, the Shadows base on that annoying island had been blown sky high (a topic that came up during some forced small talk after the signing of the treaty). The Vorlons cut transmission, Sulu keeps a finger near the phasor trigger, and then . . . . . "They're leaving, sir." Chekov say in his Russian accent. Londo does a double take as he gets a GOOD look at Chekov. "No, it couldn't be." he mutters. "But he sure looks like him, if a lot younger. "Captain, it's not very often that I've seen one lone ship do what you just did there, but I guess . . . .I have no real complaints about the treaty. About the METHODS you used, YES. But . . . . I guess I see I can count on you and the Enterprise." Well, not that that is over, maybe you can suggest something to . . . . ease Londo's ruffled feathers . . . . .
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