General Conversations and Conjecture

Posted on Fri May 8th, 2009 @ 6:01am by Lieutenant Commander Wesley Kemmer

1,759 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
Location: Citadel Prime
Timeline: Current

Kemmer was stood in the main foyer of the Citadel tower talking to one of the security guards that he attended the surface with, when they both noticed a figure descending from the immense staircase that led to the council chambers above, clutching his cloak around his waist to keep from tripping. They looked round and as the figure noticed them standing in the middle of the vast foyer, his pace slowed dramatically, and got slower as it reached further to the bottom, eventually stopping on the second step.

Kemmer and the Turian stared at each other for a few long seconds, the tension in the air thickening to almost stifling levels before the Turian made the last final steps and brought himself within feet of Kemmer. “Lieutenant Commander Kemmer I presume, how nice of you to join us� he said with an obviously fake smile.

“General Karrhe,� Kemmer started offering his hand which in turn wasn’t taken, “a pleasure to make your acquaintance� he continued, withdrawing the offer of his hand.

“I doubt that, commander, I doubt that very much.� General Karrhe stated quietly.

“And why’s that?�

Karrhe stepped in closer, even more so than he was, almost invading Kemmer’s personal space which he disliked people doing intensely. “You and I both know that your, shall we say friendship for lack of a better word with me is ill-timed and ill-placed. Despite your position commander heading the Federation’s CIC on the surface here, you had no personal wish to be here or to meet me.�

“Untrue, but since I am here and we have met, General, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.� Kemmer stated matter-of-factly back. This conversation was going to be a verbal duel between them and they both knew it.

“Thank you.� Karrhe replied, first blow to the Intelligence officer.

“I’m going to take that as a welcome to the surface and the heart of the Citadel, and on behalf of myself and the Federation, graciously accept your welcome, General.� Wes said being as diplomatic as he knew how. As he said to Lane before he left, he was no diplomat and the look on the General’s face showed it. “In fact, my research on you has proven to be quite interesting and I have very much wanted to meet you in person.�

“Why?� Karrhe asked quietly and suspiciously; it appeared that the Starfleet officer had him over a barrel.

Wes had a small chuckle at the question but continued to answer, “General Karrhe, General has a nice ring to it too, a position that you have held in high regard for almost fourteen cycles, first sitting as an aid to the late General Leahron on the Citadel Council and then taking your own place in his in 2380, by our calendar. Before that you were a commander of a fine vessel named the Jha’Vin I believe is how you pronounce it, the lead vessel of a taskforce consisting of the majority of the Turian fleet at the time until her decommissioning in 2367.� Kemmer took a breath noting the General’s expression, wondering exactly how far the Intelligence officer was going to take this. “Your election to the Citadel Council was a tough one, or so I have read, you might have other views, with at least four other Turian representatives being brought forward for consideration, all but one of which are now apparently deceased, though the cause of the deaths have not been clearly established. Six years ago, when taking over your late mentors position on the Council, you have monitored and motioned several decisions, most going against the will of the other council members, yet your popularity among your people remains high. The other council members have also...�

“Enough!� Karrhe interrupted quietly but harshly. “I’ve heard enough intelligence information and files to know that ninety percent of them is derived on conjecture, attempting to piece together scraps of information into coherent form.� Karrhe scowled.

Attempting to diplomatically change the subject, Wes asked “How are the negotiations coming to restart the peace talks?�

“You know as well as I do Commander, they are about as vacant as the air in space.�

“Oh really, as I was coming down here, space seemed rather filled with blazoned colour, while the air might be a little thin up there admittedly, it certainly didn’t seem vacant.�

“Commander Kemmer,� Karrhe interrupted while Kemmer was reliving his trip trying to shut out the noise of the incessant talking of the Bolian pilot by looking out the window on his trip to the Citadel Tower, “why are you here?�

“Me? Really General, I either thought that was obvious or that your own intelligence operatives would have done a better job than that; I’m here to head up the CIC on Citadel Prime on behalf of the senior staff of the Archimedes... and Starfleet.�

Karrhe smiled a snide smile. “You misunderstand my question, commander. I meant why did Starfleet send an Intelligence operative into the midst of negotiations to re-enter peace talks? Do you not think that it would incur a sense of distrust between the Federation and the Citadel Council?�

“Perhaps.�

“Then I ask again, Commander Kemmer, why are you here?� Karrhe asked, his smile fading to nothingness.

Wes made a rare choice and thought about his answer a little before responding, “It’s Starfleet policy for the captain to remain on the ship in possible hazardous situations, and since the assassination at...� that got the reaction that Kemmer was after as he noticed the slight clenching of the General’s jaw, “pardon me, since Commander Arkham was severely injured during these proceedings, I’m sure you can understand that position. Since the commander is recuperating back aboard the Archimedes, I as the next senior officer was sent in her place.�

“Ah, so you did not wish to be here?� Karrhe asked, raising what brow he had.

Thinking back briefly about his displeasure about being volunteered from this assignment, he answered rhetorically “Do any of us?�

“So you are here on some higher authority?� Karrhe pushed on.

Kemmer was getting aggravated at this line of questioning, and his voice went cold and hard, “Yes General, I am here as a representative of the United Federation of Planets to help facilitate peace in this sector. What are you here for?�

Ignoring the question, Karrhe went on; he had Kemmer where he wanted him, “The Federation...� he started and then raised his voice, “The Federation should not even be here.�

“You asked us here.� Kemmer shot back at equal level of voice, clearly stating each word with a slight pause in between.

Each of their voices were still slightly echoing around the large empty foyer before General Karrhe leant in and spoke again to Lieutenant Commander Kemmer, “And therein lies the problem, commander.� Kemmer was not expecting such a response and as such his expression much have had the slight look of confusion, wanting and needing more information than that to continue the conversation. “The Turian government never lobbied for the Federation to become involved here in the first place Mister Kemmer. The petition was put forward by the Council and we didn’t sign it, and mark my words we were not the only ones.� General Karrhe was getting more enthusiastic in his speech as time went on. He walked away and turned back toward the two men still standing there listening, “The Citadel sectors were once great, stretching forth our hand commanding the stars as we saw fit, and we were once able to do great things because of it, with no outside interference.� He then paused as if contemplating his next words, “and then you come into the picture, the great and mighty Federation.�

Seeing his opportunity to jump in, Kemmer asked “Why was the escort destroyed, General?�

Karrhe answered the question with a question totally perplexed as to its significance to what he was saying, “What escort?�

“The escort that was due to meet up with the Archimedes five days prior to our arrival at Citadel Prime, the escort carrying forty-seven innocent Asari personnel that were only doing their job to escort a Federation starship through the Citadel sectors so they would reach here unharmed...� Kemmer continued, his voice rising slightly.

“Even if I knew of such a matter, I do not see why I should answer to you, commander.� Karrhe answered coldly.

Kemmer knew what was going on, knew that the General was lying, and his expression showed it, but at this point could not do much about the situation. A deathly silence followed, leaving the security officer none the wiser as to what was going on, almost stunned into silence himself. After an extended break, General Karrhe spoke up again, “Mister Kemmer, I am not sure what you are insinuating I am involved in, but I assure you, whatever you think you may know about the situation, the Citadel sector or myself, is merely speculation.� And General Karrhe turned to leave.

Before he got the chance however, Wesley Kemmer called after him, “I know you’re involved, General.�

Karrhe couldn’t help but laugh slightly at Kemmer’s accusation, “Mister Kemmer, I am the commandant of the Turian forces, and the representative of the Turian people and government on the Citadel Council, of course I’m involved.� And with that he did leave laughing, thinking he had the last laugh on this Lieutenant Commander Kemmer.

Just as the final echoes of Karrhe’s laughs rang down the hall, Kemmer’s com badge signalled and incoming transmission. He pressed it, the pin giving off the familiar chirping sound before he replied, “Kemmer, go.�

“Commander, it’s Emry here, sir; you asked me to remind you about the ‘thing’,� she said vaguely, “you had to do?�

“Yes, thank you Ensign, I’ll be up soon.� He responded.

“Are you sure this isn’t something I could do, commander? You should really stay on the surface until Commander Arkham can go down herself.� Emry asked.

“No, thanks Ensign, this is something I need to get done myself.� And he closed the channel. Turning to the security officer, he mulled over what he needed to do next, and disappointed that Lieutenant Brendan Dernah was not able to join him attending the surface and said, “Ensign, tell Mister Hughes to take point down here, I have something urgent to get done on the Archimedes and will be back in a few hours.�

 

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