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((SB118 - Diplomatic Corps - Dakarai Office))
::Dakarai had just sent an encrypted message to a Cmdr Creena, pertaining to a meeting, when someone beeped at his door. Out of reflex he said the magic word `enter' and immediately regretted it when Brek's grandmother came in. She painfully walked toward the chair in front of his desk, all the while glaring at him, and sat down.::
Ara: I am here to see my ungrateful grandson, and I'll not move until I can speak to him, face to face.
Dakarai: ::Getting up, alarmed by her presence.:: Mrs Ara, how did you manage to enter this building? Your name is on a black list.
Ara: ::Huffing.:: There is nothing that a few careful bribes cannot sort out, youngling. ::Her eyes seemed to be attracted to the photo of a baby on the walls:: Is it yours? ::She used her walking stick to point in that direction.::
Dakarai: ::Looking at the chubby features, aware that her move was just a coarse attempt at changing the subject.:: This is my baby brother, actually.
Ara: ::Still examining the picture.:: Hmm… Hewmons, they always breed too much, if you ask me. According to my relatives, when Brek was born, he was so ugly they had to put tainted windows on his incubator. I was away, on the ship of my fourth husband, so I couldn't check for myself. But I suspect they only said so to conceal their joy of having a son. The parents had no business of their own, back then. So to rejoice on anything would have been absolute bad taste. Fortunately…
Dakarai: ::Cutting her off.:: That may be so, it does not answer my first question, Ma'am.
Ara: ::Slamming her walking stick on the edge of his desk.:: You do not interrupt a lady, youngling. I have spent these past four days in complete terror, and not received a word of reassurance from anyone! What type of diplomacy do you run on this station!? ::She seemed to calm down.:: Where are you from, anyway? You have an accent I cannot quite pinpoint.
Dakarai: ::Taken off guard by her question.:: I'm from the Ivory Coast, West Africa, Earth. But really…
Ara: Never heard of it. So, are the news telling the truth? The Romulan menace is over and we are safe?
Dakarai: ::Sitting down, feeling defeated.:: Yesss
Ara: These Romulans…. They really need to clean their house. A good coup d'etat, that's what they need. How do you say coup d'etat in your native tongue, Ensign?
Dakarai: ::Nonplussed.:: Coup d'état.
Ara: Pfft. What a disgrace! Your language doesn`t even have its own original vocabulary. ::Sigh.:: I have always thought there should be a copyright on dictionaries, with fees to pay when nations want to absorb foreign words into their own languages. ::She looked straight at him, which was very disturbing, her eyes being so deep set.:: So, you never said, where is my grandson?
Dakarai: In a meeting, with the other key crewmembers of the Starbase.
Ara: And he will be right back here once it's over?
Dakarai: ::Feeling rather brainwashed by then.:: I am not his guardian, ma'am.
Ara: Of course not… Do you like working with him? Being hewmon, I`d assume it must feel odd for you to take orders from a Ferengi. Such a little ilk, arrogant at times, too.
Dakarai: I don't think about what I like or don't like, Ara. I just perform my duty to the best of my abilities. Now if you don't…
Ara: ::Interrupting him again.: Next you'll be speaking of ethics; such an empty words, only used by cowards, by the way. When you want something, you take it, or stagnate. Is this what you want ensign? Eternal stagnation? Look at you. You have been on this station for years now, and all you have to show for it is one pitiful pip.
Dakarai: ::Almost cursing there.:: Can you stop please? I lead a perfectly happy life, and I don't need anyone to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. We have a waiting room for people whose appointments have been delayed. It's two doors away from here, to the left. Don't force me to call security, ma'am.
::To his relief the old woman got up, suddenly looking a lot more fragile than she had been while berating him.::
Ara: All I was trying to say, young man, is that you and I, may want to achieve the same goal: get Brek away from this Starbase. Think of it. You could become the new Chief, and my family would reclaim their lost child. The family business needs him on Ferenginar.
::It took such a long time for Ara to make it to the door, that Dakarai could swear she was doing it on purpose, to have a long lasting effect on him. Once alone, he rubbed his forehead and began to think. Was there truly an opening in what she had alluded?::
Ensign JB Dakarai, Diplomatic Aide, SB118
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Ara, Ferengi Merchant, and Brek's grandmother
As simmed by
Lt Brek
Chief Diplomatic Officer
SB118/USS Victory
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