Trilateral Relations

Posted on Sun Aug 31st, 2025 @ 5:03am by Commander Utlaq Son of Ha'Qaam & Ambassador Drusilla Creon & Dowager General Kloh'theQ, Daughter of Q'Lath & Ambassador Tabris Mataan & Centurion Ixim & Dal Plask
Edited on on Sun Aug 31st, 2025 @ 5:08am

807 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave [3-4]
Location: Private Dining Room 3, The Wintergarden, DS13
Timeline: Afternoon - MD02

The Klingon, Romulan and Cardassian security chiefs all stood out in the waiting room, each trying to appear more staunch than the others. Ixim, Utlaq and Plask were all intimidating men on their worst days, but there was something very funny about seeing them stand together in a triangle, each trying their best not to move.

"We did not truly expect you to join us, Ambassador. Welcome." Creon told Mataan as she took the third seat at their table in one of the exclusive lower dining rooms of the Wintergarden. A wide, sumptuous room with a triangular table for high-stakes meetings such as these.

"A Cardassian always keeps her word." Mataan responded, her face as still as a Vulcan's. The Dowager General tried her best not to laugh at that, but she couldn't help herself.

"Ah, my apologies. Please continue, Llaudh Creon." A few moments later the giggles ensnared her again, and she began to cackle. Soon she came under her own control again, and held up a hand as if to apologise and signal she was done.

"My Klingon counterpart and I are in agreement, the Federation must have opportunity to examine and distribute any new technologies." Creon told Mataan. "It will keep the rest of us honest."

"That seems profoundly unlikely, Llaudh Creon." Mataan responded coldly.

"Your doubts are like daggers, Ambassador." The Dowager General said facetiously. "We would love nothing more than to welcome and accommodate you my dear woman, but your government proves again and again to be treacherous and inconstant to the point of danger to others. If it were a Targ that was so badly behaved, it would have been put down to better the next generations, by now."

"Certainly your people have tried genocide in the past, but like so many Klingon aggressions against our people, it failed." Mataan shot back.

"A Cardassian speaking of genocide as though it was not their national sport. How many deaths did the Ferenginar commission determine had accumulated under Cardassian occupation since the liberation of Bajor? Two billion? Three?" Kloh'theQ responded, her tone suggesting an accusation of great shame.

"No interstellar government can sustain itself without a working class. And work is hard. How many dilithium miners does the Federation lose every month?" Mataan asked in response.

"A handful. But they choose to do it." Creon countered.

"If this is to be an ambush ladies, I bid you good day and swift justice." Mataan said, preparing to stand.

"If we are to ask questions Ambassador, we must ensure we are not harmed by their answers. Diplomacy is not for the thin-skinned." Creon said, holding out a hand to encourage her to stay.

"This is not diplomacy, it is extortion."

"Perhaps. But there is a hierarchy here that cannot be ignored. We are Federation allies. You are not. If you wish to earn the favour of those with access to things worth knowing, you must make it worth our while." Creon said.

"You are extorting me for access to the mission I am here to perform?"

"No. We are extorting you for our favour." Kloh'theQ told Mataan.

"What is it you want, exactly?" Mataan asked the Klingon.

"Locations and flight-plans of Cardassian ships in the local area. We do not want our people running into them accidentally. It could be unfortunate, given the history of Klingon-Cardassian relations." Kloh'theQ explained.

"To give that to you would be treason." Mataan baulked.

"You are Cardassian. Treason is relative. The only real way to avoid it is to be on the side of the victors. Do you think we got where we are without being victors, Ambassador?" The Dowager General asked.

"I think your husband was a victor. You I'm guessing were more of a beneficiary. Did you even lift a sword yourself to earn that title? I cannot imagine it would be simple with those nails." Mataan asked.

Kloh'theQ went silent and stone-still. Only her pupils moved, imperceptibly, with every motion that Mataan made.

"Perhaps it would be best if you departed, Ambassador. I do not believe your safety can be guaranteed if you remain." Creon suggested, not taking her eyes off Kloh'theQ.

"The idea that I would allow myself to be extorted by two past-their-prime cast-offs would be laughable, if it were not such a grave insult to the Cardassian Union." Mataan turned suddenly and left the ornate room.

"If we meet again, I may have to kill her." Kloh'theQ told Creon.

"Let's assume she's thinking the same, for convenience." Creon said, picking up her tea for the first time since Mataan had arrived. It had gone cold.

It would not be until a later glance that they would notice that the Ambassador had left her padd on the table, a conveniently unlocked and unencrypted list of Cardassian flight plans and transponder code decryptions for the region.

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