Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [132]
The councillor said, “Even patriots will go against their government if they feel it necessary. Tal’Aura, remember, supported Shinzon’s coup. Mendak has always been loyal to the Romulan government, yes, but he has also consistently spoken out in favor of continued Reman oppression. It is logical to deduce that it is at least possible, if not probable, that he refused to cooperate with the government as long as Tal’Aura was praetor and his status as a criminal was genuine.”
“I don’t buy it,” the captain said. “Mendak didn’t do anything that actually hurt Tal’Aura, and when the S.C.E. found him out on Klorgat, he conveniently commits suicide. I gotta go with Ythril here, that lady shouldn’t be anywhere near the summit.”
“The next question is about the issues under dis- “
Then the playback went dead. So did the observer’s reporting equipment.
He let out a sigh. He supposed this was inevitable, since he had already gone over his allotted time to study this section of the universe several millennia ago. But they were so fascinating!
Sighing again, he collected himself and shifted the universe so that he would be back home to file his report.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“THE COUNCIL YESTERDAY RATIFIED the motion to allow Koa into the Federation. The Koas are now based in the Mu Arae system-though that’s not where they’re from.”
Kav glasch Vokrak recorded Kant Jorel’s words as he sat in the holocom-in truth, his small one-person office in Vancouver-waiting for him to finish babbling so he could ask his question. He’d heard that the summit was going to happen on Grisella, and he wanted confirmation from Kant. But he was still carrying on about these potential new members. As if the Federation needs a one-hundred-and-fifty-fifth member. Was I the only one who wanted the Ontailians and the Trill to follow the Selelvians out the door? This government is too big for its own good.
“When their sun was threatening to go nova about four years ago, they were able to make use of an ancient device to shrink their planet down and place it in a pyramid-shaped box. With some help from Starfleet, the box was brought to Mu Arae and the planet was deposited there, with the system actually rearranging itself to accommodate the new world. Talks began shortly after that, and now they’re ready to join. The date for the signing ceremony still needs to be set.” Kant looked around the holocom. “You all look sufficiently bored. It’s pathetic, you know that? They put their planet in a box. Don’t you think that’s-Oh, never mind.” He looked down at his padd. “One last thing.”
Thank you, Kav thought toward every Tellarite deity who’d ever existed.
“The president’s office would like to officially announce that the summit with Chancellor Martok, President Bacco, and Praetor Tal’Aura will be held on Grisella one week from today.”
Kav blinked his sunken eyes. He answered my question. This relieved Kav, as it eliminated the need to try to get Kant’s attention, which had always been problematic under the best of circumstances, and which had gotten worse the past seven weeks or so. It was right after judiciary’s landmark decision in the B-4 case, the retirement of Admiral Ross, the passing of the new transportation bill, the birthday of three different councillors’ chief aides, and Ozla Graniv’s return to the Palais press room. Knowing Kant, any one of those could have set him off. My bet would be on the birthdays-he never likes it when people are having fun.
However, his announcement prompted more questions. It was Regia Maldonado who asked, “So the Romulans will be represented at the summit?”
Kant nodded. “Your powers of deduction remain ordinary, Regia. Yes, since the future of the Romulan Empire is one of the primary goals of the summit, it was felt that the Romulan government should have a voice.”
Ozla asked, “Jorel, there are several indications that Tal’Aura’s on her way out. Is including her in the summit the Federation’s way of supporting her in light of her dwindling support on Romulus?”
“Including