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"Deadly Negotiations"
Rating: PG-13 And a couple of unexpected appearances. PS: Since canon has never formally established what Stuart Reed actually did in the Royal Navy, I've decided to take dramatic license. R/S implied. And what's up with Malcolm and Hoshi, esp. since Malcolm had insisted to Guillem Montclaire that she wasn't his fiancee earlier? You'll find out later. Eight Guillem Montclaire hired the most exclusive decorators, caterers and support staff that Centauri had to offer. They descended onto Bellevue’s grounds like hawks and proceeded to transform the grounds into a grand Parisian palace. The rest of the Enterprise crew joined Travis, Malcolm and Hoshi in the preparations. Sub-Commander T’Pol and the Centaurian Security Force checked references and organized area security. Trip Tucker designed security checkpoints and routed extra generators to power the various “additions” that Guillem planned for the event. Captain Archer joined Travis and Hoshi in welcoming the other consortium dignitaries as they arrived on Centauri for Philippe’s induction ceremony. Travis was glad of Archer’s assistance; most of the visitors were familiar with Archer’s formidable reputation as a Enterprise’s captain. Yet Archer always deferred to Travis’s leadership, which seemed odd, but felt right. For his part, Travis watched Hoshi and followed her lead. She was gracious but firm in her dealings with the various consortium representatives, and again, Travis felt a bit of jealousy at Malcolm's good fortune. “Monsieur Travis, may I have a moment of your time?” Travis looked over his shoulder at Monsieur Giuseppe Vernet. The oldest member of EdML’s executive board stood in the doorway, his elegant cane in his trembling hand. Vernet’s face was as pale as paste, and the hunter-green robes didn't hide his fraility or his slight figure, but his eyes belied his weakness. Travis sketched a bow to him. “Of course, Monsieur Vernet. Let me tell Captain Archer I’m with you, then I can give you my undivided attention.” Travis caught Archer’s eye, and the Captain excused himself from a chat with Procyon Limited’s representative. Lieutenant Mueller, Malcolm’s Armory second-in-command, waved at his partner as he shadowed Archer. On the other side of the room, Fiona McKenzie and Nate Kemper drew closer to Travis. “I’m going to talk with Monsieur Vernet, Captain,” Travis told him. “I’ll try not to be too long.” “The representative from Nanjandi Group’s due to come in an hour, Travis, and Ravi Nanjandi refuses to talk to anyone but you,” Archer reminded him with a wry smile. “Yeah, I know.” Travis winced at the thought. Nanjandi was twice as worse as Guillem Montclaire in social niceties. “Sometimes being in the spotlight can be a pain.” “It can be, but you get used it after a while,” Archer said with a smile of sympathy. “Think of this as command officer’s training.” He chuckled. “How to be a Starship Captain without Losing Your Sanity. Maybe they can start teaching it at the Academy.” At Archer’s grin, Travis found himself mirroring the grin. “I’ll be back, Captain.” Vernet gestured Travis to an empty side alcove. The older man sat on the padded bench with a relieved sigh and tapped the place next to him with his cane. Travis sat, with Fiona on one side of him and Nate hovering near the door. Vernet gave the MACOs a look of strained tolerance. “Must these soldiers be here? They make me nervous.” “Sorry, Monsieur, orders from Lieutenant Commander Reed,” Travis replied without a hint of apology. “Ah, the good Commandant cares for all our welfare, does he not.” Vernet sighed and leaned closer to Travis. “So that is why he accessed private information regarding Monsieur Trieste and Madame Sandrine. The Commandant wishes to know who killed them.” Travis raised his eyebrows. He noticed that Vernet had referred to Philippe’s mother by name. “The Centaurian Security Force is still investigating what happened to Rene and Sandrine. If they find out who killed them, then we can catch them before he or she strikes again. We can keep Philippe safe.” “Who’s to say that they died due to foul play and not simply by accident? I think that’s extremely paranoid, even for the illustrious Commandant. He’s a dangerous influence on young Philippe, Monsieur Travis, and it has me concerned.” “You think Commander Reed’s a bad influence?” “I think the Commandant is allowing his own personal history to cloud his judgment concerning Philippe.” “How so?” Vernet’s smile was grim and he tapped his cane against the side of bench in a “don’t think I’m stupid, young man” gesture. The abrupt movement made Fiona put her hand on her weapon; Vernet shook his head at her in gentle rebuke. “Commandant Reed has similar issues with his own father, the Admiral, does he not? I do know that he was supposed to join the Navy, but decided not to, against his father’s wishes. And such a man positions himself close to Philippe? It is disturbing to me, to say the least.” Travis caught Fiona’s tight-lipped grimace. He didn’t have to turn around to see Nate’s reaction. From what Nate had told him, Hayes’s MACOs were just as protective about Malcolm. Hearing this from Vernet amounted to a royal insult, as if the man had slandered Major Hayes. It was not a good way to endear Fiona and Nate, but Vernet didn't seem to care. “Commander Reed has worked hard to gain his rank and his position as Armory and Tactical Officer, Monsieur Vernet. He is the most professional officer I’ve seen, and I know he will not let personal feelings influence the performance of his duty.” Travis’s tone was quiet, but forceful. “In any case, Philippe has decided to take up the reins of EdML. I think Philippe would’ve made that decision even if the Commander would’ve wished otherwise.” Vernet said nothing for a moment, then the old man bowed his head in respect. “You are a true friend, Monsieur Travis. I understand why Philippe treasures your advice and why Commandant Reed chooses to be on your staff, despite the disparity in your ranks. Forgive my impertinence, but I had to make sure. The Executive Board has become a bunch of doddering old idiots under Guillem Montclaire. I do not believe for a second that you or the Commandant mean EdML any harm.” His words made Travis chuckle. If Vernet referred to the Executive Board as “doddering old idiots”, then that said something about his attitude. “It’s nice to know you have confidence in our abilities to help Philippe.” “Yes, you have more than exceeded our expectations, Monsieur Travis. Madame Tanaka told us about your brother and how he is doing well in her consortium. Family means everything to us.” Those words reminded Travis about his conversation with Sumiko Tanaka. She was talking to EdML’s Board without Philippe’s knowledge? Did she know about Malcolm’s family history and tell Vernet, or did Vernet just do the research on his own? Suddenly, a cold chill went down his spine. Players tend to underestimate the rook’s power...an underestimated but powerful piece, someone who seems weak, but isn’t. You use the rook to ‘castle’ and protect the king... Travis’s communicator went off, startling him. With cobra-like reflexes, Vernet whipped his cane around and hit Travis on the side of the head. Then he raised his cane and silent flashes erupted from its end. A weapon, Travis thought muzzily. He’s been carrying a weapon all this time...My God, Vernet is the rook, Tanaka is the queen. Then who’s the knight? The last thing Travis heard was Vernet’s soft voice in his ear. “Checkmate, Monsieur Travis. You lose.” Travis woke with a headache the size of Mount Olympus. He found that he couldn't open his eyes, so he kept them closed. A slight thrum echoed through the walls and the cot he was lying it. A ship? A space station? Where was he? Where were Nate and Fiona? How could Vernet have gotten the drop on him and two trained MACOs? You underestimated him. That was how he was able to get into Rene and Sandrine's confidence. Now Philippe was in danger... "Wake up, man! Bloody hell, man! Wake up!" What? That isn't Malcolm... "Be easy on him, Stuart. They've stunned him pretty good. Who would've known an eighty-three year old man could've done it?" Stuart snorted. "My own grandfather was still able to kick my arse was he was ninety-five, Maximilian. That's no excuse. And this is what my son has to deal with? God help us all." "Stuart." There was a note of warning in Maximilian's voice. "That's enough or I'll sic your future daughter-in-law on you." "Oh, anything but that," Stuart said sarcastically, but Travis heard a hint of dry humor underneath. "Anything but that. I'm terrified." "You should be. If I remember, she's qualified to take the Armory Officer's exam, thanks to your son." Then Travis felt a more gentle hand on his shoulder. 'C'mon, Travis. That's a good man, open your eyes." Travis finally was able to open his eyes without being nauseous. His vision swam for a moment, then cleared to reveal the worried face of Admiral Forrest. He stared at Forrest with his mouth open. "ADMIRAL FORREST? What're you doing here? What happened?" He took a deep breath to stop his rambling. "Giuseppe Vernet's the mole in the Executive Board. He's in Sumiko Tanaka's employment. Philippe's in danger..." Forrest nodded. "We know. Vernet wants both Philippe and Guillem dead. The Orions intercepted us on our way to Alpha Centauri and took us prisoner. I'm sure by now Jon and Malcolm have heard about our little 'accident'." His face creased into a scowl. "Without you at the investiture, the negotiations will fall apart." "We've got to get out of here." "Already working on it, lad," said the British-accented voice. Travis craned his neck to see the heavy-set man crouched at an open panel next to a hatch, with his back to Travis. The sleeves of his formal uniform were rolled to his elbows and he held a plasma torch in his right hand. Travis saw that even the plasma torch had been jury-rigged out of various spare parts. "These particular Orions haven't done a good job of changing their security protocols, the bloody sods." "You're in security, sir?" Travis asked, though he had a good idea who the man was. The older officer turned around, his gray eyes twinkling in the stern expression, and Travis immediately saw from whom Malcolm had inherited his features. "Lieutenant Mayweather. I am Admiral Stuart Reed, head of Her Majesty's Defense Ministry. I'm pleased to finally meet you. My son Malcolm has told me some things about you." |
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