Mythic Visitors Pt 2

Posted on Mon Sep 28th, 2026 @ 10:02pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Lieutenant Kate Kono

2,643 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Here There Be Dragons
Location: Conference Room

They arrived in the conference room and Shran showed their guests to their seats. Once they had been given their places, he sat down with the rest of the crew and attempted to restart this diplomatic meeting. "Lord Crosis, I would like to once again welcome you aboard our vessel. It is my hope that we can have a productive discussion and come to an agreement beneficial to both our sides."

Crosis was silent, a vision of contemplation. Bahamut spoke up, trying to keep things in line, "We are here to discuss the incident that happened on the planet, develop a means to peace, and we will discuss any additional matters you so desire captain."

"I appreciate that" Shran replied. He looked over at Jon, wanting to see if he had anything to add before things began.

"We would like these talks and any lasting agreements we reach to be ones that are beneficial and built on respect from both sides going hand in hand with cooperation and understanding."

Callie nodded at Shran’s words. “I wasn’t present when the incident occurred, I was with Drake along with others from my team. As Starfleet Officers we take First Contact situations very seriously.”

Meanwhile, Kate...

Kate squeezed in next to Drake and smiled up at him, which was a tactical error because now she was close enough to smell him, and he smelled like a campfire somebody had left a steak on. Good luck focusing, Lieutenant. She was hoping for another chance to bombard Drake with questions. Shuttle pilot, loved flying; support craft wasn't even her main job, it was just the thing she'd have sold her grandmother's good silver for, and she couldn't wait to ask him what it felt like to fly without an impulse engine. Did the wind burn? Did you get bugs in your teeth? Were there bugs that high? She kept her face on the meeting table as best she could, though, because the last thing this ship needed was two fangirls, and Ensign Irwin would have been drooling into the fruit bowl by now. Steve would have understood. Steve would have handed her a list of questions. In a way, Kate felt like he was in there with her, spiritually speaking, the way a raccoon is in your trash can.

She was also curious about the hostilities they experienced on the planet. Like, who starts a war? Kate understood that they sort of trespassed on their grounds but liked to think that if someone broke into her quarters at night she'd kill them politely… You know, offer them tea first, maybe apologize for the mess… and not set them on all kinds of fire.

That seemed excessive.

That Dragon across the table in Human form seemed like a guy who skipped the whole negotiation step and went straight to barbecue. As they sat there talking around the table, she found herself nodding along with herself, having a full debate on her skinny little shoulders: good Kate on one side, evil Kate on the other, arguing whether death was death and what counted as a kind killing.

Evil Kate kept winning.

She understood the dragons' point of view without even asking the question, which frankly scared her more than the dragons did. If any of them were reading her mind right now… and they probably were, because intelligence officers always assume someone's listening; they'd be laughing hard enough to knock over chairs.

"That incident was a clear cut matter of self-defense" Shran noted. "And, if I may be so bold, your participant did attack our shuttle first" Shran noted.

"Self-defense?" Tiamat sneered.

"Is it true that Tine attacked them first?" Crosis asked.

"We do have sensor data and visual recording of the incident" Deanna added.

"I would like to see this data" Crosis said flatly.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” Callie added as she looked towards Shran for confirmation.

Shran turned to the screen and activated it. "Deanna..."he said softly.

Deanna stood and made her way over to the screen and brought up the data. "This is the sensor data. It is more technical, but as you can see, our craft was simply making an approach with no offensive systems active when it was attacked. They are actually attacked twice before they attempt to defend themselves, and the initial defense tactic was ineffective."

"Please bring up the visual" Bahamut requested.

Deanna brought up the visual record and played it. It showed exactly what Deanna had described and shown in the tactical display.

Bahamut looked to Tiamat, "Always acting without discretion."

Tiamat said nothing, only sneered.

"It would seem that we are at fault" Crosis said in an even tone. "If any of your people were harmed, I apologize."

Jon was of the opinion that Crosis and Bahamut were honorable but Tiamat could not be trusted. He however kept his opinion to himself unless asked by the captain.

Phoenix remained quiet in his seat. He knew Ash was on one of the shuttle missions. As such he was concerned for her since he didn't know which one she was on yet, and he hadn't gotten a chance to read the full tactical reports that the Washington received. He trusted she was alright and he didn't let it affect him. The anxieties for her was a byproduct of losing her for so long.

Kate’s eyes did a little panicked Morse code in Tiamat’s general direction. She didn’t say anything, just gave him the kind of side-eye usually reserved for people who bring wet dogs onto public transports. Her face was basically a neon sign flashing "UNTRUSTWORTHY DRAGON ALERT" in a concerning shade of puce. She had to remind herself that her own resume included a few creatively violent entries, so maybe she shouldn’t throw the first stone, or the first photon torpedo, as it were. One thing was certain: she wouldn’t be parking a shuttlecraft in his backyard unless she wanted it pre-cooked to medium-rare.

Imik had remained silent, for she still did not trust these creatures. Despite their denial she felt there was a connection between them and the ones her people had made contact with, to many similarities between them proved to her that the connection was real. Plus she was sure the portal theory was also a fact, these creatures would and could now attack Washington at will. But after Shran's dismissal of her when Tiamat basically assaulted her, she held her thoughts and kept her silence.

Callie was keeping her mental defenses up no disrespect to their guests intended, but Tiamat had proven to be untrustworthy, and that alone was a risk.

Jon continued to watch the dragons. He also glanced toward Imik to make sure she was alright. A quick glance at Callie showed she was focused. No doubt she had her mental defenses in place in case of an attack.

Imik had fallen back on ancient Ojnas teachings, her psychic defenses had been raised and then raised again. this method gave her a mental security which could not be breached without killing her. Sachzny had taught her this because ultimately all Ojnas knew certain beings would attempt to circumvent the normal defenses; Tiamat was one such being and as such no trust or desire to allow him entry to her mind was permitted. Insult or not, that creature was a threat to both Ojnas and Human and any other being it took umbrage with. She, herself could no longer read or receive any mental communication. A small price to pay against a life-threatening animal, a shame Shran did not understand this threat or sense the danger his ship and crew were in.

"I accept the apology, though I don't believe it necessary at this point" Shran said, his voice still even and diplomatic. "I would like to discuss a second attack on my people."

Crosis remained silent, but Bahamut looked concerned. "A second attack?" He looked to Drake.

"I believe the captain is referring to the attack by Uaine and Lasair, which I intervened to stop" Drake said in a low reverent tone.

"I am, though the names are new to me" Shran added.

Crosis simply glared at Tiamat. Bahamut once again spoke, "This is not something we were aware of captain. Were there casualties in this attack?"

"Injuries, but thankfully my medical staff can manage injuries quite well. I am willing to consider it a matter of us encroaching without proper communication" Shran said, his voice remaining level and diplomatic. "I have one man still in sickbay, but I'm told the prognosis is good. The other injured man was my XO, and as you can see he is doing well."

"We need to make amends for this matter" Bahamut replied.

Shran looked to Deanna. She hit her comm badge and the doors opened and Phlox entered. He walked over to the captain and handed him a PaDD. "I think you will find this information quite useful captain."

"Thank you, lieutenant. You can go" Shran replied. He looked to Crosis, "This planet is rich in several items that we normally mine. It has value, but we don't concern ourselves with that normally. I would like to propose a fair trade, if you are willing."

"What sort of materials are you seeking?" Bahamut questioned.

"Based on what data we have collected, you have rich veins of tritanium, pergium, and a large cache of dilithium. We would like to make a trade agreement" Shran replied.

"They mentioned the need of these to me" Drake added.

"Does this mean more of your people on the planet?" Bahamut asked.

"Only if we have to mine it ourselves" Shran replied.

"These creatures cannot be trusted. They consort with Ojnas" Tiamat finally spoke, his voice heavy with vitriol.

"Be silent Tiamat" Crosis stated, his voice tinged with anger. "I am willing to make this agreement with you captain, but your people cannot be on the planet. While I do not agree with Tiamat often, you do have an Ojnas here, and they are known to us."

"I am happy to discuss details, but perhaps it is better to understand your feel towards my Ojnas officer" Shran voiced with concern.

Crosis was silent for a moment. "We have never encountered them directly, but we have, shall we say others that have. To explain it in a way you understand, you know of a race called Romulan I assume. They have a race they descend from, called Vulcans. The parent race is in general terms a good race, the Romulans are not. So it is with us. We have a race that broke from us long ago, likely when all your races were still working with stone tools. They have gone out and made a name for themselves, and in that time, they encountered the Ojnas, and it was not a good encounter. Though we have no affiliation with our distant kin, we know of their meetings."

"I see" Shran said, his voice reserved. He looked to Imik, "It would seem the information you have pushed is a mixed bag lieutenant. Your people have encountered a faction, but it isn't this faction."

Imik raised her eye's to look at Shran, "That maybe Sinkahue, but as the Humans say. A dragon is a dragon, and the assault I suffered proves that all factions must be treated with caution. My people are not vindictive, but we are cautious. Until all sides here are satisfied with the other, caution would be a sensible path to take so we can all find common ground." Her eye's never left Shran, and deliberately she avoided any of the dragons.

Shran nodded. "i believe everyone is putting forward caution. It is to be expected until trust is established."

"Well said captain" Bahamut noted. "For our part, I apologize for the poor encounters you have had with our people, as well as Tiamat's misguided efforts."

Callie allowed her mental defenses to relax now they had some common ground with the Dragons. “If it’s not too much to ask I’d like to learn more about your culture for our records, and future teachings for Academy cadets.”

Kate gave a slow, thoughtful nod, absorbing Imik’s words like a sponge soaking up spilled whiskey. Smart girl, she thought. Wish I had that awesome hair. Or at least a better poker face.

“Right, right,” Kate began, leaning back in her chair; a move she immediately regretted as a whiff of Drake hit her. He smelled like a campfire that had been used to roast something ancient and vaguely magical. It was weirdly hot. “So back in the 21st Century, whenever some meanie stabbed a person on a train for no reason, or stole a megaton of skittles, everyone pointed at the same folks. ‘The Usual Suspects.’ Classic. ‘It’s not all of them, but it’s always them.’ Am I right?” She grinned, then caught herself. “But that’s just pattern recognition doing its lazy thing. Led to a metric ton of racist crap back then. Sure, maybe a tiny slice of the pie was doing most of the crime-baking, but suddenly everyone’s getting side-eyed at the grocery store. Which was totes uncool.”

She paused, letting the weight of her own ramble settle over the table like dust on an old bookshelf.

“And don’t even get me started on civilizations getting all judgy because one group had better Wi-Fi while the other had better… I don’t know, potlucks. Better community theater.” She rolled her dark Asian eyes and rested her chin in her hands a moment as she continued… “Take the Carthaginians. Romans called ’em treacherous savages because they didn’t build aqueducts or wear enough leather skirts. But Carthage had art! Social structures that didn’t involve throwing people to lions for funsies! By the time Rome figured it out…” She mimed an explosion with her fingers. “Poof. Too late.”

Her voice softened, and she couldn’t help a little snort-laugh. “Look, this whole planet!! the trees, the people, the dragons who may or may not want to barbecue us… they deserve more than our lousy assumptions. We’re not just nerds with clipboards. We’re diplomats. First contact specialists! Well… first contact in an eon, anyway.”

She shot a look at Drake, her smile turning goofy. “And I have questions. So many questions. Like… do you guys have poetry? What’s your opinion on interpretive dance? It’d be a lot easier to ask if we could all agree not to get huffy about who has the better spaceships or the weirder gods. Let’s just… open the airlock on all that noise and focus on the good stuff.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Before one of us gets accidentally flame-broiled.”

Drake and the other dragons looked at Kate, their gaze one of confusion. Deanna could see the grimace on Shran's face. "You'll have to forgive her. She's young."

"As are we all at one point" Crosis stated in a low voice. He looked to Shran, "Do you have technology that allows for you to mine without sending people to the surface?"

Shran considered it. He looked to Jon, "Hologram technology?"

Jon nodded, "It would work or we could use automated drones to do the mining for us." He added tossing out another option for them to consider.

Shran nodded. He looked back to Crosis, "Would the use of holograms be acceptable, or would drones be preferred?"

"The holograms would be acceptable. They would be allowed to collect the tritanium and pergium, but we would deliver it to them. The dilithium they would be allowed to mine, but if they encounter anything else, it must be left alone" Crosis replied.

"Agreed" Shran replied simply.


TBC

 

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