[Vulcan]
Shiarrael immediately felt the heat of the Vulcan sun as she materialized on the planet's surface unshielded from the piercing rays. A slight wind carried a thin veil of sand over her back and across her shoulders. She looked across the sand dune at the Marine encampment that had recently been pitched together to deal with stragglers from Itsak's forces and to recover the remaining escape pods that had landed in Vulcan's harsh desert. Though Shiarrael didn't honestly see the necessity of it. Most of them likely would have died in the harsh environment. She slowly made her way down the smooth slope pushing away sand with her boots as she went. When she finally reached the base she nodded to a Marine on a patrol and entered the heart of the encampment.
The base was mostly a collection of ventilated tents and a few quickly assembled temporary buildings. Behind the camp was a rally point for the shuttles conducting patrols through the desert. Just ahead of her standing amidst a group of Marines was the Colonel- a woman Shiarrael found immensely irritating. "Colonel." She called out and slowly approached the group, her expression was neutral, but her feelings were not. She honestly did not like Aria Falcon.
Aria did not immediately recognize the voice, turning on her heel with a look of complete annoyance. "What?" she shot back, her voice an incendiary display of how she felt. She straightened, just a bit, as she realized who had addressed her.
"Captain," she corrected herself. "I did not expect to see you planetside. What can I do for you?"
"You have been recalled to the Charon." Shiarrael whipped out a PADD and held it out for the Colonel to grab "unfortunately we have been ordered to Romulus immediately to investigate an attack on the Federation embassy. Apparently Admiral Enor was killed and the special envoy, Ambassador Spock, is currently missing. You are to take over leadership of the embassy's security during our investigation."
"Well thank god for that! Another minute with these basket cases of emotional denial and I'd have shot myself!" She swiped the padd from the Romulan. She sighed with exhaustion as her dry, tired eyes skimmed the text, only half listening as Shiarrael continued to speak. Red flags went up in her mind almost immediately as choice words were heard. Romulus? Enor? Neither the Embassy bombing nor the daunting task the Captain had just plopped down onto her shoulders seemed to shake her. Her mind was evidently elsewhere.
"Wait...Jole is dead? When did this happen? What was he doing on Romulus?"
Shiarrael nodded her head. While they had their differences- and she found the pacifist somewhat of a bore she still considered him a colleague and a friend. He had defended her on numerous occasions "he was sent to Romulus as part of a diplomatic entourage to discuss the recent incident." She looked around the drab encampment and then at the hostile desert beyond "there was an explosion. He along with the Federation Ambassador to Romulus were apparently killed. We have been tasked with leading the investigation by the President."
The Colonel didn't say anything for a good several minutes, instead glancing around at all the soldiers hard at work. Well, most of them. She looked fine but the truth was that inside the news hurt a great deal. However badly she had wanted to be off Vulcan and out of that damn desert a moment ago paled in comparison to how badly she wanted to just be alone right now. She definitely did not wish to share her presence with a Romulan.
"Fine. Whatever. When do we leave?"
"The Charon leaves in twenty hours. Be aboard by then or we depart without you." Shiarrael pressed her commbadge "also, colonel, I am quite intolerant. I hope you and your men plan to be somewhat more pleasant." She looked towards the amber sky "Charon, one to beam up."
[End]
Captain Shiarrael Rehu
Commanding Officer
USS Charon
&
Colonel Aria Falcon
Marine Commander
USS Charon
