Eviction Day (Part III)
Posted on Wed Oct 7, 2020 @ 10:40pm by Captain Maritza Soran & Commander Caleb Ryan & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Yukiko Winters & Qinee & Civilian Hydel Turvan
3,186 words; about a 16 minute read
Mission:
Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Deck 60
Timeline: MD 07 1700
Previously in Eviction Day
Gul Meran handed a padd to the Pro-Consul. "We'll need an additional twenty-four hours to complete the necessary transition. We'll need their permission to utilize the secondary accessways and jefferies tubes in order to avoid trampling through station civilians," he said flatly.
She took the padd, skimmed it. This all should have been cleared out yesterday. "Be prepared to destroy anything not shut down on very short notice. Burn this place down if you have to." Limm snapped. "Get moving. I will do what I can." She stalked out, ready to confront the Federation.
And now the continuation
At 1700, the embassy doors opened, and Limm walked out. The two sentries didn't leave their post. "Good evening, Captain."
"Pro-Consul. I trust you and yours are all ready to leave," Maritza said.
The Cardassians looked at her. "There are a number of administrative tasks to complete.” She held out a padd. "Acknowledgement that we vacate under protest. Acknowledgment that the property was returned to you on time. Notice that we will not be held responsible for any damage or changes to the property we had to make to meet our needs. Notice that official duties are to be carried out from the Colony should they be needed. Notice that -- "
"Yes, yes," Maritza said impatiently. "You have paperwork." She took the padd and passed it to Yukiko. "I'm sure we can deal with it promptly."
Silk looked at the padd briefly. It was pretty much standard. She spoke up. "And these administrative tasks you realize cannot be finished here on the station. You have had plenty of time to do what is necessary. All personnel must be at the point of departure and off this station, otherwise they become persona non grata. You understand that?"
"You gave us seventy-two hours," Limm retorted. "That is hardly enough time to disengage operations here. Our nearest ship is on its way in. If we cannot get off station fast enough for you, that is merely an oversight in the amount of transporter capacity we were permitted to install. The limit you imposed is now stopping you getting what you want. I hope you appreciate the irony."
"You also had plenty of time to know what was going to happen, prepare, and take action. Failure to plan on your part is not an emergency on my part," Silk replied, but held up a hand. "However, let me remind you that while you will have your seventy-two hours to evacuate to wherever it is. You will remind that all your staff and personnel that remain to finish up will be considered to have lost diplomatic immunity. If they violate any of the station rules, they are subject to arrest, detention, and to be handled by proper authorities." Silk was playing hardball, she knew, but she did not have to even read Limm to know that if she thought she could get away with things that damage would be done. Hopefully the threat of loss of immunity would be enough to get her rear in gear and just get the heck off the station.
Silk turned to the captain. "Captain, have you anything you wish to add?"
Soran looked at Limm. "Where's Turvan hiding? Didn't he have the nerve to come out here himself? He does know that every one of my people has orders to arrest him on site?"
Limm folded her arms. "Legate Turvan has taken up residence at our research facilities in the colony. And if you try and prevent that without cause, then I will raise a formal complaint to Rear Admiral Flidian about harassment and persecution of Cardassian citizens."
"Threats to the end," Soran said flatly.
"Just like the Federation to call defending ourselves threats," Limm replied.
Maritza glanced at her padd. "It's 17:05. Your time is up. Your men over there will need to stand down. We are officially taking possession of that facility." She glanced at her people. "Lieutenants, Commander Ryan. Carry on."
Annora and her small team slowly moved towards the entrance to what had been the Cardassian embassy. "Ambassador, as the captain stated, your embassy lease on DS5 is now expired as of five minutes ago. It is now under the direct control of Station Command. We're here to ensure you and your staff vacate the premises. Should you require guest quarters, they can be arranged."
As Lieutenant Annora slowly moved towards the entrance, a call came over her comm unit. "This is Senior Chief Petty Officer Thupar over on Main Promenade. We've got a situation," he said, his voice wavering a bit. "There is a large gathering of citizens forming, chanting, shouting, and refusing to disperse,” he stated.
Almost immediately, another call crackled across the Security Chief's comm unit. "Lieutenant Annora! This is Ensign Rotmore on the Upper Promenade. There's a large crowd of...I believe mostly Cardassians causing a commoti--damn it! That almost hit me!" The female officer could be heard shouting over a loud crash. "They're not following commands to disperse, and they're making their way to the Public Repli--"
"This is Petty Officer Gethru to Lieutenant Annora. I'm on Deck 60, just before the turbolifts to the embassy, and there's some kind of protest going on with the Spoo-- Cardassian civilians, ma'am!" he said, trying to be heard over the rising chants of the gathered crowd of civilians.
Yan-pret Cardăsa-çăk! (For the Love of Cardassia)” continued to be chanted over and over with growing unity.
The scattered calls of the reporting Security personnel all had the same question just in different forms. How do we respond?
Silk looked hard at the man. He knew something. It was obvious, but technically she was not allowed to read him. Rules where rules, even though she mostly considered them guidelines. Though she kept to those stated guides, she more or less could suspect what was going on.
"I am guessing, captain, that word has gone out to the Cardassian supporters on station to start a bit of problems. I would suggest you let the station security handle the protestors and call the marines to guard the evacuating personnel. That way it looks like we are taking their safety seriously, and, oh, make a show of them being guarded. It makes for good political PR."
The new diplomatic officer seemed to know what she was talking about, which was a relief. Thinking back to her International Relations classes from long ago, she had to agree with the assessment. The Cardassians were trying to alter the public perception of the situation, Starfleet had to take back control of everything. Both literally and figuratively. Part of her wanted to be down with those dealing with the protests, but her place was currently here at the embassy. The security personnel were highly trained, and a large part of leadership was trusting the skills of those under you.
Stepping back for a bit of privacy, Annora issued some orders. “Tessaro to security control. Standard response procedure Alpha in response to the protests. Keep the SRU teams out of sight, but on standby if things start escalating out of control. We also need a Marine escort for our guests here.”
As usual, access to those areas would be restricted to essential personnel only. In regards to the actual protest, security would attempt to corral the crowds to a central location and keep them bottled up. Any physical assaults would result in arrests. Annora was also considering escorting the diplomatic staff past the main areas of protest, but would discuss that with the other officers.
Cardassian Consulate
"Now this is quite a surprise," Ambassador Turvan said as he observed the interaction taking place with Pro-Consul Limm and the Federation Command staff. "I fully thought our Dear Pro-Consol was going to be able to negotiate with her Federation colleagues," he said. "It seems they certainly aren't in the mood for such pleasantries.
"Unfortunately, sir, I was not as confident in her abilities as you were," Gul Meran replied to the ambassador. "Therefore I put the word out to the civilian population of what was going to happen and...evidently they do not agree with the Federation's rigid timeline," he said, looking back at the viewscreen showing the different protests taking place.
"Impeccable timing, Gul Meran, impeccable indeed," Ambassador Turvan stated.
Embassy deck atrium
The proconsul stood with folded arms, staring them down. She didn't know where these protestors came from, but the look on the faces of Starfleet was a delight. "Are you really going to fly in the face of public opinion?" she asked the captain.
"Did you pay for all those agents provocateur yourself, or did Turvan have to sign off on the budget?" Maritza smiled nastily. "Now, are you going to leave, or do I need to summon the marines?"
Limm took a step forward, pressing into Maritza's personal space. "You won't win," she hissed into the Trill woman's ear. "He's utterly insane. You can't beat that." Then she stepped aside. "I'm done here."
As if on cue, Gul Meran came walking through the double doors of the embassy into the atrium area with a look of urgency on his face. "Proconsul! I've just received word that numerous incidents of protesting involving Cardassian citizens have taken place on the station," he said to the fellow Cardassian. "It is my understanding that some of them are being placed under arrest," he said, with added emphasis.
"As you are aware, regulations require that in times of social, political, or legal emergency, we are required to use whatever means are at our disposal to assist any Cardassian citizens who seek assistance from the Cardassian government," he said while still speaking to the Proconsul; however, at the mention of whatever means, the Cardassian sentry units stood at attention and trained their eyes and focus on the Federation visitors.
"I would suggest negotiating with the Federation for the necessary time for us to deal with this immediate crisis in the most effective and least engaging way possible," he said to Limm.
The more info she gathered from the embassy staff, the more Annora was convinced the protests were not as spontaneous as one might think. They weren't necessarily planned in advance, but the staff released select information to rile up the civilian population of Cardassians.
"Need I remind you, Gul Meran, that the assistance of your forces without prior authorization is the main reason the embassy is closed. Outside of embassy grounds, your forces have no authority and will be arrested should they interfere with station security. Once things have settled down you are more than welcome to arrange counsel for any Cardassians arrested."
Silk smiled at that. "Might I remind you, sirs, that implies you can aid them only in a diplomatic fashion. Once off your compound by agreement, you are subject to the authority of the station command. Secondly, might I remind you that as of a bit ago, you have no more legal standing, diplomatic area to handle your people. As such, the best you may do is request that any of your citizens be turned over to the nearest Cardassian facility, which is on planet. Also, by diplomatic agreements, anyone who currently does not have recognized diplomatic immunity is subject to the rules, laws, and standards of the station in which such diplomatic section is located. That is the agreement that was signed. Might I remind you gentlebeings again, as of right now you have no more diplomatic or legal standing. Station security is there for the protection of all and have given legal orders. You gentlebeings will be escorted to the point of departure. Is there anything in that statement that you fail to understand?"
Mentally she just almost hoped they might try something against her. She needed both the physical and mental exercise. Once attacked, the restraints were off, well, mostly, but she could argue anything else later.
Bravo! Maritza thought. Seeing Gul Meran put in his place by her officers was a moment she was going to cherish. Now would he go gracefully? Or through a hissy fit more in keeping with his boss?
Caleb stepped up. “Forget the Marines,” he told Tessaro. “Route the Marines to assist Security with crowd control. Make sure everyone is out of the embassy. We will beam the Cardassian delegation directly onto their shuttle,” he said darkly.
Caleb tapped his comm badge. “Ryan to Security.” His lazy Texas drawl was gone, as he slipped into perfect English so as to be maximally understood. “As long as the protesters remain peaceful,” he said, “they may continue. Make sure they do not block access to the Promenade or its businesses. If they so much as touch you, arrest them. Remind them over the PA that as Cardassians they are guests of the Federation on Deep Space Nine, and anyone arrested will be deported. Lock them up. Ryan out.” He glared at Meran and Limm. “Get the hell off my station.”
To Silk, Caleb said, “I want a team inside that embassy ASAP. Turn it upside down,” he told her. “And if you find anything to link these bastards to any violence on this station, let me know so Ah can string them up.”
There was a commotion at the end of the corridor. “Do you need any assistance, Captain?” Qinee asked. She stood in her gaudy dress, surrounded by several Ferengi diplomatic security officers. “My personnel are at your service to help quell any unrest,” she said. “We can discuss details of payment later.”
"Thank you, but no," Maritza said firmly. "And whilst the atrium is technically public space, I would like you to return to your Embassy for the time being. After all, the Cardassians are known for opening fire on the public, and I'd rather only have the one diplomatic crisis to deal with."
Qinee gave Soran a bow. “You have only to ask, Captain,” she said with a smile, turning to dismiss her security forces.
"Thank you, your excellency." Maritza almost sighed with relief. If only the Cardassians would be so accommodating.
She turned back to Gul Meran. "I believe my XO gave you an order."
Silk took the moment to grab a padd and tap a bit on it. She then looked to the Ferengi and made a nod. "As agreed," she said before turning to brusquely walk through the gates of the former embassy. She would get a better impression inside what area to head for, for any juicy bits to find. People in a panic projected feelings and thoughts like a big spotlight.
With her original security orders being somewhat overruled by the Command staff, Annora and another security officer headed into the embassy to check things out.
Gul Meran's instincts told him to direct the Guards to immediately cut down the Starfleet officers as they crossed the barrier into Cardassian territory. Instead, he turned towards the Pro-Consul.
"Yan-pret Cardăsa-çăk!" (For the Love of Cardassia!) "Are you just going to stand there as this skrăgh (excrement) violates the sanctity of our Embassy?" he asked through clenched teeth.
“It ain’t yer embassy any longer,” Caleb pointed out. “Transporter chief, have you got a lock on our Cardassian guests? As soon as you do, beam them to their shuttle. We don’t want to delay them any further from their departure.
"You will regret this," Limm hissed. "Watch out for--" The orange beam of the transporter wrapped her up and whisked her away. Her last words were lost entirely.
Silk, once she was through the main doors, started on a fast jog. She was getting a panic feeling from an area, and she would bet her last latinum bar that is where anything left of interest might be. There were still people inside, and they looked on in a mixture of disgust and apprehension as the platinum blonde Human paid little attention but seemed to be focused on something. She ignored the comments and looks.
She made her way to an area where there was one Cardassian guard standing at the door. He leveled his weapon at her. "Stop!" he shouted. "You are not allowed in here!"
Silk skidded to a stop and looked hard at the guard. "Put that away or I will have you arrested. You lost this place, and it is no longer yours. Make another aggressive move and I will take that as hostile. Now move aside!"
The guard wavered for a second, but then stood his ground.
"Lieutenant Winters here." She touched her comm. He was scared, it poured off of him in waves. but she could also feel that he would fire if need be. The longer she had to wait, the longer and more complete anything worth having would be long disintegrated. "I need help getting rid of a belligerent."
Gul Meran was incensed. His hand tightened around the handle of his disruptor as he shifted his weight and began to determine which officer he would take out. Consequences be damned, he figured he'd take out at least two of them before they could subdue him.
"Stand down, Denat," Hydel Turvan said as his holographic image shimmered into view within the Cardassian Embassy foyer. He had been watching the spectacle from afar, but decided that since they had crossed into the embassy that he should provide the voice of reason before the situation went even further out of control.
"The same goes for you.”
Caleb followed Annora and the security team into the former Cardassian embassy. Now it was just a set of rooms. He heard Silk’s call for assistance. “Operations, lock on to any Cardassian life signs within the embassy compound and start beaming them out to the Cardassian shuttle,” he instructed. “They are no longer welcome on the station.” He shook his head and looked at Soran. “Why don’t they just know when they’re beat?” he said with a sigh.
As the executive officer walked off, Hydel spoke to Gul Meran. "Denat...Chek'U, ga'U." What will be, will be, he said solemnly.
"Come now, we have more important plans that need your attention," he said as he closed the connection and shimmered out of view.
Gul Meran squared his shoulders and sighed as he gathered himself. He recognized that Turvan was right. Killing the foreign invaders right now would not serve Cardassia's plans long term. He needed to focus on the bigger picture.
"Let's go," he said to the two Cardassian guards. He slammed his palm down on his comm unit and the three were enveloped in a familiar orange swirl as they were transported to the designated shuttle.
[OFF]
Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer
Qinee
Ferengi ambassador
Captain Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer
DS5
Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief Security officer
DS5
Lieutenant Yukiko Winters
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Legate Hydel Turvan
Cardassian Ambassador
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