Dining Room of the Praetor's Villa: Romulus
Stardate: 53311.0
Proconsul Vrnealious nervously tapped his fingers on the Praetor's opulent table and stared out towards the Apnex sea. He had barely touched the plate of Arnucioun caviar in front of him. Praetor Neral took notice as it was one of his favorite dishes.
"My old friend," Neral said picking up his flute of Romulan Ale and taking a long sip. "What troubles you?"
"Praetor, my apologies," Vrenealious said nervously looking over to the two Elohsian attendants in the room. Neral received the hint.
"Slaves! Leave us! When your presence is required again, you will be summoned." The two women bowed and exited the room. "Now, Relann, you may speak freely."
"Praetor, the Cardassians failed! This plan was tenuous enough to begin with, but if it is discovered that we provided the insurgents with the tri-cobalt warheads, it could be construed as an act of war byboth Bajor and the Federation. The Klingons would be sure to join the alliance against us…"
"You bawl like an old woman," a voice came from across the table. Selonia stared at him while playing with a long, golden chain hanging around her neck. She was dressed in an opulent evening gown made from Tholian silk. "Everything is going exactly as I predicted."
"Exactly as you predicted?" Vrnealious said incredulously. "Then why isn't Bajor destroyed?"
"Because," Selonia said angrily like she was talking to an annoying insect about to be squashed, "we never expected the Cardassians to succeed. They are a race of ignorant, pretentious lizards and have a mental capacity that reflects that lineage. That is why we provided them with a tri-cobalt design we stole from the Ferengi over two decades ago. No one will ever suspect our involvement. The destruction of Bajor would merely have been a bonus."
"Praetor, I do not mean to your question your judgement," Vrnealious said turning to Neral, "but why do you let your woman to speak to me as if her opinion mattered?"
Neral looked down into his lap. Selonia suddenly let a coy look cross her face. She slowly climbed to her feet and walked around the table behind Vrnealious. She gently ran her fingers down his arm, letting her hand come to a rest next to his right hand.
"Oh, Proconsul," she whispered in his ear. "Is that how you really feel?" In a flash, she grabbed his knife off the table with one hand and his hair in the other.
"Listen, you piece of slime," she spit at him as she held the blade to his throat. "My opinion is the only one that matters as far as you are concerned. Is that understood?" He violently trembled as he nodded in understanding. "Good," she said releasing him. "It really is a pity," she mused as she walked back around the table to her chair. "Romulan leaders were once the bravest warriors of us all. Now, they nearly wet themselves at the prospect of spilling blood." She still playied with the dinner knife in her hand as she spoke.
"Since you seem too stupid to understand, Proconsul," Selonia continued, "allow me to enlighten you. What this little event has set in motion will benefit the Romulan Star Empire for decades to come, and as Tigranian tries to stop the inevitable, he will destroy himself and his ship in the process. All the work to accomplish our goals will be done by our enemies. All we must do now is sit back and watch the show."
Vrnealious was still trying to regain his composure after nearly having his neck cut open.
"If I may say so, My Lady," he said finally clearing his throat. "You seem very confident that your vision will come to fruition."
"Of course, I am confident," Selonia replied with an evil grin. "For me not to be implies that I could be wrong…"