Post 454: It's a Man's World. Literally. Part One

Stardate: 70925.1600
Title: It's a Man's World. Literally. Part One
Author: =/\= Zanh Liis
Scene: Ready Room: Independence
Time: Four and a half days following "First Flight"
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"Acting Captain's Log, Supplemental.

The journey toward Yensul has been uneventful thus far.

We have only managed to catch one glimpse of the Alchemy on our long-range sensors since we parted company with her back at Earth: and that took every trick in our book to accomplish.

Even then, we only knew what she was because we were looking specifically for her. That tough little ship, just a prototype and first of her class, is a force to be reckoned with. I am very happy that we will have her in our arsenal for future missions.

Alchemy has maintained radio silence as was the agreement- we continue scanning for her. As soon as we reach Yensul we'll be trying in earnest to catch Salvek and his crew in a game of hide and seek of epic proportions. Logic must be in his glory right about now.

Myself, I am wading through the newly received welcome packet of information from the Yensuli, and one thing is for sure; this mission is going to be interesting from the get-go.

End Log."
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Zanh Liis frowned as she scanned through the text on her computer screen.

The Yensuli had waited until now, when Independence was only twelve hours from achieving orbit of the planet, to make the full list of their 'requests' for the upcoming proceedings known to her captain.

The door chime to the ready room sounded.

"What?" Zanh sighed, not looking up. TC Blane approached the desk.

"Latest external sensor sweep results for you, Captain. Lt. T'Ana says still no sign of the Alchemy."

"Thank you, Mr. Blane."

TC took one good look at Zanh and marched to the replicator. "Coffee, hot. Double cream," he commanded, and he approached her again with the steaming mug extended. "You look like you could use this."

"Replicate me a couple of aspirin while you're at it, will ya?" She groaned, only half-joking as she took the cup and sipped. "Thank you."

"Not feeling well?"

"I was feeling fine until I started reading this. Take a seat."

He sat.

"This is the outline of the plans that the Yensuli have for our visit. They have requested that as few members of the crew as possible have contact with their people. They have designated a three person panel to speak with us, led by this. . ." she scrolled down the screen, "Proconsul Tegget. They want to give us a tour of their equivalent of Main Street, USA but then they want the formal discussion of their petition to join the Federation to happen here, aboard Indy."

"Odd," Blane's tone spoke the same warning that Zanh had been hearing in her head.

"My thoughts exactly. We know so little about these people in general, and now they want to be best friends with the Federation. You'd think they'd be rolling out the red carpet for us, not pulling up the welcome mat two minutes after we arrive."

"What exactly do we know about them?"

"Let's have a look. . ." Zanh scrolled backward again through her files. "Okay, here we go. From the top. Yensul is a small M Class planet situated in a lovely little neighborhood on the outskirts of the Breen border."

"Ooo." TC said with mock enthusiasm, "That's prime real estate for you. Location, location, location."

"Yeah, really." She turned the screen so Blane could also see the images displayed upon it. "The populated planet, technically called Yensul IV, has several moons. The population of the inhabited planet is small, only ten million people. We have no idea where those people originally came from, as the Yensuli have decided to keep their history as a civilization pretty much to themselves at this point. But we know that they've lived there about four hundred years, give or take."

"Four hundred years is a long time to live somewhere without making friends with the neighbors."

"No one ever said that every species had a local version of Welcome Wagon. Besides, with the Breen Confederacy your closest neighbor, would you be in a hurry to try?"

"Good point."

"It says here that Yensul is a," Zanh put on her best travel documentary-narrator voice, "rugged world with sweeping vistas, endless shorelines and a largely unsettled frozen wilderness, yet to be tamed." She was unable to suppress an eye-roll. "It also says that. . .hello! This I didn't know."

"What?" Blane leaned forward and craned his neck, trying to read the words from a distance.

"It says here that Yensul has largely untapped mines, and that it seeks to help the Federation by making the planet's 'extensive and valuable natural resources available to off-worlders for the first time.' They're offering 'unprecedented access through mutually-beneficial trade agreements'."

"Unprecedented access for a price. How generous."

"They must really need something from the Federation at this point in their history- otherwise these people would still buttoned up and keeping everyone else out with phaser rifles."

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=/\= Captain Zanh Liis
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Independence NCC-90791