Further Discussion of Romulan Diplomacy

It was at this point that Starbase 10's Diplomatic Chief, Lieutenant John Vanhook spoke up. The man stood up, and as he did so the light in the Conference Hall illuminated the faintest amount of gray beginning to form in his hair. He was slightly out of shape beneath his red uniform, but nothing he couldn't take care of with a few weeks' hard workout. It was clear that despite his rank, he was aged more than most officers in the room, but he was well versed in his subject.

Acknowledging the Lieutenant and Acting Captain, he said, "You are right, of course. What the Fleet Captain was referring to was diplomacy with the established Empire and the Empress herself. However, they would never rule out the opportunity to gain favor with individuals in the ranks. Defection of and cooperation with the enemy's officers is always a sound strategy in any fight."

Samji then nodded. "Quite right. What sets us apart from our enemies and what has brought us this far is our values as Federation citizens and Starfleet Officers. We must never forget that, even in war, to fire upon an enemy should be the last resort, and if we can reason with these commanders, we should. Our prime target will be Admiral Tomalak, and while it would certainly be a blow to the enemy to kill him and destroy his ship, it would be an even greater triumph to bring him to our side."

Samji thought back to previous encounters with the Romulans. "We have seen a time when Captain Picard was able to work together with that very man toward a common purpose. We are well aware that Voyager even tried to convince a Romulan Commander from the early twenty-fourth century to contact Starfleet years later to tell them of Voyager's fate. While the message was never received, we know that the Commander had accepted. Romulans are similar to any other race in their diversity. There will be evil ones and there will be good ones. Most of their citizens just want a safe place to live their lives in peace. If we can give them that, they deserve it; and, who knows? maybe we'll see enough good come of this struggle to see a new race interested in becoming part of the Federation... and Ambassador Spock's best and most noble goal realized."

Putting aside his musings and coming back to reality, Samji continued. "Don't misunderstand me. Empress Sela may be insane, but I didn't mean to infer that she wants to destroy her own people or let the Anomaly destroy them. She wants just want we want: A safe place for her citizens to live. She just is mistaken in her approach and distrustful of our ability to stop the Anomaly or even work together with them to stop it. She does not believe it can be contained... only destroyed... through force. She understands the risk that she may make the situation worse, but is willing to bet the lives of everyone in the galaxy that her method will work."

"We of course, are not," he finished, sternly.