"A New Level of Bureaucracy"
[Previous post: "Let the Games Begin", written by the inventive Brian Matthews]
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Setting: IRRAJ, Royal Gardens
Lea's eyes and mouth were opened wide as the CMO looked onto the royal
palace. Despite its modern fixtures and lighting, the structure
resembled a medieval castle. Actually the palace seemed to be more like
several such castles stacked one next to the other. At first glance the
royal palace seemed large enough to hide a starship within its walls.
"They like to build things big," Uxtar said through clenched teeth. As
the Sec/Tac officer the Hirogen evaluated all things in a very
different way. To Lea and Susan the palace had been something that would be
fun to explore. To Uxtar on the other hand, that same structure was
nothing more than a place where trouble could hide. A very large place
where some very large trouble could hide that is.
"So when do we get to see this princess we have all been hearing so
much about?" Mattias asked while rubbing his hands together. Some might
have interpreted this eagerness as a willingness to work. David and
Susan on the other hand saw the gesture as having been based on more
primal instincts.
"We should be meeting with the Third Minister who will be taking us
inside of the palace," Serenna replied. The tone of her voice hinted that
their journey to see the King and Princess might take a while.
"From there we will pass through the capable hands of the Third Tyralj
who is in charge of palace security. Next will be the Second Minister
and Second Tyralj before we can be admitted into the royal court.
There, if all goes well, we will be introduced to the First Minister. That
is of course *after* we have been cleared by the First Tyralj," the
Captain said. Although Starfleet regulations said that both the CO and
ExO should not be on an away mission together Sabrina had thought
otherwise. Since this had been a delicate political undercover mission, the
CO had thought it best for her to be there. After all had been cleared
with the king then Sabrina would be able to return to the ANUBIS.
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"It's a miracle that these people have been able to do *anything* other
than fill out forms," Lea whined. After two hours of waiting and
answering countless questions the away team had still not made it inside the
royal court. The farthest they had reached had been the First Minister
who had carefully reviewed the report of the First Tyralj.
"These questions better come to an end soon," Uxtar growled. The First
Tyralj had been exceptional hard on the Hirogen. The man had taken an
obvious dislike to the strange alien and had drilled him to the point
of making Uxtar snap. Almost. Had it not been for the quick
intervention of David and Susan the First Tyralj might have ended up as *First
Casualty*.
"The ability of a society to evolve technologically does not mean that
they have done away with bureaucracy. Actually it usually goes the
other way. The more technologically advance a society gets, the more
bureaucracy is created," Susan said. As the ship's Cns Susan had an
entirely different perspective on the situation. "It is only after several
decades that technology and bureaucracy start heading in opposite
directions."
"Judging by what we have so far seen IRRAJ has not reach *that* point
in their technological evolution," Sabrina giggled.
"Captain Rikar," the man dressed in glamorous robes said. "After
having reviewed your dossier I am sorry to say that you will not be able to
see the King and Princess at this time."
The announcement of the First minister stunned everyone and sent Uxtar
into a quiet rage. While David tried to reason with the Sec/Tac both
Sabrina and Serenna approached the IRRAJ bureaucrat.
"With all due respect First Minister, we were *asked* here by the King
himself. It will be extremely difficult for us to insure the Princess'
safety if we are not permitted to be near her," Sabrina said. Thei
cover story had been a simple one, at least that had been the initial
impression back on the ANUBIS.
"I am truly sorry, but not all of the required documents were filled
out prior to our arrival," the First Minister said. Now it was Serenna
who looked ready to send the bureaucrat onto a one-way trip into orbit.
"I can just imagine how *quickly* you are your people will be
processing the kidnapper's request after the Princess had vanished. By the time all of the forms are *filled out*, she will likely have been killed or
sold into slavery. I hear that the Orion slave market is quite popular
at this time of the year," Serenna said. The colour drained of the
First Minister's face as the words of the ExO sunk in.
"Maybe we could make an exception this time," the robed man said
sheepishly. Denying access to the group had been one thing, explaining why
this had been done to the King would have been an entirely different
matter. If the threats of kidnapping were to be true, the First
minister's job, and his head, would be on the block.
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Lt. J.G. Lea Summers 2006 post #188
Stardate: 61014.1230
Setting: IRRAJ, Royal Palace, Grand Hall
Stardate: 61014.1430
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
