Chapter 91. Tini, Mi Zhiwa billiards battle
Noah was startled. He never expected such an outburst of anger from Olert. He didn't even expect the senator to behave like this. Olert has been very calm and collected so far.
The senator took several deep breaths. He had trouble calming himself down. Then he turned to Noah again. "Please forgive me. But Senator Ono Ichiro has given me a lot of trouble. He doesn't like that we are still part of the Earth. He wants the colonies to break away from the Earth. He wants to leave his name in the history books and be a factor in achieving independence. One of the MPs.”
"But isn't kidnapping supposed to increase Earth's influence?" Noah wondered. For him, the connection is still not clear.
"Yes at first glance. If you don't understand the political background like this Rasaka, you may be deceived by people like Senator Ono Ichiro. But if you understand the background like Ichiro Ono... for him Said, it must be clear that no matter how it ends, Earth will take it as a provocation. He must have expected that Earth will attack. And regardless of the current results, we will probably still face such a situation. Oh, this conceited villain. He's been pushing for a war of independence. Now he's got us involved."
Noah gradually understood. "You have to defend yourself against Earth's attack. Then we'll be at war with Earth."
"We will only lose the war," Olert stressed with despair and anger. "We don't have enough power to fight the Earth. But Ichiro Ono doesn't want to see this."
Noah further concluded: "And Ono Ichiro himself couldn't act personally, so he chose a person who was willing to be a victim, and he just needed to ignite his fighting spirit,"
"Yes, and it's certainly not difficult. Among the poorer colonists, hostility to aliens is quite high. Regardless, he has achieved his goal. War is almost certain. And once Earth attacks, there will be a It was a bloody massacre. So we had to defend ourselves. But that doesn't make it any better."
Noah remained silent. This is a tricky situation. They couldn't prove Ono's intervention, but that didn't matter now.
After a brief silence, Olet calmed down a little: "By the way, Flora came to see me. He asked me to ask you if you would allow him to use your ship to study the wreckage of Vulcan. Obviously, He hopes to learn some new information about the destruction of Vulcan with the help of your advanced technology."
Noah raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected such a request. In this tense situation, there must be more pressing matters than studying a planet that was destroyed hundreds of years ago. However, they are Vulcan people after all. Research is instinctive for them. Even if the entire universe is about to collapse, the Vulcans will continue their research until the last moment. Emotions seem to have no effect on them. "Did he really think he would find anything after all this time?"
Olert replied: "Apparently yes. Why not? As far as we know, no one has ever entered that system. It should still be in its original state after the destruction. The remains of the planet are not attractive to looters or pirates. force. Our scans show that Vulcan has few useful resources."
"Maybe yes, that area may not have been contaminated yet. But after all this time, any radioactive remnants of weapons or anything like that have decayed," Noah considered. "We didn't find anything out of the ordinary there. We were there for almost three days."
"Maybe Flora knows what he's looking for. Something you don't know about. Please grant his request," Olet requested. "Or do you have other plans?"
In fact, he had a plan. He wanted the two Vulcans to join Jeffrey and the other scientists on the Republic to find a way to correct the timeline. And he really didn't want to waste another day. The kidnapping had taken up enough time. But he couldn't tell Olet all this. He knew the Senator would do whatever it took to keep the timeline as it was now. Noah even understands this. But he couldn't allow this to continue.
"Okay. We'll take them to the Republic. They can do their research there," he outwardly conceded. In fact, he just wanted the chance to keep the Vulcans under his supervision for a few days. During that time, there will certainly be opportunities for in-depth conversations. He hoped that the conversation would convince the Vulcans of the need to correct the timeline.
Olet nodded gratefully. "I'll tell them." He saw the advantage in this arrangement of allowing the Republic crew to stay a few more days. This way, it won't be easy for them to leave. and in doing so would strengthen ties with the colony.
"Also, we may need some of your technicians. We have an issue with the energy grid on New Bordeaux, our southernmost settlement, that we can't fix."
"I will have my chief engineer contact you to negotiate the necessary matters." Noah agreed.
Before he could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, and the young senator's aide stuck his head through the crack. "Excuse the interruption," he said in a relatively low voice. "But Mr. Olert, the police chief is waiting for you here. He has something very urgent to talk to you about."
"Can't this wait, Postin? You saw we were talking." Olet looked annoyed at the interruption.
"This is urgent. If it wasn't, I wouldn't bother you," said Postin, who seemed too embarrassed to comply with his boss's request.
"It's okay," Noah said, standing up. "We can continue our conversation some other time," he thought to himself, hoping not to be interrupted again then. He noticed that they had always been interrupted before. Olet is a very busy man.
The senator extended his hand and said, "Thank you for your understanding."
Noah just nodded, then took out the communicator and ordered the transmission back to the spacecraft.
Tiny looked at him as he stepped off the teleporter platform. "How was the conversation?" she wondered.
"Very short," her father frowned. Then he smiled at his daughter and left the room.
Of course, things were not as Ingmar imagined. Captain Noah asked various departments to submit interim reports. Meetings with various departments are also required for this purpose. So Ingmar had to call a meeting with his colleagues. He did so reluctantly, as he had no interest in meeting Shu Ran. He remains angry and deeply hurt by her behavior. She toyed with him and he could barely stand it. If he had to see her now, it would be even more painful for him. But there are few alternatives. Although he postponed the meeting until the last moment, it eventually had to be held.
Privately, he hoped to talk to Shu Ran beforehand. Or rather, hoping that she would come to him. Sadly this is not the case. He himself had been avoiding her, so they never met again.
At this point two days had passed since their brief exchange of messages. During the meeting, Ingmar tried to avoid eye contact with her, but he wasn't entirely successful. As he looked at her, he felt her eyes twinkling toward him. He really wished they could have their old relationship back. He wasn't sure now if he was overreacting. Is he too dependent on her? She's right to take care of her colleagues, right? And it could just be a coincidence that they needed her at the same time. It was impossible for her to deal with two people at once.
He had no answer for that. Everything was much simpler in the past. He is always right and his girlfriend is always wrong. If someone had behaved like Shu Ran before, he would have dumped her immediately and replaced her with someone else. But now he can't do that. She was so charming that he never wanted to live without her again.
The meeting lasted a long time. When it was finally over, Shu Ran deliberately delayed while sorting out the documents. She stood up from the table only when everyone else had left the room. She looked at Ingemar, who was standing by the door with papers in his hands. A cautious smile crossed her lips. She walked slowly toward him, then stopped and looked into his eyes.
"What are your plans tonight?" she asked.
"No," he replied shortly. He never wanted to give in too quickly. He wanted to stay angry. She should kneel before him. But he noticed his defense was falling apart. She cleared away his resistance with just one look.
"Would you like to go to dinner with me? Just you and me." Her voice sounded so sweet in his ears. There is also a hint of temptation.
Ingmar wanted to remain firm. After all, she has yet to apologize for her actions. But is there really anything to apologize for? He might just be seeing everything wrong and has absolutely no reason to be angry now. In fact, he wasn't angry anymore. He just wants her back. This is his chance. He got what he wanted. Why continue to dwell on the past?
"How about we go to the leisure area first?" Ingmar suggested. He needed a neutral place. Think of other things later.
Shu Ran's eyes flickered, completely attracting Ingemar, and he felt as if he was watching the sunrise. "That's fine. As long as I can be with you."
She kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd.
Ingmar was still standing by the door. He wasn't quite sure what to think. Is she manipulating him? Is he like a toy that can be turned on or off at any time according to her mood? His feelings were very conflicting. He was glad she was back, but on the other hand...
He shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the thoughts. He had to stop always seeing the negative side. He had never been like this before. He doesn't like this either. He seemed to have become too suspicious, too jealous. He had her. This is the most important. It doesn't matter if the events of the past few days are never brought up again. Maybe he was just over-interpreting everything.
He would see her again tonight. Judging by the tone in her voice, anything could happen.
"Come on, it's just a few millimeters away. Come on, come on! Yes!" Tiny cheered, raising the club proudly. "I win!" she shouted.
"That's just luck," Mi Zhiwa replied calmly, looking at the remaining balls on the pool table. She herself could have won the match with the next shot, but Tiny just happened to have her turn.
"That's the trick," Tiny continued gleefully.
"Well, what are the first three rounds?" Mi Zhiwa couldn't help but remind her friend that she had lost every game in the past few weeks, just not to her, but to half Nirver the Vulcan.
Tiny invites them to spend an evening together. After the tension and stress of the past few days, moments like this once again seem so necessary. It had been too long since the last pleasant evening.
The past few weeks have been very strange for Tiny. In her last year on Earth, she went out more and often had fun. And Nilfer is usually with her. Just because they both have a special status, they often do a lot of things together. He always looked a little out of place, like an ice cube at a summer party, but as time went on, he seemed to enjoy it. In his own way. Tiny also got used to his presence. Not in a romantic way, but as a good, reliable friend. However, there are few opportunities to meet on board. So she wanted him here so badly.
And Mi Zhiwa is about to become her best friend. They seemed to have the same interests. And it seems that Mi Zhiwa has difficulty establishing friendships with other people. No wonder, who would want to be friends with their own psychiatrist?
They don't have much choice when it comes to choosing how to spend their evening. There are bars, gyms and restaurants. There is also an entertainment deck. There are so many different ways to spend your time here. Since Tiny likes billiards, they play it.
The first three rounds were between Tiny and Nilf. Mi Zhiwa plans to watch the battle first. She claims she has never played pool. And she immediately saw Tiny fail miserably three times. Nilf played dizzyingly. He's so awesome. Although he tried to give Tiny some advice and explained that it was a very logical game that could be calculated relatively simply through geometric principles. But Tiny didn't listen to him. She thought she could win the game on her own terms.
After three games, Nilf suggested taking a break. He handed the club to Mi Zhiwa and asked her to participate in the game. She also performed pretty well for someone who was playing pool for the first time.
Nilf kept watching without saying a word. Even though it didn't seem so, it was clear to Tiny that he was amused by both men's amateurishness. Especially since the two of them were jumping around the stage like frightened chickens.
"What do you think of our game?" she wanted to ask him now.
"Well, that's...interesting."
Tiny looked at him with wide eyes. Nilf tied his hair into a braid and brushed it neatly down his back. Considering his thick, messy hair, this was certainly not an easy task. His pointed ears are clearly visible through this braid, contrasting with his typical Klingon appearance. In particular, the bony protrusions on his forehead and the beard on his chin are particularly conspicuous. He seemed as conflicted as he was. However, this has its own charm.
"Funny? Hmm. You're laughing at us," Tiny teased him.
"I would never dare," Nilf replied seriously. But a smile crossed his lips. Tiny was sure that she was the only one who saw it.
"Of course," she said with a smile, then turned to Mi Zhiwa. "One more game?"
"Hmm~~~"
"Okay, then I'll set up the ball first," Tiny said magnanimously. Her friend then got ready, but she was distracted by the open entertainment area door.
Tini also looked over there. Ingemar and Shu Ran just entered the room, but they immediately turned away and did not see these three people.
"Look, our sweet couple," Tiny sneered.
Mi Zhiwa raised her head. "Jealous?"
"What?" Tiny turned around. "For both of them? Of course not."
"But it sounded like that's what you said just now."
"Mi Zhiwa, I've told you once: If you want to be friends with me, stop being a psychiatrist."
Mi Zhiwa looked at her with wide eyes, "I just want to tease you. Besides, I think seeing them like this will indeed make people jealous. They look very happy."
"For Ingemar, there is nothing special. As long as it is a woman, he will chase her." Tini said.
"Oh, my God!" Mi Zhiwa said in surprise.
"But it is what it is," she argued.
Mi Zhiwa watched the couple leave. "Well, he is indeed handsome. I will not refuse such a person."
Now it was Tiny's turn to look up in surprise. "You're not serious, are you?"
Mi Zhiwa turned to her. "But you have to admit, he looks really handsome."
"But he's an egomaniac," Tiny said excitedly.
"I'm not denying that. Even though it doesn't look like it now."
Tiny looked at her askance. "Yes, you're right. But that's going to change too. Because no one suddenly changes their appearance."
"Well, love makes everything possible."
Tiny rolled her eyes irritably. "Oh, yes. Love," she said sarcastically.
"Maybe you two should focus on the game again," Nilfer interjected. He felt that the atmosphere was a little tense, and he never wanted to get into a quarrel between the two. "That's what we're here for."
Tini looked at Mi Zhiwa challengingly. "And for fun." She started to laugh. "Now I'm going to beat you."
Mi Zhiwa also smiled and leaned over to prepare to hit the ball. All of a sudden both balls went into the hole. She looked at Tiny with confidence. "Don't get complacent too early."
