Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Governor’s Office- Diplomatic Overtures

Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Governor’s Office- Diplomatic Overtures

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Governor’s Office- Diplomatic Overtures

(snip)

Eela took in the style and decor of his place as she followed the sound of his voice, venturing out onto the patio. She took in the view and appreciated it but she couldn’t suppress the undercurrent of emotion of she tried. The two of them had an easy agreement on keeping out of each other’s heads, but that also meant a level of holding back their own emotions. Eela couldn’t have done so if she tried. That was the trouble with rewiring a portion of your emotional control centre- things just worked differently for her now.

Slipping off her coat, she draped it over the back of the free chair and sat down. Without a word she just gave him a nod and reached for the glass, not even caring what it was inside. That he made sure it was strong was enough. Her lips touched her glass and she let a moderate amount of the amber liquid slip down her throat. Right now she was not okay and it wasn’t even entirely about the Vren.

~Eela Dacsa, Lt. Gov

Kenzo didn’t move, his black eyes locked on the view before them. But there was a subtle shift in the air, like a feather gently blowing against Eela’s temple. It was Kenzo, reaching out quite delicately… not to intrude, but to offer support in the way of emotional calm. He was using his empathy to convey to her a sense of ease… but it wasn’t forced. Just an unspoken offer of help as he sipped his drink.

Kenzo

At that ever so gentle mental brush, she closed her eyes, a deep sigh slipping from her lips. Bending forward, Eela braced her arms on her thighs and held her glass, letting her eyes open and take in the view. She remained silent for a good thirty seconds before she found words.

“It’s not Jeanette’s fault; she couldn’t have known. She wasn’t there for that one. That’s the problem with diplomatic work… the reports are objective assessments of how everything went. Rarely do they capture the reality. And we do write first hand accounts, but not everyone gets to read them. Sometimes they end up classified. The work that Mathis does, that I did, it takes all shapes and forms. A lot of people think we go out there and just say pretty things to elicit an outcome we can be happy with. I know because I’ve had people make comments to me that said just that. It makes me want to punch someone.” She took a heavy gulp.

“The situation with the Khari was exactly as I described: a cultural divide where the more progressive portion of the population was threatening to leave the planet. But what isn’t explained in the overview that someone probably casually used as a reference point when they were briefing Mathis is that those people were so desperate that a group of them held a protest. Forty of the Khari’s most brilliant minds were so desperate that when they refused to come back to the mediation table, I went out to talk to them and the leader of the group told me that the ouench, the old guard, weren’t listening. They weren’t considering their status as people and they were tired of being treated so callously. Knowing about my touch telepathy he offered his hand to me and told me they made sure no one else would get hurt, so I needed to go. Now. And then I understood, because he let me into his thoughts. I tried dissuade him, to convince him there was another way, but they had made a pact and they were going to go through with it so others did not have to suffer any more. Kenzo, I got out of there as fast as my bad back would let me, knowing what was about to happen. The bomb concealed within the middle of the group went off about thirty, maybe forty seconds later and I was safely out of the way, but… for an empath it was close enough,” she said in a hushed voice.

Eela drank heavily from her glass, her shoulders sagging slightly. “Their protest had the effect they had thought it would: the other side was shocked into finding a compromise that I helped negotiate. And thus according to the record, they avoided civil war. But it was not my win. And I went back to Earth feeling numb. I refused to go back on assignment for a whole six months, saw my therapist, worked through it all. But it’s not something you just forget about. And all the while, it was also the longest stretch I had been home with Cory since I had been released from the hospital, and by that sixth month I went on assignment, not because I felt ready, but because I could feel how frustrated he was with me. He had gotten strangely used to my anger and stronger outbursts that this quiet and withdrawn woman shocked him even more. But I couldn’t speak about it all to him. My emotions didn’t feel safe with him. Not any more. And they never really did again, even after I found away to let the events Khar remain behind me.”

In acknowledging the thing that was causing her pain, she could feel a small bit of relief. Eela finally allowed herself to look at Kenzo. “I haven’t told anyone but my friend Roger about the Khari. And I know that Oed is not at risk of anything like that, but if the Vren are experiencing a cultural clash, we would be negligent if we didn’t at least keep in the back of minds that we can’t always predict how these things will go. It would be easy to be mad at Mathis, but I can tell she’s doing the best she can on short notice with what she’s been given. Even as experienced as she is, there is a bit of scrambling involved when an Ambassador is brought in later. My professional opinion is that the situation was seen as a scientific one first, which is sort of fair, but the diplomatic side came a bit delayed, and now we’re all a couple steps behind.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Kenzo was silent for a long time, sipping his drink and staring at the city. “It is easy to be mad at the Ambassador… and the Diplomatic Corps… and Star Fleet Science… and many, many others.” he said at long last. “To me… and, should the timeline of these matters ever become public knowledge, the people of Oed, this is just another time we are an afterthought. As the lone Federation site with any previous contact with the Vren… at a minimum… you and I should have been informed of the original contact. Before any of this.” Kenzo took a drink, and though his face was expressionless, the anger was evident in tone. He took a breath and slowly stilled his emotions.

“It was not fair that you were thrust into such a potentially dangerous situation. And it was even more unfair that you have had to deal with the ramifications of that with no one to speak to outside of a professional.” Kenzo said with deep understanding. “And the fact that you did not feel comfortable with sharing your troubles with your then-spouse does not reflect well upon him. No matter the changes that you had gone through… the difficulties and trials… he had made a vow to you. His failure to maintain that vow is… displeasing.”

Kenzo