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 sipped generously from the glass as she gazed out over the view and a bitter chuckle sounded in her throat after the liquor had passed. “Well, there’s a reason we’re getting divorced. We both have changed. I’m not claiming innocence in any of this either. I certainly made my own mistakes and I didn’t exactly make it any easier on him. Cory is a good man. We wouldn’t have been married for forty years otherwise. But…” She shook her head. “Yeah, it’s not been an easy few years. I joined the Corps because I wanted to feel useful, Kenzo. After my injuries, I was given a choice of teaching and/or a desk job at Starfleet Command, or an honourable discharge. I was still in physical rehab and the Admiral who came to see me seemed to think they were reasonable options. On the surface, sure, they were. But I was indignant and I had not had the chance to do the mental work to learn how to control my emotions. Let’s just say I used a lot of unpleasant words and told him to get lost, so to speak.” A sly smirk sneaked onto her face for a brief moment. “But the accident, retiring, some of those much harder cases with the Corps, the divorce- it’s been a lot. It’s ironic I did end up in a desk job. But I don’t feel like I’ve settled for anything here. It feels far different now than it would have when I was given what felt like an ultimatum. But I’ve changed again in recent months. You told me Oed would show me the brutal truth.” A true if tiny smile snuck onto her face. “Brutal is right. But it’s also been lovely. I like it here. I’m not sure I truly expected that, and certainly not so soon.”

Kenzo looked away form the city and at Eela. “You are here because you should be here. And I am glad that you are.” He looked back at the city and took a large drink. “Easy years are not fated for people like you and I. And while you say that your former spouse is a good man… I will disagree from my perspective, and never having met the man.” He downed the last of the Japanese whiskey and poured another glass for both of them. “Although perhaps some day I will be able to express my disappointment in him in person.” and a small smile played briefly across his lips.

Eela nearly chocked on sip of her drink and raised a brow at him. “Good gods I hope not. Things between Cory and I are amicable enough now, for our children and granddaughter’s sake, but the less time we spend in the same space as each other the better for everyone.”

“The way I see it, you and I have specific areas that we naturally have more experience with than the other. And I’ve noticed that we have a subtle way of playing Good Cop, Bad Cop as the need arises. It works for us. Though I pity the poor soul who catches us on a day where we both decide to play Bad Cop,” she said gazing at him with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

“Pity? No. If someone has managed to push us both to that point, I dare say that they deserve everything they get.” Kenzo said with a very soft chuckle.

Dasca laughed openly, which after this evening’s impromptu meetings felt rather nice. “Cheers to that,” she said, lifting her glass to him.

She sipped on her drink again. “I’ve been cautious about making plans but I see somethings forming in my mind that make a helluva lot of sense. I wasn’t here for the Vren attacks, but I do actually understand that terror that people must have felt at the time. I won’t brush it off. But I’m a good judge of character and I’ve been good at the jobs I’ve had, Kenzo. I believe Ambassador Kek is being genuine with us. Hell, his enthusiasm is contagious. We can get angry behind the scenes at the people making decisions elsewhere, but I think it’s time to take a page from your book and craft a path in certain areas that is uniquely Oed’s and entirely of our own devising.” Dasca had been holding onto her ideas and thoughts over the last days as one crisis after another presented themselves. She didn’t want to reveal them too early lest she not have the right information. But maybe now was the time.

~Eela Dasca

Kenzo contemplated his glass for a moment and the said “Of everyone involved in this matter, oddly, it is the Vren I have the least amount of issue with.” He stared at the glass a few more moments before looking at Eela. “So what path are you now considering?”

Kenzo

She considered Hyrushi for a long moment before she set her glass down, turned her chair more on an angle to face him and sat back down. “Okay, so on the surface this idea might seem… odd. Crazy even. But there’s a fundamental logic I hope you’ll see.” Eela took a steadying breath. “The way I as a person new to the colony see it, Oed is putting distance between itself and the Federation and Starfleet. Well and good. Take control of matters etcetera. But, Oed needs the Federation and the Federation needs Oed. They just don’t fully realize it yet. So we change that perspective by not pulling away at all. In fact, we pull ourselves closer to the Federation and remind them in our own unique way that not only are we here, but they are missing out on the opportunity to be partners with us. And one of the ways I think we can do that is with education.”

She grinned, feeling that thread of excitement she had when the idea first came to her the other day. “Picture this: an Interplanetary Undergraduate Degree Program. Oed University teams up with two other universities on other member worlds. Betazed comes to mind as a great one to approach because they are relatively close and well established. Bolaraus could be another, but that’s immaterial right now. So, for the first instance we pick a program that is particularly useful and prominent to all worlds. Something in the planetary sciences realm was my thought. The first year, all students attend classes on their own world. In the second year, they rotate to one of the other planets. They live there, learn there, immerse themselves in a place they probably haven’t been before. In the third year they rotate again. And for their final year they rotate back to their home university to complete the program. By the end not only will they have travelled and seen different places, but they will be exposed to different educational and teaching philosophies. Not to mention cultures. And all three places work together to make this happen. It’s the kind of cooperation the Federation is supposed to be known for. But we instigate it, rather than wait for it to come to us.” She stopped and exhaled, realizing not just how much she really beleived in the idea but how nervous she was for his reaction.

~Eela Dasca, Ambitious Lt. Gov.