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

Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Governor’s Office- Diplomatic Overtures
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Kenzo was silent as he thought, but he nodded and said “I agree with everything you have said, Eela. But I think you may be missing one key component in your plan. Oed V has millions upon millions of people scattered across not only across this city… but on the orbital platforms and across the entire planet. Getting the word out to them, listening to their concerns and their fears, and hosting. Town Hall- all noble and quite necessary- will take time. And lest we forget… we still have to wait for the Vren to vote, the file to be generated and compiled, the Diplomatic Corps to receive it and review it, and then the twous- as well as the CCDA, CIA, Star Fleet Security, and the Cabinet- to finally get it and digest it to a point of more than passing familiarity. We have three days. Less, actually. And if Ambassador Kek’s optimism about thir ability to secure approval from the Vren is misplaced and they say no? That particular possibility precludes us from starting early. So not only do we not have the time to do all that… we also cannot save time.” He stared at the skyline for a long moment. “Unless…” and he looked at Dasca with a contemplative look on his face.

“We don’t tell anyone about the ceremony. We record it and wait to release it until we have laid the groundwork you suggest.”

Kenzo

“We can do that,” Dasca agreed. “But you’re assuming that we only have three days. Kek said it would take three days for their Senate to debate and vote on it. Not that we had to act publicly in three days. The timeline is a lot more fluid and up to us than that. Keep in mind that Federation scientists will still be working on the issue they are having, regardless if we allow the Vren to be at Oed or not. Remember what I said about psychological safety? If we move too fast, people will not trust this process. We both know that. And we don’t have to drag our feet, but we let everything take as long as it will. Mathis will be here in a couple days and we can work through the logistics with her, but we get to determine how this plays out, even if not all the variables are up to us.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Kenzo sipped and said “We may need to replay the conversation. My interpretation was the ceremony would be in three days; not the vote. Regardless…” and took a deep breath as if preparing himself. “We have to begin the groundwork now. At least from a macro level. All invested departments both Colony and Fleet need to be in agreement and working at a common goal… otherwise this will spiral quickly out of control and it will get out to the citizens before we are ready.” He looked at her and said “Yet another emergency meeting for all, then?”

Kenzo

Eela leaned back in her chair and rubbed her face. She hadn’t had an early night since she arrived and she had hoped when she settled in she’d be able to catch up on some rest, but given this recent development it was looking like downtime would be preciously small. “Yeah,” she said with a half sigh suddenly regretting that she hadn’t put her brace on.

She tipped her head up, gazing at the night sky. “Full disclosure… over the last few months with the Corps my brace wasn’t working great and I have some disc compression. It’s easily treated with more aggressive physical therapy, which has been a bit rough and I’m pretty sure my new orthopedaeic surgeon is going to give me highly disapproving looks when I meet with them next week.” Eela blew out a breath. “I need to take care of myself, Kenzo, but there are not enough hours in the day for everything I need to do right now and I even have one more hour a day than I did on Earth, and I’m even happy to delegate where I can.” She turned her head to look at him again. “How exactly do you manage it? I’ll take any tips you have.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Kenzo looked in the glass he held in hand for a moment and then said “You have to make the time. You and I… we will never have enough time. Not ever. There will always be some crisis or need or meeting or communication or directive we must address. Always. All you can do is simply take the time. Be selfish. Twenty or thirty minutes once or twice a day works very well for me. I simply do not answer calls or messages or have meetings. People expect us to be very busy and hard to reach. I simply do nothing to challenge that expectation. Ms. Fen has a code word, of course, if it is a true emergency. Otherwise, I simply take the time I need. It is not regular or predictable… but it is there. I find taking those few moments and using it to meditate or just watch the city very helpful. A brief respite in in the otherwise hectic schedule that we are subject to.” He looked up and out over the city. “Oed is a gruling and demanding place. But I have never… anywhere… found a place more honest or more willing to give back to you as much as you give to it.”

Kenzo

Be selfish. Those two simple words created a visceral reaction within Eela that surprised even her. It was a twisting sensation, a resistance. Sacrifice was something she understood. It was all but embedded in her after so many years. But in more recent years, when she had realized she needed things and asked for them, even took them, it had been thrown back in her face. Selfishness was not a trait she’d ever been allowed. And the realization in this moment was that she was giving everything of herself to this place in the hopes of something in return. And it was there, tiny though those threads were. Oed was weaving itself through her, making her a part of its tapestry. But even as she had these thoughts, she realized it was partly a lie. She hadn’t been giving everything. In small and very specific ways she had been holding back. Afraid.

Reaching for her glass again, she downed a good amount of it. Her fingers tapped briefly on the side of the glass, drumming to the beat of her heart. “I enjoyed my time with the Diplomatic Corps. I liked the work, most of the time, and I was good at it. But… I know myself well enough to know that it was a distraction. Something to tide me over till I figured out where I fit into the grand scheme of everything. With Starfleet I knew instinctively. It didn’t matter where I was or what my exact position was, the uniform and my oath were the binding contract, the thing that drove me each day. I lost that knowing, and even here where things are starting to unfold in ways that make me optimistic… I worry about giving too much and not being left with anything. Which is perhaps a very long winded way of saying that you better not schedule this emergency meeting before Noon, because I’m exhausted and it’s going to take some time for me to get to sleep. I need all the rest I can get at this point.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.