Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Government Tower- Ambassador Mathis & Co Arrive

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Government Tower- Ambassador Mathis & Co Arrive

Posted by Civilian Jeannette Mathis (Federation Ambassador) in Government Tower- Ambassador Mathis & Co Arrive
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Lovely,” Mathis deadpanned. “Well, it wouldn’t be my first foray, nor it is it the first time I’ve arrived as the possibly unwelcome party. You say I need to show them I want to help. What does that looks like? My instinct is to talk to people individually, get to know them. But that might not work here, nor might it be feasible in the time we have. However, that being said, our tight timeline is for when the Vren expect to do the ceremony. Being able to talk to people, hear their concerns, might help as we go along. I consider myself a fairly approachable person. I dislike sitting about in my office all day. Most often that’s not where the real work occurs.”

Ambassador Mathis

Hyrushi looked at her and said “What does that look like?” and he shook his head. He looked at Eela and gave her one of his race looks that conveyed meaning, so that only she could see. Is she serious? it seemed to ask. He looked back at the Ambassador and said “Madame… it is not my job to provide you with all the answers, even if I had them.” He leaned forward and fixed his obsidian eyes on her and her aid. “What those gestures look like is wholly up to you. But what I will tell you is make sure that those gestures are genuine. Oedians are slow to trust, and even slower to forgive. If you are not genuine, you. will. fail.” He looked at Dara and then back at Mathis. “This where the LieutenantGovernor has so far succeeded where so many others had failed. She started with a genuine desire to help… to be a part of Oed. Perhaps a conversation with her on that approach is in order.”

Hyrushi, Gov.

Really? Did he need to imply that Mathis wasn’t genuine here? Eela cast a subtle look Kenzo’s way. Well, they would have to debrief later anyway, they could talk it over then.

Mathis studied Hyrushi for a moment, her internal frustration buried deep. It felt like she were being blocked and they had so little time to get on the same page. “I think we can agree that failure is not an option, not for Oed, and not for the Vren.” Normally she’d have weeks to research, to get a feel for a place before anything significant happened. This was definitely not her usual embassy gig and she wasn’t treating it like it was. However, what people might not realize is that Jeanette lived in the places where she was assigned these days. Her (and often her family too) became a part of the community. They would do the same here but not before the Vren arrived and that was the issue. She had no time. Not to do this right. And she was being asked to be flawless. It wasn’t just pressure, it was an impossible ask.

Jones was taking in the tenor of the room, and from his own familiarity, Jeanette’s very subtle body language. Perhaps this meeting should have waited till the morning, when they hadn’t been travelling for two days. But it mattered not now. “Given the short timeframe of all of this, there are steps we would normally take that we can’t here. You’ll have to give us a little grace as we figure out the best way to adjust.”

~Ambassador Mathis & Dashiel Jones, Attaché

Hyrushi spread his hands and said “Ambassador, I will do whatever is within my power to help. I want this to work as much as anyone in this room. Not having the Vren seen as the monster under the bed will do amazing things for these people. But the grace you are asking for doesn’t come from me.” and he inclined his head towards the windows looking out on the city. “It comes from them.”

“We can sit down, perhaps tomorrow and work through some of those things,” Dasca said. “Being fairly new here too, I understand how hard it is for people to find their footing here. And you can get out as you plan to. In fact I know a great little bookstore and cafe that will host us safely. While you’ll need to make that statement to the public sooner rather than later, I don’t think rushing it will do anyone any good.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Mathis gave a grateful nod, knowing full well that she and Dasca would need to have a private chat before they did anything else.

“And I am willing to be there with you as you make said statement.” Hyrushi added. “I will even go so far as to ensure there are voices favorable to the idea in the crowd. But Captain Dasca is correct. The sooner we make the announcement, the more advantage we have in addressing concerns before the Vren arrive.”

Hyrushi, Governor

“I’m glad we’re all in agreement. I had no intention of waiting long but I’m going to be honest, I haven’t started to draft that statement yet. I could have, while we were travelling, but it made no sense to me to do so until I met with both of you and got a feel for the colony itself.” Jeanette leaned in, her serious facade slipping just a little. “I have a spouse and a teenage son here with me. When possible, they have lived wherever I have been working, because these later years of my career have been primarily embassy work. Assuming that everything doesn’t go to hell with all of this, Oed is going to be our home for foreseeable future. Understand that while I don’t have the history of dealing with the Vren, I have some of the same concerns that many of the citizens here will. I have loved ones I care about that I don’t want to see in harms’s way. I know one person cannot in full represent an entire people, but that what Ambassador Kek and I do. After conversing with the Ambassador, I’m more optimistic than I expected to be. And this is coming from someone who spent four years on post-war Cardassia and then was asked to go back for another three years later.” She offered a genuine, if tired smile. “This is an uphill battle, I get that. But if there is an actual battle to be had, know that I am in the trenches with everyone else, and it’s not my first foray.”

Ambassador Mathis