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

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… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

She inhaled and considered how she felt about the conversation. “Better, despite how it might have seemed on the surface.” Eela gave a soft smile. “I feel for her, Kenzo. I can understand the very difficult position she’s been put in, and at least from my perspective I see no benefit from going out of our way to make her job harder. We’re in this together now, and I believe she’s here with the best intentions. I know we don’t have a lot of time but it’s in our best interest to help Jeanette succeed. I don’t think we even want to consider what happens if we’re even a little bit willing to let her flounder because we’re leaving this too much in the hands of a population whose mood can be a bit… fickle.” She remembered how quickly that crowd turned during the protest, how easily they were moved to anger.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Agreed.” Kenzo said and took a breath. He then did something he rarely did… he allowed himself to look tired. He looked at Eela and said “We do need to help her succeed. But we can’t be seen as helping her. Because that fickleness can’t be allowed to blow back on us. If this goes poorly, the Ambasaador will be recalled and go on about her way. She has a built-in escape option. You and I? If we cannot pull this off, and pull it off as lose to perfect as we can, well…” and he took another deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“Let us just say I would not be averse to holding your hand as we jump out of that window. It would be much more pleasant than what the colonists would do.” and he chuckled softly.

Kenzo

Eela let out a throaty chuckle. “Listen here… I did not survive been chucked against a bulkhead in the middle of a battle just to jump to my death. Which means we’re just going to have to do everything we can to not mess this up,” she said with all the tone of a captain telling a junior officer exactly how thins would go. This is of course was done rather intentionally and entirely to garner amusement from the both. Levity, as it often could be, was much needed here.

“Mathis and Jones will be by in the morning at oh-nine and I’ll show them the space in the Tower we’ve set aside for now. Obviously it won’t do on a long term basis but we can see how things go with the Vren first before we start talking a stand-alone facilities. But all this has been making something weigh more heavily on my mind. We spoke about long-term plans and needs for the colony. I think it’s time to start seriously moving forward with PAD. If we wait too long we’ll find ourselves potentially in a position where we need it and its not ready.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

PAD. Project Anvil-Dragon. Not an ‘official’ project, but more of a coalescing idea the two Executive Government officials had been brainstorming. Planetary defense systems and policies. He looked at her and nodded slightly. “I agree with that as well. But to move forward now… should it get out… will create a crisis of trust in the populace and a diplomatic firestorm. The people would believe that we don’t trust the Vren and are preparing to fight them. The Vren could see that as a hostile act against a diplomatic gesture. And the Federtaion will think we are either idiots, incompetent, or willfully trying to start an incident… or maybe even all three.” He sighed and said “But yes… it needs to be put into motion. And for that, you know we will have to start deciding who will be involved in the planning.”

Kenzo

That was the tricky bit. If they left anyone out, someone would be offended, but if they had everyone involved at once, it would be chaos and hard to keep under wraps. “Yes, but not yet. Maybe we leave that bit till the Vren have done their ceremony.” Eela leaned forward slightly. “Look, this was going to happen before the Vren entered the picture and I understand the optics. We can keep it discreet between us for now. Maybe the best way forward is to do all the brainstorming and then take it to the people who need to be involved once we know things are stable here. Best case scenario it wouldn’t be in place for months; more realistically, much longer. So there’s no rush, per say. But I do want us at least working on it between us. On top of everything else , just for fun,” she said with a grin.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Kenzo gave her a rare partial-smile and said “I am pleased you find the process enjoyable. I’m sure at some point you will regret that stance.” and he mailed slightly more.

Composing himself, he said “From a macro perspective, you understand, or at least have more familiarity with, defense systems themselves. My expertise lies in infrastructure planning and development. I believe, in this arena particularly, that those knowledge bases are quite complimentary. That being said, I also believe that you and I are going to create something that has never been done before… at least, from my knowledge. A full planetary defense plan that is both effective and non-invasive to the populace. Additionally, it has to be able to be expanded and future infrastructure put into place as the planet changes due to terraforming, which means that identification of strategic and critical points are the main priority… even as those points are coming into reality as our natural world changes our urban areas. It will be a most complex and ever changing project.” He looked at her for a long moment and then he suddenly leaned forward and set his hand on hers, allowing for her to feel, just for a moment, that he had decided to trust her as a colleague and even, perhaps, a friend before he pulled his hand back.

“But I do believe that you and I are the one’s best suited to drive this forward. The only ones, for the near future.”

Kenzo