Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Expanding the Offerings

Posted by Civilian Yavia Crockett (Nurse - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Expanding the Offerings

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Expanding the Offerings
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

The purple-haired Napean smiled. “Of course, she’s expecting you,” Sreer said, rising and leading Shrine to Dasca’s door. She knocked, opened the door and smiled. “Alice Shrine to see you, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Elema,” Dasca said with a warm smile as she tapped a couple keys and turned off her screen, pushed herself to her feet and moved around the desk.
“Do you want me to order for you?” the assistant said.
Eela nodded. “In about half an hour, before you head out is fine.”
“Okay.” Elema gave Shrine a bow of her head and stepped back out of the office, closing the door behind her.

In the spacious office, there was little sign that Dasca intended to be packing up to go home any time soon: an assortment of padds sorted into piles on the desk, a half-filled glass of water, an empty plate that held crumbs from one of the pastries from Sharah that Cort insisted on sharing (despite her protests that they were for them). But several hours into her mountain of work and it was admittedly nice to have break from it all. Her blazer was draped on the back of her chair, and she had taken the clawed clip out of her hair ages ago.

With a fluid gesture towards the sitting area, Eela smiled. “It’s nice to see you again Nurse Shrine. Come, let’s sit and talk and you can explain more about this auction that Sharah was telling me about.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Lt. Gov. Dasca, thank you for meeting with me.” Shrine grinned a hint of wicked micheviousness that only an elder could know crossed her lips. “Ah, and did Dr Fayth claim I was holding her feet to the fire?” She chuckled as she sat, “I am.”

Eela laughed. “Yes, she seems a bit disgruntled about that fact, but it’s sometimes good for a person.”

“Well as I said in my note, Sacred Heart has a charity division and we host a fund raiser every year. This year we are providing assistance for the refugees arriving. Between the colonial government and Star Fleet they are getting their basic needs met, but it is not enough to really to make a life here. We, well I, wanted to do something different. So we are holding a Bachelorette auction. It is going to be marvelous fun.”

Shrine

She nodded and wondered how long she should play this out, but Dasca was admittedly curious how Alice Shrine would make this seem enticing. “And I think that is not only a very worthy cause but a fun way to go about a fundraiser. Not one you see all the time these days. So how can my office help your efforts?” she asked with a measure of curiosity.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Shrine smiled, “Well of course we would love for you to participate. I don’t know what your Bachelorette status is. Perhaps Cpt McBride has already taken care of that? He was very attentive the other night.” Shrine was a nosey old woman and loved gossip. She would never ever spread it but she loved to collect it. But it was quite clear that despite Eela’s position, Shrine was teasing and in no way being malicious. “I would not want to cause strife, but you have made quite an impression on the people of Oed already. Serious and able to get things done, and don’t tolerate…we’ll say idiots as a nice word. It would do good for people to see you in a more light hearted way in support of the colony. Perhaps you would Eemcee? Unless of course you are single and could add you to the line up. Your presence in any capacity would draw more attention to the event.”

Shrine

Eela had scarcely processed the actually request because her brain was fixated on the insinuation that she and Jonathan were somehow romantically involved. Nor could she hide the surprise. “Uhh…” She held up her index finger and took a moment to gather her thoughts, even as a laugh erupted. She shook her head. “No, Captain McBride and I are nothing more than colleagues and friends. But the thing people forget is that we are both captains and there are bonds fellow captains have. We look out for each other,” she said with a simple shrug.

Shrine nodded. “I understand. That is good, to have those types of connections.”

Having gathered herself, now she could process the rest of what Shrine had expressed. Could she really get out of participating as a bachelorette and just emcee? That would certainly be a dignified role, suitable for her positions. But… did she want to get out of it? She already knew the answer too, which made her sigh audibly. Because Shrine was right in that the public hadn’t seen the whole of who Eela was. It would be a vulnerable act, but it could be really important for her own growth. She leaned in, her expression becoming less business-like, letting her guard drop a little. “Alice… when Sharah told me about her being roped into the auction and then your meeting request came through, I had to take some time to figure out how I would feel if you did in fact ask me. It’s not so simple as telling myself that people need to see the different sides of me. Because that is true, and there is much that people don’t know about me yet, or understand how my being Haliian fundamentally changes how I move through life. The truth is, at sixty-three, I am newly single. My husband and I separated over eighteen months ago, and after forty years of marriage our divorce was granted last week. I’ve had to factor that in and figure out if I am ready to let others in, even in small ways. The answer is yes, but it’s not easy for me, even though my core nature drives me towards connection of all kinds. This auction is exciting even if it also terrifies me.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Shrine nodded, grandmotherly compassion and understanding on her face. She reached over and patted her hand. “Well certainly we don’t want you to do something that is uncomfortable, but a very old Earth saying applies here, ‘there is no time like the present’.” She smiled, understanding but also thrilled. That was the easiest yes she had gotten so far. “So the other ladies have decided to be very specific about the outing, I am not allowed to use the word date, they are offering. A meal must be included, but they have decided to focus on show casing unique or unnoticed things about Oed. Nurse Crockett is going to a children’s baseball game. Young Jessie is spending the day at the animal shelter, Elaine a book reading and signing by a local author. Things like that. Perhaps choosing what you would like to showcase would help make it a little less scary.”

Shrine

It was indeed a good place to start and Eela’s mind immediately swept through the different things she not only liked doing but had been recently exploring about the colony. Her pale hazel eyes lit up. “You know, I love the arts and there are some amazing performances happening in the next little while. A performance of some kind, plus dinner after at this great little jazz lounge I know sounds like a lot of fun. And who knows, maybe whomever goes with me will actually makes for a good conversational partner,” she said with a light laugh. Cory used to say she had a great laugh, like wind chimes. But of course you could never hear yourself the others did.

“I don’t know if that will make it less scary, but it was something I was going to do anyway, so why not have some company, right?”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Perhaps not less scary but at least it will be something you know you enjoy. You can also specify the date and time. I am sure that will make your security detail happy.” Shrine grinned, “We have all learned very quickly it’s best to follow Tenkiller’s directions than go about as if we are unaware.” Then she laughed. “Some of us have learned that lesson better than others. Now the activity will be listed along with your name and your position, so hopefully your dinner companion will be someone who enjoys the activity you’ve chosen. During the event everyone will be seated on the stage, and will stay there until we’re done. I don’t want anyone to feel isolated. Now I wanted to forgo the runway/supermodel feel, so there will be stool to sit on, so no posing or walking about. Though I’m sure Yavia will make a good show of it. What else can I tell you?”

Shrine