Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in You Won, But Did You Really?

Posted by Civilian Dorma Fen (Governor’s Assistant) in You Won, But Did You Really?

Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in You Won, But Did You Really?
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

She chuckled and said “Told you.” She took a drink and then said “And I am glad you like it. Now, if you ever get to Japan and my family’s town, you can go in and order the special and tell them to make it ‘家族のスタイル’.” She then slowed down the pronunciation. “Kazoku no sutairu. Family-style, the way me make it for ourselves. We tend to lower the heat for the visitors.”

Dorma Fen

He smirked before repeating the words as best he could. And then again before nodding, feeling he had a fairly faithful pronunciation.

“I have to say I watched you carving the flowers and all I could think was if I had tried that, there would have been blood everywhere. Very messy,” Cort said with a grin before snagging a prawn.

~Cort Belanger

She chuckled and said “It takes a lot of practice. To learn, my father sat me on a stool, handed me the cleaver and tofu, and showed me exactly three times what he expected. So I did just that until I could do it the same way every time.” She took a bite and looked at him for a moment while she chewed. “Ten hours a day, everyday, for three weeks. But I learned.”

Dorma Fen

He stared at her and then blinked. And then Cort chuckled. “You know, I was going to make a comment like ‘wow, ten hours!’ but then I remember how much training it takes for a full triathlon and I really can’t say anything.,” he said with a grin. “Some things just take a lot more practice than others to do well. And not chop off your fingers. I can’t say I’d be comfortable using a cleaver, but as you’ve witnessed, I’m not horrible with a knife.”

~Cort Belanger

“One should always carry a knife.” Dorma said with a grin. “In case there is cheesecake… or someone needs to be stabbed.” and she chuckled. “Wise words indeed.” She ate another bite and chewed slowly, looking at the plate and seeming to think about something. Finally she swallowed and looked up at Cort. “Do you think the Vren are being honest? Or are we being set up?”

Dorma Fen

Cort ate quietly for a moment before he inhaled deeply and focused his gaze on Dorma. “Do I think their need is genuine? Yes. That footage was real and so is the suffering. I worked amongst situations like that enough to know it when I see it. Only a people truly desperate would do what the Vren are doing. I think it’s possible they may have opened diplomatic relations with the Federation at some point but it would have taken a lot longer had it not been for this crisis.”

“But am I concerned? Yes. This cult of Imog may be small but they could do a lot of harm in a situation like this. And not only could whatever they do affect the aid their people receive, but people here could be in the line of fire. Eela and I talked about it. This is where I’m relying on her experience with the Diplomatic Corps. Hell, she’s done first contacts with Starfleet too. Her stance is that whatever else might be true, Kek is genuine and can be trusted.” His fingers tightened around the chopsticks. “I’m trusting in that, and trusting her, because I’ve seen first hand what happens when things like this go wrong. I don’t recommend it,” he said flatly before scooping a bit of the plain rice.

~Cort Belanger

“Have you dealt with the Vren yet? Seen them? Hyrushi described them as bipedal frogs. But he and I are Japanese, and we have legends and myths of demon frogas walking like men.” and she visibly shuddered slightly. “They were never the good guys, I can tell you that.”

Dorma Fen