Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in Government Tower - The Gatekeepes Are Locking The Gates

Posted by Civilian Dorma Fen (Governor’s Assistant) in Government Tower - The Gatekeepes Are Locking The Gates

Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in Government Tower - The Gatekeepes Are Locking The Gates
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Cort nodded. “What Eela said about the bug in her apartment is definitely triggering little alarm bells. I mean that’s a bold move for anyone, even if she’s still fairly new. She’s made it very clear she won’t tolerate any bullshit from people, so… yeah. I’m all for sticking together.”

He leaned back in his seat, drawing a fingertip up and down the handle of his mug. Cort was trying really hard to stay focused on the needs of the offices and the colony, but he was still processing the news.

Elema gazed at her friend and colleague intently. “You too, huh?”

He looked at the three women and shook his head, his gaze settling on Dorma. “Elema and I just had dinner with the man at Dasca’s just over a week ago. It’s going to be a weird day.”

“To go along with the rest of them,” Watts said. An understatement. “Okay, so next steps. Obviously, as far as the embassy goes, we have to wait until the news hits and we need to give Mathis a hot minute to breathe. But right now, what’s the next the next concern?”

~Dasca’s Staff

“Next is scheduling. I propose we cancel everything for the next few days, save for the ones that absolutely have to happen.” Dorma said. “That will give them time to meet with authorities as needed and deal with the Vren more directly.” She cursed softly in Japanese and then said “And we can probably expect our new CIA folks to get involved. So far we have a decent relationship, but if anyone gets the spooks in their office, we call everybody to put up a united front and make sure all of us are on the same page. Agreed?”

Dorma Fen

“Definitely,” Cort said. “No one is questioned by anyone alone. As far as scheduling goes, I can’t see anything outside of critical meetings with any of the cabinet, Captain McBride, Mathis or the Vren. In all honesty, if others are trying to push for a meeting now I’d be highly suspicious of their motives.”

“Agreed wholeheartedly.” Dorma said flatly.

“What about the press? The colony is going to be chaos when this hits,” Watts said.

“Well them, ‘no comment at this time’ and refer them to Caputo, who will have made the announcement. I can’t see Dasca making any sort of statement for awhile, if at all, but I don’t know about the Governor. I could see him saying something to reassure everyone,” Cort said, looking to Dorma.

~Dasca’s Staff

“He will probably wait and see what the reaction is, but if it seems to be going bad, he will certainly say something.” Dorma said “And knowing him, he is already wrriting it. I just hope the police have some ideas at least to motive by the time the public gets ahold of this.” She took a deep breath and then said “Okay. What’s next?” and she looked around the room at the ‘team’.

Dorma Fen

Cort, Elema and Sherri exchanged a significant look, one where they knew they were all thinking the same thing but weren’t sure how to bring it up. They were all too professional to gossip and this wasn’t what it was at all. No, this was a genuine concern, even if it was a delicate topic.

Cort focused on Elema. “Did you pick up anything from Eela?” he said softly.

Sreer shook her head. “Just concern for us, but other than that, she was blank and not in a shielding her mind way.” Mental shields had a distinct feel.

“So it wasn’t just me…” Sherri said, all but slumping in her chair. She was no empath, but she was excellent at deciphering people’s moods. It’s what helped her navigate all the tricky territory of being both Starfleet and working for civilian government leader. Nuance was sometimes everything.

Cort stroked his beard and glanced at Dorma. “She’s not herself, that’s for damn sure, and it’s perhaps understandable, but it’s still worrisome. This is not like before, when her ex showed up. That was about her and it was easier to convince her to let us handle things. But I know her too well, and she wants to do something so much that it could get her into trouble. But between the Governor, her daughter, and her friends, I do think they can dissuade her from jumping back into the fray prematurely. I hope.”

~Dasca’s Staff

“She’s in shock.” Dorma said as if stating ‘Water is wet.’. “She has… had… has feelings for Jones. We all know it, and it’s not like they tried too hard to hide it. The fact she wasn’t feeling anything is shock, which in this case is pretty understandable.”

Dorma looked around the table and shrugged. “When you work for an empath, you learn a lot about emotional responses and anticipating certain behaviors.”

Dorma Fen

Elema nodded. “We know she’s in shock,” she said softly. “It’s not so much that as being able to anticipate what she needs, which is a lot of our jobs. It’s that when she does start feeling things again, we need to be prepared for that being more… intense than it might otherwise be for her.” Dasca’s emotional outbursts were all something they were used to, and few people had yet to see the intensity her anger could take. “What we’re mindful of is how we can make sure that when that moment comes, it’s not something that will have a detrimental impact on her position, her reputation, any of it.”

Cort folded his arms on the table. “We’re used to navigating the ups and downs, and outside of her office she’s pretty good at maintaining a level front, which I would expect of a Starfleet officer of her experience. But there are certain realities that she deals with, Dorma, that are more complicated than most people realize. She’s been very open about it with us, and we’ve had a unspoken agreement that we won’t take it personally, but others won’t necessarily understand the way we do. I’m concerned about her wellbeing- all of it- including her physical health. And yes, there is a process we all have to go through here to deal with this tragic event, and that’s going to look like a lot of different things, but we’re just being mindful of our experiences with her thus far and how we can best support her. Because let’s be real, this will spill out into everything else.” He gazed intently at Dorma. “And if you’re right about this being worse than it seems or going sideways, then it’s going to explode in ways we’re trying to anticipate. For her sake and for the Governor’s.”

Sherri gave a sombre nod, having personal experience with this after the whole scandal with Starfleet revealed itself. She had been in the thick of it.

~Dasca’s Staff

Dotma thought long and hard for a moment. She then took a deep breath and said “Ok, then.” and exhaled slowly. “So for Captain Dasca, we go to preliminary damage control. Until she can process the event, we have to keep her from too much scrutiny. Limit her exposure to the public. Make sure that she is never alone with certain factions like the Vren.” and she sighed heavily. What a nightmare that would be… the Lieutenant Governor losing her shit in front of the Vren. The thought made her slightly nauseous. She filled a glass with water and drank some. “And make sure she stays away from the media. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

Dorma Fen

Cort nodded and gave Dorma a grateful, if tiny, smile. “Between all of us and the Governor, I think we can manage that. She has a good rapport with the press at this point and we don’t want to risk that. She had mentioned to me that she was going to talk to Caputo about some personal PR issues, so it might all work out together if Caputo will already be managing this situation. But this is why I will do my best to discourage her from having meetings outside a very select group of people. Aside from that, we’ll have to reply on others to help her stay clear if issues when she’s not at work.”

“Fortunately we have Captain McBride to handle Starfleet operations so at least we can try to keep decision makign there off her plate for a bit,” Watts said.

“Anything else you can think of that we need to be considering?” Elema asked Fen.

~Dasca’s Staff

For a brief moment Dorma had a mental vision of the four of them, dressed all in black, leaping across the Oed rooftops and quietly eliminating the threats to their charges like assassins of old. The thought brought a smile to her face and she said “No. Nothing at the moment. But I think if wr all work from here, we will save a lot of time and headache. Wr have secured comms from all the offices and dedicated lines to police, CCDA, Star Fleet, and the Embassy. We also have the entire floor to ourselves. What do you think?” she asked the group.

Dorma Fen