Posted by Civilian Jeannette Mathis (Federation Ambassador) in TMODJ- Diplomatic Complications

Posted by Civilian Griget Kek (Vren Ambassador) in TMODJ- Diplomatic Complications

Posted by Civilian Jeannette Mathis (Federation Ambassador) in TMODJ- Diplomatic Complications
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Jeanette sat in her office after receiving Dasca’s message. Cryptic though it was, she understood that everything was in flux, and while she appreciated that her and the governor had wanted to spare her this task, inevitably it was going to fall to someone likely closer to the situation. She made the most sense as she and Kek had a rapport, but this was not your average call between ambassadors. No, this was going to be more mess to add to the rest and she had no idea how Griget Kek would respond.

She had any response from the Vren to Oed’s request to call put through to her and waited.

~Jeannette Mathis, Federation Ambassador

Thirty minutes later…

The screen came to life and revealed the colorful ambition face of Vren Ambassador Griget Kek. He inclined his head and said “Madame Ambassador Mathis. It is a pleasure to speak with you, although I am a being some confused. I am thinking… I thought… that we were to be.meeting this afternoon?”

Kek, Vren Ambassador

She nodded. “We were, yes,” she said quietly, trying to maintain some composure, but she also knew that she probably looked… well, not great right now. Oh well, such were the circumstances. “There has been a…” How the hell did she even describe it? An ‘incident’ seemed too innocuous for the terribleness that had landed upon them, but Jean also wanted to be careful not to escalate any anxieties.

She shook her head, trying to push the painful swell of emotion that hit her stomach. “Something happened this morning and it will cause delays to our talks while things are investigated and…” This was somehow worse than talking to Dash’s sister. At there, she had had Dasca with her, but she had never had to deliver this type of news to a fellow ambassador she was engaged in diplomacy with. “My aide, Dashiel Jones, was found dead this morning, Ambassador. And as you can imagine, it’s been… a lot to deal with.”

Jeannette Mathis, Federation Ambassador

There was significant pause, but Kek never looked away or turned to speak to anyone else. He simply looked at Mathis with unblinking eyes for almost a minute before speaking.

“Madame Ambassador, on behalf of myself and the Vren Assembly, please accepting our most sincerest condolences.” His head tilted slightly to the side. “You said ‘investigated’. I take it this wasn’t being a natural circumstance?” His voice was heavy with the weight of the implications.

Kek, Vren Ambassador

Jeannette shook her head. “No, it was not. The Oed Police are handling the initial investigation but other bodies on the planet are likely already involved as well. The government will be making a statement to the public soon but we wanted to give you a heads up first.”

She leaned forward towards the screen. “We have been building a trust between us for a little while now. You know me to be a straight forward person, I hope, so I need you to know my sincerity when I say what I’m about to.”

Mathis paused and gathered all her certainty borne from her deep intuition, the same that told her hours earlier that her world had been turned upside down. It showed up as a fierceness on her face that was unusual thus far in their dealings. Normally she was even and calm. “There will be those that will use this tragedy as an opportunity to sow discord, to distract us from the work we are here to do. I will not let that happen. The timing is far too coincidental for my liking and in the past I’ve always trusted my instincts. My instincts tell me that no matter what, you and I must not let any resulting chaos derail what needs to happen here, for Oed’s sake, and for your people. I know without a doubt that that is what Dashiel would have wanted. He was committed to this work and so very optimistic about your people reaching out, and what that could mean for diplomatic relations going forward.”

Jeannette Mathis, Federation Ambassador

Kek was silent for some time, not moving. Only the intermittent blinking if his eyes showed he was more than a picture. Finally, though, he spoke; taking great pains to ensure his words were correct and his meaning clear.

“Ambassador. I believe… that… allowing these talks to continue… and be succesful… in spite of this… tragedy… would be… the… most… no… best… way… for the Vren to honor his memory.” He took a breath. “The Vren believe that to give one’s whole being to a cause is to give it a spirit. If your aide was killed because of these negotiations… then he gave his whole being to it. Therefore… the cause is now something to be respected that much more. The Vren are obligated to treat it as an honored spirit. And we will. And we will remember Mr. Jones and his sacrifice. Always.”

Kek, Vren Ambassador

Jean nodded slowly, emotion unexpectedly gracing her face. “Thank you. I appreciate that greatly. And to be clear, I don’t know if his death has anything to do with anything we are doing, and we must let the investigators do what they need to, but I don’t want us to be surprised by any connections that could come up. I think it would be unwise to ignore any possibilities right now until we have more information.”

She paused and then continued. “Dashiel was a member of my family, and it is a difficult loss for us. I need a day or so before I’ll be able to do anything and right now, my focus needs to be on my family. But I would like us to meet sooner rather than later, so in a couple days, I’d like to have the meeting we were supposed to today. I won’t speak for the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, and this loss is equally hard for Captain Dasca, but I will assume that someone from Oed’s government will also be present. Let’s consider this arrangement tentative until I’ve spoken again with the others, but I’d feel better if we end this conversation with a plan we are both confident about.”

Jeannette Mathis, Federation Ambassador

Kek thought for a moment and then said “Your need for time is understandable, Ambassador. But I would be remiss if I did not try to move things along somewhat. May we agree to the day after tomorrow? Simply pushing back the schedule in it’s entirety will be much more palatable to the Vren Assemby than postponing and then recreating the meetings. Will that give enough time to process?” In Kek’s mind, it would also give the investigation some time to exclude his people from involvement; although he kept that to himself.

Kek, Vren Ambassador