Posted by Civilian Elijah Mercer (Professor / Scientific Advisor) in Extending an Olive Branch

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Extending an Olive Branch

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Extending an Olive Branch
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Acknowledging the responses he conveyed his appreciation, stating, “Thank you all for your responses. I eagerly anticipate our meeting at 1500.”

As he dispatched the message, Elijah braced himself for the forthcoming interaction. While he had previous experience in JAG hearings, usually from the perspective of an advocate, this particular situation heightened his nerves. The realisation dawned that he now faced the challenging task of extending sincere apologies.

Observing the clock, he swiftly departed, ensuring he allowed ample time for the necessary procedures, aiming to be in position and ready for their arrival.

Upon reaching his destination, he promptly presented his UFP identification to the vigilant security personnel stationed at the main entrance, providing a concise explanation of his purpose. To his satisfaction, this time he was anticipated, and he was efficiently guided through the intricate passageways until he found himself within the confines of the conference room. Prior information had been imparted that the passes he now possessed were closely monitored, accompanied by a subtle warning about the consequences of straying from the designated areas.

Expressing gratitude, he voiced a simple “Thank you” as the doors closed behind the departing escort, effectively sealing his fate within the confines of the conference room.

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

A tall and lean Human male strode in next, his pale blue eyes taking in the room and Mercer. He wore a Starfleet uniform with four pips. He ran a hand over a mop of brown hair just tamed into submission enough to meet regulations and exhaled. “Mr. Mercer, Jonathan McBride,” he greeted lightly, extending a hand out to him.

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Elijah rose gracefully as the doors parted, revealing Captain McBride and Lt. Cmdr. Fayth. He noted Lt. Cmdr. Fayth’s presence with satisfaction, recognizing her as someone significantly affected by the recent incursion. The Captain, whom Eli had not encountered before, possessed a commanding stature, tall and lean, with pale blue eyes that keenly observed his surroundings. Clad in a Starfleet uniform adorned with four pips, he sported a mop of brown hair, neatly complying with regulations.

Expressing gratitude, Eli extended a handshake to the Captain. “Thank you for granting me this audience. I believe we may have a few more yet to arrive,” he conveyed, his tone measured and composed.

“Indeed,” Jonathan said. “Please have a seat.”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth was right behind McBride in entering. Her black eyes scanned the room to see if anyone else had arrived, though she could already feel from the presences that no one had, but they were near. She took a seat to the left and one down of where she usually sat for senior staff meetings. Things always shifted a bit when the Lt. Governor was in attendance. She set her PaDD down on the table, answering a few brief requests for medication or treatment orders from the staff at Sacred Heart, before this meeting got started.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Tannenn walked in after Fayth and McBride, she offered up a a smile of greeting to everyone, she walked around the table and nodded at the seat next to Sharah Fayth, “Mind if I join you here?” she asked softly so she didn’t interrupt McBride’s conversation with Eli.

LtCmdr Keen
Chief Star Fleet Science Officer

Sharah smiled at her, “Of course,” and turned her chair to politely face the woman. “This is such a mess.” She commented quietly to the woman, so as not to be over heard. She shook her head again, “Well, welcome to Oed V Cmdr Keen. It is never dull and never easy, nor routine.” The words might be slightly amusing if she wasn’t so serious.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

Nia slipped in, being a part of the experimental working group but also wanting to understand the process going forward. Since everyone was invited, she saw her presence as welcome, even if she was the more junior officer here. She gave McBride and Keen each a crisp nod of her head in turn and took a seat.

Lt. Nia Harmon, Scientist

“Captain Dasca will be here momentarily. Please make yourselves comfortable. Grab a drink if you need it. I’m not sure how long this meeting will take, but I doubt we’ll be leaving until there is a clear plan in place for how we good forward,” McBride said, taking a seat to the left of the head of the table where Dasca would sit.

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

As the diverse group of individuals gathered, Elijah couldn’t help but feel a mixture of nervousness and hopefulness. The array of ranks and characters present painted a positive picture, suggesting that various perspectives would be respected during the meeting. Elijah anticipated and earnestly desired the opportunity to offer a sincere apology. While he couldn’t fully explain the situation himself, he was determined to make sense of what happened. He wanted to extend apologies to those who were impacted by any investigation or disruption. More importantly, he saw this as a crucial step in the process of reconciliation—a chance to find a way forward.

Observing the assembling group, Elijah felt a sense of anticipation as they awaited the arrival of Dasca.

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

As those that knew her would attest, Eela Dasca was a woman of a great many nuanced emotions. When she allowed her emotions to be visible (which was not always a choice, despite all her years as a therapist and in leadership), outright anger was rarely the first option. More than likely, others would experience shades of frustration- the emotion that crops up when things don’t go as planned somehow. As she strode through the Complex, her go-to emotion was irritation.

The door opened and Eela Dasca stepped in, her strides more sure than her earliest visits to these conference rooms. Dressed in a perfectly tailored midnight blue suit with a vibrantly coloured floral blouse visible from the open jacket, there was the unmistakable bearing of a former commanding officer. Forty years in Starfleet was hard to shake when it came to your posture and stride, even though the accident that forced her to retire certainly had tried over the last several years.

Long black hair with subtle streaks of silver was gathered in a loose braid over one shoulder, the Haliian surveyed the room, her hazel eyes missing little and her empathic abilities often catching the remainder.

She gave a subtle nod to McBride as she set her black leather-like work bag on a small table at the front and moved to the head of the table. Hands resting on the back, she sighed. It was better than glaring. “You know, if I had latinum for every time something went unexpectedly wrong around here I could retire to some resort planet and live a life of luxury. And then probably die of boredom,” she quipped before pulling out the chair and taking a careful seat, the subtle whir of her anti-grav brace working to ease the transition.

“This is how it’s going to go,” she said firmly, glancing around the table. “I’m going to hear about how this all went down, and then we’re going to figure out how big a problem it actually is before we sort out what the hell we’re going to do about it.” Dasca turned to Mercer. “Professor Mercer. You first. Walk us through what happened and spare no detail. Those details might matter.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Elijah nodded, the Captain was not an Enigma to him and prior to the meeting had brushed up on the people whom he would be meeting with and Captain Dasca held an impressive history, he expected that she would not be Captain forever. “Thank you Captain and of course, I will try and be direct and informative.” he gave a polite smile and began to address everyone in the room making eye contact as he spoke.

“I arrived at OED V the same morning as the incident, I was shown to my apartment and was given a familiarisation pack as expected by the operations officer, though she did mention that it would be a good idea to explore OED first-hand, she seemed to know a lot about my history and seemed to enjoy divulging me in her knowledge of my work which I felt was a nice welcome and that she was just doing her job, though the more I think about it she seemed to know too much as if it was rehearsed but perhaps that’s not odd in itself I suppose. She also recommended some particular spots of interest including the science complex before departing” he explained. So far nothing should have been a shock to anyone.

“I found myself lulling over the facilities of OED and with my science background and the role I would be assuming I decided to take the recommendation from the officer and become acquainted with my surroundings. I took the transport system to the complex, scanned in as expected and was ushered through security, I must admit I had no expectations but I felt that perhaps It was all too simple, I had free reign and while it did spark some internal red flags I summarised my security clearances had already been changed. From my application and interview before coming to OED I remembered briefly speaking to Lieutenant Commander Tannenn Keen, I had also seen her lecture once or twice at the science exchange fairs on Mars so I asked the computer if she had scanned in and to direct me to her. It obliged and I followed the signage, it wasn’t until I was standing in the doorway of the science lab that things changed, I must apologise here for my use of humour, a defensive mechanism but inappropriately deployed given the situation.”

Elihah paused to take a quick drink of his water “I was quickly escorted by Lieutenant Commander Fayth who conducted some initial enquiries before I met with the governor. I want to highlight the fact that up to this point, I had little to no contact with any Starfleet personnel, again perhaps a red flag that the area I was in was not to be, but the one or two I encountered such as the Lieutenant Commander here conducted themselves professionally and by the book, even if my ego was a little bruised. Once I became more aware of what my activities had caused I felt it prudent to reach out to you, to help in any way and provide an account for your investigations. I had no intentions of breaking rules, I simply wanted as any eager professional would to hit the floor running, in my eagerness and thirst for discovery I allowed myself to become blind to obvious signs of restriction.”

OOC: if there is anything that you think does not fit the narrative we are portraying please let me know via DM and I can make amendments.

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

Dasca nodded and looked around the table. “Anyone else have anything they want to add?”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

The only people who knew anything significant about Lt Cmdr Fayth in that room was Cpt McBride and Cpt Dasca. All anyone else knew was what they could surmise. She was a Lt Cmdr, Betazoid, and a doctor. Nothing about this felt right to her, ignoring her own feelings, things were pinging at her senses. She looked Dasca and McBride across from her. “I’ve already given you my account, but I’ll restate it. I was with the lab team in a secured and locked lab. Dr Mercer entered, and putting aside for a moment his ability to walk unaccompanied through our complex, I have no idea how he managed to get past our additional locks and protocols for the lab. He commented on the results showing on the display screen. Then introduced himself as someone I know him not to be, and as a science advisor. He floundered some when I called him on it. He said he had caught up on everything and was there to advise and the best way to do that was in person. I asked everyone in the room, and no one claimed to know who he was. Though Mr. McKenzie did say he had heard of Dr Mercer as a new professor at the University. He then suggested Dr Mercer leave and wait for an invite because he was breaking all kinds of diplomatic protocols and regulations.”

“Then I escorted Dr Mercer to the security office where I proceeded to double check his identity through a biometric and medical scan. I then contacted the Governor’s office to determine if this was some sort of miscommunication. It was not. At the request of the Governor’s office I had Star Fleet security escort Dr Mercer to the government tower and to the Governor’s office. Then I called both of you.”

Fayth took a deep breath and looked at Dasca and McBride for a very long moment before looking at Mercer. “You are retired. Your credentials would have been limited, and you’ve only been retired a couple of weeks. So you are neither too old nor out of touch to remember security protocols. You should have stopped when you realized. I can’t help but wonder why you didn’t. What really bothers me is this. You came here as a civilian. You had already processed out of the fleet before you left Earth and grabbed a transport for Oed and taken a job here. So why would an operations officer meet you with a familiarization packet? We are far too busy to run special errands for retired personnel. And if we are going that far as to accomodate you, you would have been required to get a Fleet medical exam when you arrived before being cleared to the rest of the colony. SOP here. You were never listed on any intake list for us. I checked. Did it not strike you as odd that a Fleet officer was welcoming a civilian?”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Dasca exchanged a look with McBride before shifting her intense gaze back to Mercer. “By all means, I’m curious to know as well.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Elijah listened attentively to the lieutenant commander’s account of the incident. He couldn’t shake the notion that she could benefit from some holodeck time to alleviate the tension she carried, but now wasn’t the appropriate moment to suggest such a remedy. In his mind, he mulled over the question posed to him, but found himself coming up empty-handed. The truth was, he didn’t have an answer.

“I must admit, and shamefully so, I don’t have an answer,” he confessed. “I can’t quite grasp why a Starfleet officer would welcome me in such a manner. Upon reflection, I could speculate it was an old professional courtesy, though as you’ve pointed out, such gestures don’t seem to align with the norms here.” While he acknowledged the lieutenant commander’s perspective, he found her tone to be somewhat unfair.

“In addition, I can offer an explanation for my misrecollection of the name,” he continued. “Shortly before our encounter, I had conversed with Commander Loughty, a professional acquaintance. Given the stress of a long trip and a hostile situation, I was admittedly out of sorts. I’m human, and I made a mistake. I can only offer my sincerest apologies once more.” Remaining objective, he maintained a detached demeanor. “I can’t help but wonder who the operations officer might be.”

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

“A question for sure,” Dasca said, exchanging a glance with McBride before the surveyed the table again.

“On any given day on this colony and in orbit, there are twenty to twenty-five thousand Starfleet personnel stationed at Oed or whose ship is in orbit for whatever reason. Things are going to happen and it’s mine and Captain McBride’s job to make sure that none of that affects Oed in a negative way. On the surface, this does seem like a simple mistake. A mix-up somewhere that needs to be rectified. Some of you are new here and that means that you haven’t been privy to some of the challenges myself and others have faced trying to move forward here on Oed. So in the interests of making sure everyone is on the same page, I’m going to explain exactly why this situation is such a mess, and not just for those of us in this room.”

Eela drummed her fingers on the table for a moment. “On my third day here, there was an incident with some Starfleet security officers at the House Duroc Embassy. The Klingons not only are important allies here on Oed, but the House works with Starfleet and the CCDA to provide protect to Oed. This incident led to a very candid conversation between myself and Lord Duroc. We managed to sort things out, but what I walked away with was an understanding that something bigger was going on. The instigator of the incident turned out to be involved in a much bigger situation that was external to Oed. It involved multiple Starfleet officers and seemed to be led by a Starfleet Admiral. My investigation led to extensive evidence being turned over to the Judge Advocate General’s office and all officers involved are currently undergoing courts martial for a long list of charges.” Her tone hardened. “Suffice to say it has become something of a scandal and I made my stance about it very clear at the time in the form of a press release. You are all free to read it.”

She was not done. “Then around the same time, we had a different Admiral show up at Sacred Heart Hospital in the wake of an isolated attack on one of our cabinet members. Said admiral tried to bully staff into being allowed access to patients that were not Starfleet and had nothing to do with him. That behaviour was not tolerated and he was removed.”

“Then, just recently, we have had people showing up hoping to be here to meet the Vren. Diplomats pushing their weight around. Admirals who feel snubbed they didn’t get a personal invite.” She stared hard at Mercer. “Even if you do have the best intentions, I hope you can understand that, retired or not, we are wary of Starfleet Brass showing up and causing issues. Individuals from the brass seem to misunderstand how things work here, and seem to go over my head as Commander-in-Chief because I am retired and my rank was only Captain. Now, I do believe that you didn’t intend harm, but so much of the work we are doing here on Oed is about optics. It’s about how the people perceive Starfleet’s relationship with the colony, its agencies, and its people. People like myself, and Captain McBride, and Commander Fayth here have all been working extraordinary hard to make things better and I will not have any of that undone. And I will certainly not allow the work we are doing with the Vren to be at all compromised because of a simple error, should that prove to be all this is. Do I make myself very clear?” she said, gazing around the room. It was not a dressing down, but one could imagine how Captain Dasca would be in such a situation. She was focused and articulate, but it was also clear that under the surface she was more than a little angry.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.