Posted by Lieutenant Nia Harmon (Scientist) in Extending an Olive Branch

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

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Extending an Olive Branch
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

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.

Tannenn had to stamp down hard on her initial reaction to Dasca’s last statement. “If I may?” she asked trying to keep her tone light and respectful, “I have only been here less than a week myself. I was not told of any of the issues that were just mentioned. I was told I was taking over from Commander Woods, as he had a transfer. I was told I will be working with crew on a patrol ship. I was told the OED V has it’s quirks and oddities but no description of the problems you’ve had. I can’t help but feel a cliff’s notes at the least should be told to folks coming in newly. That is for you to decide however.” Tannenn said keeping her voice even and respectful, though some of her confusion was likely bleeding through, why hadn’t she been brought up to speed on the preciousness of the situation here? She would keep her musings to herself unless asked for further opinion.

LtCmdr Keen
Chief Star Fleet Science Officer
OED V

“At an everyday operational level, there’s been nothing to worry about lately, aside from preparing for the Vren arrival, which understandably has taken up a great deal of energy and attention,” McBride said. “For most departments, their everyday operations as they interact with their civilian counterparts have been running smooth, because we’ve made it so. The issues that Captain Dasca is describing are on an upper level. Oed has been very public about interference from outside agencies and what that will result in. But for everyday Starfleet operations, it’s not something we have to focus our energy on. However, when I was asked if Starfleet would host a classified project in our science department because it required that level of security, I knew that we’d have to be mindful of how we proceeded. I did warn you, Commander, Oed’s nuances were complicated. Here is one of them that we couldn’t predict.” A retired ‘Commodore’ turned professor causing security issues had not been a situation they had anticipated, but at this point who could anticipate anything that Oed threw at them? “The key is to adapt to the situation at hand, and we will do that, but that does not erase the Lieutenant Governor’s concerns about Starfleet’s ability to fulfill its duty to Oed, even if only a few people will ever know about this incident.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

“If I may intercede for a moment,” Elijah spoke up, his tone measured and respectful. “I believe it’s healthy for this conversation to unfold openly, although I understand if there are certain aspects that I shouldn’t be privy to. If you’d prefer, I can excuse myself early to allow for those discussions to take place in confidence. However, in the spirit of goodwill and trust, I also acknowledge that Starfleet brass, while influential, are as much enablers as they are hindrances.”

He paused, ensuring his words carried the weight of sincerity. “Whether they’d like to admit it or not, it’s you, the Captains and Commanders, who shape and influence how Starfleet is perceived. I understand your concerns about me and my intentions. Please know they were not those of a retired flag officer, but rather of a scientist eager to contribute his skills and expertise for the greater good.”

“You are correct Captain, adaptation is key here,” he continued, his gaze sweeping across the room. “OED operates outside of the typical Federation frameworks, and Starfleet, as its extension, holds everything to such high stakes. This, in itself, could be a problem. Without veering too far from the matter at hand, the discretion of this gathering and the government will afford us all the opportunity to learn lessons, including myself, and to see where the investigation leads us.”

Elijah’s gaze softened as he surveyed the room, his expression thoughtful. “I see before me capable and dedicated officers, and I sense the tension in the air. If one incident can evoke such a response, perhaps it’s not solely a matter of protocols or procedures, but of culture and environment.”

“I’ll conclude with something I often told my cadets, a lesson passed down to me by my academy trainer,” Elijah continued, his voice carrying a note of solemnity. “Remember that while your mission is paramount, your humanity is your greatest strength. In the face of tension and rigid cultures, let empathy guide your actions, not hostility. For every challenge encountered, see an opportunity for growth, understanding, and cooperation. Your journey is not solely defined by the threats we face, but by the empathy and unity we exhibit in overcoming them.”

He paused, reflecting on the words he was about to share. “I’m sorry, but I’m a bit of a sucker for historical figures, and I believe Martin Luther King put it best: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’”

A warm smile graced his lips. “What I’m trying to convey is that sometimes, it’s worth it to live and let live, the investigation will reveal what happened perhaps it was a simple error and the likelihood is that these events were not linked, Starfleet headquarters will store your reports and as they typically do move onto the next report, in the unlikely event that they are linked and something greater is at fowl I know that you all here in this room and the colonial authorities will find a solution that respects both parties, while I acknowledge the rocky history I must also acknowledge that the fact Starfleet is still operating here its because of you. Not the brass, it doesn’t take someone who has been here two days or two years to see that.”

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

Sharah could not believe the audacity. The tension in the room filtered through her, drawing in the same feelings across the colony amplifying the turmoil filling her. “Let me give you another quote from the wise Dr. King, ‘Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.’” She smiled slightly, “I don’t doubt you mean the best Dr. Mercer, by attempting to teach and advise us, but out of everyone in this room, I have been on Oed the longest. You have no idea what we have been through, what steps we have taken, the work and toil that has been put in. You have no idea of the hardships the residents of Oed have gone through. You are looking at it from an academic point of view and the rose colored glasses of Federation Utopian ideals. I challenge you instead to go out into the colony, meet people, talk to them, ask them why they are wary. Go to the Oed museum and learn their history, read the archives at the library, read the statement Gov. Hyrushi and Lt Gov Dasca issued to the Federation Council. Really break it down and research the causes of each part. Then, and only then you might begin to understand why a breach like this is so detrimental to the people of Oed.” Dasca would notice it before anyone else. The massive storm of emotions on the colony were beginning to seep out of Fayth.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Oh, Eela felt it and it was mirroring some of her own feelings. Eela held her hands up before her, closing her eyes. It did not matter that she was in a room full of people, if she didn’t take a moment to breathe, she would do something she might regret. “I think we all best take a quick break. Take a walk, grab a beverage, whatever. We will meet back here in five minutes,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Aye, Cpt.” Fayth said quietly. She shared a long look with Dasca and then McBride. She stood, pushing her chair back with careful control and stepped out into the corridor.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Elijah found himself growing weary of the Lieutenant Commander’s attitude. Her narrow view that she and OED were the sole sufferers displayed a lack of perspective and bordered on unprofessionalism. Outbursts like these were precisely what he had hoped to avoid. He had entered the meeting with nothing but apologies and a genuine desire to reconcile, yet once again encountered self-centered attitudes that seemed to plague OED and its officers.

The recurring theme of ‘I’m hard done by’ was disconcerting. While he had endured his own hardships and experienced profound loss, Elijah was not here to engage in a competition of sorrows. Instead, he sought to find a way forward. The lingering pain of Wolf 359, the dominion war, countless of friends lost or missing resurfaced, reminding him of why he had never pursued a family and why he had dedicated himself to making the Federation and Starfleet better in the twilight of his career as a diplomatic observer.

“I believe a break is a wise suggestion, Captain,” Elijah remarked, his eyes betraying the pain he carried within.

Doctor Elijah Mercer
Professor / Scientific Advisor
Oed V

When Dasca had said ‘Do I make myself very clear?’ Nia had expected the next responses form any of them to be ‘Yes, Ma’am’ or ‘Yes, Captain’. She had been about to do so herself, out of respect for the woman who was in charge of more than just this meeting when things… devolved. Harmon was the most junior officer here, but she was hardly inexperienced. In fact, she too had worked with cadets, but practically, on a starship during their cadet cruises. It was where they took what they had learned in the classroom and reality honed that information into practical experience. More often than not it was shocking for many of the cadets.

She herself was not a cadet and resented being treated like one. But one look at Dasca’s resigned form and Harmon just quietly left the meeting room, and wandered slowly in the corridor trying to make sense of the whole situation.

Lt. Nia Harmon, Scientist

Tannenn nodded her head as she took in McBride’s face and the governor’s. “Thank you for the break hopefully things can go forward in a calm manner when we return.” she got up in a smooth motion and followed the others into the corridor. She was however taken aback on how Fayth was treating Mercer like he was an enemy, not to be trusted, nor given an inch of reprieve after his apologies had been made and his offer of insights. She didn’t know if there was a personal issue that was bothering Sharah and she was unintentionally taking out frustrations on Mercer or if it was something else entirely. Either way, the break would hopefully give everyone a chance to regain some calm and come back to the table with willingness to work together for a positive resolution.

LtCmdr Keen
Chief Star Fleet Science Officer
OED V