Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in Aria’s Kitchen- Breakfast

Posted by Civilian Dorma Fen (Governor’s Assistant) in Aria’s Kitchen- Breakfast

Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in Aria’s Kitchen- Breakfast
Posted by… suppressed (17) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“We can’t let that happen,” he said, equally serious. “Even if they were exceptionally cautious, these things always come out. It would destroy them and anything good that’s happening on this colony.”

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the hostess returning and offered her a light smile, ready to order as if they had not just laid down a path to ruin.

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

Aria looked at them and said “Okay, honeys. What’ll it be?” Dorma smiled and said “I would like the banana pancakes, western omelet with hasbrowns, and biscuits and gravy… but only if they are good!” Aria chuckled and said “Best in this or any other galaxy, sugar.” She looked at Cort. “And for you, baby?”

Dorma Fen

“The special for me, eggs sunny-side up, and I’ll have it with the pancakes.” Yep, not training diet approved but that jus amused him. Besides, who knew how today would go and he might as well ensure he ate a solid meal before he delved into the fray.

He waited till Aria left with their orders and looked at Dorma. “So, did you come to any conculsions after you went back to the office?”

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

Dorma shook her head. “No, but I also wanted all of us to decide next steps together.” She shook head and took a sip of coffee. “Because what happens next is going to be a… I believe the technical term is ‘clusterf^<k’… of the highest order.” and she laughed softly.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

Cort shifted his gaze towards a window, looking through it to the activity on the street. People were coming and going with only on inkling of the events that had jsut happened. The death of one man was so much more than just his death. As it should be, but each variable was weighty and subject to exploding. He braced his elbows on the table, folding his hands and resting his chin atop his fingers. “Been there, done that,” he said, his tone sombre and regretful.

“It’s important we just remember to breathe. Take small breaks when we can. The next days aren’t going to get easier, as you’ve alluded to, but in my experience it’s helpful to find that balance between in the trenches and also having a bit of space from it all. Not detachment, but something akin to it.” He snorted. “Which is nearly impossible under the circumstances, but worth trying.”

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

“And in that vein… here we are.” She looked at him and said “Thinknwe should invite the girls? Or will that just make it work in a different office?” and she shook her head. It was going to be a hard few days going forward. Bit Dorma was confident the four of them would weather the storm.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

“Nah, we just set a rule that we have to go at least five minutes at a time without talking about work,” he said with a smirk. “Besides, I can’t see us being able to do this much in the next while. Might at well take advantage of the opportunity.” Cort pulled out his calm and sent a quick message to Sherri and Elema. “There. We’ll see where they’re at.”

He sipped on his coffee and leaned back, stretching his arms. “Speaking of taking opportunities, I really need to get in a workout today. The nice part about being so close to Dasca’s place is that there’s a pool in the building she lets me use when I can’t make it to the one in the building next to mine.”

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

“I did a light workout this morning. It really helped.” Dorma said with a smile. “Not as much as this coffee, mind you.” and she looked at the cup. “Seriously… this is amazing.” and she took another drink.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s ide

“It’s good,” he said with a nod. “Though I still really like the coffee at the Quill. Eela got me hooked on it,” he said with a chuckle. His comm buzzed and he looked it over and smiled. “Elema is on her way. Sherri said she’d drop in for coffee.”

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

“Good.” Dorma said. She waved Aria down and said “I’m sorry. We are going to have two more joining us. Can we get two waters and a coffee?” Aria smiled and said “Sure thing, hun. And I’ll bring y’all some fresh biscuits, homemade butter and preserves, too.” and she turned and walked into the kitchen.

Dorma looked out the windo and said “This too shall pass… right?” and then she sighed heavily.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

He studied her for a moment and took a chance, reaching out and resting his fingertips on her wrist. “Yes. As everything does,” Cort said gently. “But there are many pieces that are hard right now. All we can do is tackle each one in turn, even if we’re dealing with several of them in one day. We just need to stick together, right?”

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

Dorma didn’t seem to notice the touch and just nodded. She then turned back to him, adjusting so the contact was broken; but whether or not that was intentional was impossible to discern. “You are quite right, Cort. And as long as we have the team, I know we can handle anything that gets thrown our way.”

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

He smiled at her, observing the shift but not ascribing any motives to her motions. At least she hadn’t reacted badly. More than anything Cort wanted Dorma to feel a part of everything. To not feel alone in the struggles of the work. But they were both more than their work and he wanted her to know in some way that she had his support, whatever that might like like in the moment.

A moment later, Elema stepped in, her purple hair a slightly crazy mess that she tamed swiftly by twisting into a loop with an elastic. “Hey, morning,” she said, pulling out a chair and plopping into it next to Dorma. “Thanks for the invite. Dalla is doing shift work right now and keeping weirder hours than I am. She came in at four am and I never can sleep through when that happens so we chatted for a few minutes before I fell back asleep. I cannot wait for this social work thesis masters to be done. Neither can she, but we’re both going to benefit.”

“And then she’ll be a fully-fledged social worker still working shifts,” Cort teased.

Elema laughed. “Don’t remind me. We’ll need a system.”

Cort & Elema

“Maybe I can call in a few favors when she is done and see about getting her a schedule where you both can have a meal together, at least.” Dorma said with a smile. “I mean, what’s the point of having friends in the Governor’s Office if you can’t use them for help every now and then, right?” and she laughed.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

Elema grinned. “I’ll let you know for sure.” It was a nice offer. Whether she would need to take Dorma up on it or not didn’t matter, it was the thought that counted and it was obvious that in recent days they had all bonded a bit more. She picked up a menu, perusing the offerings. “So, you talk to Eela this morning?” she asked Cort.

He nodded. “Yes, I’m going to go over after we eat. She’s doing better, or at least as better as she can be, but as far as I know, we’re all going to continue on like yesterday and give her whatever space she can manage.”

Elema nodded and lowered the menu. “I keep thinking about the vigil last night. Something about Ambassador Kek’s ritual stuck with me and I’m not sure I can explain it.”

Cort & Elema

Dorma looked at her and said “Stuck with you good? Or stuck with you bad? Huh… I wonder if there has any comments about it. There were enough people there…” and she pulled out a PADD and began searching.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

“Good mostly. And surprised. I mean, we don’t know tons about the Vren, but we do know they have a penchant towards rituals and we got to see that in a different context. After all, no one expected anything like that, so it was nice and something about the actual ritual he did seemed… genuine,” Elema said.

Cort nodded. “I thought so too,” he said, falling silent and then lifting his coffee mug to his lips.

Elema cast a glance at her friend’s sudden withdrawal. It wasn’t that he had any discernible emotions jumping out at her, but more that he was keeping a tight lid on them. She almost said something but the hostess came back with plates for Cort and Dorma. Elema smiled as she was greeted. “Good morning. I’ll have the garden omelet with some buttered toast. Please and thanks.”

Cort & Elema

Aria smiled and said “White, wheat, sourdough, rye, wheat-berry, or english muffin hun?”

“Oh, uh, rye, please,” Elema said.

Dorma’s eyes went wide at that moment. “Apparently you aren’t the only one who had his appearance stick with them.” she said and flipped the PaDD around. Scrolling displays from a multitude of media and social sites were all talking about it. Vids of the Ambassador were circulating like wildfire through the virtual forest; and the comments were both positive and negative. Dorma looked at the two of them and said “This is gonna add a whole other layer of busy we have on our plates now.” She looked down at her plate and said “And I don’t think there is enough on this plate for anything else.” and she laughed.

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

Cort grinned as he cut into his soft eggs.

“Or we let the Chief of Staff’s office worry about the comments and we focus on what we already have going on?” Sreer suggested with a wink. “But if Oed has shown us anything, as soon as we clear off a plate, it magically refills,” she said, chuckling.

Elema Sreer

“Truer words never spoken.” Dorma said. She ate some of her food and nodded slightly in appreciation. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” she said. After taking a drink, she said “I like that idea. We won’t get involved unless we get drug into it. At a minimum, it at least puts it off for a while.” Her comms chirped and she opened a message. “Governor confirms he will be in today.”

Dotma Fen, Governor’s Aide

“I’d have been astonished if he hadn’t been,” Cort said.

Then again, Cort didn’t know that Hyrushi had been involved in events yesterday.

A few minutes later, Elema’s meal was ready and she dug in. “Oh goodness, I didn’t realize how hungry I was till I got here. This looks amazing!”

The place was getting a bit busier but not so busy that Sherri could sneak in. Cort waved her over. Watts flopped into a chair. “Fair warning, anyone gives me any grief about caffeine and pregnancy, I might punch you,” she said with a lopsided grin.

Cort et al.

“My mother drank two cups of Turkish coffee everyday she was pregnant with me, and I … turned… out… alright…” Dorma said with melodramatic twitches in her face. She then grinned at Sherri. “She really did, though. Said it was the only thing that kept her from killing my father.”

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

All three laughed, Sherri loudest of all. For a moment there was lightness and the camaraderie between all four could be distinctly called friendship. “I agree with your mother, Dorma. Gregg already sees the writing on the wall and these are still early days.”

“Speaking of family,” Elema said. “You’ve been hiding that sister of yours. How’s the visit going?”

Sherri blew out a breath. “It’s lovely even though I told her now was a terrible time to visit.” Watts, looked to Dorma. “My half-sister Kari squeaked int dock just ahead of the Vren, even though I told her that she was going to spend a lot of time sightseeing on her own. Now on my downtime I just want to nap,” she said with a laugh. It was hard to know what was more hilarious: the thought of downtime or her having the energy to show her sister the sights.

“Hey, we could put her to work,” Cort said, his pale blue eyes gleaming.

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

Dorma looked at Sherri and grinned. “Well? She want to be our new social media manager?” and she grinned. “Or she could join the security detail. Might lighten their mood a bit.”

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

Sherri laughed. “See, you’re joking, but unlike our mother, both us daughters are reasonable and practical. If there’s a need, she’d totally jump in. She’s a doer. And she’s empathic and not afraid to use it if necessary. Cort knows this as well, since I told him Kari is project manager. Normally she’s sensitive to people’s workloads, so if you want to find something for her to do, by all means, rope her in. You could get her to help that new public affairs student interning in the Chief of Staff’s office who is now at loose ends. And then maybe you can also find out why she insisted on coming now of all times.” It might have seemed that Sherri was miffed at her sister, but she really wasn’t. Her timing was just off and being complicated by pregnancy hormones.

~Lt. Sherri Watts

Dorma looked at Shrri and with a completely flat expression said “Send me her resume. And find out if she is looking for a position.” She then looked at Elema and said “And now you, Madame. How are you? Cort and I have already discussed some things we can do to help one another. But do you need anything?”

Dorma Fen, Governor’s Aide

Elema was the epitome of easy going. It’s what made her good at her job. She was efficient and intuitive, and her empathic abilities allowed her a measure of anticipation that others didn’t always have. Dorma’s question landed weird for her and she took a sip of her coffee, trying not to frown. “I don’t know,” she said softly. I can handle crises, and Cort and I have managed more than a few together”-she shot him a brief grin-” but this is a bit different right now. I’m good at shielding, but I’m a bit of a wreck when I got home right now. I do my usually meditation and shed all the impressions I’ve been filtering all day, but it’s harder right now. Dalla is Ullian and she can help me on the harder days, but I’ve been thinking about how to handle these long days. I’m debating finding a meditation space and using that mid-day whenever it makes sense. Though Cort might need to kick me out of the reception desk or else having the opportunity will be difficult.”

Cort chuckled. “We’ll work something out. I think we all need to find ways to find respite where we can.” He rested an elbow on the table and drew in a slow inhale. “Everything right now feels very similar to Ruda,” he said softly.

Elema turned and looked at him, mouth open slightly. “Gods, I never thought about that. Now last night at the vigil make sense. Are you okay?” Cort nodded slowly.

“What’s Ruda?” Sherri asked.

Elema just gave Cort a pointed look and he knew he’d have to go over it. “So, just know that I did all the post-trauma stuff, so I am okay. But Ruda was a planet I was sent to with the Red Cross. They were having political upheaval following a massive earthquake. We were just doing our best to make sure people were getting shelter, food, medical attention. But there was a coup one night as we were closing down the food line until the morning. We were in known and designated aide area but our area got caught in the crossfire. My Team Leader, Elijah, went down half a metre from me.” Cort looked up at Dorma. “There was a vigil for him too. I sort of anticipated feeling weird last nigh and I’m glad I went, but everything with Jones has made this feel on a level of chaos I haven’t experienced in years. And for Oed, that’s saying something,” he said, breaking into a slight smirk.

“I’m sorry,” Sherri said.

Elema elbowed Cort gently. “Does this mean you’re going to let me teach you meditation?”

“Maybe,” was all he said as he lifted his coffee mug to his lips.

Cort et al.

Bump