Posted by Civilian Karina Enger (Director of Education) in A Much Needed Break

Posted by Civilian Alston ‘Fox’ Mace (Director - Colonial Intelligence Agency) in A Much Needed Break

Posted by Civilian Karina Enger (Director of Education) in A Much Needed Break
Posted by… suppressed (33) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Alston sat himself down in the corner table of a coffee house not to far from the Government Tower. One of the security officers had recommended it as having one of the better cups of coffee around. So far based off the smell alone, he couldn’t disagree. In front of him sat a cup of coffee with a bit of half & half and sugar in it, the lid off so it could cool. For a minute he just watched as the steam came up in curls off of the hot coffee.

Picking up the cup, he lightly blew across it before taking a sip, as he did he looked out at the other patrons in the coffee shop. Despite everything going on, it seemed almost like a normal day to the ordinary citizen. And for the moment it was nice to forget about the Vren, the murder of Federation Ambassador’s Aide, or taking on the burgeoning intelligence department of the colony. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be ‘normal.’

He wondered if these people had friends they were going to meet up with later, or maybe family. For someone who had spent the life in the shadows, it was not something he had ever really considered. Sure he had his teammates, there were even a couple he still touched base with every now and then, and if they asked for his help he would be there in a heartbeat. But that was a family that expected there to be secrets, and lived always expecting to have to pack up and leave at a moments notice.

But now, if he wasn’t already out of the shadows, it was only a matter of time before he would be a known entity here on the colony. And once it was known here, it would surely spread across the rest of the Federation. There was already no going back to his old life, but that would be the final nail in the coffin. So maybe it was time to settle down, or at least try it out.

What did normal people do when they got a new job? Right, first thing would be to find a more permanent place to live. Alston had been making the hike back to his ship in the space port, or bunking down on a cot at the CIA HQ. That was fine while he was still feeling out Oed, but now it was time to find something a bit more, permanent. So first thing, find an apartment, second would probably find a long term docking pad for his ship. The port officials would probably also appreciate that.

Setting down his coffee cup, Alston reached into his coat and pulled out his data pad. Setting it down on the table in front of him, he started flipping through ads for different apartments in the area.

• Mace

Karina had decided that if she wanted things to change, then she had to be proactive about it. So she decided to add a daily trip to the local coffee shop. She could make it at home or at her office, but then she wasn’t seeing new people.

She waited in line for the batista to call her name. She stepped forward and grabbed the cup. She turned looking for a table. It wasn’t too crowded so there were seats, even places amongst the arm chairs and couches. Until her eyes landed on what she thought was a familiar face.

She walked toward Mace. He was familiar in the sense she had read the memo about the new Colonial cabinet member. She hadn’t actually met him yet, and she decided to do so now. Even if the exchange was brief. “Director Mace?” Karine inquired softly in her slightly mechanical voice.

Enger, DOE

Out of habit Alston swiped the screen clear on his data pad, even though there wasn’t anything remotely sensitive on it at the moment. But old habits were hard to break. Looking up he noticed a woman approaching his table holding her own cup of coffee. She seemed vaguely familiar, though he was still trying to remember all of the faces of people he’d met and read about in the files so far.

“Can I help you?” Picking up his own coffee cup again, he took a sip.

• Mace

Karina smiled in a friendly way. “I am Karina Enger, the director of education. I wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to Oed V.”

Enger, DOE

“Well it’s nice to meet you Karina, and thank you for the warm welcome,” Alston said with a smile. “I’m still trying to learn who everyone is, on top of everything else. Would you care to join me?”

• Mace

“Thank you, but only if it is not an im… im,” Karina shook her head, not quite finding the word to express her thought as she sat. “I do not wish to interrupt. Quiet time is worth more than latinum here. The governor’s plans keep us all very busy.”

Enger, DOE

“It’s not an imposition at all, please,” Alston said holding his hand out towards the seat across for him at the table.

“He’s definitely got all sorts of plans, but thankfully I was able to snag a bit of free time for myself. And I had heard that this place had a pretty good cup of coffee, so I figured I would use the break to find out for myself.” He paused to take a sip of coffee. “So far I’m definitely not disappointed. How long have you been here on Oed?”

• Mace

“I usually do not have time to stop. I usually grab mine from their cart outside the government building when I am not at the university.” Now there was a thought - she would have to see if the owner was interested in opening a location on campus. Karina thought it would do very well. “Mmmm, I have been here just over three years. I came thinking the job entailed just the primary and secondary education levels. Then I was tasked with establishing a quadrant competitive university within 10 years.”

Enger, DOE

“Only 10 years, very generous,” Alston said with a laugh. “Thankfully I seem to have inherited the start of a pretty solid department, but this isn’t exactly what I had imagined what my time retirement would look like.”

Karina laughed lightly, “It does not leave room for anything other than a drive to work.” She took a sip of her coffee. “What did you think your retirement would be like?”

Picking up his cup he took another sip. “This really is good. I wonder where they get their beans from.”

• Mace

Sitting her cup down she contemplated his answer. “Somewhere local maybe. Oedian businesses are very concerned with helping each other.”

Enger, DOE

Alston nodded, as he took another sip.

“I always imagined retiring to an isolated beach somewhere, with some sort of fruity cocktail next to me. Somewhere where my greatest worry would be did I want to jump into the water to take a swim that day or not.

“Unfortunately, I’m really not good at staying still that long. Maybe someday I’ll be able to settle down somewhere, and find that beach. But for now I’m kind of looking forward to this new job. It brings some unique challenges, and it is nice to be able to work with a team again.”

• Mace

Karina laughed, “I can not imagine slowing down. I do like the work now though, no more just me in a classroom, but working with a team to build it all is grati… excuse, I think the word is fulfilling. With the terraforming we may have beaches relatively soon.”

Enger, DOE

“The fear is if they will actually live up to the dream I’ve had in my head all these years,” Alston said with a bit of a far off look as he pictured the beach he had dreamed off.

“But more power to you, I was never good at the whole teaching thing. They sent me away after one tour at the training station, something about scaring off the recruits,” he said with a chuckle. “Though with all the terraforming I’m sure you’ve seen your job expand quite a bit, with the influx of new residents.”

• Mace

“A lityle healthy fear is good. Reality with the dreams,” Karina grinned, “It expands every time a new ship arrives. We simply do not have room. Building and Construction is over… over whelmed with it all. It is wonderful though.”

Enger, DOE

“I don’t think the all of the new people are making any of our lives easier.” With each new ship that arrived it made it that harder for his people to keep an eye out for potential bad actors. It became that much easier for them to slip through the cracks, and hide in the crows. “What is it about the colony do you think draws so many people? Usually there is a point where the infrastructure of a colony just can’t keep up, so things start to get prohibitively expensive. But I’ve noticed that OED doesn’t seem to be following the usual pattern.”

• Mace

Bump

“I can not say for sure, but from what I have observed,” Karina took a sip of her coffee, “Oed was once a huge colony before the comet strike. So there was already a large infrastructure here. The amount of resources were not cut after that. In fact, I believe they increased, to help the colony rebuild. So we have not reached the limit yet. Add to that, that lots of people and companies want to come here to try out new technology, have land and room to claim. There is also a strict set of rules for new companies to come here. They have to provide opportunities and funding and such. I am not sure of all the specifics. The University is an internal initiative.”

Enger, DOE

“Hmm, it’s something I might have to look into,” Alston said as he took another sip of his coffee. There was usually some sort of motive, and better to be aware of what it was early on in his line of work. Plus the last thing they needed was some bad actors slipping in to create government instability. But that was a future problem to look into.

“So what new programs have you been able to start recently?”

• Mace

“We have a new Doctoral program for Physical and Occupational Therapy thanks to a very generous donation from Lord Duroc in honor of his wife. Our archeology is really taking off. Thanks to the arrival of our new conservation director and his clan, we have solid programs in Agriculture, Animal Science, Horticulture, and conservation getting ready to start.” Karina listed them off with a level of excitement clear in her voice. “Now that the terraforming is underway, we can really expand those programs to be competitive to other universities.”

Enger, DOE

Alston nodded. “I can definitely see the draw of a program here. There aren’t many recently terraformed worlds, with a competitive program, that students could experiment in a real world situation. Have you been able to get much in the way of corporate sponsorships or endowments for the programs?”

• Mace

Karina nodded, “Governor Hyrushi implemented an incentive program for those companies that sponsor the schools or university. Many have joined our apprenticeship training program. Offering real world experience for class credit to our students. We can offer students positions at the government tower, the police force, CCDA, Sacred Heart, HHI, the Justice Department, within the trade tower, the recreation center, the museums, the Klingon Embassy with House Duroc, jobs within the mining complex. Which houses several companies that offer positions and training. As well as independent craftsmen in all fields within the arts and industrial sectors.”

Enger, DOE

“That’s quite a wide range options you are able to provide to the students.

Enger nodded, “It is, but it has taken a lot of work. Much of it was already in place through the local community college and adult education center. We just took what was there and expanded on it.”

“Really, the more I learn about the colony, the more impressed I am. It’s kind of amazing what has been developed here in such a short period of time. Not just developed, but managed to really flourish. It’s kind of a miracle that the Federation didn’t put up a bigger fight after the Governor’s letter to the council, though there were plenty of council members who were sorely tempted.”

“Truthfully, I am waiting to see what the council does. I am not sure how long they will let that sit and respect it. They do not have a very positive history with Oed. Though that is always a matter of perspective,” Karina mused.

With a slight chuckle Alston took another sip of his coffee. The Governor’s very blatant announcement to the Council was one of the reasons he had been willing to consider this job. Unfortunately, as he took the ship, he found that it was the last, as the last drop slid out of the bottom of the cup. Reluctantly he set his cup down on the table.

• Mace

Karina nodded to the now empty cup, “I always want more after I finish it. It seems to be gone faster than I expect it to be.”

Enger, DOE

“I suspect that the Council’s response will come down to how much the Governor says no to, and how bored they get. If another big event happens to pull their attention away we’ll probably be forgotten for a bit. Or even better if the negotiations with the Vren go well, that would help. The game is to get Oed into a position where we have enough political leverage where they can’t take any actions against us.

“Sort of like this coffee. I know I should probably get on to other things, but I also not sure I could say no to another cup. Would you care for a refill?”

• Mace

“Yes, thank you,” Karina answered.

“I think that is part of the problem. The council either ignores us, which is most of the time, or is too mi… micro…” Larina shook her head, “Sorry. I forget the word. They become overly involved. There is no respect from them for the people.”

Enger, DOE

“Micromanaging?” Alston said as he stood up. “Hold that thought for just one minute.”

Karina nodded, “Yes, that is it.”

It only took a couple of minutes for him to return with two fresh cups of coffee. He sat one in front of Karina before reclaiming his own seat.

“Thank you,” Karina lifted the cup and took a sip of the steaming delicacy.

“The council excels in micromanagement, and is full of politicians who are more concerned about maintaining their seat of power, instead of actually trying to help people. Let alone understanding or caring the consequences of their orders.” It was obvious that Alston was just bit bitter, and it sounded like he had some personal experience here.

He stopped to take a deep breath and a of coffee.

• Mace

“Hmmm… that has been my experience. It is most… noticeable on the rim colonies.” She took another sip. “It is irony that the council appointed Governor Hyrushi, and he has proven quite a challenge for them.”

Enger, DOE

Alston chuckled. “They probably didn’t realize what they were getting themselves into. I’m willing to bet that someone thought that he’d be easily controlled, and ended up with quite the surprise.

“I know he’s stirred things up recently, but has there been any people that have tried to make his time here difficult?”

• Mace

“There are always those against the government and the governor. They show up at press conferences, town meetings, board meetings and such,” Karina considered. “Several months ago the private shuttle of Lucas Holloway, the head of HHI, was shot out of the sky. It crashed in the middle of the city. There was a protest against having the company here. Mostly because there had been other attempts on Holloway’s life and people were concerned about … innocents being hurt. The protests turned violent though.” Karina paused, “We were told another group was influencing the protestors. Using telepathic manipulation. That your agency handled it. I do not know any more than that.

Enger, DOE

“I’ll have to look into that,” Alston said making a mental note. “That was before I arrived. But I can’t see how causing more chaos and destruction is a great way to protest people being hurt. And while it isn’t always fair, when high profile people get hurt, it always tends to draw more attention from the press.”

• Mace

Karina nodded in agreement. “Violence causes chaos. There are numerous ex… examples in history where violence has been used to distract from what is going on.”

Enger, DOE

“Oh I’m quite aware,” Alston said out loud. The part he wasn’t saying was that he had been involved in creating the chaos on operations himself in the past. “I get in this case there was outside manipulation, but this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of protests causing more of the exact same destruction that they were trying to stop in the first place.”

• Mace

Karina nodded, “Nor I. My understanding, was that it was quite sudden. A very peaceful protest and then suddenly they became violent. I remember hearing that someone threw a shoe at the governor. I was not at either location, so I cannot give you more details than that.” She sipped her coffee. What Karina wasn’t saying was that during her time un Star Fleet she had done some covert work herself. That had been a wild ride, and one she didn’tcare to repeat. “It might be worth checking social media pages.”

Enger, DOE

“Oh I’m sure there is a file in our database all about the event. Because after all I’m sure they have a file on everything,” he said with a chuckle.

“What do you think of the Governor? Honest opinion please, and I promise it won’t end up in one of those files.”

• Mace

Karina lifted her cup and took a long pull of her coffee. When she set it down she leaned back against the seat. “He is very focused, very driven. He can be difficult to work with. It is most difficult when he has a plan, but wants the cabinet to come to the same conclusion as he has. When we do not… it can be fr… frus…”

The woman sighed and held up her hand. “A moment.” He could see the effort in her eyes to find the sounds she wanted. “Frustrating. Yes it can be frustrating. He is also very supportive, and is always willing to listen to ideas.”

Enger, DOE

Alston sighed as he set his cup of coffee down. As much time he spent playing spy, and trying to figure out peoples motives, he really did prefer his superiors would just say what they want up front. They were all adults, and didn’t need to play games.

“That would be frustrating. I appreciate when they listen, but I’m a fan of when people just come out and tell you what they are wanting. But I guess it is a small price to pay for some of the other freedoms we get instead.”

• Mace