Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Government Tower- Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting

Posted by Civilian Alston ‘Fox’ Mace (Director - Colonial Intelligence Agency) in Government Tower- Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Government Tower- Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Cabinet meetings usually happened on a regular basis, but much like when Dashiel Jones was found murdered, sometimes they had to call an urgent meeting. These were the sort that required people to drop or reschedule things in order to attend, and unfortunately, it could not be helped in this instance.

She and Kenzo called this meeting with the vague topic of Oed Security. Given the variety of serious things going on around them all on the colony, they could be certain it was serious and necessary. Neither her or the Governor were prone to calling meetings for the hell of it. Eela was always trying to find ways to deal with conversations and situations without having to deal with juggling multiple schedules.

Dasca arrived at 0900 with Cort in tow and stepped into the spacious chambers on Level 26. This level held various other meeting rooms for the Tower staff to use, though most departments had some on their own levels as well. These ones were larger and allowed multi-department conferences to occur as needed.

Inside, a curved room featured a large O-shaped table in the centre. There were small spaces occasionally so that it was possible to walk through the circle if needed, though there was rarely a need for it. Behind that on the wall was a large display. At the many seats at the table were both tactile displays as well as holo displays that could be brought up. To the left was an exterior wall entirely of windows that were half-tinted currently to block the intensity of the sunlight entering the room. There was an access door to an adjacent service room where they could get food and beverages for working meetings, as well as a refresher so cabinet staff didn’t have to leave the chambers entirely when nature called. The walls were a light panelled wood and the floor was carpeted in a deep emerald green, with Oed’s crest in the centre of the table’s interior. A light coloured ceiling kept the room feeling bright, but the overall the effect was calm. The lighting was made of upright sconces on the walls and panels in the ceiling that could be changed in warmth and intensity depending on their needs.

She and Kenzo had split leading the discussions and it made sense given the two topics they were to discuss for each of them to take a specific one. So far she hadn’t even mentioned PAD to her staff. That would come after, though she had given them a heads up that they were going to be discussing currently restricted topics until things went public, and that there would be work to immediately take care of. As usual Cort had taken the news in stride as if this was expected. Eela almost laughed. Sometimes she wondered if things were just so insane around here that their metric for chaos was beyond skewed. She suspected it might be but wasn’t sure what that said about all of them. Best not to think on it too deeply, she concluded.

Tumbler in hand, Eela swept through the room momentarily having an out of body experience. It was her first group meeting since Dash died and the last time she had seen many of the cabinet (outside of those who were friends that had attended Batarael). Some she had seen at the memorial, but to be honest the whole day had been so visceral and a blur at the same time and she had drowned out a lot of it with Mathis in copious amounts of liquor. Today she felt more even than she had in awhile. She was wearing a sleeveless shin length dress in a navy and light blue herringbone pattern that was designed so areas of the dress intersected in V’s. The bodice was fitted and flared out into an asymmetrical hem. Her usual low heeled knee high boots grounded her and she had her hair up in a loose twist at the back of her head.

Eela sipped the coffee and set it down at her place in the circle next to Kenzo at the end closest to the display. Cort set the PADDS down for her. “Anything else you need?” he asked.

She gazed at him and shook her head. “Nah, I think at this point it’s just jump in and get it over with.”

“I’ll have lunch ready for 1130. Then you have the meeting with Captain McBride at 1300 hours. Lt. Watts said he can adjust his schedule today if that doesn’t end up working but that it was important he speak with you today.”

Dasca almost frowned. Hmm. Something was up. Normally Jonathan would just message her. He was going by the book and official. That out her a little on edge and she forced herself to take a deep breath so she didn’t take the feeling into the cabinet meeting. She just nodded. “If things go longer than expected, I’ll shoot you a message.”

Cort nodded and headed out.

OOC:I figured I’d get this started. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone describe the cabinet meeting room, so I took liberties. If there is an established one, we can ret con it. Just send me a link so I can update the Oed doc. I’ve tagged the people who we have in cabinet roles currently, but if I’ve forgotten someone, let me know.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Alston came strolling in a few minutes later, his hair still slightly damp from the quick shower he had grabbed right before transporting over. He had spent most of the day running around look into Mr. Jones’ murder. While he didn’t mind showing up slightly disheveled, he still worked for a living after all, but several members of his staff had made some not so subtle hints that he should clean up. So a quick shower and a fresh set of clothes from the go bag in his office, here he was.

“Ma’am,” he said nodding towards Dasca before moving around to his seat.

• Mace

“Director,” Dasca said with a smile. Sure, their last conversation was the reason they were having this meeting, but that was’t his fault and in that meeting she had found him capable and reasonable- two qualities that boded well in her mind.

Karina walked into the conference room, a bit of glitter stuck to her sleeve and slid into her seat. “Lt. Governor,” she smiled politely at Dasca and then turned to Mace. “Director Mace, good to see you again.”

Enger, DOE

Eela gave Karina a nod.

“You as well. I think I have a good lead on a place, so thank you for the suggestions.”

Karina smiled, “I am glad I was able to assist.”

Sharah entered, seeming in a rush. She had been beyond busy since she started in this position, which was only a week ago. Or not quite a week? It felt longer and shorter. This was her first cabinet meeting. She looked around unsure of where she was supposed to sit.

Images flooded her mind. She immediately identified the presence as Director Enger. She was Cairn. Sharah adored the Cairn. She smiled gratefully at the woman and took the seat beside the education director. She sent her own series of telepathic images back to the woman, engaging in a very short but pleasant telepathic conversation.

She grinned at Eela, “Hello, Eela,” then quickly correct, “Lt. Governor.” She didn’t recognize the other man in the room.

Dr. Fayth, DoMSS

• Mace

Eela couldn’t help but grin. “Good morning, Director Fayth. Welcome to your first cabinet meeting. I had hoped it would have been more typical, but this is Oed after all, and I think we’ve just gone and done away with that adjective.”

“Dr. Fayth have you met Director Mace, yet?” Enger asked.

Enger, DOE

Sharah shook her head, “No, I have not had the pleasure yet.” She appreciated Dir Enger drawing her in. She turned to Mace, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Dir. Mace. I’m Dr. Fayth the new director of Medical and Social Services.”

Dr. Fayth, DoMSS

“It’s nice to meet you Doctor. I’m your friendly neighborhood spook.

“So how new is new?”

• Mace

Sharah began to answer, but was halted by another voice.

“To the role, very, Mr. Mace.” the voice of the Governor said from the doorway. “But to the work, the Director brings a great deal of experience.” He walked around the table and took his seat. “Hello all.” and he looked at Eela. “Captain. I trust you are well since our last conversation?”

Hyrushi, Governor

Fayth nodded to the Governor in acknowledgement. She turned back to Mace. “As the governor says, very. This week actually.”

Eela remained standing in front her spot at the table and rested her gaze on Kenzo. He’d know in even a brief glance that something significant had shifted for her. She gave him a small smile. “I am.” It was such a simple response and her usual instinct was to elaborate, but instead, she let the steadiness in the underlayers of her being say everything that was needed.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less Governor. You have a habit of finding people who are uniquely skilled to fill the positions here,” Mace said with a small grin.

The doors slid open and a truly impressive figure of a human walked in. Standing just over two meters tall and weighing almost a hundred and sixty kilograms, the hman appeared heavily muscled even under his suit coat and shirt. The flaming red hair of his head and beard made him even more striking; and when he spoke, a truly thick Scottish accent filled the room. “Mornin’ ‘ta all ya’s.” he said informally. Noticing faces unfamiliar to him, he said “Seamus McKenzie. Conservation.”

Seamus McKenzie - McKenzie Clan Marshall

Fayth smiled at the massive Scotsman. They had worked together previously and she’d found him to be competent, innovative, compassionate, and thoroughly in love with his wife. Sharah thought it was sweet. She also admired how much he loved any living thing. She nodded a greeting, but avoided conversation as Eela began.

OOC: Those left to join can slip in here before, but I’m going to get the meeting started.
IC:
“Welcome, Director McKenzie. Glad to have you with us,” Dasca said.

Once everyone was gathered, it was notable that Eela was still standing. She glanced down at Hyrushi and gave him a tiny nod before she let her warm hazel gaze travel around the table. “Thank you all for being flexible with your time, you know we wouldn’t call you here for an extra meeting unless it was absolutely necessary.”

Quietly, Astrid slipped in with her assistant behind her. She didn’t want to step forward into the more bright light of the middle of the room where the round table stood until she found a break in the conversation that would make her entry less disruptive. As it was, she stood to the side and took off her judicial robe and handed it to her assistant, revealing the cream colored long sleeve buttondown with tiny frogs hopscotching across each other tucked into a fitted pencil skirt of pale green tweed that fell to just below her knees. Her shoes were a set of verdant dark green heels with a pastel green bow at the toes. The thick heel of the shoe started dark green near the foot but faded to translucent lucite as it neared the floor. As always, her makeup was tasteful and classic. Her dark brown hair was up in an intricate chignon at the crown of her head.

Eela drew in a deep breath and held it in her lungs a moment before she let it out. “Before we get into the heart of why we’re meeting, I just want to take a moment to express my deep appreciation for all of your incredible patience and support in what has been an unexpectedly difficult period for me personally. Not just the most recent event, before that as well. It means a great deal to know that we have each others’ backs in times of trouble, because let’s face it, Oed likes to keep us on our toes. I feel reassured, and so for that, thank you.”

“On to business.” Her fingers tapped on her side for a moment. “Speaking of personal dramas, in the course of the investigation into Dashiel Jones’ death, members of the Major Crimes Division came to see me, asking about something that came up for them. I won’t go into the details of how because that is still an ongoing investigation and not what we need to discuss.” Eela paused and gathered herself, proud she spat that out with more ease than she had expected. “There was mention of a project, one that was deemed possibly governmental. And when I was asked about this project, well, suffice to say I was floored that anyone outside of the Governor and I even knew the name, let alone what it was. Thus, I was compelled to explain it, and in turn, we are sharing this with all of you. Please understand that is is an idea we have been brainstorming since just after we found out the Vren had made contact with the Federation. But even if the Vren hadn’t, I still think we would have pondered this. Consider this classified information until such time as we deem it ready for public release, and not a moment before. There will be people forming a team to work on this, but outside of that, it’s privileged info. The last thing we need is people reacting with no context.

Eela turned at the hip to glance at the screen behind her and pressed a key on a tiny device in her hand. The screen shifted to a title screen. “Project Anvil Dragon, or PAD as we refer to it, is our idea for a planetary defence system. The reality is that Oed is particularly vulnerable as it stands. The atmospheric shield, while expanding the ease of terraforming and giving us more space, also has a significant defect: one targeted hit and we lose our air. Simple. Are there many redundancies? Of course. But the reality is that even with defensive ships in orbit we’re still in a weak position. Given our stance on independent outside influence on Oed, and the Vren here for the foreseeable future, we have potentially painted an even bigger target on this colony and subsequently the millions of people who reside here and call it home. That cannot stand. So, we have been pondering how to address this and this is the beginning of our line of thinking.”

The screen shifted to an image of Oed with an overlay of the atmospheric shield and its operational infrastructure. “By far the easiest way, as far as we’re concerned, to protect the shield is to leverage the infrastructure that is already there and create another shield and or defensive systems that would deflect and destroy any incoming threat. What that looks like is where a task force will figure out and some of those people to be included are in this room.”

The weight of the situation settled over the room and Eela’s expression was parallel. “Let’s be clear, we’re not asking the Federation for”-she did air quotes with her fingers-“permission to do this. Hell, at this point we might not even ask for resources, and keep it all in-house. That is potentially lucrative for some parties here and so we have to be exceptionally careful who we bring into this and how. Will the Federation be miffed we didn’t talk to them about our concerns first?” Eela shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe, but I also doubt they will be too terribly surprised, given everything before and currently.”

Dasca pulled out her chair and sat, grabbing one of the blank padds and a stylus. “We’re not here to work out the details of this project, but to discuss implications and how best to proceed. Thoughts, comments? Let’s go,” she said, looking around the table and ready to take notes.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Astrid took this moment to step forward and take a seat. “My apologies for my late arrival, I was in session and was not able to finish as quickly as I would have liked.”

Sharah was thoroughly confused. She wasn’t quite sure what the issue was. If the atmospheric shield needed protecting, and it did, what was the problem with taking steps to protect it? Why did that need to be top secret? She imagined that the people of Oed would very much in favor of continuing to be able to breath. She chose to stay silent though, she felt like there was previous information she was unaware of because she was new. She would need more information before she could clarify a response.

Dr. Fayth, DoMSS

“One implication of such a project is the residence not being educated and panicking. We need to make sure we present this in a way to reassure them of the safety of the shield, but not form it as a threat. We certainly need to not mention the Vren. The people are already wary because of the Vren.” Karina stated the obvious. “The education department can put out information, lectures, workshops, about the engineering of the shield and potential ‘natural’ dangers that we need to protect it from. Frame this as an overall protection, not just from attack.”

Enger, DOE

Eela’s hand moved over the screen of her PADD with the stylus. “Good,” she said with a nod.

“I’m sure the Federation Council is going to feign surprise when the announcement is made. And I’m willing to make a bet that at least one Councilor will say something to the effect of ‘well why didn’t I think of that.’ But they aren’t going to happy about it. I’m still hearing grumblings about your letter Governor. This is sure to be seen as another move to separate the colony from the Federation.”

• Mace

Eela nodded. “We deal with a lot of variables as the government of this colony, but one of the most unpredictable and important is optics. It’s not just about what we are doing, but how the residents of Oed and those outside the colony perceive our actions. It doesn’t necessarily make sense if we’re approaching this from a particular thread of logic. Of course we need protection, but there is more to it than that. Our ability to both solve our own needs, but place nice externally where needed have to exist in balance.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Mace nodded. “I feel like internally we will have a lot less issues. From what I’ve seen so far, the people of this colony support your decisions, I don’t think you will get much push back from them. Externally, as long as you and Governor Hyrushi remain in control, the Vren will not see it as a threat. The Federation though, that is who I believe currently posses the greatest concern.

“Current reports indicate that it would be a split vote, going in our favor so far. But there is still a vocal minority who would see it as a threat to the Federation. Because if Oed can split off, what is stopping other colonies from doing the same.”

• Mace
  

“Legally, I do not think there are any complications with what you are proposing. No doubt the Federation is well aware of the need though they are unlikely to put any sort of funds or resources to helping us build it so that they do not look like they are advocating for a more offensive posture in this part of space. However, I do think that the Federation should at least be seen to be involved in the process so that it does not further divide the citizens of OED V: Star Fleet residents vs OED Civilians. Have there been discussions with them thus far on the capabilities we are planning for this project?”

Rousseau, HotJ