Diplomacy In The Room

Posted on Tue Jan 30th, 2024 @ 4:18am by Chief Petty Officer Nevan Kayto & Attaché Phesg Tel'im
Edited on on Tue Jan 30th, 2024 @ 4:52am

1,156 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 0: Where do we go from here?
Location: USS Imperator - Deck Two, Diplomatic Affairs Suite
Timeline: MD: -3 days to launch, 10:44 Hrs

Tel'im was sitting at her desk, marveling at her change in fortunes. Although she hadn't been unhappy with her life prior to arriving on Jupiter Station, the last time she'd actually served on a Federation facility, she'd had just a cubicle in an antechamber to her superior's office. Truth be told, she'd spent most of her time with Security and Tactical teams, going over operational logistics and deployments. This office, with its bulkheads trimmed out in wood paneling, and a dedicated desk and computer terminal, was a luxury.

Her door chimed. "Enter," she called out, her accent a bit more noticeable than otherwise might be.

Nevan was a bit surprised when he heard the pair of doors open just behind him, carrying the boxes he must've bumped a panel. Not wanting to be rude he took a moment and sat them down before returning and poking his head through the door. "Hi" he said. "Sorry for the interruption, I'm Nevan Kayto, NCOIC for the Civil Operations Team."

"Tel'im... Just call me Tel'im--I don't think my first name is entirely pronounceable in this tongue... Romulan Affairs... Please, come on in--I was just getting settled... NCOIC? That's a new acronym I'm not familiar with."

"Ah my apologies, non commissioned officer in charge, so I'm the senior enlisted for my section. There's only a handful of us in civil operations as it is, I don't think everyone in my team has reported in yet. But we're just a small part of the Diplomatic Department. It's nice to meet you, Tel'im." Nevan took a more passive approach in the introduction, opting not to extend his hand. While in human culture it was still a tradition, many other races preferred to opt out of such physical contact.

"Pleasure is all mine." The Romulan rose, then extended her left hand, palm outward. "May I get you something--the replicators actually make decent coffee, which I can't say the same of my sister. It feels a bit strange, having this large a space to myself. Last time I was on a Federation station in an actual position, I had just a cubical I think the human word is."

"They do seem to love putting those of us in more advisory roles into the worst places, especially the enlisted. Only way to have better living quarters is to get promoted and even then it's a lottery. Coffee would be great, extra strong, black please. Getting settled in here has been quite that task to say the least. Pulling a ship this old out of mothballs is... a mess. I'm glad I have some engineering experience to help out though." Nevan took note that the woman's mood seemed to brighten up, a good sign.

"Hmmm..." Tel'im moved over to her replicator. "Computer, two coffees; one black, extra strong, one Arabic style, black." The device hummed, and a few seconds later, two mugs sat in the tray. Tel'im sniffed them, then handed the enlisted his. "That's better..." She sat behind her desk again and took a sip. "Dammit--I forget Federation replicators make things hotter than Romulan ones... Sit, sit--ignore my pain... So, Petty Officer, what brought you to Diplomatic Affairs of all places?"

He took the mug and enjoyed the smell of the coffee before taking a sip. "Well, my father was a diplomat and so in my experiences growing up, connecting with and learning other cultures and people came naturally to me. Furthering that within Starfleet became my goal when I was old enough to do so. What about you? I have to admit I didn't expect to see a Romulan here."

Tel'im snorted. "Story of my life... I was part of the old Imperial fleet until just after the war. I grew... Disillusioned I joined a Qowat Milat sect, and eventually co-founded a House on Choros IV." She tapped the sword leaning against the chair. "After the supernova hit, I was helping refugees. Starfleet found me, and now I'm here due to a bit of luck and connections... I don't mind the Federation, but I wish they were more active in helping the civilian populations impacted. Shinzon's folk, the old guard, and whatever remnants are left of anti-Federation sentiment can go,"--she trailed off into a string of curses the UT couldn't--or wouldn't--translate. "My apologies--did you actually understand that?"

He shook his head "I don't speak Romulan or Reman natively so, no. But it's okay. I'm a Betazoid so if nothing else your feelings made your point for you. It sounds like both of us will be in alignment for the most part then, my goal is to help civilians as much as possible, unfortunately sometimes that also means focusing resources where they make the biggest impact." It was one thing he found annoying at times. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Even if it meant those few died, and weren't Starfleet. The larger political victory was what mattered. But yet the same Admiral had the gall to tell his graduating class that all life was equally sacred.

Tel'im smiled. "Thus your dark eyes... I'm afraid I've not met many Betazoids--if you need to read my thoughts, go ahead. Unlike many Romulans, I have not much to hide, and that which I would hide, I trust you'll keep confidential." She sipped at her coffee. "How much experience do you have with Romulans, Petty Officer?"

"I appreciate the offer although I would never intrude on one's thoughts without permission or unless in the event of extenuating circumstances while on duty. And absolutely, they would be kept private. To be honest my experience with Romulans is pretty limited, most of my time was spent in the active participation of my duties was along the Cardassian border or primarily on patrol duty on standby. So I'll admit I've got some work ahead of me to study and catch up on your people's procedures. You'll find I'm pretty open minded when it comes to working avenues of communication however." He took another sip thought about needing to check his personnel roster for additional staff, maybe one of them could help get a leg up in their current situation.

"Procedures." Tel'im sniffed. "The Romulans who would adhere to such things in this time of crisis are fools... No--we'll be dealing mostly with civilians, possibly a few old military people like myself who have been out of the fleet for years. I don't expect governmental types, but you never know... Just treat us like people, and you'll be fine."

"I'd never consider anything less. I'll let you get back to it though, I know we both have got a lot to cover before launch. If you need anything from me, I'm just down the hall. And thanks for the coffee, Tel'im."

"Same to you, Petty Officer... I look forward to serving with you." As the Betazoid left, the Romulan's terminal chimed.

"Incoming transmission from Choros IV."

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