Diplomatic but Problematic

Posted on Fri Mar 7th, 2025 @ 10:28pm by Lieutenant Ryan Keel & Ensign Wrenleigh Reed

1,958 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: CDO's Office

ON:

After the departure of Kayto and the rest of his crew, Wren had been left alone in the Diplomatic department with the exception of the Ataran Cultural Advisor, Jheva, but she wasn't really that talkative, which was fine by Wren. There had been rumours that she was going to be getting an actual department head this time, although she didn't know anything about them.

The only thing she did know for sure was that they had already arrived and were currently in the process of getting settled in. "Computer," she said as she sat in one of the Diplomatic offices while she finalised a couple of reports from the Ataran mission that were long overdue, "Locate the new Chief Diplomatic Officer."

'Lieutenant Ryan Keel is located in the Chief Diplomatic Officer's office' came the automated reply. "Hopefully he's going to be decent to work with." Wren said to herself as she stood up and put the reports to one side before walking out of the room and down a little way from where she'd been and pressed the chime to signal someone was there.

Keel was getting settled into his office, arranging it to his liking. He had dragged some physical books with him across half a quadrant and was setting them on the shelves he'd asked to be installed on the bulkhead behind his fairly large desk. Satisfied that the books - treatises on diplomacy, and several historical books - were where he wanted them to be, he backed up and took a sip from his mug of raktajino.

He turned and adjusted the cacti arrangement he had brought with him and looked up at the door chime. Looking to his schedule, Keel could see he had nothing scheduled, and frowned, running a hand across his chin and encountering the stubble he had allowed to grow. It was still a fresh enough change that it surprised him somewhat. Settling into the oversized chair behind his desk terminal, he called out, 'enter!'

The doors opened with a swooshing sound and Wren stepped into the office, immediately taking in the changes that had been made since the previous department head had been there. It looked good so far. She wasn't going to lie and say she hadn't thought about sitting in the Chiefs chair from time to time. "You've only been here for less than a day and you've already made it your own, it looks good." Wren said, letting the comment hang in the air before adding, "Sorry, I'm Ensign Wrenleigh Reed, one of the Diplomatic Officers. I thought I'd come and introduce myself and welcome you to the Astrea."

'Well, move fast and break things, as they used to say on Earth,' Keel replied with a smile. 'I like to make a mark where I'm serving, not wait it out in anonymity.' He glanced at the books behind him, then to the striking Ensign. 'Thank you for the kind welcome. Lieutenant Ryan Keel, your new Chief. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance.' He noted that she hadn't saluted and made a note to remind the department of the proper mode of greeting a superior officer. Discipline couldn't be lax. 'Would you care for a seat?' he pointed to one of the comfortable seats in front of his desk, 'something to drink too?' Keel adjusted the cacti pot once more.

"It's good to meet you, sir, and thank you," Wren replied with a smile and a nod as she took an offered seat, noting that he looked pretty detail oriented. "I'll just have a water, if that's all good, please; I tend to not drink caffeine throughout the day." It was a quirk that mirrored her father and brothers.

'I'm not sure that I entirely trust a person who doesn't drink caffeine,' he joked as he moved to the replicator and made her a water. Bringing it back to the desk, he slid it across to her. 'So, your accent, you're English? Or British at least? And from Earth?'

Wren nodded after she finished politely laughing at his caffeine joke, "That's correct, sir. On both accounts. I've spent a number of years in London and its surround growing up and eventually learning about the intricacies of being a Diplomat and an Ambassador like my father. It's a family tradition, sir." She took a sip of the water, and it actually tasted good for once.

His interest in his deputy cranked up a notch as he took a sip from his own mug. Knowing someone who has an Ambassador for a father might be useful, he thought. 'Your father was in the Diplomatic Corps? Did he work on anything we'd have heard about?'

"Yes, sir, he was. Commander Johnathan Reed. He's retired now," Wren nodded as she made herself more comfortable in the seat, "One of his biggest achievements would be that he was involved in negotiating a trade treaty with the Nybarrite Alliance, if you're aware of that?"

He turned in his seat, looked at the bookshelf behind him. 'I actually think it's in one of my books - one of the achievements of the last fifty years I think.' Keel was quietly impressed. Not one to butter anyone up, it really had been an achievement on Reed's part. 'And you learnt everything you know from him? How are you still a Diplomatic Officer and not in charge of a department - this department?'

"To be in charge of a department isn't my end goal, if I'm being completely honest," Wren replied with a smile. "I hope it's not too forward to say that my ultimate goal is to use my time here wisely and gain as much experience as possible before using this posting as a stepping stone towards becoming an Ambassador." She took a sip of the water again, "I know it's going to be a difficult road to go down, but I won't let the connections I have be used as leverage to get me to where I need to go."

'That's to be admired,' Keel replied. 'Getting there by your own efforts is its own reward.' His worry at an ambitious underling undermining his position abated a little. 'But there's nothing wrong in two colleagues helping out to achieve their own goals. When I was a Marine, we looked after one another. As a fleeter, I intend to do the same.'

He took a steadying breath, 'ultimately, my goal won't be to stay aboard Astrea either. Sometime in the future I'd like to attain a position with more responsibility. We could always help one another with our goals.'

Of course he was a Marine, that explained why he was detail oriented. "You're a former Marine? That would've been quite an experience, going from the rigidity and structure to being a little bit more fluid. I like the idea of helping each other to achieve goals, it allows for better friendships and for an understanding of how everyone works to form."

'Friendships help,' Keel replied, smiling widely. 'I spent about six or seven years in the Marines, give or take, then did an accelerated course at the Academy when I wanted the switch to this. Starfleet is, yes, a little looser, but there's still plenty of order and precision needed.' He resisted the impulse to bring up the lack of saluting, they were getting on so well. 'Reports, briefings, papers to read, it's all action, just of a different kind.'

"Well, if it makes things easier for you, paperwork and reports are well within my wheelhouse of things I'm good at, so you can pass a lot of that on to me so it frees things up for you." She didn't actually mind doing paperwork because it gave her a chance to reflect on things a lot easier.

Keel perceptibly brightened. 'I'll try not to throw just the dross your way - I'll give you some actual meaningful reports to work on in exchange for your expertise.' Draining his raktajino, he reflected that this was a good first day. And Wrenleigh seemed like a good deputy to have in the department. So far. You could never tell when situations could change. 'It seems fair to me, anyway.'

"I think that's a fair exchange," Wren admitted with a slow nod. "Depends on what you're wanting to hear as to what expertise I can give you though." She raised a brow at her comment and her tone had a slight indifference to it. She had a feeling that this was going to be an interesting experience for both of them for however long they were on the Astrea together.

'I prefer you to give it to me straight,' Keel replied, tapping the table for emphasis. 'We're both ambitious,' he continued, assessing the situation, 'but that doesn't mean I want a yes person glued to my behind. If we do our best work, it'll be recognised as such.'

"I can assure you, sir, that there won't be any ass kissing from me." Wren replied, watching as he tapped the table for a moment and then stated in what had been referred to as her 'up herself' tone, "I give respect where it's due, but I won't be grovelling for anything or anyone to get praised for something that's part of my job, and I'm fairly sure I do my job well enough that recognition for it doesn't mean everything."

Keel raised his eyebrows. 'That's good then,' he managed after a moment. He admired the forthrightness, and decided she was somebody he definitely could work with. Even if her tone was ... less than decorous. 'We understand one another. No bullcrap.'

"You asked for it straight, so I gave it to you straight," she shrugged her shoulders and gave him a smile as she sat up a little straighter, "If you want, I'm more than happy to catch you up to speed on the Ataran situation and what we're currently doing? Once you've settled in, of course."

'There's no time like the present,' Keel replied, lounging back in to his chair. 'Are we OK to do it here, or do you need some equipment to show me what's the scuttlebutt?'

"Give me ten minutes and I'll have everything prepared and ready." Wren replied, "There's just a couple of things I need to finish off and then I'll be good to go."

'That's more than acceptable,' Keel replied with a grin. It would be a chance to see how she actually conducted herself professionally, and allow him to assess whether she was full of it, or an actual asset to his team. 'Just give a shout when you're ready.'

She got the feeling that she wasn't quite meeting his standards just yet so presenting this would be a chance for her to show him she was worth the time and effort. Was it the way she greeted him on first meeting, or was it something else? Either way, Wren would overthink it later. Standing up, Wren smoothed out her uniform, "Well, sir, if you don't mind, I'll go and get this prepared and let you know once it's done." She snapped a quick nod and salute to him.

'Thank you, Lieutenant,' he waved a hand in her direction, 'dismissed.'

With the appropriate dismissal, Wren took her leave and went back to the office she'd been working from to get everything ready for later on.


OFF

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Lieutenant Ryan Keel
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Astrea

Ensign Wrenleigh Reed
Diplomatic Officer
USS Astrea

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