Lunch magnifique

Posted on Sun Sep 6th, 2020 @ 7:17pm by Commander Curtis Thibideaux & Lieutenant Tavana Kolan, Daughter of Kretorg

1,835 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Diplomacy by any means necessary.
Location: USS Valiant Shuttle bay 2
Timeline: MD003 12:00

The ambassador’s shuttle and the bay was much the same the last time Tavani had seen it, during their meeting with the Captain, Commander Ral and Lieutenant Cross. Now however, the shuttle had been moved closer to the far bulkhead and drapers of pinkish rose and light blue now adorned the bulkheads and overhead.

Behind the translucent drapes, soft lights illuminated the bay and the outside of the shuttle now had a small sitting area around a holo-fire pit and a dining area with a wicker dining table and four comfortable chairs clustered around it. Underfoot, brown carpeting softened the deck and helped absorb sound. An underlaying scent of coolant remained, speaking to the actual function of the bay, but Valiant’s shuttle bay had definitely taken on a different ambiance.

In the background, piano music played lightly. Something classical and complicated.

A young man dressed in a white stewards uniform glanced up from where he was polishing what looked to be a teakwood and wicker bar and smiled. Stepping out from the table, he walked toward her and said, “You must be Lieutenant Kolan. Please have a seat,” he said gesturing toward the wicker table. “The ambassador said he’d be right out and then you two would have lunch. Can I get you something to drink?”

Once again Tavana was quite astonished by the opulence surrounding the Ambassador. Her uncle was the Betazoid Ambassador to the Federation, later a Federation Ambassador, her father had Ambassador status, and growing up she had met a few of them, but this, Hu'tegh! she had never come across.

A double whiskey straight up Tavana thought, but in stead, smiled and nodded a polite "Thank you," she said as she took said seat. "I will wait for the Ambassador....." said answered with a loaded pause, waiting for his name.

The blonde young man's face reddened and he stammered a bit then cleared his throat and said, "Oh. Sorry ma'am. I'm Crewman Micah Hewitt." He beamed then and said, "Crewman 2nd class, I'm new to Valiant."

Tavi smiled warmly as she answered. "So, am I, barely know anyone, Mister Hewitt. How did you end up on the Valiant?" she asked making conversation whilst waiting for the Ambassador.

"Oh gosh," the crewman enthused, "I believe Chef Ainsley, she's real nice by the way, contacted Bu'Pers and told them she needed a hand for this mission and I've always loved cooking and did a bunch of it growing up. So, for once, a square peg made it into a square hole, you might say ma'am." The crewman chortled a bit, then caught site of movement as the Ambassador made his way down the steps from the shuttle. The crewman quieted, smiling as the Ambassador approached.

The ambassador was dressed simply in a jacket, shirt and trousers with loafers on his feet. Nodding to Micah, he said "Thank you so very much for helping me today, Micah. Then he turned to Tavana, "Ahh, Ms. Kretorg, so good of you to come. I do believe your given name is Tavana? May I call you that?"

Tavana got up as he approached. "It's my pleasure, Ambassador, thank you for having me." And so the chess game began. "And of course you can call me Tavana. Kretorg is the name of my father, it's a Klingon thing and often confusing," she smiled. " It is really peaceful and beautiful here, it's like a little haven in space," she complemented his efforts.

Smiling seemingly ruefully, Telford moved to hold Tavana's chair as she resumed her seat then slid into his own next to her and said. "Now a complement like that requires me to tell you that my poor attempts to decorate are paled all the more by your radiance."

Tavana couldn't stop herself from glancing at him as she was caught off guard by his comment.

He chuckled as she looked at him and he held up his hands, "But that is not the thing we're here for right now, even though it is the truth. Now, I heard you tell Crewman Hewitt you were waiting for me before ordering a beverage. So, what can we offer you?"

Even if she expected the Ambassador to flatter, she was still sightly embarrassed. No one had ever said anything like that to her and she didn't quite know how to respond. "I will have a glass of carbonated water and slices of lemon, thank you," Tavana said and trying to get to more even footing she jumped as far into business as she could. "Ambassador, I would like to hear how I can be helpful to this mission?"

Telford found his own chair and nodded his thanks to Hewit as the young blonde man brought their drinks. "To that, I think you're going to prove invaluable once we arrive at Valdivae. The people there have very split thoughts on staying in the Federation and we have to coerce...woo... them as it where, to understanding why they should remain. How valuable they are to the Federation and how membership does have it's benefits."

Telford took a drink from his glad of ice tea before continuing. "Such things are delicate. We can't seem overly pushy or insensitive to them....especially when it comes to their president and the ruling council feeling under pressure for change. More self-determination. A return to what time has glossed over to be the good old days that those opposed to Federation membership are using in their arguments."

"Specifically," the Ambassador stated as he looked at Tavana, "Meeting with everyone we can. Being seen. Being approachable. Letting the populace know that the Federation doesn't just court and forget you." Motion caused the ambassador to turn as Hewitt approached with their luncheon plates and Telford turned back finishing his thought. "Sadly, that seems to be a core argument and to a degree, accurate enough that the Federation Diplomatic corp has been ordered to turn that around. Which is why Valiant will be taking part of that static display."

Hewitt brought plates to both of them and smiled as he slid them before the two diplomats. "Salad and a clam chowder with crispy bread sounded lovely when Chef Ainsley suggested it," Telford told Tavana. "If that doesn't suit, I'm sure we can find something else."

"That won't be necessary, this smells delicious. It beats a replicator," Tavana chuckled. Waiting just that moment for him to start eating, respectfully, she took the crisp bread and bit into it, savouring the taste. "I love bread this way," she admitted and then dipped it into the chowder. "Ambassador, I have a question. Why is it important to have them as part of the Federation?"

Telford tasted his food, ripping a chunk from the bread and dipping it into the chowder. After chewing, he said "Well the obvious reason is that the sum is greater than it's parts. We're stronger together and can bring more good...more knowledge along all lines to a greater base." The ambassador popped the last of his torn bread into his mouth and finished that while picking up a spoon and dipping it into the chowder. "Beneath that is the military aspects. The Valdivae are one of our few allies in the Triangle and they have very good ship yards." The ambassador took a spoonful of the soup and sighed appreciatively. "That is why they joined the Federation in the first place, really. They have lived through conflict and wanted to choose their own path rather than have one forced upon them."

Tavana ate whilst listening, enjoying every bite, but with the inherent decorum of her upbringing, having grown up around diplomats in the upper echelons of Betazoid society. Even her Klingon family was more restraint that most. The latter part of his answer was what she was really interested in. Though she could gain that information from the intel she received, she wanted to hear it from the Ambassador himself.

"I know it was a relatively obvious question, Ambassador, but for me personally, it is better to convinced of the 'product' myself, if I am going to be effective in playing my role in 'selling' the idea so to speak," she explained, fully aware that she had no need to explain herself. Some, or rather quite a substantial segment of the Federation get their noses out of joint when they hear the word 'military'. Tavana was not one of those. She studied the him for a moment as if weighing something in her mind. "Can we afford to lose them?"

While she spoke, Telford dipped his spoon into the chowder and worked through half of his bread. Gesturing vaguely with a bit of crust, he stated. "That's the rub of course. We can, yes. It'll just make things more difficult in the region." He paused long enough to sip from his glass then continued, "I had a strategic briefing of course. The gist of which is with Valdivae being one of three species who have been approached and the only species in the area to be full members of the Federation, strategically yes they are important. And not just militarily. They're a respected race in the region and its' an associative relationship that we hope will open other doors for trade and Federation interests."

Gathering his thoughts as his eyes idly traced over Valiant's diplomat officer, he said "The counter argument we're seeing is that the Federation is too big and it's attention, like that of a bachelor, wanders to the pretty thing in front of them. Our mission," he said giving her the flicker of a wink, "Is to make them feel valued. That's where we come in. Why StarFleet agreed to let Valiant be used in a static display. Having the crew do public outreach and make ourselves available and that the Federation is interested in taking part in their society."

"So the big dog, making the little dog feel important and valued and it makes the big dog looks really nice," Tavana mused. The Ammbassador was obviously not telling her everything, in fact she was certain he was hiding someting. She zoned in on what he referred to briefly. "So why is a military advantage important here?"

The ambassador's eyebrow shot up and he said, "I thought that that would be obvious," he said. "In the Triangle, the Federation doesn't have many allies. The Romulans are always sniffing about and you can't discount the Tholian's either. Plus the Triangle is something of a wild region...lots of autonomous systems all trying to walk balances in their best interests." He stopped to take another sip of his drink before continuing. "We're trying to reach out diplomatically, but it helps to have friends in the region. More importantly, it's important NOT to lose friends."


A joint post by

Lieutenant Tavana Kolan
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Valiant

Guest starring
Ambassador Telford

 

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