Cassandra's Box

Posted on Sun Aug 4th, 2019 @ 7:58am by Commodore Jane Saulitis
Edited on on Sat Aug 10th, 2019 @ 7:51am

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD3, 1145
956 words - 1.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"Thanks again," Cassie told Lilith as she rang the chime to the Captain's ready room. She had been told upon arriving that Captain Saulitis was expecting her precisely at this time. Nevertheless, she hoped she wasn't interrupting anything important.

"Come in," Jane called, setting down her coffee on the desk and turning off the computer she'd been staring at, rereading the same paragraph over and over again for the last hour.

Cassie entered the ready room, gift box in hand, as the door slid open. She set it down on a small table near the couch, and moved towards the captain's desk.

"Good morning, Captain. I'm Cassandra Leblanc. I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said pleasantly, extending her hand once she reached the desk.

"No, I could use the distraction actually. I was intrigued when Starfleet told me to expect a civilian diplomat. Don't often see a lot of civilians working in such capacity aboard a starship." What she meant of course that there weren't civilians in positions of power. Most of them were chef's like Patrick or lounge workers, certainly not diplomats. She took the hand. "Jane Saulitis."

"A pleasure." Cassie sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. "And you're absolutely right. It's more common to see civilian diplomats or lawyers on stations, where there's a higher civilian population. Stations also act as hubs, or even neutral ground in some cases, as you know.

"A position such as this is as rare as they come, but when powers that be decide to open up something like this, it's an opportunity too hard to pass up. And the competition is fierce."

"I can imagine." Jane said, a small smile forming on her lips. "I'd hate to be in the middle of that brawl."

"It's insane. There are applications from all over the quadrant, from all sorts of people: lawyers, politicians, diplomats, university graduates, aides who want to spread their wings," Cassie explained, with many hand gestures. "We were told when we did the initial interviews in San Francisco that there had been over 15,000 applications. Just for this posting. Apparently, only 10% made it to the first round of interviews."

"So tell me, why did you personally apply? Why did you want the position?" It wasn't something she had to know but Jane was curious.

"To be honest with you, I figured I had nothing to lose. A rejection would have been the worst thing to happen," Cassie started, with a slight shrug. "But I've worked in tandem with Starfleet diplomats on a few occasions, and I've found that their individual approach was a bit cold and unpersonable, when it didn't necessarily have to be. Generally, I find that cooperation between a military diplomat and their civilian counterpart can lead to an even more successful mission, because different strategies and ideas come into play. It's one of the things I want to bring to the table: a bit of out-of-the-box thinking," she explained.

She then smirked, as if she were about to tell some deep, dark secret. "And between you and me, a job like this... looks pretty darn good on a resume."

She sat back on her chair. "What about you? You seem to have an impressive service record. What led you to Starfleet?" she asked.

Jane couldn't help but smile at that. "I followed in the footsteps of my father, because it was as far away from my mother as I could get. I had a unique childhood and let's just say I didn't emulate her. The older I get though the more I become her. I guess I'm doomed as almost all daughters discover someday. Command though, that took some pushing by my husband, back before there was any romance between us. He thought I should be a pilot, I thought he was nuts. But he eventually got to me and here we are."

"Some people just seem to see the potential that we're sometimes blind to," Cassie retorted. "But it does remind me, now that you mention your husband."

She rose from her chair and retrieved the box she had left at the door. "I came across some interesting tidbits of information on my way here, and was able to make some arrangements with a good friend of mine." She carefully set the package on the desk, which was wrapped in immaculate white silk paper and a golden ribbon. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the ceremony, for which I deeply apologize, but I still wanted to offer you a wedding gift."

Looking completely surprised Jane reached for it. "That was really not necessary Cassandra," Jane hoped she didn't mind the use of her formal name. "We weren't expecting any gifts at all. We merely wanted our friends and family to celebrate with us." She opened it anyway. She was touched by the gesture. And she loved chocolates, they looked... decadent. "Thank you, I'm sure Hak and I will enjoy these immensely," she said after she'd gotten the package open. Jane even saved the paper and ribbon.

"I hope you do. They're some of the best Switzerland has to offer."

"We will," she assured her. "Perhaps when things settle down a bit you'll have a chance to meet Hak. He's around here somewhere. Betazoid, dark hair and eyes, thinks he knows everything." Jane teased lightly.

Cassie chuckled. "I'll keep an eye out. In the meantime, I have to check in with Lieutenant Tadez with the details of the mission." She rose from her chair. "Again, it was nice meeting you, Captain."

"You as well, and thank you again for the gift." Jane stood to see her guest out.

---

Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer

Cassandra Leblanc
Diplomatic Officer