A Step Up

Posted on Fri Feb 14th, 2020 @ 10:19am by Commodore Jane Saulitis

Mission: Cruel Meridian
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 01 09:00 Hours
1078 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Jane had sent a message to Cassie to stop by her ready room when she had a minute. Civilians were generally not allowed on the bridge but Jane had made sure to discuss it with the officers currently on duty so that they wouldn't stop her from coming. If Jane had her way they were about to see a lot more of her on the bridge and in the group meetings.

It had come to her attention that Chief Diplomatic Officer seemed to be cursed on this ship. Tadez had changed careers and the last lieutenant hadn't even made it onto the ship before changing assignments. So she sat down with a cup of coffee and waited for the diplomatic officer to arrive.

Cassie's impromptu meeting with Lieutenant Tadez had just finished when she received the captain's message. It was just as well, she did have a few questions to ask about the future of the diplomatic department. Tadez's transfer to Intel had left her wondering, among other things, who she would now be reporting to. And those questions would soon have answers.

An junior officer glanced at the young diplomat when she indicated to the lift that she wanted to get to the bridge, but didn't say anything. Many of the ship's crew now recognized her, so seeing her in an area usually restricted to civilians wasn't that unusual. A few moments later, she nodded at her lift companion, and pressed the chime to ready-room.

"Come in," Jane said straightening up. If she had realized how stiff she was, it might have been amusing to think she was more nervous with a civilian than any of her officers.

The doors opened at the captain's words, and Cassie entered the captain's office. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, Ms. Reed, please come in. I wanted to discuss something with you. I'll just get right to it. As you may know, our chief diplomatic officer that we had lined up for this mission was unavoidably detained. And since we seem to have trouble filling the position I thought it was silly to let it sit open when we have a perfectly good diplomat aboard the ship. Though you are a civilian, I have propositioned Starfleet to make you our full time Chief Diplomatic Officer. Congratulations."

Cassie was genuinely confused. "Well, I did wonder who I would be reporting to from now on..." She paused letting the words sink in. "Thank you. How did you manage to convince Starfleet?"

"It wasn't that hard, your history speaks for itself and honestly I think they were getting tired of trying to find me someone and getting someone to stay. So, I guess this means you're going to need the information on our new princess. But before I get to that I wanted to inform you we are hosting the daughter of a former ambassador. Unfortunately the ambassador met his untimely death here on the ship so the situation is delicate. His wife has graciously agreed to let her daughter spend some time with us as Commander Murphy is her godfather."

"I can understand how the situation could be delicate," Cassie said, taking out her PADD to take notes. "Who was this ambassador? Is there anything specific I should know?"

"His name was Vayr, he was the Creoli ambassador to the Federation. He was murdered aboard. We caught the culprit and of course she was not born yet. She was still in her egg so she has no memory of the events. Still, I'd like all senior staff to keep an eye on her. Make sure she is comfortable and has fun. I've given her free reign to explore the ship except for dangerous or critical areas of course. I don't believe she would break any rules on purpose, she's an inquisitive but well behaved child."

"Understood. I'll see what we can do in terms of entertainment then, if she gets too inquisitive," Cassie said. She made a note to coordinate with Civilian Affairs. "What can you tell me about the princess?"

"She's young, idealistic from what I've read. Honestly I'm not so sure of her motivations on this. Everyone wants this conflict to end but I'm afraid she's throwing herself into something she's not prepared for." Jane smiled. "No one asked me of my opinion when they told me to ferry her there however."

That last statement alone raised quite a few questions, to which she would need answers is she were to do her job properly. She quickly wrote them down in shorthand before speaking. "A few questions. Where are we taking her, what kind of conflict are we talking about, and what does the princess intend to do about it? And do we have an official dossier on this mission?"

"Sozon II. A decades long war between planets that they believe will be solved by the marriage of the princess to the Emperor of Sozon II. And yes . . . somewhere here is . . ." Jane glanced around for the right PADD. "Here we are. Sorry, I'm usually a bit more organized but with greeting new crew members and taking some time off myself the office was neglected."

Cassie smiled. "No worries, things are always a bit hectic after a break," she said as she copied the dossier's information on her own PADD. "Hmm. Arranged marriage. I thought these things had fallen out of fashion as conflict resolution tactics," she thought aloud as she read the short mission description. "Am I right to assume that this is the first time the monarchs will meet in person?"

"You would think by now wouldn't you? And yes, as far as I'm aware she's never left her home planet before. Apparently he wanted a wife and just picked one from some images sent to him," Jane said trying to hide her disgust.

Cassie fluttered her eyelids in disgust. "Just like in our good old medieval times. How... beautifully archaic," she said, sarcasm oozing out of her mouth. A thin smiled formed on her face and vanished just as quickly. "I'll get out of your hair, then. I'll give this a good read and see to last minute preparations before our guests arrive. Also, thank you for the promotion," she said, rising from her chair. "I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't," Jane smiled. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do, thank you."

---

Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer

Cassandra Leblanc-Reed
Chief Diplomat