Lasting Impressions
Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 1:18am by Cailus Griffin & Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant John Sandoval & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose & Katya
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:23pm
Mission:
Death in Paradise
Location: Paradise - Atrium Level
A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Katya & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant John Sandoval & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Paradise - Atrium Level
Timeline:
Tue Nov 27th, 2018 @ 10:51am
ON:
It had been about half an hour as the group waited for the Irokari to arrive and Lieutenant Kaleri to return. A Paradise Guard had come into the room at one stage and opened up a small hatch in the wall, revealing a buffet of food. Nyx thanked the Guard as he left but realised soon after the appreciation was not particularly warranted. The food that Paradise had given was a plate of raw, sliced potatoes, a bowl of coffee beans, lime-flavoured jelly, and a pitcher with warm blue milk. This was apparently the extent of the station's research into the Federation's delicacies. Either that or this was all they could scrounge up from the kitchen.
Seeing the jelly as the only reasonable option, Nyx dug a knife and tentatively lifted a small portion onto his plate. They had also only supplied knives for cutlery, adding difficulty to the task of eating the meal provided.
John slowly approached the table took a close look as well, and smiled at their situation. "Don't worry, Captain," he said. "This is an absolutely normal sign. Barely palatable food, presented in a way that shows they did their best." He moved his satchel so that it rested at the small of his back and began to plate. He put a few of the raw potato slices, a dozen or so of the coffee beans, and a smear of the lime jelly onto his plate, and poured a glass of the milk. He rested his cane against the wall and arranged himself so one hand held the glass and the plate, freeing the other to pick the food. It was a move that was not taught at the academy, but that every diplomat had mastered by their third reception. He dipped some of the potato in the jelly and took a bite. "I'm sure your brother could tell us about worse food eaten with worse company in worse situations."
Emmanuelle was the next to the table. She made a face at the food offerings, and hesitated to pick anything.
"Fill your plate, Ensign," John told her. "You've been helping me get ready for an event such as this; allow me to return the favour. You don't know when your next calories will be coming in. We could be waiting here a long time, and negotiations could take a long time without health breaks. Eat what you can, when you can. Same recommendation for you and you, Captain and Lieutenant." Reluctantly, Emmanuelle filled her plate with potato and jelly, moved alongside her assigned subject, and began eating.
For his part Cailus had been standing back, maintaining a strict posture with his hands behind his back, but he wasn't about to ignore the CDO. This was Sandoval's turf. Thus he reluctantly stepped forward and put some potato and jelly on top of a plate before hesitantly using a knife to sample both.
"Not too bad," he said with gruff approval. "I've been to a lot of diplomatic dinners over the years, and by those standards, this could be worse. At least it's edible for humans."
"That it is," replied John. "They made an effort." He still wasn't sure how exactly he felt having Cailus Griffin -- the notorious Butcher of Menelax -- doing security on the ship. He would make a point to discuss Menelax with the chief at some point. Right now, John felt he should at least say a few words. "Lieutenant, while we're waiting, I wanted to apologize for raising Menelax in the presence of your spouse and the little one. Academically I absolutely must talk to you at some point. But it was wrong for me to bring it up in front of your child." He left out any reference to his feelings about the chief's actions. Dozens were killed because of Cailus's orders. But that would be hardly diplomatic to raise now, especially in front of the Captain and Ensign Larose.
Cailus' expression didn't change in the slightest from his usual severity, although for the briefest of moments, he was very still. "And I thank you for not going into more detail in front of Shae and Aoife," he said quietly, glancing at Nyx and Emmanuelle to ensure that the conversation was private, before returning his intense eyes to Sandoval. "I won't pretend to understand why the war is of interest 'academically', but if you want to discuss my part in that conflict, you are free to seek me out when time permits."
“I’m a former Marine with a PhD in military history,” said John to answer Cailus’s final point. Who almost lost his leg because people ordered my ship to land in an area where they hadn’t cleared anti-air weapons. “I wrote my thesis on the Xindi conflict, and literally wrote the book on the MACOs of the 22nd century. I remain fascinated in War history despite my pacifism. I’m interested in your story,” he said the last part with a bit more intensity than intended, which drew Emmanuelle’s attention.
That prompted a bemused raised eyebrow from the security chief, but he nodded in assent as he took a careful bite out of a potato. "Very well," he said evenly after finishing forcing down the replicated vegetable by clearing his throat. "For now, I suggest that we focus on the matter at hand."
There was a tang to the jelly that should not have been there, that’s what Nyx was focusing on. Something not quite right that he couldn’t figure out. The others had all dig into the offered food with congenial enthusiasm but Nyx was less than convinced. He poked at the wobbling green jelly on his plate, wondering why it wasn’t quite lime flavoured.
“I hope everything is to your liking.” Came Katya’s voice from the screen on the wall as she appeared again.
“We’re thankful for the effort you’ve gone to.” Nyx replied as he turned to look at the station chief, trying to hide his discomfort.
“Ah, Captain. I believe you’re trying the ‘Toad in a Hole’.” Katya smiled. “That one certainly confused our chefs. We had no idea your palettes were so diverse.”
“Toad in a Hole?” Nyx asked, gulping a little.
“Yes, how whimsical. It’s supposed to look like a small amphibian, a frog I believe, trapped in a pond.” She giggled as she spoke. “Very unusual.”
“A chocolate frog.” Nyx gritted his teeth, he could taste the unusual tang again across his tongue. “It’s a dessert for children’s parties.”
“Chocolate?” Katya was perplexed. “Hmm that would make more sense. Although unfortunately we don’t have any chocolate available.”
“Oh.” Nyx replied, his jaw now shut tight.
“Or frogs.” Katya continued, giving another laugh. Nyx wasn’t sure if he could relax just yet.
"As I said, Captain," John said with a delighted grin on his face. "we should feel honored by the sincere attempt." John looked at Katya on the screen. He downed the rest of his drink, put his dishes down, grabbed his cane, and stepped towards her image. "Ms. Katya, may I ask when we can expect the Irokari to arrive?"
“They are here.” Katya replied simply, clearly in complete control of all proceedings, “They’ve just been eating their own meals."
"Where is Lieutenant Kaleri?" Nyx asked, trying to remain casual.
"She is helping us to find some missing children on the station." Katya replied with a polite smile. "She has been most helpful to us."
"Well, we're glad to help you in any way possible." Nyx returned the smile.
"Correct. I would be honoured to pay the favour." The chief said, her neon tattoos seemingly taking on a brighter glow. "We have a cargo ship due to depart in thirty minutes and I would like to offer the open berth to the Pandora. It means your crew will be free to visit the station, assuming they comply with our security checks."
Nyx looked around to the others and then back to Katya, giving a nod. "That would be wonderful. I want everyone to see the station and we could use some time off the ship."
"Then it is settled." Katya beamed, "I will make arrangements."
"To be honest though, we have noticed your systems could use an update for Federation languages." Nyx added, giving a small restrained laugh. "I could have my Engineering department bring over some data files to adapt to your systems? It could include other parts of our cultures, too."
The Anh'Iran woman contemplated the proposal for a moment, considering the ramifications of such a thought. Normally she would never allow a foreign ship to alter anything on the station, but the possibility of appealing to a wider audience brought some commercial appeal. With the Federation withdrawing from the Expanse, it would also likely add a premium to any human product she could sell on Paradise, gaining her potentially more economic benefits.
"Yes." Katya added. "We will have to carefully review all files and equipment being brought to the station, and my own team will be responsible for uploading the information to our systems."
"Of course." Nyx nodded, as he tapped his badge. =/\= “Temple to Mindo,” =/\
After a pause, there came a reply from the Chief Engineer, =/\= "Mindo here."=/\=
=/\= “Lieutenant, we’re on Paradise Outpost and we’ve discovered the station requires significant updates to their database of Federation standard languages, cuisines, and cultural knowledge,” Nyx stated. “I would like you to prepare some data chips and head across to the station as soon as you can. You will need to bring a small team as well to help integrate our translation algorithms into Paradise’s automated interface.” =/\=
=/\= I'm on it, Captain. Mindo out," =/\=Mindo replied, before signing off.
"Very well," Katya smiled. "Are we ready to begin?"
John looked to his Captain and gave a slight nod. He would've preferred having Krysia nearby, but understood that she was needed elsewhere. Her presence on the delegation was a bit of a luxury anyway. He'd make do without. "I believe we're ready." He shifted his satchel back to his hip and retrieved a small PADD. "You have already received a copy of our credentials, approved by the Federation Secretary of the Exterior. I have another copy here that will be shown to the Irokari. We would be pleased to meet them."
Suddenly, one of the silver circles changed to a view screen, revealing a room nearly identical to their own. Inside it were four individuals. Though John had never met them before, he knew from his team’s reports that these were the Irokari. Humanoid, though clearly having evolved from a race of flightless birds. Downy feathers covered their heads, but smooth skin ranging from white to dark brown. Their feet were bare and three-toed, on which they walked, and each tipped with a claw. Their hands were similar in many ways, but with an opposable thumb and the claws manicured. The delegation wore simple clothes made of a leather-like material. One had bright red head plumage, while for the rest it was white.
“Captain,” John whispered, subtly indicating towards the red-feathered one. “That’s the leader. Recommend you greet them, and use a genderless pronoun when you do so.”
Temple stood forward and offered a slight bow. "Greetings." He said curtly. "My name is Captain Temple of the USS Pandora. This is our Chief Diplomat, Lieutenant Sandoval, and Chief of Security, Lieutenant Griffin."
The lead Irokari bowed back. “I am Rivain, Chief Acquisitions Officer of the Irokar Commission for Protection of Refugees. I thank you for meeting with us. Our people suffer as our governments fight. Your offer of assistance is most welcome.”
Rivain nodded in turn to Sandoval, Griffin, and even Larose, for whom she bowed particularly deeply. “We hope your society learns to value balance as much as ours,” Rivain said to Larose specifically.
It took a moment for John to realize what had happened. “Please forgive the transgression,” John said. “All people on Earth are considered equal. Our delegation was more gender balanced, but Miss Katya requested the help of some delegation members elsewhere. This is Ensign Larose, security attaché.”
Rivain smiled and nodded cordially. “These are my delegates, Baktosh, Lilarr, and Mance. Baktosh helped found our organization thirty years ago during the last major international war. Lilarr was a refugee herself for whom our organization provided food and lodging in a neighbouring neutral nation. Mance lost both of his sons to the fighting, and diverts his attention to helping ensure others do not lose their families.”
“Thank you all for your hard work in helping your people,” John replied. “I myself was severely injured in the Federation’s war against the Dominion 15 years ago. I now work tirelessly for peace, as do my colleagues.” John motioned to a table in the adjoining room. “Shall we begin?”
Temple smiled at the Chief Diplomat, and he noticed Katya was also looking fairly pleased. Soon the groups began their discussions, making plans for delivering the aid supplies safely and securely. If this did happen to be the Pandora's last mission in the Inconnu Expanse, Nyx was pleased they were able to do some good for the region and provide much needed relief for a planet ravaged by war.
OFF
