Departmental Consultation

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 4:41am by Lieutenant John Sandoval & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:28pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Diplomatic Deartment, Deck 4
Timeline: After "Learning"

ON

Lieutenant John Sandoval left the senior staff meeting and made his way to his own office on Deck 4. He knew his team was preparing the day's work. Crewman Liane Marcoux and Ensign Jari will have put together a brief overview of relevant items of Galactic news, which he could study at a high level before asking for more details on the stories that affected them most. Staff Warrant Officer Vashi sh’Tashat will be partway through reviewing logs and reports from Paradise Station; her assignment was to provide as much detail to crew as possible to minimize the chances that any would break protocol and cause anyone offence.

One of John's instructors at King's College London, a former Federation Ambassador, when his friends or students were leaving on holiday or assignment, would jokingly say "Don't become a Consular case" instead of "Have fun." Having heard from Krysia what security was really like on the station, John thought the sentiment was appropriate, and knew his Warrant Officer's work was crucial.

His own work was crucial, too. Given how the mission to help the Irokari was actually a front that had positive benefits, it was now time for John to contribute more directly to the fight against the Alrakis Pact. He used the word 'fight' metaphorically, of course. He had no desire to go to war over the Expanse. But in his own way he could help the Federation resist the Pact's aggression. If a few thousand Irokari lives were saved or otherwise helped because of this, then that was a bonus.

He entered the office and was surprised to see Emmanuelle already there too, and wearing departmental purple. The stripes on her cuffs were security gold, clearly a custom job; she must have a friend who did the late-night shift in K'Laus's department. She dyed the ends of her hair from bright purple to a neon yellow. She was taking the "Diplomatic Security" angle hard. She stood in the centre of the room, while each of the other three sat at their desks. She held a PADD and passed it to John as he came in.

" 'Effective 0900 hours, Ensign Emmanuelle Larose is to be permanently detached to Diplomatic Department as Security Attaché, reporting to Lieutenant John Sandoval. Signed, Lieutenant Cailus Griffin,' " John read from the PADD. He handed it back with a smile. "Welcome to the team, Ensign. The purple suits you."

John beckoned his staff into their conference room. John had a preferred place, the centre of one of the long sides (heads of delegation never sat at the head of a table, but across from each other in the centre of the long sides, bringing them closer together and having more space to either side for assistants), and he encouraged his team to sit with him, some beside and some across, but none too far.

"Alright team," he began, "we're going to find the Irokari again. But instead of meeting on the station, we're going to meet on their ship. You're all cleared to know this much: we're bringing Lieutenant Smith with me so we can try to learn more from the Irokari about Alrakis Pact activities in the area. Maybe they encountered the Pact recently, or maybe their ship has useful sensor logs. We're also going to make sure the aid transfer is going well, so we're taking our new Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alves, with me. Ensign Larose, you'll be coming along as well."

"What do you need from us, sir?" asked Ensign Jari. John had so far been impressed with their work, and was strongly considering making the Assistant Chief position permanently theirs, barring a last-minute transfer from Starfleet Command.

"We need to find the Irokari," said John. "They must have a ship that's docked, but so far all of our aid was transferred through Paradise. The Irokari are warp-capable, but haven't built too many of their own ships, so I expect they've hired a neutral freighter to transport them between Irokar and Paradise. Jari, Liane, I need you and the team to track down that ship. Speak with the intelligence and tactical departments; they may have picked something up on sensors or intercepted transmissions. Then make contact and arrange for a meeting. Tell them there was a problem with our inventory and we'd like to verify that they received everything that was promised, and that we wish to talk with them in person. If there's resistance, find an in with them. There may be some avenue that we haven't explored yet."

"Sir," said Emmanuelle, "I was looking into the Irokari situation late last night. I read that there are numerous childhood illnesses once thought under control that are sweeping through the refugee camps."

"We saw that, too," said Jari. "Vaccines were included in our original aid package."

"But maybe one of these diseases this is something our new CMO has specific experience with?" suggested Emmanuelle. "We might suggest Dr. Alves speak with their medical expert, justifying our visit to their ship."

Jari smiled. They hadn't thought of that. It was a good idea. She nodded towards their superior officer.

"Excellent," said John. "Make it happen. Vashi, stick with your work on Station issues, but be ready to assist the others if needed. Emmanuelle will work with you. She has first-hand experience with Station security. Dismissed."

Everyone stood from their seats and went to work. Emmanuelle didn't have a desk yet, but sat with Vashi in her workspace as they resumed working on Station records. John went into his own office and began working on his own away mission plan, sending his suggestion to Lieutenant Smith and Dr. Alves. He spoke with the doctor directly to brief her on this new mission.

***

An hour into their work, the door to the department opened and a civilian entered, carrying a dozen peach coloured roses in a glass vase. He set them down on Crewman Marcoux's desk and left. Jari, Vashi, and Emmanuelle all immediately stood to take a look and ask who sent them, wondering if she had a new beau or some secret admirer. Sadly for Jari and Vashi, only Liane fully understood the context behind the unsigned card. "Liane, Thank you. Don't do it again, but thank you." Emmanuelle put it together a second later, realizing that someone was happy that Liane broke some rules and allowed a certain medical professional into his quarters. She kept silent though, understanding the need for discretion. John's response? A subtle wink at his assistant when he knew she was the only one who could see it.

***

It wasn't much longer until everything had been finalized. Jari found that a civilian-operated Tellarite freighter had arrived the same day that the Irokari showed up on the Station. The ship's Captain confirmed that he was chartered to bring them to Paradise, wait for a week or two, and bring them and their newly-acquired cargo back to Irokar. Liane made arrangements for a delegation of five -- himself, the Captain, Emmanuelle, James, and Alexandra -- to beam to the Tellarite ship and meet with the Irokari.

John tapped his commbadge. =/\= "Sandoval to Captain Temple and Lieutenants Smith and Alves. We are go for our mission. Arrangements have been made to beam to the Irokari delegation's ship at 1200 hours." =/\=

OFF