Posted Sept. 27, 2022, 12:35 p.m. by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) (James Sinclair)
Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in House Duroc Embassy - When Cultures (And Laws) Clash (Tag Lt. Gov.)
Posted by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) in House Duroc Embassy - When Cultures (And Laws) Clash (Tag Lt. Gov.)
Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in House Duroc Embassy - When Cultures (And Laws) Clash (Tag Lt. Gov.)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
Vargas stiffened slightly and the pain of the memory of the death of his friends rang out sharply. But his visible self remained mostly stoic. “I did, Ma’am. As was required to be cleared for duty. I asked for additional time with the Counselor, but it was deemed unnecessary by my Department Head. And no, Ma’am. I was not sent to the station’s Counselor after I submitted my request. Either time.” He added the last with a noticeable edge to his words. At this point Urg spoke up. “He has been seeing a therapist for the past six months. At his request, Captain.”
House Duroc
When Eela turned her gaze upon Urg, there was something different in her eyes than before. It was not the look of the commander and diplomat, but of a woman who knew pain and who had sat in it with others many, many times. She nodded slowly.
Meeting Vargas’s gaze again, Eela breathed out audibly and for a moment looked at a loss. “Okay. That helps frame things for me. And I’m sorry to have brought up a painful subject. I really do appreciate you being open with me. It helps more than you know,” she said gently.
“As you both can understand, I have to do my due diligence and investigate this matter more deeply. But Luis, if there is anything else you can share with me that might be relevant to this situation, please tell me now. I’ve already been been left out of the loop in various ways and it only makes things more complicated than they need to be.” She was sitting here fully giving both Urg’ton and Luis Vargas the benefit of the doubt, but Eela Dasca knew all too well that people could leave out details or outright lie if they needed to protect themselves or someone else. Could someone be misleading her here? Most definitely. Had she detected any deception thus far? Not a shred. She was proceeding cautiously, but everything she had said and done here had been absolutely genuine.
~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov
Vargas looked at Urg, and Urg nodded slightly. “Kvaar’ton says she is trustworthy. Show her.” Vargas nodded and said “Yes, My Lird Duroc.” He reached in his left bracer and pulled out an optical disk. “Here, Ma’am. Take this.” Urg stood and moved to the desk and then came back with a reader and handed it to Eela.
Dasca accepted the disk and slipped it into the reader.
When the chip was inserted, it was blank for a moment. Then a text-based message appeared. It was sent from a Star Fleet comm relay to a non-Federation address. “That was my only active comms after I left. I received that a few months after I was gone.” Vargas said. The message said “You are pathetic. And a coward. You know I saw you a few weeks ago. Begging in the street. You were an embarrassment in uniform, and you’re still an embarrassment. Star Fleet is better off without you. Go crawl in a hole and die.” It was signed Lieutenant Jyn Hdla. “She knew where I was, Ma’am. And she did nothing.”
House Duroc
Rage rose up instantly within her, driving her to her feet in a rare smooth motion. Setting the reader on the seat of her chair and moving away from the fire and chairs, Dasca couldn’t have disguised her disgust and fury if she tried and there was a low growl of frustration. Hands planted on her hips, she turned back towards them, shaking her head. “The level of negligence and incompetence in this situation astounds me! Not to mention the heartlessness. Not many know or remember that I have a masters degree in psychology and I started out in Starfleet as a counsellor back when they were a nice thing to have but not commonplace. Us counsellors pushed and pushed to have procedures in place to handle a wide variety of situations that can and do come up in the course of a person’s career. And to see those processes just discarded because they were inconvenient or whatever their damn excuse was is just insulting to everyone.”
Unbuttoning her coat with its armour like shoulder embroidery, Dasca shrugged it off revealing a plain pale blue blouse and strode back to her chair, draping the coat over the back, and then retook her seat, reaching for the reader again. With it resting in her lap, she leaned forward, bracing her arms on her knees, even though it pulled at her back in an uncomfortable way just now. The fury remained in her eyes as she met Vargas’ gaze. “There is little I can say except that as a Starfleet captain, my crew were everything. If I could trade my life for any of the 232 lives that were lost when my ship was destroyed, I would do it in a heartbeat. Because that is was it is to be a captain who values something more than their own damn ego. And all I can say is how deeply sorry I am that you were not given the support and understanding that was the bare minimum expected in this situation. There is no forgiveness for that kind of cruelty. Ever.” Her heart was beating hard and she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her. It was fuelled by that kind of spitting anger that made someone want to throw and break things.
~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov
Vargas nodded and was about to speak when Urg said “And that still leaves my question from before, Lieutenant Governor. Why is this a problem now? What has changed that would make Vargas’s situation useful now, instead of a week ago? Two? Last month?” and his face took on a very serious and waves of anger radiated form the Klingon. But rather than rage, this anger was cold… calculated… determined. “And yes, I know the answer. I want to see if you do, Captain.”
Urg, Lord Duroc
Dasca’s eyes were alit as she sat back upright again, her back protesting the previously held position, though she managed to not react outwardly. “What has changed is me. A new Lieutenant Governor, and one who is Commander-in-Chief but not an active duty officer? People see the writing on the wall, that things are changing and I’m not hiding the fact that I am here to help the Governor continue the process of making Oed Five less reliant on Starfleet. That has got to piss a few people off, and sowing enmity allows them to discredit me. I’ve been here only a few days. People don’t know me yet, don’t trust me. Hell, you two have learned more about who I am as a person- what drives me, what I believe in- in the short duration of our conversation than I’ve been given an opportunity to show to the people of this colony I work for. If someone is trying to force me to make a big enough mistake that they replace them, then they believe they have a better option. Sadly, they’re wrong, but that’s another matter entirely.”
She took out the optical chip, holding it up between her fingers, and focused on Vargas again. “Luis, the incident at the gate, the maneuvering going on here? It’s political. But you and you’re well being are not. And I will not let you be used a pawn. You’ve been through enough and you don’t deserve that. “
“I’m going to take this chip with me, as I know you’re smart and this isn’t the only copy. And I’m going to do my due diligence, comb reports and files and gather my evidence.” Eela forced out a breath as her hand came to rest in her lap. “Like I said, I’ve been here only a few days. I am one hundred percent willing to battle this on your behalf, the way someone should have long before this point, but you both”-she looked between Luis and Ug-“have to keep in mind that I am involved in politics now. Whether we like it or not, I need good will in order to be effective here. My end goal here is to get you that discharge so that you can move about this colony freely, so that Oed can be your home too beyond the walls of this embassy. I have the clout and connections to make it happen, but I’m going to make waves doing so. I can’t act until I am damn certain I can survive this politically. And that only matters because to be quite honest, I am responsible to millions of people. Luis, I want to do the right for you here, but it also can’t be at the expense of the entire colony. You both understand that, yes?”
~Eela Daca, Lt. Gov.
Urg looked at Vargas and said “Trust her. And know that you are my House. You will be protected. Now go.” Luis stood and slammed his fist on his chest and said “Yes, Lord Duroc.” He turned and looked at Dasca. “Ma’am, I trust no one related to Star Fleet. Not anymore. But I will give you the opportunity to prove me wrong about you. I wish you good fortune in your investigation.” and he turned and left the room.
Urg looked at Dasca and said “You are thinking too small, Lieutenant Governor. This isn’t about you. This whole thing… the investigation, the Security team waltzing in here, the attack on that Holloway guy and the CCDA General… I think they are all related. I think someone has it out for the colony. The entire colony. Oed’s strength has always been its belief in itself. And who ever is at the core of all of this is seeking to undermine that. This is an attack, Lieutenant Governor.” and he took a drink, his eyes never leaving her.
“Soneone has decided to destroy this colony.”
Urg, Lord Duroc
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