Posted Jan. 21, 2023, 12:50 p.m. by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) (Lindsay B)
Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in A New Day, A New World, A New Life
Posted by Civilian Jeannette Mathis (Federation Ambassador) in A New Day, A New World, A New Life
Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in A New Day, A New World, A New Life
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
Massat smiled and said “Oh, I can only imagine. That is an exceptional piece, actually. Quite an interesting history, if I do say so. Allow me.” He went to the end of the case and pulled out a pair of archivist’s gloves. He then went through the security system and opened the environmentally sealed case and pulled the book from its display. “This way.” he said, and led the party to 9ne of the viewing alcoves.
Eela grinned in anticipation. It almost didn’t matter what the book was about, there was something magical about something so old that they could, if not touch, be in close proximity to.
Setting the manuscript down, he said “If you are not proficient in Vulcan, I am happy to translate.” He opened the cover and there, on the title page, was impeccable Vulcan handwriting.
Mathis smiled. “I’ll be able to manage.”
“She says modestly, despite the fact that she can read all four dialects,” Jones said with a lopsided smile.
Jeanette shook he head and began to read aloud.
“Ambassador Curtis, ” it began. “It has been a singular challenge working with humanity for the past eleven years. You in particular are crass, rude, clumsy in thought and deed, and without a doubt the most rash human I ever had the misfortune to have to speak with. As I retire from my position as Vulcan Ambassador to Earth, allow me to say that it is my sincerest wish that I vener set foot on human ground again.”
“Please accept this gift of my treatise on humans and your planet. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn of our celestial neighbors. And against all logic, know that I believe humans will strive for greatness and succeed more than they fail. Please do your best to ensure the successes are more spectacular than the other. Much love and adoration to Elizabeth and Jonah.”
It was signed “Your friend, Live Long And Prosper, T’Suran”
Massat smiled and said “T’Suran’s decendents received this from Ambassador Curtis’s decendants almost a hundred standard years ago when one was named Federation Senator. Apparently the two families are very close.”
Massat, Owner
“That is priceless,” Jeannette said with a laugh. “It’s like a diplomatic love-hate relationship. You know, I’ve had the temptation to say how I really felt about people, but of course I’ve never gone through with it.”
Eela smirked. “I have,” she said with gleam in her hazel eyes, drawing surprised looks from Mathis and Jones. “And it wasn’t even with a species who prefers blunt honesty. Funny things happen when you set all the crap to the side, speak your mind and know where you stand with people.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Mathis said with a smile as she gazed back at the treatise. “I will say that this reads differently than the translated version I know. The.. tone is different, which is always the problem with translation. The individual doing the translation has to make decisions and there is always a measure of bias. This reads far more like an unlikely friendship than it does conflict.”
“Was this in your Aunt’s collection, or did you come by it some other means?” Dash asked Karilan.
~Dasca & Co.
Masaat rocked his head from side to side slightly and said “I received this via an exchange. This piece in exchange for a book that, unbeknownst to me, contained correspondence between the Vulcan Ambassador and a human who… well… let us just say that they were not his spouse. The incident is well known in history, but the names have always been a close secret. The families wished it to remain so.”
Massat, Owner
Dasca snorted. “De’ lI’ Sovlu’DI’ chaq Do’Ha’,” she said, flexing her growing skills in tlhlngan Hol. “Knowledge of useful information may be unfortunate.” She shook her head. “If I hadn’t been both a psychologist and a diplomat, I’d be surprised at the skeletons that are in people’s closets, but quite honestly very little surprises me these days.”
For her part, Mathis maintained something of a neutral expression that was as much a tell as anything. Then again, she had served on Vulcan early in her career and long held many connections. She knew just enough to decipher between truth and gossip even if she didn’t know all the details. “I want to be able to say the same, but then I came here,” she said, looking up with a grin. “It’s nice to be surprised now and again. It’s keeps you on your toes.”
Jones just snorted, knowing well what she meant but also it hid his own shift in demeanour over the turn of conversation. Well, maybe not entirely, as he felt Dasca’s gaze on him for a moment but he didn’t dare look up. Something about the woman told him that’d she somehow see right though him and in some moments that was thrilling and lovely, and other times it felt dangerous.
Dasca smiled at Karilan. “Thank you, Karilan, for letting us see it more closely. But we should get down to business, yes?” she said to Mathis.
“Indeed,” Jeanette said. “There’s a workroom in here I take it?”
~Dasca & Co.
“The alcove downstairs is ready for you.” They looked at Eela and said “Lieutenant Governor, you know the way I believe? I will return the tome to storage and then come and make sure you are settled.” and they nodded at her and began to take the book and put it back into the secured display case.
Massat, Owner
“Yes, thank you, Karilan, I appreciate it.” Eela led her companions back downstairs and into the space in the back that had become like a secret hideaway. She didn’t mind sharing it with Jeanette and Dashiel though. If she had, she’d have never brought them to the Quill in the first place.
“Nice spot,” Dash said with a nod of appreciation before fixing his gaze on Dasca. Perhaps it lingered a little longer than it should have but he knew he found her fascinating so perhaps she’d forgive him his intrigue.
“I like to come here to do intensive work when being in my office either leads to distractions or I just need a change of scenery,” Eela said.
Jeanette smiled as she settled into a chair that the table and rested her bag next to her on the floor. “I can see why. It’s very cozy without being oppressively small.”
Settling into work, the trio discussed all sorts of topics related to the upcoming arrival of their diplomatic guests (such as they were), and Eela explained a bit about her own experiences those first days on Oed and the shift in mindset she had had to have in order to cut through the noise that people were tossing at her. While Kenzo had a specific framework for how he saw Oed and its people, so too did Eela. Hers was all about the heart of the place when you dug down deep and why that made the colony special, different than other places.
An hour and a half later, after plenty of coffee (all three were fans of the brew) and some lovely pastries, they felt they had reached a good place. “Does that help?” Eela said to Mathis.
The ambassador sat back in her seat and chuckled. “I want to say yes, and it actually does, but there’s another part of me that is a little overwhelmed. I think I’m going to go for a walk on my own and just take things in and see how it inspires the statement. But I should be able to draft one by this evening.” She looked to Dashiel. “I’ll send it to you for a cursory pass before we send it on as a very rough draft?”
Jones nodded. “Sounds good to me. I was going to go back to the office and see what we need for set-up and then do those filings for the Corps we were talking about.” Mathis nodded.
“I’m going back to the Tower too. I’ll come with you if you don’t mind, as I want to double check the state of the offices they set aside for you at our request,” Dasca added.
They left the alcove and Mathis waved to Massat before she stepped out, her own security ready to go where she went.
Eela stopped at the front counter and folded her arms on it, smiling at Karilan, feeling that her instincts about Mathis and Jones were spot on. Jones waited patiently for her by the door since they were heading out together. “So… books. The bookcase system you recommended was delivered ages ago and have been taking up space in my hallway. Delivery of the the crates should be in four days. How do you want to handle this?”
~Dasca & Co.
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