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Unpacking More Than Books -

Posted March 21, 2023, 10:46 p.m. by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Unpacking More Than Books -

Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Unpacking More Than Books -

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Unpacking More Than Books -
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Of course it will be. You are you. You may get knocked down, but by the gods you will slap on that dress and make sure the galaxy knows it can’t keep you down.” and they grinned. “Thats a job for Mr.- Mr. Joooones.” they sang somewhat loudly while grinning.

Karilan

At this point, anyone who didn’t realize she was there, now did and Eela could do nothing but grin at them. Besides, even if people thought Dash bidding at the auction was simply a part of the event, it would be abundantly clear this evening that the two were interested in each other. Maybe not at the showcase, but at dinner later? Eela was tired of trying to moderate her reactions, even though she had always been a fairly private person. This week had been too tiring and she needed to stop worrying about what everyone would think. “If I’m fortunate,” she quipped before taking another bite of her dish.

Karilan grinned and said “Vid or it didn’t happen.” and then laughed.

“I might be many things but an exhibitionist is not one of them.”

A short while later, having only eaten a third of the large plate of food, Eela signalled to the server and asked them to pack it to go. “I still have very little in the way of appetite, but I’m happy to have leftovers. It’s going to be a very busy next week!” she said to Karilan.

“Next week? Try after your dinner…” and they grinned at her.

Eela laughed aloud again and she couldn’t remember doing so much laughing in public.

Once Karilan was done as well and they were heading out, Eela caught the eye of the young woman and gave her a wink and a gestured with her head towards the door.

Outside, Eela signalled to her security that this was okay and turned to the woman. “Hello,” she said warmly. In truth, other than the vendors at the farmer’s market or very specific events, she didn’t get to meet people so randomly. The security detail tended to keep people away, and for good reason.

~Eela

The woman was a human, probably in her mid to late twenties. “H-hello Lieutenant Governor Dasca, ma’am. My name is Caroline Maxwine.” she said, obviously nervous.

Eela let her calmness extend beyond herself, even though she didn’t have quite the same ability to influence that others did without contact. “It’s very nice to meet you, Caroline.”

“T-thank you for agreeing to take a vid with me. I am such a fan of your work here on Oed. The way you dealt with that Embassy situation was amazing!” Karilan grinned at Eela from behind the woman and mouthed You have a groupie!. The woman continued. “And… and… and I am glad you are okay. And I am very glad your ex-husband was dealt with. You… you showed a lot of people that they are not alone.” She stepped next to Dasca and lifted her PaDD. The holo was taken and she turned and said “Good luck, Captain. I know we are in good hands. Tell Governor Hyrushi I said good luck, too!”

Karilan and the Fan

“Thank you, and I will. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it as much as I do,” Eela said, knowing that they really could use all the luck they could get with the impending arrival of the Vren. She reached out and gave Caroline a gentle squeeze of her shoulder before she stepped away.

Eela gave Karilan a grin. “Well, that was sweet and lovely.”

They walked back to her apartment and soon they were back amongst the books. “Okay, let’s finish these books and then you can do the grand reveal with the nook,” Eela said, unable to hide her excitement for the cozy little space.

~Eela

It took another two hours to get the books shelved and the displays active, but when they were mostly finished Karilan said “Ok, the rest of these here will go in the nook. Are you ready to see it?”

“Absolutely!” she said with a gleam in her eyes.

They led her to the doorway and said “Recessed fingerprint reader here and here. Grab the doorframe like this-” and they took Eela’s hand and set it on the door. As they did, the floor opened like an iris. A set of brass-railed stairs spiraled down about eight feet to small circular space. There was a comfortable chair, a small table, and old-fashioned reading-styled lamp. The walls were recessed shelves for books.. There was also a replicator and a comm terminal. “Ok, so I may have over-engineered this just a little.” and they grinned. “Follow me.” and they led her down the stairs.

“I am not complaining,” Eela said, chuckling as she carefully moved down the stairs, mindful to give her body a tiny bit more time to spatially align itself. “It’s rather magical, all told. I love it.”

With two people in the space, it was almost too much, but doable. “So you have the replicator and comms. Nonuse for the space if you have to trapse up and down for every little thing. No bathroom, there just wasn’t room.” and the chuckled. “Everything is pretty standard except for two things. First: the stairs. I know you have back problems, and I didn’t want something bad to happen down here and you getting stuck. So if you need to get out and can’t walk, stand or sit on the step and press here.” They pressed a singular brass stud…

Despite knowing something would happen, it still startled her and Eela had to take a calming breath.

And the stairs began to move. “They work like an escalator. It will get you up to the floor level. The second thing is this and they pointed to a small picture of a beach. “Tilt it and-” and they did and the iros above them snapped shut a dark gray metal plate slid under it, sealing the space off. Emergency lighting came on and a voice came from the comms. “Ma’am, this is Agent Crane. Your safe room has been activated. Do you need help?” Karilan’s eyes went wide and they said “Oh! I forgot I did that!” and they laughed silently.

Karilan

Eela slapped a hand over her mouth for a moment before composing herself. “Everything is fine. Just testing the new system with Mx. Massat to make sure I know how it works. Thank you for your diligence, Agent,” she said.

When the comms closed Karilan laughed. They triggered the stud again and the room opened up and they said “Oh I should probably buy the agent a cup of coffee for that one.”

“It’s a good safety feature. Not going to lie, when you first mentioned it I wasn’t sure I’d ever need it.” She raised her brows. “Now I’m thinking the extra precautions are wise.”

~Eela

“Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” Karilan said as they went up the stairs and started bringing down books. “And the only people that know about it are you, me, my assistant, and your security team. I even kept it off the permits.” and they waved their hand. “No no, nothing nefarious. One of the CCDA brass made it go through under a ‘colonial security matter’. Nice man. Beautiful hair.” They started shelving books.

Karilan


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