Lines of Diplomacy

Posted on Wed Feb 27th, 2019 @ 8:48pm by Grace Winters PhD & Amelia Valke

804 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Acts of Contrition
Location: Diplomatic Office

Amelia hummed casually as she half walked, half skipped down the corridor towards the diplomatic office. It was rather early in the morning, but she had had a good night's rest and was excited to get started. So far, there were a lot of perks to her being on the Endeavour, the first and foremost being that her quarters had a view and her workload was sure to be lighter. Slowing down to a fast paced walk, Amelia stepped into the diplomatic office and smiled towards the woman sitting behind the desk. "Good morning, Ma'am," she said with a friendly smile.

Grace looked up from her PADD and smiled. "Hello. You must be Amelia. Please, when we are here in the office, call me Grace. Doctor Winters or ma'am in official circumstances. I get enough formality as is."

"Yes, Ma'. . . Grace," Amelia said as she clasped her hands in front of her and tossed her head in order to shake her hair away from her face. "I'm sorry, I'm used to the formality. I was assigned to the Diplomatic Corp. at Starfleet Command before being assigned here."

"Understandable. If that is more comfortable for you, then Ma'am or Doctor is fine." She nodded toward a seat. Please, sit down. How long have you been on the Endeavour?"

"Thank you, Ma'am," Amelia said, breathing a little easier. "I beamed over from the Proxima yesterday. The first officer met me in the transporter room and I've met the captain. I took the opportunity to settle in and get a decent night's sleep before reporting to you. I wasn't sure if you were on board yet, either, if I can be honest."

"Ah, so we are both new here," Grace said, nodding. "That may or may be to our benefit. The Captain informs me that we will have a new conference room shortly. We will have a say in its decor."

"The captain is giving us that much say in the interior decoration of his ship? In my experience most captains wouldn't do that," Amelia said, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Just our part of it. The conference room and reception area for the dignitaries. Plus the office. Those rooms will have to reflect Starfleet at its best. They must be simple and yet elegant so we don't look like we're wasting money and at the same time, not look like every other room on the ship."

"Starfleet not spend money? That's a first," Amelia said with a soft laugh. "But that does make sense. So, what do you need me to do, Ma'am?"

"I trust Starfleet to clean things up, but not to decorate to our specific needs. And yes, Starfleet spends money, but we can't make it look like we're made of money. So, you can help me look through fabrics and paint colors, or you can research a list of the diplomats we are most likely to encounter in the next few weeks, just so we can do some protocol practice."

"Yes, Ma'am," Amelia said. "I'm certain that engineering will have a full range of paints, carpet, and fabrics I can make a display with. As for the second task, may I ask where we're going to be dispatched? That would help narrow down the list a little."

"Actually, I have no idea." Grace smiled. "Pick a direction. All I want to do is get the diplomatic detail on Endeavour working smoothly as a team. I'd like to get any kinks out now. So, the direction does not matter for our purpose."

Amelia nodded her head slowly as her mind raced to start forming a list of the different possibilities. "Understood. When do you want these tasks completed by?" she asked.

"We're in no particular hurry. Close of business tomorrow should be fine," Grace said. "That will give me the evening to review the information. The following morning we'll set up a mock reception." She smiled at Amelia. "This is not because I doubt your abilities. We both need to learn to work together as a team."

"I understand," Amelia said with a smile. "It sounds like fun. I just hope I don't let you down. I know how bad diplomatic related events can get when things get out of hand, and I really want to avoid that. If that's all, Ma'am, I'll get to work right away."

"I don't think you'll disappoint me," Grace said, smiling. "And yes, that's all." She had a lot to do over the next day so that she, too, was ready.

Amelia smiled and offered her new boss a small bow before she stepped towards the door and outside into the corridor. Pausing, she thought for a moment before she turned and headed down the corridor towards engineering.

____
OFF

Amelia Valke
Diplomatic Aide

Grace Winters
Diplomat

 

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