Discussing Flower Arrangements

Posted on Tue Oct 22nd, 2019 @ 3:32am by Grace Winters PhD & Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato & Amelia Valke

1,460 words; about a 7 minute read

Akira felt better simply knowing that the Endeavour had, again, been fully repaired and would be getting underway once more. The repair crews that had been swarming over the ship had gone, and the new crew had hopefully settled in. With an assigned region and standing orders, Akira was hoping that the Endeavour would be able to stay out of trouble for at least a little while. She had tried to look up the sector they were heading to, and there was painfully little information to go on, which made her job a bit of a headache. Which was why she had decided to go over a few details in advance, and the next item on her list was the diplomatic arrangements. Until now, the Endeavour hadn't had a need for diplomacy, since everything the cruiser had encountered had tried its best to kill the ship and her crew, but now there was a need to at least try to play nice before things dissolved into a shooting match.

Arriving at the diplomatic officer's office, Akira was surprised to see the diplomatic aide arriving at the same time. The attractive blonde had clearly been the talk of quite a few of the males on the ship, and Akira had to agree that she was quite attractive. She gave the civilian a welcoming nod as they both arrived at the door at the same time.

"Miss Valke, I trust your day is progressing well?" Akira asked in greeting.

"As well as any day, I suppose," Amelia said as she smiled towards the officer. She was still learning names and faces, but the chief of security and tactical on the Endeavour was easy enough to place. A short Japanese woman who clearly commanded the respect of the people she commanded, Sato seemed pleasant enough, although there was the dangerous tension of a waiting predator that lurked behind the commander's calm demeanor. "So what brings you to our humble diplomatic office?" Amelia asked.

"Business, I'm afraid," Akira replied as she indicated her head towards the door. "Shall we?"

"Of course," Amelia said as she keyed the door open. "Miss Winters, Commander Sato is here to see you and I finished going over that one project you asked me to take a look at," she said as she stepped into the office, Sato right behind her.

"Excellent," Grace said, standing up to greet the arrivals. "I look forward to hearing more about it."

Amelia set the Padd down on the desk and stepped over to the side with another Padd and stylus in hand, ready to take down any notes she needed to.

She turned to the new arrival. "Hello, Commander Sato. How may I help you?"

Akira offered a small bow and nodded. "I wanted to discuss with you in advance any arrangements for providing security to you or your staff during away missions and ship board during formal events. If we set up arrangements now, it will help in the future. It will also help if we had a contingency for emergencies as well," she said.

"An excellent idea. Please, have a seat." She picked up the PADD, glanced at it, and set it in a drawer to go over later. "Can I get you something from the replicator?"

"Green tea, unsweetened, please," Akira replied, bowing her head to indicate her thanks.

"Hibiscus lemonade for me, please," Grace added as Amelia got up.

Amelia nodded and stepped over to the replicator to order the drinks. Once they had materialized, she brought them over, giving the commander hers first before she stepped back to her original position.

"Thank you." Grace smiled and took a sip of her drink. "Now, to business. It will be important to have some security present, but not obvious. Some diplomats get uncomfortable and do not trust their hosts if they think there's any chance of danger. How well does your staff know how to bus tables?"

Akira frowned for a brief moment as she scanned her memory, then nodded and took a sip of her tea before answering. "Petty Officer Rogers, Crewman Patterson, and Ensign Davis all worked as restaurant employees at some time, and I believe Ensign Vang worked as a hostess. Crewman Witt and Petty Officer Atkins have both worked in the private security field as well. No-one else in security has any relative experience that would serve as a background baseline for what you have in mind."

"That's good enough," Grace said. "The best way to go unnoticed is to be part of the wait staff. What suggestions do you have?"

"Naturally, I'm highly concerned with your safety off of the ship," Akira replied. "During diplomatic events on board, we have enough security measures and with your permission we can add a few more such as the undercover staff, but it's events and missions that take you off of the ship that are also my concern. I've read about too many diplomatic events which turn nasty quick and the diplomatic team almost always becomes a major target. I don't want to send you into a situation where you're completely unprotected, specially if your team gets cut off from the ship. We can't always depend on transporters, unfortunately."

"That's true. But I can't always take extra precautions," Grace said. "But if the situation requires, I will take risks." She paused for a moment. "I would be willing to wear jewelry that has a transponder and a communicator in them to be more easily identified and located. Would that help?"

"It would help ease my concerns a little," Akira admitted, although she had to add silently that she would still have concerns for the diplomatic officer's safety. "I have to admit that I assumed that you wouldn't be willing to carry any type of weapon off ship. I haven't met many diplomats, I'm afraid, but the majority I have met have preferred to leave security matters solely on the security officers. That caused . . . uneasy situations."

"I have no problem with reasonable requests, if the situation warrants it," Grace countered. "It would also depend on the delicacy of the situation. There are times when having any sort of weapon would cause offense. As a diplomat, I cannot risk that."

Akira winced, trying to hide her reaction but she failed to do so, and she nodded. "We will unfortunately be in disagreement on some away missions, as I will naturally insist on an armed escort for away missions, even diplomatic ones," she said. Before Winters could say anything, Akira raised her hand. "I don't intent for us to be at odds, Miss Winters, however it is my duty to abide by Starfleet regulations and to try to do my job in protecting everyone on the Endeavour. I'm not saying that I won't abide by what you and the captain decide, but I will voice my concerns and objections."

"No, commander, we are not at odds," Grace assured her. "But the requirements of our jobs may come in conflict from time to time. When they do, we will deal with it. I know you have responsibilities to this ship and its crew. I have responsibilities to those I serve as well. Hopefully the captain will decide when those conflicts arise."

"I believe I can find peace with that arrangement," Akira said with a trace of a smile. "Even so, I would like to assign you a personal hand phaser and training, just in case."

Grace inclined her head. "All right." There would be times it could come in handy, and the training wouldn't hurt, either.

"When would be a reasonable time for you? I'm available for the majority of the day," Akira said.

"I'm free, too," Grace replied. "No time like the present."

"Well, then, we should start by taking a visit to the armory and then to the range," Akira said as she stood. "I'll try to be nice when we get to the range."

Grace chuckled. "All right." She wasn't a Starfleet officer, she understood the necessity of being able to shoot with a phaser.

Still standing to the side, Amelia raised an eyebrow in wonder, curious but not saying anything. She offered a smile before speaking. "Miss Winters, will you require me for anything while you are at the range with the commander?" she asked.

"Not unless you want to join us?" Grace said, smiling at Amelia.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try something new," Amelia said as she set her Padd and stylus down on the desk and joined them.

"Great!" Grace was pleased she decided to join them. "You never know when it'll come in handy."

____
OFF

Grace Winters PhD
Diplomatic Officer

Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Amelia Valke
Diplomat's Aide

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