Diplomatic Discussion

Posted on Fri Dec 16th, 2022 @ 11:04am by Grace Winters PhD & Captain Alistar McKeon

1,937 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Return
Location: Arboretum

Alistar stood in the arboretum and looked up through the large viewport that doubled at the arboretum skylight. The blast doors were retracted, as the ship wasn't at red alert, and the view of the stars around Earth was calming in a way. Having spent the majority of the day at Starfleet Command he needed some calm. The Endeavour had been slated for a diplomatic mission to begin her new journey, and the details were what was damaging Alistar's calm. So he stood with his hands held behind his back.

Grace enjoyed walking in the arboretum when she had some free time or when she needed to think. It wasn't the same as being planetside, but she liked being near trees. Today, she was taking a few minutes to walk and think. She paused when she noticed the commanding officer ahead of her. "Hello, captain."

Feeling Grace Winters walk up and stop nearby brought Alistar out of his anger filled day dreaming and he looked towards the diplomatic officer. "Miss Winters," he said, his voice tight despite the calm presence he was trying to present. "I hope you were assigned to a suitable suite for quarters."

"I was. Thank you." She watched him for a moment, trying to discern the cause of the tightness she saw in his face and posture--and the aura of anger still clinging to him. "So, what is disturbing you? The ship or the assignment?"

Alistar sighed and shook his head, feeling frustrated and silently admitting that he also felt guilty at being angry. "It's the assignment," he finally said. "We've been assigned to host a diplomatic conference. Between the Cardassians and the New Maquis Coalition."

"That's an explosive combination." She shook her head. "But both groups have reasons to want to make peace."

"I'm sure they do, but my concern is closer to home," Alistar said as he shook his head. "I'll be honest when I say that I don't want this assignment."

"Why not?" she asked bluntly.

Making a fist and releasing it with both hands, Alistar turned away from Grace and sighed as he stared off across the arboretum. After a moment, he sighed again and shook his head. "It's no great secret that I'm not much of a diplomat, which honestly is one reason I'm surprised I got this command," he said. "But I'm actually ashamed to admit that I absolutely dislike the Cardassians. I don't outright hate their entire species because I've met a handful that were decent people who I actually liked, but I don't trust myself to remain impartial when dealing with them. Which means that in any case between the Maquis and the Cardassians, I'd side against the Cardassians every time. And I have a very strong hatred towards their military, although that stems from fighting against them, I'm sure."

Turning towards Grace, he couldn't help but show how haunted his experiences had made him. "I served on and beyond the front lines during the war and stayed on after to help with the rebuilding efforts. I saw firsthand how the Cardassians have treated other species, what they've done to other sentient beings. You can't see that and not feel some form of anger, hatred or dislike for them afterwards. No matter how hard I try, that wall is always there."

"I don't think a healthy mistrust of the Cardassian leadership is a bad thing. In fact, I prefer it to blind faith. Both sides in this negotiation can be...problematic. You will simply be host, yes?" She raised an eyebrow. "All you need to do is be professionally polite--and keeps your eyes open. I think that makes you an excellent choice. As long as you have someone else to actually deal with the negotiations?" The last was a question as she wasn't sure how involved the captain would be.

"I think what I have is a little bit beyond mistrust Ms. Winters," Alistar said. "But yes, the Endeavour is assigned to host a mediation since the Federation is supposed to be a neutral party. We're to mediate a formal treaty between the two groups before they started shooting at each other again. Which is going to be downright impossible. Those of the Maquis who survived the Dominion raids or helped reform the group after the war already hate the Cardassians and the Cardassian Union hasn't made things easier by refusing to accept the Maquis' aligned worlds as independent colonies. There's been skirmishes between the two sides for months, but it's only a matter of time before the Cardassians take the gloves off and send in the troops. And both sides are stubborn as ever."

"I do not disagree with you," Grace began, "But there is always room for negotiation. We may not achieve peace, but we could achieve a truce. Think of the near-war between the Klingons and the Federation before the treaty. It all depends on how willing they are to stop fighting and rebuild."

"Well, I'm hoping that they don't start shooting at each other, but that's one reason Starfleet's sending us," Alistar said. "Endeavour is capable of hosting a diplomatic function but if she has to, she can defend herself, or at least survive long enough to get out of the battlezone. I'm hoping to avoid putting scratches on the new paint though."

"At least they've both agreed to talk. That's a good place to start. The rest will be up to us to make sure negotiations don't go too far off-track." Grace knew that keeping things on track was not as easy as it sounded, but she was optimistic. "As long as the delegates have no weapons, all you'll have to worry about are their ships." There was a definite twinkle in her eye when she added. "And the paint."

"I think I'm more worried about the paint," Alistar groaned. "You realize that Lieutenant Ros might very well try to kill me if something happens to this ship on her first mission. And she might get some of the damage control teams to help her."

"Murder is still against regulations," Grace said, her smile showing she was joking. "It's bound to happen before long. Even with the deflector shield, it's almost impossible to keep the hull pristine. Keeping the crew alive is more important."

"Murder might be against regulations, but there are some on this crew that would risk a lengthy prison sentence in order to exact their toll against their senior officers who did something to tick them off," Alistar said. "And engineers are at the top of the list of those who don't like it when you do things to mess up the ship. But you're right. At least there's no ocean to dive into and potentially drown everyone in this time."

She raised an eyebrow. "This time?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just hope they're more concerned about the possibility of the guests misbehaving than counting scratch marks on the hull." She'd run into a few engineers who were a little too protective about their ships.

Alistar chuckled as he realized that Grace hadn't learned about that particular mission. "Yes, this time. My first time commanding a diplomatic mission was on the former Endeavour, and I ended up ordering the ship into an ocean in an effort to get them to stop shooting at us. Not the best call I've ever made, but not the worse either. As for hoping, I've never met an engineer more worried about what leads up to the ship getting fired at more than the actual damage itself. When I served on the Relentless, we had a chief engineer who kept track of every bit of damage, how much the damage was and from what and the total cost of repairs. He submitted detailed reports every month, even down to fuel consumption from the backup batteries."

"Doesn't that equate to Any landing you can walk away from is a good one?" she asked. "It wasn't a landing, exactly, but it was a better option than being hit." She'd yet to be on a ship that had to go underwater, but it sounded interesting. At least as an observer. "A part of me wants to know how an engineer so focused on minutiae ever made it to chief?" She shook her head. "Did he object to the usage, or just want to catalog every detail?"

"I'm not sure of the exact reason of the usage recording," Alistar admitted. "It was a source of great rumor and some mild entertainment because there were some great rants from the engineer aimed towards almost everyone at some point in time. I never investigated too far into it since some officers who did end up stalling out on promotions or transfers for a while. Fortunately, we don't have anyone like that on the Endeavour. Yet."

"Hopefully not at all," Grace added. "Is there anything I can do to help with this upcoming meeting?"

"Keep me from doing something stupid and causing a diplomatic nightmare?" Alistar suggested. "I'm going to be relying on you to help deal with the Cardassian delegation mostly. And to keep me in check during the negotiations."

She chuckled, knowing the captain had a reputation for that. "That is within my purview. I am, however, more concerned with the Cardassians ability to keep peace, and the possibility there will also be Maquis who are not ready to negotiate. It will be an interesting conference." Personally, Grace sided more with the Maquis than the Cardassians, but as a Diplomat, she had to stay neutral.

"I'm more worried about the Cardassians," Alistar said. "The Maquis know that it's in their best interests to work towards a peaceful solution. Otherwise, it'll be another war and I'm not sure anyone is ready for that."

"No, but I'm equally not sure the Cardassians are ready for peace. I think any arrangement will take time before we can truly say it is a success."

"As the old saying goes, we'll find out?" Alistar said, although he couldn't help his expression which showed his concern. "I'm am glad you decided to remain with us, Miss Winters. It's nice to have a different view on things."

"Happy to be of assistance." She half bowed. "I do tend to look at things from my own particular viewpoint. I hope it will be of help." She raised an eyebrow. "In addition, as I am a civilian rather than a Starfleet officer, I am not directly in the chain of command. If you find yourself in need of a neutral ear, I'm here." She also hoped that by not being a Starfleet officer, she would find the opportunity to engage some of the attendees in less formal conversation.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, Miss Winters," Alistar said with a stiff nod. "Let's just hope things go well for us on this mission," he finished.

Grace chuckled. "And if not, we'll make do, captain." She gave him a formal half-bow. "I have taken enough of your time. If you will send me what information you have on both the Cardassians and the Maquis, I will see if I can add to it."

"I'll see to it that you get it as soon as it's transmitted to us," Alistar said as he nodded in reply to her bow. "If you need anything else just let me know."

"I will. Thank you." She nodded her head politely and went on her way.

____
OFF

Captain Alistar McKeon
Commanding Officer
USS Endeavour

Grace Vetur
Chief Diplomat
USS Endeavour

 

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