Finding Common Ground

Posted on Mon Nov 4th, 2024 @ 4:40pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis & Lieutenant Commander Jörgen Leed & Lieutenant Harren Kalur & Lieutenant Ceilidh Parsala & Lieutenant JG Peter "Jinx" Kooba

1,690 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: Gamma Quadrant, Open Space
Timeline: 1400 Hours

[ON]
Lieutenant Peter Kooba, generally known as Jinx by the crew, was the first to arrive at the Runabout. As a result, he spent thirty minutes checking out the new craft. It was named Little Bird, which he thought was a great name. When he entered the craft, he was struck by how much room there was. He stepped into the forward section of the ship and started his pre-flight checklist. From what he could tell, it was going to be him, Commander Leed, Lieutenant Parsala, and Lieutenant Kalur. His job was to fly the shuttlecraft and shoot anything that moved. Maybe.

Pausing at the door, Jörgen stopped a moment to breathe away a strange flutter in the pit of his stomach. The cool metal gave a sharp sense of the present moment as he took the measure of his feelings. Danger. Fear. Hope. Excitement. Focus. Jörgen patted the door as if to tell his stomach that all would be well and entered.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant Kooba. How does she look for our trip today?"

Peter smiled at Commander Leed. He always enjoyed talking with the suave diplomat. He always learned some new words when he was chatting with him.

"Things are looking good, sir. Well, except for the fact that we are going to be flying far enough away from the Firebird that we will be out of their range for fire support. Also, I heard that there might be some kind of cloaked ships out there. And someone else told me that there are new species in this Coalition that we haven't met who might be able to survive in a hard vacuum and will just latch onto our shuttle and eat their way in," Pete said and then paused. "But to be fair, I heard two of those things while I was off duty and losing badly at cards so probably not solid sources. But the Little Bird is fully prepared."

"Excellent. We may be far from most of our crew but the team here could not be better for this mission," said Jörgen. He sat down with his PADD on a small desk, nursing a fruity, mulled Beaujolais. Or, the closest variation on it the replicator could create. "Such rumors often come from winds of truth, Lieutenant. Finding them may tell you something about their subject. Also, imagine what stories they have heard about us. Look where rumors on all sides blow and you may find yourself sailing towards the truth."

Kalur swept onto the Runabout just in time to hear the end of what Commander Leed was saying. "Commander Leed is giving you very wise advice, Lieutenant Kooba," he said and moved near Commander Leed and held out a PADD. "Sir, here is the assessment you asked for on the likely courses of action and agendas we might encounter at this meeting. I've also gone ahead and done an evaluation of how these races are likely to view each other, based on our interaction and interviews I conducted with people back at DS18."

"Excellent work, Lieutenant Kalur," said Jörgen, perusing the new PADD for a few minutes. He looked up at each of his companions and smiled. "Each of these species desires peace, progress, and safety as much as us. Our mission is not only to navigate their political agendas and secure assistance with our crews today but to find the common threads that weave a framework for our future here. We need to show we can be trusted, and should be trusted in the long term. Lieutenants Kalur, when Lieutenant Parsala arrives I would like to discuss how to best approach this meeting."

Pete smiled at the Commander's words. "Aye, sir," he said and continued to scan the sensor sweeps of their exit path. "Although speaking as a non-diplomat, those Lorcans don't sound like they want peace at all. I heard what they said when they attacked us. They seem like this is personal for some reason, sir."

Harren slid into one of the two open seats on the Runabout. "I'll trust Commander Leed's opinion on this," he said. "And I believe that Lieutenant Parsala had something to finish up on the bridge and should be along shortly."

"And here I am," Parsala announced as she stepped into the shuttle's common area. "I had to double-check that the translation matrix on the Firebird was set up correctly for monitoring our negotiations with the Coalition. They'll be able to react quickly if we run into trouble."

Peter snorted. "Oh, we are definitely going to get in some kind of trouble. It makes me wish these things had better weapons systems."

Harren shook his head. "Lieutenant Kooba, not every solution needs a hammer to resolve. These are intelligent people. I am sure Commander Leed has a plan already."

"Yes, as much as possible when there are so many unknowns. We do not have the biggest stick, Lieutenant Kooba, but we may have other advantages. Keep that skepticism alive; it can serve us well. Now, we have a rendezvous to keep."

"We're all set from my side," Parsala noted. "The Firebird will contact me if our 'companions' decide to be more open to negotiations, too. Maybe the Coalition's diplomats will be able to make them see reason."

Pete nodded and tapped at his controls. He watched the Little Bird's engines spool up and tapped his comms.

"Bridge this is Little Bird. Request permission to depart," he said.

The reply came right away, Commander t'Aegis' voice, composed and calm replied. "Little Bird you are cleared for departure." (Rhiana can change this as needed.)

The comms line closed and the craft lifted off smoothly, moving forward with the nose tipped down slightly. They passed through the blue forcefield that protected the shuttlebay and in moments they were speeding away from the Firebird with deep space around them.

"Entering warp... now," Peter said and they accelerated and disappeared from the Firebird's sensors completely.

---

Harren glanced over at Commander Leed, wondering what the diplomat had planned and if it really mattered given the unstable Coalition they were negotiating with.

"Commander, how may I assist you in preparing for the meeting? We have two hours of travel ahead of us," he said.

"Lieutenant Kalur, thank you. We need patience and flexibility to approach the negotiation in stages." Jörgen Leed smiled calmly, his fingers idly tracing the edge of his PADD as he considered the question. "We focus on their political affiliations and prior interactions with DS18 and other Coalition species. We must anticipate how they'll react to each other before we can address our own agenda. My hope is to address the Jwala, Ygin, and the Wuc because they seem the most open about conversation and technology; things we can offer them in peace. If that goes well, we may coax the Ambzan and Bundix to join the conversation. I expect the Kyverian and Lorcan to resist and when tension is high, we surprise them with the Lorcan ship and crew--both of which we could have rightly destroyed. I doubt either species wishes to support us but they may not oppose us too directly after that revelation." Jörgen leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled together in front of him.

"Given what you know, what areas of the rough framework need to be changed, strengthened, or replaced?"

Harren paused before answering. This was another test in an endless line of tests he'd faced on Trill and in Starfleet.

"Sir, I believe opening up a conversation with the origins of their dispute with Starfleet is the most important aspect of our meeting. We can't negotiate with them if we don't know those details. At the same time, it would be wise to do as you say and attempt to parse out how these races are aligned. We don't necessarily have to make peace with all of them. We just have to convince enough of them that this fight is unnecessary and that will create a cascade effect that tears their coalition apart. If only the Kyverians and the Lorcans remain hostile, I believe we can easily handle them if hostilities resume."

"Precisely how I want to approach it. I am more at ease knowing we are thinking similarly." Jörgen eased himself into a more comfortable position on the chair. "Lieutenant, an intelligent individual can come up with a lot of good ideas but not all of them. I expect us to make plans, improve them, and work for their success. I am not here to batter down anyone; my ego is not that petty. So, we should talk strategy since we will both be negotiating from two angles."

"Solid reasoning sir," Harren said. The two diplomats settled into a long conversation about how the conversation would go. Lieutenant Parsala listened with one ear while examining the different languages they might encounter.

An hour later the Little Bird dropped out of warp to find a shuttle of similar size but radically different construction, waiting for them. There were no planets or moons, just a distant white star for illumination.

"Sir," Lieutenant Kooba said. "We've arrived at the rendezvous site. No other craft on sensors besides the shuttle in front of us. Bringing us to a stationary point of their starboard bow."

"Now we come to it. To paraphrase an old quote, the supreme art of war is to end conflicts without fighting.” Jörgen gazed serenely at the viewport, his hands resting easily at his side. "Lieutenant Kooba, please hail the shuttle."

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Jörgen Leed
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Harren Kalur (NPC by Llwyedd)
Diplomat's Aide
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Ceilidh Parsala (NPC) by t'Aegis
Translation Specialist
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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