Brunch with the Sheriff
Posted on Sun Jul 21st, 2024 @ 6:12pm by Seshi Macae & Shea Voran II
1,894 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Crossed Wires
Location: Marshal's Office
Timeline: MD 01 : 1221 Hrs
Lunch was always the time Seshi chose to drop in on newer arrivals on the colony. It was the best way to open up a Haumea welcome; with a lunch from some of Haumea's finest. It was always a task for her to navigate, especially if she meant it as a surprise as she did now. Who ate what on this colony was a topic of avid, heated discussion, especially with new arrivals who were used to their culture's cuisine.
So, Seshi elected to run into the nearest porkless delicatessen and (demanded) asked for the biggest spread of sandwiches they could provide last minute.
As she (barged) entered the office of the marshals, she held a sizeable platter full of various sandwiches, both with and without meats, two bags of chips (salted potato and some other vegetable-based, curry seasoned), and a pitcher of alcohol-less lemonade to wash it all down with. She stopped herself from obtaining dessert because, as she was informed, dessert could indeed make or break a whole meeting.
At least this way, if it was refused, she could have easily taken it all back to her father's saloon and distribute amongst the staff there. But the moment she walked in, she had a suspicion she was leaving empty handed.
Despite the amount of food she decided to balance between her hands, she wore a vibrant purple sari. Greeting the newest marshal was to be the greatest of occasions, and therefore required a slightly more formal attire.
But the excitement about the offices were simply due to the fact that they were indeed newer. While the colony had not come to rely on the security that Starfleet had to offer and indeed had their own outfit of community-support police, the idea of formalizing the Office of the Marshals came about quite soon after the adventure they all took involving dragons and man-eating cargo crates. Even with the building's upgrade, the fact that there was no point person to call 'leader' was alarming.
That was, until they found Shea Voran. And while Seshi knew little about the Marazans and their culture, she surmised that anyone with experience in any sort of military outfit was going to be a good fit. Which was why she came through the offices, waving at the familiar and unfamiliar faces who stared at the odd woman as she kept venturing further in.
It was not until she reached the door toward the back that she stopped, pressing the buzzer button with an edge of the platter.
"Lemmie help you with that." Shea appeared behind her guest, opening the door for the woman who quite obviously had her hands full. Not that the Marshal was empty-handed herself; an oblong canvas bundle tightly wrapped and secured under one arm.
The office itself had yet to receive any sort of decoration or furnishings other than a desk, some filing cabinets, and a couple of other cabinets. The desk itself was quite bare save a Starfleet-issue Desktop Monitor.
"Excuse the lack of decor. I arrived a couple of days ago; haven't had time to properly set up shop yet." She set her bundle on a table behind her desk before turning to greet her guest. "Shea Voran." A hand was offered in greeting.
Seshi was grateful for the help, though was a little disappointed that her ostentatious display did not make it to the table with her own two hands. Likely that was a residual feeling about her old days, but this was the present! "Seshi Macae," she replied, shaking the offered hand. "And it was you who I wanted to meet. The newest of our arrivals. I am one of the various council members here - and apologies as we would have the Civilian Director come meet with you. But, this here - " and she made a gesture toward all the food, "Is a luncheon for you. Consider it part of your Haumea welcome."
"Well, that is right kind of you." She smiled, looking over the sandwiches and chips. "Looks ... I'm gonna say Terran?" She asked while sitting behind her desk and taking one of the sandwiches. "I've been a bit busy figuring out what exactly I have to work with. I honestly had my doubts there was something approximating a civilian government operating here." She motioned for her guest to pull up a chair and share.
"Yes, from Earth," Seshi replied warmly. "Some with meat and some without, I was uncertain of your diet. So I hit as many possibilities as I could. Please, dig in. They were made fresh an hour ago." She made sure of it.
Then came a small sigh of disappointment. "We have had quite a few troubles keeping certain order, but that will be over soon. There is an effort to rebuild what we lost over the past couple of years. When Oliver was in charge, it was quite a solid foundation that led us to where we are now. But we are growing, and that means we need to shake leadership up. At least shake some sense into those who are more stuck in their ways. But, that was why we needed you! Sure, we could rely on Starfleet and the Marines to keep our skies safe, but we cannot call on them for every little concern. Especially when we can keep it civil amongst ourselves. Having someone at the head of a civilian-run law enforcement will give us a chance to do just that. And I could go on about that forever, but I would rather hear about you. Marazans do not come by often, and I would much like to know about you and what we could do to make this... Well, home!"
Shea took a bite and helped herself to a drink. "Home is where I sit down at." She gave a wry grin; "Being an ex-soldier and all. Truth be told there aren't many of us that have left the homeworld, but the current government is working to change that mostly by solidifying our alliance with the Federation. So the few that have gone to space joined Starfleet, and that's where I was raised; starbases, starships, etc.. Joined Starfleet myself when I was old enough; Academy, Class of '66. Security, with a side hustle in Ops."
Finishing her sandwich, she leaned back to enjoy the drink. "So, what kind of trouble will I be finding myself dealing with? Any lowlifes, rowdy drunks, troublemakers I should know of?"
"Hm. If the rest of your people want a home, I'm sure there'll be plenty of room on Haumea for that," Seshi stated. It was a hopeful yet neutral statement to make. For her, having more people on the colony meant there was more room for growth. Some of the other council members did not quite see it that way, but that would be a grapple she would happily deal with if it meant they could grow the population. "Just come find me if that becomes an option they look into."
Her warm smile fell, and a motherly sigh escaped her lips. "If it was only that easy. We have our fair share of rowdiness around here, I will say that. But you are more likely to find yourself in the middle of whatever the planet - or one of our various entrepreneurs - throw at us. Just last month we had the whole town square enveloped in a rather realistic high fantasy holosim. Time travel is within the realm of possibilities - you will want to talk to both Starfleet Sciences as well as the Bray Institute if you wish to know more detailed information - science was never my strong suit. I'm honestly surprised no one has told you about all of this, but they were probably afraid you would be scared away."
Shea's right eyebrow slowly began to raise. "... Fantasy... was someone playing around with Holoemitters?" She waved a hand dismissing that question as rhetorical, then reached for another sandwich. "Never mind. Sounds like I got my work cut out for me here. Truth be told, the briefing was less than I'm used to. They were more interested in convincing me to accept this post when they heard I was retiring from Starfleet." She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed slowly, looking thoughtful. "I think I know why now; this place definitely needs help."
"We need a touch more order than we've been able to manage," Seshi admitted. "Any previous attempts at our marshal's office have been met with ire out of the civilians up until recently. Apparently, despite the feelings people have about Starfleet, they rely on it for security measures. But I am of firm belief we should be able to govern ourselves; I pushed for someone who had what it took and could understand both angles of our current situation. I do not expect you to find yourself in the middle of any situations that are negative towards you; not simply for you arriving here. I have seen nothing but smiles since we have repurposed this building. But, I cannot see everyone. And that much is becoming increasingly evident."
She nods, taking a drink. "I was actually looking at a small building to one side of the main square during my drive around yesterday. A small, friendly-looking office where someone with issues could walk right in and talk to me. Myself, a couple of Deputies, holding area, and small living quarters for me on the second floor. Not this imposing... bureaucratic-looking office typical of Federation Government." A beat. "Other than that, I would like to meet with the movers and shakers of this place. Civilian and Starfleet, if that could be arranged. Ensure that the Status of Forces Agreement with the Starfleet Garrison is understood; who gets who when a crime is committed by one against the other. Find out who I'd need to keep an eye on, that sort of thing."
"I believe we can arrange that. I think someone was utilizing that for storage, but that can be re-allocated so you're both receiving what you need." Seshi also had to agree that if the marshals seemed too intimidating, then the public would either complain or ignore them. Counterintuitive. "I'm sure a meeting can be arranged as well, not with civilian leadership, of course. Starfleet is having an issue locating their Captain. There is an interim Captain you should meet, and I've yet to meet her myself, but she will be the one making the big decisions while Captain Mahone is... away."
"Excellent." Shea wiped her hands on a napkin. "I like to know as much information as I can before getting into something. Also helps to have a friendly working relationship with the people I have to watch over." She smiled as she stood. "Thank you, Miss Macae. For the information, as well as the Food. It's quite good."
"Of course. There should be a card in there for the deli I gathered all this from, I'm sure they'll be happy to accommodate." Seshi stood from her seat, already ready to put into action what they had discussed. "I'm sure you have plenty of work to do, and I do not intend to keep you long."
Shea offered her hand for another shake before showing her guest out. She had her own work to do...
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