The Snow Doesn't Give a Soft White Damn
Posted on Tue May 12th, 2020 @ 8:37am by Captain Luka Mahone & Consul Briya Valriya
2,505 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Canary
Location: Luka's Office
Timeline: MD 04: 1721 Hrs
Having received the commanding officer’s call to his office, Briya Valriya was scrutinizing her reflection in a mirror and preparing to leave her own office; a reasonably sized and comfortably furnished work space, though it certainly was not fancy. The tall councilwoman looked as composed and gathered at 1700 hours as she did when she took her first step into the day, and her days started early. She was in a flattering skirt suit, dangerous heels and the black horn-rimmed glasses; not as corrective lenses - those had gone out of fashion centuries ago - but designed for augmented optical feedback of relevant names, faces, current events, itinerary, etc. She ran a detangler through her chin-length cropped hair and adjusted the hem of her ensemble before assuming a smile and stepping out of her office.
And she promptly turned right around and returned to grab a long coat, slipping her arms through the sleeves and tying it closed around her waist. She’d been warned against moving about outside without something to protect against the cold, but it would take time to get in the habit. Or else it would take a trip to the medical ward with a case of frostbite. With her head lowered against the cold and wind, she moved off towards the CO’s office. Her heels made distinctive impressions in the snow that formed a beeline through this section of the compound and she mulled over the possibility that there were tunnels or indoor routes that might make this passage less survivalistic. Had anyone mentioned something like that to her? She’d access a set of schematics later; maybe she’d get lucky.
***
Upon entering the anteroom, a green-skinned Yeoman announced Briya’s arrival to Luka and the Diplomat was soon sent in. Briya had agile eyes, but she knew better than to let them roam the CO’s office. Shifty eyes may garner more information, but Valriya was no spy and knowledge of intel too far above one’s security clearance had a way of complicating one’s life. That was one of the lessons she’d learned in the FDC, at any rate. However, it probably meant very little at the moment given the humourous struggle between man and furry critters. Apparently she’d walked in on the CO’s labors to keep separate two of his pets. Briya did her best to disguise her smile as she extended a long arm and lithe fingers to the CO. “Thank you for seeing me, Captain Mahone.”
With one hand, Luka reached out to accept the woman's greeting. But it was with the other that he held a giant, orange tabby up high above his head, as far as he could have hefted the poor feline. At his heels was a fluffy white and black coated malamute pup, who had his forepaws on Luka's leg trying to get a better look at the disturbed orange beast clinging to Luka's arm.
"Hello. Sorry." He gave her hand a firm shake, before eyeing the eager-eyed pup. "Lugh, please. Please. We have company."
The pup yipped excitedly, tail wagging. Sighing, Luka moved, placing the perturbed cat upon his desk. The feline meowed in anger at the pup, before plopping itself down upon one of Luka's PaDDs. The Captain didn't seem to notice.
He turned his attention to Briya, offering a warm smile and gesturing toward the more comfortable chairs nearby. "Please, take a seat. I hope you don't mind... any form... of animal..."
If she were being honest, Briya didn’t particularly care for pets. She didn’t have anything against the animals, but to keep them as pets seemed wrong and the thought of cohabitating with animals felt somehow demeaning to her sense of propriety. But she said none of this to the CO. To the CO she was all smiles and twinkling eyes. She glanced over her shoulder and turned to find a spot on a chair that looked to be free of any pet hair. Relatively free. She lowered herself down into the chair and there was something both demure and presumptuous in the way she crossed her lengthy legs and rested her interlaced fingers upon her topmost knee. “At first read you seem to have your hands full with the tenants of this room alone. How are affairs unfolding out there?” She flipped a wrist towards the anteroom and quickly returned her hand to her knees.
Luka looked the woman over in a mild sense of confusion. He was used to some exchange of pleasantries, and with the little preparation he had in the realm of the diplomatic, all he could do was answer the question posed.
As he did so, he scooped up the happy pup, who was now ready to descend in a fit of happy yips and barks at the woman who entered. New people were always fun. But Luka, who did not seem to mind all the animal hair, held him back, likely because he didn't want to scare off any new visitor. "That depends on which 'affair' you have in mind. And before we get too far ahead - what do you prefer I call you by?"
“If you’d like to refer to me by name or my office - I would take no offense. Would you like to call me Briya, Sir?”
“If that's what you would prefer." Luka scooped the happy pup up and into his lap while the dog leaned as close as he could to Briya to attempt to pick up her scent.
“Let it be just so. And would you prefer that I call you Captain or would Sir be more pleasing?”
Luka didn't quite prefer either. He was still getting used to being the Captain and the idea of being authority at all discomforted him. But, no time like the present to get used to it. "... Captain, if you don't mind."
“Very good, Captain.” Briya shifted ever so slightly in the seat. “Returning to the question, I wouldn’t dream of limiting your response to inquiries on only those affairs of which I’m already familiar. Feel free to avail yourself of my ear. Or if you prefer, may I suggest we discuss the situation surrounding a mysterious shuttle? There are many rumors moving about the colony so the official word from your mouth may help put my mind at ease.”
"The shuttle?" Naturally Luka made certain the scientists involved with the shuttle were sworn to secrecy so obviously it was now known throughout the colony. One day he'd have to write a paper on how to not have rumors circulate throughout any institution, Federation or otherwise.
Briya nodded her head and continued to smile.
He could play the ignorance card, considering the painstaking efforts he had made to keep all confidential items out of the reach of the general public, but now that someone had outed him, it was likely there wouldn't be much wiggle room to 'not know what was going on.'
"There isn't much to tell, I'm afraid," he admitted. "It is unmarked, likely from an earlier era, and... was gutted at some point. That's all I know." Which was not a lie, thankfully. "I assumed that once word got out, there would be a little unrest, but without solid information, I didn't want to make a public statement. Not until we gathered more answers at the very least."
“Ah, then that explains it,” the Consul responded with a polite dip of her head and looking convinced of something. “The rumors are much more specific than your brief account so someone has obviously been filling in the gaps. I only wish I knew whether those gaps were filled by pure conjecture or extrapolations based upon facts surrounding the investigation.”
At this, Luka managed a half smile. Even he had to admit there was a temptation to see how long and far even a fake rumor would go through the colony's borders. "There's no sense in correcting any of that until we have something to correct it with,” he admitted. "If I do that now, there's a good chance more rumors will spread - or worse - I'll have to answer questions on why there's a... Vorta baby being incubated in the shuttle, or something to that nature."
“Clever, Sir. To be completely honest, I’m not sure which I find more concerning. If I had to say, based on my limited dealings with Starfleet Intelligence, this mystery of yours is exactly the kind of thing they like to occupy their time.” Briya bounced her foot and wiggled her toes, cramped and frozen as they were in the toebox of her heels. “A frozen spaceship from out of time. That’s how they will see it - for all of ten seconds before they widen their focus to determine whether anyone possesses more information than do they. Tactical information.”
The right side of Luka's mouth twitched downward at the sheer mention of Starfleet Intelligence. If he had a credit for every time he had any contact with them, even if through conversation...
"Well, I haven't heard anything from SFI recently," he replied plainly, "so I don't think we'll have anything to worry about in terms of information. Not unless we find a secret battle that took place during the Dominion War in the shuttle's files. But I don't think that's possible, seeing as most of the shuttle's database was scrubbed, destroyed, or gutted somehow." Luka gave a little shrug of his shoulders, holding up his hands. "I'm sure there's more to this discovery then I can see, but I would rather let the experts tell me what they find first, then I can deal with any Intelligence response later."
“A prudent course of action, Captain.” Briya flashed another smile and tentatively wiggled her fingers closer to the energetic pup. “As it was not the shuttle you wished to discuss, on what topic or issue did you seek out my input? I’m not too proud to tell you, it is unclear to me how my services are to be utilized here on the Colony. Are there disputes which require a liaison or arbitrator between parties?”
The Captain shook his head. "In honesty, I only wanted to make sure your arrival was smooth, and we had a chance to meet. I've had a prolonged opportunity to work with the current civilian leadership on the colony already. Tensions on the colony are already high. Having a Captain that doesn't communicate would only make that worse. As we've just discussed, there are already plenty of rumors to go around."
“Colonists do so love to hear from their Captain. I cannot promise to put an end to the rumors, but I will dissuade the colonists from the more outrageous claims and reinforce the need to wait for factual verification. And when that does not work I could always distract them with rumors of a less relevant fashion. Would you be opposed to my arranging a meeting with the civilian leadership? I’d like to speak with them and find out what their concerns are on the colonists’ behalf.”
"Oh absolutely not, by all means. I'm sure they'd love to speak with you." Luka smiled as Lugh finally leapt off the couch to sniff at Briya. The pup seemed well-behaved for the moment. "The Director is a little more difficult to get a hold of, but I can't imagine he's impossible. Maybe if we threaten to take away that bat of his, we'll get him to sit down for a few minutes. Ms. Macae is much easier. Would you rather this meeting in a controlled environment... how do you feel about bars?"
What was it with people and their pets? Now this Director Stone had a pet bat?! Was Briya just strange in this regard? She scratched under Lugh’s jaw and stared into his eyes. “I don’t have any objections to sitting down to talk with the Council - informally - at a bar, so long as it’s serviceable. Between now and then, I may change my mind and suggest an alternate location, if that’s agreeable to you?”
"Agreeable to me?" Luka let out a jovial laugh. It was the first time in awhile anyone outside of the chaplain had actually asked how he felt about something that was not going to end in complete tragedy. He smiled. "Consul, I'll tell you right now, I'm in very little charge of the colony's actual day-to-day.”
Valriya gave him a dubious look.
“My jurisdiction is to the Starfleet contingent that has parked itself here. I have no intention of dipping my fingers into leadership affairs within the colony more than I have to. I'll be more than happy to arrange the meeting, however - and wherever - you'd like. But I assure you, there is little to bother me with short of a terrorist attack or a creature that eats the flesh of Andorians."
Valriya liked the direction Luka’s comments were taking them. Proclaiming the authority of the civilian sector and wiping his hands of his own was not what she’d expected. “Well, I think we can hold off on discussions of terrorists and if it’s only the Andorians...”
He leaned in close, eyes on Lugh as the pup relished the attention he was receiving. "I'm not sure what Starfleet Captains you've encountered in the past, but I'm a doctor, not a hardened war veteran you'd have to appeal to."
Briya leaned in closer. “I do my best to appeal to everyone I meet, but certainly those whose opinions and decisions may hold greater power of persuasion than my own.” She smiled and shifted away so as to stand from the couch. “I’ve been told Risian and Ferengi have such traits in common, though I’ve never found the comparison particularly flattering.” She held her hand out in a gesture of assistance for Luka to stand.
“Imminent threats to our safety aside, would you like it if I made a habit of stopping by your office from time to time - to be your direct line of information from the Council?”
For a moment, Luka gave pause as he processed the gesture Briya made. Part of him wanted to refuse the gesture, as was his usual route, only out of the courtesy of not having to tax another with his presence. But Briya was Risian, and that was a different culture altogether. It was one that, despite his time in Starfleet, Luka had not encountered for more than a few seconds at a time.
He blinked, realizing his pause was also rude to Briya's time, before taking the offered hand and standing with minor assistance. He took her hand with his other, smiling. "You're welcome to visit for whatever purpose, whenever you'd like. But next time, let me be a better host for you."
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