[A1-SMCO] Flt. Capt. Egan Manno & Lt. Gnisky: Both Sides Now (Yal’Sethir’Anth, Delano)

[Tony]

((Outer Office, Starfleet Mission Commander's Office))

:: Gnisky had, many years before, become accustomed to mixing in with a variety of aliens. Even if it hadn't been her job, she found herself uniquely placed to do so -- a basically humanoid body plan meant that she could, say, fit into a standard-issue Starfleet uniform without much fuss, but any Parvanna's head meant that she couldn't be easily mixed up with, say, humans, Betazoids, or Bajorans. Still, every new assignment was its own challenge, and she found her role as Fleet Captain Egan Manno's aide-de-camp the largest yet. Appropriate, given that it was a promotion, really, but she found that, for the first time, more than half the battle was simply mixing in with the other denizens of the station. The Dennermé, for example, had given her more pause than she would have admitted when they'd shown up with their own limbs willfully removed, floating around on antigravity substitutes -- or the Clutarsh, a gas giant species who'd sent an observing delegation only and whose small size meant that they traveled around in hovering balls no larger than Gnisky's fist, forever (since the Clutarsh were sightless and had few senses in the traditional, humanoid meaning of the word) bumping off of others' heads. 

But the Va Wreth, at least on their surface, seemed to be cut from the same mold as the Parvanna, and Gnisky had slipped into the comfortable feeling of "they're like me." Whether for good or ill, she couldn't say, but she did know a little of what Egan Manno had ordered the Garuda senior staff to do -- or, at least that it involved the Va Wreth, and that it was very secret.

So, when a trio of Va Wreth showed up to see the fleet captain -- without announcing their intention or contacting the office ahead of time -- Gnisky was at first disposed to be kind and patient. Not that, even to the most aggressive or boorish visitor, she would have been rude, but her conversation with these Va Wreth went downhill more quickly than she would have thought possible. ::

Gnisky: ...I'm sorry, but it just isn't possible--

 

Yal’Sethir’Anth: On the contrary; I will see the Region Commander. ::She asserted.::

 

Gnisky: I must respectfully decline to allow your entrance. I can easily arrange a meeting for as early as three days from now....

:: But even as she said it, Gnisky knew that it was hopeless: This visitor wasn't going to be sent away on the promise of perhaps returning in a few days through the proper channels. There were, however, other tactics to use, and Gnisky preferred diversion when scheduling didn't work. ::

Gnisky: May I ask why you want to meet with the fleet captain? Perhaps I or one of her other subordinates may be able to assist.

 

Yal’Sethir’Anth: Because she is also the Commander of the Starfleet presence on this installation, and Starfleet’s behaviour towards our Embassy has been entirely unacceptable.

:: Ah. That. If Gnisky was the sort to become flustered, she would have been then, but her voice was as cool as it had been throughout the whole interview. In fact, she rarely lost her cool: Parvanna individuals, on the whole, rarely rose a body temperature of 85ºF. ::

Gnisky: We welcome feedback on our officers' actions from all interested parties who live aboard the station. I do wonder if you might be more specific, however. There is still every chance I may be able to assist directly.

Yal’Sethir’Anth: ?

Gnisky: As I have said, the fleet captain is extraordinarily busy, as I'm sure you are. If you would care to wait, I can share you to our reception area. If you would care to return or send a communication at a later time--

Yal’Sethir’Anth: ?

( OOC: It looks maybe like Yal’Sethir’Anth is on course to simply barge in, Sarah, but I thought some small talk with Gnisky would allow the following conversation to take place! So barging can take place now if it's going to :D )

(( Inner Office, SMCO ))

:: Ambassador Ventu had left several hours before, but her visit still clung to Cassie's mind. In part, it was a representation of the Federation politics currently playing havoc with the station: Not only did the whole affair have to go ahead, it had to do so with endless VIPs, including President Bacco herself, whose press office had confirmed that she would indeed be delivering the State of the Federation address. It made Cassie want to throw up her hands -- but that, she thought, was a perfectly normal reaction to the stress and challenge of the situation. Ventu's visit, on the other hand, had made her feel deeply uneasy, and she didn't much care for that.

However, she didn't have much time to dwell on it, and fractional reports continued to come in regarding the Va Wreth (on top of everything else that was going on) that kept her guessing as much as her teams in the field as to the Va Wreth's background and intentions. 

When her comm badge chirped unexpectedly, however, it tended to be about the Va Wreth -- most of her other comm traffic was routed through Msafiri, Gnisky, or another member of her staff -- and the prospect of learning more from one of her officers was always enough to stir her interest. ::

Delano: =/\= ?

Egan Manno: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. 

Delano: =/\= ?

Egan Manno: =/\= What did they have to say?

Delano: =/\= ?

Egan Manno: =/\= And the Vice-Consul was content to speculate? ::beat:: Did her speculations seem reasonable?

Delano/Any: =/\= ?

( OOC: They can chat more about the Tholians as you'd like, Cameron -- and either CD or Raissa can jump in, too! )

Egan Manno: =/\= I have my own recent investigations to share, too: I have it from a highly-placed diplomat that the Federation is partially responsible for the Va Wreth's arrival here. In exchange for support from the Romulans and Tholians in hosting our less powerful allies, we ::beat:: agreed to look the other way on the Va Wreth.

Delano / Any: =/\= ?

Egan Manno: =/\= At the moment, I'm not speculating much -- but this may be worth a great deal to you going forward. Please share it with Captain Kells and the rest of your teams whenever you can.

Delano / Any: =/\= ?