Lieutenant Seleya- Difficult decisions
EmpressKitsune
((Mess Hall, USS Kepler))
Seleya: I can do that, Captain. But Captain Hopper, Captain Ashwood, may I have a quick word. If you don’t mind Captain Ertmo.
Ertmo: Not at all.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: Let’s hear it, Lieutenant.
Seleya bowed her head to Captain Ertmo, before taking the two Captains aside, lowering her voice to not be overheard.
Seleya: I think Captain Ertmo brought up an interesting point. The Federation has a lot of influence. I think we can leverage that.
Hopper: We do seem to have some influence, yes, but the Alliance, or at least their leaders, seems to be cherry-picking for their own convenience. What exactly are you proposing?
Ashwood: Response
Seleya: Well for resources, we are bringing the Talaxians into the Federation, they are well known traders through the Delta Quadrant. We could utilize their connections to offer secure trades. Potentially subsidizing, or trading at a loss for it to be favorable for them. But material gain isn’t our goal. We get them to make some concessions such as ending this conflict, maybe try to push for their prime directive to match ours. But the trade is so they open their borders, and what we bring is information about the Federation, perhaps offer officer exchanges. I mean they wanted to copy us, who better to copy from than the authentic original. Maybe at some point they make so many adjustments they stop asking ‘how can we mimic the Federation?’ to ‘why not actually join the Federation?’. Fight the misinformation with undeniable truth. The human saying is, ‘kill them with kindness’, yes?
Of course this could be a risky idea, and Seleya herself had no authority to bring it up herself, but her hope was it could give her captains some leverage to use in the situation. If these people were modelling themselves after Starfleet and the Federation, who better to learn from and be guided by than the Federation itself.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: To me it feels a bit like rewarding bad behaviour. The UAW has been operating in bad faith with the Zumardi and at least three other worlds – probably more. If we start offering up resources in exchange for them to back off of this conflict it sets a dangerous precedent that they can get what they want from us by causing trouble.
Seleya bowed her head. She saw it more as teaching a child who did not know better. After all, they did not know how partial this federation record was. But Seleya would defer to the CO.
Hopper: I’m not suggesting we stand back and do nothing… Whether we want to be involved or not, the Federation has some level of indirect responsibility for what’s going on here. I want to help them – both of them, if possible – but not in a way that risks being taken advantage of.
Ashwood: Response?
Hopper: Still, we could be misjudging the UAW. Maybe they’ll be more reasonable than expected. I’ll take your recommendations under advisement, Lieutenant.
Seleya: I still suggest caution, there are many inconsistencies between their version and the Zumardi’s version of events and information being shared. The Captain, if the Captain is truthful, as he mentions there may be much he and the rest of Astrofleet are not being told. I am still in the middle of my investigation about all the claims being made from both sides. But something I wanted to bring up.
That did raise some red flags for Seleya, she didn’t want to point fingers yet, or start entire conspiracies. But the reality of the Alliance could be different than what was sold to these three species' general public.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: Noted. For now, let’s see whether Ertmo can reach the Astrofleet and get a clearer picture of what their plans are, and whether they can be dissuaded from further escalation… But, at this point, I think we need to start forming contingencies for the likely possibility that they’re on the warpath. We can check in with the other teams soon, see if they’ve made any helpful progress.
Seleya followed the gesture and returned to Captain Ertmo, tilting her head as she saw the entire emptied orange juice.
Ertmo: Ah, there you are. I was trying to think of the best message to send.
Hopper: Let’s see what you’ve got, Captain.
Seleya once again fell silent as the Captains began to speak. Mostly watching Ertmo’s body language.
Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: We want the Zumardi returned to their people, ::he wasn’t quite sure when it had become ‘we’, but he wasn’t going to argue with the thought:: and you are going to share your research on the pathogen freely.
Hopper: I think that’d be a good start. Agreeing to return the Zumardi who have already been relocated would be something we could take to the insurgency as a meaningful show of good faith on the UAW’s part.
Seleya nodded in agreement with Hopper. It was a very good start. Maybe once a cure had been found and the Zumardi had been returned they could begin to talk.
Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: I can give you the codes now, but I think the Astrofleet would take it more seriously if the message obviously came from a Starfleet bridge.
Hopper: That can definitely be arranged. I’ll ask Lieutenant Satrapi, the Kepler’s Operations Officer, to meet you here and make the necessary modifications to our communications program. When you’re ready, she can escort you to the Bridge where we’ll be waiting.
Ertmo: Response
Hopper: Before we make contact with the Astrofleet, assuming we do make contact, I want a full deck of cards. Or as full as we can get anyways. We haven’t heard much from Aitas, Taelon, or Wong but I’m hoping they’ve all had some success… This is all happening very fast.
Seleya dipped her head to Captain Ertmo before following Ashwood and Hopper out into the hallway. Making their way to the bridge.
Seleya: Aye, Captain.
Ashwood: Response
((A few minutes later – Bridge, USS Kepler))
Once they were on the bridge, Seleya took in the sights. The bridge always carried a degree of severity, but this was an intrepid class. The look was very history, resembling a similar ship of its class that once made its way through this quadrant.
Furo: Ah, Captain. I was about to inform you that we’ve received a relayed message from Chief Petty Officer Zakrem via the USS Independence. First Secretary Aitas is requesting an update on the status of the Zumardi currently in Alliance custody.
After exiting the turbolift, she followed Hopper, glancing over to the tactical station. This wasn’t her assigned ship, she couldn’t exactly relieve its officers of duty. She was just here as a guest.
Hopper: Well, speak of the devil.
Furo: I beg your pardon, ma’am?
Seleya let out a small hum, she understood the Vulcan’s confusion. Human turns of phrases was something she still struggled with.
Hopper: Nothing. Never mind. Contact Chief Satrapi and ask her to meet Captain Ertmo in the Mess Hall. We’re preparing to contact the Astrofleet using some of the Alliance’s old infrastructure… In the meantime, hail the First Secretary and Commander Taelon, send them the following priority private message…
Furo: ::A nod:: Ready when you are, Captain.
Hopper: =/\= Hiya Aitas, Taelon, hopefully you’re somewhere secure to listen to this message. We’re going to make another attempt to contact the Astrofleet using some old UAW infrastructure that Captain Ertmo believes may make a difference. He seems prepared to recommend their leadership returns the Zumardi in their custody in exchange for our research on the pathogen – but we can’t be sure they’ll respond well to that. Once we have more information about their intentions, we’ll let you know. Hopefully you’ve been making progress. When you can, contact the Kepler to provide an update. =/\=
Hopper: Anything to add?
Seleya shook her head, I think they covered most of their talks.
Seleya: Nothing from me, Captain.
Ashwood: Response? ((Optional, and can add =/\= comms =/\= tags or just local bridge conversation.))
Hopper: Alright, Ensign, send it… then get me Sickbay.
Furo: Communication has been transmitted, ma’am, with the requested priority private flag. Sickbay is responding.
Hopper: =/\= Ikaia, Bec, how’s it going down there? =/\=
Seleya raised an eyebrow. She was learning that Amity seemed very informal, even when on duty. She found it odd Hopper was so casually using their first names.
Wong/Iko: =/\= Response =/\=
Seleya’s shoulders rose and fell as she took in a deep breath. A death would make this more complicated.
Hopper: =/\= I’m sure you did everything you could. ::Brow furrowed in a troubled expression:: Ikaia, have you learned anything about this pathogen that might help us find a treatment? Before there are any other casualties? =/\=
Wong: =/\= Response =/\=
Hopper: =/\= Well, keep at it. All other considerations are secondary. Figure out how this pathogen works and find a way to stop it. Contact Commander Taelon and see if he’s learned anything useful too. =/\=
Ashwood: Response? ((Optional, and can add =/\= comms =/\= tags or just local bridge conversation.))
Wong: =/\= Response =/\=
Hopper: =/\= Bec, hang in there. I’m going to need you on your feet, especially if the Astrofleet doesn’t respond to our attempts at peacemaking. =/\=
Iko: =/\= Response =/\=
Ashwood: Response? ((Optional, and can add =/\= comms =/\= tags or just local bridge conversation.))
Hopper: We likely have just a few minutes before Ertmo comes up here to send his message and I have to tell him one of his crew is dead… The Zumardi seem reluctant to come to the table without assurances I doubt the UAW is going to make, especially now that the pathogen has started killing people. Worse yet, it seems to be mutating. Our hands are a bit tied, but I don’t think the Zumardi or the UAW really understand just how bad things are about to get… I think we need to adopt a more active approach here.
Seleya let out another hum. She wasn’t sure what Hopper meant by a more active approach. Assisting the UAW for concessions to end this conflict seemed like that wasn’t an option for Hopper. Nor was defending the Zumardi, the use of biological weapons was already reckless and dangerous. But they would not win that war either.
Seleya: I think we need to make it clear to the UAW that more death is going to be expected if they continue their aggressions.
The Zumardi seemed willing to fight to the death and take as many Alliance forces with them. If they could make it clear to the Alliance that this type would be costly and long.
Ashwood/Hopper: Response
Seleya: I am not sure how much more active we can get Captain. We are toeing the line on our own Prime Directive. Getting too involved would seem hypocritical. Unless we can get both of them to come to the negotiating table, instead of using us as a go-between.
Ashwood/Hopper: Response
Seleya dipped her head as she saw Captain Ertmo now enter the bridge, she was sure this would be a memorable moment for him, standing on a Voyager like ship. Seleya made her way over to the HCO console, checking the modifications that were made, then nodded to Captain Ashwood and Hopper, seeing nothing wrong.
Seleya: Captain Ertmo, ::she dipped her head:: Communications modifications have been completed. Ready to open channel on your order Captain..s
Ashwood/Hopper/Ertmo: Response
Lieutenant Seleya of Khanda
Intel Officer
Amity Station
C240202SK1