[Transfer of Command] Amb. Rivi Vataix: Changing Seasons (Part 1)

[Roshanara Rahman]

(OOC: Heartfelt final letter from your CO to follow this weekend along with closing of all my backsims! I will also be sending the OOC final feedback individually to all of you over the coming week. Danny/Cmdr. Ukinix in his brilliance has suggested that we move Rivi's IC departure to after his first mission, so I will be setting up a scheduling form so I can try to arrange JP live sessions with all of you who would like to do any final JPs with Rivi that we post next shore leave!)

((Lighthouse Restaurant, Amity Outpost))

Over the last three and a half years since she'd served as chief of mission and commanding officer of Amity Outpost, Ambassador Rivi Vataix had hosted 46 private functions in the Lighthouse Restaurant. While the station had numerous meeting places and picturesque areas like Peace Park that had seen science conferences and peace summits along with trade negotiations and Federation membership applications, the Lighthouse Restaurant was often reserved for the most intimate of meetings, ones that often served as flashpoints in history, setting the course for the future of the Delta Quadrant and beyond.

Today would be Rivi's 47th and final function, and it would mark not just a new direction for the quadrant but for Amity Outpost itself. The senior staff and other select officers and civilian staff had been invited to a formal affair--although not so formal that it didn't require clothing. Starfleet officers wore their dress uniforms and civilian staff members, like Rivi's chief of staff Keehani Ukinix, sported their finest and in Keehani's case, some of their most daring wardrobe choices.

Vataix: Is that the new Nemivi Mex dress she debuted at the Rixx Fashion Show?

Keehani: Response

The blonde ambassador admired the sculpted lines of the garment, which complemented Keehani's striking features. Like her friend Tani, Rivi suspected that in another life, Keehani could have easily been a Federation-wide recognized model. But then again, the art of diplomacy often called upon those who navigated its currents to understand the subtle rules of fashion, not necessarily for their aesthetic value but symbolic ones instead. Out here in the Delta Quadrant, as the first face of the Federation to many species who had only heard of the interstellar alliance from tales of Voyager's journey three decades ago, Keehani, Rivi, Vaje, and Aitas presented just as much to the quadrant about the Federation with their diverse and smart sartorial choices as they did with their flowery language and data PADDs of cultural knowledge and Federation law.

Vataix: I can't believe you managed to get it out here so quickly. The show was only... ::scrunches her nose as she thinks:: ...five weeks ago?

Keehani: Response

Rivi smiled and nodded.

Vataix: Well, perhaps I'll look and see if I can get my own when I go back home.

Keehani: Response

She'd already briefed Keehani as her chief of staff of course about her decision to return to the Motherworld. It had been a difficult decision. Rivi genuinely loved serving the Federation and the dream that was Amity Outpost, along with the greater Idrustix colony project.

But her husband Tidrid, who had been so good in his sudden role from test pilot changed to "outpost husband" deserved a chance for him to return to his dreams as well. And this was not a selfless decision for Rivi either. The thought of perhaps taking on the responsibility of representing Betazed from within the Federation Council itself was deeply alluring. Of course her mother Naminae thought there wasn't even a choice. "When life's stage calls you up, Little One, you take it because you never know if you'll get another."

It was hard-earned advice that her mother had learned from a lifetime navigating Betazed's house politics, and one that Rivi herself had adopted early on as well.

Still, that didn't mean Rivi couldn't grieve what she'd be losing now as she looked out across the tables, seeing the faces of her crew.

Vataix: I'm going to miss this place.

Keehani: Response

She looked over at Keehani, a smirk finally cracking.

Vataix: Sorry, I'm already getting sentimental, as if I still don't have several weeks of wrapping everything up to prepare for my replacement. But tonight is the first step. Of making this change *real.*

Keehani: Response

She still didn't know who exactly was going to be the new ambassador. Talking to the Secretary of the Exterior's office, it was clear that the Federation Council and the FDC were reluctant to send another Betazoid. This of course infuriated the Betazed government, and Rivi ironically found herself mediating yet another dispute on the other side of the galaxy. She told the Betazed representatives that ultimately she agreed with the FDC's views on this. Amity Outpost and the Federation consulate needed to be first and foremost a *Federation* installation not a Betazed one. And having a non-Betazed next step into the most senior role in the region would help emphasize that.

She took a deep breath.

Vataix: Well, let's get this started, shall we?

Keehani: Response

Rivi walked over to a podium where Vaje was waiting in a cleared space next to the tables, Keehani following. A few conspicuous boxes had been stacked and waiting on a small high table set up by the restaurant staff.

Vataix: Good evening, everyone. First, I must say you all look handsome tonight.

Some polite chuckles could be heard around the room along with the clinking of silverware as people put their utensils down to hear what Rivi had to say.

Vataix: As you might have heard through the rumor replimat, Amity Outpost is experiencing its first command change. Today is my last day as the chief of mission and commanding officer for Amity Outpost. I am proud of what we have done out here since Amity launched in 2398.

She looked out at the faces staring back at her, starting at Bec's and scanning across past Ikaia to Kaito, Jansen, and then Scotty.

Vataix: That year, it seems so long ago, doesn't it? After what happened on Frontier Day... and even with all that we have accomplished here on Amity, the new civilizations we've met and the familiar ones we've reintroduced ourselves to.

She thought back to that day, three and a half years ago.

((FLASHBACK: Vataix Estate, Ohmallera, Betazed - 2398))

After a brief introduction by various Betazed dignitaries, including the Betazed’s Federation Council member, Secretary Ventu took to the podium to say a few words.

Ventu: Good evening, honored guests. It is my privilege to stand before you here, to inaugurate the mission of Amity Outpost with the appointment of its chief of mission. The Federation Diplomatic Corps has and will continue to place great interest in the mission’s success, and it is my pleasure to formally introduce to you, for the first time, Amity Outpost’s Ambassador Rivi Vataix.

Lily applauded along with those gathered as she yielded the podium to Ambassador Vataix and took a seat. She continued to watch the ambassador carefully, however: This was her first real test as Amity’s chief of mission. How would she address the crowd? How would they respond to her?

Rivi took a breath before she stepped up. She’d spoken before at numerous engagements, but this was truly a different scale. There were journalists from beyond not just Betazed but even beyond the Federation, all curious to know who was going to be the head of this new diplomatic venture. She cleared her throat before she began.

Vataix: Ladies and gentlemen, my honored guests… I recognize clearly how today is not just about my appointment as an ambassador. It is the beginning of something far greater that will last long beyond my tenure and service to the Federation.

She paused as she glanced across the sea of faces looking back at her.

Vataix: What is the Federation and what does it mean to individual planets and species? Here on Betazed, we have grappled with our relation to the Federation and what if any is its relation to our Betazoid identity since the end of the Dominion War and the Ohmallera attack. It becomes easy at times to think of the Federation as a distant entity, focusing only its capital lightyears away. But the Federation is not defined by a location. It is defined by a set of principles--principles that all its members share and recognize as the foundation for peaceful and prosperous relationships that transcend distance, culture, and species.

It is this set of principles that we now venture forth into the Delta Quadrant, not as an Alpha Quadrant power trying to expand its reach but as a coalition of over a hundred species seeking to connect with others and learn from each other. Since the Federation’s founding over two centuries ago, we’ve shown how mutual understanding and cooperation is possible even amongst former foes. Today, we follow in the footsteps of our forebears who brought sentient lifeforms together to talk to, trade with, and help one another. It is their dream that we are so privileged to be living now, and it is our duty to continue the work. Thank you.

((END FLASHBACK))

Vataix: That year, even before I first stepped onto this magnificent station, I talked in my ancestral home about how the Federation isn't a location. It isn't Earth. It isn't Vulcan, Andoria, or Tellar Prime. And it isn't Betazed either. It's not even a people or a civilization or a collective of civilizations.

She looked again across the faces staring back, now sharing her gaze with Sam and then across to Robin, Charlena, Torvi, and Aitas.

Vataix: The Federation is a dream made real. Four years ago, I said it was defined by a set of principles, and it still is. But that would be an incomplete definition. As would simply calling it a dream or idea or even a philosophy of life. Because dreams can fade, ideas can be forgotten, and philosophies left to be debated and dissected in the classroom. But a "dream made real" means a *commitment.*

She turned her head now to look over at Nathan, Niev, Eilana, and D'Cyra.

Vataix: I remember when I first heard the word "utopia." It is not a concept native to Betazed, this idea of a "perfect place." On the Motherworld, we know all too well the inner thoughts of our neighbors to ever dream of such a possibility.

That at least elicited some chuckles.

Keehani: Response?

Vataix: My point is, I believe the human tendency to describe the Federation as a utopia is understandable but misguided. And what happened on Frontier Day certainly showed that we are far from perfect. But that does not mean we are unworthy of the dream and the values that we say we hold. Because if the Federation is a model of utopia or the closest thing to one in this galaxy, then it is a model that shows that utopia is not achieved but cultivated.

The garden is a metaphor we are deeply familiar with on Betazed. A family, a noble house, an institution. Betazed itself. All are gardens of people and personalities. Ideas and interests. Not all will bloom together or throughout the year. The changing seasons bring forth new flowers, new people, new ideas. And the ever attentive gardener must ensure the weeds and pests that can destroy her garden are dealt with swiftly, lest they suffocate her flowers.

Rivi then gave a wide smile as she finally turned to see Wil, who unlike his Starfleet comrades, was *not* in a dress uniform, having been placed on administrative leave.

Vataix: Officers and staff of Amity... my crew... my friends. Today is a changing of the seasons. And today, a new gardener steps forward. It is my last day as your commanding officer but the first day of your next one: Commander Wil Ukinix.

Ukinix: Response

Vataix: Wil, please come up here.

Ukinix: Response

As he made his way up to the staging area, Rivi pulled up the official Starfleet and Federation Diplomatic Corps orders on the podium display. Once Wil was standing next to her, she began reading.

Vataix: "From: President Anton Chekov, Paris, Earth. To: Ambassador Niarivi Vataix, Amity Outpost, stardate 240205.23. Per your resignation as chief of mission for Amity Outpost, you are hereby requested and required to relinquish command of your installation to Commander Wil Ukinix as of this date." Computer, transfer all command codes to Commander Wil Ukinix, authorization Vataix-saphhire-sonata-sauté.

Computer: Transfer complete. Amity Outpost now under the command of Commander Wil Ukinix.

Ukinix: Response

(OOC: More to come in Part 2, but feel free to write a sim with your character's perspective on any of this as its own "part 1" sort of reply. Feel free to tag whomever you want at your table but do not plan to continue the "part 1" scene beyond your second reply.)

TAG! TBC...

Rivi Vataix, Daughter of the Eleventh House of Betazed
Former Chief of Mission and Commanding Officer, Amity Outpost
Federation Diplomatic Corps, United Federation of Planets

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