MSNPC Oolwi - Stagecraft
Chris Taylor
((Xal-Kor’Za City Center- KDS Headquarters, Public Affairs Wing, Kydon))
((Not Long Before The Arrival Of The Artemis-A))
((OOC: This takes place before the post “Hope For The Future”))
Everyone in the studio was in uniform, but the scuttlebutt as everyone went about prepping for the interview was almost casual. It was just another day of spinning the news of the war and spoonfeeding the military’s preferred narrative to the Kobyari public. Only, it wasn’t. An alien vessel was on the way, speeding towards Indeethl Oolwi’s homeworld at many times the speed of light. And she was headed towards a rendezvous with its representatives.
The Major, in form a bipedal blend of featured froglike and reptilian, was seated in her usual makeup chair. A small monitor to the side. The makeup artist was applying watertight pigments which would keep her amphibious skin from reflecting the bright lights of the holocameras. She spent the time running her lines in her head and listening to the respectably croaksome voice which was being projected into her earpiece.
Ulth’Gup: =/\= Efforts to rebuild and re-arm the Ghav’Aa Mountain Outpost and surrounding areas continued apace today. Later in the program, we’ll have a report from our embedded reporter, Keldos Dreal =/\=
As a final touch of preparation, the artist spritzed Indeethl’s large fire-orange eyes with freshwater. A flick of her nictitating membranes removed the excess.
Ulth’Gup: =/\= Closer to home, rumors that the Grunden war machine is receiving military aid from off-world agitators continue to grow. Speculation which has led to minor acts of vandalism and protest as small groups of organized citizens increase their demand for answers from the Central Government. =/\=
The stage director, tall and forest green, signaled a silent countdown. Indeethl rose from the chair, straightened her uniform, and put on her best smile. She moved to a circle of blue light in the center of an otherwise empty stage. The ring went green as soon as her presence within was registered.
Ulth’Gup: =/\= Insight Xal-Kor’Za can now -- exclusively -- confirm that a Federation starship has been dispatched to the Kydon system to assist in the investigation into this extremely controversial matter. =/\=
The countdown ended. The ring turned yellow. A polite distance ahead of her, a cloud of airborne pixels came into being and coalesced into a three-dimensional rendering of the anchorman. His skin was mottled with middle-age, and his robes were sleek and fashionable.
Ulth’Gup: Joining us for comment over hologrid, Major Indeethl Oolwi of the Kobyar Defense Service. Welcome back to the program, Major.
Oolwi: A pleasure, as always, Wi’Sni. And congratulations to Besk Ak-Saal on his Rukti Prize nomination.
Ulth’Gup: ::smiling:: I’ll be sure to pass your kind words along. Besk’s front-line reporting continues to make everyone here proud. ::putting on a more dour face:: But the awards ceremony is months away, and we’re here to discuss the matters of today. I’m sure you’re aware that a significant percentage of our people view the Federation as an imminent threat to national sovereignty.
Oolwi: Nine point seven percent, as of the last reputable poll. I can’t say I share their concern. I believe, as does the KDS, that maintaining a positive relationship with the United Federation Of Planets charts the best possible course to a place of our own among the galactic community.
Ulth’Gup: ::Skeptical:: Assuming we do things their way? Abolishing the caste system and lashing together a one-world government with the Grunden, to cite the most commonly raised conditions?
Oolwi: ::Raising a finger:: Those are only requirements to join the Federation, not have mutually beneficial dealings with it. I’ve studied the other polities in nearby space and, believe me, we could be a lot worse off than having them as our neighbors.
Ulth’Gup: What can you tell us about the ship that is headed here to Kydon?
The Major tapped a signet on her uniform cuff. Two rounded holoscreens fizzed into view; one bearing the Starfleet logo, the other a stock image of Starbase 118. Ulth’Gup would be seeing it alongside her avatar from within his studio, and so too the people watching or home or elsewhere.
Oolwi: It’s a Starfleet vessel. Starfleet ships house some of the most culturally diverse crews in all of the Federation, and their captains are trained in the arts of diplomacy. Which is a benefit for we Kobyar, as I’m sure will it make for a fast and friendly integration to our military and social protocols. That, in turn, will expedite their investigations into the allegations levelled against the Grunden. A process, which I hasten to add, will be carried out in accordance with their adherence to cultural non-interference. We have Starfleet Command’s assurance of that.
Ulth’Gup’s tone remained calm, but his pinkish eyes bulged slightly with eagerness. He was about to ask a question that he believed could net him a scoop over the other news outlets.
Ulth’Gup: Regarding the Grunden, Major, does the KDS believe that the Grunden have made an off-world ally against us?
She deflected a pure yes or no answer.
Oolwi: That is a question which the KDS is taking very seriously. Seriously enough to reach out to our interstellar friends to assure an unbiased search for answers. ::Firmly:: I can assure your audience, and all of our citizens, that if the Gruden are receiving illegal aid from an outside entity, it will be discovered and neutralized.
Ulth’Gup: And if such an entity is discovered, what will become of them?
Oolwi: That will be for the courts and military tribunals to decide. As it should be.
Ulth’Gup: ::Plainly skeptical:: Will justice be served here at home, or on some distant world?
Oolwi: I’ll leave that question up to the politicians to wrangle over.
Ulth’Gup made a small motion with his off-hand. A few more screens appeared in the air; a cavalcade of Starfleet ship types played in fast-rotated clips. Shots of them swooping past starscapes, mostly. Indeethl recognized the Defiant, Parliament, Vesta, and Constitution III classes among their number. She should have tagged more. She made a mental note to review the Starship Recognition Manual again before the end of the day.
Ulth’Gup: Starfleet boasts a high number of starship classes, dedicated to mission a variety of parameters from pure science to battleships. Can you tell us which sort of vessel Starfleet has seen fit to have wade into the troubled waters of Grunden warcraft? The tools and weaponry it may bring to bear?
Oolwi: ::Shaking her head:: For purposes of maintaining operational security, I am not authorized to reveal which particular vessel has been dispatched to us at this time. When that information is available, a press conference will be set in motion. ::Grinning:: I’ll save you a seat.
The anchor blinked his nictitating membranes in thanks.
She allowed a slightly conspiratorial edge to seep into her voice.
Oolwi: What I am able to share with you, and you can call it another exclusive, is that I have been selected to act as a liaison to the Starfleet crew.
Ulth’Gup: ::Genuinely surprised:: Oh? Congratulations are in order for you too, then. That’s quite the ‘scoop’ for a woman who came up the ranks as a photojournalist for Service’s own news outlet.
Oolwi: ::A polite blink of her nictitating membranes:: Thank you kindly.
Ulth’Gup: ::Truly curious:: What form will your role as liaison take?
Oolwi: My role will be to facilitate an impartial investigation on the part of the Starfleet officers. They will be taking the lead on all aspects of inquiry, to ensure an unbiased collection and analysis of any evidences. How and where that inquiry will begin are again matters of a classified nature.
Indeethl would have preferred to be liaising with a Vulcan ship and crew, franky. Their adherence to logic was to be admired. And their dispassionate nature would have lent a degree of enhanced credibility to any discoveries they would have made, at least so far as the Kobyar people were concerned.
But she was never going to say any of that on-camera. And there were a lot of cameras in the Capitol…
Ulth’Gup: ::Back to ‘Scoop Face’:: Is it true that the Grunden have also reached out for Federation assistance?
Oolwi: I can’t speak as to what our adversaries are doing in this matter.
Ulth’Gup: Well, the Warchiefs are certainly speaking up. They've, publicly and loudly, accused our people of relying on outside assistance. The attack on the Ghav’Aa Mountain Outpost was allegedly motivated by an attempt to prove that our latest generation of combat drones --
Oolwi: ::waving a hand to cut him off:: Let’s not join the Grunden leadership in pure speculation.
This was her opening to give the usual line about how the Grunden favored good storytelling over quantifiable realities. But she declined. She expected that this interview would be watched by Starfleet’s representatives, and wasn’t going to say anything that they might regard as racist or supremacist.
Ulth’Gup nodded in acceptance of the point. He started to say something else, but then his eyes suddenly shot to his far right. To something which wasn’t being projected to Indeethl.
Ulth’Gup: Sorry to interrupt our discussion, but I have some breaking news to report. There’s been an incident in the Tevire region. A Grunden village there has taken heavy fire. We have live footage of evacuation by shuttlecraft.
The relevant screen appeared in the holostage. Lines of vehicles, several marked with medical-craft icons, were streaming out of a landscape half blotted out by thick black smoke. What could be seen of the settlement made very clear that it was by no means a military target.
The Major’s face slipped into the long-practiced mask of concern and contemplation. The proper thing to show the public in the face of such an atrocity. Hiding both her fury and her sorrow. And a dark fear that this one act, accidental or not, would negatively bias the Starfleet investigators.
The anchor’s face was a pained scowl. The air sacs in his neck were extending slowly but surely, a loss of control that of the two of them he alone could afford to show the audience. He’d doubtless be railing against a war-crime, if the other side had been responsible.
Ulth’Gup: It’s not clear yet if this was a targeted strike or an accidental volley. ::Turning to Oolwi:: Is there any illumination you can bring to us about this event?
Oolwi: The loss of life and civilian infrastructure is always a tragedy, no matter which side of the line it occurs on. As to any reason for what we are seeing, I have no comment at this time.
She simply did not know what had happened. What was happening. She was as shocked by what she was seeing as Ulth’Gup was. But would not put herself, or the Service, in a position of being made a liar in the future.
Ulth’Gup: In that case, we’re going to move on to our closest field correspondent and get the word from the air as this story continues to develop.
Oolwi: I’ll leave you all to it, then. Until next time.
Ulth’Gup: Thank you for your time, Major.
She nodded. The anchor and all of the screens fizzled away. The ring Oomli was standing in was blue, then purple, then dead black. The circle of lights above was still bright and hot. A keening whistle sounded the close-down of the set. With no one outside of the studio watching, she finally allowed herself to be angry.
She hated being left flatfooted by the press. Worse, she’d borne witness to a possible atrocity committed by her own side! Her arms stiffened and her neck-sacs filled with scathing air.
She marched double-time off of the stage and past the makeup chair, and on towards the double doors that would take her down the corridor leading into her office. And there had better damned well be a pile of reports on her desk when she got there!
Oomli: ::Pointing at a sergeant:: R’Tio! I need to know everything about Tevire yesterday!
She didn’t wait to see them salute. She practically punched the door open and was gone.
TBC
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MSNPC Oolwi
As written by:
Ensign Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12