Lieutenant Vailani Zoyara - Diplomacy Is Not My Forte
Luxa Lorana
((OOC: I have dropped Dakora’s tags and edited some content to account for this))
(( Command Centre - Grunden Base Camp, Kydon ))
At first look, you’d be mistaken for thinking the Grunden nothing more than a guerilla combat unit, under-resourced and lacking in technology. However as Zoyara stood in the command centre her eyes were drawn to the holo mapping, the drones that buzzed around on various tasks and the well-organised way the Grunden operated.
It wasn’t hard to understand how they had managed to survive the far more technologically advanced Kobyar for this long. They must have been exceptionally resilient and adaptable, as a people. Not unlike her own people.
Zoyara tried to avoid comparisons to Bajor’s struggles when she encountered other species’, it often led to incorrect assumptions and unnecessary bias, except she couldn’t help being reminded of the tales of the Bajoran resistance her father would bestow upon them.
Kexxin: Response
Vailani: Thank you General for hosting us.
Sadar: ::twists anxiety band twice:: I-It’s nice to meet you, General. I-I’m Doctor Sadar. ::wrings her hands slightly::
Tho’Bi: ::bowed slightly:: Ensign Tho’bi. I am of the Birev clan. My blood is of the Ice Moon of Andoria. My forebears were Engineers, as am I.
This may have been the first time Tho’Bi had managed to keep from falling over, getting out a full sentence or just appearing somewhat competent. She found herself feeling a strange sense of pride in him.
oO no, you will not take this one under your wing Oo
She then looked to Gila, and then to Tho’Bi. Both of them were tall, with colourfully pigmented skin yet the similarities did not end there. Hadn’t she been as equally paralysed by nerves in her first days, weeks and months on the Artemis. The very time they had begun their friendship.
Her reveries were interrupted when the newest addition to the Artemis spoke up. The seemingly less nervous redheaded Ensign Natasha Cole who had joined them in the transporter room with last minute orders to replace Dakora in their numbers, who had been forced to leave on personal matters suddenly.
Cole: :: inclining her head :: General.
Zoyara wished that she had opted for a more simple greeting rather than her own rather clumsily put together sentence. Diplomacy was not a strong point for her. Now that she was to replace Dakora as the away team lead, she felt the sudden realisation that she was to be the one guiding the team in the very task of diplomatic relations.
oO MacKenzie must be mad Oo
Gnai: Response
Kexxin: Response
Sadar: Is that why your medical tent was in such an uproar?
Zoyara watched carefully to assess the reaction of the General to such a question. There was much they didn’t know about the culture and what was appropriate or not. How one treats their most vulnerable will tell her a lot about their society.
Cole: :: with candor :: Hopefully we can help in some way.
Vailani: Of course, General as you know, we are here strictly as observers to the conflict. I do worry our presence so close to the frontlines may be questioned by Kobyar officials? It is important that we are not seen to be taking sides or aiding in the conflict at all.
Gnai: Response
Kexxin: Response
Zoyara listened to the general, she understood his desire to remain close to the frontlines.
Sadar: W-We sympathize, General, b-but you understand we’ve received our own instructions? W-We were supposed to meet back in your capital city. The situation is hardly ideal.
Vailani: We’d be happy for you to escort us to the Grunden capital city? It would provide a unique opportunity to see more of your world.
Gnai: Response
Kexxin: Response
Zoyara nodded, as the General lead them out of the command centre and back to the base camp. The team followed, and passed the medical tent. She looked to Gila and shook her head softly. She knew the doctor would want to offer her help but the Kobyar could very well be observing them. The last thing she wanted was to incite a diplomatic incident for the Captain’s away team.
Sadar/Cole/Tho’Bi/Gnai: Responses
Vailani: :: carefully :: This is a very organised set up, is this a permanent location or do you move from location to location?
They passed a munitions area, several Grunden stacked assault rifles into neat piles as drones hovered around them. Several lights that emitted from the drones scanned the rifles. A cataloguing system to track their weapons? She wondered if they would be able to access those reports?
Sadar/Cole/Tho’Bi/Gnai: Responses
Eventually they arrived at a depot of some description. A gated courtyard, with a crude rounded metallic roof above them. Within it were several ground vehicles that bore vague similarities to Starfleet’s own Argo-types. It included adaptations that she imagined were ceremonial and were painted in the Grunden sigul that she remembered from the briefing room.
She knew that she could simply ask the Artemis to transport them in a matter of seconds but she didn’t want to offend the general, and she was curious as to what they would find on their journey to the capital. It would provide the perfect opportunity to ask questions.
Sadar/Cole/Tho’Bi/Gnai: Responses
Tags/TBC
((OOC: I am loving the world building that everyone has contributed too - don't be frightened to ask the general questions etc and push forward a little!))