Lt. JG Dime De Scheppes: Just Briefly

[Tony Colella]

(( Diplomatic Office Suite, Deep Space 14 ))

When the comm call came in, Dime pointed to T'Arila, the Vulcan noncom who'd agreed to monitor the office pool to ensure fairness. Dime was grinning as she took the call, too, because she'd won: She hadn't expected Lhandon Nilsen to call the night before, not really, but she wouldn't have been entirely surprised -- but when it came time to choose a time, she thought "first thing the next day" sounded right. And so she was right, and she had a week's worth of dinners paid for at Jerrado Bistro.

She sobered quickly when it came time to brief him, though. Not only would the Octavia E. Butler soon play host to a long-term Cheydalanga visitor -- which meant Nilsen would, functionally, as the new diplomatic officer -- but there was more bad news from the Zet frontier to impart. However, she focused more on the former for the moment, ensuring that Nilsen knew fully that this was an ongoing assignment, given how long the Cheyd national, one Lower Tenente Domeni'Dolce, former head of a group called the Mongar, would be traveling.

Nilsen: Jayus Dime, that's a mission and a half, at least he's got a good impression of us. (beat) Their ships could maybe do at most warp 6, and it took us a whole week to get there on our engines, so at least we've got a lot of time to prepare for his arrival. I'll make sure I'm at DS14 before he arrives. (beat) It still leaves a big question: What happened on Cheyd'lang for him to be able to get away? And is he here with the blessing of the government or under his own steam?

De Scheppes: The sense I have -- the whole office here, really, which we think is a good one -- is that Domeni'Dolce is, or was, a minor functionary in the larger government, but also that his Mongar splinter group means that he could have a great deal of power. It depends, partially, on how well this goes.

Which both was and wasn't an answer, although she supposed that it was the best they were likely to get for a while.

De Scheppes: What's your take? You actually interacted with the Cheydalanga, which no one in our office has.

Nilsen: They had a caste system, you're born into your role. He was part of the military caste. Either way, his arrival here will raise more questions than it answers. If he’s from the government, why are they sending a soldier? if he’s come on his own, how was he able to get away?

De Scheppes: (bright smile) Excellent questions, and ones that you'll be well placed to answer. (beat; serious again) I don't get the sense that he or those he represents bears us any specific ill will, though certainly I would consider what his lasting impressions of Starfleet might be after your mission to Chey'lang.

Dime thought he might want to review the mission details, but Captain Rouiancet had no doubt told him that it involved the Cheydalanga, and he'd had all night to review. She was not surprised when he had the facts immediately to hand.

Nilsen: It was an awkward ending to the mission, the Rij'dal'vak and the OEB were full to the brim with refugees after they were liberated from the King's Path, and then a bunch of civilian ships basically formed a small fleet and told us to go and do one. (beat) Of course, we respected their wishes but (beat) there’s more we could have done to help.

De Scheppes: (a slight shrug) I doubt he'd come all this way just to grind his axe. (beat) It's the Zet that concern me more, and everyone around DS14, to tell the truth. You have the files still up?

Nilsen: (nodding) I’m also guessing from the mission pack, that there’s more. What’s this I read in the packet about the Zet? And them also reaching out to us? I’m guessing they are our more immediate concern?

De Scheppes: They certainly are. They're expanding again, even though the UDP has officially advised against that. We have reports that they may have recently annexed worlds in the Koreli system, which may be where you're headed next.

For the importance of diplomatic departments, both on DS14 and on the Octavia E Butler, Dime didn't assign ships or missions, and she could only brief Nilsen on the possibilities until Commodore V'Airu officially sent the Butler off to Koreli, or somewhere else entirely.

Nilsen: Response

De Scheppes: Oh, you're really going to love this: They're a sect that apparently call themselves "the Deathless," and their particular M.O. may lend itself more to aggressive annexation rather than peaceful colonization.

Not that there had been anything like "peaceful" annexation Dime had ever seen. But the Zet, and particularly this Deathless sect, seemed bent on claiming planets, moons, stations, and other megastructures that already had sapient beings at home.

Nilsen: Response

De Scheppes: (another shrug) We don't have much more, but I'll send you what there is. Just contact us again if you need to, even once the Butler ships out, since the Uhura Array will relay anything quickly.

Not that he didn't know, but -- especially since he was new in his position -- she wanted him to feel that he was supported, and that in fact the office pool (which she would tell him about, but later) was based on his reputation as a detailed, diligent officer. The diplomats were enthralled to have another of them out among the stars.

Nilsen: Response

Tags! and probably END SCENE for De Scheppes!

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Lieutenant JG Dime De Scheppes

Diplomatic Cultural Officer

Deep Space 14

V238208LV0

she/her/hers (this character)