Captain Nic del Vedova: Maybe Not *Just* a Drink

[Tony Colella]

(( The Celestial Temple Pub, Deep Space 14 ))

Del signaled the bartender, a slight Bajoran man with a truly impressive collection of delicate earrings and other jewelry. If they were going wading in amongst the weeds, he needed some of that warnog.

Del Vedova: It sounds to me like you're looking for mentors. Is that it? (beat) Who's the diplomatic officer on your ship?

Not that Del was likely to know them, but he knew Lia Rouiancet, so it was possible that he could've met the diplomatic officer, too.

Nilsen: There is Ensign Qurgh'Loq Yinn, who I’ve gotten to know, but they are also an science officer…at the same time…erm…(beat) two people, a Bolian and a Klingon sharing one consciousness, doing two different roles…which, really brings a literal meaning to being in two places at once.

Del's eyebrows had risen higher and higher as Nilsen explained. Or, really, provided Del with fodder for more questions -- but then he gave both a mental and a physical shrug.

Del Vedova: Sure, why not. It's Starfleet. Sh!t gets weird.

After all, had his own husband not been displaced in time not one but twice, then mimicked so completely by an arcane alien artifact that no one, not even his closest friends and family, had noticed the deception for months? A long career in Starfleet just meant the dossier of oddities grew longer and longer.

Del Vedova: How do you like them?

If Nilsen and the diplomatic/science officer didn't have a good working relationship -- or if they hated each other's guts -- then that would throw a spanner in his next suggestion.

Nilsen: We get on good, they’re just…dealing with this new development. But, I am going to see them later on, we’ve been looking over some of Picard’s negations with the Sheliak, it’s been good to slow down a little bit after the past couple of months and just read stuff.

That was a good sign, that Nilsen was choosing to spend time with his ship's diplomatic officer. Maybe less good that he was choosing to do extra work over his leave time, but that was not unheard-of, definitely.

Del Vedova: Sure, sure. But (looking at Nilsen over the top of his stein) ideally you should have time for that kind of cross-training during your missions.

Not that Del was criticizing the way Rouiancet ran her ship -- he didn't know how she ran it -- but it seemed to him that if Nilsen was spending his leave time trying to study with half a diplomatic officer, who was only ranked at ensign, then there was very clearly a very large hole that needed to be filled. The Butler, like most of the GQ task force ships, was on the edge of the frontier and very far from the Federation. It should've been crawling with diplomatic officers.

Nilsen: But…erm…(putting his hand out) this isn’t Ro’s fault, she’s been trying to fill the gaps, Starfleet just hasn’t sent her any other diplomatic officers, so if…I dunno, I can jump and fill that gap for her at some point?

Del snorted at the nickname, but only at that.

Del Vedova: I suppose you have a counselor?

At least one counselor, he didn't say. And ideally someone who hadn't been, oh, spliced with an analyst from cetacean ops.

Del Vedova: Well, assuming you do, you might talk to them, too, since they'll be equipped to help you deal with changing departments. (beat, again looking over his stein) Because that is what you're talking about. Even if you split your time between posts, which you probably can do, there's no halfway about diplomacy. You're either on call to deal with a cranky ambassador or you're not.

Nilsen: That’s the thing, I love ops, I got to the Assistant Chief, in part because both Ro and Commodore V’Airu believe in me (beat) It's like I said earlier…I’ve just fallen into this role, You don’t want the whole history, but I just want to do things deliberately for once. (beat) How did you end up in Diplomacy? You started in medical right?

Del Vedova: (numbering on his fingers) Medical, diplomacy, science, medical research, now command... Yeah, I've done almost everything you can do in red or blue. (beat) But how did I get to diplomacy specifically? (another shrug) My friend Roshanara, Captain Roshanara Rahman, needed a diplomatic officer out in the Shoals, the volume of space where her ship Veritas was assigned. I did a crash training program for a few months and was assigned. (another beat) Not too dissimilar from what it sounds like you're doing, actually.

Although Del had chosen to step away from his first command, the medical runner T'Setain, in order to complete that training. But he'd been deeply unhappy with that first command, and had taken the opportunity presented to train for the new post. He'd been warned by his assigning admiral that there was no guarantee that he'd be offered another command, but ironically, the choice to step down and spend time preparing for the Veritas assignment had made him a much better commander for the Hirschfeld when he'd been assigned there as its XO in '98.

Nilsen: Response

Del Vedova: Well, tell me who else you know. There's your single diplomatic ensign... Anyone else on other ships? Or on this station?

Or anywhere else, really, though it would have been helpful if it was somewhere (and someone) close enough to act as a real-time mentor -- which meant out in the Gamma Quadrant with the rest of the task force ships.

Nilsen: Response

Del Vedova: But you want to do this?

That, more than anything else, was the crucial piece.

Nilsen: Response

Tags! and TBC!

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Captain Niccolò del Vedova
Commanding Officer
USS Hirschfeld
V238208LV0
he/him/his (player & this character)