LTJG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - Applied Lessons In Diplomacy
Lhandon Nilsen
((Conference Room, Deck 5, USS Octavia E Butler))
Lhandon hadn't been able to pinpoint why he liked both Martinson and Taggart, but he was grateful that his first, somewhat informal lesson in diplomacy had been with them.
The first round of roleplay had gone okay, with Martinson initially wondering where it was heading. There was certainly something to work with there, and at the very least, Nilsen had been able to steer the discussion to somewhere that would be considered not rubbish..
He had taken note of everything that had been said and had done his utmost to absorb it all like a sponge, and with all the lessons in mind, they had gotten to work.
Martinson: So ::looking back and forth between Taggart and Nilsen::, round two?
Taggart: Sure, lets go.
Nilsen: :smiling: It’s go time.
Martinson: Alright. Play out the same basic scenario, but try to shake things up a bit this time, alright?
Martinson looked over at Taggart with a wink. Lhandon spotted that, wondered where this was going
Taggart: Membership would be most valuable to our world. It would guarantee the steady flow of our resources.
The first thing he learned was to hit hard and hit fast, laying out what was on offer and what he wanted in exchange. Martinson had also advised him to be firm about it, as both parties knew why they were there. He couldn't offer membership, so he didn't even try.
Nilsen: Quite a few member worlds feel that way, and we’re proud of that, but I can’t offer you membership at all.
Martinson: response
Taggart: Mining is a dangerous business, Lieutenant. And we would always be grateful for extra protection from any interlopers and thieves.
He was told to start much lower, depending on the situation, than what he could guarantee. That way, he could seem to be making larger compromises than he truly was. Although, Taggart gave the caveat that this was a delicate balance and the last thing he wanted to do was overstate it and appear dishonest.
Nilsen: o0 I think I can see where this is going 0o We can certainly talk about some kind of arrangement, but I don’t think we can go for full protection, we were looking for just a simple transaction.
Martinson: response
Taggart: There may have been.... issues.
Nilsen: Issues?
Martinson/Taggart: Response
Nilsen: I mean, that sounds like we will need to devote a lot of resources to fix that, the kind we give member worlds, and it sounds like you really want the membership, but as I said before, that is off the table, so if that’s all what you want, I’m afraid we’ll have to end it there.
Lhandon stood up and went to walk away a short distance. Of course, this was all part of the roleplay, so he could exaggerate just a bit. knowing this was in the spirit of the lesson. In doing so, he began to apply the next lesson: if they didn’t want to compromise, he should pretend to walk away. This could potentially put them on the back foot, giving him more room to manoeuvre, because if they really wanted the deal, they would try to bring him back to the table.
Taggart/Martinson: Response
He shared a knowing look with the other two. Stopped for a second and let the silence fill the room, aiming to put Taggart on the back foot, hoping that he would feel the urge to want to fill the silence.
Taggart (optional): Response
He returned to the table, sat down, and had a little bit of a thoughtful moment and interlocked his fingers.
Nilsen: Okay, tell you what, you said this was pretty dangerous right, interlopers and thieves, so what if I could solve your problem. No membership but, we know how to deal with this, we know how to defend our convoys. Let us have exclusive rights to the ore.
Taggart/Martinson: Response
The second-to-last lesson they had taught him was about reframing when necessary.
Nilsen: You see with federation ships always in the system, and crews likely looking to spend their credits when they visit. You get a steady stream of people bringing money into your economy and criminals think twice when even a Nova shows up in a system. You basically get all the benefits of federation membership, without the need to devote much to us, just the mine.
Taggart/Martinson: Response
One might have thought of membership as being part of the council and fully joining, but to these fictitious characters in this role play, a good trade agreement might have ended up feeling like membership by association. At that point, he could have reframed it as a better idea, and even better, it had been reframed as their idea.
He hadn’t been able to figure out how to do the last bit.
The last thing he had been taught was to never, ever say the words "let's be honest with each other" again. Martinson had made that very clear.
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO & Acting Asst. Chief
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)