MSNPC Adirim Bolen - Bolen's Pride
Laria Herren
((Adirim Bolen’s Manor - Paoike Colony, Drever IV))
With talk of tea and the founding of the colony out of the way they had moved on to further digging into potential explanations for the problems with the plants of Drever IV. The Andorian first officer spoke up with an interesting question.
Ch'Nilmani: In the month or two leading up to the first appearance of the crop disturbance. Were there any unexpected incidents? Surprise visit from a unexpected freighter? Weather changes or something along that line?
Bolen: Not particularly. Things have been pretty calm and unextraordinary until the crop failure began. The season was a bit rainier than usual. But that’s about it.
Adirim thought back, trying to recall anything else that might be helpful. But nothing else came to mind. Certainly nothing else that would impact plants.
Ch'Nilmani: Who was the first to spot the crop issues and where was it?
Bolen: I believe that would be… Varl?
His valet spoke up with the name that was on the tip of his tongue.
Varl: Mr. Williamson.
Rajel: Is there a chance we can talk with this Mr. Williamson?
Yes, they would obviously want to speak to him and find out what all he had spotted. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be something that they could do. He frowned. As grouchy as he could be, he missed playing chess with the old man.
Bolen: I’m afraid that won’t be possible. ::He set down his teacup and bowed his head.:: He passed away a few weeks ago.
Rajel: Oh. I'm sorry for the loss. ::She briefly looked to Diz'mim:: Did it have anything to do with the issue at hand?
Ch'Nilmani: That's unfortunate.
Bolen: Not to our knowledge. He had long suffered from Iverson’s Disease, had a farm out on the far north edge of the colony and hoped a purer environment would help with his condition. Obviously it did not.
Rajel: A chronic muscular disorder that gets progressively worse over years, resulting in loss of motor skill until in the end the organs fail as well. Alas no cure has been found so far, though the idea of the nice environment is not a bad idea in general. ::Turning back to Bolen she simply stated:: I was a doctor before I became Commanding Officer.
Adirim nodded but prayed that the commanding officer’s experience as a medical officer wouldn’t be necessary. The explanation of Iverson’s Disease was also helpful. He knew only that it was a chronic and inevitably lethal condition. Nothing else about the condition besides the awful impact he’d seen it have on his friend over the years.
Ch'Nilmani: Do you think anyone else may have seen he outbreak start?
Who else could they talk to? When it came to minding everybody’s business one name jumped right to the top of the list in his mind.
Bolen: A lot of people are pretty observant. We do have a colonist who very much as her finger on the pulse of the colony’s environment and the lives of the other colonists, Mrs. Evangeline Dodson.
Jasele piped up again, only to be shut down by Adirim mid-sentence.
Jasele: Oh, don’t you dare send these nice people
Bolen: Am I wrong? She is very observant.
Rajel: Why not Mrs. Dodson?
Ch'Nilmani: Is this person hostile towards Starfleet or something?
Not hostile to Starfleet specifically. Not really hostile to anyone. Except maybe to him. She didn’t really like how he ran some things. Everyone else seemed to love him besides her. Oh well… not everyone could appreciate greatness.
Bolen: She is… very opinionated.
Jasele: Mrs. Dodson has very strong beliefs and is quite enthusiastic about sharing her opinions when she thinks that something is being done wrong or if she feels like people aren’t keeping her in the loop about everything in the community.
Shoes too. She liked to preach the benefits of walking barefoot and had tried to convince him to abandon his beautiful custom-made boots. Which he had emphatically declined to do.
Rajel: Mhm. I have the feeling I met many people fitting that. ::If that was the full picture or not, she didn't know.:: I believe that I would survive talking with her. ::She smiled.::
Ch'Nilmani: And it sounds like a very good place to start.
Bolen: You will certainly find out a lot about the goings-ons in the community.
Although he didn’t envy them if they were going to go ask her for her feedback on the colony.
Rajel: In either way who else could know some more?
Ch'Nilmani: Any names you provide could help us build a better picture of what's going on.
He stopped to think about who else they could talk to. Really, everyone was very involved with the farms and the environment of Paoike Colony. But some people were more in tune with the colony than most. Adirim struggled to come up with the names, only coming up with one besides the obvious of the Starfleet science officer.
Bolen: Thoth, Son of Mak'tath is frequently out in the wilderness so he might know a lot. But Lieutenant Commander Kaimon Tagus would be your best bet for the scientific front.
Rajel: Right, yes we should talk to Commander Tragus. I sent T'Ama to go first, maybe she'll get some answers for us already. ::Pause:: Are there many inhabitants here who have been living here from the start?
Bolen: We had about twenty people in the start and most are still here. I don’t remember every name off hand though.
Varl took out a PADD and noted down a new task: looking through the historical records and assembling a list of all the original settlers still living on the planet.
Varl: I will assemble a list.
Ch'Nilmani: This might be an odd question too, Mister Bolen, but outside of Paoike Colony, are there any other inhabited areas that are just not registered? Camping sites, nomads...things of that nature?
Bolen: No, nothing official or inhabited.
Rajel/Ch’Nilmani: Response
Adirim shook his head no firmly.
Bolen: We were very careful with picking the site and our surveys. I oversaw much of it personally. No indigenous sentient life, no other settlements.
Obviously, he would never have let them settle on a planet that was already inhabited. He was not going to take any chances or overlook anything that could put a fledgling colony at risk. Adirim Bolen did not take chances like that.
Rajel/Ch’Nilmani: Response
Bolen: There are a few buildings a bit outside of town from the early days. The original power generation plant, a small landing strip for larger transports, some expansions that never took off. All abandoned for some time now as their functions were replaced or no longer needed.
Rajel/Ch’Nilmani: Response
Perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned the older buildings. They were a monument to how the other colonists had failed his vision for an expanding and prosperous community. Left to be reclaimed by nature out in the woods past the defense perimeter. Besides, there were a few things out there he would very much appreciate that Starfleet or his colonists didn’t mess around with.
Bolen: Some of my initial plans for the colony could not keep pace with the reality of what the other colonists were ready for.
Rajel/Ch’Nilmani: Response
Sir Adirim Bolen, Son of the Sixteenth House of Betazed
Mayor and Founder
Paoike Colony
===as simmed by===
Lieutenant Commander Laria Herren
Mission Specialist/Second Officer
USS Constitution-B
A239402AG0