Negotiations, Part I
Posted on Tue Aug 30th, 2016 @ 5:03am by Captain Julius Whitlam & Commander Elliot Drake & Lieutenant Commander Anders Odegaard
Mission:
The Ties That Bind
Location: Administration Building, Seclusion
Administrator Olan’s office was on the second floor of the Administration Building, which was clearly the best maintained building in town. It certainly wasn’t of a standard of a modern municipal building back on Earth and, truth be told, it vaguely reminded Whitlam of a Town Hall from a post World War III holo-drama he’d seen years ago.
The captain eyed the building’s interior as he followed Olan up the central staircase. The walls were noticeably lacking in any decoration and although it looked like they had been cleaned, they hadn’t been cleaned well. The stairs ended in a second floor hallway, which was decorated with fake wood panels and clearly untendered maroon and cream carpeting. The air here was a bit musky and carried a faint hint of chemical cleaner, like somebody had only recently thought about cleaning the place up and got as far as mixing the chemical before giving up.
Anders took note of the smell. "That is unusual, not your average cleaner." He voiced silently to not make note of it. He wasn't overly impressed with the decor, it seemed basic if not rather unkept.
Olan led the two Starfleet officers into his office and made his away around the desk. It was large and made of wood, though not particularly ornate. It had been stained to match the wall paneling. The chair on the other side was a typical clothed covered desk chair. He took a seat and rolled the chair up to his desk and gestured for his guests to take a seat across from him. His two assistants took flanking positions on either side of the door. Once everyone was seated, Olan crossed his arms on top of the desk and leaned forward. "Now, Captain. Tell me again why you are here?"
Whitlam leaned forward in a way that consciously copied the body language of the administrator, but without crossing his arms. "To be perfectly frank," he said, trying to keep his voice firm but not harsh, "you and your colonists are in imminent danger. The Federation is at war and the Dominion is moving on this sector. We've been sent to ... assist you in evacuating before the Dominion fleet arrives." He paused a moment and glanced at the administrator's two assistants before continuing. "I would prefer to accomplish this with your cooperation, of course."
Anders stood by and observed the Captain as he discussed the matter at hand, the war was raging and it was back and forth. This Colony may be a place nobody had heard of but these were still Federation Citizens in Federation Space. He didn't like this.
The colony administrator considered Whitlam's words, but only for a moment. "Your services won't be necessary, Captain. I appreciate your concern for us, but we're not concerned with any Dominion. I'm sorry that you had to come all this way, but we won't be leaving, with or without your assistance."
The captain resisted the urge to look away and instead maintained his calm stare at the administrator. He needed to be firm, Olan needed to see that there was no alternative on the table. "I urge you to reconsider your position, sir," he said calmly. "The safety of your people must be your first priority. If the Jem'Hadar land troops here, there is no possible way that Starfleet - or you - can guarantee your people's safety." He paused a moment and leaned forward just a little. "My ship can evacuate every one of your colonists, but we don't have a lot of time before the Dominion fleet arrives. I can guarantee the safety of every man, woman and child on this planet if you just let us take you to safety."
Anders nodded. "With respect Sir, Captain Whitlam is the only man who can ensure your safety." The Commander agreed with his Superior. "Surely you have some form of concern for your people?"
The old man scoffed. "Of course I have concern for my people. I wouldn't be much of an administrator if I didn't. But this is our home, and it's far more precious to us than you could possible imagine. Besides, we don't need any man to ensure our safety. This colony has it's own ways of defending itself."
That comment gave Anders a curious thought. "From what I understand when I examined your Manifest, there was no mention of weaponry or defenses." The Commander did his research before hand. He was correct this Colony didn't have any known weaponry let alone something powerful enough to combat the Dominion.
Olan scoffed again, suggesting that it was in fact his most favorite expression. "I never said that we had weaponry. I said that this colony can defend itself. That's all you need to know. Whatever enemy the Federation has picked a fight with won't bother us for long."
Whitlam bit his tongue, knowing that it would not be helpful to challenge the ignorant assertion that the Federation had picked this fight. Instead, he ignored the comment and continued calmly down a different tack. "Tell me about your colony, Mr Olan," he said. He needed to try and find some common ground with this man, a new approach was called for. "This town looks like quite an oasis."
Olan's eyes stayed trained on Whitlam. He still didn't seem to trust the Starfleet officer, but he did at least seem to be thankful to talk about something else. "Yes, this town has become quite the settlement. We were blessed, in more ways than one, to find this spot. Are you familiar with the story of how our founders came across this world?" Not waiting for an answer, Olan started into a long story, one that reflected on the colony's history, but never getting into just why this settlement was so important.
Captain Julius Whitlam
Commanding Officer
USS Manoora
Lt. Commander Anders Odegaard
Chief of Security
USS Manoora
Olan
Colony Administrator
(NPC by Elliot Drake)
