A Little Social Lubricant

Posted on Tue Sep 10th, 2013 @ 7:14am by Gabriel Grey & Commander Aztala Germond & Cynthia White

2,535 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Whispers in the Clouds
Location: Diplomatic Corps Offices, USS Unification
Timeline: Day 2 - 1300 hours

Gabriel Grey sighed as he leaned back in his plush leather office chair, and gingerly worked out a kink in his right shoulder. Gabriel had greatly enjoyed the flight simulator program he'd shared in Holodeck Two with Ensign George Ward, the Unification's Chief Flight Control Officer. The opportunity to pilot an ancient Earth fighter plane into combat during a conflict called World War II had been a thrilling experience, even if he had been shot down over 12 times. However, he had banged his shoulder up pretty good on his last go, and now it was bothering him without let up. The grey-haired 78 year-old former Starfleet admiral lamented how easily it seemed that he could be injured lately. A sprain here, a tear there ... it was enough to drive him up a wall! Begrudgingly, Gabriel admitted to himself that he would have to pay a visit to Sickbay, and see what the Ship's Doctor could do for him. Right now, however, Gabriel hoped he could squeeze in one more meeting.

Gabriel tapped his communicator badge and hailed, "Gabriel Grey to Miss Cynthia White: Could we meet for a few minutes, Miss White? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

The comm chirping back, Cynthia White replies almost immediately. "I was actually about to pay you a visit. You're next on my list of people to interview and I expect you to have quite the good story. I'll be there within five minutes." Before the comm channel closed, there was the distinct sound of glass clinking against glass, as if she was getting a bottle of something from somewhere.

An expression of playful worry washed across Gabriel's wizened chocolate-brown face. The grey-haired ambassador remembered the warning that Lieutenant Commander Aztala Germond had given him earlier that morning. The gorgeous Orion XO had mentioned Miss White's preferred method of building a rapport: a stiff drink and a seductive smile. The old man smiled to himself and adjusted the fit of his white cable-knit turtleneck, hoping to at least look presentable for the news reporter.

Walking to her neighbor's door with a small bottle of 120 year-old brandy and 2 crystal brandy glasses. She could have replicated some glasses and saved a little on her baggage, but there was just something to the hand made glasses in her personal collection that she found enchanting and helped her get in the right mood to strip the secrets from even the most battle hardened veteran.

Pressing the chime, but not waiting for a reply, she presses the door open control and steps inside, her piercing brown eyes searching out Gabriel, her long, flowing, raven black hair fluttering just slightly as she strides into the room. Holding up the bottle and her 2 glasses, she smiles and brightly says “I've arrived. And I have a bit of a housewarming present, if you'll share it with me. 120 year-old brandy made in old France. I came across 2 bottles of it some time ago and the first bottle was so delightful I just know you're going to love it.” Without pausing, she sets the 2 glasses down and opens the bottle with an experienced twist that would make even the most seasoned bartender jealous, pouring a little in each glass, taking one and handing the other to Gabriel. “So should we take care of business first? What is it you wanted to talk about?”

"Perhaps we should take care of that interview you wanted first," suggested the older gentleman. Gabriel watched the enthusiasm and efficiency with with the pretty dark-haired reporter poured the brandy. "Normally it's a bit early in the day for me to be drinking something this strong," he said, taking one of the glasses from Cynthia with an unsure smile. "But I suppose one little glass is alright." Gabriel held up his glass and waited for Cynthia to pick up her own. "What shall we toast to?" he asked.

Holding her glass up, she smiles brightly. "How about to the future and all the discoveries it holds?"

"To the future and discoveries," said Gabriel with a nod, bringing his glass to gently clink against Cynthia's before taking a nice long sip. The dark amber liquid washed strong and sweet across Gabriel's palate as he drank. It's well-aged spicy flavor gave it a rich, warm taste. "That's an excellent bottle, Miss White," smiled Gabriel, as he offered a seat to Cynthia with a courteous gesture. "A 120 year-old, you say? Where ever did you get it?"

Taking the seat courteously, she sips at her drink and smiles warmly. "I have a friend that deals in rare commodities like this and I guess you could say I have a bit of a... subscription... to their work. I send them things I pick up in my travels and they send me some vintage and obscure bottles now and then. I don't ask where or how they get them, like those bottles of Orion Brandy he sent me a month ago. Honestly, I'm just glad to have had them. I traded him the latest geological survey of New Bajor for them and he's already gotten them to several Federation scientists. I know he could have gotten them from normal channels, but I'd like to think that with my help he got them months in advance of when he normally would have. Enough about me though, what could have possibly brought such a decorated and revered admiral such as yourself out of retirement? Granted it's not entirely unusual, what with most retired admirals becoming Starfleet Advisors, but you decided to go back on active diplomatic duty. Why is that?" Looking to him curiously, Cynthia sips at her glass and cradles it preciously.

"Oh, I suppose I just wasn't ready to retire," said Gabriel as he pulled up a comfortable seat across from Cynthia. "You know, many people dream of one day being able to leave behind all of the misery of a busy worklife to live a life of leisure. I should know because I was one of them," Gabriel admitted with a charming grin. "I thought that when the time came, I would gladly walk away from all of the struggling, and the strife, and the scheduling, and the stress? My God!" Gabriel gave a mock wince as he chuckled playful. "My dear, I thought that I was going to dance off into retirement when the time came — all too happy to leave all of that behind." Gabriel paused to take another sip of brandy before he continued. "But you know something? They never tell you what you lose when you walk away from the game. You never hear about what you're giving up: a sense of purpose ... the pride you feel at a job well done ... how positively empowering it is to know that you. Can. Do it." Gabriel sat back in his chair, bringing a hand up under his jaw in a pensive gesture. "One morning, you wake up, and you realize that you've become a shadow of the person you used to be. You don't recognize the person staring back you in the mirror. You look around at your quiet, content and boring life, and you know it's not the life you are meant to be living — not yet, anyway."

Nodding and taking mental notes, her eyes almost with the same glint as a recording device, Cynthia sips at her glass again. "I can see that. Without something to keep you busy, I guess it would get rather boring. Why the Unification then? There must have been dozens of ships that would have loved to have had you aboard, or even an embassy somewhere."

"Well, actually, they wanted me to come back as an Admiral," explained the elder statesman, gently swirling the brandy around in his glass. "Take a nice comfortable desk job at Starfleet Command, or even at the Academy. And there was also talk about me serving as a Federation Ambassador, again. After all, some of my most noted accomplishments were achieved while serving in a diplomatic capacity. Unfortunately, either of those positions would have meant that I would be staying put in one place, with my butt parked permanently on the surface of a planet, or in orbit on a station. That just wasn't going to work for me. After all, part of the reason for my coming back was so that I could go streaking through the cosmos again. Sadly, there just aren't many available starship commands for Admirals these days. They typically reserve those CO positions for young and hungry Captains and Commanders ... none of whom really want a higher-up looking over their shoulder, even if he is just an advisory officer. No, the only way I was going to get back aboard a starship was as a civilian. That — and a desire to return to doing something diplomatic — really narrowed my choices. Becoming the CDO aboard a starship heading out into the Gamma Quadrant seemed like the most rewarding option available." Gabriel sighed and smiled. "I must apologize, Miss White. As an old man, I have a tendency to ramble on about things. Please forgive my being so very long-winded."

"No no, please go on. This is fascinating and I would love to hear more. So why the Gamma quadrant rather than the Delta quadrant?" Cynthia smiles and picks up the bottle of brandy, pouring just a bit more in her own glass and offering more to Gabriel.

Gabriel held up a hand in a polite, if insincere, refusal. "One glass is plenty for me, my dear," he winked. "I see you over there, trying to get an old man drunk!" The grey-haired ambassador chuckled. "Shame on you! To answer your question, though: I guess it was the chance to put my Dominionese to good use again. I remember having worked so hard to learn it back during the War, in preparation for, what I hoped, would be a diplomatic mission to the Founder Homeworld. Unfortunately, that mission never got off the ground, and I ended up being sent instead to Romulus instead ... so I never really got the chance to use what Dominionese I had learned. Do you speak any languages, Miss White? Besides Federation Standard, I mean."

Setting the bottle down and closing it, Cynthia thinks for a moment before answering. "I was a Global Earth News field reporter before this so i know French, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese. I did grow up learning a bit of Vulcan, but not enough to carry on a conversation." Taking another sip from her glass, she looks back to Gabriel. "With the universal translator implant, there's little need to learn other languages, though I do see the appeal. What about Romulus then? You're one of the few humans that saw it before it was destroyed. What was it like?"

A wistful smile tugged at the corners of Gabriel's mouth as he reminisced. "Romulus was unique in its beauty, in that it possessed a little of some of the most beautiful characteristics found on so many other worlds. Take my favorite feature, for instance. Just before sunrise and just after sunset, the skies over Romulus used to take on the most beautiful green color. Now, the color only lasts for about a half-hour ... and to be fair, it's not quite as intense as the permanently green skies over Antares. Still, though at least they could boast that they had green skies! Such a rare feature to find on any M-class planet, and yet, it could be found on Romulus ... as could a great many other wondrous things." Gabriel sighed sadly before taking another sip of the fine brandy in his glass. "A great and tragic loss," he observed, "to say nothing of the sheer number of lives that were lost."

Finishing her glass, Cynthia Nods slowly. "It was definitely a devastating moment in history. It all but crippled the Star Empire. In a way, it reminds me of when the Klingon moon of Praxis blew up and I have to wonder if some similar tragedy is going to strike the Federation sometime."

Gabriel shook his head at the thought. "I pray it never does, Miss White. But I do take solace in the knowledge that, should something similar happen to one of the homeworlds of the Federation, our people will not fail to come together as one and rise to meet the challenge, no matter how dire." With that Gabriel drained what remained of his brandy and gave a sharp contented sigh. He was beginning to feel the faintest buzz behind his dark brown eyes, and knew that the potent century-old cognac was beginning to get to him. "Now," said Gabriel at last, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "I have a question or two for you, Miss White ... and I hope you will keep an open mind about them. Ready?"

Shaking off the mild fugue and nodding, Cynthia smiles lightly. "Of course. Ask away."

"Okay. It shames me to admit it, but our corps diplomatique here aboard the Unification is actually incomplete. You see, I am missing a couple of key attachés, not the least of which is a press secretary, which — as I'm sure you understand — is a vital member of any diplomat's CD. Since it doesn't appear that I'll be able to fill the position before we launch, I'm forced to find someone already aboard who wouldn't mind accepting the role."

Gabriel paused, giving the raven-haired woman in front of him a moment to process what he was saying. "Of course, this press secretary would have to be someone with a background in mass communications. Hopefully, he or she would have a good understanding of how a press corps operates, as well as be familiar enough with the concept of public relations to know what to divulge to the press ... and what to keep confidential."

Gabriel rested his chin on his fist and considered Cynthia with smiling brown eyes. "I realize that this may present something of a conflict of interest, Miss White," he said, "but how would you like to be our diplomatic corps' press attaché?"

Laughing a bit and smiling like the cat that ate the canary, Cynthia nods. "I would love to. I've filled the role of Media Relations Officer a few times, so don't worry about conflict of interest. Much to my boss's frustration, I've kept secrets before - some of which I still can't talk about. All you have to do is put in a clearance confirmation request to the XO and I can take care of the rest. When do I start?"

"Immediately!" grinned Gabriel, bringing up the empty glass in his hand, with a mischievous look in his eye. "After another glass of this excellent brandy, that is!"

Her smile somehow widening further, Cynthia pours a bit more of the brandy in their glasses and raises hers for a toast, knowing he would get the reference. "To the undiscovered country."

"Hear, hear!" replied Gabriel with a courteous nod, gently clinking his glass against Cynthia's again.

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