Elisabeth Meets Her Successor

Posted on Sat Dec 24th, 2022 @ 9:33pm by Commander Elisabeth Churchill & Commander Queed
Edited on on Sat Dec 24th, 2022 @ 11:07pm

1,323 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Insurrection
Location: Diplomatic Officer's Office
Timeline: A few days ago

As Elisabeth was going around packing her things, she received a memo from the Myogi's new Chief Diplomatic Officer who had come aboard to replace her, requesting a meeting at Elisabeth's earliest convenience. When Elisabeth reached a breaking point with her packing, she made her way to the office which only until recently had been hers. Elisabeth considered pressing the chime and waiting to be let in, but decided to see if her codes were still in the Myogi's system. They were, and the doors opened, allowing Elisabeth to step inside and greet the El-Aurian sitting at the desk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Elisabeth asked.

Queed stood to greet his visitor, "Hello, you must be Elisabeth Churchill," he walked around his desk, " thank you for coming. I understand you're resigning from Starfleet?"

"That is correct, sir:" Elisabeth said. "Don't get me wrong, Starfleet's been fun, but ever since my holoprograms started blowing up in popularity, proving there's an audience for old ocean liners, I've been wanting to pursue my true passion."

Queed nodded, “Admirable.” He sat on the edge of his desk, “So, is there anything I need to know about while aboard this ship? I’ve found it advisable to speak with the people who previously sat in my chair so to speak.”

"It never hurts to check in with your predecessor, especially in today's political climate." Elisabeth said. "For a while, the Federation was facing a potential two-pronged war with the Klingon and Romulan Star Empires, though now that threat appears to have been abated, the threat from the Klingons, we're responsible for handling, while the one from the Romulans was handled by... Another starship that the captain would prefer I refrain from talking about. And during all of this, there's been the ever present danger from within. Really, of the three major powers the Federation deals with regularly, only the Cardassians have been fairly silent."

Queed nodded as he listened, "I see. I'm ashamed to admit, I've not been paying as close attention to the core of Federation politics as I should have in recent years. I have a lot to catch up on and I need to catch up quickly."

"Well, it's a good job I'm still riding this ship back to Spacedock and we've got some time to go over things." Elisabeth said. "So, what do you want to know first? The internal situation or the external situations?"

After a second of thought Queed answered, “Let’s start with the internal first. That would be the more immediate concern.”

"Right, well, apparently, a couple weeks ago there was a trial of a certain Starfleet captain; it involved the Romulans because it was over the destruction of one of their colonies. Trial came to an end, but apparently, some parties involved weren't happy over the outcome, and have been contesting it. The movement is called 'Stop the Steal,' rather idiotic if you ask me, but it's because they genuinely believe that the trial was 'stolen,' and the man at the head of the movement used to be the old captain of this ship, and he was somebody the current captain looks up to as a mentor." Elisabeth explained. "In the next couple days, there's supposed to be a huge protest happening in San Francisco. It's idiotic that a lie has been allowed to fester this much, but the captain seems to think there's a genuine threat. Could just be the hormonal imbalance talking though."

“It could be worth looking into,” Queed admitted. “In my experience, Captain’s have fairly good intuition about such things.” He was basing his opinion on the conversation he had with the Captain when he arrived onboard.

"Yeah, well as a woman, I'd also come to expect a woman's emotional integrity to be compromised, especially in the early stages of pregnancy." Elisabeth rattled off before she realized what she was saying. "Oh, shit; was I supposed to say that?

“I did not realize she was with child, well, it looked like she might be but I’ve found it’s never polite to ask,” Queed answered with a confirming expression. “Can you tell me about the external situations? I may be up to date on some, but maybe not all,” he asked.

"Well, I suppose the best place to start is with the Romulans, considering they've recently made front page news." Elisabeth said. "Apparently, the Tal Shiar attempted to frame the Federation for blowing up one of their colonies, when in reality, it was a species they hired called the... Elachi, if I'm saying that right? Anyhow, the Tal Shiar's plot failed, and apparently they've declared independence from the Star Empire. Unfortunately, that's all I can go into due to most of the details being classified by Starfleet Intelligence. Though frankly, I think we should be wary, since the Romulans, in my opinion, are a major instigator for all this internal strife."

Queed’s lips became a firm, straight line, “There really should be a more open channel between us and Intelligence. There is so much our departments could offer each other. As for the Romulans, they are a thorn in many culture’s sides. They allow their military too much control.”

"Can't really argue with you on either one of those points." Elisabeth said. "Anyway, the Klingons weren't happy because some dickweed was interfering with their trade. You'll currently find said dickweed behind a forcefield in our brig. I've recently submitted reports on the incident to the Klingon High Council for review, so you might hear back from them in the near future, and when you do, you'll have to inform them the guard has changed. I find Klingons aren't very fond of the Federation changing out the officials they deal with."

Queed’s expression relaxed, “I’ve dealt with the Klingons before. I know a captain in their fleet rather well. What else can you tell me about our guest in the brig?”

"He's an arrogant ass who genuinely believes in conspiracy theories." Elisabeth quickly summarized. "Frankly, it's a good thing we're getting him off the streets."

Queed nodded once more, “Conspiracy theories are dangerous things,” he agreed. “All right then, I appreciate the minor history lesson. It’s definitely been helpful. Is there anything else I need to know then?”

"Well, the standoff with the Cardassians continues;" Elisabeth said. "After they illegally invaded and annexed a planet in the Hebitian system about four years ago, despite the fact that the system is almost unilaterally recognized as Federation territory. The Hebitians have been putting pressure on the Federation to do something about this act of Cardassian aggression, but naturally, the Federation has been dragging their heels on the matter, as they don't want to start a war."

Queed's expression turned serious, "I believe that is a mistake. Cardassians are predators. We can't give them any leeway whatsoever. If they are allowed to take they will keep on taking." He shook his head, "Alas, I think I'm telling you things you already know."

"Preaching to the choir." Elisabeth said. "Anyhow, I think that just about covers what you need to know about the 'big three,' unless of course you want to know what the smaller regional powers like the Gorn and the Tholians have been up to?"

"I'm willing to listen to everything you have," Queed replied, "If you have the time, of course." He shrugged, "If you don't, I'll just have to read the reports myself. Up to you."

"Right, well, let's start with the Gorn, shall we?" Elisabeth said. Evidently, they were going to be there a while.

=A While Later...=

After a lengthy discussion Queed felt thoroughly updated and thanked Elisabeth for her time and patience and wishing her luck in her new endeavor.

Posting by

Lieutenant Commander Queed
Chief Diplomatic Officer

Lieutenant Commander Elisabeth Churchill
Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer

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