Diplomatic Assistance
Posted on Thu Jul 3rd, 2025 @ 12:55am by Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant Commander Eirly Andersen & Major Clay McEntyre III & Lieutenant Ryan Keel
1,880 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Conference Room, Diplomatic Affairs Suite
Timeline: MD - 2 Weeks
Captain Johansen arrived in the Intelligence Suite a few minutes early hoping to catch Lieutenant Keel before the others arrived. The chief's position had been unoccupied since Keel's fairly recent arrival, and she hadn't been down to see what he had done with the place. She was also curious to hear if he had any thoughts on the Romulan Reunification movement generally before they delved into the meeting.
As he stepped through the door, Keel mentally totted up how many caffeinated drinks he had consumed so far today. He rattled the iced brown sugar oak milk espresso in his hand. Must be at least seven, he thought cheerfully. Ready access to caffeinated drinks was a definite perk of the job. Even if it was an expensive habit replicator-credit-wise. Looking up from his reverie, his eyes widened as he'd almost careened into his new Commanding Officer.
'Captain Johansen,' he said a little loudly as his wool-gathering was interrupted. 'Fancy seeing you here,' he attempted to recover.
Remy side-stepped out of Keel's direct path, as they almost collided, and quickly laughed the near mishap off.
"Yes, well I've asked Commander Andersen and Major McEntyre to join us here shortly. Can we make our way to the conference room?" Remy gestured down the hall and the two began walking as she continued talking. "I was coming down ahead of time to ask how closely you've been following the Romulan Reunification Movement? There's a conference on Barisa Prime in a few weeks."
'I've read a few briefing papers here and there - in all honesty, my impression's been that the whole movement was losing momentum, particularly since the supernova and Ambassador Spock's divided attention - he was one of the driving forces of it, and his disappearance has dented the movement.' He looked askance at the Captain, 'I suppose the conference is a way of kick-starting things again?'
Remy crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the floor in thought as she slowed her pace. "I suppose..." she nodded to herself before looking up somewhat forlornly. "And the supernova, the unfortunate displacement, the deaths. Maybe some desire to make amends. I don't know. There are certainly more... diverse Romulan voices speaking up these days. It's easier to know the individuals, I mean - than it was even during the War."
For Remy the War was the Dominion War. She had been in the Academy and part of the one of the classes pushed through to graduation more quickly so they could get more officers on the front lines. It was one of the first occasions in history for the Federation to work with Romulans as allies, even if the trust was tenuous at best.
'Romulan society has opened up pretty fast in the years since the Dominion War,' Keel replied, 'particularly considering their life-spans. If you told twenty-year-old me that I wouldn't just be interacting with Romulan Uhlans and Reman Shocktroops, I don't think he would quite believe you. Or that the Empire could collapse like it has.'
Remy smiled and nodded at the comment as they entered the conference room. "I know what you mean. There were always hopes, but not anything I really expected to see in my lifetime."
"What do you make of some of the conspiracy theories around the supernova itself?" Remy asked.
He raises an eyebrow at the question. 'People, whatever the culture, crave orderliness and patterns. Without the clear communication of what happened, it's allowed misiniformation to travel round the galaxy faster than we could get the truth out.' Keel shrugged, 'it doesn't help that it led directly to the collapse of the Empire - the Romulans will always think someone was behind it, whatever anyone tells them.
"I guess I'd be looking for someone to blame too," Remy admitted. She stopped to gesture toward her second officer who had just arrived.
"I am so, so super late," Eirly apologized as she came walking into the office and took a seat near to Remy. She had been working on something personal and had gotten distracted by it. "I'm so sorry," she looked over to Keel with a smile, "Good to see you again Lieutenant. What have I missed?"
"You aren't late at all," Remy assured her. "I just got here early to bend Lieutenant Keel's ear a bit on the Romulan Reunification movement. We're still waiting on Major McEntyre. He should be here any minute."
The doors hissed open, allowing the hulking Caitian marine to enter. Attired in his armor and duty gear, he nods to the group before taking his seat at the table, leaning by in the chair that still strained under his massive bulk. He pulls out his small padd to take notes.
"Now that everyone's here, it looks like Starfleet has put a clock on our time in the Expanse - not that I think that's a bad thing. I think there is only so much one crew can take out here," the Captain admitted, "But that's another topic we can talk about later. We need to start looking forward to our next assignment."
"There is a conference coming up for the Romulan Reunification Movement, the peacekeeping function of our Marine unit has been asked to provide a friendly security presence," the Captain explained. "Delegates from Vulcan, the Romulan Free State, and the Movement itself will all be there. I'm told to expect a presence from Starfleet Academy as well. Starfleet is hosting the conference as a neutral party."
Keel raised his eyebrows, firstly at the large Caitian with the PADD in his hand and his full armour. He recalled that other Marines he had served with while a member had also worn their armour at every opportunity - a habit he had never been comfortable with out of combat. The second reason was the breadth of the of the conference. 'Sounds like there'll be a host of major players,' he said carefully, 'I'm sure there'll be Antiunificationists at the margins too, they're a not-insignificant group and could look to disrupt proceedings.'
"Not-insignificant groups have become the name of the game in the Beta quadrant these days," Remy quipped. "And you're right. While it wasn't in our briefing, we know the Tal Shiar is still operating, along with a number of other less organized forces looking to take advantage of disorganization in the quadrant. Any unification of powers is a threat to that."
'I don't envy having to anticipate the Tal Shiar's actions and finding countermeasures,' Keel replied. 'I guess that's why your here, right big guy?' He nodded in the Caitian's direction. Deliberately looking for a reaction, Keel had been irked by the Marine's lack of greeting or acknowledgement of the others here.
"My Marines stand ready. I'll get with Xalanth and coordinate security plans for the conferences. I do have my concerns about the Tal Shiar sabotaging these talks. Intel should also get threat assessments for other Romulan factions that could disrupt the conferences."
'That goes without saying,' Keel nodded in agreement, 'I doubt any of the Praetorians will be delighted that the Free State is taking an active interest in Unification, however tentative and muted it is at present. I'm sure progress will be slow by human standards, but it's an opportunity that can't be passed up - and the opposition will understand that too.'
"You can work with Xalanth certainly, but given our schedule, you'll need to coordinate with the security teams that will be arriving ahead of us," Remy mentioned. "Because of our current location, Starfleet is going to have to get a head start of preparing the venue, we'll pretty much be swooping in a few days before the conference with manpower, and to tie up any loose ends, but I think we should get out of the Expanse before you make official contact. I want to make sure we can trust our encryption, and things here have just been... well unpredictable."
'And what would you have my department do?' Keel asked. He was excited by the possibilities this conference could present, but didn't want to run too far ahead of himself, or what Remy could assign him. For all he knew, the Astrea crew were to be there only to facilitate discussions and smooth over tensions rather than advance negotiations. 'If we get advance news of the major personalities and factions - Unificationists and Tal Shiar aside - we can build a dossier to prepare for the event.'
"As of now, I believe Starfleet's role is security and playing the part of a neutral host. The first part of the conference includes presentations from both sides, opportunities for everyone to... mingle, break bread together, hopefully remind the two sides that they do share things in common," Remy replied.
"You can liaise with Commodore Mustaq Sural though," the Captain advised as she continued. "I anticipate that he will want your department present to facilitate positive interactions, and be ready to take initiative should things develop."
Making a note of the Commodore's name, Keel nodded and smiled, 'a little party with people we don't usually mix with will be fun I think - until the Romulan ale, and Tal Shiar honeytraps come out, at any rate.'
Remy grinned at the mention of Tal Shiar honeytraps. That was a combination she hadn't thought of, but he likely wasn't wrong. Something to be on the lookout for.
"At any rate, we can all brush up on our current events, and be in touch on updates to the conference schedule until we arrive and can get to work. I doubt we'll be able to do an all crew shore leave like last time, but I'd like to rotate the crew for at least a couple of days off while we're there," Remy mentioned while looking at Commander Andersen. "You and Commander Spello can get with the Department Heads on figuring that out."
"If there are no other questions or concerns, then that's all I have for now," the Captain said looking once more around the table.
'All clear at my end, Captain,' Keel replied. Eager to get to work, he was already working a search parameter that would net him as much data and background as he could get his hands on. 'Happy to touch base in a few shifts to see where we're all at?'
"Sounds great. This should be a nice change of pace from the Expanse, that's for sure," Remy stated as she stood up from the conference table. "Dismissed."
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Eirly Andersen
Second Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant Ryan Keel
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Astrea
Major Clay McEntyre III
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
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