Drinks and Conversation [Part 2]

Posted on Tue Sep 28th, 2010 @ 9:44am by Colonel Damon Raine & Lieutenant JG Nava

1,071 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Peace, or Something Like It
Location: Lounge
Timeline: Back-post [Before arriving on Turkana IV]

ON

[OLD]

"I'll have a glass of Andorian Wine." She said "I prefer to avoid confrontations if I can." She said "I may not be able to make everyone happy, but I do try to make sure that things are fair. I'll do my best to keep your men out of the line of fire as much as I can." She said with a slight smile "How much combat have you seen?" She asked "This is my first deep space mission so I'm interested to learn all I can about what happens out here." She chuckled "In fact I told the Lt that I'd participate in a work out with the Marines." She said "I will keep my word on that." She said.

[NEW]

Damon smiled and laughed to himself. "The Lieutenant is...eager to fight. I'm sure he will have a vigorous routine planned for you when you arrive." He flashed a large grin to highlight the point. "Unlike the Lieutenant, I am closer in line to your thinking. I've seen enough 'real' combat from the war to ruin my sleep even to this day. Fortunately, most of my Marines haven't seen hard combat like that yet. Charlie Company's First platoon is our only blooded group so far. It's likely, though, that negotiating with bloodthirsty pirates can't be done with anything BUT a rifle, so you haven't missed much here."

Nava nodded "Clan wars on Ferengar can get messy. Fortunately I haven't seen much of that and honestly the only time I ever held a weapon was during weapons training in the Academy and to keep my rating afterwards. Suffice it to say, I don't like weapons, unless they are being traded for latinum." She said lightly.

"Where are you from Major?" She asked trying to get to know her companion for the evening.

Before Damon could respond, the waiter returned with their drinks in hand. He deposited them on the table and smiled before leaving.

Damon took the frosty glass in hand and sipped appreciatively at the cool beverage. With a quiet sigh he put the glass back down on the table and looked over at Nava.

"I grew up on Earth, Canada to be more specific" He cocked his head to the side in thought. "Well, that's where I spent my childhood, anyways. The truth is my sister and I was born on a starship somewhere near the Romulan neutral zone. I guess that means I'm not really sure EXACTLY where I'm from." He grinned at the thought. "How about yourself? Were you born with a strip of latinum in your hand on Ferenginar?"

Nava laughed "No, but my Father gave me my first bar when I was 2 and my mother started teaching me the rules of acquistion as soon as I could talk." She said "When I was old enough, my Father started teaching me the family business and hoped that I would take over." She explained.

"But you decided to enrol in Starfleet Academy instead." Damon pointed out the obvious "There isn't much profit to be found as a diplomat. What made the decision for you?"

"I was looking for adventure and excitement." She said "I have been a disappointment to my Father. Although as I explained to the Captain, I try to use the Rules of Acquasition in my diplomatic interactions." She laughed "It's an unusual approach to diplomacy."

"It must be effective if you found yourself serving aboard a Galaxy class starship. Makes sense though, conflict arises when two or more parties can't agree on something. Diplomacy is nothing more than helping two groups reach a compromise or, as the acquisition rules, price."

Nava smiled "Exactly." She said "It's a matter of finding an acceptable price for all parties involved. Sometimes it's not as easy as it looks though." She said as she thought about some of her first interactions as a diplomat.

Damon shook his head "No, I wouldn't think it is. The only diplomacy I know is found at the end of my carbine's barrel. Sometimes that's the only negotiation people will accept. It must be frustrating when talks fail. You ever lose a table?"

Nava smiled "I have and it didn't turn out pretty." She said thinking back to the first failed diplomatic mission "People lost their lives and I felt guilty. It was one of my first diplomatic missions. We were trying to broker a cure for a disease. I nearly had it signed, sealed and delivered. When one of the parties felt that I was asking for too much and became hostile and...well lets just say that things ended there." She didn't like talking about that incident, she had done her best but neither side was ready to put aside past grievances "That's why I prefer to prevent the loss of life if I can." She said "That was a situation where everyone lost. Including Star- Fleet."

"When fighting is involved, no one wins. May seem awkward for a Marine to say, doesn't it?" He allowed a smirk.

Nava smiled "You know not really. I don't think Marines enjoy killing or dying anymore than anyone else. Most of the Marines I know would prefer to avoid a fight if at all possible. Yet they understand the need to fight and do it with efficiency, well planned and trying to minimize the loss of life as much as possible." Nava took a sip of her drink "What is the hardest part of being a Marine?" She asked as she looked at Damon.

He didn't need to think about the response "Knowing that you can't save everyone; especially other Marines. We are the ones that get sent into the worst of all situations; it's inevitable that we will lose some of our own. When you fight side by side and trust your life to the person beside you, we tend to develop a bond with each other that is hard to explain. Watching them die beside you..." He shook his head from the memory of it happening all too often.

"It's ironic, really. The Corps teaches Marines how to live in the worst of all conditions. After watching other Marines die, however, living can leave you just as dead inside. Survivor's guilt is a hard thing to overcome, some never do."

To Be Continued...

OFF


Major Damon Raine
Marine CO
USS Calypso

Lt (jg) Nava
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Calypso

 

RSS Feed