Colony Proposal (Part II of III)
Posted on Mon Feb 18, 2019 @ 10:35pm by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Captain Maritza Soran & Civilian 'Arrival' Geral Lasuma & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Charghwl'IH of the House of Soval & Qinee & Civilian Tianys Dalav’ni
1,616 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Doors of Perception
Location: Geral Lasuma's yacht.
Timeline: MD05 1030
Previously on Colony Proposal...
Maritza looked around at the other guests, Dr. Wells, and the usual suspects from the Promenade, and two ambassadors. "What is this about?"
Not a very good place to start. "I'm sorry if there was any misunderstanding, but I understood the colony or research station to be a joint venture, not just the Federation’s. As such, it only made sense to have not only the current parties and those with possible interests involved."
"I see." She glanced at Qinee, wondering if the Ferengi had put him up to this. "Very well." She took a seat, looking stiff. "What did you have in mind?"
And now the conclusion
Geral knew Maritza was going to be cool, maybe even cold, where he was concerned. He understood the difficult position she was in and how she had to separate business from personal. Hopefully she realized that he understood her situation.
Geral nodded warmly and smiled as he looked over his assembled guests. Taking a sip of water, he said, "Okay, as we all know there is now a research complex-slash-colony of the surface of Pangaea. During my visit to the facility during the opening festivities," he purposefully left out the snag that spoiled the event, "I discovered several things. One, due to the planet's atmosphere, trips to and from the surface can be...less than smooth. Second, the entire facility was all work and no play."
Pausing briefly, he continued as a holographic overview of the compound was displayed. Circling an unoccupied structure, he said, "Here in the Federation zone I would like to establish a lounge. Nothing flashy, just a place where people can relax, unwind, and socialize. No different than any lounge found on any starship anywhere in the Federation."
He indicated another structure near the Ferengi area. "Here I would like to establish a more festive facility. A bar-restaurant, maybe a gaming area, and a few holosuites. This, obviously, would allow for people to...cut loose a bit, enjoy fellowship, a drink, a good home cooked meal, and with a holosuite they are limited only by their imagination."
Moving to two narrow buildings closer to the Cardassian section, he said, "In these buildings I would like to establish management, storage, as well as a small store were those who prefer real to replicated can get or request those items.
"Some may say there is no need, as the station is close by. It's true that the station is near; however, to get to and from the station everyone has to use shuttlecraft. That takes time. Not only that, but the trip itself is counter productive when it come to relaxation. And when people are under stress productivity goes down, mistakes are made, nerves get frayed, and frustration only increases. By having facilities on the surface everything is close at hand, no need for a turbulent, even risky, shuttle ride to and from the surface. If something where to go wrong with one of those shuttles it's easier to replace supplies and merchandise than people.”
He looked to the Klingon ambassador, then back out at the others. “I would also like to look into the possibility of hunting excursions, for those so inclined, the ecology permitting, of course."
Charg had listed half heartedly. His predecessor had failed to secure a Klingon presence in this joint colony, something he planned to correct. The Bajoran was making a good pitch, but it was the hunting that piqued his interest. His staff, and the crew of his ship, would find that a useful outlet.
"Lasuma Enterprises is not looking to monopolize these facilities, if approved. Quite the opposite, actually, as I would hope to partner with any of the station’s other merchants that would be interested in these or other facilities as the colony grows."
Geral put his hands together in front of him as he concluded. "Commander Soran, Lieutenant Wells, your thoughts?"
Soran looked like she'd bitten a bee. But she looked to her science officer. "What is your opinion, Dr. Wells?"
Geral interjected, getting the impression she was not going to be happy with him. "Please, take your time to consider everything. I'm sure there are things that us civilians may not be privy to, but," placing his hand on his chest, "just my humble opinion. I saw a possible need on the surface and I thought the best way to address it was to get those involved -- or potentially involved -- to see what, if anything, might be possible,"
"My opinion is that I want to hear what he has to say before I make any decision, ma'am," Alanna said to Soran. "I know what the purpose of the colony is, but it won't hurt to listen."
Qinee ground her teeth a bit and hid her annoyance with a sip from her drink. This is exactly what she’d told Commander Soran when they first discussed the colony a month ago.
Tianys shifted a bit, looking interested in the idea, at least. Perhaps she could get an informal Rowa’ni colony on the planet, an actual home for her people.
Alanna turned to Lasuma. "You've given a good overview, but I would like details on each of these facilities."
Yolanthe was running numbers in her head. "How many people are down there at the moment?" she asked Doctor Wells. "I was under the impression that there were only a few people down there for the moment."
"You're right," Alanna replied. "There aren't very many so far. We'll be adding more shortly, but the overall numbers won't be very high." She was hesitant to give exact numbers, as she wasn't sure exactly how many would end up working on Pangaea.
“That would help us get a count on how much we need to provide,” Tianys said, though she was wondering just how easy it would be to establish a sort of de facto colony for her House.
"And maybe a projection," Yolanthe mused, trying to work it through. "What can the infrastructure support?"
"The infrastructure and what it can hold varies from location to location," Alanna said. "I am most familiar with the research areas, which are limited to the number of scientists and support personnel needed for each specific project. Families are strictly limited to those who can be of benefit to the work at hand. At least for now. They're here on a rotational basis, so the number fluctuates. That's why it's hard to give you exact numbers. For the colonies, they are currently restricted in number as well. We want to start small and see how things progress before we consider expansion." She looked at Commander Soran for confirmation. "Expansion ideas are definitely welcome, but implementation may take a little time."
"Then maybe something multi-purpose?" Yolanthe mused. "At least to begin with. Something with space for my services, and yours," she nodded tp Tianys, "but can be divided easily when we both need more space?"
Tianys mused. “Some of my services customers require...privacy,” the Rowa’ni said, as if stumbling on the word privacy. Her people didn’t really have such a concept, though she knew the word in Standard and Romulan. “But that could work.”
"Easily sorted. Maybe you upstairs, me downstairs?" The bokkai looked thoughtful. "Put someone on the stairs to make sure no rowdy types get up there."
“We could make it work.” Tianys smiled.
Commander Soran's jaw was white, sitting stiffly, her mouth a flat line. "There will be no such thing. Multi-purpose or not!"
Alanna had to agree with her. While their respective establishments had a place on DS5, it was not the type of establishment she envisioned for a research colony.
Geral intervened. "Ladies, please. This is a proposal meeting, not a planning session. Nothing has been approved. However, I would only remind the Commander," he looked at her warmly, knowing they had had a similar discussion previously, "that if Starfleet had wanted all work and no play they wouldn't have provided lounges and holodecks on their starships nor promenade facilities on their starbases.
"Lasuma Enterprises has plenty of experience in colony management, but that is not being proposed. The size of the colony is small enough at the present time that I only proposed minimal facilities. So there is no need to jump the gun, as it were. As the Lieutenant said, expansion ideas are welcome, but those can come later.”
Making sure that no one was excluded from future plans, Geral said, "For now I offer my service in the management of a small store, a small lounge, and, partnering with Ms. Ibalin, a small bar. As things grow and needs change we can look at other facilities and service at that time."
The Klingon ambassador looked to Maritza, nodding, having noticed the change in Lasuma's expression and filed that away for the moment. He had already planned to speak to her about finding a place for some of his people or adding to the existing structures for a Klingon detachment, but that could wait for another time as well.
Alanna listened but said nothing. She was getting a good idea of what Lasuma intended. She was keenly interested in what the others thought they'd get out of this meeting.
“So the rest of us are cut out?” Tianys asked, a bit offended. “Then why ask us to be here?”
To Be Continued
Commander Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer
Yolanthe Ibalin
Proprietor
The Box of Delights
Lieutenant JG Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Tianys Dalav’ni
Owner
The Lotus Lounge
Geral Lasuma
Owner - Lasuma Enterprises
Charghl'IH
Klingon Ambassador
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