Filling the frame

Posted on Sat 15th Oct, 2016 @ 8:51pm by Lieutenant Sianna Dal

673 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Cloak & Dagger
Location: Diplomatic section
Timeline: MD 1 1947

The diplomatic area of the station looked like a Ferengi salvage team had gone through it, several times in fact. Though Sianna Dal approved, to a certain extent, of Federation austerity and oft-spartan sensibilities, bare walls were a step too far even for the diplomat. She entertained, however briefly, the notion of declaring it a concession to some style of extreme minimalism and seeing whether any diplomat would dare call her on it.

Interior decoration was hardly Sianna's province. She had people for that. She had people for taking notes, for carrying things, for cleaning, cooking, designing clothes, for a thousand other minor tasks too bothersome to do herself and which required too much skill for an amateur to become involved in. But none of those people were available and the Federation would have an aneurysm were Sianna Dal to make the request - it was a level of staff reserved for embassies on capital worlds of major galactic powers, not a diplomatic section of a starbase that was fundamentally an afterthought.

With a sigh, the diplomat flipped a control to begin recording, "Tian," loyal, dependable, true, the one person Sianna Dal could trust in the pit of vipers that was Botchok in general and her own kin in particular, "As I'd previously mentioned, I will need you to dispatch some items. I had expected the Federation to lack flair, but I've been given bare walls - I already have schematics for the furniture, but some items simply cannot be replicated, as I'm sure you're aware."

He likely wasn't aware. For all his skill, Tian Dal was a singularly dull and unimaginative individual. He lived in numbers, in lists and charts and graphical representations of business performances - all traits that made him a trustworthy, if dull, second.

"I'll need the ultramarine drapes we've had in the old blue room." Before it became the red room, if only because blue ceased to be a fad, the endless sequence of meaningless favourites that served only to distinguish those capable of affording continued membership among the upper society from those that couldn't.

The flags were no issue, even if Sianna would need to find a tailor to make them. The symbols of the Federation, of United Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, Tellar Prime and Denobula were readily available and well-known, it was merely a matter of finding an individual to craft them by hand, rather than replicate them. It was a meaningless distinction, but in a galaxy with easy access to replicators, hand-crafted items were given disproportionate value - even when that added value wasn't warranted.

"And crate up the Lemnovi collection." The statues, products of some mildly famous Binar artist, were far from Sianna's favourites, but they were abstract pieces and unlikely to be particularly offensive, "I'll be using them to decorate the area. Leave the Koldar collection crated on Botchok for the time being, it is too risqué for Federation space. I'll probably have them sent over at a later date, perhaps for private quarters. Also, send some seeds from the botanical gardens, Milei owes me a favour, just let him send whichever he deems appropriate. Make sure to tell him that the theme is blue. As interesting as a Nova blossom might be, it would hardly match the decor."

Flipping the control again to terminate recording, the diplomat spun around in place, observing the planned decor with her mind's eye. Basic, was the first thought to occur. It lacked the flair and finesse of grander venues, the elaborate decor of Rigel, almost Vulcan in its disdain for the material. A fitting display of Federation tastes and philosophies.

Nodding in, if not contentment, then at least satisfaction, Sianna Dal departed the hollow shell of the Vanguard's diplomatic areas, her mind set on the first destination: Engineering.

If only to get someone to repair the interminable flickering of the main glow-panels in the area. Or at least shift the frequency of the flickering to something that wouldn't be readily seen by most species in the galaxy.

 

RSS Feed