Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 14, 2021 21:13:51 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Well, that was interesting, Doctor Eastman refusing the offer of an excellent vintage and instead opting for a synthehol-based imitation? Even if she was technically on the clock, the woman ought to know there were injections to detox quickly if required... or did she simply not understand the true value of a wine that had been made the exact same way, in the exact same place, for centuries? But then again, despite her breeding she was still Starfleet and had been for a while, so it was hardly a surprise that she would deny herself one of the worthiest of pleasures. When the server disappeared with Eastman's thanks, Gisele found herself faced with additional information about her company's marital status, and her acquaintance with people in the service industry. Well, a suitably recognized chef might be a decent match, and one was always going to meet their spouse's colleagues at some point and might even get to know them no matter what. However, she did raise a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Oh? Where did he cook?"
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 14, 2021 21:52:38 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]Judy smiled, with just the subtlest note of impishness. "Currently, he works at the Blue Beta, a charming gastropub on the station. He's worked at other, similar establishments on Earth and Mars, over the years. Nowhere you would've heard of."At this point, Judy took her pill tray out of her handbag, and put a few pills in her palm, which she then downed with water. "The thrills of aging," she quipped.
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 15, 2021 2:45:31 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]So now her husband cooked in some establishment at the back end of nowhere? Well, at least he was still doing something at the back end of nowhere. And given that Eastman had said the man had cooked nowhere Gisele would have heard of either spoke volumes all right: her husband was not the sort of chef she would go out of her way to learn their name. But, the Niles matriarch could sense she was being led somewhere, and she did not let her lip curl as she would normally have at such a mention, though it most certainly would when she would relate the day's events to her husband, and instead raised an eyebrow again. "Ah, interesting," she answered neutrally. Then, just to make it all even more interesting, she decided this was an appropriate time to take her medication... in pill form, right then and there! Had she not heard of time-released delivery or implants? Or was that just an affectation to get into people's heads? "You know, I have an excellent physician. I could arrange an appointment for you and have you fitted with a subdermal implant that can be recharged with a hypospray, if you'd like?"
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 15, 2021 3:38:27 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]Judy smiled, appreciating the rather clever attempt by Gisele at winning some variety of favor or leverage. "Oh, trust me, if I wanted an implant, I would've had them put one in along with the new ticker," she declined, deliberately over-sharing in the process. "That is to say, I'm fine, thank you."Judy had made her personal health choices quite deliberately, and this was one.
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 16, 2021 22:05:23 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Oh, of course such a woman would be so contrary as to refuse the height of medical technology, even when it would be implemented by a Federation-renowned surgeon. But adding some additional information about her artificial heart, now that most certainly was gauche all right. But then again it was hardly a surprise for one who'd gone into Starfleet and gotten involved with the help... Or one who thought that such things could knock her off-balance. "Of course; but let me send you information about the more recent ones, in case you might consider change your mind."
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 17, 2021 0:23:32 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]Judy just wordlessly sipped her water, ignoring Gisele's apparent insistence about the implants. She'd made her own decisions, which she felt were correct, and frankly more reasonable for her situation. She cast her eyes out towards the water, finding it calm and rather inviting on this summer's day. "Lovely weather, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically, going for the most trivial topic of conversation that could be had.
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 19, 2021 3:45:12 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Oh well. It was Doctor Eastman's call to reject the best medical care that was accessible and offered as a gesture of openness. Well, then again, she seemed bloody ready to be difficult about things. Well, if that was going to be the case, she would have to wrangle her some all right. However, before she could the appetizers and the wine were delivered. Before Gisele, a glass of the outstanding white was poured shortly after the lovely fresh-caught raw scallops were laid out. Ah, thoroughly outstanding. "Indeed," she answered neutrally. "Now, what made someone like you decide to head somewhere like the Front..." No, she was not about to dignify the armpit of Federation space with its ridiculous name. "To your current duty station? Certainly someone of your caliber could have gotten any posting, no?"
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 19, 2021 4:15:20 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]"In a word, potential."This was, as it happened, a topic Judy could carry for a long time. "Front Ear is a smaller station, on the very edge of Federation space, and at the time when I was offered that posting, it had been plagued by many years of mismanagement, but if you look just below the surface, you find the potential: it is at a galactic crossroads, bordering so many different nations and civilizations, and abutting an expanse of unexplored space. It's a matter of seeing not just what was there, but what can be, and I hope will be in the years to come."One might think Judy was done speaking, but not quite. "A wise man once said, that where there is nothing, you can create anything."At last, Judy turned her attention to the canapes she'd ordered. As usual for restaurants that thought highly of themselves, there were small portions at high prices, but the food was quite nice.
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 23, 2021 1:29:48 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]And there it came, that self-righteous Starfleet set of party lines. Potential, crucial strategic location, now cultures and civilizations, exploration, that hope for the future. Oh of course the Fleet came in handy for that initial charting portion, but seriously they couldn't really believe all that tripe about how instrumental they were about their role? Of course they were certainly handy when dealing with various sort of scum, but really? However, for a moment she forgot about this as she looked at the spread of raw scallops before her and she tried them with a delicate, two-pronged fork. Oh, this was excellent! This meal was certainly enough to make this meeting worth her time even if she could not get through to the Doctor. "But truly, if this posting has so much potential, why was it allowed to go to the dogs, as you've said yourself?"
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 23, 2021 2:34:52 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]"Starfleet has different priorities," Judy answered matter-of-factly. "Between the Borg threat and the Dominion War, it's not the organization it was when I enlisted, or when we were growing up. The primary focus of the organization has shifted from exploration to defense."As a front-line officer, Judy wasn't paid to have an opinion on this, but she did have one. Not that she'd say so outright. "We've done alright in the past year and a half."
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 25, 2021 1:56:53 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Gisele sipped from her excellent glass of wine; well, it had better be good, given that a month's pay for a Lieutenant wouldn't cover the price of the bottle! And certainly, the lovely wine left a better taste in her mouth than Eastman's non-answer. Of course Starfleet's role had changed. In fact, there were many who bemoaned that it was no longer primarily an arm of peaceful exploration but effectively the Federation's standing military with an exploration side-mandate. And, of course, there were those who wondered why Starfleet was doing any kind of exploration at all when the Federation was still reeling from recent crises and needed to secure its internal space and its borders (and most certainly not expand them at a time like this!). "So you say the station has been put back to rights? How about the colony? Is it economically viable yet?"
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 25, 2021 3:13:27 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]The question of economic viability seemed rather uninformed to Judy, even ignorant. "No. It's not a mining colony," she said, burying her incredulity. "Currently, the primary focus is on tourism and scientific research."Tourism could take decades to become profitable, and research was never oriented towards generating revenue. "That's what I've always liked about the public sector - it's about so much more than just the bottom line. We're not Ferengi."
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 27, 2021 1:39:24 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Of course, those high-minded ideals yet again. Why did she even ask if the colony was more than a pit for resources at the far end of an obscenely long logistics chain. Now while she was no expert in such matters, Gisele was most definitely familiar with the kind of political capital that kind of endeavour could end up costing. And there was her son, trapped in that mess... "Are the station and colony at least mostly self-sufficient? The length of the logistics chain is truly enormous, is it not?"
Tag Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Aug 27, 2021 3:27:21 GMT
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - The Archive]While she hadn't thought of it in those terms before, Judy now saw the political aspect of Gisele's insistence on profitability. The core worlds, Earth among them, had given rise to a certain kind of politician who, whether they said it openly or not, thought that their planet would be better off without those beggars on the periphery of the Federation. She shook her head. "Do you want the answer, or the soundbite?" she asked.
Tag Joshua Niles
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Aug 28, 2021 3:52:47 GMT
[ Mrs Gisele Niles - The Archive Seafood Restaurant, Lower Manhattan ]Ah, at last, Eastman was actually interested in giving actual answers. Though she had asked a question, Gisele did not answer immediately. Instead, she took a moment to take another bite of her raw scallops dish. Absolutely splendid it was! With one sip of wine to wash it down, she folded her hands before her. "Doctor, I want the truth. I might loathe his choice, but it is also my son at the end of that logistics line."
Tag Judith Eastman
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