The Captain and the Diplomat

Posted on Sun 11th Jan, 2026 @ 3:43am by Magnus Temple & Captain Gordon Francis & Commander Mindo

2,135 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: From The Ashes
Location: Deck 12 - Operations
Timeline: current

ON:

With his luggage decanted into his quarters and a brief detour getting lost trying to find the lift terminal, Ambassador Temple was now on his way towards Operations. Wearing a standard Federation white jacket, grey pants, and shiny black boots, he was dressed, as usual, for a formal meeting but he was feeling overwhelmed. He had seen the deck listing when he’d gotten onto the turbo lift and was staggered by the size of the station - let alone some of the featured facilities he saw.

“A stadium?!” He gasped, eyes scrolling down the list on the display panel. “How the hell is there a stadium?!”

He had barely skimmed the long list when the Turbolift made a gentle stop on his chosen floor. The doors swung open and before him was the sprawling hive of 109’s main Operation decks. Magnus immediately swore in Danish - and it wasn’t one of the basic curse words, either.

Stepping out into the deck, he looked around for someone to help him find the Captain.

An officer walking by seemed to notice him. He hovered a few feet off the ground by special attachments to his legs. He was very short, and at first he looked like a child.

"Hello, sir," the officer said, his voice surprisingly mature. "I'm Commander Mindo, Chief of Security. May I help you?" Mindo knew who Magnus was, but didn't want to seem too familiar. Through experience Mindo knew if someone you've never met knows you by appearance and name, it could be uncomfortable. Or, Mindo was messing with him. With Mindo such things were never clear. Fesarians could be crafty.

“Greetings,” Magnus smiled at the individual hovering in front of him, recognising the officer as a Fesarian. There were not many who worked on Federation star bases, let alone served in Starfleet. It wasn’t until he heard the name that Magnus broke into a wider grin. “Wait, Commander Mindo?! You served with my brother on the Pandora. I’m Magnus, Temple of course, your new Federation Ambassador.”

"Well small verse!" Mindo said with a grin, extending a small hand. "Nyx Temple is a hell of a Captain and a great friend. Seems like such a long time ago. We'll have to swap stories over a korfmager later. Let me take you to Captain Francis' ready room."

The Fesarian guided Magnus through Center Ops and continued to talk. "Sorry about renovations in some parts of the station," Mindo said. "Ops is more or less finished, but there's still work going on elsewhere, including your new embassy. I got here just a few weeks ago myself, so I'm a little more used to the chaos, not knowing how it was before."

“I can’t even fathom the logistics of renovating a station like this.” Magnus remarked as they walked. “Did you say you were in Operations, sorry? I was hoping to get some further input into the new embassy decor before the crew finished.”

"The part of the station we currently inhabit is known as Central Operations, or just Ops for short," Mindo said. "As for the new embassy, I haven't seen it yet. I'm not just new to the station. I'm new to being Chief of Security. I'm an engineer, not a bouncer. Then again, I once won a fight with a Klingon."

"That's amazing," Magnus replied honestly, "I will need your help with something important after this." He thought of Rakila and her request for help, "Can we discuss it after?"

"Of course!" Mindo said.

They reached the Ready Room. "Here you go," said Mindo. He began to hit the chime, but paused at the last second. "Don't be offended if he doesn't shake your hand. Captain Francis doesn't shake hands with people he just met. You gotta earn the 'Francis Shake.'"

"Oh." Magnus raised his eyebrows, "I hope I will." He replied.

Mindo hit the chime and the Ready Room door swished open. The room itself was sparsely decorated and by comparison to the rest of Ops, rather small. Captain Francis himself was shorter than expected, an elderly man with a hardened face. His hair was sparse and white, and he wore glasses. He didn't seem to wear his uniform. Rather, it wore him. The man was career Starfleet in every way. Clearly someone long-accustomed to giving orders. As he stood to greet Magnus, he flashed a smile that while genuine, had been worn over time.

"Welcome aboard, Ambassador," the Captain said, extending his right hand. "It's good to finally meet you. Your brother is a very fine Captain who saved my britches when I thought I was done for. Any brother of his is a friend of mine. Please come in and have a chat."

Pleased that he was being offered a handshake after all, Magnus did not hesitate to return the gesture. "And you as well, Captain. From what I hear, you also saved his britches too during that journey." He followed the elder officer's invitation and progressed further into the room, upon seeing two seats available he paused in front of them. "It's an honour to be here, Captain. The journey was long but, by all appearances so far, worth it."

"I said the same thing on my first day," Captain Francis replied. "It seems like everyone here comes from a long journey. We're not exactly at the center of any quadrant, but I think you'll find plenty to do here. Lots of ships we get here are non-Federation, and so many of them have different rules for things like immunity. Having someone take charge on those and other conflicts will be quite a relief."

"Immunity? That's interesting." Magnus remarked with an eyebrow raise, "If you would like me to take a firmer stance on that, I'm happy to re-apply the Federation's clear protocols. You know, verified credentials with a bi-lateral standing, a clear SOP on what constitutes diplomatic business, and an express understanding that any violation of our rules can still constitute banishment and legal repercussions within their home territory. I certainly would not want the diplomatic institution to be seen as a back-door, soft-spot for any criminal activity."

Francis chuckled at that. "Ambassador, we have so much criminal activity on this station that I don't know if we could function without it. Try going down to the Garden District. It was called 'Brown Sector.' A crummy place where riff-raff could conduct their nasty businesses. Now that we've cleaned it up, the riff-raff have a nicer place to conduct their nasty businesses. You can clean a toilet until it looks like a pearl, but it's still the place with the poop."

"I actually have had the pleasure of visiting there," Magnus replied, diplomatically of course, "It was an interesting experience. I've picked up an troubling case already of an escaped, allegedly enslaved Boslic woman. She's asked for our help but has since disappeared somewhere in the Garden District. I'm keen to get Mr. Mindo's input on the case and collect more information. But your words give me pause for concern. Is this likely a scam, or someone just trying to use the Federation's diplomacy for their own business?"

"I honestly couldn't say," Francis replied. "Sounds like something you'll have to work on yourself. Mr. Mindo could be a help, but he's rather new. If you want to get a good lay of the place, I suggest our Second Officer and Chief Counselor Paul Graves. He's been here a while and knows about as much of this place as any single person can!"

Magnus filed those names away in his memory for good measure, glad that he had already made a meeting with Commander Mindo. “Thank you, I’ll reach out to them as soon as I can.” He clasped his hands together, “What about the existing Diplomatic department? I can’t say I saw many active names on the roster. It looks like I’ll need to do some recruiting.”

"That's fine," said Francis. "Whatever you need I will try to provide. If there is someone elsewhere you'd like to recruit, don't hesitate to reach out. I trust your judgement."

“Thank you, I really appreciate your support. I was hoping to possibly find some local volunteers, too. But I’ll cross that bridge when, well, when it’s ready.” Magnus smiled, nodding slightly. He remembered that he had brought a PADD with him and produced it from his pocket. On screen was a list of talking points, which he scrolled through quickly. He had wanted to impress the Captain with his preparedness.

“Speaking of.” He continued, “Now, I did submit my alterations to the new Federation Embassy when I was en-route from Earth and I believe the construction team have received the regulatory compliance and safety approvals.” The Diplomat paused, as he looked back up to Francis. “I just require your sign off, sir. I would love to explain my vision for the space and why I believe the extra work is entirely necessary, if you’d like.”

"Oh?" Captain Francis took the PADD and glanced over it. "What kind of extra work? We're already planning several new renovations and our construction crew already has their hands quite full..."

Magnus hammed a little, turning up the corner of his mouth. He decided to be completely honest, "Before I left Paris, I managed to pull a favour with the planning head of Starfleet Operations, a perk of winning a very competitive squash game in the Palais gym. So," He shrugged a little, "They're sending additional resources to prioritise the Federation Embassy renovations as per my plans. I did also impress upon them how important it is that Starbase 109 receives a fully operational, new consulate for the region. My changes won't interfere with the renovations already in progress, if anything I could probably ask them to help your construction team."

"Help them how?" Francis asked.

"Well, to help finish your renovations." Magnus said simply, "They can help with anything you need."

Francis thought for a second. There were talks of more, larger renovations and additions to the station. "How are they with biomes? Scuttlebutt says we might be getting a few attached to the station. Nothing official yet, but it'll be a big job..."

“Biomes?!” Magnus was surprised by the idea. “Well that is an ambitious upgrade. Here I was thinking my new plants would reinvigorate the embassy. I can certainly ask them. If they can’t do the biomes, they will know who can.”

"Ambassador, there's a whole Garden District that would be happy to supply," Francis said. "It used to be Brown Sector. Lots of places there that need the business and would be happy to supply anything you need. As for the biomes, building them is a ways away and so far it's only talk."

“Fair enough, I’ll still reach out as a preliminary measure. If you don't mind, that is.” Magnus replied, making a note of ‘Biomes’ in his PADD. He perused the next item in his list. “Now, this might be a question for Commander Mindo, but in my research I did recall mention of a Romulan presence on board the station. What can you tell me about their Ambassador and, perhaps more importantly, why they might be here?”

"I'm afraid I haven't had much time with the Romulan Ambassador to say exactly," Francis said. "There are talks that one of the biomes will be an environment similar to Romulus. Starfleet brass are more in charge than me. They're the ones giving orders in that department."

“Understood.” Magnus nodded, “I’m going to be holding a briefing with my team to address some of the big primary challenges we face, and I’ll come back to you with a list of tasks I’ll be undertaking first. As much as I represent the Federation here on 109, my office will of course defer to your wishes.”

"That sounds dandy," Francis responded. "I think you'll find plenty to do here. I strongly recommend checking out our Promenade once you get the chance."

“Well I do love a Promenade.” Magnus replied with a smile. “Looks like I have my plate full already, but is there anything else you need from me?”

Francis shook his head. "I think we've summed up everything. I've got a full plate too. Y'know, next time let's do this over lunch. This room gets so stuffy during the day, so I take any excuse to leave."

"Sounds good to me," Magnus agreed as he stood. "Thank you for your time, Captain."

The Captain and the Diplomat said their farewells as Magnus walked out of his ready room and back into Operations. He had a lot to do and very little time to waste.

OFF

 

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