Election Is A Bad Word

Posted on Jan 21, 2017 @ 12:04pm by Ambassador Xana Bonviva
Edited on on Jan 21, 2017 @ 12:05pm

Mission: Aftermath

“Election Is a Bad Word”



=/\=

Location: VULCAN

Scene: Bonviva Home

SD: [2.17]0121.0215

Every morning there was chaos that descended upon the Bonviva/Crichton/Davidson/McInnis home.

Gavi Bonviva, who had decided for the time being to stay with his siblings and mother, often got up first and hit the bathroom before swinging by the kitchen to make some cappuccino before he went off to his job working in the kitchens of the Council. As Ben shared a room with Gavi, the young boy was next up, but instead of doing something useful like getting ready, the 6 year old went cannonballing into his mother’s room.

That normally did the trick of waking her up at 0500.

Eventually Erika and Dahlia, who shared a room next to Gavi and Ben’s room, got up and joined the chaos. There were often very loud arguments about who was taking too long in the bathroom, who had eaten the last biscotti or other baked good that Gavi and Xana had made, or grabbing some hirat and pla-savas (local Vulcan fruits that was becoming popular in the home).

The soundtrack for every morning was the news that ran in the background.

“Why does the news have to be on every morning?” Ben asked as his cheeks puffed out with biscotti and three pieces of fruit, the juice of which dripped down his chin.

“Mom likes it. Remember we are all to “learn if we’re to serve the Federation”,” Dahlia explained using air quotes. “And, Ha'DIbaH! You took the last of the biscotti.” Dahlia jumped up to go foraging for more food; seeing her older brother come in she asked him. “Gavi, before you go, can you make more muffins? Real muffins -- the ones I like?”

“You mean can I take 40 minutes out of my day before I go to my *job* to make you muffins? No principessa, I can’t,” Gavi replied as he ruffled her hair as he walked by. Dropping the basket of baked goods down on on the table Gavi said, “Go hunting, wildlings. I’m off.” As he left the kitchen where the Dahlia and Ben were sitting arguing over breakfast, he looked down the small hallway to see Xana and Erika walking towards him, “I’m off. Ben ate all the biscotti and Dahlia is on the hunt for food. I’d declare your dominance now.”

“Hands off -- it’s all mine!” Erika bellowed as she went running into the kitchen.

Xana gave Gavi a baleful look. “I was speaking to her anyway,” he pointed out.

“There’s plenty of food in this house, why you all need to fight over it is beyond me,” Xana sighed.

“It’s fun,” Gavi grinned.

That was as much as Xana got out before the newscaster for FNN’s morning news program Point Of Order. {{Good Morning, this is H’ia on FNN’s Point of Order,}} said the Caitan woman began. {{And as you heard before our break, the election for the Federation Council has been moved up. It is widely expected that Hussein Karimi, seen here at a recent event with his Chief of Staff Xana Bonviva, will be running.}}

As Xana moved into the living room, she was peripherally aware that the kids had filed out of the kitchen (and trailing fruit and crumbs everywhere) to watch with her. “Mom,” Dahlia pointed out with a scowl as she sat on the arm of the couch, “they said Bonviva *wrong*.”

“I know,” Xana nodded as she patted Dahlia’s leg comfortingly, aware that Dahlia was pissed off. “Cause you know I’ve only been on their station for *years*,” she muttered darkly.

“It’s not that hard,” Erika pointed out as the only person who didn’t use the Bonviva name the house.

{{Now we’ll be cutting to the Council for their announcement--}} H’ia stated

All 14 Council Members were shoved onto a small dais; then there was a comical moment as they couldn’t decide who would speak first. Finally Delegate Kevak, from ANDORIA, as one of the longest serving members, went to the front and spoke first {{In these trying times, the need for clear and *unified* leadership is clear. That’s why we’re here to announce the election which will be coming up soon--}}

All four kids moaned at the vid as Xana Bonviva rubbed her face for a moment. “Ok, we knew this was going to happen. We knew there was going to be another election--”

“BAD WORD!” Ben yelled as he pumped his fists. “Mom! That’s a bad word!”

“Election?” she winced.

Erika twirled her blonde hair around her fingers as she adopted every planet Valley girl persona, “LIke oh my GAWD you guys! Let’s plan our whole lives around the next election whenever a bunch of old dudes who haven’t had their organs dusted since the Second Dominion War want it! Cause that sounds like fun!” Giving a look to her second mother she resumed her normal voice, “NO.”

Dahlia scowled at her mother, “I don’t want to be here. Don’t even bother asking me.”

Gavi, ever the mediator, sighed. “I’m late for work but look: the rest of the day-to-day stuff isn’t...well it’s not bad. We’re mostly fine with it. But the election and the stuff up to it, we all don’t like it. The press being around, our lives totally changed again for some dude who isn’t family, it just sucks. Yeah, Mom...we don’t like it.”

Xana flopped back on the couch, not even broaching with her kids that after this election there was going to be another one.

=/\=

Scene: Karimi’s office -> Marie-Claire’s office

The Senior Staff were around Karimi’s desk. Whereas before they were in a hunt for a spark of inspiration it seemed Hussein Karimi found it on his own.

“Finally!” he cheered. “Now we can go beyond here and move up to where I--” Seeing the glances of his staff he amended himself, “where *we* should be.”

Xana exchanged glances with the Senior Staff and nodded for Leitas to go first. The Andorian woman passed out the latest polling. “So as you can see we need to pick up some points but this doable.”

The team bent over then the plan that Leitas and Bosley had laid out and Karimi, for the first time in weeks, truly participated in the discussion, offering up questions and feedback. Finally at the end he said, “Let me talk to Xana and she’ll take back my final decision.”

Leitas, Gideon, and Marie-Claire walked out leaving behind the Chief of Staff and Candidate. Pointing to the seat next to the desk, Xana asked, “May I?”

Karimi nodded as he took his own seat behind his desk. “I noticed you went ahead and submitted the bill on behalf of this office.”

“You needed a platform,” she pointed out reasonably. “Polling was stagnant, our meetings with Council members were polite but disengaged, in short we had no purpose if we were to move forward.” When Karimi just looked at her with the same polite disengaged stare he had given to many across the diplomatic table, Xana gave him the no-holds barred glare and tone she had given many. “Your ambition is not enough to represent EARTH.”

Karimi gave a humorless chuckle. “You know after many years of working for the same goal I wondered if we were going to face off ever. So this is what it is like,” he mused picking off imaginary lint from his clothes. Looking up he asked equitably, “Name for me someone who is serving who isn’t ambitious.”

“Everyone in this building is ambitious,” Xana agreed. “Naked ambition is alone is not enough.”

“You think they don’t have naked ambition?” Karimi asked with a small smile.

“They at least have the good sense to try to do something else and maybe in doing that they help someone else besides themselves,” she pointed out. “I’m not clinging to the young woman’s fantasy that there’s a perfect life and that leaders should and do live lives on a higher moral planes.”

“Good to know we’re both grown ups,” Karimi replied equitably. “I rather thought you were but then again you were making me nervous.” Leaning back in his chair he asked, “So what is this all about?”

Xana paused for a moment and glared at Karimi, “You were up until a week ago were embodying yourself and nothing else. Quite frankly, no one gives a shit about you. You’re right they are all ambitious but they all remember their jobs are about their constituents...you reminding them of that at least helps them too. You could at least pretend to care about EARTH. It’s why the rest of us are here by the way, you think that staff out there cares about you?” She paused for a moment, and when Hussein did nothing but glare at her she continued on, “The way we go about this is just wrong. It shouldn’t be about Council unity so that once again nothing can happen or worse the wrong thing can happen because it’s *Council unity*. The decision shouldn’t be who is perfect or who can do what for whom. It should be who most embodies the Federation, who can bring the Federation forward into the future. That is what the election should be about.”

Karimi sat back and studied Xana. “You may not cling to the idea that leaders are perfect but you’ve yet to let go of your idealism.”

“I hope I never do,” Xana agreed. “Life without idealism is dreary and gives us nothing to live for.”

The candidate shrugged. “I don’t suffer from that.”

“Look at it like this. You hadn’t offered a viable solution to move forward, I did. And now you’re within striking distance,” Xana pointed out. “Why not do good while running for office if it also helps you?”

“Bonviva’s Wager, the electioneering version of Pascal,” Karimi mused, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

With that Xana got up to go back to her office; as she was at the door she heard Karimi ask. “Xana, have you done your oppo research, yet?”

That was something she had left up to the staff, giving them the indication that they should let her know when they found items of use. “It’s an ongoing process,” she said, buying herself time. “But of course, any campaign has it. Why?”

Karimi waved her off as he looked to his vid. “Just wondering. Of course you know to come to me with any questions you may have, right?”

Xana made some non-committal noises and walked out of the office, through her office and down the hall, her stomach twisting at that. Motioning for Bosley and Leitas to follow her she found Marie-Claire sitting in her office. The Senior Advisor raised an eyebrow at the impromptu meeting in her office but said nothing else.

“Where do we stand with the oppo research?” Xana asked the others gathered in M-C’s office.

“It’s ongoing--” Bosley began.

“I just told that to Karimi,” Xana said waving him off.

“We have the files,” Leitas replied.

Xana nodded. “Give me them.” Then she nodded. “Then I want you all, away from here, to investigate Karimi.” Leaning against a wall she said, “Keep the operation small, I don’t want this to get out we’re doing oppo but we need to do this quickly.”

Marie-Claire looked at Xana. They had begun doing the initial level research but to do full level oppo level research on their own candidate would be an invasive effort and something that would only be done if there was a serious concern. And a lack of transparency. “Are you sure?”

Xana nodded as she folded her arms. “We need to be prepared for what is coming. I don’t know what it is, but it’s coming. And that testa di cazzo isn’t saying anything.” Looking down at her arms she realized she had gone another day in limbo. Her candidate was stuck in a no-man’s land of ambition and something else, her marriage was stuck since Jake wouldn’t sign the divorce papers, her wedding ring was stuck on her damn finger that she didn’t want to take off but had to, and the only movement was that her kids were about to lead a revolt at being stuck for another merry-go-round. “Damn it all, my kids were right, election is a bad word.”

=/\=

NRPG: With that we’re kicking off the campaign to get Karimi on the Council. Karimi is shaping up to be a terrible candidate but was effective at his job (which is common). But what is he hiding? And will it come out in time? What will happen? Stay tuned! :)

Translations from the multilingual family:

Ha'DIbaH (from Klingon): Animal

Principessa (from Italian): Princess

testa di cazzo (from Italian): dickhead

=/\=

Sarah Albertini-Bond

~writing for~

Xana Bonviva

“An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.”

--George Bernard Shaw