They Want You (Chapter Eight)

Posted on Dec 24, 2018 @ 7:14pm by Captain Siobhan Reardon & Ambassador Xana Bonviva
Edited on on Dec 24, 2018 @ 7:15pm

Mission: Blue Planet

"THEY WANT YOU (CHAPTER EIGHT")

=/\=

Location: USS BENAZIR BHUTTO
Scene: Conference Room


Sitting there in the Conference Room there was a distant floating sense that Xana was supposed to respond to her children but she couldn’t grasp onto that thought. Looking off into the distance, she realized that if she went home soon she would spend a little time with Gavi and Erika but soon, mercifully, they would go back to their lives. That left Dahlia and Benito. They were right; she had to contact Jake.

Exhaling, she turned back to the monitor and grimaced at her reflection. She worked her mouth a little, still feeling the excessive dryness and heavy tongue that she normally did. “Computer, start message to Commander Jacob Crichton, USS PHOENIX.”

The computer beeped a few times and the image changed, thankfully so she wasn’t forced to look at herself, but rather the Federation logo. Once a small red light came on she began her message. “Jake. I know Dahlia and you have been corresponding, but Benito hasn’t been sending his messages. I spoke to him about it, he should start soon. At any rate, the children wanted me to speak to you about visiting. I’m currently traveling but I’ll be back on EARTH soon, where the kids are. Whenever you are able, I know you are overdue for a visit and to have them live with you..”

As the BHUTTO sat in orbit around ELANDIPOLE, something caught Xana’s eye outside the window. She blinked her eyes until she recognized it as a constellation; two bright stars separated by a seemingly bright ribbon of stars. In the cobwebs of her mind it reminded her of the story of Vega and Altair from EARTH; totally uncontrollably her lips almost bowed up and as the thought bubbled up to mention it, the bubble slowly floated down in her until it burst as she turned back to the reason for her call.

“At any rate, we are flexible knowing your schedule. Something tells me the children will enjoy having fun with you so let us know.” She paused as she was about to end the message and her hand drifted up. Out of habit, her hand drifted up to the screen as if to reach up and touch it, like she used to. Instead she pulled it back and folded her hands. “Goodbye, Jake.”

As Xana pushed down the console, the doors swooped open to reveal the red-haired CO. “Good Morning, getting an early start I see,” Siobhan Reardon said. “You’ve had breakfast?”

Xana blinked at that. She couldn’t remember if she ate; she suspected she hadn’t. Then again she didn’t feel particularly hungry. “I’m fine,” she replied, side-stepping the question. Feeling as if one of Benito’s Tribbles were in her mouth she admitted, “A tea would be nice, if that’s ok.”

“I’ll get it,” Sio said, waving her hand to indicate Xana should stay sitting, as the CO wandered over to the replicator. After a few moments she grabbed two steaming mugs, turned, and walked over to where Xana was sitting. Setting one down in front of the Councilwoman she said, “Here you go.”

Xana grasped the mug carefully with both hands, the sensation of pins and needles at odds with the warmth of the soothing beverage. “Thanks.”

Reardon sat next to her. “Commander Summer said you were headed here, so I trailed you. I hope I wasn’t interrupting Council business.”

Xana smiled blithely, trying to commit the Ktarian’s name to memory, but pretty certain she wouldn’t be able to. Oh well. “No. Only the business of trying to arrange for the kids to see Jake.”

“How *is* Jake?” Sio asked, her curiosity obvious.

“I don’t know. He’s not exactly the sappy love letter type. He hasn’t been answering Dahlia’s communications, which is what prompted me to reach out.” The Councilwoman took a sip of tea and sighed. “All I could do myself was leave a message.”

“You know that’s completely normal,” Sio said in her best reassuring voice.

“I am *not* worried about Jake Crichton.” She set the cup down.

There was a lot of defensiveness in Xana’s voice, but Siobhan skillfully ignored it. “Then what are you worried about?”

“I’m not always going to be around,” the platinum-haired woman said softly. “And I refuse to let the kids’ relationship with Jake falter. They’re going to need each other, even if they don’t know that yet. Capice?”

“That makes perfect sense,” Sio agreed hesitantly.

“But?”

“But you can’t control what they decide to do.”

“I’m Italian *and* Bolian- you underestimate me.”

The redhead allowed herself to chuckle. “Never.”

“The least they could do is pretend to act like a family for my sake.”

“They *are*. A dysfunctional one.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. Raising children is a losing proposition from that perspective. The goal is to have them turn out self-sufficient enough not to need you anymore. To become well-adjusted adults. It’s not your fault you’re not getting as much time with them as you deserve. I know you don’t want to go yet.”

“You know something? The thought of dying doesn’t bother me anymore.” Saying it out loud released some of the burden of her thoughts and where they had been leading since Jacoby’s death.

Xana’s former CO and erstwhile confidante frowned. “It still bothers me,” Sio said in a small voice. While most of her career hadn’t been on the front lines, she’d still seen far more people buried before their time than she cared to. “I’m tired of being forced to say goodbye.”

“Exactly my point. My affairs are as in order as they’re going to get. Leaving the kids behind is another matter entirely.”

“So, what do you intend to do about it?”

“I *will* see Jake and the kids together in the same place at least once before I die. I will succeed. I will win.”

“The goal of life is not ‘to win’.”

“Tell that to Hussein Karimi,” Xana scoffed.

“Look how great that ended up for him,” Sio pointed out. “Anyway, life is a game. The goal is not winning- it is to play the game with love.”

“Pardon my opinion, but I don’t think that’s worked out terribly well for either of us so far.”

Sio cleared her throat. She wasn’t going to indulge the Bolian hybrid’s invitation to the pity party. “And... there are rules.”

Xana snickered. “I’ve already broken them… but what are they?”

“The first rule is that you must have a strong desire to win.” Siobhan laughed. “I don’t see any problems with that one.”

“Check.”

“Next, you must believe that you are worthy of winning.”

Xana raised her mug of tea. Having a terminal diagnosis felt incredibly unfair, even as she began to accept the consequences. “We need to toast to that one. It needs help.”

"Agreed," the other woman replied as their cups clinked. “Then- you must have faith that you will win.”

A pause. “I have a stubborn bullheadedness that says I will win. Is that the same thing as faith?”

“Dan Brown said that the definition of faith was 'the acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove'. I'd say your stubbornness is already proven."

“Maybe we should come back to that one. Pass.”

“The last one is the most important. As long as you are alive, never believe that the game is over.”

Xana felt her mouth go dry again and her throat tighten, but it wasn’t the meds’ fault. Like it or not, she had been able to admit the game was almost over. Tears stung her eyes but did not fall. “It’s not over yet… but there are moments when I’m getting terribly tired of playing.”

[[Captain Reardon?]] the voice came through the comm that Xana did not recognize but Sio did as her Ops Officer. [[We’re being hailed from the surface. It’s for you and the Councilwoman from President Hakeswell.]]

Siobhan, well used to inopportune interruptions, nodded as she turned around to the large vid on the wall. “Put it through in here.”

The screen changed from black to showing a lovely woman smiled at them; the sea visible in the window behind her. {{Captain. Councilwoman. I understand that there’s been an apprehension of the person who recently tried to bring down ELANDIPOLE.}}

Xana and Sio exchanged a quick look; there were many ways to describe the late Leonard Jacoby and his plans but bringing down ELANDIPOLE. “The truth always has a way of coming out,” Sio began skillfully. “Mr. Jacoby’s plans did include ELANDIPOLE, but it would seem that they included the entire Federation.”

{{Well thank you for your assistance. I appreciated the briefing this morning,}} Jane Hakeswell nodded.

There was another brief glance between the old friends. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be a part of the briefing,” Xana said softly. “In my absence, who from the Federation Government came and gave it?”

{{The Vice President called this morning and explained everything,}} Jane said with an elegant hand wave. {{Vice President Noellex explained that you were very busy with other matters, but that he was interested in the future of the Federation.}}

“How kind of him,” the Bolian Councilwoman said faintly.

The former teacher appeared content. Noellex had that effect on people- even Xana hadn’t been immune to his charms… charms that apparently were a lot more political than she had given him credit for. {{Well, I don’t wish to further monopolize your time today, ladies. Thank you again, and good day.}}

“Interesting,” Xana uttered, not loud enough for Ms. Hakeswell to hear.

“Xana,” Siobhan said once the screen blacked out while turning her chair around to face the other woman in the room, “I’ve been a Commanding Officer for years, mixed in with that a Professor at Starfleet Academy, and you and the Secretary of Starfleet might be as high of a briefing as I ever got. How does the President of a colony of less than 10,000 people get a 1-on-1 meeting with the Vice President?”

Xana looked out the window at ELANDIPOLE, her mind floating between the present and back when this current investigation started. “The Vice President is the one who sent me to ELANDIPOLE. To investigate the Borg,” she murmured. “I thought it odd, because I was already away from VULCAN on EARTH for Council business, but he was insistent that *I* was the one who had to go on this mission.”

The red-haired CO pulled up her console and began to search for something. “Where is it...where is it. There it is,” she said triumphantly. Motioning for Xana to see the console she said, “Look, back when you first went to ELANDIPOLE. You were told that *you* had to go but it was never *you* that they wanted. It was the PHOENIX and even then their information was outdated.” Siobhan looked up and concluded, “The Borg...the purveyors of intelligence now suddenly have outdated intel? I don’t buy it.”

The azure woman leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “If go with this theory that I think you’re proposing, that *anyone* could have gone, that someone misfed the Borg intel, then there’s still a large question,” she pointed out. Opening up her violet eyes, Xana pointed out, “What does anyone get if I leave VULCAN or EARTH?” Thinking out loud she said, “I’m not doing my main duty terribly well, of serving the Bolian people, by chasing the Borg and other rogue factions.”

“I’d argue that’s still in the interest of the Bolian people for you to figure that out,” Sio argued back.

“But this isn’t about me, as Councilwoman,” Xana said, her mind which still felt sluggish was slowly coming around to this idea. “Someone gets something just removing me from BOLARUS IX and--”

Sio waited as her friend abruptly cut off her thought. “And?” she finally asked.

Xana pulled up her own console and began re-sorting her messages that she had ignored earlier. After several moments she said, “Here it is. The Vice President went to BOLARUS IX last week; it was part of his public schedule.” Looking over she said, “*I* should have been notified and should have gone with him. This was deliberate. I don’t know why yet, but that’s who got what out of this The Vice President got me out of the way on BOLARUS IX.” Looking up she said, “I have no right to ask, but I need a ride. According to his public schedule the Vice President is doing a tour of the Federation and he’s back on EARTH with in the next few days. Mind taking me so I can ask him in person?”

Siobhan didn’t hesitate. “Sure. I was about to give you a pep talk and remind you, aside of dying, we still have a job to do before you can curl up in bed and rest. But it appears President Hakeswill beat me to it.”

=/\=

Location: EARTH
Scene: Paris, France - Arc de Triomphe

Paris was being rebuilt. History said that it had survived wars, that it would do so again. For centuries, it had mixed art with commerce, fashion with military. Today it mixed history with futurism; the deep scars from the last battle with the Neo-Essentialists were still visible. And yet, impossibly so, monolithic testaments to battles before still stood.

The monument was blocked off for “high profile” Federation visitors but as a Councilwoman, Xana Bonviva was expected to be here. She had arrived early and stood in the shadows waiting for the person this was all for.

Finally when the cameras were snapping into place, and the reporters were getting ready, indicated that the main person they were waiting for was coming. A shuttlecraft settled nearby, and surrounded by a cluster of aides and ministers, was the tri-pedal Vice President.

Smiling broadly at the cameras Noellex began, “Thank you for waiting. I’m so happy to discuss the Federation government’s review of EARTH as a potential long term host for our government.”

With that the briefing went into high-gear as Noellex answered questions. One question from FNN did catch Xana’s attention, “Vice President Noellex. Can you finally answer us the question we’ve been asking on every stop. Is it true that going forward every planet that is a part of the Council must also have the ability to house government functions?”

Noellex bobbed his crimson head. “I think VULCAN thankfully has been a testament to that. We, of course, in the Federation government are grateful to EARTH for its years of service but the last battle I think we’ve learned we need multiple secure locations.”

“Damn it all to 99 hells,” Xana muttered, thinking of all the work that Bokitu, the capital of BOLARUS IX, still had to do.

The press conference wrapped up, reporters wandered off to their own shuttlecrafts and aides were pressing Noellex to sign this PADD, or prep for his next meeting. Finally Xana felt secure enough to step out of the shadows. “Hello, Mr. Vice President,” she said
as she walked forward.

Noellex turned around but seemed unsurprised to see the Bolian Councilwoman there. Holding up one of his three arms he said to his aides with a pleasing smile. “Apologies, I forgot to tell you this was on the official schedule. Councilwoman Bonviva owes me a report. A moment please.”

The aides parted as if they were a sea letting Noellex pass through so he could make his way to Xana. “Lovely to see you, Councilwoman Bonviva.”

“Vice President Noellex,” she smiled back while keeping her voice low, “you could have seen me sooner if you had just told me you were going to BOLARUS IX.”

Noellex looked around at the Arc as he mused. “I was wondering when you’d find out about that. It’s sooner than I thought, I suppose ELANDIPOLE didn’t take as long as expected.”

“No,” she agreed. “And neither did finding Mr. Jacoby.” The Bolian/Human woman waited before saying, “He’s dead in case you were wondering.”

The Edosian nodded. “I know, but I appreciate being told in person.” Giving her a look he asked, “Would it have ever worked between you and me?”

Xana thought back to the handful of lunches she had with the Edosian man, back when they both were in the Council. She thought of the way he charmed, something she appreciated. But he used charm as a weapon, playing it safe, hiding in plain sight, until he got what he wanted. “No, it was never the right time,” she said finally.

Noellex nodded as he walked under the Arc. “I appreciate your candor,” he admitted. “Too rare in our line of work. Allow me to offer some of my own.” Turning back he said, “The Council has no time for you.”

“I thought you said you were going to offer candor,” Xana said with an inhale. “It’s *you* that has no time for me.”

The Edosian smiled again. “So smart. And yet, just not at the right time.” Feeling around the inside of his tunic, he finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a PADD. Walking forward he said, “You should have a copy of this. It’s BOLARUS IX’s withdrawal from the Council. Of course as a founding member, they can come back at any time but given the turmoil in our ever-changing intergalatic landscape, they don’t feel that they have the proper infrastructure to support a Councilmember let alone an entire government should the need ever arise.” Standing before the azure woman he asked, “When is Epiphany?”

Xana swallowed the lump in her throat; that was her favorite Bolian holiday. The day when she was encouraged to reflect on her mistakes of the last year and then make amends. “It usually coincides within a few days of the Federation calendar New Year.”

“That’s when BOLARUS IX, and by extension you, will be gone from the Council.” Placing the PADD in her hand Noellex was quiet for a moment. “I expected more resistance from President Anahara Xall but she was rather amenable to this arrangement.”

The azure woman did not curse as she wanted to. The Bolian President had never seen eye-to-eye with Xana; and President Xall of BOLARUS IX played right into the Federation Vice President’s hands. Instead of cursing she took the PADD and gripped it with all her might, as if transferring her anger from her lips to her hands, little good it did her.

“Goodbye, Xana. I doubt we’ll see each other again,” the Vice President said.

As he walked away Xana looked at the PADD and a thought bubbled up in her mind. “I’m leaving,” she said, loud enough for Noellex to stop. “The Council has to replace both your seat and President Kevak’s seats,” she said referring to the Vice President and President.

“And EARTH it seems is not going anywhere so they’ll need someone,” Noellex agreed. “Emergency elections and all that.”

The azure woman walked over to the Vice President, slowly, but never stopped staring at him. “You’re remaking the Council to the way you want. You’re the one who influenced the Secretary of Starfleet to start building ships and had a decimated Council approve it.”

Noellex smiled. “As I said, you’re smart. You just weren’t quick enough. And now, you’ll be too far away to do anything about it.”

With that the Vice President turned, snapped the fingers on one of his hands, and his aides flocked around him, creating a protective bubble until he reached his shuttlecraft, leaving Xana alone and without a position on the Council under the Arc de Triophe.

=/\=

NRPG:
That brings us to the end of “It’s You They Want”. The Vice President did it! All of it -- including getting BOLARUS IX off the Council and thus Xana unemployed.

Jerome:
Many thanks for the inspiration (from your post “Arrivals and Departures” which hinted that BOLARUS IX might want to leave the Council; also your post “Wheels with Wheels” that introduced the readers to President Hakeswell of ELANDIPOLE).

Su:
As always thank you your patience and assistance! I couldn’t have done this without you and/or Sio ;-)

Shawn:
It’s been a year and half since the divorce but Xana finally got nagged into calling Jake LOL. No pressure to respond.


The
constellation that Xana sees above ELANDIPOLE that reminds her of a constellation above EARTH is Altair and Vega/The Cowheard and the Weaver


=/\=

Sarah Albertini-Bond
~writing for~
Xana Bonviva
Unemployed

and

Susan Ledbetter
~writing for~
Captain Siobhan Reardon
USS BHUTTO

“Trouble is you think you have time.”
--Jack Kornfield