Your Perspective

Posted on Sat Mar 7th, 2026 @ 5:21pm by Ensign Shanice Winters & Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca

1,109 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Diplomat Office

Shanice Winters sat in her office, jotting down some notes for her next interview. An hour, she had finished speaking with her publisher who ecstatic about her interview with Captain Burke. The interview would go out among the Federation in three days. The Hecate had arrived at their destination the day prior, and things had settled down a bit among the crew. Though nerves were a bit around the ship of the unknown, especially regarding the initial escort situation. Her next interview was with Lieutenant Gianna De Luca, who she invited to her office.

It was getting to be a rather common sighting that Gia walked through the corridors of the ship with a coffee in hand more often than not, and today was no exception. It may have been her third coffee for the morning, but who was even counting at this stage anyway?

Being called to one of the Diplomat offices, she held the coffee in hand, a second one in the other, and took a sip before placing it on the ground and pressing the chime to announce her arrival. She wondered what it could be about.

Hearing the chime, Shanice experienced a brief moment of excitement. There was something about these interviews that brought her a sense of joy. Digging into the part of the crew that at times, no wanted to discuss. But the diplomatic officer viewed these interviews as a way for the crew to express themselves without judgement. "Come in."

Gia picked up the other coffee and waited for the doors to open before she walked in with a happy smile on her face. "Shanice, I presume? I'm Gia, it's nice to meet you. I didn't know if you liked coffee or not but I brought you one just in case if you're keen for it?" She offered the other coffee.

"And here I was about to offer you a drink." Shanice accepted the coffee. Sipping the coffee, she smiled. "Thank you. Please have a seat."

"Ooh, it's usually me asking for someone to take a seat," Gia laughed as she took the offered seat. "So this is a bit different for me. What can I help with?" She sipped on her own coffee.

"Just your perspective on this mission and everything that has taken place since the formation of the Khitomer Accords." Pulling out her PAAD, Winters leaned getting a little more comfortable. "Let's start off with your past experience with the Klingons?"

There was a moment of thought put into what came out of Gia's mouth, "Okay. So I've only been out of the Academy for three years, and I can honestly count on one hand the amount of interactions I've had with Klingons." She sipped the coffee again and held her hands either side of it to keep them warm while she talked, "I understand where people get the apprehension with them due to their exotic fierceness and outwardly brash demeanors, but I have had nothing but pleasant interactions with them for the most part and I find it fascinating, in a way."

"There was one time I accidentally offended a Klingon by disrespecting him, how I don't exactly remember, but he was understanding that I didn't mean it." She let the thought settle. "In terms of the signing of the Accords, this is a triumph of empathy over the fear. Peace is the presence of connection and this offers closure and a chance to redefine what it means to serve. It's a cultural shift, a chance to learn from one another, not just tolerate each other. I believe that this is all just the beginning."

Shanice raised a curious eyebrow. "I have to admit that this is the first time that I've heard anyone say what you just did. Do you really believe that?"

Gia nodded probably a little too wholeheartedly, "I have to believe it, Ensign. If no one believes in it, then how is it going to be a success?"

"So, how do you suggest we go about getting others in the Federation to get onboard with that line of thinking?" the Ensign inquired.

"All it takes is for one person to tell another person, and then that person to talk to someone else about it," Gia replied casually. "Word of mouth has always been and will always be one of the most powerful forms of communication, so why not play to the strengths? Eventually word will get to where it needs to go, which is hopefully high, and then we'll go from there." She was cautiously optimistic for a positive outcome but of course it was way too soon to tell how it would go.

Smiling while taking down some notes, Shanice looked back up. "Now you mentioned previously that a Klingon was understanding when you accidentally offended him. That would be a level of empathy that we typically don't ever coming from Klingons at all. Based on what you're saying is that there are levels to Klingons and they're not some monolith that everyone seems to take them for."

"Most people see Klingons as extremely one- dimensional: warriors who are full of aggression, who consume bloodwine like there's no tomorrow, who pride themselves on honor above all else and go into battle with their bat’leths," Gia began, her hands exaggerating what she was saying, "But what if you look at it from a different point of view: a Klingon who wields their bat’leth with fierceness because they made a promise to return home to their loved ones, or a Klingon healer who believes honor is found by saving the lives of others?"

She took a moment, inclining her head slightly before continuing on, "When it gets right down to it, they're just the same as you and me in complexity, but no one is willing to give that chance to them to bring that other side to the light."

"Guess, that's what I am eager to figure out. Rarely have studied and found one group to be one dimensional. It's just a lack of understanding. Building a bridge is definitely a necessity."

"Exactly," Gia agreed. "That's what I'm hoping we can work towards to achieve. Obviously, it's not going to happen overnight, but eventually there's going to be a point in time where someone is going to offer to build that bridge and the other party is going to have to accept."

Jotting down some things on the PADD, Shanice looked up with a smile. "Well, I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview."

=================
Ltjg. Gianna De Luca
Chief Counselor
USS Hecate

Ensign Shanice Winters
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Hecate

 

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