Arqut wanted to pretend like he never professed his love to her last year,
and Tinaya decided to respect that. They could revisit their respective
feelings at a later date if he ever felt comfortable enough for it. In the
meantime, it’s not like she’s going to entertain other suitors. If she were
ever going to settle down with anyone, it would be with someone like him.
She already knows him, and they have a rapport. She’s the First Chair, and
doesn’t have time to hunt around, looking for love. Yeah, it sounds very
impersonal, but again, that’s not what she’s looking for. If it finds her,
then fine, but she can’t let it distract from her responsibilities. Though,
if Cleader is to be believed, a relationship wouldn’t be the worst thing in
the world right now. It is an election year, and her tenure is up for
renewal. She needs all the help she can get, because incumbency comes at a
price. She’s not allowed to campaign for reëlection. The way the founders
thought of it, a civil servant’s duty is to serve their office, not to
concern themselves with retaining that office. All sorts of problems
throughout the history of politics might have been solved or subverted if
elected officials did their goddamn jobs, instead of spending all their time
trying to keep them.
So it’s been a stressful time, because Cleader continues to push Tinaya
towards making herself look her best for the electorate, and while that
doesn’t qualify as campaigning, just the strategy meetings she’s had to
endure with him have become tedious and annoying. As predicted, her approval
rating has dropped in recent months. She’s still slated to win at the end of
the year, but it’s going to be tighter than she would like. But if she
loses, it will be okay. She will not crawl back into the hole she lived in
after she failed to get into college. She’ll do everything she can to make
this ship, and the journey they’re all on together, safe, enjoyable, and
productive.
There is no exception to the rule that prevents Tinaya from campaigning for
herself, but there is nothing to stop others from doing it for her. Any
private citizen has the right to free speech, and that speech may include
their political affiliations, and the candidates who they support. Everyone
has their fanbase, and Tinaya has a particularly vocal one. The thing is,
though, she’s not allowed to meet any of these people, at least not within
the context of their campaign efforts on her behalf. It is reasonable for
the First Chair to meet her constituents, to discuss their needs or
whathaveyou, but only as long as it doesn’t raise any suspicion that she’s
involved in her own reëlection endeavors. Her doorbell chimes, and she
answers it.
“Miss Kurosawa, this is highly irregular.” She’s the spearhead for Tinaya’s
campaign. She’s not supposed to be anywhere near this office.
Avril nods. “Well, it’s unusual, but I have a good reason. If I promise that
this does not break any policies or laws, can I come in for a chat?”
Tinaya thinks about what to do. She lifts her watch to her lips. “Call Hozan
Peck.”
“Hozan Peck here,” the voice comes in from her watch.
“Could you please teleport to my office?”
“Right away, sir.” He appears.
“Mr. Peck, would you please sit in on our meeting?”
As Head of Ethics, he’s just as surprised to see Avril Kurosawa here, but he
knows that both of them know the rules, so if this meeting is happening,
calling him was the right thing to do. He doesn’t feel the need to argue
that this shouldn’t happen at all, because there must be a decent reason.
“Certainly.”
Tinaya goes back to behind her desk while the other two sit opposite her.
“Miss Kurosawa, could you tell me what this is about?”
“I am here to tell you that I can no longer lead your civilian campaign.”
“Now, it’s not mine,” Tinaya argues. “Mr. Peck, the two of us have never
spoken to each other before today. I want to assure you that—”
“Yes, yes, yes, I believe you. Go on, Miss Kurosawa.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe in you anymore,” Avril continues. “I just
feel that I can do better. I have been studying your career since it began,
and it has prepared me for civil service in surprising ways. I’m confident
that I can be an even better First Chair than you. You have been focused in
recent years in maintaining the status quo, and I think we should begin to
focus on improvement. As your former campaign leader, I was unable to voice
my concerns to you directly, which is a sacrifice I willingly made at the
time, but what my partner has helped me realize is that my ideas should not
be silenced, and the best way for me to see them through is to become the
one who can enact them. I am here as a courtesy before my public
announcement to inform you first that I will be running for your seat this
year.”
Normally, Avril’s decision would be considered a bit late. This is not in
any legal sense, of course. She could submit her name to the ballot on the
day before the vote if she wanted to. It’s just that most people need time
to get their name into the public consciousness. In this case, however, she
might be okay, because her shift in loyalty will likely cause a stir, and
expedite the process. It’s not impossible that this was her intention all
along; stepping up to become Tinaya’s biggest fan just so she can popularize
herself without getting lost in a sea of other candidates. There is no limit
to the number of people who can be on the ballot. One year in history, there
were thirty-one names in total, which caused a division, and ultimately made
it difficult for the winner to feel like he earned it, but there was nothing
he could have done to stop it.
Avril has a point, that Tinaya did more for the ship before becoming First
Chair than she has in the last two and a half years in this position. Now
she kind of wishes that she could say something to the people—to make them
promises about what she’ll do for them in the future. But it’s too late for
that now. It would be construed as campaigning, or actually be rightfully
considered campaigning, and she’s always agreed with that policy on
principle, even before she worked for the government. The people have the
right to trust that their leaders care more about the happiness and
stability of the state than their own self-interest. She still believes
that, but at least a campaign would give her something to do. This period of
peace barely stumbled even when Tamm was ousted. Maybe that’s what she’s
worried most about; that people will elect her opponent only because they’re
bored.
But now she has a new opponent, with a different take on how things should
be done. It is logical to presume that there are others who feel as Avril
does. In fact, Avril probably wouldn’t be here today if she didn’t put out
feelers to see what others were thinking. She knows the voters well. She’s
built her career upon. She would do a good job if elected. No, Tinaya has
nothing to worry about. A win for either one of them would be a win for
Extremus. She can’t say the same thing about the other four candidates
currently on the ballot, but this one is good people. And right now, it’s
time for civility, and most importantly, brevity. There is no need to drag
this conversation out. She stands up, and offers her hand. “Thank you for
informing me. Good luck on your future endeavors.”
Avril stands up, and shakes Tinaya’s hand. She appears to want to breathe a
sigh of relief that Tinaya didn’t jump over the desk, and start ripping
Avril’s hair out, and start chewing on it, but she’s worried that this is a
trick.
“Really, it’s fine, Miss Kurosawa. Never let anyone feel that you’ve made
the wrong decision. I look forward to hearing your ideas, because—forgive me
for being blunt—no matter who wins, any good ideas will see the light of
day.”
Now Avril’s even more scared, as is Hozan Peck. “Careful, Chairwoman...”
Tinaya needs to backpedal a little. “Don’t worry, either of you. I’m not
going to tell the populace that anything you can do, I can do better. That’s
just what I’m telling you. I mean, not better, just also. They’ll vote for
who they want to vote for, but if I end up winning again, I’m not going to
ignore a good idea just because it came from someone else. That would
be...unfair to the people. I should stop talking.”
“You were on the line,” Hozan warns, standing up as well, “but you didn’t
cross it.” He turns to face Avril to reiterate, “she didn’t cross it.” Now
it’s going to be harder for Avril to use this interaction against Tinaya in
the future. Thank you, Hozan Peck.
Avril closes her eyes, and nods. “Good luck to you too.” She taps on her
watch, and disappears.
Tinaya scratches at the back of her neck. “I do need to be more careful.”
Hozan pulls a portable drive out of his bag, and hands it to her. “It’s a VR
simulation filled with ethically questionable scenarios.”
“I’ve done these all before.” It’s required in school, and as a condition
for her role as First Chair. Virtual reality is a great way to teach people
concepts in literally any conceivable environment without going through the
trouble of actually building that environment. It’s especially helpful on
ships, where resources are limited, and space is at a premium.
“They’re new programs, created by the next generation of programmers and
designers. You apparently need a refresher anyway. They’re what the other
candidates will be experiencing in the coming months.”
“Thanks. There’s always more to learn.”
He nods. “Goodbye, Chairwoman Leithe.” Most people don’t call the First
Chair Chairwoman or Chairman, but some prefer the sharpness of
morphologically shorter language. He teleports away.
That night, Avril does as she warned, and announces her intentions, shocking
many. As the broadcast is running, Tinaya’s doorbell chimes again, but she’s
in her stateroom now. She finds Arqut on the other side of the door. “I just
heard, I’m sorry.”
“I’m fine,” she replies sincerely. “If I lose, I would be glad it was her.”
“You won’t lose, not once we institute the plan.”
“What’s the plan,” Tinaya asks, emphasizing the words just like him, as if
there’s something special about this particular plan, whatever it is.
“I wasn’t joking last year; I do love you, and I think you don’t absolutely
detest my company either. If you would be willing, we could boost your
polling with news of a new relationship. They’ll forget all about the other
candidates within a week. Now, I know you don’t feel as strongly about me,
but I think that we have to do something to respark people’s interest in
your. Is that even a word, respark? Anyway, as I was say—
She pulls him into a hug “Let’s do it. But not just as part of some kind of
plan. I’m sick of being alone, and I’m sick if you avoiding me.”
