Planet Nepleslia, Funky City, Government Building, Infrastructure and Space Travel Department
The Nepleslian sphere of governance, politics, and everything else in between were a jungle for most of the populace. The riches the job could offer with all the right connections, contracts, and people to know bought many into it, ranging from blue blooded merchants and managers to ex-soldiers, community upstarters, and those who found other ways in. Just as well, it chewed up and spat people out for breaking the unspoken rules, or miss stepping the etiquette. This department within the Political sphere was one of the less glamorous assignments, as well as presenting lower risks, but it was still vital to Nepleslia given its large, and growing ever larger population.
Sitting at his desk was a noddy looking man, with thick, bushy and unkempt sideburns and a combover. He was examining some planning documents for a new space lane on his desk, scrutinised with a red pencil on his drafting table last night, especially the diagrams given. The minister in question had identified a few chokepoints, and didn't even have to drag the proposal into a senate subcommittee or task force for evaluation. Money was saved by having the minister and the expertise for their portfolio rolled into one, which was how the Minister for Infrastructure and Space Travel Dave Gorman kept his job in this environment.
Looking around his room were some early newspaper clippings of his career, when he was sworn in as mayor of one of Funky City's boroughs and built elements of city transportation. Notably framed was a yellowed paper photo of him standing with the and senators responsible for coming up with Nepleslia's early Warp Gate system during the early 30s - his role was to figure out where it went and how it was to be used, but the scientists and the Premier at the time got all the credit. When the gates got damaged during the civil war and the Mishhuvurthyar rocking up too, another clipping was on the wall detailing its destruction, as well as this Politician's failed re-election campaign to a competitor. Once things had calmed down when the wars were over, Gorman resumed his post quietly.
There was a knock on the doorframe. "Yes?" Gorman looked up, crossing one hand over the other as he looked at the intern he didn't recognise standing at the door. The place cycled through a few a month and he couldn't be bothered keeping a track of all of them. "What's going on?" He asked, placing his cigarette down in an ashtray to speak clearly.
"I have a message, Mr. Gorman," the Intern said, stepping into the room. Following the intern, a few other members of the cabinet staff who'd formed a close bond to the minister had come in, causing Gorman to raise an eyebrow. The minister mumbled something indistinct as he counted the people in his room. Six, plus the intern he didn't know.
"Haven't you heard?" The intern explained, placing a manilla envelope on the table, addressed to Gorman. "Figures you're the last one to find out." The other men in the room exchanged knowing glances, nodding and smiling at each other.
Gorman hadn't checked his mail since lunch, grabbing the curiously firm envelope and opening, then bringing up his email on his workstation. "What? Am I getting reassigned?" He asked as he looked at the envelope first. To his surprise, he wasn't wrong. Unfortunately, the scale of what he was right about nearly made his eyes boggle out of their sockets as he confirmed the change of occupation on his emails. "Coast is doing what now?" Gorman asked, perplexed.
"He's retired to follow his dream." The intern said, flipping through today's newspaper and showing Dave. Charlie Coast was standing in front of a gun mall, arms crossed, smiling "Did you build yourself a bunker or something to hide from all this news?" The other men in the room laughed.
Gorman clicked his tongue, inhaling sharply and fobbing for the burning cigarette on his ashtray, taking a puff. Surely Coast's ego didn't feel so wounded from Yamatai weaselling out of DATASS that it caused him to take up something nobler instead. "Hang on, hang on, what happened to Izgimmer from the last conference?" The smaller pollie asked, pointing his cigarette at the intern and the other ministers in the room. "Or Barton? Hell, where's Clarke and his vulture? Surely, they're better candidates for the job?" They had more charisma and pulling power, Gorman thought.
The intern thought for moment. Having to manage the itineraries of many different politicians on different ends of the spectrum made him pause for thought. "Izgimmer's been pretty quiet," the intern recalled. Gorman suspected he was trying to butter his electorate or try his hand with the local Lorath ambassador, "Barton - don't know, probably getting his hair done, and Clarke has gone back to the Navy. He only tagged along with Coast for consultancy. Besides, Coast wanted us to cast a vote when we didn't see a clear successor."
The transportation minister sighed. "You'll have to forgive me, I wasn't exactly in the loop on the Relations Conference or anything that high up on the chain," he tried to explain. "I've been up to my ears in colony related news. There's still a lot to build there-"
"We did try calling you caucus but you said you were busy, so we figured you'd vote for yourself." The assumption that Gorman would've vote in his self interest was far off the mark, adding to the minister's surprise. "Now you'll calling the shots there, and everywhere in Nepleslia now, Premier!" The intern nodded, clapping for an increasingly confused Dave Gorman. "Congratulations!"
What did I do in a past life to deserve this? Gorman asked himself, clasping his hands together and frowning as his heart sunk, all the while his colleagues gave him a round of gentle applause.
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NNN News Post with a formal announcement coming soon
The Nepleslian sphere of governance, politics, and everything else in between were a jungle for most of the populace. The riches the job could offer with all the right connections, contracts, and people to know bought many into it, ranging from blue blooded merchants and managers to ex-soldiers, community upstarters, and those who found other ways in. Just as well, it chewed up and spat people out for breaking the unspoken rules, or miss stepping the etiquette. This department within the Political sphere was one of the less glamorous assignments, as well as presenting lower risks, but it was still vital to Nepleslia given its large, and growing ever larger population.
Sitting at his desk was a noddy looking man, with thick, bushy and unkempt sideburns and a combover. He was examining some planning documents for a new space lane on his desk, scrutinised with a red pencil on his drafting table last night, especially the diagrams given. The minister in question had identified a few chokepoints, and didn't even have to drag the proposal into a senate subcommittee or task force for evaluation. Money was saved by having the minister and the expertise for their portfolio rolled into one, which was how the Minister for Infrastructure and Space Travel Dave Gorman kept his job in this environment.
Looking around his room were some early newspaper clippings of his career, when he was sworn in as mayor of one of Funky City's boroughs and built elements of city transportation. Notably framed was a yellowed paper photo of him standing with the and senators responsible for coming up with Nepleslia's early Warp Gate system during the early 30s - his role was to figure out where it went and how it was to be used, but the scientists and the Premier at the time got all the credit. When the gates got damaged during the civil war and the Mishhuvurthyar rocking up too, another clipping was on the wall detailing its destruction, as well as this Politician's failed re-election campaign to a competitor. Once things had calmed down when the wars were over, Gorman resumed his post quietly.
There was a knock on the doorframe. "Yes?" Gorman looked up, crossing one hand over the other as he looked at the intern he didn't recognise standing at the door. The place cycled through a few a month and he couldn't be bothered keeping a track of all of them. "What's going on?" He asked, placing his cigarette down in an ashtray to speak clearly.
"I have a message, Mr. Gorman," the Intern said, stepping into the room. Following the intern, a few other members of the cabinet staff who'd formed a close bond to the minister had come in, causing Gorman to raise an eyebrow. The minister mumbled something indistinct as he counted the people in his room. Six, plus the intern he didn't know.
"Haven't you heard?" The intern explained, placing a manilla envelope on the table, addressed to Gorman. "Figures you're the last one to find out." The other men in the room exchanged knowing glances, nodding and smiling at each other.
Gorman hadn't checked his mail since lunch, grabbing the curiously firm envelope and opening, then bringing up his email on his workstation. "What? Am I getting reassigned?" He asked as he looked at the envelope first. To his surprise, he wasn't wrong. Unfortunately, the scale of what he was right about nearly made his eyes boggle out of their sockets as he confirmed the change of occupation on his emails. "Coast is doing what now?" Gorman asked, perplexed.
"He's retired to follow his dream." The intern said, flipping through today's newspaper and showing Dave. Charlie Coast was standing in front of a gun mall, arms crossed, smiling "Did you build yourself a bunker or something to hide from all this news?" The other men in the room laughed.
Gorman clicked his tongue, inhaling sharply and fobbing for the burning cigarette on his ashtray, taking a puff. Surely Coast's ego didn't feel so wounded from Yamatai weaselling out of DATASS that it caused him to take up something nobler instead. "Hang on, hang on, what happened to Izgimmer from the last conference?" The smaller pollie asked, pointing his cigarette at the intern and the other ministers in the room. "Or Barton? Hell, where's Clarke and his vulture? Surely, they're better candidates for the job?" They had more charisma and pulling power, Gorman thought.
The intern thought for moment. Having to manage the itineraries of many different politicians on different ends of the spectrum made him pause for thought. "Izgimmer's been pretty quiet," the intern recalled. Gorman suspected he was trying to butter his electorate or try his hand with the local Lorath ambassador, "Barton - don't know, probably getting his hair done, and Clarke has gone back to the Navy. He only tagged along with Coast for consultancy. Besides, Coast wanted us to cast a vote when we didn't see a clear successor."
The transportation minister sighed. "You'll have to forgive me, I wasn't exactly in the loop on the Relations Conference or anything that high up on the chain," he tried to explain. "I've been up to my ears in colony related news. There's still a lot to build there-"
"We did try calling you caucus but you said you were busy, so we figured you'd vote for yourself." The assumption that Gorman would've vote in his self interest was far off the mark, adding to the minister's surprise. "Now you'll calling the shots there, and everywhere in Nepleslia now, Premier!" The intern nodded, clapping for an increasingly confused Dave Gorman. "Congratulations!"
What did I do in a past life to deserve this? Gorman asked himself, clasping his hands together and frowning as his heart sunk, all the while his colleagues gave him a round of gentle applause.
-
NNN News Post with a formal announcement coming soon
