“You say you’re here for us, but where were you when the Vaadwaur came?”

Captain Ria Alleyne looked down at the table with guilt.

“And before that, where were you when the blight ravaged our world and our children starved?”

Again, she had no answer.

“As long as I can remember, people in uniforms like yours have made promises like you do now, but if history tells us anything, it’ll be that your words are as hollow as theirs.”

Captain Alleyne was at a loss for words. What could she say? The Federation had let these people down. She could make excuses for their absence during the Vaadwaur invasion – the Blackout had destabilized subspace – but what of the times before? Ever since relations with the Klingons had warmed, the sector had lost its strategic relevancy, and with that, the big wigs at Starfleet Command had moved onto other priorities, paying Archanis Sector little more than lip service. Now, they were trying to fix that – to rebuild relationships and rehabilitate infrastructure – but rather than being met with open arms, they’d been met with skepticism.

“Don’t take me as rude, captain,” the foreign minister continued. “But for me and my people here on Lepia IV, the Federation is little more than a name on a map. I appreciate that you’ve come to our world, but I’m also a realist. At the end of it all, you’ll leave, but we’ll still be here, no one to rely on but ourselves.”

Sitting quietly at the end of the table observing the young captain, Ambassador Michael Drake decided it was time to jump in. He’d wanted to give her a crack at this. You only learned by doing. But the foreign minister wasn’t giving her a break, and it’d caused her to lose her course. It was time to give her a lifeline. “And truth be told,” he offered in an understanding tone. “I’d feel no different sitting in your place. We’re not asking for blind faith, nor for anything but that you keep an open mind.” Ambassador Drake glanced back over at the captain and nodded at the PADD beside her. It was time to move this along.

“Since arriving in orbit,” Captain Alleyne explained as she slid the PADD across the table to the foreign minister. “We have identified a number of supply and infrastructure needs we believe would benefit the recovery process, and we are ready to provide them… with your blessing.”

The foreign minister took the PADD and began to skim it. There was a lot here, and while he was still skeptical, he couldn’t deny that they needed this stuff. Badly. The Vaadwaur had done a number on his home, and if he was honest with himself, even before that, they’d already been struggling with ailing infrastructure. “This is… this is quite generous… but at what price?”

“No price,” Captain Alleyne shook her head.

The foreign minister looked confused.

“This is just what we do,” Captain Alleyne elaborated. The people of Lepia IV might not have seen it, but this sort of support mission was standard fare for them, a core part of their mission, a mission that, as a former borderlands colonist and refugee herself, she took great pride in. She knew the impact that even little things could have for a place like this.

“What do you mean?” the foreign minister asked. “Everything comes with a cost.” Whether it was hefty sums for goods from passing merchants or hefty bribes to pirates to be left alone, there was always a price. Always.

“Not this, and not from us,” Captain Alleyne assured him. “All we need is the blessing of your government to begin distribution to your villages.”

“And why would you do that?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Captain Alleyne offered.

“And because it’s well overdue,” Ambassador Drake added.

The foreign minister of the agrarian colony didn’t look fully convinced, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They did need those materials.