Interstellar Relations, Monday, 5th Period

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Important information here for today's class! Background on the history of the Colonies -- might also be important -- can be found here.]
***

As the students entered the room, they found Laura at her usual position -- in the front of the room -- shuffling through a stack of index cards. A wry smile played across her lips as she flipped through them. The room itself had been arranged differently: twelve desks were arranged in a semi-circle, with one desk centered on the opposite side. Each desk was labelled with the name of a colony; the single desk was marked simply "President." An envelope awaited the occupant of each desk.

"Come in, everyone," Roslin said, watching as they filed in. "Those of you who selected a colony last week, please take that corresponding desk. You'll find an envelope there. Don't open it just yet. Those of you who did not choose a colony last week, come see me."

She shifted her weight a bit. As students came to speak with her, she handed them an index card. On that card was their colony assignment, and the basic statistics of that colony -- a quick reference guide, as it were. When everyone was settled, she moved to stand in the center of the circle. Not quite Cloud Nine, she thought, but so few things ever will be.

"As you might have guessed, we're going to get a little deeper into things today," she continued. "Each of you has been assigned a colony. You will, for the purposes of this class, act as a representative of that planet. Take a few minutes now to open the envelopes on your desk. These little slips will provide you with your background and motivation in your interactions with the other colonies. Make sure no one else sees them, else you may just have to deal with the consequences."

Mischief twinkled in her eyes as she gave the students a few moments to review the information in the envelopes. She gestured as she turned, looking at each student. "Consider this as your Quorum chamber and this" -- she indicated the lone, centered chair -- "is your president. You will have the power to bring motions to vote, but remember -- your president has the power to break the tie. Get up, move around, have closed door sessions. Do what you must to get your deal brokered. At some point, I'll introduce a larger issue for the group as a whole to deal with."

She bowed slightly to the "president." "They're all yours. May the Gods have mercy on your soul."


[OCD threads coming up. As the OOC post mentions, I may or may not be able to participate fully during the workday tomorrow. Here's wishing I already had my new, spiffy phone with MSIE mobile on it... ]

Comments

Quorum In Session

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

Having set them loose, Laura decided to sit back and watch the fireworks, staying out of the way until needed.

Re: Quorum In Session

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker leaned back, crossed her ankles and her arms, and looked around the table. "Who needs access to the shipyards? And what are you offering?"

Re: Quorum In Session

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"I've got a spaceport in Delphi that could use traffic with your shipyards," Anders said, then muttered under his breath, "I should know. Frakking air traffic over my family's place was noisier'n hell."

He tapped his pencil on the desk and added, "I bet your people wouldn't mind getting Caprican cigars and fumarella leaf with less tax on it, either."

Because dammit, Caprica was where all the luxury goods came from, and by the Lords of Kobol, Anders was going to milk that for all it was worth.

Re: Quorum In Session

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker looked like she wanted to purr. "Mmmm. Less taxes. And fumarella leaf is in short supply." She looked thoughtful. "How much preference are we talking about here? 20%? 15%? You guys are close enough that it's not too much effort. But I don't want to alienate everyone else."

Re: Quorum In Session

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders shrugged. "Fifteen percent sounds fair, I guess. May have to renegotiate if everybody else kicks up a fuss, but we'll see how that works for now."

It's probably a good thing he'll never have a career in politics. He'll end up being better at blowing things up with cigarettes.

Re: Quorum In Session

[the-right-ray.livejournal.com]

"Libra can build passenger liners and sell them out for the right price," Ray offered.

Re: Quorum In Session

[cat-in-the-box.livejournal.com]

"And what did you have in mind for the right price?" Schrodinger asked, leaning forward.

Re: Quorum In Session

[the-right-ray.livejournal.com]

"Um." Ray thought about it. "Food. Maybe some shipments of a specialty crop?"

Re: Quorum In Session

[cat-in-the-box.livejournal.com]

"Food we might be able to do," Schrodinger responded. "But how special are we talking? Should we be leaving the council chamber and checking to make sure we aren't bugged special?"

Re: Quorum In Session

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Which aren't that helpful unless you have access to the mines that provide fuel," Luke pointed out. "And Aerelon has that."

Bartering he could do. He'd watched Uncle Owen for years.

Re: Quorum In Session

[the-right-ray.livejournal.com]

"And what could I interest you in to get us some fuel for our passenger liners?"

Re: Quorum In Session

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Cut us a deal on some of the newest ships off of the line and we might have room to manuever," Luke offered.

Re: Quorum In Session

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter, determined to keep the other colonies from continuing their explotation of his, sat watching carefully.

Re: Quorum In Session

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel took a seat and waited for the right moment to negotiate for Gemenon.

Re: Quorum In Session

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter nodded at the honourable representative from Gemenon.

Re: Quorum In Session

[notthehulk.livejournal.com]

Teddy sat back and listened to the other representatives, trying to get a better handle on what could help his colony the most.

Re: Quorum In Session

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

"Bigger military budget!" Cally shouted. "We need to bolster our defenses! And this will mean more jobs for Picon! The cylons could come back at any moment, the stupid tin-faced jerks!"

Re: Quorum In Session

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

Working her way around the room, Laura wasn't sure if she should smile or not. She settled on a wry smile, folding her arms across her chest as she continued wandering.

Re: Quorum In Session

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"Cally, although I'm sure we all agree with your sentiments regarding the Cylons, I'd prefer to hear facts over opinions," called Elizabeth, smiling as she scrawled frantically.

Re: Quorum In Session

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

"Well, if you're gonna get all technical then I can't really justify more military spending," CAlly said.

Re: Quorum In Session

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth took her sole seat and watched the room carefully.

She was making notes in a curious polyglot of languages as she took in what was happening.

Re: Quorum In Session

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Madame President." Parker grinned at Liz. Liz probably recognized that grin from StuCo. "Scorpia would like to make a general suggestion to the floor?"

Re: Quorum In Session

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth resisted the urge to return the grin and instead sat up straighter and tried to maintain a serious look. "The chair recognizes Scorpia. Make your suggestion, Miss Parker."

Re: Quorum In Session

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory bit her lip as she watched the others, prepared to jump in for Canceron if needed.

Re: Quorum In Session

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

Naomi dediced to wait until she could offer the assistance of Virgon. She watched the others with great interest.