Embassy of Duronis II/Grounds
The Embassy of Duronis II has a long and tumultous history. The complex is known for being repeatedly rebuilt following multiple destructive attacks in the 2380s — in 2388, vandals ransacked and destroy the buildings after Federation Staff abandoned the structures two years prior. What Starfleet officers occupy today is the original Romulan Embassy offered to them by the Laudean governing bodies in 2388, re-dressed to be a close facsimile of the original Federation Embassy.
The Federation Embassy is located in Lokesh City, the capital of Duronis II.
Embassy grounds
The front exterior of the new Federation Embassy is highlighted by an impressive illuminated water feature in the center of the U-shaped complex, and tall pillars line its front. When the Federation took over the complex they softened the appearance of the building by planting native palm trees along the pool and the buildings front. Situated on the coast, with its front facing the busy city, the Embassy's rear rooms open to the ocean. The buildings incorperate heightened security technologies and following Starfleet design parameters. The various departments of the Embassy are linked through atriums, corridors and extended stairwells. Both visitors and staff can gather in the large open atriums in addition to the building's many conference rooms and offices.
The Embassy grounds include a swimming pool for visiting dignitaries, an addition for the new buildings. The large grounds can accommodate the main building and associated foregrounds, what has affectionately been termed the "backyard" (incorporating many gardens and a small shuttlepad), and the docks and Cultural Annex along its share of the coastline.
Main complex
- See also: Starfleet offices, living quarters
Administration Centre
The Embassy Administrative Centre provides many important services and functions to the facility. In their all-emcompassing oversight of day-to-day operations, Admin Staff:
- Oversee and manage facilities and operations of the embassy;
- Organizes vehicle craft, transporters, and communication equipment;
- Ensure personnel safety and organization control where deemed applicable;
- Coordination of resources and information with all departments.
Operations Centre
Functioning similarily to four separate Operations stations aboard a starship, the Ops Centre features four gigantic viewscreens on each wall and four workstations facing each viewscreen. While one person can run all four stations and screens from one station, up to four staff members handling specific tasks and duties may be accommodated during crisis situations. While all staff may visit the "public areas" of the Admin Offices, only authorized senior staff are allowed into the Ops Centre, and only under the watchful eye of the Admin Duty Officer. This area of the Administrative Centre is heavily guarded and under stringent access lockdown due to the accessibility to systems and security controls that secure the Embassy campus. Visitors are not allowed inside the Ops Centre unless accompanied by either the Ambassador or Deputy Ambassador.
Situation Room
The Situation Room is in actual fact two separate rooms: The Situation Briefing Room and the Situation Command Centre, located within the basement of the Embassy (along with the Intelligence Office, Chief of Strategic Operations' office, and the underground hangerbay). All Senior staff have access to this area. Upon announcement that a major situation has developed, they will convene in this area for briefing. The Situation Room is set up for conferences with the commanding officers. Each seat is designed for comfort with the added feature of a small writing desk.
Situation Command Centre
Only selected officers with Beta Two security clearance have access to this room. This is the nerve center during any situation and it is here that command staff convene to receive advice during an emergency or major situation. A long rectangular room, with one entrance to the right of its head. In the center is a long rectangular conference table where each officer has an allocated seat. Unlike the average conference room, each seat has a built in computer console - similar to those on the bridge of a starship. Around the table and all the surrounding walls are countless computer display screens monitoring numerous activities.
When a situation develops, each senior advisor arrives in the situation command center long before the ambassador. They gather their information and take their allocated seats at the table. The ambassador then arrives and takes his seat at the head of the table and will receive reports from each officer. Around the side of the room are lower ranked officers from the departments who gather the latest updates. Those with clearance to the command center are the Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of Mission, the Chief Intelligence Officer, the Chief of Security and the Strategic Operations Officer. Others may be granted access depending on the situation (eg. the Chief Medical Officer in the event of a biological attack).
Auditoriums
The Embassy includes six different auditoriums of varing sizes, used for a vairety of functions, including:
- Hosting interstellar conferences
- Formal concerts or theatrical pieces, or other artistic presentations often presented by guest Laudean nations or from a band of visiting artists from any one of the United Federation of Planets many member worlds.
- Informing and teaching presentations from Laudean guest speakers to Embassy Staff, or a Federation official educating a group of Laudeans. These groups can be Laudean school children interested in the ways of the Federation, Laudean scientists interested in Federation technology, Laudean leaders and government officials interested in Federation culture, laws, religions or history, etc.
Galleries
In additon to taking care of the Federation's interests on Duronis II and maintaining good relations with the Laudeans, the Embassy is tasked with informing the Laudeans of the Federation's many cultures, histories and variety. Charged with organizing cultural exchanges between Federation citizens and Laudeans, they organise many concerts and theatrical events. Furthermore, the Embassy is equipped with three large art galleries, two of which display exhibits from the many different Federation member worlds (each with their own art history), and a third shows items donated by the Laudeans' own nations. Amongst many beautiful items, this is a popular place for embassy staff to come and relax or ponder their thoughts in quiet.
Federation gallery
Federation gallery
Laudean gallery
Other areas of interest
- Ballroom
Embassy grounds map
The Embassy's ballroom
Main lobby
Starfleet facilities
Starfleet personnel have access to a large variety of facilities located across the Embassy grounds, including (and not limited to):
- Engineering facilities
- A wide array of Intelligence labs
- Marine barracks
- Medical center
- A tower of dedicated science facilities
- Security resources
Cultural Annex
When the Annex was first constructed it was attached to the Federation Embassy. Since that time, the Federation has taken up residence in a new location, but restoration of the Annex became a project of the Education Ministry in partnership with the Federation. The Ministry has taken a strong stand on recovering lost cultural artifacts and has asked the Federation's assistance in some parts of this. In an effort to keep the Federation Embassy included, the rail systems that connects the Governmental Offices at the old Embassy to the city center has been extended down the coast to the current Embassy, providing easier access for both diplomats and academics.
The first section is the docking area, under tight security, where ocean-going vessels can dock at the government offices. The docking area is accessible via an internal turbolift or an external metal staircase that traverses the cliff face. The docks themselves are underground, built into the cliff face. In addition to the standard docking facilities, there are two specialized docking areas for the Zervons.
The second section is a neo-architectural building, complete with slanting roof composed of transparent aluminum. This building houses the offices, labs, lounges, conference rooms, resource centers, and other job related areas of the social science staff, both Laudean and Federation. Some of the staff here are Starfleet, but many are civilian scientists, archaeologists, sociologist, anthropologists, and the like. This building is well lit, and quite a spectacle at night, either from the skies above, or the rear facing windows and the Government Buildings.
The third section is directly adjacent to the office building, and is used primarily for storage and display. Several mini-museums exists inside this large white building, showing not only collections from across Duronis, but some displays on loan from local civilizations outside the Duronis system. There are also a handful of small theatres where holovid presentations and documentaries can be shown to scientists and staff as part of a briefing, or to visitors and tourists as interesting informational programming.
A wide concrete walkway connects the Laudean Government Offices with the Cultural Annex.