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Brass Tacks

Posted on Mon Oct 14th, 2019 @ 9:42am by Rear Admiral Farenia Meowlith & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 @ 9:56am

Mission: Family Detention
Location: Starfleet Command, Earth
Timeline: 2396

The Vice-Admiral sighed as he read the report again, shaking his head in disbelief. It seemed one of the junior admirals, whose promotion was up for review, was offering entirely too much leeway to one of the ships in the Intel fleet. And now that the starship was parked on the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone, it was exacerbating tensions. Which he would have been concerned over, had he not read the minor addendum that indicated the majority of the senior staff were not present on the starship, having undertaken a mission into Romulan space to the Romulan homeworld in an effort to rescue one of their own.

An act of war carried out as a suicide mission, to his reckoning. And in this Vice Admiral Jeffries was not alone.

“Lieutenant Q’urga, get me Admiral Forsyth and Admiral Meowlith on a 3-way subspace call, priority alpha. And if Meowlith is ‘too busy to talk’ tell her that her commission is suspended pending this call,” the admiral ordered. He’d gotten tired of being put off by the renegade admiral, and today he was doing something about it. And if she didn’t want to discuss it, he’d remove her and deal with the issue himself. An old-school hardliner, Vice Admiral Jeffries wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

He’d by god have them, or he’d have that smirking Vulcan’s career.

After a few long minutes, the Admiral's screen chirped with an incoming call, and on the screen was an older woman with a shock of silver hair worn slicked back and had a half-lidded, irritated expression on her long, lined beige skin. Sighing, Admiral Forsyth spoke, "Vice Admiral Jeffries. Is this in regards to what I think it is? the Romulan situation?"

"What was your first clue? The fact that we're supposed to be on a 3-way call, the reports that are coming across your desk from the Neutral Zone? The diplomatic inquiries from Romulus? I mean, I assume you read the reports and the attendant material. I know my office distributed them to yours. That Starbase situation? Kidnapping? Forbidden technologies? What exactly is going on out there?" While information and its dissemination, analysis and decisions were all part of the function of the admirals of Starfleet Intelligence, no one read everything that came across their desk, and Admiral Forsyth was no exception. And it was a habit of Admiral Jeffries to reference factoids of reports months apart, as he had a clear picture of what he was talking about even when his vague references didn't explain his train of thought to anyone else.

The privilege of rank, apparently.

The 2-Star Admiral on the screen actively didn't roll her eyes to the superior Vice-Admiral who's stream-of-consciousness rant was the standard operating procedure for the man she knew well enough to expect it from. "Yes, Admiral. I read the reports. I was just reviewing the last communications from Captain Naraan of the Persephone with the Romulan Senate. Never have I watched so much of nothing being said for so long. But at least as long as nothing conclusive is being admitted to by either side, it's likely they aren't angling for war."

That was when Commodore Meowlith was patched in, completing the 3-way call. "Admiral Jeffries, Admiral Forsyth... As always, it is an honor." She assumed the call, as always, related somehow to the Hera, but she wanted them to announce the subject of the conference call as was customary. She also allowed the grumpy old codger to retain his perception that she was Vulcan when she was actually Vulcanoid Rigellian - A mistake many made and she used to her advantage often, but in this case, she felt it a wiser course of action not reminding him that he lacked cultural sensitivity around her.

"All right Commodore," The mustached humanoid Belter leaned in as he spoke, filling more of his sensor. "You've got a team en route to Romulus, undercover, to rescue another officer. I didn't even get an outline of the rescue plan- are your people in there winging it? On Romulus mo less, where an armed Starfleet presence found on that side of the Neutral Zone constitutes an act of war, forget about on their homeworld. So explain to me how exactly this was a good idea that you approved? I told you giving that starbase to a foreign power was going to bite us twice, and here's the first, it would seem"

"On the contrary, Admiral..." Meowlith began, holding up a secure Intel PaDD. It may have been a bluff or it may not have been - all she was showing was the back of a secure, locked, and encrypted device. "I have an outline right here. Much of it relied upon intel that they required on-site so no more than the basics were available beforehand. You have my apologies for not filing it sooner. Once the mission is complete, it and the mission report will be on your desk within an hour of their return to Federation Space."

"Assuming I don't have a galactic incident and the Romulan ambassador in my office this time tomorrow. I didn't come to you for deflections, Commodore, I came to you for answers." The old man might not have been that in touch, but he hadn't risen to his position by being easy to bluff nor stupid, and he knew when he was being stalled. Expectantly he stared at the screen, still waiting for the explanation he'd requested.

"Then I must direct you to report three seven nine alpha four - contingency plan for discovery or failure." Meowlith waited a moment to give them time to find or recall the report just in case before she launched into an explanation. "In the event of either, precautions have been taken to leave no trace to Starfleet or the existence of the USS Hera, as per protocol. Rather, any indications or affiliations traceable will be that of the Artan Privateers, whom are rescuing the Baroness Mnhei'sahe Dox, one of their own, and her mother."

"Thus, though we have good reason to start an intergalactic incident over the kidnapping of one of our officers by Romulan Senator Verelan and Tal'Shiar agent Rendal, we also have no legal responsibility if things go... Poorly... And they are aware that if things do so, we will cut ties with them immediately and they will have to find their own way out of any situations that should arise."

"However, considering the rest of this crew's resume, especially recently..." The pointy-eared woman gave a very slight smirk for just a moment as she paused for dramatic effect. "I expect them to return with both kidnappees, for the mission to have gone so well that even the Tal'Shiar will deny it will have ever happened, and once again I will be required to write a heavily redacted series of awards that will never see the light of any sun."

"I trust that this answers your question satisfactorily?" Commodore Meowlith had planned for this with Captain Telvan and while she wasn't fond of some of the details... She had to admit that they did cover all the bases they could see.

"So, the explanation is one of... plausible deniability, Commodore?" Admiral Forsyth interjected with a raised eyebrow as she reviewed the PaDD and the report in question. "Except that, for diplomatic purposes, you have the Persephone claiming it's two of their people missing? We've got a very muddy situation brewing here."

"What do we say to the Romulan Senate if the team from the Hera recovers their people successfully? The people the Senate knows we were looking for? One of whom they have a legal claim on for criminal charges within the imperium? Our mistake... they must've been on holiday?" Forsyth asked pointedly.

"Still part of the plausible deniability, Admiral," replied the Commodore. "Our contact has confirmed that they are still denying knowledge of the kidnapping for the same reason we are - to avoid an intergalactic incident. If they were to pursue reparations for the inquiry we made, it would be all but admitting that they kidnapped our people. Once this incident is over, it then becomes the purview of diplomats to smooth over and both sides have many reasons to deny any involvement."

“Still playing it fast and loose, I see. Unlike you, I dislike gambling with the fate of the peace between the Federation and the Star Empire, Commodore.” The Vice-Admiral interjected. “Time travelers from alternate dimensions, civilian assets, close ties with space pirates, and ‘galactic powers in residence’… there’s a lot going on with that pet project of yours that’s beyond questionable. The executive officer hasn’t even attended the Academy in over a hundred years, assuming the one from wherever they came from compares to ours. You are taking a lot of risks out there and losing a lot of paperwork and reports, Meowlith. It isn’t good for the fleet.”

Looking at a PaDD in front of her screen, Forsyth raised an eyebrow. "And speaking of losing paperwork, the officer in question, Commodore. How is it we're only now, after all of this, learning that you had an officer on this ship that's apparently next of kin to an extremely high ranking Romulan Senator. I know at least ten individuals in Intel Command alone that would have liked to know that. They might have angled to prepare her for this eventuality and instead of a liability, she could have become an intelligence asset in this scenario.”

"That one, I am able to answer succinctly," Meowlith replied, glancing around her desk for another PaDD. "Her lineage was hidden from her as well to protect her from this very eventuality so when her true lineage came up and her genetics were corrected, the paperwork was submitted to Starfleet Personnel to make the necessary corrections to Records Management and inform those in command that she was indeed not half-human, but full Romulan and that she had slipped through without proper sponsorship and background investigation. Apparently, that paperwork is still being processed and the Empire learned of it first. It was a failure on multiple levels across multiple branches of Starfleet and should be corrected within twenty-six hours."

"As for the USS Hera, I consider the ship and crew to be an irreplaceably valuable asset. However, with all of those questionable assets in one place, they are easily monitored and directed, if not controlled. As for risk, I believe their record speaks for them. They have done immeasurable good, and though they have lost a few people, I believe they have genuinely saved the entire galaxy as a whole on multiple occasions." Meowlith then picked up another PaDD. "For reference, I direct you to their list of missions, document sierra niner niner jay one Hera. If you review that document, you will see that they have succeeded completely in every mission we have thrown them at, including pitting them against a millions of years old Iconian that claimed to be a demon, leading a worldwide rebellion and eliminating the threats of not one but two Doomsday Machines."

“No one’s arguing with your results, Commodore,” the Vice Admiral huffed. “These are legitimate concerns. Yes, they get results, but the reports are often incomplete or lacking critical details. Plus there are elements of these people that are often very worrisome. For instance, didn’t one of them nearly pull Starfleet Command into a singularity just by walking in the front door? Little details like that might be relevant to the rest of us who are higher in the chain of command. Can you see that from our perspective?”

"Indeed I do," Meowlith paused a moment as she considered her next words carefully. She didn't want to redirect blame to the crew of the Hera, nor did she want to fully shoulder that blame herself, so she twisted it to blame it on circumstances. "Considering the circumstances of many of the specific personnel of the crew... Some of the finer points of their conditions are still being studied and we are awaiting solid evidence and data to report. If you would like to request regular updates on all of the research that the vast scientific capabilities of the Nebula class USS Hera is doing to investigate and research the phenomenon surrounding its crew and complement, please feel free to do so. For now, all of that data is stored not only aboard their vessel, but also at the Daystrom Institute Classified Division under chronometric shielding for peer review."

“Regular reports, Meowlith. Like we expect of the rest of the fleet. No more ‘lost paperwork’ no more ‘misfiled requests’, no more assuming the worst if this gets sent up the chain of command. I spent the morning with Admiral b’Rach arguing for the Hera command crew not to be reassigned in order to make the ship more manageable because they do get results and I believe they will continue to do so. But if I have to chase the reports and answers to my questions, that can change. Am I making myself understood, Farenia?” It was highly unusual for the Vice Admiral to use the familiarity of a first name, particularly since they were not friends nor even close, and this was very clearly an official meeting.

"Aye, Admiral. No excuses." Commodore Meowlith nodded solemnly in affirmation that she understood and would do so from then on.

“Good. Then I’ll look forward to those reports. Oh, and you might want to get into proper uniform, Rear Admiral… congratulations.” Even as he spoke, the official document popped up on her screen, indicating that one Farenia Meowlith was officially promoted from 0-7 Commodore to the rank of O-8, Rear Admiral.

"Thank you Admiral. I will do so immediately. If you will excuse me, I have to see to those reports." As soon as the screen clicked off, you could almost hear the sigh of relief from Farenia a sector away. Another close call, another disruptor beam dodged. The crew of the USS Hera would likely never know how often they were in danger from their own organization- in danger of being mired in bureaucratic paperwork, of becoming experiment subjects, of being thrown out of Starfleet entirely.

But Rear Admiral Farenia Meowlith knew, and it was yet another secret she would bear in silence.

 

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