/||\        -----------------------------------------
       / || \            Starfleet Command, Second Fleet
      /  ||  \             U.S.S. Coronado,  NCC-63100
   .-/   ||   \-.     Fleet Captain Brian Aldur, Commanding
   ./    ||    \.   -----------------------------------------
   .-_-. || .-_-.              Simulation Teaser
   .-_  \||/  _-.

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/ Simulation Teaser                                                             |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

 Excerpt from
   ENCOUNTERS IN SPACE, Starfleet Contact and Diplomacy Protocols
   by Fleet Captain Garth of Izar, (c) 2243.

 Chapter 4: On Encountering or Dealing With Neutral Vessels

	Under Starfleet regulations, vessels belonging to neutral or neutral-
 friendly powers must be treated as friendly vessels until their overt
 actions present an 'unfriendly posture.'  Dealing with neutrals is a tricky
 business, chiefly because what constitutes an unfriendly posture is left
 entirely up to the starship commander to interpret.  If questioned later,
 your actions regarding neutrals may be examined by a Board of Inquiry.

	That is, assuming that you are alive to be brought before the Board.

	Frankly, we lose a lot of good officers and ships this way, but it is
 this stance that separates the Federation from such conquerors as the
 Klingon Empire.  Historically, this policy has paid off more often than
 not.  The Andorian Stellar League was met in its first human encounter by
 an armed vessel.  How much different would Federation history be if that
 meeting had resulted in conflict.

	Similarly, before the establishment of the UFP, the United Earth
 Space Probe Agency vessels often conducted joint surveys of worlds with
 ships belonging to Tellar and Vulcan as sovereign powers, as well as mutual
 patrol of the Romulan Neutral Zone.  Making decisions with regard to
 neutrals will be your most challenging task.  As a starship commander, your
 conduct when dealing with vessels belonging to neutral powers will be the
 most telling indicator of your competence as both a warrior and a diplomat.

	You can never be sure, when you meet that first unknown race, what
 the results will be.  Once the meeting is complete, you can still never be
 sure of a race's actions during the opening stages of the relationship
 between their people and the United Federation of Planets.  Act with
 prudence!  Think of the safety of your ship, yes, but think also of the
 future of the Federation.  War is not a dishonorable profession; I have
 been a warrior all my life.  But peace is more honorable still, and it is
 worth great risk to establish and maintain.

	The following protocols and procedures will help you to make those
 decisions, and manage that risk wisely.

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\ End Simulation Teaser                                                         |
 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

----------
Ross Glenn aka Jester
Fleet Captain Brian Aldur, U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-63100
http://www.ussrenegade.com/coro2400/