/||\          ----------------------------------------------
      / || \              UCIP Starfleet Command, Eighth Fleet
     /  ||  \                  U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
  .-/   ||   \-.       Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor,  Commanding
  ./    ||    \.     ----------------------------------------------
  .-_-. || .-_-.                  Simulation  Teaser
   -_  \||/  _-.                  -[ SD 240205.13 ]-

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/ Simulation Teaser                                                       |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 For nearly thirty seconds, silence reigned in the Situation Room. 
 Someone within began to sob.  New red markers appeared in the Reor
 system as five Pfhor destroyers folded in around their battleship. 
 Finally, the communications technician cleeard his throat.

 "Admiral... we're being hailed."

 Aldur started to nod, then realized his hands hurt.  Looking down,
 he willed himself to unclench his fists.  Creases from his nails --
 and one small spot of blood -- were visible in his palms.  Above,
 debris from Stirling likely hadn't even started raining into
 Reorsa's atmosphere, and the Pfhor wanted to talk.  Slowly, he
 nodded and the communications technician tapped at his panel.  An
 odd rustling sound was the only evidence that the channel was open,
 but for Aldur, it was evidence enough.

 "This is Vice Admiral Brian Aldur," he said, voice tight.  "To whom
 am I speaking to, please?"

 "My name doess not matter, Vice Admiral," a voice said, somewhat
 amused.  "But I am afraid that I outrank you.  You may refer to me
 as the Grand Admiral.  I command the force entering your sspace."

 "I see," Aldur said.  He looked down at his hands and again forced
 himself to unclench his fists, then clasped them together.  "And
 what are your intentions?"

 "I believe I have made our intentionss plain, Vice Admiral.  My
 subordinate explained that your sspecies iss stubborn," the voice
 said, with that odd rustling sound in the background... and suddenly
 the amused tone was gone.  The Grand Admiral's voice turned very
 cold.  "But your sstubbornness iss at an end, Admiral," the voice
 said.  "You will ssubmit yourself to the will of those of lead the
 Hegemony."

 Aldur pushed himself to his feet, knuckles going white as they
 pressed down on the table.  "And if we don't?" he demanded.

 "Then your shipss will be destroyed, one by one... your planetss
 overrun, one by one... and those who resist sslain.  One.  By.  One.
 Admiral," the voice said, quite serious.  There was a long pause,
 and when the Grand Admiral continued, his voice was much lighter. 
 "Admiral, let uss, you and I, prevent a needless loss of life," the
 Grand Admiral said.  "My ssubordinate belivess that you are a
 promising speciess, and I am inclined to agree.  I have no desire to
 destroy you, butI will not allow you to defy the will of the
 Hegemony any longer."

 As the Grand Admiral spoke, Aldur glanced at the holographic tank. 
 In it, a number of Reorsan patrol ships had reached the Pfhor
 battleship and were attacking it... or trying to.  The Reorsan
 phasers lanced out and touched nothing.  The beams passed harmlessly
 through the battleship.  Missile weapons did no better.  One patrol
 ship even tried to ram the battleship, and passed directly through. 
 A moment later, almost contemptuous, the secondary beam weapons on
 the gargantuan ship flickered, destroying two of the patrol ships
 and damaging another.  Even as the battleship fired, another patrol
 ship launched its own torpedoes which again passed through the
 monster as if it weren't there.

 Incongruously, Aldur was reminded of a very old saying from Earth:
 "Any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from
 magic."  He couldn't see how the Pfhor battleship could both be out
 of phase and still inflict harm on the Reorsan patrol ships, but it
 was happening.  One of the braids pointed him at the second
 holographic tank, where a Pfhor battle group was appearing in the
 Meyer system and another was at war with the Apori in Pitstop.

 Meanwhile, the Pfhor voice on the speakers became gentle, almost
 pleading -- a parent talking to a willful but well-loved child. 
 "Admiral, do not make me destroy you and your people.  I have sseen
 far too much death in my career," the voice said.  "Inflicted far
 too much needless ssuffering.  You would not be ssurrendering.  We
 do not ask predator sspecies ssuch as yourselvess to ssurrender. 
 We ask you to join ssomething greater than yourselvess."

 As the Grand Admiral spoke, a braid passed Aldur a PADD.  Aldur
 tipped it up and read the message printed on it: "Coronado reports
 the Pfhor are using some kind of subspace bridge to bring
 reinforcements into allied space.  They are moving to destroy it." 
 Aldur nodded at the braid, then responded to the Grand Admiral, his
 next strategy obvious.

 "I'll need some time to consult with the Reorsan civilian
 government," Aldur said.

 The Grand Admiral chuckled, an amused but rasping sound.  "Of
 course, Admiral... those who serve must alwayss bow to those who
 lead.  We do not ask that you rush... we are a patient people who
 have endured for centuries.  We will give you a month, in fact, to
 prepare yourselvess for joining the Hegemony," he said.

 Aldur, thinking of Stirling and those who had been aboard, did not
 trust himself to answer for a moment.  That, of course, was when all
 Hell broke loose.

\_________________________________________________________________________
\ End Simulation Teaser                                                   |
 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ

 Crew Roster:
    Commanding Officer:        FCapt. Tebrun Lora Kor    (Jester)
    Executive Officer:         Cmdr. William Daren       (Daren)
    Marine Commandant:         Col. Jeremy Ironside      (Fraser)
    Command Liaison:           Cmdr. Savant              (Savant)
    Chief of Operations:       Cmdr. Olme Tlaloco        (rev)
    Chief Tactical Officer:    LCdr. Sieven Drexler      (Brad)
    Assistant Tactical:        Lt. Kyle Marcy            (Marcy)
    Chief Flight Operations:   Lt. JG Ananda Wilk        (Baralu)
    Intelligence Officer:      LCdr. Kariasa Ma'Aru      (Kari)
    Chief Science Officer:     Lt. Kathleen Hammond      (Kath)
    Company Commander:         MCpt. Jacob Prescot       (Shadow-FjP)
    Flight Leader:             MCpt. Craig Serrold       (Aggie)
    Chief Engineer:            Cmdr. Zunite Oswald       (Sonya)
    Assistant Engineer:        LCdr. Jack C. Farley      (CCC)
    Assistant Engineer:        Lt. Aramis Skylooker      (LewisSharp)
    Systems Specialist:        Lt. Caring-Thoughts       (Alffred)
    Chief Medical Officer:     Lt. (JG) Jason Vogel      (Thompson)
    Civilian:                  Alados ha-Soron           (McC)

 On Extended Leave of Absence:
    Wing Leader:               2Lt. Andrew Stylus        (JadeFalcon)

 Positions Available:
    None!

------
Jester

Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor
Rear Admiral (Commodore) Selectee
Commanding, U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/