~\\_
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`\\\\\ -----------------------------------------
|\\\\\ Starfleet Command, Eighth Fleet (OOC)
\\\\\|__.-~~\
_--~ ~~/ Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"
/~ _-~~~' Embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
('-//////-// Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor, Commanding
////// }}-) -----------------------------------------
/////~ Simulation Report
_///~ Stardate 240207.22
`
_________________________________________________________________________
/ Simulation Teaser |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
The voice of Reorsan President Jason Rommetty was resigned.
Although he had to communicate with the Hegemony on a daily basis
since the signing of the Treaty between Reor, Meyer and the Hegemony
three days before, that didn't mean he had to like it. He read the
Hegemony-required status reports on production and population in a
resigned voice until the Grand Admiral cut him off.
"Yess, yess, President Rommetty... I'm ssure that my leaderss are
very impressed with the industriousness of your citizenss... But
you have told me nothing of these rebelss... these Defenderss," the
Grand Admiral said, saying the last word with almost human distaste.
Rommetty wondered for at least the tenth time what this Grand
Admiral looked like, with his calm assurance and slurring speech.
"They caused considerable damage to one of our facilitiess, damage
which our leaderss have demanded in blood."
Rommetty's reply was interrupted by the crackle, and then the hiss
of static. The communication line then smoothed back out.
"Yess? You were saying, President Rommetty?"
"Hello, Grand Admiral. So good to speak with you again," the voice
of Vice Admiral Brian Aldur said.
"What iss this?" the Grand Admiral asked, now annoyed. "Some kind
of trick?"
"No trick, Grand Admiral. By now, you've been fully briefed on my
force's assault into the Toduk system. Shipyards and repair
facilities destroyed, sixty of your ships lost? Or was it seventy?
The rubble from the destruction of the Toduk-za planet is impressive
even from where I can see it," Aldur said.
Aldur seemed inclined to continue, but the Grand Admiral cut him off
there. "Yess, and your people will pay for your arrogance, Vice
Admiral," the Grand Admiral said. His voice was no longer bored,
or amused. It was clearly angry. "Your planetss belong to the
Hegemony now, and perhaps when you learn of their ssuffering--"
"I think not, Grand Admiral," Aldur interrupted. "The Defenders
have only begun to disrupt the Hegemony's plans for this part of
space. I and thousands of others like me reject this false
armistice, and reject as an abomination the treaty that has ended
this war. We shall not turn our back on the millions sacrificed on
the altar of expediency. If you look at the visual channel, the
images you see now declare our Holding of the Defenders. You shall
not be allowed to subjugate or sterilize anyone within it. Any
battle fleet that enters our Holding will be subject to attack. Any
atrocity performed in the Holding will be revisited upon your people
tenfold."
Rommetty glanced at the visual display, usually blank when he spoke
to the representatives of the Hegemony, who refused to communicate
visually. The display showed a vast expanse of space, most of it
west and south of Reor, though both Reor and Meyer were included.
Rommetty noted with interest that Boratis space was neither noted
nor included. Perhaps the Hegemony had not yet learned of that
race. Most of the planets on the display were unknown to Rommetty,
though he had of course heard of Taer and Micropolis and Ji'sa. But
Sĉvoy? Tsien? There were a dozen others, all marked, and Rommetty
had heard of none of them. How had Aldur gotten this information?
When the Grand Admiral responded, his voice was a pleased purr.
"Your intelligence iss impressive, Vice Admiral. I did not know
that you knew of the Loktai, much less the Dänaê. However, I do not
believe you can... 'Defend' or 'Hold'..." The Grand Admiral's voice
was now amused, condescending. "...such a vast area of space. And
if you try... when we choosse to demonstrate our... annoyance at
ssuch actions to your people on Reorsa? How would you sstop us?"
"Grand Admiral, I believe if you check Hegemony frequency..." There
was a shuffling noise, and when Aldur returned, his own voice was
amused. "Frequency seven. I think you'll find something of
interest there." Rommetty had been forgotten now, but that was just
fine with the Reorsan President. He'd only been dealing with this
arrogant Grand Admiral for three days, and he already wanted his
face rubbed in it. Aldur seemed to be doing a fine job of it.
There was another pause, another sound of shuffling, this time from
the Pfhor end of the communication. The voice of the Hegemony cut
off with a strangled gasp, and when it continued, the voice was
shrewd. "What iss thiss?" it asked.
"I think you recognize it, Admiral, but I will humor you," Aldur
said. "It is called the trih xeem, escorted by four of my ships.
It is a weapon of planetary sterilization. Specifically, when
introduced into a stellar core, it initiates a subspace implosion
that in most cases causes a cascade stellar event similar to but
more destructive than a nova. Last used against the Apori
homeworld, I believe?"
Aldur paused -- the Grand Admiral said nothing, now
uncharacteristically silent. When Aldur continued, his voice was
hard. "My forces captured it in the Toduk system. This weapon is
now under our control. Should you attempt an invasion or
sterilization of any planet within the Holding, you will see this
ship again, in the skies over Parmen or Nazh..."
There was a hissing sound from the speakers, but Aldur all but
ignored it.
"Don't sound so shocked, Grand Admiral... we don't know what you
look like yet, but we know of your homeworlds. And if you choose to
carry out your threats, you will see this weapon again in the
moments before your homeworlds are burned to ashes and your people
ground to dust."
"You wouldn't dare," the Grand Admiral started to say, but Aldur all
but ignored that interruption also. {{He's making a speech,}}
Rommetty thought, grinning. {{This is for Reorsa's benefit every
bit as much as for this smug Grand Admiral's!}} The new Reorsan
President leaned back in his chair, chuckling softly to himself.
"Grand Admiral, I say again: any atrocity visited upon those in the
Holding will be revisited upon your people tenfold. You know the
speed of our communications. You now know we can monitor yours.
Any reprisals that you undertake against those in Reor or Meyer will
be transmitted to Tsien and Sĉvoy and Dänaê..." Rommetty could
almost hear the smirk in Aldur's voice now. "I believe you are
having trouble maintaining control of those populations? They would
find displays of Hegemony 'beneficence' of great interest, don't you
think? Energy beams and false matter are not our only weapons."
There was a long pause, and when the Grand Admiral spoke again, his
voice was smooth again, but the hard edge was still apparent, like a
sheathed knife. "My ssubordinate was correct about your sspecies,
Vice Admiral," the hissing voice said. "Your intelligence iss
impressive, your audacity even more sso. But we have crushed
uprisings and terroristss ssuch as yourselves on countless
occasions, many more well-equipped than you, more knowledgeable than
you," he said. "Time iss on our sside. Your ssupliess will
dwindle, your ability to repair your damage vanish, the morale of
your people fail. The Hegemony is eternal, its resources boundless.
We can afford to be patient."
Rommetty could hear the smile in Aldur's voice. "We shall see,
Grand Admiral. The Hegemony has weaknesses also. I have seen them.
I have exploited them. I will continue to exploit them. We shall
see whose weaknesses prove the outcome. In the meantime, I will
leave you gentlemen to your conversation."
With a shuffling noise and the crackle of static, the communication
ended.
----------------
"...On those occasions when larger forces were called for, two or
more task groups were joined into a 'task force.' These were
commanded by senior Naval aviators, and were assigned joint strike
missions, refueling assingments, and even independent raids. Though
it took time to pull this huge organization together and find the
men capable of leading it, by the winter of 1943/1944, what became
known as Task Force 34/58 was ready for action.
"Unlike the Japanese, who tended to keep their warriors in combat
until they died, the United States developed a rotation system to
rest and replenish its combat personnel at all levels -- even
admirals. Thus, the fast carrier fleet had two sets of commanders
and staffs: the 3rd Fleet under Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey, and
the 5th commanded by Admiral Raymond Spruance. After each
operation, the two fleet staffs would switch, allowing the outgoing
group to rest and plan the next mission. Thus, when Halsey was in
command, the fleet was known as Task Force 34 (for Halsey's 3rd
Fleet) and when Admiral Spruance took over, the carrier force was
known as Task Force 58.
Task Force 34/58, the most powerful naval force in history, put the
lit on the Japanese Navy's coffin, then nailed it shut."
From "Milestones: The Development of the Modern Aircraft Carrier"
CARRIER, by Tom Clancy
----------------
"I'm impressed... I'm going to be hard-pressed to beat the Toduk
assault," Brian Aldur said. As he spoke, Iktakto'na'ri passed the
PADD indicating Task Force 58's status and personnel to Rear Admiral
Todd Marshall, signifying the official change of command of the Task
Force, which under Aldur's command, became Task Force 85.
Charlie Theron, standing behind the squat Apori, smirked. "You
didn't do so badly yourself, getting that Grand Admiral's goat," he
said. "I'm sure you and your team have come up with something to
make this competition even." With a twinkle in his eye, Theron
added, "... though probably not something quite as spectacular,"
teasing.
Aldur smiled a mysterious smile and glanced behind him, where
Commander Savant from Coronado and Rose-Captain Lee Torman Aldeguard
from the Camelynian warship Shining Bard waited, both impassive.
The latter's dark grey cloak made him seem almost translucent, a
perfect counter-point to Savant, who hovered a few centimeters off
the deck as was her wont. "Oh, I have something... slightly more
subtle in mind," Aldur said.
\_________________________________________________________________________
\ End Simulation Teaser |
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone" Staff:
Commanding, TG 85.3: Commo. Tebrun Lora Kor (Jester)
S-1, Group Adjutant: LCdr. Sieven Drexler (Brad)
S-2, Group Intelligence: LCdr. Kariasa Ma'Aru (Kari)
S-3, Group Logistics: Cmdr. Savant (Savant)
U.S.S. Coronado Crew Roster:
Commanding Officer: Capt. William Daren (Daren)
Executive Officer: Cmdr. Darek Smith (Aggie)
Marine Commandant: Col. Jeremy Ironside (Fraser)
Chief of Operations: Cmdr. Olme Tlaloco (rev)
Chief Tactical Officer: Lt. Kyle Marcy (Marcy)
Chief Flight Operations: Lt. JG Ananda Wilk (Baralu)
Chief Science Officer: Lt. Kathleen Hammond (Kath)
Company Commander: MCpt. Jacob Prescot (Shadow-FjP)
Flight Leader: 2Lt. Andrew Stylus (JadeFalcon)
Flight Leader: 2Lt. Mikhail Petkovic (Archyyt)
Chief Engineer: Cmdr. Zunite Oswald (Sonya)
Assistant Engineer: LCdr. Jack C. Farley (CCC)
Assistant Engineer: Lt. Aramis Skylooker (LewisSharp)
Chief Medical Officer: Lt. (JG) Jason Vogel (Thompson)
Systems Specialist: Lt. Caring-Thoughts (Alffred)
Civilian: Alados ha-Soron (McC)
On Extended Leave of Absence:
None!
Positions Available:
Assistant Tactical: (---)
Flight Leader: (---)
------
Jester
Commodore Tebrun Lora Kor
Rear Admiral Selectee
Commanding, Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"
embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/