~\\_               
          \\\\_             
          `\\\\\            -----------------------------------------
           |\\\\\           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 240211.18                       
 `                          
 _______________________________________________________________________ 
/ Simulation Teaser                                                     |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor was an acknowledged insomniac.  Late
 into the night, he worked in Coronado's Command Information Center
 to refine the plan for defending Xanadu.  The overall plan, code-
 named Scapa Flow in honor of an ancient British Naval port on Earth,
 was more or less straightforward.

 Like that far-away Scapa Flow, there were only two safe approaches
 to Xanadu, through the radiation-free corridors.  This greatly
 simplified matters, and Lora Kor took full advantage of that fact. 
 He had two heavy battle groups available to him, so one was assigned
 to each of the two approaches.  On the "north" approach, the King
 Lan DuLac battle group hung motionless, centered on the enormous
 Camelynian carrier.  The "south" end was held by the Gryphon battle
 group, her escorts and her great profusion of fighters and Wraiths.

 Behind each group was a mobility group -- smaller, faster, more
 maneuverable, they were intended to close any gaps the Pfhor opened
 in the main lines or intercept blockade runners.  Behind the DuLac
 battle group was a small flotilla centered on U.S.S. Vanguard. 
 Behind Gryphon, a similar group stood guard around U.S.S.
 Thunderchild.

 Of course, the rift-gate within Xanadu would be two-way, and as a
 result, that end of the rift would also need to be guarded.  It was
 also more or less inevitable that some small Pfhor ships, at least,
 would slip through both lines to either the north or the south and
 enter the asteroid.  To counter that, Lora Kor had positioned a
 number of the smaller Defender ships within the second chamber,
 primarily Loktai scouts, the few remaining Reorsan patrol ships, and
 U.S.S. Churchill herself... along with more squadrons of Wraiths. 
 Alexandria's own weapons were of course also available there.  A few
 larger Loktai ships would follow Coronado through the Catapult to
 the other side and hold that end of the rift.

 That would also give the Coronado group someone to run to when they
 left Lh'owon.  It was almost inevitable that even if successful,
 they would be pursued, and pursued in furious anger.  The Loktai at
 the rift could help with that.

 The outside edges of the system were ringed with sufficient rift-
 gates to bring more than one hundred Apori escort destroyers into the
 system.   These would be more than sufficient to push Pfhor ships
 either into the radiation fields, or into the arms of either the
 "north" or "south" groups.

 It felt right... a swift and strong response... a trap for the
 Pfhor, on an enormous scale.

 There was only a single problem.  Tebrun Lora Kor had absolutely no
 idea how many ships the Pfhor might choose to assault Longshot with.
 The longer the attack took to come, the more nervous the Admiral
 became.   Time was definitely on the Pfhor's side until the Catapult
 was active.   If the Pfhor were spending more time, that meant they
 were spending it to bring more ships into the area... perhaps...
 probably... an overwhelming, unstoppable assault.

 Brian Aldur and Charlie Theron, themselves busy with the job of
 finding and slowing down that inevitable assault with their own
 battle groups, both admitted that it was what they would do in the
 Pfhor Grand Admiral's place.  While Aldur's and Theron's groups
 could slow down that assault when it materialized, both men admitted
 that they were merely harassing forces -- the Pfhor hammer would not
 fall on them, but on Longshot.

 It was little wonder why Lora Kor wasn't sleeping at night.

 It was for that reason that he'd spent all of this night working on
 possible Pfhor invasion fleet groups... then running simulations. 
 The results were not encouraging.  Against any likely Pfhor assault
 that Lora Kor could imagine, the Defenders held the line in only
 three out of any given ten simulations.

 All Hell was likely to break loose in Longshot from three different
 directions and the Defenders simply didn't have enough ships to stop
 it.

 Inspiration, when it had come, had come from an unlikely but obvious
 source: Coro's own mission logs.  Reviewing those logs and looking
 for allies, Lora Kor had seen something that hadn't occurred to him
 before.   A couple of hours of feverish activity generating an
 entirely new hologram had allowed him to refine his idea.  It was
 crazy... it was possibly even a little foolish.  It was certainly a
 little bit deceitful.

 But it might just make the difference between destruction and
 victory at Longshot.

 Lora Kor looked up.  "Savant, I'd like the contents of cargo bay
 three, hold seven-charlie, transferred to Kelaka," the Admiral said,
 leaning his back against the holographic table behind him.  "Then
 I'd like Kelaka prepped for flight, to depart at..."  Lora Kor
 checked the chronometer and winced.  "To depart at 0700."  It was
 only three hours away, and the Admiral hadn't slept.  An instant
 later, the holographic representation of the Whitestone's Logistics
 officer appeared.

 "Hello, Lora," she said simply, informally.  For a moment, Savant's
 expression went blank as she presumably accessed Coro's records to
 find out what was in that specific hold.  When her expression
 cleared, she responded, but more slowly than normal.  Her voice was
 actually wary.   "May I ask why... Admiral?"  She even took a half-
 step forward.

 Lora Kor almost smiled -- was that a note of possessiveness in the
 avatar's voice?  It was yet another sign of Savant's growth, and the
 Admiral decided not to challenge her on it.

 "I walk the paths of the dead," the Admiral said instead, smiling
 crookedly.  Even now, 400 years later, Peter Jackson's visionary
 film interpretation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy stood
 unchallenged as the finest version of that written work.  Given the
 obvious parallels between the mission of the Lh'owon ships and the
 quest of Frodo the Ring-Bearer, it had been an obvious choice for
 Vanguard's most recent movie night.

 The Trill had arrived early enough to get a seat in the first row.

 Lora Kor turned and activated the holographic table and instead of
 watching it, watched Savant as she reviewed the playback of the new
 hologram the Admiral had created.  Finally, she nodded when the
 playback was complete.  "What you suggest is... possible, Admiral. 
 We can only see how it would react to the idea.  But Kelaka doesn't
 have the range for the trip there," she said.

 The Trill nodded as he removed the isolinear rod from the
 holographic projector and slipped it away somewhere.  "I've already
 contacted the Apori.  They have agreed to provide us a rift-capable
 escort ship.  It can get us there.  My place is to defend Xanadu,"
 he said, "...but I choose to do it in my own way.  You're welcome to
 come along, if you like."

 Savant nodded.  "I'd appreciate that, Admiral," she said, and held
 out her hand, palm up.  Over it, a hologram of Kelaka appeared,
 rotating slowly.  "Kelaka will be ready for departure when we are...
 with the cargo you suggest on board."

\_______________________________________________________________________ 
\ End Simulation Teaser                                                 |
 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 U.S.S. Coronado Crew Roster:
    Commanding Officer:        Capt. William Daren       (Daren)
    Executive Officer:         Cmdr. Darek Smith         (Aggie)
    Marine Commandant:         Col. Jeremy Ironside      (Fraser)
    Raptors Squadron Leader:   Lt. Colonel Thomas Wayne  (Masters)
    Chief Tactical Officer:    LCdr. Kyle Marcy          (Marcy)
    Assistant Tactical:        Ens. Tamarith             (Tamarith)
    Chief Flight Operations:   Ens. Maiko D'Rall         (Farrell)
    Chief Science Officer:     LCdr. Isamu Dyson         (Isamu)
    Company Commander:         Maj. Jacob Prescot        (Shadow-FjP)
    Chief Engineer:            Cmdr. Zunite Oswald       (Sonya)
    Assistant Engineer:        LCdr. Jack C. Farley      (CCC)
    Assistant Engineer:        Lt. Aramis Skylooker      (LewisSharp)
    Chief Medical Officer:     Lt. Jason Vogel           (Thompson)
    Assistant Medical:         Lt. Lauren Dyson          (Natty)
    Bartender:                 PO/1 Bridget Bordeux      (Dolin)
    Civilian Liaison:          S'buuth                   (rev)

 On Extended Leave of Absence:
    None!

 Positions Available:
    Flight Leader:                                       (---)

------
Jester

Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor
Commanding, Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"
embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/