[X][PEACE] Go along with the deal
[X][CARGO] Avoid
[X][CARGO] Avoid
I'll go get Nash then.
<3
I've gotta say, I think this is the part that really grind my gears. I know the council is essentially our boss. I know they can act as they see fit, and I expect them to come to us with orders and ideas."no, we don't need this and also nobody ever asked us what it would take to implement this or if it's needed."
You and me both.At last, our chance to get rid of this fucking idiot N'Gir.
[X][PEACE] Upset the apple cart
[X][CARGO] Avoid
If we need ground forces, I'd much rather work with members' militaries to get those. Mostly because that's the best way to get animoo security forces.
I would rather send in the Andorians - as light forces that are just above redshirts.Would they be useful right now, for sending in to address the Caldonian request for a Federation peacekeeping force?
It's also kind of bizarre we complain about the possibility Peacekeepers while never once questioning why Starfleet Intelligence gets sole purview of the elite special operations units. That sounds like a more dangerous recipe for being evil than the Peacekeepers [thinking emoji]
It's triply offensive because it's unnecessary. The Federation has encountered exactly one problem that needed this force, the Syndicate, and we couldn't have used it because it would have been politically toxic to flood the streets of an affiliate with redshirts. The Caledonian matter is far less dangerous, well on its way to being resolved, but again, it's an affiliate power. It would look very bad indeed if we started sending it to affiliates alone. Right now, we don't have a problem for them to solve, and there isn't one on the horizon.
And, again, the Peacekeepers are a solution in search of a problem, because we've never had a problem where they'd be useful. The only thing they were ever suited for was the Syndicate and we got more than enough crap about a Starfleet invasion of the Union during that already.
I don't see how it would be politically more toxic to flood the street with redshirts than flood the street with Caitian troopers and Starfleet Black Ops.As it is, we can already send ships on peacekeeping tasks when we deem it necessary, but we, the Admiral, need to approve it in each individual case. I think that this is an important safeguard on Starfleet's scope and power. Doing otherwise is likely to upset some of our existing members, and make Federation less attractive to prospective newcomers.
This is completely bullshit speculation.And I just realize something: We've already seen the first situation where the Peacekeeping Force would have been used as a jackboot, not for actual peacekeeping. If we'd had it when the Caldonian trouble started, we'd have probably used it, and I doubt a pure combat/COIN unit would have cottoned on to the real problem as quickly as Mbeki's crew on Odyssey did, if they did at all. They would be much less likely to have people on hand who would be able to tell that a "pseudoscience cult" was actually promoting a very good extension of standard particle physics.
Edit: Which means that the 2316.Q1.M3 log might well end in a quantum warhead detonation rather than diplomancy because the Peacekeepers backed a bunch of high-energy physics wizards into a corner.
Sulu absolutely cannot come out in public against this. If he did he would probably paradoxically assure the passage as the Expansionists can't be seen as the Starfleet Department of Political Influence. This is all court politics at this point.I imagine part of it is that Development fails to enact an initiative in large part because the organization they're trying to enact it for comes out and says "no, we don't need this and also nobody ever asked us what it would take to implement this or if it's needed." They look like complete incompetents who are totally incapable of communicating with Starfleet, which is enough to push their voters away.
There's no real benefit TO "solving" it this particular way. The only downsides to the status quo are putting strain on members, possibly limiting their development and potentially making them upset with us. The effect of the proposed measure would be to definitely impact their shipbuilding, thereby definitely limiting their development, and definitely upsetting them to the tune of 150pp cost. The "solution" is essentially worse than the problem across the board. And the same pp would actually allow us to pursue a real solution without any of those downsides instead.
[X][PEACE] Upset the apple cart
[X][CARGO] Avoid
I'll be honest, if these weren't rush jobs designed to give N'Gir a quick political boost, I might consider them more. As it is...
Sulu absolutely cannot come out in public against this. If he did he would probably paradoxically assure the passage as the Expansionists can't be seen as the Starfleet Department of Political Influence. This is all court politics at this point.
Sulu absolutely cannot come out in public against this. If he did he would probably paradoxically assure the passage as the Expansionists can't be seen as the Starfleet Department of Political Influence. This is all court politics at this point.
I don't see how it would be politically more toxic to flood the street with redshirts than flood the street with Caitian troopers and Starfleet Black Ops.
Perhaps because they are complete incompetents who are totally incapable of communicating with Starfleet? Sulu found this out by accident. It's clear that not only has N'Gir's administration not consulted Starfleet on the matter, but it's quite possible that they've deliberately avoided letting Starfleet know.I imagine part of it is that Development fails to enact an initiative in large part because the organization they're trying to enact it for comes out and says "no, we don't need this and also nobody ever asked us what it would take to implement this or if it's needed." They look like complete incompetents who are totally incapable of communicating with Starfleet, which is enough to push their voters away.
Perhaps because they are complete incompetents who are totally incapable of communicating with Starfleet? Sulu found this out by accident. It's clear that not only has N'Gir's administration not consulted Starfleet on the matter, but it's quite possible that they've deliberately avoided letting Starfleet know.
Well, I did specify N'Gir's administration...We never had a bad experience with Development until failcat came along. Lets not tar the entire party just yet.
I'm assuming that they're going to approach it as a military COIN operation, not an investigation, and that they're a lot less likely to have anyone on hand who speaks bleeding-edge physics.This is completely bullshit speculation.
Do any of y'all know how Peacekeepers are deployed IRL? Why is there this huge assumption that Starfleet Tactical is going to go completely evil, sprout devil horns, and start spraying phaser fire all over the place? Kick open doors and throw in grenades, leave no survivors? You're all acting like these guys are going to be out-of-control yahoos when in fact they'll be under our direct control and we can set their goals and ROE. Which is better than what we get with a lot of the other member species. Remember how we didn't want to send in the Amarki initially because there was serious concern they'd be too military with the Orions?
They could easily be a much more robust and expanded constabulary or police unit. This has massive practical applications and if we use them to help mediate and keep the peace, there's no reason to believe they'll be going full COIN and blowing apart buildings and backing anyone into any corners. That is what the Caldonians did. That's what flippin' T'Lorel has done. Why is this the assumption from a lot of people in this thread that the Peacekeepers are going to be automatically worse and inflame tensions versus literally random other folks? Why do they assume they'll be more out of control than some random MACOs?
It's not solved once and for all. It's patched for a time. It's a single burst of production when demand is ever-increasing.
Force on Starfleet the requirement to become "transport-neutral" - to have freighters and cargo ships equal to their shipping requirements, so you don't have to mobilise from member worlds, by 2322. You would be forced to set aside 50pp /yr for the next three years for T'Faer to borrow yards for auxiliary builds, with the rest produced by an agreement of the member worlds.
The idea was that once the deficit was caught up by a surge in auxiliary construction, you wouldn't need to use the auxiliary berth for transports, the members would be able to keep up a "maintenance rate" of transport builds.
And, again, the Peacekeepers are a solution in search of a problem, because we've never had a problem where they'd be useful. The only thing they were ever suited for was the Syndicate and we got more than enough crap about a Starfleet invasion of the Union during that already.
I am pretty sure that the Caldonian agreement specially mentions the stationing of Federation peacekeeping forces there...There have also been repeated mentions of "rebellious" or "separatist" colonies in the captains logs that may well have benefited from the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force. Then there are the Seyek, Honani and the Orions which all have internal issues that could be helped by an impartial observer and security force like this and the possible war against the Cardassians...
I'm not a fan of 'no you' argumentation, but you're actually forgetting how this went. The Caitian Frontier Police were the frontline unit on the 12 smaller worlds they were deployed on and our primary force on Amepa.Then you missed the point that the Caitians are not Starfleet, they're Caitians, and they were acting based on Syndicate actions against the Caitians like assassinating a major political figure, and they're not military. They were Caitian Frontier Police, paramilitary at the most, and usually less. You're thinking of the Amarki, who absolutely refused not to get involved after the bombing.
They weren't even the tip of the spear against the Syndicate. The Syndicate was fought primarily by Orions of the PPU/ISSU/Aerocommandos, and the Amarki towards the end after the Syndicate M/AM'd their capital city. Starfleet and the CFP saw very little action comparatively. We didn't have boots on the ground at Duaba. We didn't have them on Celos. We didn't have them on Alukk. You've completely forgotten how the Syndicate campaign actually went
However, there is still a role for Starfleet to play in this matter.
[...]
Councillor for Betazed Jime Okaar was an Officer of the Peace in her days before politics, and firmly believes you cannot defeat a criminal group by striking from shadows. You must be the bright and visible badge of order and peace. Some member worlds have "gendarmes" and the like, with the mix of policing and combat ability to survive on the mean streets of Union worlds. These wouldn't deploy on Alukk, but there are a lot of small colonies that the Union is having immense trouble keeping a lid on, and they could use an outside force in these places where the Orion media doesn't look too closely.
[ ][COPS] Draw on Andorian Guard's Peacekeepers. Police first, combat is a much lower priority. Despite this, an Andorian is always dangerous in a scrap. (1 Influence, reduces Syndicate event rate, vulnerable to be disabled by casualties from Syndicate)
[ ][COPS] Draw on the Caitian Frontier Police force. These people keep order on the Caitian border worlds and even saw some action against the Dawiar. Full-size phaser pistols and light armour for protection are carried standard. (1 Influence, +1 Militarisation, reduce Syndicate event rate, more resilient to casualties)
[ ][COPS] Draw on the Amarkian Gendarmes. Deploying with full scale phaser rifles and body armour, these Amarki can move smoothly between investigating a break-in to storming a bunker. (2 Influence, +2 Militarisation, reduce Syndicate event rate, far greater resilience to casualties)
[ ][COPS] No Gendarmes
[X] Plan Do it all
[X][WORD] Flood the region with Starfleet ships. Put your Captains into places where they will interact with Orions and lead by example (2 Influence, Increase Garrisons for Amarkia and Ferasa to D15, each sector rolls a presence test against a ship at random to cause Impact)
[X][COPS] Draw on the Caitian Frontier Police force. These people keep order on the Caitian border worlds and even saw some action against the Dawiar. Full-size phaser pistols and light armour for protection are carried standard. (1 Influence, +1 Militarisation, reduce Syndicate event rate, more resilient to casualties)
[X][DETECTIVES] Rixx Scrutineers from Betazed could be called upon. It is impossible to pass a direct deception by one. (1 Influence, +3 Impact, apply penalty to Syndicate infiltration operations)
[X][DEVICES] Seed the most likely vectors. (1 Influence, +2 Impact)
[X][SIG] Form Office 36 dedicated to Orion Syndicate Decryption under Signals Division. [1 Influence, -5pp/yr, +5 Impact]
[...]
"Now, your Frontier Police division will be deploying to Orion Union space to help combat the Syndicate," you [Sousa] explain. "You're replacing the beat police in a number of these worlds, as they have been suspended due to thorough Syndicate corruption. Now, I won't lie." You lock eyes with the General and lean forward. "This is a very dangerous assignment. Men will die."
"Risk of death comes with the territory, Admiral," replies K'Harss, hands clasped behind his back and chin raised. "If the innocents we stand before are green skinned instead of furred, they're innocents all the same, and we'll risk our hides for them, too."
You nod slowly at that, then turn to the Colonel. "Some of these worlds you will just need to be deploying police forces. In a couple, the Union government has suspended the judiciary as well while they attempt to weed out the massive infiltration. On these worlds, your attached justices will operate as trial judges, with Starfleet courts-martial as a court of appeal, and the Executive Bench of Arbitration on Alukk as the final appeal body, which will hear de novo trials."
"Not a problem, Admiral," says Colonel M'hiel.
We authorized them, we told them where to go, and they were the law and order on an entire planet and 12 others. That's practically military occupation, and we were lucky enough that the Caitians play nice. Also, we ate a militarization point for it. Which we probably won't have to if we have our own forces in-house.Colonial Plaza, Amepa III, Orion Union Space
"Good morning, citizen," greets the Caitian police officer.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," replies an aging Orion woman at her food stall on the edge of the plaza. "Lovely weather isn't it?"
"It always is on Amepa, ma'am," replies the young Caitian officer.
"The usual?" the woman asks as she leans over her supply of Orion street foods.
The young Lieutenant is leading a patrol through the capital of the small colony world, offering a smile for every civilian he passes, belying the firepower at his disposal. He has done this every morning for the past four weeks, though with a constantly switching start time and route. However, he overlooked a repeating pattern in his own actions. A repeating action that leads him to this food stall at some point in his course. A repeating action that leads to an Orion man kneeling on a rooftop across the plaza with a disruptor rifle to hand.
That morning, disruptor and phaser fire ripple throughout the colonial capital. By the end of the week, the city morgue is surrounded by tent annexes.
[...]
Our Caitian allies have been involved in violent clashes on the colony world of Amepa, where local Syndicate affiliates took to ambushing patrols. The Frontier Police rallied and in the end inflicted stiffer casualties than they received. It has served as a wake-up call for General K'Harss' men, and units throughout Orion space are tightening up their procedures with the lessons learned from 9th Battalion. At latest count, nearly a dozen Frontier Police have been slain on Amepa and another thirty-plus are casualties of some degree. However, the Amepan Syndicate agents are now in disarray, with dozens of casualties incurred.
It's a completely fear-mongering assumption to assume the Starfleet Peacekeepers, whom we have direct command authority over, are going to treat it as anything other than what we tell them to treat it like. It's also bizarre to assume the Andorians and Caitians would be better at this than us.I'm assuming that they're going to approach it as a military COIN operation, not an investigation, and that they're a lot less likely to have anyone on hand who speaks bleeding-edge physics.