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To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)

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To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest) Starfleet Ship Design Bureau, Refit ("To Boldly Go...")
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We need to declare a state of emergency and a state of war agsint the Orion Syndicate. Anything less risks the Amarkians leaving the Federation, they haven't been members very long, and if they don't feel that we can live up to our promises they will just quit. At the same time we can't punish the Orion Union for the actions of the Syndicate, and thus fall into the Syndicate's quite obvious trap. Nor can we risk war with Cardassia at the same time as we are dealing with Orion insurgency.

I think we should federalise the Amarki Navy and deploy them to undertake heavy maneuvers in the GBZ and CBZ. This removes the temptation for the Amarkians to use them against the Orions, and also gives them a valid task of protecting our frontier from Cardassian incursion should the Cardies decide to become involved. Federalisations of United Earth, Andorian, Tellarite, and Caitain fleets should also be considered to flood the sectors around Orion space with as many ships as possible,
Meanwhile Amarki Gendarmes should be deployed to the Anti-Syndicate Taskforce under Uhura's command. Amarki Marines should be kept on stand by should we need heavy firepower that needs to be unleashed on Syndicate installations. And where we are fairly certain there won't be civilians present.

A new raft of anti-syndicate legislation should also include all the high impact and even militarization inducing options that we have previously left out. Sensor nets, stop and search of all ships, invasive communications surveillance.

I know that this will lead to higher cost and more resistance, but if we do not appear to act, it will undermine the Federation's integrity. If the Amarkians believe that that we won't honour our commitments, then it is very possible that other members will begin to do so as well.

Vehec said:
If the Armakians want into the Orion Union, they should ask, hat in hand, with greatest humility, to help the Union's own operations.
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Whilst this is the end result we want, saying it like that is going to anger the Amarkians deeply.
 
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Ato said:
We need to declare a state of emergency and a state of war against the Orion Union. Anything less risks the Amarkians leaving the Federation, they haven't been members very long, and if they don't feel that we can live up to our promises they will just quit. At the same time we can't punish the Orion Union for the actions of the Syndicate, and thus fall into the Syndicate's quite obvious trap. Nor can we risk war with Cardassia at the same time as we are dealing with Orion insurgency.
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???
 
Erandil said:
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lul typo, fixed now thanks.

Declaring war on the Syndicate, doesn't really do anything practical and it is clear that the Syndicate already feels that state of affairs is already in place. However the symbolism of it, committing the combined will of the whole Federation to end this, is important.
 
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random_npc said:
it's not a bad idea, but asking the amarki not to do anything after an attack like that is too likely to backfire. We need to give them some productive way to hit the syndicate.
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[X] "...the greatest challenge laying before us is to do what must be done without undoing the dream of the Federation. Admiral Ramirez said that in his first speech to the Council during the Four Year War, and it has never been more applicable. Madam President, this is Axanar. The Amarki are angry, and falls to you to shape that anger into an icy sword. They are a martial people, and victory in this case demands the fortitude to be patient in the face of personal tragedy. Their enemies - our enemies - want them to be brash and reactionary, and so we must be cold and calculating.
[X] "An invasion of Orion space is the Syndicate's desired goal for this attack, so the Amarki must instead pay them the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored.
[X] "If the Syndicate bombed Romulus, we would be seeing Birds of Prey over the glassy ruins of Alukk and Freedom. But we are not an Empire. We are the Federation. As a certain captain once said, 'Tyrrany is for people who cannot afford to be idealistic.'
[X] "We fight not a nation that we can negotiate with, but an insurgency. This is a battle fought over

This is an unfinished edit of @Crazy Tom's suggestion, edited for rhetorical effect.

Feel free to finish this
 
Vehrec said:
If the Armakians want into the Orion Union, they should ask, hat in hand, with greatest humility, to help the Union's own operations.
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I like a lot of your vote. It's pretty great stuff, and I think your point about pressuring the Orion corporations to think about what joining the Cardassians would mean is very well-taken. But this part I quoted? No. You can't tell the Amarkians that they need to be "humble" or approach "hat in hand". You just can't. They are not the supplicants here.

Ato said:
We need to declare a state of emergency and a state of war agsint the Orion Syndicate.
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I strongly oppose declaring a state of war in any situation where it's impossible to know when we've won the war. That's how you get permanent states of war.
 
Ato said:
However the symbolism of it, committing the combined will of the whole Federation to end this, is important.
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Agreed. That's the one thing I miss in briefvoice's plan.

There are, perhaps, better ways to do this than a declaration of war against the Syndicate. But we need to do it, of that I have no doubt.

Though it should be noted that ultimately it won't be us who get to make that decision in the end. I really don't envy the president right now.
 
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Driven by Apathy said:
Agreed. That's the one thing I miss in briefvoice's plan.

There are, perhaps, better ways to do this than a declaration of war against the Syndicate. But we need to do it, of that I have no doubt.
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Are we still classifying the Syndicate as a criminal organization? If we are, then re-classifying them as terrorist organization might help, it doesn't materially change anything, but symbolically, it acknowledges this conflict moving into a new phase.
 
I quite like the two plans by @Briefvoice and @Driven by Apathy. They strike as being pretty compatible, which makes it difficult to choose between them. As I understand it, Briefvoice's has a wider scope, which I feel works better, hence:
[X] Briefvoice
I also agree regarding making some intel public to help with perception.
 
Also, keep in mind that we're just giving our opinion the president.

She's fully within her rights to nod her head and tell us to shove it if she feels like it.
 
Briefvoice said:
I like a lot of your vote. It's pretty great stuff, and I think your point about pressuring the Orion corporations to think about what joining the Cardassians would mean is very well-taken. But this part I quoted? No. You can't tell the Amarkians that they need to be "humble" or approach "hat in hand". You just can't. They are not the supplicants here.



I strongly oppose declaring a state of war in any situation where it's impossible to know when we've won the war. That's how you get permanent states of war.
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I am sure we can at some point we can get Jorlyth to stand on the flight deck of an Excelsior and proclaim victory.

More seriously, as far as the Syndicate is concerned we are already at war, and their victory goal is pretty clear. Getting us to withdraw from Orion space and the Orion Union to come under their control. I think our choice here is we either fully commit to rooting them out to a level where they cannot act significantly against us, or we let them take the Orion worlds, and go about their insidious ways.
We do need to set clear goals for our campaign however. The point at which we plan to draw down our forces in Orion space, and re-Orionise the remaining operations.
 
[x] Madam President. This is not just an attack on the Confederacy. It is an attack on the entire Federation. The slave raid that triggered all of this could have happened anywhere. We could be trying those criminals on Ferasa, on Andor, on Earth. Here in Paris.
-[x] To stop the Amarki from responding is impossible. But the Federation must also respond. To let the Amarki and Orions handle this attack alone is unconscionable, and flies against the reason the Federation exists. We have been attacked. All of us. The Cardassians are preying on a weakness that we allow only if we let the Amarki and the Union proceed alone.
-[x] Many of our members are ready to commit forces. Why not bring the Amarki in to a Federation-wide response? Member and Union forces could have roles, and could operate under a Council mandate similar to the Anti-Syndicate Taskforce. Such a force can be developed and used in conjunction with the Union instead of unilaterally by the Amarki. Alternately, add Starfleet assets by letting us draw down elsewhere.
-[x] If both the Amarki and Union cannot agree to work together through the Federation, then we could resort to mediating an agreement between them. And no matter what, we could really use liaisons to coordinate action between local governments.
-[x] The Orions are worried about sovereignty. But they already allow Starfleet, the CFP, the Andorian Guard, and the UESPA to help them against the Syndicate. Without the fear that the Amarki will act unilaterally, the Cardassian offer means nothing. That means the Union needs to be involved, but it also means they need to be convinced to accept that the entire Federation is going to fight alongside them.
 
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Do we actually know if the Federation Council has the legal authority to tell the Amarki they can't invade the Union? This might have been discussed elsewhere but I missed it.

I would suspect 'yes' but @OneirosTheWriter might have a different idea for how authority is divided between the federal government and member planet governments.
 
[x] Madam President. This is not just an attack on the Confederacy. It is an attack on the entire Federation. That slave raid that triggered all of this could have happened anywhere. We could be trying those criminals on Ferasa, on Andor, on Earth. Here in Paris.
-[x] To stop the Amarki from responding is impossible. But the Federation must also respond. To let the Amarki and Orions handle this alone is unconscionable, and flies against the reason the Federation exists. We have been attacked. All of us. The Cardassians are preying on a weakness that we allow only if we let the Amarki and Orions proceed alone.
-[x] Many of our members are ready to commit forces. Why not include other members and affiliates in the action the Amarki want to take? A joint operation could even include Orion ships, and could operate under a Council mandate similar to the Anti-Syndicate Taskforce, developed in conjunction with the Orions instead of unilaterally by the Amarki. Alternately, add Starfleet assets by letting us draw down elsewhere.
-[x] The Orions are worried about sovereignty. But they already allow Starfleet, the CFP, the Andorian Guard, and the UESPA to help them against the Syndicate. Without the fear that the Amarki will act unilaterally, the Cardassian offer means nothing. That means the Union needs to be involved, but it also means they need to accept that the entire Federation is going to fight alongsidethem.
 
Iron Wolf said:
Do we actually know if the Federation Council has the legal authority to tell the Amarki they can't invade the Union? This might have been discussed elsewhere but I missed it.

I would suspect 'yes' but @OneirosTheWriter might have a different idea for how authority is divided between the federal government and member planet governments.
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The Council has the authority to authorize member fleets to operate beyond their borders. Instead of looking at Amarki unilateral action, we could reverse it and look at joint and authorized action.
 
SynchronizedWritersBlock said:
The Council has the authority to authorize member fleets to operate beyond their borders. Instead of looking at Amarki unilateral action, we could reverse it and look at joint and authorized action.
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Action... to do what? That's what's really troubling about this "send in the Starships" approach. There's no opposing fleet for them to fight.

Still, I like that we've at least got two really strong contrasting approaches with a direct point of disagreement. My vote pushes the Amarki and the Orions to jointly negotiate, under fears that bringing in the entire Federation will make it impossible to find a rapid resolution. You want to do the exact opposite, to bring everyone in on one big action to... do whatever it is that they think they're going to do. Not invade Orion worlds, I hope!
 
Also, I believe we have 10 influence to spend? There's an argument for amending the Act.

Briefvoice said:
Action... to do what? That's what's really troubling about this "send in the Starships" approach. There's no opposing fleet for them to fight.

Still, I like that we've at least got two really strong contrasting approaches with a direct point of disagreement. My vote pushes the Amarki and the Orions to jointly negotiate, under fears that bringing in the entire Federation will make it impossible to find a rapid resolution. You want to do the exact opposite, to bring everyone in on one big action to... do whatever it is that they think they're going to do. Not invade Orion worlds, I hope!
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The mandate is up to the Council. But the Anti-Syndicate Taskforce is an existing example of a highly effective military unit that has been making a politically acceptable but large contribution against the Syndicate. More of the same would be nice.

e: Part of the point is by adding either member or Starfleet assets, we gain moderating control over what the forces (not just fleet) do.
 
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What about using all of those ships in a 'Roaming Anti-Syndicate Task Force', one focused on tracking down Syndicate assets, backers, and customers outside the Union? Maybe weighted more towards the CBZ to hunt down these Cardassian/Syndicate connections.

Then we could have the Armarki and the Union negotiate on what can be done inside the Union. Something like Amarkian Elite Strike Teams, Investigators, Logistical Support, etc. to 'help' the Union find the 'True Masterminds' of the attack.

This gives the Armarki fleet something to do that hurts the Syndicate, while giving the Union the breathing room to negotiate with them.
 
Deploying more starships to the Union will allow us to respond to more events, and control the flow of shipping.
I know earlier we didnt want to institue what was essentially a blockade of the Union, but now the threat has escalted beyond slave raids and assasinations. A WMD has been used against one of our worlds, and there is no reason to believe it was an act that wont be repeated.

This is not something that can be left to Amarkia an Orion to solve themselves, this is a threat to the whole Federation, and the whole Federation must respond.

What we have been doing already was effective, but it us clear that we need to do more of it, and with greater intensity.
Prolonging the conflict will lead to more dead Orions as the Union tries to take the Syndicate head on, and more dead Federation citizens as the Syndicate commits more atrociyies againdt us.
We need to end this, and that requires force.
 
Gear said:
What about using all of those ships in a 'Roaming Anti-Syndicate Task Force', one focused on tracking down Syndicate assets, backers, and customers outside the Union? Maybe weighted more towards the CBZ to hunt down these Cardassian/Syndicate connections.

Then we could have the Armarki and the Union negotiate on what can be done inside the Union. Something like Amarkian Elite Strike Teams, Investigators, Logistical Support, etc. to 'help' the Union find the 'True Masterminds' of the attack.

This gives the Armarki fleet something to do that hurts the Syndicate, while giving the Union the breathing room to negotiate with them.
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Problem is the Amarki are out for blood. It's likely they won't be satisfied with space patrol. That said, something to do while further actions are negotiated isn't a terrible idea, but I think it just doesn't do enough given the emotional context.
 
I'll be the paranoid Romulan and come out and say it: Cardassia has more or less just fired shots at us. Given that Syndicate is fundamentally a crime organization, I can't see them actually agreeing to this. However petty and ruthless they might be, their primary consideration is profit; bombing the capital of most warlike member of per-eminent superpower of Alpha Quadrant is like "there's incompetent, and there's you people"-stupid, because that's how you get a quadrant's worth of resources drop onto you like a sack of bricks. The entreaty is frankly too timely to be a coincidence.

But that said, if this does turn into a war, it's a pretty good bet that our forces will be stretched thin dealing with a hundred-odd problems. I don't think Cardassia or its affiliates will really have the resources to defeat us, but they can make it into a forever war slugging match that results in shitty DMZ solutions.

Therefore, I'm currently voting for:

[X] Briefvoice

I'll be honest, given how Amaraki seem to work, and how they're responding, I'm not entirely sure we'll be able to reign them in, but sometimes you need to roll a hard six. As an addendum, we should probably explain to them this is just the beginning, and while syndicate will collapse in time, our true enemy is Cardassia. They may be smug, and they might bite hard, but we're making inroads into isolating them. Let them loose their allies, let them retreat into their space, and watch as Syndicate gets slowly strangled. And that is when we unleash our Excelsior fleet and atomize anything between Bajor and Cardassia that looks at us remotely funny.
 
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