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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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SynchronizedWritersBlock said:
Why does discussion have to be about a vote?

Ultimately the best precautions would be to:
1. Maintain awareness of weakness on the rimward front 3-5 years down the line.
2. Build listening posts on the Lecarre border.
3. Push to more closely integrate the Seyek and Qloathi militaries into the Federation structure if tensions with Cardassia are rising.
4. As things come to a head, start talking to the Dawiar.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Okay. Well of those, I guess we can building listening posts in the Snakepit and ask for some rimward-leaning intelligence reports. The other stuff will have to be "as opportunity arises".
 
if we can swing it i would not mind diplo breaking (because we cut them off or otherwise) some of the spoon head clients off them

yes we are not aloud to direct diplo them, but making it really hard for them too project there own power that could be a thing
 
Inserted correct tally and deleted the old one.
Adhoc vote count started by AlphaDelta on Jun 11, 2017 at 8:12 PM, finished with 149 posts and 36 votes.
Click to expand...
 
Re: starship repair

First day if war: also the first day intelligence tells us the Cardassians have finished 2310s Starbase Design: Repair...
 
Did some vote merging to clarify things:

Vote Tally : Sci-Fi - To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest) | Page 2066 | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 51646-51775]
##### NetTally 1.9.4
Task: GAENI
[X][GAENI] 100sr for 150br
No. of Votes: 35
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Ato
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
Goat
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
Nix
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
Simon_Jester
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tenchifew
UberJJK
Void Stalker
Wellhello
Winged One
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: CAL
[X][CAL] Ignore
No. of Votes: 23
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
Derek58
Gingganz
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
Nix
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
SynchronizedWritersBlock
UberJJK
Void Stalker
Wellhello
[x][CAL] Lobby the Council (Andorians can serve as emergency responders to failed event responses in Caldonian space (-15pp)
No. of Votes: 10
tenchifew
Ato
chriswriter90
Forgothrax
HearthBorn
Joshrand1982
Jrin
pheonix89
Steven Kodaly
Winged One
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: LOG
[X][LOG] Start 2 Starfleet Cargo Ships at Irrizizza for 8pp
No. of Votes: 33
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Ato
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
Goat
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tenchifew
UberJJK
Void Stalker
Wellhello
Winged One
[X][LOG] Decline
No. of Votes: 2
Nix
Simon_Jester
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: CATS
[X][CATS] 1 Fathership, 4 Swarmers
No. of Votes: 28
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
Goat
HearthBorn
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
Void Stalker
Wellhello
Winged One
[x][CATS] 1 Excelsior, 3 Swarmers
No. of Votes: 5
tenchifew
Ato
Briefvoice
Iron Wolf
UberJJK
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: REN
[X][REN] Endorse the tech transfer
No. of Votes: 35
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Ato
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
Goat
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
Nix
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
Simon_Jester
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
tenchifew
UberJJK
Void Stalker
Wellhello
Winged One
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: BEE
[X][BEE] Exchange resources with the Orion
No. of Votes: 30
Erandil
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Ato
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
Goat
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
Nix
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Shard
Simon_Jester
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
UberJJK
Wellhello
Winged One
[x][BEE] Heavy Stingers
No. of Votes: 5
tenchifew
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
Void Stalker
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: EC
[X][EC] Pick an Explorer Corps ship to carry this out (USS Odyssey)
No. of Votes: 26
tenchifew
AKuz
Ato
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
Chimeraguard
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
HearthBorn
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
Jrin
Leila Hann
Mr Tebbs
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
UberJJK
Void Stalker
Winged One
[X][EC] Pick an Explorer Corps ship to carry this out (USS Voshev)
No. of Votes: 4
Nix
AlphaDelta
Iron Wolf
Simon_Jester
[X][EC] Pick an Explorer Corps ship to carry this out
No. of Votes: 2
chriswriter90
Shard
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: ENTER
[X][ENTER] Send the survivors to existing ships
-[X] USS Courageous, USS Odyssey, USS Tarrak
No. of Votes: 23
Leila Hann
AKuz
AlphaDelta
Briefvoice
Chaos Blade
chriswriter90
Forgothrax
Gingganz
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
NHO
Night
Night_stalker
pheonix89
Random Member
Redhead222
Simon_Jester
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
UberJJK
Winged One
[x][ENTER] Send the survivors en masse to the new Explorer Corps Excelsior
No. of Votes: 4
tenchifew
Ato
Jrin
Shard
[X][ENTER] Send the survivors to existing ships
-[X] USS Courageous, USS Sarek, USS Odyssey
No. of Votes: 3
Nix
Derek58
Wellhello
[X][ENTER] Send the survivors to existing ships
-[X] USS Courageous, USS Sarek, USS Tarrak
No. of Votes: 2
Void Stalker
Mr Tebbs
——————————————————————————————————————————————Task: PRIORITY
[X][PRIORITY] Change Betazoid Long Term Priority to "Second One-Megaton Berth."
No. of Votes: 15
Briefvoice
Chimeraguard
chriswriter90
Derek58
Forgothrax
Gingganz
HearthBorn
Iron Wolf
JesseJ
Joshrand1982
pheonix89
Random Member
Simon_Jester
Steven Kodaly
SynchronizedWritersBlock
[X][PRIORITY] Change nothing [Weighted 1.5x]
No. of Votes: 7
Void Stalker
AKuz
Chaos Blade
Night
Night_stalker
Redhead222
UberJJK
Total No. of Voters: 35
 
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Omake - Dearest Abby - AKuz
  • Threadmarks
    • A/N said:
    The Following is what you get when you take a little used OC, an unexplored Affiliate, and add them together with a Ken Burns Effect
    Click to expand...
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    Dearest Abigail



    Dearest Abigail,

    I remember that you've told me all about the choices that went into the design of the Centaur class in general, and told me at great length about your own Winterwind specifically. And it has me thinking about the design of the Honiani ships.

    I have become fascinated by the design of Honiani ships. Well, their architectural and aesthetic sense in general, really.

    They seem to view the aesthetic attractiveness of a thing as an integral part of its design.

    This isn't to say that they take an irreverent approach to design. Quite the opposite. The Honiani meticulously ensure that when they build something the… intended form, for lack of a better phrase, is etched into the being of the object.

    It becomes its purpose.

    I've noticed this throughout my tour with Honiani. I've already told you about Oun-Aankhat. But the Koliate Tower is something entirely different.

    The Tower is hewn from the stone of the trailing end of the Kolst mountains on the Honiani homeworld, an eternal monument to the watch of the first Honiani priest kings.

    The fortifications were hewn over a few short years as they pushed out the invading legions of an opposing local power, but the look of the Tower was slowly worn into the tower over literal millennia by the hands of the descendants of those first Priest-Kings.

    The interior of the central spire is smooth, absolutely smooth where the watchers would hold to the bannisters and steady themselves on the walls.

    The rest of the tower is decorated in similar fashion where unbroken generations have painstakingly rubbed decorations and images into the walls floors and ceilings of each and every room.

    Doubtless a single worker with a programmable laser lathe could do the same work in a few short weeks.
    But the Koliate Tower is more than that simple work. The minute imperfections and the limitations of the art form....

    Well. Even for me, a Human, I could feel the ancient generations, the sheer ancientness of the Tower, I could actually feel a glimmer of a religious experience. For the Honiani, from a culture of ancestor worship and veneration, it must be like walking with their ancestors in person.

    It is no wonder that millions of Honiani visit each year, their many feet and hands wear new meaning into that ancient stone, making them part of their own inheritance to the future.

    I wonder what it would be like to feel that I had that sort of direct connection to my ancestors? Or, more weirdly, to imagine that one of my (Our?) descendants will feel that they have such a connection with me (Us?) Though I had long since passed on?

    Love,

    Jen

    -------

    Dearest Abby,

    Today I saw the Serene Arch; all that remains standing of the Holy City of the legendary Honiani God-Emperor.

    I can see why it would be called the Serene Arch. It stands alone and unbound by the ruin around it.

    The legends say that the Honiani God-Emperor was the sum of all the greatest pre historic Honiani in the form of one man; physically perfect, intellectually unmatched, the wisdom of a thousand millennia in his veins. But then he turned his back, or became separated from (It's a source of a lot of doctrinal bad blood over which is the truth) his people when his favored son and most beloved daughter turned on him in a Heretical Crusade.

    That Crusade ended when the Son, a man driven to prove that the Honiani's Old Golds were more powerful than the God-Emperor, was turned on by the Daughter who had come to realise only too late that the Honiani needed the ancient traditions and their wise Emperor to guide them away from chaos.

    When the dust settled both the Emperor and his Son were both missing and presumed dead. The Daughter established the first Priest-Kings and later down the traditional form of ancestor worship used to this day by the Honiani.

    The legends also say that the God-Emperor still lives and loves amongst his people, waiting for the day when they are again ready for his wisdom.

    There are some very entertaining retellings of this central story performed by the Honiani. My favorite takes place tens of millennia in the future on a galactic scale.

    Legends aside, it's a pretty clear case of ancient history turning to myth, some dynastic struggle becoming scripture.

    But I don't think that matters to the Honiani. A generation ago skeptics uncovered tablets that almost conclusively prove that the man that became the God Emperor died before the Crusade and the war was entirely over who would succeed him. And there was little uproar. No protests or radical denial. Only a calm acceptance and continued belief.

    It's not something I can easily understand, but it seems that to the Honiani the truth of the matter is in the story itself. The generations who lived and died under the "God-Emperor's" inherited wisdom.

    I don't know if the Honiani love of tradition and solid connection to their past comes from their Ancestor Worship. Or if their Ancestor Worship comes from their love of tradition and solid connection to their past.

    Love,

    Jen

    --------

    Dear Abby,
    I am all but numb from memorizing Honiani protocol. They're worse than the UESPA.

    Send hugs please.

    Prayers too. That seems apropos.

    Love,

    Jen

    PS: Are there really Romulans in Sol? That's a heckova thing

    -------

    Dear Abby,

    I have been assigned to a little Parish class escort; Forthright. She's a nice little ship, with a devoted crew, But I fear I'm being shuffled off into a corner and being forgotten.

    No matter. I am a Starfleet officer and fully intend to do my duty to the fullest no matter my assignment. (The Captain wouldn't accept anything less and neither should I!)

    The main thing that stands out to me about a Honiani ship is how much, well, love they've put onto it.

    I mean. Enterprise was constantly being tweaked. Bazeck was constantly trying new materials and engineering tricks to get even the smallest percentage of efficiency gain. Mrr'shan and I were constantly refining the tactical protocols and so on.

    But the Honiani have other ways of making a ship theirs that they pass on to other successive generations of crew.

    For instance: around the ring of the habitation section is a mural that depicts the ship's service from launch to the present. The Forthright is an old little ship and it has a large, long mural.

    Anyone can add to it; so it has sort of an idiosyncratic quality. But it is uniquely a part of the ship and anyone that has served upon it. They are now a small part of the love and tradition of the ship, and it them.

    (I've added my own arrival to the mural, limited tho my skills may be)

    I can't say that I can be upset for joining Forthright's tradition.

    Love,

    Jen

    -------------

    Dear Abby,

    I have now been reassigned again… away from that cruiser and onto the Basilica of Lakhept!

    The Basilica is FOUR MT. I thought Enterprise and Excelsior were big ships but the ship I'm on now dwarfs the both of them considerably!

    Here I'd assumed they'd shuffled me off to be forgotten about and yet here aboard the Basilica I am to be their XO.

    It's sort of an overwhelming thing. I've never even served as a… well. No matter. Once again, I'll remember the inspiration of The Captain and I'll do my job and do it well. I am here representing you too after all!

    Love,

    Jen

    ----------

    Dearest Abby,

    I'm coming home early!

    Well. Not exactly. The Basilica is headed to Vega to help work out trade and diplomacy with United Earth.

    I'll even be able to use the subspace comm network to talk to you! I look forwards to it so much. It's sad we won't be able to actually meet… But we can see each other in real time! (Provided Winterwind isn't ordered away from the network)

    Love,

    Jen.

    --------

    Dear Abby,

    I've been thinking about the way ships look again. Send psych help.

    Well. Maybe not. But I've been thinking about how much the form of a ship represents the people that built it.

    I know. I know. Form follows function and all that. But what form a ship takes is inspired by the desired functions the designers keep in mind.

    Honiani ships are designed to inspire reverence in their crews as much as they are designed to explore or fight. The Basilica is a work of art. Which does not surprise me as much as it would have before I joined the exchange program. The Honiani love to put themselves into their ships more than any other people I know of.

    (Even including the Indorians who tend to regards ships as having souls. Which is incidentally something the Honiani share with them. Not with the same particulars of course, and not to the degree of believing a ship to be capable of some level of awareness, but the Honiani do believe that their technology has a "machine spirit" that is an intrinsic part of the equipment. Something functions better not only because you performed maintenance but because the machine spirit enjoys having maintenance performed upon it. Well loved technology simply performs better in the Honoani view. (And from my experiences on Enterprise I can certainly understand that view))

    And yet even with all that artistic effort I still find myself preferring the look and aesthetic of Starfleet ships. Especially a ship like the Excelsior class. Sleek, elegant, and pure in its simplicity and lines.

    ...I miss you.

    Love,

    Jen

    -------

    Dear Abby,

    I got to do a First Contact.

    I'm serious. I got to be the First Contact point with an entirely new species that the Honiani had met!

    I suspect that by the time you receive this message you'll have a Captain's brief but…

    They're tree people. The Obar are. Well. They're very tall and long limbed with a sort of moss looking covering on their heads and shoulders.

    And as the lone Federation representative I got to deal directly with their diplomatic team and their Ambassador! (A man who was entirely too grandfatherly, I had to suppress an urge to sit on his knee and listen to stories of long ago. Probably not the best thing to attempt with a high ranking diplomat!)

    Not that I was entirely alone, the Honiani were right there with me, but I made sure to not lean on them and make as good a first impression as I could.

    And I think I did it too. There is an Obar emissary on the way to Rigel. I think that going into those meetings with all my ducks in a row and my approach planned out beforehand with all my materials to hand really impressed the Obar. They seem to appreciate thoughtfulness and care.

    I'm almost sad that I won't be sticking around to see how things play out.

    Love,

    Jen

    ---------

    Dear Abby,

    Today I said my goodbye to the Basilica of Lakhept. I'll miss that ship, it had an entirely unique character than I've never experienced anywhere else.

    There was a formal dinner to commemorate my time with the Honiani. I think I may have eaten too much but it was worth it to get a chance to say goodbye to everyone that I've served with.

    I learned a lot on Big Lak and with the Honiani. I really think I've grown during my two years on exchange. I'll have to thank The Captain for pushing me to this point and giving me the confidence I needed to go out here and push myself beyond my comfort zone. I look forward to whatever challenges Starfleet throws my way next.

    As for the Honiani; I've come to admire and appreciate their way of life and culture. Even of I still don't entirely understand it our would necessarily want to live it.

    They are, and I really mean this, fundamentally decent people. I'll admit that I had a subconscious bias against them that hadn't really realized I had due to their religious nature. But as I got to know them I realised that it was a strength for them and that the Honiani of our galaxy don't let dogma and superstition rule them, but look to their ancestors and spirits as pillar of strength and wisdom.

    Which isn't to say that issues don't exist for their society. That they are free of conflict or ideas that aren't odd by our standards. But I think that someday soon they'd make good members of our United Federation of Planets.

    I look forward to seeing it happen.

    Anyway, Apparently I will be returning to the Federation via Rigel. -Along with the Obar Emissaries. The FDS set everything up because they wanted "extended contact with a friendly face" which I like to think is a great vote of confidence from the FDS. I appreciate it and hope that I can live up to their confidence.

    I look forwards to seeing you again soon.

    Love,

    Jen.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • One thing that might be a good idea if you guys worry about Indoria's defenses during a possible Cardassian war to get them to prioritize defensive installations (though I am unsure if it wouldn't eb better to let them upgrade their fleet first).
     
    Erandil said:
    One thing that might be a good idea if you guys worry about Indoria's defenses during a possible Cardassian war to get them to prioritize defensive installations (though I am unsure if it wouldn't eb better to let them upgrade their fleet first).
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Well part of it will be doing a starbase there this snake pit. Also if we can do the shipyard for a repair berth incase it starts as a skirmish war first. Though keep on pushing starbase tech for stronger outposts and starbases, those and mines and the fleet should make them think twice before attacking.
     
    AKuz said:
    Anyway, Apparently I will be returning to the Federation via Rigel. -Along with the Obar Emissaries. The FDS set everything up because they wanted "extended contact with a friendly face" which I like to think is a great vote of confidence from the FDS. I appreciate it and hope that I can live up to their confidence.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Ah, it has been exactly two years hasn't it? We came five votes from not sending her at all, but it seems foolish that there was any doubt.
     
    Redhead222 said:
    rather go more into the none claimed space and little less saber rattling
    ya sure keep combat strong fleet close and support what is already there.
    we have a lot of space coming into our hat right now
    and i do not think we have the ships to cover all the space

    so shore up on the borders, build some reserve and scout out up and down i say
    maybe get some more small yards started too spread out the industry a bit more
    i think the focus is find more outside and build more inside if that makes sense

    i am not sure i am communicating myself well
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    You are... kind of not. Or if you are accurately communicating your intentions, they suggest that you're coming into this thread without having a clear idea of what is going on and how people are reacting to it, because everyone else is already trying to do what you say. All the interesting debates revolve around "how do we accomplish this goal?"

    How do we keep strong defenses on the borders? How do we bring the species to coreward and rimward ('up' and 'down' on Nix's maps) into our tent? How do we build up useful infrastructure inside our territory, without wasting reosurces on useless infrastructure? What kind of ships do we need, in order to do all these things?

    These are the questions everyone discusses. Nobody really thinks "we have the ships to cover all the space" or that we shouldn't "shore up the borders" and "build some reserve." We have an entire category of our fleet that does literally nothing but "scout out up and down," we've built two "small yards" within the past few years to "spread out the industry a bit more," and we are constantly, enthusiastically "finding more outside and building more inside."

    The challenge is how to balance all this.

    And a certain amount of "saber rattling" is unavoidable. It used to be that both we and the Cardassians, but mostly the Cardassians, "rattled sabers" all along our shared border. It was kind of terrible. After the Treaty of Celos we agreed to stop doing that along the border, but we also agreed that in one particular zone, we'd fight a limited war over possession of a region especially valuable to both sides. So far, this war has not done anything to limit the growth of the Explorer Corps that normally does most of the colony-finding and first contacts. It's not hurting our ability to build up, and has indirectly caused a great deal of damage to the Sydraxians, a species that was helping the Cardassians and doing a lot to be an obstacle to our expansion.

    Joshrand1982 said:
    We should start thinking about either building more Oberth Class starships or begin designing a whole new class of Science Starships.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    ...I'm not sure we've gone more than a week during the past several months without discussion of the upcoming "Kepler-class" science vessels intended to replace the Oberths.


    SynchronizedWritersBlock said:
    Thing about such a fleet, @Simon_Jester, is it doesn't have to seek any difficult fights. It has to menace and poke and raid, but the main point is to force us to respond and lock down any forces we'd send to reinforce Indoria, while dodging true engagements. 60-80c would be enough - it sounds like a large commitment, but on the scale of the war it wouldn't even rank in the top 5 fleets. Sure, we could catch it with a larger force, but that's entirely down to luck. Even if the entire fleet got destroyed, they'd obviously not want such a thing, but as long as they inflicted damage and bought time that prevented our forces from reinforcing the main fronts like the Bajor/Indoria area, it might be a strategic success.
    Click to expand...
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    You're not wrong; what I'm getting at is that it's kind of an either/or gamble. Either it works and ties us down for a critical extended time...

    Or it turns out to be one of those stories that go in the military history textbooks and end "...and that's why dividing your forces in the face of the enemy is a bad idea, boys and girls!"

    That said, I do think we should try to spend some intelligence reports on the Dawiar and Lecarre just to get a basic physical idea of what their infrastructure is like. This may be extremely hard for the Lecarre (if anyone can futz up our intel reports it's them)... but the Dawiar are close to our space, probably behind us in cryptography, and we know they had contact with species like the Qloath and Seyek not all that long ago.

    I mean, if it turns out that the Lecarre have a big new shipyard with four two-megaton berths just standing empty despite a suspicious lack of resources to build two-megaton ships... That is very suggestive that the Cardassians are prepositioning infrastructure for exactly the sort of harassing flank attack you describe.

    SynchronizedWritersBlock said:
    Why does discussion have to be about a vote?

    Ultimately the best precautions would be to:
    1. Maintain awareness of weakness on the rimward front 3-5 years down the line.
    2. Build listening posts on the Lecarre border.
    3. Push to more closely integrate the Seyek and Qloathi militaries into the Federation structure if tensions with Cardassia are rising.
    4. As things come to a head, start talking to the Dawiar.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    We kind of already did (2), but we haven't heard much from that region and I find that a bit frustrating myself. Speaking for myself, I've been an advocate of (3) for a long time, and of (4); I remember times in the past when I said that one of the first things we should do in the event of a state of emergency related to war with Cardassia is send an external diplomacy team to the Dawiar and try to establish their neutrality.

    SynchronizedWritersBlock said:
    An accurate count of Cardassian strength would help, so we can figure out what ships are "missing". That's very broadly applicable too.
    Click to expand...
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    Yeah. It has been WAY too long since we actually counted Cardassian ships or tried to. I mean, for all we know they've fought a couple of completely unrelated wars that bashed up their fleet; we might not even know for sure if they're good enough at information control.

    Erandil said:
    One thing that might be a good idea if you guys worry about Indoria's defenses during a possible Cardassian war to get them to prioritize defensive installations (though I am unsure if it wouldn't eb better to let them upgrade their fleet first).
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I'm... a bit vague on what the Indorian fleet is doing, actually. Aside from "learning to build Rennies."
     
    AKuz said:
    But the Honiani have other ways of making a ship theirs that they pass on to other successive generations of crew.

    For instance: around the ring of the habitation section is a mural that depicts the ship's service from launch to the present. The Forthright is an old little ship and it has a large, long mural.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Enterprise:

    "That is so sweet!"

    Something functions better not only because you performed maintenance but because the machine spirit enjoys having maintenance performed upon it. Well loved technology simply performs better in the Honoani view. (And from my experiences on Enterprise I can certainly understand that view))
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    "...Y... You think so?"

    [blushes]
     
    Omake - Heroes of the Empire Pt 2 - Briefvoice
  • Threadmarks
    • Heroes of the Empire

    Part 2

    Read Part 1 here for this to make any sense.

    "All warfare is based upon deception."

    "Sir, the Romulan minefield is detonating. Seems to be a managed destruction with new explosions at regular intervals. Any ship executing an attack run is at risk," announced one of the Runhald's bridge officers.

    Commodore Renhadd tapped his fingers together, considering a moment and speaking mostly to himself. "Whomever is in command over there is a fast thinker. I thought we would have at least twenty more sorties before they figured out their only possible course of action. If they ever did."

    He raised his voice. "Transmit my command to the squadron. All ships are to break off the attack and encircle the minefield as per our previous contingencies. The D7 cruisers will be attempting to flee under cloak, using the mine detonations as cover. They've realized there's no hope of holding the mining colony, and the best they can achieve is to preserve themselves. We will not allow them to escape."

    "So we've won," said Commander Segfed quietly from beside Renhadd's command seat.

    Renhadd spoke in a low voice, pitched not to carry too far across the shadowed bridge of the Klingon cruiser. "We won before this operation started. There are enough ships in this squadron to have taken the colony if I had done nothing but bull in through the minefield, sacrificing two or three of my birds of prey to sweep a path. The question has always been, how complete will the victory be?"

    "The great houses don't love you," said Segfed.

    "They don't, my friend. They see me as an upstart, put in place by the Chancellor as a favor to his favorite. Only victory will silence them. Complete victory. I need to capture the mines, capture every Romulan on the colony, and destroy or damage of all the Romulan starships without losing a ship of my own. The greater the victory the stronger my position."

    Segfed already knew this, of course. It was only the excitement of battle that was making Renhadd so voluble, unable to quite keep up his usual haughty remoteness. She elected not to respond and they studied the view screen and waited.

    ===

    "I want to know to as soon as all the civilians are aboard the Sakti. No luggage, no discussion, just beam them into the ore chambers and flood the compartment with hybersleep gas. We can stretch out the destruction of the mines for less than two hours before there are so few left the Klingons will realize they can sweep right in," ordered Commander Wenlai.

    He turned his attention to the next problem on the list. "Centurion Renke, can you make the cloak act like we need it to?"

    The old engineering Centurion's voice echoed from the intercom. "I can do it; the question is if the Klingons see through it. Lucky they have their old Birds of Prey covering the direction we need to go, and sensors on those things are garbage even at extreme short range. We might just fool them, Commander."

    Wenlai switched to another comms channel. "This is Commander Wenlai. What's the schedule for detonating the station?"

    "We'll be ready to have it go boom just after we depart, Commander."

    Wenlai took deep breath. To the bridge at large he announced, "Right. Well nothing more that I can do until everything's in place. I'm going to go eat something. Subcommander Lann has the bridge. Call me if you need me."

    With that he sauntered off the bridge.

    "Eating at a time like this?" asked the sensor operator in a low tone of voice.

    "The Commander has laid out his plan, and he trusts us to do our parts. He believes in us," replied Subcommander Lann. "Just like we believe in him," he added more softly.

    ===

    "Commodore, minefield explosion rate is increasing... all the remaining ones seem to be going up at once."

    Renhadd pounded his armrest. "Finally they're making their move! Using the mines as a last gasp to blind our sensors while they try to escape."

    "Why did they take so long?" wondered his weapons officer.

    "Likely clearing out any sensitive information, collecting or executing any mine official who knows anything important, and preparing to destroy their station. Though it shouldn't have taken them this long. Probably stumbling over themselves in panic," said Renhadd with mild contempt.

    "The Romulan station just exploded. It looks like that ore freighter went up with it," announced the sensors officer.

    Renhadd smirked in triumph.

    "Sir, the Y'Tem reports contact with both D7s. They seem to be flying in close formation. They're blinking in and out of cloak, firing torpedoes and re-cloaking as they move away."

    "All ships, converge on them. Don't let them get away!" commanded Renhadd.

    But Renhadd was frowning now. This didn't make sense. Recloaking in battle was generally of very little use. It consumed a great deal of power and couldn't really hope to hide you from any halfway decent sensors systems; not once you had already given away your position like that. He supposed against an old model bird of prey like the Y'Tem with its notoriously bad sensor systems it might provide some slight advantage, though it would still be diverting too much power away from shields.

    There was a thrum as the K'Tinga's engines pushed themselves to maximum, and the squadron closed in around the fleeing Romulans. Fleeing somewhere specific in fact... they were headed directly to the disabled Romulan Bird of Prey.

    Suspicion became certainty in Renhadd's mind. "Recalibrate your sensors to focus on composition, not position. Compare those two D7s," he ordered.

    Tense seconds later his sensors operator looked up. "Sir! They're the same ship. It's blinking its cloak and using massive vector changes to pretend to be two cruisers flying in formation, but there's only one there."

    "A sacrifice play. One ship gives itself up and the other gets away," said Renhadd with some admiration in his voice. "Let's make them pay for it. Converge on that D7."

    ===

    "Sir, we've made it to the Inclutus, but the Klingon ships are encircling us."

    "No changes to previous orders," said Wenlai.

    A tractor beam emerged from the Hyperon and pulled the Inclutus in close. Tugging the slightly smaller ship, it took off at maximum speed. Briefly its shields dropped and Klingon disruptor beams and torpedoes homed in, but the Hyperon maneuvered to block the hits with the Inclutus.

    "Transporter room says we beamed aboard all survivors from the Inclutus in time."

    "Shields back up... shields up!" said Commander Wenlai, unnecessarily.

    "I know we needed for the Inclutus for the plan but it dropping our shields to beam aboard survivors wasn't exactly safe," murmured Subcommander Lann.

    "If you wanted safe, you shouldn't have joined the navy," replied Wenlai. "Now if we can make it to the gas giant before they break through our shields, we might just make it out of this.

    ===

    "Sir, they're on a course for the system's gas giant. We're firing on them, but I don't think we'll break down their shields before they get there. I don't understand how they can move so fast towing another ship nearly their own size."

    Commodore Renhadd nodded distractedly. "One of the few redeeming feature of that obsolete piece of engineering is its tractor beam capability. They're quite good at towing... towing..." his eyes widened in realization.

    "Order the Vor'Cha to break off pursuit. Head back to the colony site with three birds of prey and commence scanning for a cloaked D7 towing a freighter. It would be just within its capabilities to expand its cloak enough to cover a tow. They used the station's explosion to mask their signature leaving the area."

    Even as he gave the order, though, Renhadd knew the odds were low of success. The D7 could have headed off in any direction, and all the antimatter explosions in the area were bound to have disturbed subspace enough to make tracking a cloaked warp signature difficult.

    "Commodore, the vessel we're pursuing reached the gas giant. It... it blew up the vessel it was towing and then cloaked itself. The explosion combined with the planet's gravity well and electromagnetic field is disrupting our sensors. I can't track it."

    Renhadd clenched his teeth and tightened his fist so much his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand.

    "Sir. This is still a great victory. The mining site is captured. Two Romulan warships were destroyed, and none of our ships were so much as damaged. No one will care that you didn't capture some Romulan mining personnel," reassured Segfed.

    The commodore opened his fist and composed his face into a calm expression. "Of course you're correct Segfed. But still... someday I'll face that Romulan commander again, and when that time comes I will not be fooled by his tricks again."

    ===

    Some time later....

    "So you wish to join my staff?" said Renhadd to the slightly-built Klingon in front of him.

    "I do, Commodore. Admiral Kerkat has given his permission. Or more accurately said he's glad to be rid of me. He seems to find me... weak."

    "And are you weak, Commander Berst?"

    Berst looked to Commander Segfed then back at Renhadd.

    "Segfed has been at my side ever since we were children. I hold no more secrets from her than I would from my right hand. Speak freely."

    Berst nodded in acceptance. "Oh yes. I'm a very weak Klingon. A shame to the Empire. But with nothing but weakness to work with, I have made it my strength. I watch, I pay attention, and I read the political winds. I know you are a man of great ambition. I want to help you achieve those ambitions."

    "My ambitions? What do you think those ambitions are?"

    "Two generations ago your house was a noble house. Important. But your grandfather and father squandered their power and your house's power waned to nothing. You were brought so low your father ended up selling your sister to the Chancellor when she caught his eye. You are a commander of great ability, but 99 out of 100 times ability falls to influence in our Empire. You have the command that you do because the Chancellor's favorite begged it of him."

    Renhadd's face was tight with anger. "You have a good grasp on my personal history, and some courage to say these things to my face. So what do you think my ambitions are?"

    "Others think you merely want to rebuild your house's power. But that's not it, is it?" asked Berst.

    "No."

    "No. You, like I do, yearn for a reformed Empire. One based on merit rather than houses and bloodlines. You see, this is the clarity of weakness. I've listened to things you say, rather than making assumptions."

    "You say that is what you want as well, Commander Berst?"

    "I want an Empire where my talents will be recognized rather than sneered at because I don't have a heart built for war. And I believe you to be a man who values talent above all else."

    Renhadd showed his teeth. "I don't know you yet, Commander Berst. But if a man comes to me asking for a chance to prove himself, I give it to him. Perhaps your talents will prove useful in their way.

    "As to my ambitions... war provides opportunity. The more glory I gain, the more success I have, the more who will flock to my banner. I will crush the Romulans, and then... why then any ambition at all may be within reach."

    Turning from Berst, Renhadd glanced out a window at the stars beyond and raised his hand. For a moment it seemed like the galaxy shone within his palm.

    ===

    Commander Wenlai sat in Admiral Beckek's office. He waited, trying not to look bored, while a Centurion carefully scanned the officer with a handheld detector. Finally she turned to Admiral Beckek. "Everything seems clean, sir. You're as safe to talk here as you are anywhere."

    Beckek nodded, but did not dismiss the Centurion, instead gesturing for her to remain. She then turned to Wenlai. "Well Commander, this is a conversation I've been meaning to have with you for some time. Let's get this out of the way first."

    She reached down to her desk and pulled out a small box, then tossed it to Wenlai. He opened it and found the rank tabs of a Commodore. He looked at Admiral Beckek and she nodded.

    "Yes, the paperwork will come through soon, but I'm promoting you. I need you out there winning battles, Wenlai. I need you to beat the Klingons."

    "You have a lot of confidence in me."

    "If you had been in charge at Alixros instead of Commodore Frok, could you have saved the colony?"

    Wenlai rubbed his head and looked uncomfortable. "Who can say? That Klingon commander was pretty sharp. But with another couple of Birds of Prey to play with... I have a few ideas about how I could have held them off."

    "I've studied mission reports, and it seems this isn't the first time a bad situation could have been salvaged if you hadn't been overruled by your superiors. In my opinion you're the best officer in the navy when it comes to fleet actions, and not by a small amount. Don't repeat that, obviously... I don't need to deal with bruised egos from the other admirals. Though I think if I let you off the leash with your own attack squadron, they'll be saying it themselves soon enough."

    "I'm flattered."

    "But you're also lazy, insolent, and worst of all suspected of being politically unreliable. Writing your academic monographs on history is a fine and noble thing, but there are parts of history where attention is not appreciated. Parts of history that serve only to embarrass."

    Wenali looked annoyed and defiant. "History that we don't like looking at is the only part that will teach us anything. I only joined the navy because I thought I could retire with a pension that would let me study history full time."

    Admiral Beckek looked amused. "I'm sure you did. Still doesn't change the fact that it's attracted the wrong kind of attention, and if I'm going to become your patron I need to safeguard my investment."

    Wenlai leaned back in surprise. Patronage was a serious offer, especially to a no-name like himself who wasn't from a line of client families. Beckek's family wasn't quite one of the really old lines, but they were distinguished enough. He'd owe her a lot, but it meant she really would have to protect him… someone she had just described as politically unreliable.

    Taking his acceptance for granted, Beckek continued. "That's why Centurion Frad is here. Introduce yourself, Centurion." She gestured at the centurion who had been waiting silently.

    Frad stepped forward. "I'm with the Directorate of Naval Reconnaissance. I'm to shadow you and keep the Tal- keep you free from entanglement with Correctors from other espionage services. From now on, where you go I go, sir."

    Wenlai smirked. "Oh? And who did you anger to draw that assignment?"

    "It appears you don't remember me. Not a surprise; you were looking exhausted when we met. I'm one of the people you beamed off the Inclutus. Beamed out after hours waiting in the dark while the air ran out, waiting for the Klingons to get around to- I volunteered for this, sir."

    The smirk had been wiped off Wenlai's face. "Uh, I see. You're welcome."

    "That will be all, Centurion. Leave us. I want to have a private conversation with Commodore Wenlai," ordered Admiral Beckek.

    Frad saluted and left, pausing to seal the door carefully behind her.

    "The Directorate of Naval Reconnaissance, the navy's own spy agency. Rumor is that that Tal Shiar think they're jokes, and the joke is that a quarter of them also work for the Tal Shiar," said Wenlai.

    "The DNR has limited capabilities, but at least they're navy officers and they take orders from our chain of command. As far as working for the Tal Shiar, I am as certain as one can ever be that Frad does not work for them."

    "Why is that?" asked Wenlai.

    "Centurion Frad is my daughter."

    There was a long pause. "I see," said Wenlai, and he did. Many things were becoming clear.

    "Of course, all Tal Shiar agents are someone's daughter," said Beckek. "But I'm as certain as one can be."

    "And yet you asked her to leave the room," observed Wenlai.

    The Admiral reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle and two glasses. She filled them both with alcohol and handed one to him. After they had both taken a drink she asked, "Wenlai... what is wrong with the Empire?"

    Wenlai stared at the admiral for a good long while. He slumped in his chair, quite deliberately letting go of any semblance of military posture. He slapped his own leg and sighed. "All right... why not. I could go on for hours about the need for greater accountability in decision-making, archaic control of the means of production and resources, and lack of responsible information flow... but it all boils down to the need for reform and what's blocking that reform.

    "I'm a student of history, and it amazes me how people can think that the way things are today is the way that things have always been. Even people who lived through the past themselves! Fifty years ago, things really were different. The Senate was still the Senate... a conservative institution, but they were opening up lesser political offices to public competition, even local elections. There was public debate, open political dissent, and things were getting interesting. From all the records I can find, change was in the air.

    "But the really old families, they didn't like the idea of new blood at all. They saw power for anyone else as less power for themselves, Then some bright bulbs in that reactionary faction had an idea. What if, they thought to themselves, what if we turn our spy agency inwards? The Tal Shiar already existed, formed to protect us from enemies of the Romulan people. So they declared everyone who disagreed with them an enemy of the people, and set it loose.

    "They even had a great excuse to hand. The alliance with the Klingons, the one no one likes to talk about today, was pushed by the reformists. When that soured it made it very easy to brand those reformists as traitors, purge them, and silence dissenting voices. Now here we are today where writing a few academic papers on parts of history they don't like is enough to make me 'politically unreliable'."

    Wenlai finished off his drink. "So what is wrong with the Empire? The Tal Shiar is what's wrong with the Empire, or at least the way it's used. It needs to go, and go in a way that stops the Senate families from replacing it with their own private armies."

    Admiral Beckek refilled both their glasses. "You will never again repeat that out loud," she said casually.

    Wenlai started to drink, then choked on it and began coughing when he heard her next words.

    "Unless and until the day comes you're broadcasting it from orbit as an explanation for your actions."

    They stared at each other. Eventually, Yang looked away. "The Imperial Navy is supposed to be apolitical. Serve the state and only the state and no one else... not even each other," he said.

    "Which means it's the only power center outside the control of those reactionary old families. It's the only tool available to bring about the reform you talk about," replied the admiral.

    Wenlai's face had gone greenish. "Now I do believe you're not recording this conversation. Wouldn't matter if you claimed you were trying to entrap me or something… what you just said is enough to get you shot. What… you want to be a military dictator?"

    "No, not me. Such a thing would only be possible if there were an admiral so loved by the rank and file that they would follow that person anywhere. I'm too much one of the old families. I would never be loved like that. They would have to love such a person… well, the way that your people seem to love you."

    Angry now, Wenlai made a sharp gesture with his hand. "Leave me out of your crazy plans. I have no interest."

    "We will see how much of a choice you have, Commodore. I'm going to send you out, and you're going to fight the Klingons and you're going to win, because you're you and you won't be able to bear your people getting killed. You'll be admired and loved by the navy because you're you. I'm going to protect you from political retribution until you're too visible and too useful to be easily disposed of. After all that, we'll see how much of a choice you have."

    Wenlai took a ragged breath. "Permission to leave, sir."

    "We will not speak of this again. Not for a long time. Who knows; if the war goes badly enough all of this may be moot. I want you to remember our conversation, though. Not just what I said to you. What you said to me, about the real problems of the Empire. Remember."

    "I"m not likely to forget. Permission to leave, sir."

    "Granted."

    As Wenlai bolted from his seat, her voice stopped him just before he reached the door. "Oh, and Wenlai?"

    "Sir," he said, not turning back around.

    "Take good care of my daughter. As I said, the rank-and-file all love you."

    Commodore Wenlai left the room.

    ===

    Notes: That concludes 'Heroes of the Empire', me inserting some LoGH expies into the Boldly Go Universe. I don't know if @OneirosTheWriter will decide to canonize any of this, but I like the idea of this kind of clash of personality and ideology happening outside the Federation's border. The notion that the winners and losers of the Klingon-Romulan war are important not only for their own sake, but because victory will give individuals within those empires the power to reshape their respective nations.

    Again, thanks to @AKuz for review and comments that helped me get the Romulan politics sorted out.
     
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    • Yay!

    I infer from this, Briefvoice, that you are portraying Chancellor Azetbur as having been replaced? That hardly seems unlikely; it's been twenty years and more since her accession. Given how long it's been, her stepping down from the seat of power in the Klingon Empire may even have been an orderly, peaceable one.
     
    I haven't had time to read all the recent posts yet...but I admit to being baffled by the Betazoid priority vote to add another 1000kt berth.

    On their income level, they can't even afford to use all their current berths. Heck, even we assume their three 400kt berths are producing auxiliaries, they'll struggle to utilize both of their 1000kt berths.

    Consider:

    Resources: 70br 110sr 6.95O 8.35E 5.95T
    Annual Income: 45br 45sr 1.45O 1.8E 1.45T

    Shipyards:
    - Rixx Loxhanada Defence Yard @ Betazed (2x1mt, 2x400kt)
    - Talak Zin Defence Yard @ Onos IV (1x 400kt)

    Ship build annual costs:
    - Renaissance cost/yr: 33br 27sr 1.0O 1.67E 1.0T
    - Constellation-A cost/yr: 23br 17sr 0.67O 1.33E 0.67T
    - Centaur-A cost/yr: 40br 30sr 0.5O 1.0E 1T
    - Miranda-A cost/yr: 30br 23sr 0.5O 1.0E 0.5T
    - Oberth cost/yr: 8br 30sr O.5O 0.5E 2T
    - Patroller-A cost/yr: 20br 23sr 0.5O 1.0E 0.5T
    - Patroller-A refit cost/yr: 15br 15sr
    edit: add Constie-A

    Once they burn through that stockpile, which isn't that large, they're going to be hard-pressed to fill their existing berths.

    They just finished a shipyard expansion that started three years ago!

    [X][PRIORITY] Change nothing [Weighted 1.5x]

    May change to another priority later once I catch up. Rigel, for instance, still has the lowest resource to crew income ratio, and could probably use a budget increase, but OTOH that's probably why they're expanding.

    edit: Actually what the heck is with the wording of "Second One-Megaton Berth"? They already have a second one megaton berth!
     
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    Starfleet would be honoured to have Wenlai as one of it's own. Lindenly would... foam in mouth internally, of course, but when he doesn't?
    Except Wenlai won't go to Starfleet except if Romulans screw up horribly their internal politics.

    Horribly frustating opponent to have, except if he gets Enterprized.
     
    Briefvoice said:
    Huh, I guess they actually do have a second 1mt berth already! Switching my vote to "no change".
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Funny thing, it was listed in an image of one of your spreadsheets at one point :V


    [X][PRIORITY] Change nothing [Weighted 1.5x]

    [X][CAL] Ignore
    [X][EC] Pick an Explorer Corps ship to carry this out (USS Odyssey)
    [X][LOG] Start 2 Starfleet Cargo Ships at Irrizizza for 8pp
    [X][GAENI] 100sr for 150br
    [X][CATS] 1 Fathership, 4 Swarmers
    [X][REN] Endorse the tech transfer
    [X][BEE] Exchange resources with the Orion
    [X][ENTER] Send the survivors toexisting ships
    -[X] USS Courageous, USS Odyssey, USS Tarrak
     
    [X][PRIORITY] Change nothing [Weighted 1.5x]

    [X][CAL] Ignore
    [X][EC] Pick an Explorer Corps ship to carry this out (USS Odyssey)
    [X][LOG] Start 2 Starfleet Cargo Ships at Irrizizza for 8pp
    [X][GAENI] 100sr for 150br
    [X][CATS] 1 Fathership, 4 Swarmers
    [X][REN] Endorse the tech transfer
    [X][BEE] Exchange resources with the Orion
    [X][ENTER] Send the survivors to existing ships
    -[X] USS Courageous, USS Odyssey, USS Tarrak

    Another thing that ought to help secure our southern border is getting the Orions in the Federation. Having another C60 within a week of the border should be enough to blunt any attack quite heavily.
     
    lbmaian said:
    edit: Actually what the heck is with the wording of "Second One-Megaton Berth"? They already have a second one megaton berth!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Can I have the Source please. if I am going to change my vote I want proof that the Betazoids already have 2 One Megaton Berths available instead of one.
     
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