Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards Command Station, Mars Orbit, Stardate 22893.7
"...and without further gilding the lily, I pronounce this station to be officially commissioned into the service of Starfleet!"
Applause lights up around you from the visiting dignitaries, future crew members, and the many workers who have toiled on this project over its four year build time. You see Patricia Chen standing among a throng of well-wishers, trying to get free to make her own way up onto the stage to formally be ushered into command by Vice Admiral Sousa. Tears flow from the Mars natives who have strove for this moment for decades, however, and you can't help but feel a little spark as you think of how you helped make their dream a reality. The strains and tribulations of your cat and mouse struggle with the Cardassians, the Sydraxians, and now this fiasco with the Dawiar are utterly absent from these celebratory scenes.
The sprawling Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards is not really one edifice but a collection of stations, drydocks, assembly yards, surface facilities and utility ships that all work together. A number of freighters are present as well, delivering both raw resources, but also deliver completed specialist components, like warp cores and coils, transporter assemblies, main deflector dishes, and the like. At the center of it all, the mama bear watching over her drydock cubs, is the command station, where you now stand. An outpost with all the appropriate defences in its own right, its true purpose is to provide a home to the yard's administration and a vantage point from which to control the work around them.
"Fine speech, Admiral, fine speech," greets a new voice at your side.
You know who it is before you turn. "Thank you, Madam President," you say to the Andorian woman who has approached. Newly elected Jorlyth sh'Arrath is the Councillor from the Andorian colony of Landle IV, a short shen with a bright and cheerful smile and friendly demeanour that you know full well is simply silk over steel. Jorlyth is a woman with an iron-clad belief in the great ongoing project of the Federation. You've dealt with her before, for better or worse. When the Lor'Vela Orbital Construction Facility was being planned out, she had made a play in Council to have it build at Landle IV instead, though to no avail. Despite that setback, she still had quite a power-base, and it has earned her an election from among the Councillors. Not part of Councillor Stesk's pacifist faction, nor part of the more Hawkish faction that has re-coalesced around Councillor Korielis of the Amarki colony of Tales Har, she is the leading light of an expansionary faction. Her chief backers are Langford of Earth and Singh of Alpha Centauri.
Your entourages run into each other like galaxies merging in deep space, sliding together in a confused intermingle.
"Simply the truth, Admiral, but I do think its time to leave people to their celebrations, we two have work to get down to," orders the Federation President in as nice a tone as you can expect to get.
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A highly secure conference room typically used for presenting highly-classified prototype components to administrators and designers has been handed over for the meeting. A bevy of Admirals are in the chamber, including a number who report directly to you. On the Council side are a handful of Councillors, the chairperson of the Diplomatic committee, the civil servant in charge of the Federation Diplomatic Service, a few senior ambassadors, a handful of policy makers and, of course, the Federation Council President.
Quite the crew, you muse to yourself. Wouldn't Cardassia like to sneak a bomb here?
"Alright, Rear Admiral Eriksson, give us your brief," you say once Ablett takes his seat, making apologies for a holdup at the transporter room.
It's very unusual for anyone of flag rank to make their own presentation, but then, you aren't normally entertaining the head of the Council. Heidi Eriksson steps up to the front of the room, where a representation of the Caitian Sector and surrounding space appears.
"Okay, so far the war has not moved beyond some initial skirmishing between bordering outpost systems," begins Eriksson. "To the surprise of most of us, the Dawiar appear strategically flatfooted. They may not have expected the ball to go up."
"Something cultural that we've missed?" asks the head of the Diplomatic Service.
"Possibly, but if so we're all in the dark about it," admits Eriksson. "So no sweeping offensives to go attend the start of hostilities. Now, we had thought that the Caitians had the Dawiar covered, and they probably still do in terms of overall ship quality. But the Dawiar are using pure warships with modern Cardassian torpedo technology and that ... makes things interesting."
The President leans forward, fixing the Vice Admiral with a look. "Define interesting."
"All presumptions just jumped out the airlock," replies Eriksson. "Both sides are settling in and beginning to build. A starship is a huge investment and both sides know if they guess wrong, and commit to the wrong fight, they could doom themselves. From what we've been able to tell, everything completely hit the fan midway through negotiations.
Polaris had delivered the Ambassador and their staff to the Dawiar vessel, when partway through they issued a challenge via hail and attacked. After
Shrr'harr arrived and forced back the Dawiar ships, taking damage in the process, the Caitian government recognised a state of war."
"Okay, so what is Starfleet doing?"
[ ][FLEET] Redeploy the fleet
"Right, our sector commands are shifting their deployment zones, as are some of the member worlds," continues Eriksson. "Half the Tellarite home fleet, for instance, has deployed to Ord Grind Duk, just in case the Dawiar try to get around the Caitians and cause havoc. For the same reason, Starfleet's Andor Sector fleet now has a presence at the Pygmalion mining colony, and the Klingon Border Zone has shifted from the Thiak system to Biroth. Orion is on high alert now, and Risa is ... well, I'm told that by their standards they are very alarmed, but I don't think many people would notice. Amarkia is shifting assets from Leas Akaam to Orion space."
Eriksson continues to explain ship movements for a few minutes, and then it becomes the turn of Rear Admiral Ablett, head of Tactical, to take the stage. He clears his throat and an image of one ship, smaller than a Soyuz, and another ship that masses about four times the size, appears. "The larger ship is a 'Khalkhalad' cruiser. It's not too dissimilar to a Constellation if you stripped out the labs, diplomatic facilities, and stuffed all million tons of it with modern Cardassian torpedo launchers. The smaller is the 'Shakakoun', which is a name larger than this ship. Three hundred kilotons of mostly armour, torpedo, and engine. It has all the technological elegance of a ham sandwich, but it is effective as a fighting ship."
"Okay, John," says the President as she folds her arms and turns to one of her aids. "Your turn. What our political situation?"
"Obviously, with our affiliates, the Caitian, at war, we find ourselves in an invidious position," begins a Tellarite, to your surprise given the name. "The Caitians are asking for our entry into the war, but they are not expecting it. Allowing them to use the repair berth has helped mollify them, but if they take heavy casualties in this war, the pressure may mount."
"War is never an option for the Federation as long as other alternatives exist," Jorlyth says sternly.
"Of course," you say aloud.
"What do our other affiliates expect?" you ask.
"The Apiata are shocked we are not intervening, while others like the Rigellians have already become accustomed enough to us to have expected it. Within the Federation, well, we actually have a few more issues. The Betazoids are natural fits for settling in between Stesk's faction and our own, but they are so new they're just finding their feet. None of them are wielding much influence yet. Whereas the Amarki have been here long enough to start campaigning openly to enter the war."
The President allows herself a sigh. "Well, we're not going to do that. Whatever else we are, a star empire stomping on minor factions isn't it. We need to bring this to a peaceful conclusion. Do we have any ideas?"
"The Federation position is unfortunately compromised, I don't think we can approach them directly, so we have two options that I can see. Either we get a third party to provide us with an avenue in, and I'd recommend the Seyek if we can manage it, or else we wait for the Caitian to batter them down, perhaps helping them discreetly."
"The problem," you add, "Of course, is that we have to assume the war will go well for the Caitians, no guarantee if the Cardassians begin to intervene."
"Worse," mutters the President, "If the Cardassians intervene then this whole war may go hot. Tell me, Admiral, what is Starfleet's position here?"
"In terms of what, Madam President?"
"What does Starfleet suggest as a course of action?"
[ ][ADVICE] What is Starfleet's suggestion?
][ADVICE] Invite the Klingons/Romulans to help mediate the dispute between Dawians and Caitians.
