I actually find the loss of experienced personal a bigger problem since I think that this is an area we already have problems in. We have more than enough explorer captain's but explorer crew seems to be quite tight (especially with the ambitious build plan we generally follow)
To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)
- Thread starter OneirosTheWriter
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- star trek exploration fully automated luxury gay space communism top level canon #hashtagcontent all-encompassing space amoeba cardassian boy bands cardassian magical girls darkest bureaucracy debate makes the qm cackle like palpatine hoh is an empire quest it has to be foreign infiltrators more ships ship happens singers delenda est starfleet this is not an empire quest ur waifu is collective?
I actually find the loss of experienced personal a bigger problem since I think that this is an area we already have problems in. We have more than enough explorer captain's but explorer crew seems to be quite tight (especially with the ambitious build plan we generally follow)
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- Mid-Atlantic
Explorer crews will always be tight; we will never have more of them than we need because they are the resources that fuels our five-year missions (which pay off so very, very well). We're going to take losses to them once in a while, and yes we definitely need to do something about that. It sounds like we picked up more political will than expected this turn; I favor the idea of turning around and spending that on the Betazoid counselor option.
Yeah I agree that from a logistical perspective, the loss of EC crew is the biggest issue. I would recommend an extra recruitment drive where we don't already have one planned.
Pretty sure that they were simply defending themselves - which doesn't put them in the right since we are talking about a criminal organization but certainly something one should expect to happen... Sure it will take an investigation to find out what exactly went wrong but our intelligence apparatus certainly didn't shine here.
Well that sucks an awful lot.
I agree the best thing to do is to cancel the Con-B build at the 3mt berth in UP, assuming we have not already spent the resources there. (I don't think we have since this is a Q1 Captain's Log). This is a matter of SR as much as berth space. We probably need to cancel the build to be able to afford repairs.
We may need to do an Explorer Corps Recruitment drive at the Snakepit so as not to be shaving our remaining EC personnel too fine.
I agree the best thing to do is to cancel the Con-B build at the 3mt berth in UP, assuming we have not already spent the resources there. (I don't think we have since this is a Q1 Captain's Log). This is a matter of SR as much as berth space. We probably need to cancel the build to be able to afford repairs.
We may need to do an Explorer Corps Recruitment drive at the Snakepit so as not to be shaving our remaining EC personnel too fine.
AKuz
Been Better
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- A Rising Tide of Horrors
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- She/Her
I've been checking, but I don't think Enterprise has actually lost anyone yet. I honestly can't remember. This might literally the first person that Nash actually for real for real has lost who was under her command/ a friend
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I mean, there's really no way to pin the fault on Syndicate here, criminal scum or no. How would you even frame it? "The pirates duplicitously attacked our people who were valiantly infiltrating their base to steal vital info"?
Shoving your hand in the fire gets you burned. Should have prepared better.
*sigh*
Almost wish we gave Int to Sulu back when.
Shoving your hand in the fire gets you burned. Should have prepared better.
*sigh*
Almost wish we gave Int to Sulu back when.
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- Germany
If criminals shoot policemen it's not the police's fault. Especially since the criminals shot first and only here.
That's how simple it is.
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If the Councellor option has gotten a bit cheaper like I hope we should probably pick that instead. Remember, the Caitians are probably joining this year meaning another 0.25/0.25/0.25, and we have at least 1.5 points left of every type, so we'd be at about 4 or more of each at the end of this year. Unless we want to make the Excelsior finishing in 2311 EC, which would be possible with a recruitment drive?
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@OneirosTheWriter
Quick and very serious question.
If we plot a line from the USS Vigour's Notation of an ion, to the Charon's encounter with an ion storm, Then continue it on in that direction, Dose it lead near earth or any other member species Homeworld?
To any colonies?
Also how close were the incidents to each other distance and time wise? If it's the same ion storm, I'm interested in how fast it is moveing.
Quick and very serious question.
If we plot a line from the USS Vigour's Notation of an ion, to the Charon's encounter with an ion storm, Then continue it on in that direction, Dose it lead near earth or any other member species Homeworld?
To any colonies?
Also how close were the incidents to each other distance and time wise? If it's the same ion storm, I'm interested in how fast it is moveing.
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Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
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Eh, I don't think alot of people will disagree with us infiltrating a pirate base....
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If you send police to raid a criminal den and botcher the op so badly they all die, it's kind of your fault.
This was fleet being proactive, not defending colonies from raiders or something. The person responsible for the mess is the one who didn't plan the plan right.
I don't think anyone objects to infiltrating pirates. It's the "failing miserably" part that I find problematic.
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Is the Orion Syndicate a criminal organization in and of itself? I've sometimes seen the term used synonymously with pirates, but there have also been suggestion in omakes they are the government of some Orion worlds.
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It sounds like the Courageous hit a mine, and would otherwise have been doing all right. You can call it the Syndicate "defending themselves," but if the mines were a highly unexpected element, that would explain the issue. The mines may also themselves be the fruit of Cardassian-Syndicate cooperation, as others have speculated.
I'd rather get the Betazoid counselors (long term versus short term), plus having psychics on our explorers will probably help in other ways. But the balance and timing may be complicated- dunno yet.
Given that she's been in command for ten years, I would... kind of doubt that.
Furthermore, the Explorer Corps isn't an especially large organization by our standards, given how few ships there are.
It's almost certain she knew people aboard the explorers and other ships that were heavily damaged during the biophage crisis, and I believe that Enterprise took hull damage so SOME crew loss was likely. Plus, with eight years of away missions and equipment operations, someone getting killed in an accident of some kind seems likely- it'd just be a case of no single incident causing casualties equal to a whole point of crew.
This.
Now, you can reasonably ask the question, "did the police botch their operational planning in such a way as to expose the officers involved to unnecessary risk?" But that's a separate question compared to asking "who is ethically to blame?"
Here, it really does sound like the operation was competently planned- it should have worked given the known state of the defenses. Apparently the defenses were stronger than expected, probably with the unexpected mine disabling the Courageous and the Syndicate raiders giving the damaged ship a beating afterwards.
If the police raid a criminal den, and a boobytrap explodes and kills half the police officers, then maybe the police screwed up the operational planning. But then again, maybe the failure was a simple "we had no way of reasonably foreseeing they'd have exploding boobytraps."
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Shit happens. Even small risks can lead to death.
A good ambush can always be overlooked, intelligence is never perfect.
It's still the ambushers fault for killing our people.
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The Enterprise never even lost shields outside the time loop. I don't remember any dangerous away missions either (except the time travel one).
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I was talking about Kadesh.
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I know. I was talking about ever (while ka'Sharren was in command), which includes Kadesh.
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Sorry, but spelling reform is almost certainly a thing in the Federation, and deprecating through for thru is probably part of it. It's worth remembering that the first decade of the 2300s is as far in the future as the 1720 were in the past. Writing of that time looked like this, which while understandable, is a bit off. Also:
Tho is way less common then thru, even if they help fix the same family of bizarrely spelled words. (For reference, the family is Though, Through, Thought, and Thorough.) It seems odd to criticize one while using the other.
I wouldn't count on it.Now that we have contact with Bajor, I think our chances are rather good that we can completely butterfly away the Occupation, preventing decades of death and suffering from ever happening
The Bajoran caste system is likely to prevent them from ever being an affiliate, and they will always be more important to the Cardassians then they are to us. Worse, the unlikely event of getting them to join as an affiliate would probably start a war with the Cardassians. Thus, I have to put them below the Seyek and other close neighbors on lists of non-affiliates to push.
Omake - I can't Connie-Bee-lieve it - Iron Wolf
I Can't Connie-Bee-lieve it.
Glinn Kusov's leg was tapping impatiently, a habit that put Legate Dukat's teeth on edge. The man - of a same age as herself, but far less accomplished - was seated in one of the chairs opposite Dukat, the two separated by an expanse of dark wood. Dukat had always had a taste for the refined, and her office reflected this, with a tasteful sitting area for informal meetings (and, it should be admitted, naps when she activated the recessed heat lamps), sumptuous bookshelves along one wall, filled with books (scientifically distressed to look as if she'd read them all), and with a few well-placed Cardassian Military banners hanging from the walls. Kusov, of course, didn't appreciate these things. His was a lower station than Dukat, even outside the military. It had been clear from the moment she met him he was a man used to the unadorned. He cut an imposing figure, to be sure, all broad fisherman's shoulders and muscle. When standing, he taller than Dukat, an admittedly imposing wall of a person. But in a civilized age such as this physical features didn't mean anything -- it was the intellect, the refinement, which truly set the best out from the rest.
Dukat turned and looked out the huge window that dominated the wall opposite her bookshelves, running the length of the room. Outside it was a productive day on Cardassia, little dots of people walking briskly and firmly about their duties. It was not 'hustle-and-bustle,' but careful, calm order. She'd heard reports of Paris, the uncoordinated flailing of the people there. The thought of it made her itch.
"Legate, ma'am," Kusov's Ceterian drawl was endearing, adorable even, at times. Now wasn't one of them, "I've important work to be doing with the VIPR team, so if Glinn Anusha doesn't feel particularly amenable to working his way over here I'd reckon I've got better ways to put my time to use for the State."
Dukat turned to face her subordinate. He voice was as sweet as fine kanar, "Kusov, I want you to do something for me. Put your hands on my desktop -- hold your questions, please! Do you feel that? The small, minute details? The rich channeling is a delight on the fingertips, is it not? Now, look at it. The rich texturing. The fractal spirals of growth," Kusov was indeed peering at the wood, no doubt in an attempt to appease Dukat.
She suddenly discovered more of Cormai had rubbed off on her than she'd realized when she had to fight the urge to slam the man's face into the desktop, an urge that rose even more so when he responded, "I guess so."
"This is Vanden wood, my dear Kusov. Imported at great expense to the state. My chair is rich Atbarian leather. Do you know what that says?"
Kusov leaned back, considering, "That they think y'all are worth spendin' resources on?"
"Exactly. I am a very important woman, Kusov, I am not ashamed to admit it. Ships of our great navy follow my directives. Our next batch of officers will owe their successes - or failures - to my ability to prepare them for the real world. So, kindly, sit still and stop complaining, Kusov. Your time, is my time, and I will allocate it as I see fit."
A comfortable silence followed in which Dukat enjoyed her tea and Kusov sat in rigid, military silence. Still, some need to fidget took over and he eventually pulled out a light pen and projector, doodling multicolored lines in three dimensions. It was mercifully quiet, so Dukat decided that was an acceptable compromise. As near as Dukat could tell, the ship taking form over her desktop was a Largot class, which Kusov worked on until the door of Dukat's office hissed open.
A smaller man stepped through the entry way and straightened, a stack of tablets tucked under their arm, "Sorry for the lateness, ma'am!"
"Oh, not at all, Glinn Anusha. Please, come in," Anusha nodded and make his way briskly over as Dukat continued, "I was just telling Kusov here about my desk."
"Mmm," Anusha said, as he settled into her seat, tablets still under his arm, "Vanden wood, renowned as a construction material and for its aesthetic qualities. A splendid choice, Legate."
"Really?" said Kusov, "Because I can't help but think it clashes with stuff used for the bookshelves. Or with the carpet, for that matter."
Dukat's darted to the shelves. They were a pearlescent off-white, made from Sydraxian soapstone. Then she peered at her rug, hand-woven together from the individual strands of regova feathers. She realized now that the dark brown blended in with the color of the wood, making an un-contrasted mess that also clashed with the accents of the soapstone. Damn it!
Dukat turned back to Kusov, "Very good eye," she said, smiling at him. She made it clear this was a very, very fake smile. A smile that was thin ice about to give way.
Kusov quickly broke from the Legate's chilling eye contact, turning to Anusha, "Anyways Legate, if y'all'd've told me it was Anusha comin' around here I would have been far more amenable to the wait."
Anusha chuckled and looked out the window.
"Yes, yes, enough chitchat," said Dukat, "Anusha, I brought you here because Kusov's VIPR team turned up something. And it's actually interesting, for once! Kusov, please."
"Ah, right. Well, we've been coordinatin' with the Lacarre's operations. Recently - with some of our encouragement - they made a quick little trip to Risa. From all accounts kinda a disaster on account of the moral degredation'n'all, but they didn't get themselves exposed. What they did get was some valuable Federation broadcasts, includin' this one..."
Kusov tapped the base of his light projector, bringing up a menu. A few taps, and the image of a vessel in dry-dock emerged. It looked like the Cheron-type.
Narration accompanied it, "Today the United Earth lays down a sight not seen near half-a century -- the construction of a brand new Constitution class! Expected to be completed in three years, this updated version of the Federation classic keeps her weight but is more automated than her predecessors, helping keep crews available for our new Explorer! Starfleet has their own batch of Constitutions in the works. For this humble commentator, it brings tears to the eye to see such classic lines in drydock again."
Dukat looked at Anusha, "The VIPR Team cannot find it in themselves to wrap their head around why the Federation would build new versions of a design that should be hopelessly obsolete."
Kusov shrugged, "As near as we could tell from our Chronoquantumetric scans of the Cheron, parts of the thing were fifty to sixty years old, suggestin' the design had to be pretty ancient - or Starfleet has some really old spares lyin' around. Why would they possibly build somethin' like this when they could've had a new design?" Kusov looked bewildered, "If I didn't know better I'd say this was some sorta trick, but I don't know what it could be. But then, I don't have the talents of a shipbuilder..."
"Certainly not," Dukat said.
"...so I can't quite figure out what they could be up to with this unless you can take a guesstimation, a model, of what this new 'Constitution' is packin,' and if that buildin' time is accurate," he said, swiveling his chair to talk to Anusha directly.
"And I need a model to accurately simulate these vessels in the simulators." Dukat interjected.
Anusha was staring at the projector, "Did they say three years? But same 'weight'?"
"Certainly did," said Kusov.
Anusha tiled his head, "Can we trust that?"
Legate Dukat nodded, "I find the Federation is often sickeningly open. I have not determined if it is borne out of their vaunted ideals or some sort of twisted pride. In any case, I find it it best to assume the worst, so yes, let us say it is accurate."
Anusha nodded, "Give me your projector," Kusov did so, "Legate, ma'am, do you mind if I use your powerwindow?"
"Of course not, Glinn. Here." She pressed a button on her desk and part of the window polarized to black, discreet recessed lighting coming on to make up for the light lost. As she looked, though, she realized the straw-colored Karndocian Kopper making up its frame (mined at great expense) was a poor - terrible even - complement to the desk AND the bookshelves. She turned her head slightly and realized Kusov had noticed it as well, and worse, noticed she'd noticed. He could barely conceal a smirk. She'd have to try and renovate the whole place in secret now. Again.
Anusha meanwhile had tapped the projector to the black park of the window, downloading the data inside and bringing up a screen of the broadcast. He pulled on it, a 3D projection of the pictured vessel emerging. Then, he tapped one of his tablets to the glass. A few flicks of his wrist, and similar models based on scans of the Federation Excelsheet Explorer, the Constellation, and the Cheron-type emerged. Boxes of technical data were soon open on the window as well, Anusha scrolling through data as he used the borrowed light pen to make adjustments to the Cheron model based off the exterior of the new design. Dukat and Kusov sat in silence, letting him work.
He took the light pen and circled the nacelles on the Cheron and the 'Constitution', "They've reused the nacelles wholesale, which probably keeps time for construction low even when they are not drawing into reserves. They said it's the same weight overall though, so they must have used an older, easier to build warp core to cut down on complexity. Not enough to get to three years though, they must have..." Anusha had his tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he scanned the models in thought, "-- ah, they cut sensor and science abilities, too," Anusha had circled a few visible sensor pallets on the Cheron that weren't on the 'Constitution,' "That would help. Use the saved weight not for weapons, but use them for extended computer banks to handle more officer duties, cut crew... Hm. Still not quite there." Red letters underneath his new model read: 'ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETION - THREE POINT FIVE YEARS' Anusha tapped it in frustration, "Shipyard advancements? That would be bad. Or... wait," he dragged the hull scans of the Constellation over to the 'Constitution', overwrote the data there from the Cheron. Estimated hull strength dropped along with the estimate - THREE POINT ONE REPEATING YEARS. "Call that a rounding error," Anusha said, satisfied.
Anusha returned to his seat. Dukat and Kusov drank the numbers in. They spoke at the same time.
"Well, that is most vexing," said Dukat.
"Shit." said Kusov.
"My sentiments exactly," said Anusha, "By adapting their old design and using inferior but known materials, they skipped major research and development costs, allowing them to more rapidly field a design that presents an even match for our primary frontline. One they can build in their smallest berths and which removes a year off the construction time of the original while maintaining combat posture. All for some cuts to science, hull strength, and... impressiveness."
Kusov nodded, "And it cuts down on the need for senior crew, which is a mighty fine thing for the Federation - as we're thinking now that they use... volunteers for their Starfleet. They'd've been liable to have a manpower problem if they stuck to the old design."
Dukat gritted her teeth, "So our one major strategic and tactical advantage -- superiority in medium combatants -- might be at least partially countered. Rapidly. How many of these can they have, Kusov?"
"Well, based on estimates and assumin' they started this year... we could be looking at four-to-eight of these suckers in four, three, two years."
"How wonderfully imprecise," Dukat scowled, "Very good work, Anusha. Please clean up that model and forward it to our simulator teams. I want my students facing these as soon as possible," she looked again at that glowing build time estimate, "We're going to be seeing a lot more of them."
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If you wanted to simplify the spelling of those two words but not go all Mark Twain thow thrue would make more sense than tho and thru, wouldn't they?
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I'm not talking about ethics. Pirates are in the wrong by virtue of being pirates. Raiding pirate bases is not a bad thing in and of itself.
But this was an offensive op, and whoever planned it and organized it and blew it is responsible for the failure, for all that it was pirates who did actual killing.
It's not an ambush when you roll into enemy base. If the unexpected defenses are a problem, then the expectations need to be adjusted.
I wonder if I'm conveying my thoughts wrong :/
That wasn't criticism, just an observation. There's no technical fault with using 'thru', and I never claimed otherwise. "This bothers me" is a personal reaction, no more, no less.
I'll take your word for what is and what isn't common, but I will say that your 'thru' was the first time I've seen the word in months.
In my Omake, the Syndicate 'runs' the former homeworld as a sort of pirate port, but otherwise is your typical diffuse criminal organization. Taking down the Syndicate would be a bit like fighting some unholy combination of the Medellin Cartel, Executive Outcomes/Blackwater, and I dunno, ISIS.
Also, I don't see Orion on the map, and given how in my headcanon (which informed my omake) the Orion Empire once ruled basically all of the map we have, it's quite possible Orion is somewhere other than the Orion Union. I'd personally place it near Caledonia, since the Orions in Enterprise were mentioned as being based near the 'borderlands' with the Klingons. But that's up to the GM.