Kahurangi and the Cloak
You have been in your office since sunrise, and it's already mid-morning without a break. Ironic that these last months leading up to your retirement are some of the busiest of your tenure as Admiral of Starfleet. Of course, it's partially your own fault. You're trying to play catch-up, looking at reports and proposals that have been lingering in your "for review" box nearly forever. You want to get everything squared away and current for your successor, whomever that might be.
It's not just that, though. Starfleet has grown massively this past decade, but there's still only one Admiral at the lead. Matters that made sense receiving the Admiral's personal attention back when you started now really need to be reviewed one level down… but can't be. That's what you hoped to change by having your Chief of Staff made into a Vice Admiral position. It'll give Shey ch'Tharvasse, or whomever your successor picks to replace him, the authority to ride herd over all those Rear Admirals without having to come back to the Admiral of the Fleet to sign off on orders.
When your assistant comms you that your 1000 appointment is here, you acknowledge on autopilot. You're within paragraphs of finishing your review of a particularly alarming report from Linderly about infiltration attempts by Romulans masquerading as Vulcans, and it's disturbing material. Thus when a chime indicates an individual at your doorway, you look up startled.
Who is this again… oh yes, you recall now. It's a briefing on Romulan versus Klingon cloaking technologies. Apparently there's some concern that they're starting to diverge enough so that sensor calibrations optimized for one are actually hindering the ability to pierce the other, and you need to make a decision on the operational guidelines for sector fleets. It's a Lt Commander… something or other, you can't recall. It's fine, you're well-experienced in bluffing your way through when you can't remember a name.
"Please, take a seat. I don't have a lot of time this morning, so it would be best to jump right into it." Minimize smalltalk; that's the way.
The Lt. Commander nods. He's a young (aren't they all these days) human carrying a PADD. He doesn't look nervous talking to the Admiral of the Fleet; good, shows confidence in his subject matter.
"Admiral, normally I'd start by showing you some designs, but I'm afraid an urgent matter has just surfaced that means we may need to reconsider everything. This news is hot off the comms, and I certainly would have rescheduled to prepare a proper briefing if there were time. I thought it better to proceed and just go ahead and tell you."
His tone is confident, but urgent, and you take a sip of your (now cold) coffee to cover your distress. Urgent news regarding cloaking technology… that can't be good. You gesture for him to continue.
"It's the Rigellians. In light of their coming ratification as full Federation Members, they've finally opened the vaults on something they've been keeping hard under wraps. Admiral, they're sharing the secret of their cloak technology, and it's far more amazing than we could have imagined. We may need to rethink everything."
You nearly spit out your coffee. Rigellians using cloaking devices? No reports had indicated such a thing, not a breath, not a word. But then… the Rigellians have always been a little hard to read, haven't they? Swathing their bodies in cloth, their scaly faces less expressive than most humanoids. They seem straight-forward and calm, but you know their merchant houses are fiercely competitive. They would be just the sort of people who could conceal an advantage like that, using it only when they were sure they wouldn't be caught.
You gesture for the Lt. Commander to give you a few seconds while you consider the implications. The Federation has understood the basics of cloaking technology for a long time now. Reluctance to develop actual cloaking devices has been a mixture of practical, idealogical, and diplomatic. Practical in that the devices are huge energy consumers, putting limits on performance from other systems. Idealogical in that you want to be seen; that stealth as standard operating procedure (as opposed to the occasional necessity) is seen as un-Starfleet. Diplomatic as a deliberate concession to the Klingons and Romulans.
Integrating a new member species who already possess advanced cloaking technologies, though, that could change everything. The Rigellians might well have enough political sway to put the anti-cloak sentiment on the backfoot, at least enough not to be forced to give up their existing cloaks. And if they already have them, well, some loans to Starfleet wouldn't be out of the question…. But that's a Council matter for consideration, and you can't discuss it with this Lt. Commander. All he's going to be able to do is give you the technical information. So… start with that.
"What about the energy requirements? How much power do they spend activating these cloaks?"
The Lt. Commander looks briefly confused. "Power, I don't- Ah, yes I understand now. You're thinking that the Rigellians have those stocky frames and we don't, right? No, but the secret is in their materials technology. Let me tell you what they're getting. They wrap themselves in these cloaks and everything inside is nearly invisible to most sensor technology. It also provides substantial personnel protection, and incredibly it's for nearly zero weight requirement. You take one of us, put them in a Rigellian cloak, and you'll notice nearly no reduction in mobility. Also, and this is the best part, they can provide functional back-ups for equipment we'd normally want to carry."
This is getting very confusing. You're not sure what the hell he's talking about. Is he saying that the cloaks are integrated with Rigellian shield technology in some manner; that their shields are simultaneously cloaks? But that would be an incredible advance, and you don't buy it for a moment. What does he mean by back-up equipment? You can feel the some revelation pounding at the walls of your subconscious, but your own fatigue is preventing it from properly breaking through.
"So you can see that we need to halt everything and consider how to integrate this in future designs," says the Lt. Commander.
That makes you snap to attention. "That is a decision well beyond your authority, Lt. Commander! I will entertain a written proposal for consideration, but we are not equipping Starfleet ships with cloaking devices so casually."
You touch your PADD to bring up your appointment schedule. If you're going to bawl this Lt. Commander out properly, you should probably learn his name. Ah yes, Lt. Commander Ivan Kim at 1000, here to… to present some proposed Starfleet uniform updates for your consideration. And he's telling you about Rigellian… cloaks. Yes. Not that kind of cloak then. You close your eyes briefly in humiliation.
Lt. Commander Kim clears his throat tactfully. "I, uh, I probably should have been clearer about the context of my use of the words 'cloaks', Admiral. I was referring to the apparel that many Rigellians are commonly seen to-"
"Yes, thank you Lt. Commander Kim," you say.
There's an awkward silence. You can only take this as further evidence your decision to retire was the correct one. You're slipping, allowing yourself to get mentally fatigued and making silly mistakes. Well. At the very least, since you don't need to worry about maintaining your aura of infallibility you can do the decent thing and apologize.
"My apologies. I got your appointment confused with one later today, and that confusion led me to misinterpret your words. Please, let's start again from the beginning. You're saying that the Rigellians have personal protection technology that merits a reconsideration of our uniform designs?"
He nods. "Yes, Admiral Kahurangi. I want to stress that on the civilian market the clo- hooded capes that make up the popular image of a Rigellian are indeed just a fashion choice. Your average citizen doesn't need radiation shielding. However for their security officers, diplomats, senior members of starship crews, and other professions potentially exposed to hazards, these garments are incredibly sophisticated pieces of technology far beyond our standard smart-clothing. The core is a woven-in duotronic programable logic control system that serves to operate the functions of the garment. Every fiber can rotate several quasi-exotic surfaces to shield against radiation, baffle potential sensor scans, and stiffen against impact, with the PLC making decisions in real time."
"What was that you said a moment ago about equipment?" you ask.
He takes out what looks like a piece of cloth, then touches it with some sort of device. It instantly reshapes itself into a PADD, screen glowing with a display of the San Francisco weather. He touches it again, and it reshapes itself into what looks very much like a phaser. You look at him and arch an eyebrow.
"It only has enough energy for two shots on the highest setting, but yes that's exactly what it looks like. Pretty much every Rigellian official we've ever met could have produced one of these at will, and we've never had any idea. They can also form communicators, and emergency medical kits, though you'd have to carry the pharmaceutical supply separately."
You remember back when you were on duty among the stars. There are a few times when this would have come in handy, no question. "You think you can integrate this into Starfleet uniforms?" you ask.
At this he hesitates. "As I said, this is hot off the comms. Our entire department will have to take some time to process and integrate what we can. Just as it is, I see two major roadblocks. The first is that these builds are expensive. There is a reason your regular Rigellian citizen doesn't walk around wearing them despite the comfort and utility."
You nod. "And the second?"
"Well… the entire design philosophy is based around having a large surface area of free-flowing cloth that has room to shift itself. Shirts and jackets and pants just don't have the required flexibility. Unless we come up with some sort of work-around, it has to be cloaks, or capes, or maybe some sort of robes."
Robes? No, you think not. But a cloak draped majestically over your shoulders. That could look very, um, very impressive. You imagine facing down the Federation Council (something you'll never have to do again) with a your back literally guarded, cloak swishing as you gesture to make some important point about the needs of Starfleet.
You refocus your attention on Lt. Commander Kim. "Put together your information and a proposed times and materials budget and we'll coordinate with-" You cause to check your PADD; don't want to make an embarrassing mistake twice in one meeting. "-with the Caitian Frontier Police R&D. I believe that they're the ones Rear Admiral ch'Vohlet has working on Personal Equipment research."
He nods.
You continue, "But of course we don't want to wait on the technology before integrating the cloak."
Kim looks confused again. "Admiral?"
"Well if we're eventually going to be relying on free-flowing cloth to support the technology, we should integrate the concept into our uniforms now, don't you think? Make it a natural transition. What I'm saying is, the next set of uniform designs you present I want you to include options for cloaks… or capes… I'm not a clothing designer, so you be creative. You can limit it to the formal dress uniforms right now so we can get the idea out."
"Yes Admiral, I'll tell the team to get to work on it right away."
You make a 'shooing' motion with your hands. "All right, get to it. I'll read your formal write-up when it's no longer 'hot off the comms'."
Lt. Commander Kim salutes and departs. You rub your temples and decide to take a break. You lean back in your chair and let your mind wander. You won't be around to wear the new uniforms of course, but still.
In your day-dreams the cloak swishes behind you stylishly.
@OneirosTheWriter I could ask for an omake reward in the form of a boost to Personal Protection Equipment research…. But really I just want cloaks to be part of the next generation of Starfleet formal uniform.
