I don't doubt it will more than pay for itself in gained opportunities, knowledge and resources. Plus I imagine it would be pretty fuckin popular politically, especially if it gets publicized.
I don't doubt it will more than pay for itself in gained opportunities, knowledge and resources. Plus I imagine it would be pretty fuckin popular politically, especially if it gets publicized.
I do doubt it will pay for itself, since we won't be able to take advantage of the opportunities and the resources will be too far away to use. The knowledge would be beneficial, but that's it. Then you have the opportunity costs; what valuable things might the ship have been doing if you kept it home?
Except for the part where it provides almost none of the benefits of a 5 year mission.
I mean, look everybody, I can agree that sending a ship with the Kadeshi is cool in concept. I am just not so sure about how it's actually justified in practice.
If we decide to commit an Excelsior, it really should be Stargazer. If it can't be Stargazer, I'd say:
1) Take Thirishar from the KBZ, replace that with Gale from Tellar sector (which admittedly leaves Tellar with only one ship, the Constellation-class cruiser Stalwart).
2) Take Endurance; this still lets us just barely meet defense requirements on the SBZ if we make no other changes to Briefvoice's defensive plan.
That being said, if we send an Excelsior, I really am inclined towards the compromise plan of "accompany them part of the way, then fly back."
We know that our explorers CAN operate independently for a long time; I'm pretty sure Thuir spent at least a year or two cruising around to coreward of our space before coming back to our starbases. So it should be reasonably safe to leave them in a position where they have to operate alone for no more than 12-18 months. That's about compatible with allocating a full five year mission to deep exploration, roughly 1/5 to 1/4 of which will be spent flying home afterwards.
If we're planning a permanent contact, then my gut feeling is to send a smaller ship, with an Oberth being ideal. This also helps to fill in a gap that is likely to exist in the Kadeshi fleet's knowledge base (esoteric science and advanced sensors), significantly helping them and complementing them. Plus, it would cancel out any accusations that we're building Oberths for their military-intelligence benefits, rather than for their stated role as science vessels.
EDIT:
It occurs to me that one good, and frankly justified, way to make this kind of mission "pay off" would be in decreased militarization. This is about as unmilitary an action as Starfleet could take. A normal military wouldn't consider it, for all the excellent reasons Briefvoice has pointed out. Starfleet... might, precisely because it is not entirely a military.
We'd be sending off a ship with purely humanitarian and scientific objectives, a gesture of peace rather than war. It is in many ways the opposite of the kind of policies that lead to us gaining militarization.
I understand that as the guy who handles ship deployments you feel those needs keenly. But the level of salt in this statement is ridiculous and does no one any good. We may not gain any particular resources save goodwill with the Kadeshi but that in itself is a tangible benefit; the Kadeshi out there spreading the good word of the Federation. In a few decades it may well be that we can help each other much more easily, too, as engines improve on both sides. And there is a great deal worth learning "out there"; any attempt to dispute this statement would be flying in the face of both the past of this quest and the entire premise of Star Trek.
We operate almost exclusively within three or four weeks of a base, even if we don't return to them at that interval. Even making the attempt would give us valuable knowledge about our own ships, design and manning philosophies, and crew training. This is something we are technically capable of doing. There's not much question of that. But to actually transition from theory to practice could teach us a great deal. Understanding this kind of deep range operation opens a lot of doors in terms of logistics, many of which are still entirely applicable to things with shorter legs.
Captain's Log, USS Winterwind, Stardate 24508.4 - Captain T'Leea
Last month we facilitated a mission by the Diplomatic Service by delivering one of their delegations to a new Indorian colony world. We have now been forced to request backup. An unknown force has absconded with the diplomats shortly before we were due to return for the pickup. The USS Sarek has reported themselves to be en route to assist. In the interim, we are attempting to identify clues as to where they may have gone, and render aid to the locals, who sustained serious facility damage, though no loss of life, in the attack.
[Gain +15pp for successful support]
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Captain's Log, USS S'harien, Stardate 24509.6 - Captain Saavik
An Orion Union ship is on approach to us, with their communications out. They are using light signals to broadcast an request for assistance. As Starfleet regulations require, I am approaching at Yellow Alert with shields raised and preparing to make contact.
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Captain's Log, USS Cheron, Stardate 24510.3
A request for assistance was received from an Orion colony world to help restart their agricultural system. Although it is not within our normal remit, we were able to requisition a Caitian prospecting vessel to aid our efforts to assists the colonists. As the agricultural system was largely disrupted because of the activities of the Syndicate, we have received considerable gratitude for our actions.
[+3 Impact]
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Captain's Log, USS Sarek, Stardate 24510.8 - Captain Straak
After arriving in system, I have consulted with Captain T'Leea of the Winterwind as to known details regarding the assailant vessel. Along with her science team, Captain T'Leea has been able to reconstruct the sensor logs from the heavily damaged data vaults of the ground control platform. This has given us an initial vector, and we are heading to a system they are believed to have transited to.
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Captain's Log, USS S'harien, Stardate 24511.2
My following of regulation has led me into a trap. Believing myself protected by the deflector shields, I was taken by surprise when the patrol ship powered weapons and fired straight through them. We escaped despite minor damage by making a high risk engagement of the warp drive. We are headed in to Starbase 7 in order to make intermediary repairs.
We have advised all ships to be on alert for a hijacked Orion Union ship.
We have found no trace of the assailant's wake in the Marconi system. However, our scans did detect a number of ilberium ore deposits, which are used in nacelle construction as a tamping and shaping device for their ability to absorb tachyon particles emitted by the subspace field. By assessing the different deposits in the asteroid field and the decay rates of the wakes they received from the assailant ship, we have been able to determine a vector and speed.
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Captain's Log, USS Sarek, Stardate 24512.3
The assailant ship has been ambushed and found to be a small Lecarre ship. Although they attempted to self-destruct to avoid discovery of their identities, we were able to beam out the diplomats before this could occur. Though the Lecarre ship did subsequently induce a runaway cycle of matter/anti-matter initiations, obliterating their ship, we were able to positively identify the Lecarre from DNA samples that accumulated on clothes and the like.
While testing our long range sensor arrays, we have observed a large number of Cardassian ships approaching Bajor.
Have advised CBZ forces, have been advised they are redeploying from coreward locations back towards Lapycorias. Seyek, Apiata, Indorian, Qloathi forces moving to high readiness.
All forces with exposure to Cardassian space, or Cardassian affiliate space, are to be on heightened alert. All Captains are instructed to exercise restraint when encountering Cardassian or Cardassian affiliate vessels, however, they should understand likelihood of combat may be high, and should take appropriate steps.
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Federation Broadcast Service, Stardate 23515.3
Today the new government of Bajor has welcomed the arrival of Cardassian forces who will help restore order within the star system. Speaking from the steps of the central government building, new leader Hokal Ennog has spoken of his great pride in Bajor's accession to become a protectorate of the Cardassian Union. Deposed members of the government argue that this is a blatant coup. Speaking from newly imposed exile on Rethelia, Sorje Velic called on the upper castes of Bajoran society to resist this usurpation of Bajoran sovereignty. Policy groups in Seyek, meanwhile, suggest that the upper castes were themselves the problem, as recent overtures from the Federation led to concerns about the safety of their way of life.
Retired Starfleet Tactical director Lachlan Ablett was approached for comment, and stated that there is a strong possibility this was not driven from within at all, but from Cardassian factors who could not tolerate the possibility of a Bajor existing under Federation influence. This view is held by others in Paris, and President Joryth sh'Arrath has come under intense questioning as to what the Federation knew of, and if the actions of the Federation Diplomatic Service are to blame.
In Paris, more Hawkish members of the Council called for a need for action. However, analysts believe that stepping in to take the side of one set of oligarchs over another set of oligarchs in a non-starter, politically speaking.
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From: Admiral Kahurangi, Commander, Starfleet
To: Vice Admiral Sousa, Director, Shipyard Ops
Subject: i was going to go fishing today
Time to play some politics, come see me at your earliest
Commodore Eddie Leslie, Chief, Warp Core Fabrication Division, Shipyard Support Command
Central Office, Shipyard Support Command
San Francisco
August 29, 2311
Eddie Leslie watched an old shipmate come through the door.
"Sit down, sit down! You look like hell, man." Pavel Chekov looked... looked his years, which was a heck of a thing. Pavel'd kept looking fifty for a long time. Eddie rolled on. "Look, forget the rank." He brushed the commodore's half-starburst on his uniform jacket. "We're old shipmates, relax a little. And don't look at me like that, you're acting like you haven't seen me in years. I just wrote you Tuesday!"
"I... I meant to open it and I forgot. I'm sorry, Eddie. The new ship, she is beating my brains out!"
"You're letting your age catch up to you. You need to panic more often, Pavel. You and your adrenaline rushes..." Pavel's laugh sounded a bit forced, which was fair. Eddie guessed that the incident on Gamma Hydra IV hadn't really been that funny for someone caught in the middle of it.
"Perhaps. There is also- I hesitate to say, but-"
"Out with it, before you bury it under two meters of snow in that Russkie brain of yours!" The old joke from Enterprise days jogged Chekov's mind.
"There is the matter of- the loss of the Lion. It is... I now stop to dwell on it. It eats at me."
"Hell of a thing." Eddie sighed.
The wrinkled Russian nodded slowly, slowly. "It is... more than that. Eddie..." Pavel gulped. "I think, had I not been off tied up with the Licori and the Ked-Paddah, I would have gone out to investigate that new star system myself. No, I do not think this, I know it, as sure as I am sitting here today. I would have flown Endurance into the path of that quantum filament, too. I would not be here today."
That had to hurt. Eddie privately resolved to give the poor man a break, if he could. Not that the universe normally made it easy to do Pavel Chekov any favors, but you had to try. "Well, we're here, and it's now. How can I help you, old buddy?"
"I need to ask a favor. Very important. I need full specifications on all logged modifications, for the Enterprise's warp core."
"What, from back-"
"No, no, the Enterprise-B. Current if you can get them. But also from, ah, August of '07. It is very, very important that I have the ones from the summer of '07."
"Sure, but what do you need those for? Big E's got a bastardized block II. You're running a straight-up, factory standard Block III, checked the diagnostic reports myself not three weeks ago!"
Pavel closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. Something was definitely wrong with the fellow. Eddie'd better do a followup call when he got home- no, wait, Endurance would be on Paris time... in which case it was midnight for Pavel. No wonder he was a mess.
"I... you remember the talk of sending a ship with the Kadesh?"
"Ought to. Scuttlebutt says they'll be sending the Stargazer. Not sure that's a good idea myself. But I'll cut the nonsense and tell you, thinking about it is the first time in thirty years that I caught myself missing the Explorer Corps. Had to pinch myself." It was true, too. He should get out more. Maybe he should try and arrange a cruise to see another old friend, not that seeing Pavel again wasn't a fine thing.
But the humorous jab at Starfleet's finest drew a genuine laugh from the Russian captain. One that rolled, and rolled, and warmed Eddie's heart to hear. "Eddie... you are so very much Eddie, you know that? Did I ever thank you for that?"
"Once, back in '89. You were drunk, but not so drunk that you wouldn't remember saying it."
Chekov smiled. "Maybe I was more drunk than you thought. Maybe you were more drunk than you thought. No matter. Anyhow, I am thinking that perhaps they will not send Stargazer. If they do not, then with the flare-ups on the borders I think they will most likely pick Endurance." He nodded, serious now.
"You sure about that?"
"No, but I'd like to have everything I can on strange things done to Excelsior warp cores, just in case. It would be... embarrassing... if something went wrong a year out of starbase. Besides, I have been wanting to pick the brains of, oh, who is young ka'Sharren's engineer, the Tellarite..."
"Bazeck. He's not really hers anymore, you know. They bumped her upstairs months ago-" Eddie frowned. Pavel seemed to be having a little trouble getting back into Starfleet even now, after his sabbatical. It paid to do what he could to help the man avoid awkwardness.
"No, you're right, it is the Caitian, Mrr'shan. I remember her. Met her once- no... twice." The two men shared a significant glance, and that at least reassured Eddie.
Pavel made a vague spinning gesture with his hand. "Anyhow, I would take it as a favor if you could give me those documents. I think I may find myself needing them. Call it an intuition..."
"Sure, fine. Let me key it in for you."
The computer clattered for a moment, then a plastic rectangle popped from the slot. Eddie studied it, set it aside, studied the display. "There's most of the files, but, uh... there's something locked out from the '07 files you wanted. Classified." Eddie frowned, a dubious look creeping across his face. What the hell about warp cores is classified so even I can't look at it?
"Ohhhh." Pavel's eyes widened. "No wait, I know about that. Don't worry, Eddie, I can take care of this." He turned to the computer. "Access code Nine Five Wictor Wictor Two."
"Voiceprint authorization accepted. Files released on authority of Officer Pavel Chekov."
The computer spat out a second plastic rectangle, which Chekov picked up, smiling. He turned toward the door. "Thanks, Eddie. If I told you how much I needed this, I wouldn't have time to use it."
"Right. Just don't turn your ship inside out or anything. And... Why are you grinning like that, Pavel?"
"Mm-mm." The Russian shook his head. "I can't tell you now, Eddie. If it works, I'll see about letting you know as soon as I have time."
Eddie watched Pavel leave, hoping he wasn't making a serious mistake.
The thing is, we had suspicions that pushing on Bajor too hard might force the Cardassians to act. And it seems that that did happen. Hell, they might be doing this to signal that they've finished with whatever internal convulsions that they were in are over.
The thing is, we had suspicions that pushing on Bajor too hard might force the Cardassians to act. And it seems that that did happen. Hell, they might be doing this to signal that they've finished with whatever internal convulsions that they were in are over.
On the other hand, the Dawiar are stubborn enough that they're likely to resist Cardassian takeover, giving us more grounds for action.
Whereas it seems fairly likely that at least SOME Bajorans invited the Cardassians in because it seemed better than the risk of the Federation subverting the sacred caste system.
Another occupation might be good for us.
Let the Cardassians overextend and at the same time make it clear to the politicians that we have to stop them.
Well, there might be some other reason a specific batch of files on the Enterprise-B's warp core would be so tightly locked up that Starfleet's chief of warp core fabrication isn't cleared for them.
We would see the Cardassian fleet coming for literal months, and then the Cardassian fleet would be stuck in a cauldron, surrounded by hostile territory or open space on all sides, trying to garrison a resisting force on the end of a months long logistics chain that goes through hostile space. I can think of no better way for the Cardassian fleet to destroy itself.