Despite the new rules of engagement freeing us up against the Sydraxians, this time around we'll still need to be as circumspect as possible. We are plying the same routes used by commerce raiders coming into Federation space, but headed the other way, to go meet the Gretarians quietly. We have a team of Diplomats with us to take along for the ride, led by a fellow Caitian.
I have spent decades serving Starfleet and the Federation, and even so it still sometimes feels incredible that two members of a species that were only admitted recent can be trusted with such delicate actions.
-
Captain's Log, USS Vigour, Stardate 24831.4
With the upcoming admission of the Apinae and Indorians, a more intensive mapping effort of the region is ongoing. As much as the Apinae have been very efficiently covering ground around their homeworlds, there are still some unmapped areas. We have found a deposit of extremely rare isotopes centered in an electron storm on an uninhabitable world that will prove useful.
[Gain +15sr]
-
Captain's Log, USS S'harien, Stardate 24832.4 - Captain Saavik
After successfully avoiding contact with potentially hostile forces, we have resumed our course towards the Ariel starsystem. One one of the moons we have discovered a notable duranium deposit. However, the veins are fairly narrow, and extraction may prove difficult. Even so, it is our first potential colony site within the Gabriel Expanse.
[Gain 15br/yr colony site option, Ariel V-8]
-
Captain's Log, USS Enterprise, Stardate 24832.8
We had to run silent while a Hasque passed us by. After they left the area, we sent a tight-beam subspace comm through to the Vega Starbase, making sure that local forces pick up the interloper.
Never underestimate how EM-quiet an Excelsior with a good Chief Engineer can get!
-
Captain's Log, USS Thirishar, Stardate 24832.9
As much as I do not believe there was a reasonable way that the sudden blow-out of the warp matrix could have been predicted by the Chief Engineer, it is nonetheless humiliating.
More than three-quarters of the warp coils are now depolarised, and will need to be treated at a full starbase facility.
-
Captain's Log, USS Enterprise, Stardate 24833.4
It seems that several years of association with the neighbouring Sydraxians have cured the Gretarians of at least some of their bewilderment at the idea of large weapons. They still abhor them, of course, but it's now more of a sullen principle.
After arriving at the fringes of their system, we are able to hail a ship operating near their oort cloud on a scientific mission for the Gretarian government, and they were willing to meet with us discretely. Myself and the diplomats beamed aboard and we were taken back to the Gretarian homeworld.
-
Captain's Log, USS Intrepid, Stardate 24834.6
Following from a mayday received from the USS Thirishar, we have arrived in the Kotok system, near Caldonian space, and have taken the ship under tractor-beam tow. It is slow going, of course. We are en-route to rendezvous at Tipperary with the USS Titan, an engineering ship that will take Thirishar the rest of the way.
-
Captain's Log, USS Enterprise, Stardate 24834.8
Some very exciting developments! The Gretarian homeworld is a very peaceful and relaxing place, for all we have been kept bustling around and kept out of the public eye.
The Gretarians are as eager as we are to have peace on this border zone. After all, they are likely to see campaigns cross their systems if this goes to war. To help out, they are putting our diplomats in touch with sympathetic counterparts from Sydrax. Now, so far the biggest thing we have learned was that the initial incident had to do with a "desecration" committed by Federation crew on leave. A culturally very significant grove was killed off somehow, allegedly due to emissions from a tricorder. I'm not sure how that is supposed to work, but if so it was clearly an inadvertent act.
One thing the Gretarians warn, however, is that they don't have much influence with the Hierarchy. If we can get the Yrillians on-side as well, however, arguing for peace, that will go a long way towards bringing the Sydraxians to the bargaining table.
As I wrote this one, I angrily came to realise that the only way to properly do justice to Maryam Ajam's return to Starfleet and eventual command Stargazer would take an actual no shit novel. Like not even lying. So much is going on here that what I wrote feels like semi random pages from a full book. So much stuff going on here. In the meta someone probably writes a well regarded piece of actual literature about her recovery.
She hasn't cried in months. Hasn't allowed herself to feel anything but a combination of determination and dull aching hope for month after month.
For nearly a year Maryam has bottled up every emotion that could betray her. Every emotion that could cause her to lock up or give into despair.
She ignores the awkward shuffling of Federation officers and Cardassian soldiers. She ignores the constant aching pain that is her life, the endless nagging agony from the back of her head that something is wrong with her arms. She heaves in near silence as her body and mind are wracked with the end of her exile.
Relief, joy, regret, and so many other emotions war for prominence. But right now all Maryam Ajam, former commanding officer of the USS Courageous, can do is cry.
Nash Ka'Sharren, her old captain and dear friend, pulls back for a moment, "I…" she sobs, at a loss for words, "Maryam. How?" She shakes her head, searching for anything to say, nothing seeming at all appropriate. Nothing can address the sheer meaning of this reunion. "No. We can talk about that later. How are you?"
Maryam Ajam thinks for a long moment. "I'm fine." She rasps, smiling for the first time in a year, she sinks into welcome darkness as all the standing wave of pain built up over the past year finally breaks upon her.
The Human woman wakes up some indeterminate time later in mild panic with a green face leaning over her.
Her dreams have been filled with green faces leaning over her. Cruel faces without pity, remorse, or kindness.
The animal part of Maryam's brain tries to put distance between herself and the green face, propering herself up on an unfeeling arm, before the conscious part of herself catches up.
"Hey… Hey Mary," says Doctor Asurva gently as she pats Maryam's shoulder, something hissing gently, as she smiles down at her patient, tears in the corners of her eyes. "I...I'm so happy that you're alive."
This is a friend. A good friend. Someone that she's known for years. A woman with more compassion in her than any ten other people Maryam knows.
"Me too," Maryam says, her hand relaxing and releasing a fistful of beige sickbay sheet. She stops suddenly. Her voice still rasps, but the constant pain of speech has… not exactly gone away. But it is a distant cousin of what it once was.
"I don't want to disparage the doctor that kept you alive, or Doctor Maret." The Orion woman smiles sympathetically. "But I had to undo a lot of their work on your nervous system." The Doctor pats the biobed absently as she runs over a list in her head, "I limited myself to the important non-cosmetic work for now. No need to overburden you."
"Thanks Pri. How are you? How's D?" Maryam says, sinking back into the biobed padding, enjoying the casual luxury of its softness.
"He's fine. I'm fine. We're engaged now." The Orion doctor says, turning around to pick up a medical tricorder. "How- ah, ah" She pauses, back turned, biting back a sob, "How are you feeling Mary?"
Ajam studies the familiar metal of a Starfleet deck as she stares unfocusedly at the sickbay ceiling. "I've been better," she croaks. "Talking hurts less"
"I flushed whatever that Cardassian doctor was giving you out of your system." Doctor Asurva enters Maryam's vision again to run her medical scanner over her friend's semi-lifeless form, "She gave me the formula…" she smiles and shrugs, "She tried her best, your nerves were severed cleanly, no worry about progressive nerve damage. I doubt that I could have done a better job with a Cardassian in-" she stops herself and purses her lips, "I'm just happy that you're here. We'll be handing you off to Hope soon." Asurva smiles, "I'll be handing you off to whoever is overseeing your long term recovery." Her smile hollows slightly as pain and compassion fill her eyes, "Everything will be fine."
"Thank you, Pri," Ajam shuffles slightly on the biobed, "How's E?"
The Doctor smiles, "Enterprise? She's doing great! Bazeck's in top form keeping a good handle on engineering and the officers and crew have never worked together better." She ticks off her fingers, "Stol is just as stoic as ever, Jen - Lieutenant Commander Zhang - seems to have really finally gotten fully into her role, Leaniss is doing a great job as First Officer -" Ajam's eyes widen and Asurva quickly presses on, "Sam's got her own command, Lightning, a new Centaur."
Maryam looks away for a good long moment; watching the line on a biobed bounce in a rhythmic test pattern, feeling her constant aches return, before letting a breath out, "...and… Raelin?" she turns back, eyes moist.
Asurva sucks in a breath with a vaguely sheepish look "Well… about that… You're technically married. Aaaaaand you're a mother. She's a girl, congratulations!"
The Orion doctor watches Maryam's vitals carefully as the Human woman's eyes fly open and her jaw works itself painfully, "I'mmmm Sorry? What?"
Asurva shuffles awkwardly "I'll start with Ayishah." Maryam smiles slightly as she imagines her mother talking with Raelin about family traditions and insisting that he uses her grandmother's name. "Do you remember-"
"Starfleet Medical?" Maryam makes a small quick nod. "Yes."
"Well.... Raelin decided to go ahead with… your, uhm, daughter." She smiles. "He asked for opinions on the matter." She pauses for a moment. ""Take one of the greatest adventures that a living being can have. For her sake." Nash said that."
Maryam nods gently. "Huh," she says.
Asurva rests a hand on Maryam's shoulder, "She's a lovely child, you've only missed a couple months of her life. Your parents moved out to Leas Akaam to help him raise Ayishah."
Maryam smiles and chuckles gravelly at the thought of her stodgy, traditional, homebody parents picking up and moving halfway across the quadrant.
"As for the marriage thing…" Asurva shrugs her shoulders in amusement. "It's an Amarki thing. They've a tradition that a betrothed who dies in battle is considered married for all legal purposes. I think you might have picked up a posthumous Knighthood somewhere too?" She giggles slightly.
Maryam giggles slightly too; the picture of her mother's dramatic disappointment in not getting a proper wedding for her wayward daughter running through her imagination.
Pritya grins. "Technically you're Knight-Captain Maryam Ajam of some order or another."
"I have a lot to come back to!" says Maryam as she lays with a head filled with dreams of the future.
----------------------------
Maryam Ajam shifts up onto a prosthetic elbow, letting it gather ripples of hospital bed sheet, as she hears low voices from the outside hall.
The head of an Andorian nurse briefly passes the threshold of Ajam's doorway; her Antennae rising in surprise to see Ajam awake and moving.
A blue face shifts from pleased surprise to a mischievous smile before it disappears.
There's another round of low voices before someone else enters the room.
Raelin's mouth is in a broad smile and Maryam sees the subtle working of his jaw that tells her that he is putting in a colossal amount of effort to find something to say.
"Hi." he says at last as he all but runs over to his love's hospital bed in indecent haste.
"Hi." says Maryam, adjusting her position so that Raelin can wrap his arms around her tightly.
"I love you so much." he says with tightly closed eyes.
Maryam replies in a gravelly whisper, "I love you."
Ajam slowly lowers herself back onto soft mattress as Raelin finally lets her go.
"Marriage?" She says after Raelin finds a seat and moves it next to the bed.
The Amarki man shrinks into himself a little and raises his hands in playful semi-serious defence. "It's an Amarki thing. I, well, it's an old tradition to honour the wishes of the nobly dead. It also establishes the legal heredity of unborn children."
Ajam nods, adjusting the angle of her bed so she's almost sitting upright. "I read about that in the first contact packet." She laughs wryly. "Now I can't feel smug about Nash being the only one to run afoul of old Amarki wedding traditions."
"Well, I mean, if you're not comfortable; we can easily have everyt-"
Maryam cuts her husband off. "Are you kidding? Now I don't have to worry about my mother butting in and running the whole ceremony!" she smiles up at Raelin, "It's the perfect wedding present, Rae." She pauses briefly. "Well. There is the other thing."
"We thought you were dead." Raelin looks away briefly. "If I'd had any idea… any at all-"
Maryam shifts back up onto a light blue Starfleet issue prosthesis, setting her other hand on Raelin's shoulder, "Raelin. I'm not angry. I could never be angry. I just…" She blinks heavily, tears running down one side of her face. "I didn't expect to come back a mother!"
"Surprise!" says Raelin weakly as he waves his hands in the air.
Ajam settles back down on her bed. "So. When can I meet her. My…" She shrugs at the absurdity. "My daughter?"
"Well." Raelin rises to his feet. "There is some more family here for you to meet if you feel up to it."
"Rae. I was blown up almost a year ago." she rubs her new prosthesis, "And all they did was replace those Cardassian monstrosities yesterday. I can even say more than fifteen words in a row without coughing up blood now." She lets that sit there, a mischievous grin threatening to break out on her face, "I'll be fine."
Raelin nods seriously as he moves to the doorway. It opens with a near silent hiss as he pops his head out for a moment.
The Amarki quickly comes back to stand by his wife's side, followed by Maryam's parents.
Her father is as she remembers; a quiet and dignified man. He follows her mother in much the same way as a planet in a deteriorating but slow orbit of a star: independent of, but inextricably bound to, and overshadowed by, its primary.
Her mother… looks the same but… Maryam Ajam had expected disappointment. For her mother to remind her that she had always predicted that Starfleet would be the death of her daughter.
Instead Nadiyya Ajam has paused, tears in her eyes, not speaking. Her husband stands next to her. Benjamin Ajam has an arm around his wife as he looks at his daughter in wonder; her death and survival finally becoming real to him all at once, "We missed you." He says simply.
There is a bundle in Nadiyya's arms. Maryam expects her arms of metal and plastic to tremble as her mother approaches with her daughter; but they stay steady with machine precision as she reaches upwards to meet her daughter for the first time.
----------------------------
Maryam scratches her arm with a sense of vague wonder. A mere nine months to go from unfeeling Cardassian prostheses to cloned replacements is something that her simian brain is still coming to terms with. She wonders if someday...
"You'll be able to add Ferasia and Betazed to the list of worlds that you have orbitally skydived?" asks the counsellor, Torri Nu, eyebrow raised in amusement.
"I'm not one to question the Old Lady. But at this rate I'll never be able to keep up with new members." There is still a dim sense of amazement at speaking without pain. Her voice will never fully lose some of the gravel that it has picked up; but Maryam Ajam is just happy to speak without worry of damage. "And I hope that we don't add too many more to my backlog before I can give them a try."
Nu tilts her head slightly, "You're worried that that might be never."
Maryam sighs, Betazoids, so troublesome, "Yes," she says simply, raising a hand level with her shoulder, watching it begin to quietly and delicately shake.
"The Doctors tell me that it's possible…" she lets the hand drop.
Nu looks at Ajam with soft and insistent black eyes, and raises an eyebrow questioningly.
Maryam stares back for a moment, just letting her emotions play out.
"Part of you fears that you used up all of your willpower. Left all of your determination back on Kadak-Tor. Another part of you wonders if it is even worth it to try." The Betazoid searches Maryam's eyes, "You wonder if you're past your prime already. Captain Ka'Sharren is being - such harsh language!- 'kicked' out of her chair. If someone like her is moving on; what sort of future does that leave you?"
The Betazoid takes Ajam's left hand between hers, "You fear that you'll be stuck behind a desk, you fear that your body will stay broken and you'll be forever trapped in a body that is itself trapped behind a desk."
The Betazoid shakes her own head; brown curls gently bouncing on red uniform, "Maryam, don't let those doubts consume you. I can 'see' you. I can see the bright shining steel of your soul. You didn't let yourself fall into despair when your first received your injuries, you were the backbone of Gul Miran and her officers, their beacon of a better way and a better life." The Betazoid closes her eyes, "Your road is not an easy one, and I do not envy you, but you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to."
----------------------------
The hiker studies the cliff face impassively, searching out a potential route up, judging her own misbehaving body. She reaches out towards the rockface and angrily pulls back back a shaking hand.
Her other fist lashes out: knuckle meeting stone and leaving behind a few small specks of glistening red.
"Ah!" Maryam Ajam exclaims, a puff of of white escaping her mouth into the crisp air, shaking her hand out and watching bright blood well up on dark skin.
Behind her back a pointy eared head pops up from driving the last tent peg into the ground, "Mari?" says Raelin; using a term of endearment born of a sudden first meeting and misheard translation.
"I tripped."
Raelin rocks back off of his knees and stands up; gracefully throwing a small mallet into a pack on his back as he rises.
"No you didn't," he says as he steps up behind his wife, loose locks of hair caught in a warm wind waving in his frowning face.
"Okay. I punched the cliff."
"That was silly," he says with the corner of his mouth quirking up, "That cliff didn't do anything to you."
"Really? Haven't you been listening to my mother?"
Raelin shrugs. "The only things she likes on Leas Akaam are her daughter and the granddaughter she's currently guarding like a Knight-Sentinel."
"She likes you too." The two turn away from the rock to face the forest behind them. Prickly and curved green Leas Akaam 'trees,' which had as as much in common with vines as trees, are draped undulating over the valley beneath them.
The Amarki chuckles and drapes an arm around his wife, "She likes that her daughter got herself a proper husband!" he gives Maryam a quick peck and a sly smile, "She was afraid you'd picked up more than quick wits from Nash!"
Ajam turns into the kiss, "Oh, no worries there!" she rests her head against her husband's as the two watch the distant slightly blueish sun of Leas Akaam set across the valley.
Raelin squeezes Maryam tightly, "Seriously. Mari. You don't just punch cliff faces. Talk to me."
"I'm not getting better." A fist belonging to a newly cloned arm tightens, "It's been a year…"
"And you still shake." A lightly cyan hand takes a dark brown one, holding it tightly to Ajam's side.
"The Doctors say that the neurological damage has been repaired." Her words stumble to a stop, "I, I -I just--"
"Nu hasn't been helping?" Raelin says with a touch of concern, "We can -"
"No" Maryam breathes softly, "She's great. I just. I can't."
"You want to ride before you can even crawl Mari." he sighs, "I know you, you want to be back orbitally diving over Ferasia right now." he smiles, "I love that part of you, but you aren't giving yourself the time you need"
"I never needed it before"
"Yes you did. You just had to work to learn what you could do. But now," he rubs a shoulder, "You know what you used to be able to do and you aren't giving yourself room to learn it all over again. You think you should be able to just snap your fingers and start again right now"
"I was never able to snap my fingers."
"Oh come on!"
"I never learned!"
Raelin laughs and snaps his fingers. "It's not that hard!" he pauses for a moment. "Maybe. Maybe you should start there? And work your way back up?"
Maryam holds a hand of fingers out in front of herself in the fading light and mimes failure at snapping those fingers. "Nope. Can't do it"
"Well then, something else, what about drawing?" the Amarki smiles, "I remember that you never tried before. Maybe you just need to try to learn something that you don't have memories of already mastering?" he shrugs. "If it's not up to your mother's exacting standards; they wouldn't be even if you'd never taken your little side trip."
"Sure. Why not?" Ajam snuggles in closer to her husband whispering in his ear, "You know there's something else I could try right now…"
----------------------
"No."
"Please?" Says Maryam Ajam.
"NO!" says Ayishah with chubby little fists clenched tight around tiny pointed dark cyan ears.
Maryam holds in a grin, "Pretty please?" She says seriously.
"No!"
"Then who else will play with Docana?"
"No?" a small face frowns in confusion.
"Yes!" Ajam smiles at her daughter, "My friend Docana!"
Ayishah tilts her head inquisitively, "Do cana?"
"Yes! She's a little tiny Constie. And the Old Man Seruk wants her to be my friend!"
An expression of confusion deepens, "Seruk?"
"Seruk makes sure that all the ships have friends and captains."
A little finger pokes a red uniform, "Captan!"
"Yes! I am Docana's new captain!" Ajam tickles Ayishah, "She's just like you! She likes to explore new things and meet friends!" Ajam's daughter giggles and squirms, "And she likes to play hide and seek, and all sorts of fun things. Docana is really nice too!"
"Aha!" says Ajam, "I know!" she laughs, "How about an Enterprise story!"
Ayishah squeals in excitement, "Ent-prise!"
"Yes! Enterprise story!" says Maryam, thinking of which story to tell. Certainly one long enough to put a tired toddler to sleep… She's already been through all of her own adventures with Nash. Maybe one of Archer's adventures?
A half hour later Maryam stands in the doorway of her daughter's room, "Computer, set lights to 'Ayishah: Night' please." she whispers quietly, watching the lighting drop down except for a bright splotch of blue light on the far wall.
She steps back from the threshold with a last long look at her child and retreats to the kitchen.
"Little monster is finally down," Maryam says as Raelin hands her a cup of hot chocolate.
"Big monster is down," says Raelin with a grin as he lifts a cup of something dark, fragrant, caffeinated, and Indorian.
"That's my mother!"
Raelin chuckles as he sips at his Indorian coffee, "Actually I was talking about your father. He's an absolute beast at four dimensional chess. The only person on Leas Akaam that can reliably send me home on my shield!"
"Well, as long as you're getting along."
Raelin shrugs, "We were mostly talking over the big news," he frowns into his drink, "A Constellation? Really?"
Maryam sits at the kitchen table in a chair made of Leas Akaam Pseudoteac, "You were the one telling me that I needed to relearn things from the basics."
Raelin joins his wife at the table, "It, uhm, doesn't get much more basic than a Constellation."
"Docana is a good ship with a good crew." She smiles, "At least they didn't promote me to a desk."
Raelin watches his wife shudder. Occasionally he worries about her disappearing in deep space while exploring. But he knows his wife well enough to know that keeping her home would kill her just as surely as a supernova, if just a touch slower. Asking her to stay would kill a part of her that he loves.
"Poor Commodore Ka'Sharren," he says, raising his mug in a toast. "May she find peace behind a desk."
"I'm the one that died." Maryam smiles. "She'll be fine. I've been talking with her. I think she's slowly coming to terms with it. She says doesn't want to end up like Jim Kirk. Eternally tethered to his ship and lost."
Raelin shrugs, Kirk isn't his hero. He appreciates the legend, it's just not quite as real for him. Not when he's met a real, live, breathing, blue Starfleet legend, "So," he says. "So," he says again, "Ayishah, is she, hmm" he waves a hand around vaguely.
Maryam leans back in her chair and takes her time with a sip of her hot chocolate, "Well, now I promised to tell her stories about my 'friend' Docana."
Raelin chuckles, "The ship?"
"Yes. I, uh, may have gotten a little carried away talking to her. But anything for her smile," she sets her cup down. "It'll be good to get back out there though."
Raelin tries to keep the hint of sadness out of his smile, "Well Starfleet certainly thinks that you're ready, I guess you convinced Nu."
Maryam chuckles, "I just showed her my drawings"
------------------
An Andorian Ensign checks his console carefully, "We've secured from lightspeed ma'am," he pokes at the console again, "We have entered the Arcanis-53 system as scheduled."
Captain Ajam pats the young officer on the shoulder affectionately, "Good work Ensign ch'Takken." She settles back into the captain's chair with a proud smile, "Looks like all that training has really paid off."
"Yes Ma'am!" says the Andorian, a cheery grin on his face.
"Well then. Let's be about this." Ajam leans forward in her seat, "No one's been in this system in fifty-seven years. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can discover with modern sensors. I'm certain that Starfleet Command will appreciate the updated charts."
There's a positive murmur and chorus of "Yes ma'am's" as the crew settles into their assigned tasks. It's not Courageous, and certainly not Enterprise, but Docana and her crew have a charm of their own. A cozy comfort that Captain Ajam has learned to appreciate.
"Ma'am." Maryam looks up at Ensign Doran, "Dispatches from Starfleet Command."
"Thank you, Ensign," says the Captain, smiling at her Orion officer, "Is there anything else?"
"No Ma'am. Not at the moment."
Ajam settles in to read through the dispatches. Updated ROEs, diplomatic reports, and an update on the Kadeshi visit to Earth...
"Lieutenant Mulrooney?" Ajam turns slightly in her chair to look at her junior tactical officer, "Feel ready to take the Conn for a bit?" the woman has earned a chance at the big chair. If Nash taught her anything, it was to nurture talent and grow her officers' potential.
The Human all but clicks her heels as she comes to attention, "Yes Ma'am!"
Ajam suppresses a grin at the junior officer's excitement. "Very good Ms Mulrooney. I will be in my ready room. Please alert me if anything at all out of the ordinary happens."
"Yes Ma'am."
Maryam walks smoothly off the bridge to her ready room and sits down heavily. She stares at the news from Earth. Stargazer is being commissioned to travel with the Kadeshi to their distant and near mythical homeworld. And Starfleet Command is looking for volunteers. And more specifically a volunteer Captain.
It's the stuff of dreams and legends. And more specifically her dreams. She's a veteran Excelsior captain. Served on Enterprise. Survived more than most officers. That doesn't mean that she deserves command of Stargazer. But if there is any Captain more qualified than her to command Stargazer… well, Ka'Sharren is a Commodore now. "Sorry Nash," says Maryam to the empty air as she begins filling out forms.
She's staring at the completed transfer request when practicalities catch up to her enthusiasm. What about Raelin? Ayishah?
Maryam thinks for a moment before pulling up more information on the expedition. She looks over the accommodations on Stargazer, the auxiliaries… and then on the Kadeshi mothership itself. Room for plenty of families. Many children. She calls up the recently received data packet again. There! Multiple positions that could use an experienced garrison officer or marine commander.
Ajam puts the whole packet together; the notification, her own application, the open forms. All in one packet. She checks the transit time to Leas Akaam. It'll be some time before she can hear back from Raelin….
Almost a day and a half to be exact.
And nearly a day and a half later she does hear back from him. There is no message. Simply a filled out request for placement with the Kadeshi expedition.
Introduction
This is a weekly intelligence briefing to bring all departments and units up to speed concerning recent intelligence developments. Understanding the operations and analysis of current Threat factors and our own response facilitates better cohesion of action and response effectiveness. This week's briefing covers an examination of the Kearsarge attack from an Intelligence perspective, an update on possible use of marketing methods by Syndicate cells, and a report on possible Threat action against Rixx Scrutineers and possible countermeasures. These are quick briefs, and more in-depth analysis of any of these updates can be distributed by request or accessed with proper clearance.
Security Update: The Attack On The USS Kearsarge
It was once common thinking in Starfleet Intelligence that the anti-Syndicate campaign would be a simple one of corporate warfare, that the organization would crumble or move to different opportunities as soon as we put enough pressure on them. This thinking was bent as soon as the Syndicate began putting up heavy resistance, digging in, and acquiring heavy weapons with which to threaten our assets. This required new assumptions. Two of them that they would hit us economically and conventionally, avoiding attacks that inflicted undue civilian carnage, and that their agents were economic actors motivated by profit and thus would avoid willingly committing suicide attacks. Subsequently, we were not expecting nor adequately prepared for the attack on the USS Kearsarge by hijacked civilian transports. Office 8's planning team have thrown all such assumptions out the window, and we have begun wargaming for a variety of attack types and methods that were considered, until now, nonviable for the Syndicate. Already several deficiencies have been noted and countermeasures put in place to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Also of note is that the Kearsarge was attacked when most of the senior staff was asleep or just starting duty, including the stationed Admirals and the Captain of the Kearsarge itself. While this may have been coincidence, it is also highly possible that our duty schedules have been leaked to the Syndicate, and they may strike at similarly vulnerable times in the future. It is also entirely possible they have simply conducted extensive research into our standard operating practices, hours, and shipboard standard times. Were it possible I would recommend our ships operate on different time schedules from each other, and duty rosters randomized, but at some point security has to give way to practicality. Implementing such procedures would be a logistical nightmare and hamper operations.
Expanded in Kearsage Security Analysis No.2 by Ensign Amalke
Enemy Activity Update: Rationalizing Terrorism
The attack on the Kearsarge, while having the hallmarks of a Syndicate operation in that it was surprising, well-planned, and well-executed, still broke from their methodology in a variety of ways, which as previously stated caught us off-guard. In addition to the profit motives discussed above, it was believed the Syndicate would not try such an attack for fear of public backlash. Indeed, on Orion social media and in the wider media the responses were quite negative to the attack, with many sympathetic stories penned about the thousands of innocent Orions lost in an attack that inflicted relatively few Federation casualties. For an organization that requires some level of popular support in order to stay hidden, and wishes to win the war politically, it was an incredibly risky move for little obvious gain public gain.
However, I am beginning to believe that the backlash to the attack was exactly what the Syndicate wanted, in order to collect data. Looking back through the logs of attacks, we have seen a pattern of carefully escalating attacks that cause indiscriminate civilian casualties. It is my belief that the Syndicate is using big data analysis methods and others to develop a sort of marketing matrix that will maximize impact to our material and political assets while minimizing backlash in the general public. As the title of this section states, they wish to rationalize terrorist acts, not from a moral perspective, but from a purely mathematical one to help determine what attacks are politically 'profit-maximizing' and thus worthy of being carried out.
There's a variety of ways to accomplish this. Most likely is that the Syndicate is using a marketing firm -- or a number of marketing firms -- to trawl Orion social media for raw data and to operationalize articles from more conventional news sources. These firms will then distill the data to find how broad and intense public interest was in a particular attack, if they were positively inclined to it or not, and if there is any change in trending support for the Federation or Syndicate. This would help them target their resources more effectively, and allow them to space out attacks and gain feedback into the efficacy of those already carried out. Their ideal attack would no doubt be one that uses a minimal of resources to achieve broad and intense public interest and ramps up Syndicate support.
The attack on the Kearsarge can be seen as an endpoint to their attempt to calibrate this metric, as an attack with high civilian casualties but also high impact on the Federation. We may see further unconventional attacks, such as last month's half-hearted attack on the Rigellian embassy, as further attempts to calibrate.
Finding ways to counter this new system will be difficult but not undoable. Our own signals and supercomputer group in Office 36 is capable of performing the same data-driven analysis, which may allow us to derive their operating metric and in turn, predict their attacks. Locating and disrupting marketing firms known to be doing such research for the Syndicate is also an option, but our ability to do so will be limited. The Syndicate operates best in the misty grey area between extremely deregulated corporation and criminal enterprise, and they will use multiple marketing firms to analyze the data, will do so as a legitimate customer, and may do so to firms who have no idea they are working for the Syndicate. Such analyses of social media are not uncommon in the Union, and even the Orion Union government has commissioned marketing firms to determine how Syndicate attacks are impacting their public support. If we sent in Aerocommandos to clear out every marketing firm that could possibly be involved in helping the Syndicate develop a terror metric, the workload would be so large we wouldn't be able to send them on any other mission.
However, my team has identified key data criteria and experimental controls that the Syndicate would no doubt need to include in any research study designed to gain actionable models for planning operations. This will help us on a first-pass to find firms more obviously or obliviously working for the Syndicate, and will help us determine which firms might be working for the Syndicate or the government.
In conclusion, the Syndicate has managed to create an unholy nexus of direct marketing, big data, political messaging, and criminal terrorism. The desire to gather more data may have been the precipitating factor behind the Kearsarge attack and explain why they chose the method they did. In the meantime, Plans Team has been tasked with wargaming Kearsarge-style attacks and others so that we will not be caught off-guard in the future in the event the Syndicate chooses to further pursue tactics that for them were seen previously as unconventional.
Expanded on in Threat Activity: Syndicate Attempts To Operationalize Terror by Ensign T'Hal and Ensign Pouren.
Vulnerability: Rixx Scrutineers
An area of security concern is the Rixx Scrutineers. Having been consistently our most effective asset against Syndicate corruption, and given a high public profile as a result, we believe the Syndicate will make countering the Scrutineers a top priority. Already we have seen an increase in anti-Scrutineer thinkpieces, more negative slant given to their mention in articles, and fairly typical social media brawls. Most of these stem from a underpinning philosophical basis: that the Scrutineers represent an unaccountable, unOrion force that is capable of privacy breaches that were hitherto unheard of and almost impossible to craft countermeasures for. Some of these will no doubt be concerned citizens with justifiable criticism, but it is almost certain that some of these articles are being penned with Syndicate support. Countering this avenue of attack will mostly be the job of the Betazoid government and their outreach programs, along with better education and increased Orion interaction with Betazoids.
While so far the threat to the Scrutineers has mostly been a public relations affair, the Kearsage attack reminds us that we cannot remain complacent, and it is highly likely that the Syndicate will begin operations to attack Scrutineers directly. This presents a major complication, as increased visibility of the Scrutineers in public and on patrol is one recommended course of action to counter negative public image [See attached Appendix C]. Plans believes that the risk can be mitigated by giving deployed Scrutineers on the ground more organic security support. We also believe that they should pair with the Caitian Frontier Police to receive enhanced security training and on-the-job experience so that the Scrutineers are better able to protect themselves if needed. Also proposed was to simply disguise deployed Scrutineers as Human security personnel, avoiding the risk of them being targeted directly. However, we believe this will actually exacerbate any PR issues, as making the Rixx Scrutineers visible is an important element of gaining the trust of the average Orion. If rumors spread that Starfleet Security squads could have a secret mind-reader embedded at any time, paranoia would seep in and trust would be lost. Therefore, disguise is only recommended in special circumstances. Wargaming to develop better security protocols for facilities housing Rixx personnel has begun, and often overlaps with wargaming unconventional attacks on our facilities.
We believe as well that the Rixx Scrutineers face an additional angle of attack: the mind. Reports from the homeworld Scrutineers report possible contact between Betazed dissident group Zeroth House and the Syndicate. Vulcan Security has also begun to investigate the recruitment of Vulcan citizens tempted by the Syndicate's promises of a life with order and emotion. These efforts reveal the darker half of IDIC - for all that a species might be friendly, open, or otherwise peaceful, there will always be some individuals willing to sign up with a group like the Syndicate. Indeed, we believe the Syndicate are pushing their newfound rebellious reputation to recruit outcasts from all species, promising family and adventure.
At the same time, the Syndicate has been scouring the Klingon menagerie of misery that is Rura Penthe for unique individuals or species with psionic abilities. In this case they do not need as much persuasion, reasonably assuming anyone trapped in Rura Penthe would rather work for the Syndicate and bribing the local authorities to cover it up. Further consultation is needed with the Betazoids as to their potential vulnerabilities in this area, but from initial inquiries it appears this might be an area of unknowns for them as well. Our covert agents should be warned of the possibility of the Syndicate using psionic species like we do our scrutineers, and consult with the Vulcans and Betazoids as to possible countermeasures they can use, where possible.
Expanded in Threat Assessment: Rixx Scrutineers Visibility and Vulnerability by Lieutenant Torrt Kinaek and Ensign Amalke
Breaking:
A large plasma explosion has been registered at the site of the funeral service for the colony Vice-Governor. Dozens are feared dead in this latest outcropping of a wave of violence brought on by the arrival of Starfleet forces. With local community opposition, typified by such distinguished groups as the Children of Liberty Circle and the Orion Heritage Council, going unheeded, the outbreak of violence was surely an expected result. Even so, the colony world is ill-equipped to handle such levels of rebellion, and the PPU is retreating to their stations.
-
Bridge, USS Lexington
"Commodore, I want you to go on the attack, suppress this now," declares Rear Admiral Uhura as she strides up next to Captain Winslow. "What do you need to do it?
On the viewscreen ahead of them, Commodore T'Lorel is dirt-smudged, with burns and tears in her officer's jacket. But her posture is parade-ground perfect, and if she feels any discomfort, no one would ever tell. "Personnel," replies the Commodore. "I require additional personnel in order to establish a visible presence to deter Syndicate activity. Office 24's three teams together with the wire-tapping provide sufficient offensive capacity."
"I will have the ship security detachments deploy to the surface, Commodore," replies Uhura. "Just bring this under control."
-
Anti-Slavery Task Force Progress Report
For a time being it looked like Freedom was going to become a fiasco. The Syndicate began to attack any civilian targets that worked in concert with us, while also attempting a round of assassinations for any public official that was not on board with their agenda. However, an aggressive set of interventions from RAdm Uhura, and Commodores Eaton and T'Lorel proved decisive in smothering these attempts. Images of orbit-to-surface phaser strikes in support of beleaguered Frontier Police outposts, plus high-speed shuttle insertions, caused panic among the populace at first. However, they were effective at disrupting the Syndicate operational tempo.
A number of casualties were taken and sustained, but overall, many arrests were made, including of one Syndicate agent believed responsible for a number of bombings on Celos. Information gathered from initial interrogations allowed Commodore Eaton's task force to break up a smuggling operation based on the planet, arresting the crew of a cargo ship in the act. Overall, we ended the month in better shape on Freedom than we started, a prospect that seemed distant at one stage. In fact, they believe that they will be able to exploit this defeat to start declawing the Syndicate's hold on the planet early. [1hp Caitian Frontier Police, 1hp Starfleet Security, 1hp Syndicate Merc Team killed, 3hp Syndicate local assets arrested, +8 Impact, +3 Cost]
On Alukk, the Union government has been working frantically to stay ahead of media campaigns designed to further pressure them into extradite the Syndicate financial backers from Amarkia. This is being met with a peculiar and rather two-faced approach, whereby they speak of their desire to return the criminals to fact Orion justice, but they must recognise Amarkian claims. Segments of the administration are robust in their language towards Amarkia, which is causing frayed tensions in some quarters, but overall the mollification is working. [0 Cost]
In more operational matters, the Union government is doing their best to conduct a reconstruction from the ground up of the PPU on Celos, which they expect to take a further quarter before they are able to fully take over the effort. Unfortunately, on Alukk they attempted a crackdown of urban areas, and met with stiff resistance. Multi-dimensional, complex ambushes have resulted in dozens of deaths, as have a series of hovertruck bombings of ISSU and SSD stations. [1 hp ISSU, 1 hp SSD killed, +5 Cost]
Although we cannot put a high level of confidence on it, there is a belief among Starfleet Intelligence's Orion analysts that the Syndicate's overall operational tempo has been further reduced. We will report further on this in coming months.
"Just remember, Captain, you should expect a lot of ... attention."
"Commodore ka'Sharren, I am not sure why you would believe this," replies Captain Straak as he walks with the senior officer through the halls. "However, I should remind you that I have a mate, who has joined me aboard ship."
Nash gives the man a grin and shrugs, her antenna echoing her shoulders. "I'm just saying, the Apiata are a bit odd when it comes to these things."
"We have Apiatan ratings aboard, and have not encountered anything 'odd'."
"Yes, but the Apiata that we get are 'odd', by their standards," retorts Nash. "You just ought to be aware. Apiatans consider the men of other species to be a fourth 'gender caste'."
Straak gives the Commodore a puzzled look. "And what would be behind that decision?"
"Let's start with the word they use in Pitian," begins Nash as she rolls her hands over. "The dominant language on Apinae, for your gender. Untgrizzi."
"I confess I am not conversant in Apiatan languages," replies Straak, with just a little stiffness as his Vulcan reserve squashes any embarrassment.
"Unt, for something possessed of utility, and grizzi, for drone. 'Useful drone'." Nash cocks her eyebrow at the Captain before the door to the Transporter Room opens up and they step through. The two officers step up onto the transporter pads and nod at the Chief Petty Officer on the control panel.
"Energise, Chief."
-
Explorer Corps Director of Operations Log, Commodore Nash ka'Sharren, Stardate 24862.2
I have arrived on the USS Sarek to help observe an early set of battle exercises with an Apiatan task force. We have met the Pollizazza with an escort of two Stingers. Captain Straak and I shall observe from the bridge of one of the Stingers, while the Captain of the Pollizazza shall observe from the USS Sarek.
Surprisingly, it looks like Queen Izzidiera hasn't managed to get herself onto this delegation!
[Results will follow in later post]
-
Captain's Log, USS Stargazer, Stardate 24862.4 - Captain Maryam Ajam
The fleet is underway. The plan is to head through Federation space towards the Gabriel Expanse.
Still not quite sure how the Cardassians will react to something the size of the Pride of Kadesh passing so close to their space. There will be a planned stopover near Apinae during the next quarter in order to conduct fleet exercises against various allied ships.
-
Personal Log, Captain Maryam Ajam, Stardate 24863.2
I'm on a course once more for space unexplored by any in the Federation. My family is with me, stars waiting to make my acquaintance ahead of me. A few hairy moments as we pass Orion space and then Cardassian space, but then I'll be able to push those old memories aside. Cardassia, the Syndicate, the bonds of familiarity that tie us down, all will be cast aside.
Exploration is an endless summer just waiting for me.
-
Captain's Log, USS Challorn, Stardate 24863.5
A Qloathi cargo ship is aflame and doing all they can to avert a loss of containment on a number of volatile materials. I have brought the Challorn in to attend the ship, and it looks like we will be able to stabilise the vessel and bring it to Starbase 9 for further repairs.
[+5pp, +25 with Qloathi]
-
Captain's Log, USS Stargazer, Stardate 24864.1
Long-range sensors have picked up an unknown large contact, above us on the galactic plane, near the uppermost boundary between the Tellar and Amarkia sectors.
Along with the Watchkeeper, we have been asked to make a warp sprint to get a better look at this unknown contact. As we have little detail as to who this may be, I have taken the step of transferring civilian passengers on the ship over to the Pride of Kadesh.
-
Captain's Log, USS Kumari, Stardate 24864.5
We have picked up a faint distress signal coming from Qloathi space. It is a little garbled, but with a little work we have determined the meaning. The Qloathi outpost around the major mining colony of Adthothi V is suffering a fast-spreading debilitating illness.
We are making our way there with all haste, but it is one of their frontier worlds and I have concerns about whether we will make it there in time. But with Vigour and Winterwind on exploration tasks, and Challorn already on another Distress Call, we are short on responders.
We must hope.
-
Captain's Log, USS Excelsior, Stardate 24864.9
A rarity today; we have had to cross the Neutral Zone to respond to the distress call of a Romulan civilian outpost suffering a virulent plague. We were in the midst of a sweep through the Neutral Zone, picking over former Biophage battle sites, when the call arrived. No Romulan ships were in place to respond - and make of that what you will - and we arrived and rendered medical aid successfully.
[+10pp, gain approval from Romulan Senate]
-
Captain's Log, USS Stargazer, Stardate 24865.3
We have encountered the unknown contact and found it is a Honiani explorer! A majestic Cathedral-ship, gilded and embellished.
The Purity has fallen into formation with us and the Watchkeeper, while we host the Honiani.
[Gain +5pp, +25 Relations with Honiani]
-
Captain's Log, USS Kumari, Stardate 24865.6
Too late. Disaster struck the outpost during the later stages of the disesase, and a plasma fire cored out the majority of the interior. The outpost will need to be almost rebuilt from scratch, and only a few survivors remain.
Due to an untimely sabbatical, and the requirement to appoint a Starbase commander, two Sectors require assignment. In accordance with standing regulations, I am forwarding to you a short list of candidates.
[ ][FERASA] Please pick a Candidate to command Ferasa Sector
[ ][SBZ] Please pick a Candidate to command the Sydraxian Border Zone
Captain Langa Mbeki
Current Posting: Unassigned Pending Inquiry Result (expected next month)
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: High
Diplomacy: Medium
Politics: Low
Although the inquiry into the loss of the USS Miracht has not yet published their findings, based on my analysis of evidence presented, the inquiry is almost certain to clear Captain Mbeki, thus I have included him in this list. With stints commanding the USS Challorn, the USS Miracht, and time in a shore billet as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff to Starfleet Tactical Command, I believe he has the necessary experience to progress further in his career.
Captain Tomas Meyer
Current Posting: Director of Personnel, Starfleet Explorer Corps
Rule-Abiding: High
Aggression: Low
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: Medium
Politics: High
A talented bureaucrat and political operator, I feel that Captain Meyer requires more space side command and would rather see him promoted to a home sector command than further desk assignments.
Commodore Thraan th'Marlaas
Current Posting: Chief of Staff, Starfleet Shipyard Operations
Rule-Abiding: Low
Aggression: High
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: Medium
Politics: Medium
A long serving officer in Shipyard Operations, I believe he is chafing with a long series of planetside assignments, and would like to see his talents verified through a different command before pushing him towards a Shipyard Command.
Commodore Michel Thuir
Current Posting: Operations Officer, Starfleet Tactical Field Command
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: High
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: Medium
Politics: High
An officer who has been proven in dangerous situations, with experience in command during the Biophage, and who has completed a Five Year Mission.
Commodore Gorac Crogan
Current Posting: Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), Starfleet Command
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: High
Politics: High
A long-serving Tellarite officer with significant experience already acquired in planet-side billets. In order to be satisfied that they are ready for a Rear Admiral billet, however, it would be best to see them take to space once more.
Captain Vol Chad
Current Posting: Commanding, USS Sappho
Rule-Abiding: Low
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: High
Politics: Low
A promising officer, currently on the Explorer Corps Panel. While they acquire an appointment with either the Odyssey or S'harien in 2313, I believe they do have sufficient qualifications currently.
Sincerely,
Rear Admiral Seruk
QM/N:
I really do need to push along more junior officers into Captaincy and Commodore-ship, it's getting thin on the ground at the top with so many Sectors to command!
FROM: Rear Admiral Scott Linderly
TO: Captain Onyeka Sun, Office 30
TOPIC: Re: Draft general information briefing on Yrillian piracy
Captain, I did an initial read through. -Comments RAL, additions, and deletions included below. The Sydraxian stuff I took right out; what were you thinking? Overall the psychology stuff might be useful if you find yourself in the way of Yrillian pirates, but I think you got too wrapped up in your subject matter in places. Take another pass, consider my comments, and we'll wrap it for distribution.
----
FROM: Captain Onyeka Sun, Office 30
TO: Rear Admiral Scott Linderly
TOPIC: Draft general information briefing on Yrillian piracy
Sir,
Per your instructions I have prepared a general information briefing on Yrillian pirate activity for distribution to all relevant Federation organizations. While avoiding discussion of specific intelligence operations we have underway, this should provide background on typical pirate tactics and the cultural and psychological imperatives driving pirate activity.
Despite the potential usefulness of this information, I have some unease at the potential consequences of distributing this document. Yrillians are already too firmly linked with the concept of "piracy" in mind of your average citizen. The fluid relationship between 'independent ship' and 'pirate' may lead to all Yrillians being treated as potential pirates until proven otherwise, which could have serious detrimental effects on diplomatic relations.
The draft document is presented below for your review.
FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL FEDERATION ORGANIZATIONS
Summary of Methodology, Psychology, and History Behind Yrillian Starship-Based Pirate Activity
Disclaimer
I. What is a "pirate"?
A. Planet-based activities
B. Space-based activities
C. Organization
D. Ports of Piracy
II. Motivations
A. Psychological/Cultural
B. Material C. Sydraxian Provocation
III. "Privateers"
A. History
B. Active status
IV. Conclusions
Disclaimer: As with nearly any species, the majority of Yrillians live peaceful, ethical lives. This information should be used only for situations where evidence supports suspicion of criminal activity and not as a profile for all Yrillian interstellar activity.
-This should help. RAL
I. What is a "pirate"?
For purposes of this document, Yrillian 'pirate' activities should be considered use of violence to forcibly extract valuables when said violence is supported by a vessel capable of interstellar travel (or "starship" in the common parlance). This may include activities both in space and on inhabited planets or outposts. It should be noted that though a number of Federation ships and colonies have suffered pirate attacks, the typical victims of these activities are in fact other Yrillians.
I-A. Planet-Based Activities
Planet-based pirate activity may be further sub-divided into extortion and raids, with extortion being more common. Most small colonies have extremely limited weaponry and space-capable vessels will be limited to small in-system ships not capable of warp travel and hence nearly helpless to interfere with a starship. The typical pattern is for the Yrillian ship to at first visit the colony amicably, offering to utilize their ship in conducting various tasks for the colony in return for some payment. Gradually, however, the resource value of the requested payment will be increased and the return service will be delayed, with the Yrillians dangling out the hope that if only their demands are satisfied they will leave peacefully. Threats and limited violence are used to encourage compliance.
Xenopsychologists believe that in many of these cases the initial offer may be genuine, and the ambitions of the Yrillian crew grow towards extortion only after they believe it is possible to do so with minimal risk. It is possible that with Yrillian colonies who understand the cultural imperatives at work, the opening stages of this represent a typical negotiation. However this is not to excuse the actions of the pirates, who are most assuredly not acting ethically even by their own standards when they take advantage of the situation. Given that there have been peaceful incidents of very similar Yrillian ships providing the requested service and leaving, this cannot be attributed to a cultural misunderstanding.
Raids are less common and represent a fast and violent intrusion onto the planet to quickly grab valuables by force, followed by an equally sudden departure. Target valuables are often artwork or cultural artifacts or anything else unique and therefore valuable. The best one can say for these events is that the pirates are there for plunder, not glory, and show no inclination to escalate violence beyond the minimum necessary. These raids typically do not involve the taking of captives, unless the Orion Syndicate is involved. This is believed to be due to conflicts with the psychological profile behind pirate activities (see Section II-A).
-Drop any mention of the Syndicate. I won't risk compromising anti-Syndicate operations with even the mention of what we know about their work with the Yrillians. RAL
The most potentially damaging cases are those when piracy is directed against pre-warp civilizations. Even mainstream Yrillian culture has nothing comparable to our Prime Directive; needless to say pirates feel no compunctions about interference in less technologically advanced cultures. Fortunately, pirate activity is normally oriented towards quick profit rather than long term cultural contamination. Barring late industrial cultures with recording technology and worldwide communications, most such raids lead to nothing more than legends and myths.
-Let's play nice with comments about mainstream Yrillian society. RAL
I-B. Space-Based Activities
Over ninety percent of reported space-based pirate activity is conducted against in-system ships without warp capability. The preference of the pirates in such cases is to lurk at the edge of the system scanning for a likely target, then move in fast and force it to submit, preferably by threats alone. Targets in such cases are mid-size colonies with enough in-system traffic to present worthwhile targets, while not so large as to have armed warp-capable vessels reliably in-system.
Though warp-capable ships are occasionally attacked, this is rarer. Unlike the equivalent Federation cargo vessels, warp-capable Yrillian ships are almost always armed and prepared to put up resistance, leading to an understandable caution on the part of pirates. In fact, the typical Yrillian pirate ship is itself basically an armed freighter. Occasionally more heavily armed pirate ships will attempt to force a warp capable victim into submission. In such cases, the prize is usually the ship itself more than what it is carrying. Pirates have been known to quickly and efficiently cut away nacelles and force the ejection of a warp core, which they then tractor away for use in a Yrillian shipyard.
-Assumption. We've never been sure just what they do with them. RAL
As with planetary raids, casualties are usually low. The pirates make it a point to leave life support systems intact and have been known to carefully damage subspace transmitters just enough that they can be repaired in hours to days. Some victims report being treated with an odd politeness. Of course, entrusting one's life to the sometimes mercurial whims of a Yrillian work gang is still not recommended.
I-C. Organization
To review, the primary social structure of Yrillian society is the work gang, a voluntary association of individuals working towards a common purpose. Unsurprisingly the crews of Yrillian starships almost always represent a single work gang, often with additional members who hold responsibility for organizing maintenance and provisioning in ports. They operate democratically, with all major decisions being put up to a vote by the crew. There is typically what we would understand as a "captain" with authority to give unquestioned commands in an emergency situation and some ability to organize and settle disputes in non-emergency situations, but their authority is far less than their Federation equivalent. In some cases the captain and the work gang member invested with authority to speak on behalf of the crew in negotiations will be different individuals.
The structure of a Yrillian pirate crew is the same, and this illustrates an important point. The majority of Yrillian pirate ships are not ships and crews organized with the intent to engage in piracy, but rather ordinary ships whose crew have elected to engage in opportunistic piracy. The line can be disturbingly blurry in many cases, with ships that spend the vast majority of their time engaging in legitimate interstellar trade or other socially useful tasks and then on some rare occasion seize upon an opportunity to use the force of their armed starship to impose their will upon others. A combination of cultural and psychological factors, discussed in more detail in Section II, make it all too easy for even crew members that would consider themselves normal moral sapients to slip into the pirate mindset.
That said, there are what we might consider dedicated pirate ships. These ships are typically more heavily armed than typical Yrillian ships (though not so much as the Privateers like which they aspire to be; see Section III). They are also more typically despised by other Yrillians and treated more like actual criminals, depending on a few ports of call that are willing to tolerate their activity. These ships often have much stronger leadership than a typical Yrillian starship, having been organized by a charismatic individual who dominates their crew with force of personality and occasional applied violence.
-Reemphasizing the point that Yrillian 'tolerance' of piracy is overblown. RAL.
I-D Ports of Piracy
Law enforcement among Ethur II and its colonies is weak and inconsistent by Federation standards. Nevertheless, piracy is illegal* in most locations and work gangs have been successfully convicted on piracy charges in the past. Many pirates, especially those who engage in piracy regularly rather than opportunistically, take advantage of two Yrillian ports which are known to specifically turn a blind eye to such illegal activities. The ports provide a place to dispose of illegally obtained goods, obtain repairs which will not be recorded or reported, and even change unique identifying features of ships to avoid later prosecution.
*At least when not conducted by a licensed Privateer (see Section III).
The first such port is Daasruz, an orbital complex the size of a large city orbiting a Type M moon which in turn orbits a gas giant. Daasruz is many centuries old, and it's full history has been deliberately obscured. The fact that the name Daasruz is of Orion etymology hints at connections to the old Orion Empire. Daasruz's existence is disliked by most Yrillian governments, but it occupies one of the most defensible positions in known space. Ultra-rare materials found in its gas giant are compressed by the world's gravity and energized by its magnetic field to create a unique pattern of subspace wakes that allow only a few specific safe approach paths for ships, which are easily defensible. The complex itself is believed to have the firepower of multiple starbases, and the ability to draw resources from the Class M moon it orbits means it's capable of surviving a siege of indefinite length. Daasruz prides itself on its neutrality and cosmopolitan nature, and members of many known sapient species can be found there.
The second such port is Cor Cewri, which is the name of both a sprawling orbital complex and an ancient settlement on the only habitable plateau on the Class L world it orbits. Cor Cewri is a place of great spiritual importance to the Yrillian people. It is home to a cultural sub-group known by a term that translates to "the Gardeners" and who seem to revere space travel itself. The importance of these Gardeners to the Yrillian people is not well understood, though they have also been spoken of as 'guardians of civilization'. Regardless, making a pilgrimage to Cor Cewri is considered the right of all space travelers and its neutrality assured by deep cultural taboos. These taboos do not seem to dissuade pirates from taking advantage of the port's guaranteed neutrality to have a safe port of call where no one will ask them any questions and repair of their ship is a sacred rite.
-Not too sure about this level of detail. I won't make you take it out, but consider if this is really useful information for the audience of this document. RAL
II. Motivations
In this section we will explore the psychological drives and practical motivations that make pirate activity relatively more common among Yrillians as compared to other sapient species. This analysis is based extensively on interviews with captured Yrillian pirates as well as a xeno-cultural analysis of Yrillian media. As always, caution should be taken in assuming a generalization applies to any specific individual.
IIA. Psychological/Cultural
Space travel, especially interstellar space travel, holds a high degree of cachet in Yrillian society. Specifically the common cultural image is of space travelers as a work gang of daring explorers, venturing forward into the void with only themselves to depend on and bringing back valuable knowledge and resources. Actual starship crews know that work in space can often be tedious and unromantic, especially for cargo haulers. However even Yrillian work gangs assigned to such task will frequently go out of their way to do some small bit of exploration or take a detour that promises something interesting, in between travel on their regular routes. It is also common for such groups to devote a large portion of their time to productive economic activity in order to build up resources for a 'holiday' in which they will travel to some location they have never visited before, whether inhabited or not.
Many of the Federation's peoples find this "spirit of adventure" (for lack of a better term) to be an admirable quality. Yet the dark side of this same spirit that can lead to pirate activities. With a view of themselves as daring risk takers, a work gang can come to feel themselves entitled to whatever 'treasure' they find, even if it is already in the possession of other people. Resentments for real or imagined slights, combined with an inflated sense of their own worth, can lead to a psychological spiral of reinforcement among work gang members where they assure each other that they are perfectly justified in taking whatever they wish from potential victims.
This cycle is well understood by Yrillians themselves and is one reason that opportunistic pirates are judged less harshly and punished less severely then they might be in other cultures. Unfortunately this also provides a measure of cover for anti-social career criminals that set out to quite deliberately to engage in criminal activity. By channeling their anti-social impulses into piracy they can masquerade for a time as merely misguided.
A number of other factors exacerbate this impulse to piracy when dealing with non-Yrillian sapients. Being physically larger than most humanoids can engender feelings of superiority and a temptation to bully smaller races. Additionally many Yrillians find the laws of other races to be fundamentally illegitimate, as they are not voted on by the population at large. Even the system of elected representatives used by the Federation is viewed with some suspicion. Though it makes very little logical sense, this sense of illegitimacy can provide more self-justification for pirate activities.
Finally the existence of the Privateers, discussed in Section III, provide a cultural 'template' to follow for pirate activities. This is the case even though a work gang locked in a justification spiral would have to rationally admit that they have no similar privilege to hold themselves above the law.
IIB. Material
Pirate activities are constrained by resources. To conduct piracy, one must be in possession of an armed starship, preferably while not being answerable to any higher level authority that also has say in the ship's usage. This situation is more common among Yrillians than among other interstellar powers. The Yrillian economic system is as yet not fully understood, but large scale resource allocation is on some level controlled by public vote and influenced by the perceived prestigiousness of the allocation. Given how space travel is viewed among Yrillians as well as their skill in building starships inexpensively and quickly, it takes a shockingly low level of justification (by our standards) for a work gang to gain ownership of their own starship.
The majority of Yrillian starships are freighters less than 500k t in size with nothing but a basic navigational shield and a disruptor installed for self-defense. In terms of combat, one would be easily outmatched even by the recently retired Soyuz class. Nevertheless, such a ship still far outclasses having no weapons and no warp drive at all. In addition, combat-focused refits or entire new ships with higher combat ability are believed to be obtainable at Daasrux, Cor Cewri, and more rarely at other ports.
II-C Sydraxian Provocation
This subsection is highly speculative but is included for completeness. Federation intelligence indicates that
(deleted by order of the Rear Admiral)
-No! I understand it seems like common knowledge in your office, but consider how widely this will be distributed. No mention of the Sydraxians, that is not a suggestion. RAL
III. "Privateers"
In the Yrillian sphere of influence there exists a small number of starships which are "legally illegal", which is to say they have special permission to engage in activities that would be illegal for anyone else. Translation has settled on "Privateers" as the proper term. They are largely unconnected to the pirates described in the previous sections, except as a source of inspiration, but are described here as it is critical for any Federation entity interacting with them to understand what they are and how they differ from ordinary "pirates".
Though the ships themselves are quite old, these Privateers are heavily armed and manned by elite crews capable of coaxing near miracles out of ships they have maintained and customized for literally generations. Despite being nominal 'outlaws' they spend a majority of their time acting on behalf of various Yrillian government work gangs or socio-political oriented work gangs of similar influence. Under the protection of their 'letter of marque' they conduct activities too varied to properly describe*, but which often benefit from their lack of concern for sovereign territory and willingness to engage in armed exchanges as necessary. In at least some cases for payment they are allowed to conduct pre-approved 'piracy' which has more in common with a carefully managed stage show than armed robbery.
*It is in any case somewhat difficult to separate fact from popular fiction.
Even many Yrillians admit that the arrangement is needlessly convoluted, open to abuse, makes very little sense, and only encourages emulation by genuine pirates. Unsurprisingly, it originated in a time of war and enormous social upheaval as described briefly in Section II-A. Like many cultural features that make little sense, it persists on inertia and the presumption that it will fade out on its own as the original Privateers are gradually destroyed.
-I could tell you were resisting the temptation to describe some examples of 'cultural features that make little sense' from our own member worlds. RAL
II-A. History
Approximately 120 years ago, Yrillian space was caught up in the most recent of their civilization-wide civil wars, which reoccur every three or four generations. Causes, motivations, and sides would be far too complex to go into here and are irrelevant in any case. However as the war reached its most destructive phase, nearly all shipyards had been destroyed on all sides and vast amounts of infrastructure had been devastated. Unable to make more ships, the governments at the time attempted to entice civilian ships into the struggle by issuing letters of marque allowing them total legal immunity as long as they would direct their aggression at the enemy. This was the origin of the Privateers.
When the war sputtered to a halt and efforts turned to preserving their technological and cultural civilization, the Privateers were instrumental in turning back opportunists who had carefully kept out of the war, but now came forward in an attempt to dominate what remained. It is likely these efforts more than the war itself that cemented their special status in Yrillian society today and made their letters of marque effectively irrevocable.
-Not really sure this is necessary either, but it's interesting stuff and not as incendiary as current events. RAL
II-B. Active Status
There are at least four Privateers still regularly active, and possibly more that operate too discreetly for us to note their activities. The letters of marque are attached to the ships themselves, meaning that all of the hulls are over 100 years old. Undoubtedly they have all been refitted and customized so extensively as to be considered the same ship only because replacements were done one piece at a time.
The one Privateer that has been positively identified by Federation witnesses is known as the Gentenmaru. It was reported to be around 1m t in size, though extensive sensor-jamming and distortions by the Gentenmaru during the encounter make certainty difficult. This is larger than most Yrillian ships, and it's uncertain if this represents larger ship sizes in general in the pre-war era and if other Privateers should be expected to be of similar size, or if possibly the apparent size was a sensor trick.
The nature of the encounter should demonstrate the caution with which these Privateers should be treated. The Gentenmaru soundly defeated the Riala, pride of the Amarki fleet, albeit not with weapons fire but by some sort of sensor distortion utilizing local stellar phenomena that left the Riala effectively blinded for nearly 15 minutes. This was long enough to pick-up the fugitive Amarki scientist they had been tasked to retrieve and which the Riala had been pursuing. It also would likely have been long enough to destroy the Riala if that had been their objective. The captain was described as an impossibly young Yrillian woman who is presumably a tactical genius.
-No. Again, this may be common knowledge in your Office, but the Amarki are extraordinarily proud of the Riala and they went to great efforts to keep this humiliation private. Let's not undermine that. RAL
IV. Conclusions
This document is intended to aid in the understanding of the phenomenon of Yrillian piracy, which will hopefully aid in crafting proper and appropriate responses if pirate activity encroaches on the reader's areas of responsibility. As has been made clear, pirate activity is largely an emergent phenomenon of Yrillian psychology, culture, and resource distribution, and there are no easy answers. On the other side, nor do Yrillian pirates represent an organized criminal syndicate. Federation resources must be oriented to treating the symptoms while we hope Yrillian culture will change enough to effectively treat the disease.
-Don't even allude to the Syndicate. RAL
Tensions are running high with multiple starships arriving in orbit. Traffic incoming and outgoing has been suspended, and reinforcing units are arriving regularly. Leading strategists on Duaba are issuing warnings that a serious and prolonged bout of violence is on its way. This almost certainly heralds the start of a campaign to exploit and destroy Syndicate activity Duaba. So far the Union Government has completely failed to clear out any of the major worlds, only treading water while the Federation task force mops up surrounding worlds.
Exactly when the assault will start is unknown, but savvy business owners on Duaba are ensuring bumper profits by increasing rates for imperishables by anywhere from 100% to 1000% over RRP.
-
Anti-Slavery Task Force Progress Report
If the move on Duaba has caught you unawares, there is a good reason: it has caught all of us unawares. We are firmly of the belief that this is a spontaneously arrived at strategy. After the setbacks on Alukk and Celos, and with media pressure building on the Amarkian prosecution of financial backers, which is now beginning, the Union government clearly wishes to get on the front foot. We can only hope that they will meet with success. So far they are bringing in a lot of heavy forces, which has a dangerous potential for going wrong. They are making some use of the Rixx Scrutineers, but most of their target selection is coming from decryption of the confiscated information from the hypercorps.
On Freedom, the task force pushed the local Frontier Police battalion to swarm the streets and suffocate any attempt at Syndicate attacks. It hasn't earned many friends, but it has accomplished what it set out to do. Apart from very minor incidents, there has been no significant Syndicate activity over the last month. During this time, the Starfleet Intelligence agents are attempting to identify targets, using informants, surveillance, and wiretaps.
Captain's Log, USS Courageous, Stardate 24894.3 - Captain Rosalee McAdams
Starfleet has tasked us with a diplomatic mission. We are to make an approach to the Yrillians on Ethur II, and try to get their support for approaching the Sydraxians. This is a dangerous area of space, with many pirates and ever-present Sydraxian forces. I have addressed the crew: we must be vigilant.
I expect any pirate ship to be frightened off by the bulk of an Excelsior-class, but after the experience of the USS Endurance ... well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
-
Captain's Log, USS Winterwind, Stardate 24894.6 - Captain Abigail Taggart
After a survey of 5 Themis VIII, we noticed a number of anomalous readings, whereby improbably density levels for the actual geological structures were being recorded. We beamed a team down in vacuum-gear to investigate the caverns further. To our great surprise, the ruins of an ancient Tkon outpost are present.
The whole science team is beaming down to investigate further! I've given the first officer the bridge so I can join them.
-
Captain's Log, USS Courageous, Stardate 24895.1
We have left Federation space behind and are now running at Yellow alert. Personally, I'm a fan of running at Yellow Alert.
It's always fascinating to watch the Ensigns running around in circles as they react to their first Alert status.
-
Captain's Log, USS Salnas, Stardate 24895.5 - Captain T'Leea
The Captain of the SS Red Capp has surrendered their crew into our custody after our inspection found them to be carrying contraband from Broken Chains to Selindra. Their efforts to create passive sensor dampening were novel, but unable to spoof modern Excelsior sensors.
[+3 Impact]
-
Captain's Log, USS Winterwind, Stardate 24896.3
The outpost is in very poor repair, but there is a great catalogue of cultural items still to be had. A lot of it is in the 'unimportant but fascinating' category. Tkon toilet facilities have been discovered in a well-preserved state, we believe for the first time. We are doing a lot of preliminary work in anticipation of a full archeological team arriving.
[Gain +5pp, +5rp]
-
Captain's Log, USS Courageous, Stardate 24896.8
An Yrililan government vessel has approached us to learn our intentions. It appears that instead of heading directly to Ethur II, which might be politically awkward for the government there, we will instead head to the colony world fo Kor IV, where we will present our case to Yrillian officials. This should work out nicely, I believe.
-
Personal Log, Captain Abigail Taggart
Please don't let my name forever become associated with super space toilets.
-
Captain's Log, USS Cheron, Stardate 24897.3 - T'Mina
Our assistance has helped a Caitian Frontier Police investigation in a minor world outside Merfara II break up a Syndicate smuggling operation. Our sensor expertise was able to track down a series of boltholes in the outer asteroid belt, which allowed the Frontier Police runabout squad to stake them out and arrest the ringleaders.
I regard this as a most satisfactory outcome.
[Gain +3 Impact]
-
Captain's Log, USS Courageous, Stardate 24897.6
Negotiations are slow-going. The Federation may be much larger than the Sydraxian Hierarchy, but the Sydraxians have their whole strength on Ethur II's doorstep, and are much more likely to use it. Nonetheless, the Yrillians we have spoken to have indicated that they would like to see a warming of relations on this border. Like the Gretarians, they are no great fans of the idea of becoming the battlefield to a Federation-Sydraxian war.
-
Captain's Log, USS Courageous, Stardate 24898.5
Balderdash!
We have been forced to withdraw from the Kor system prematurely after a Sydraxian cargo ship arrived and immediately shot off a message to their headquarters. Unsurprisingly, right after we departed, the same squadron that attempted to ambush the Endurance arrived. We exchanged fire with one of the Kalindraxes, but shields on both sides held, and then we were away. We are not abandoning the attempt, but we will have to shake off pursuit and return reestablish contact with the Yrillians.
The announcement of martial law arrived came as no surprise, but nonetheless a torrent of panic. Combined with a complete blockade on inter-stellar travel, and a ban on all non-food and essentials intrasystem transport, it is clear that a protracted and violent campaign against Syndicate assets on Duaba is planned. Those who can afford it are leaving the cities for locales in the hinterland, hoping to be away from the potential bombings and urban combat.
Forces are continuing to arrive on the planet, and it is believed that no less than two ISSU units, plus the Aerocommandos and a number of military ground forces have deployed, plus the reserve SSD units. The delay in kicking off the campaign is being taken as a sign that this was not preplanned. Opposition parties have been railing against the coming action, accusing the government of plotting cold-blooded slaughter to resolve a problem that does not exist. Many suggest that the Syndicate involvement in Duaba is blown entirely out of proportion, and that the government is simply trying to deflect from their complete inability to assert its sovreignity over its own citizens in Amarkia.
Duaba's colonial government is activating emergency low-interest rate survival loans and the emergency credit stores for those who are looking to purchase goods in preparation for potential upheaval. Representatives of the Retail Services Council sharply criticised this move, pointing out that emergency price hikes are an important part of ensuring profitability during crisis moments, and requesting compensation for government actions.
-
Times of Amarkia
Trials for those involved in the Nahan Lor raid have begun hearing evidence of their involvement. Most notable of these is for Horod na Lodar, an Orion male from Celos who is accused of being a very highly ranked member of the Syndicate. Mr Lodar is rumoured to have attempted suicide on no fewer than four occasions, and is refusing to cooperate with investigators. Nonetheless, the Magistrate's Office believes that there is a clear case to answer for, and sufficient forensic and circumstantial evidence to proceed.
Most of those accused of being financial backers are contesting charges, and many have protested that they should be subject to Orion law, rather than Amarkian law. These requests have thus far been denied.
One businessman, the expatriate Tellarite Ufgar Kladoc, has pled guilty to offenses after reaching an agreed Statement of Facts with the court. As a result, he is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
-
Anti-Slavery Task Force Progress Report
On our own front, we have some positive news. After bringing in the full task forces from United Earth and Andoria to blanket the Freedom system in sensors, Office 24 conducted a daring raid and captured a woman whom we believe to be a Shodar of the Syndicate. Her presence on Freedom was suggested by the analysis conducted by Office 8, and they have allowed their colleagues to locate the fortification. Although transport inhibitors were in effect, a daring shuttle assault allowed for a high-speed insertion into the complex undetected. As a result, the Shodar and her staff were arrested and transferred to the brig of the Lexington for safekeeping. Office 24's Team 3 suffered minor casualties, but all are expected to make a full recovery. [+4 Impact, +2 Cost, Minor Corruption Reduction on Freedom]
On Duaba, however, all eyes are turned. The Syndicate is digging in frantically. Their forces were chopped up pretty heavily in earlier confrontations, but we believe they were regenerated. So far outbreaks of violence are limited; the Syndicate is inviting the pressure, and preparing to make use of the defensive. None the less, there is considerable sympathy on the planet. The blockades and martial law are not popular, as may be expected, and Duaba has always thought very highly of the Syndicate. Expect this to get bloody. [+6 Cost]
[Total +4 Impact, +8 Cost, Minor Corruption Reduction on Freedom]
RAL