The Enemy of My Enemy (Part 1)

ORIGINAL WRITING This page was originally published elsewhere as part of a joint sim or fleet effort. It has been duplicated here for posterity.

Characters:	Commodore Scarlet Cameron, Retired Admiral Saatyi Noru, Captain Maxine Laurent & various others
Location:	Starbase Unity & USS Akihito
Time:	Mission Day 3 1400
Author:	Alexander
Template:Post

This takes place prior to Drums of War

A lot had happened in the past few days, while the base remained on alert slowly but steadily the lack of further attacks and need for a coordinated strike had made sure that functioning would remain mostly optimal. By now, capable officers had also been reassigned and promoted to fulfill the gap left in the wake of the attack. Unity was finally starting to look like a Task Force headquarters, a role it had never been designed for or expected to fulfil but by the way things were looking would do fairly well at. In part due to the need to restore order but also because of the security concerns Scarlet hadn’t left the Commodore’s Complex in the past few days. Even the most beautiful walls would grow tiresome if looking at them too long and as such she was glad the next meeting would take her outside. As things stood it was still uncertain if everyone could be trusted as such the details of the exact operation planned would have to remain in a close circle for now. Only about five people in the entire Quadrant probably knew and after the meeting this would only be seven.

“Sir, the USS Akihito is reporting in and is ready for your inspection” Shaun said over the internal communication channel.

“Thank you Lieutenant, please inform my security detail we will be beaming to the Akihito” Scarlet said as she closed the file she was currently working on and prepared to head for the Ronin Class vessel in orbit of the base.

Noru had given up service to the Federation a long time ago. Service to militaries and government ran deep in his family, with his grandfather being a famous Minister in the Bajoran government and his father serving as a Minister until he was executed during the Occupation. It was no surprise then that he himself joined the resistance once old enough and after its conclusion obtained a position in the Bajoran Militia at first and later on Starfleet Command. Despite being in formally military structures his role had taken up more of a diplomatic approach, having been a negotiator on several peace treaties to end wars of both Bajor and the Federation. After the Dominion War he had remained in Starfleet for several years more until he decided to retire in 2376, at the age of 70. It was a surprise then to say the least when several Starfleet officers stood in front of his retirement home with orders to take him to Starbase Unity. He had heard some rumours from former colleagues about something going on in the area but he wasn’t sure what to think of this. As he looked out of the window in his guest quarters he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. He still remembered the officer in charge of the Task Force right now, however when he met her she was only an Ensign who had just gotten out of Intelligence training. Time definitely did fly.

“Admiral, the Captain has requested for you to report to the Conference Room” A voice said over his combadge.

The moment Scarlet had arrived on the ship it immediately moved to nearly full radio silence. Communications between the Akihito and Base Operations remained open but beyond that no external communications were allowed. Leaving her security detail at the door Scarlet entered the Conference Room where the Captain of the ship, Maxine Laurent, and Admiral Saatyi Noru were already waiting. She would herself take a seat at the table.

“Captain Laurent, thank you for executing these orders so quickly and Admiral Saatyi for accepting the invitation.” She said, before taking a quick pause. “As you know by now Task Force 9 has been overtaken by a traitorous force known as the Consortium and they have prevented us from receiving reinforcements from the Alpha Quadrant to overtake them. Strategic Operations predicts that at the current rate, even with some elements in our favour, we will be unable to hold our sector within the year and the few systems surrounding Unity can only be held for five years more before they beat us down by sheer attrition. There are several other operations ongoing to improve our odds but those aren’t guaranteed to succeed either and in the meantime we need something else.” She continued before placing the padd she held on the table and transferring its contents to the screen. “That being said Intelligence believes that while the Consortium has its roots in the Gamma Quadrant it is not being controlled by the Dominion, this also provides an opportunity to change the tide. This is why I asked the Captain to bring you here Admiral. You have significant experience negotiating with the Dominion and stand the best chance of anyone in the quadrant to secure their aid in this fight. If even a portion of the Dominion military force would aid us we would already have the resources needed to brute force our way into vital systems and regain the economic advantage.” She concluded to let everything sink in. As she expected, Noru was quick to respond.

“I promised myself not to get involved with these things anymore but if things are this dire I will gladly help, I am not sure how much I can contribute though. The last time I sat around the negotiating table with the Dominion we were composing terms of surrender.” He said.

“Of course, but it’s better than nothing and I do read Intelligence reports that communications with the Dominion lasted well beyond the surrender, Admiral” Scarlet joked before turning to Captain Laurent. “Captain, how soon can the Akihito depart for Dominion space?”

“We are reloading some supplies, at most an hour. All your other orders have been implemented, no word on any of this will leave the ship and we will get the Admiral there safely” Maxine responded.

“Very well then, good luck to the both of you and be careful out there. The Consortium has eyes and ears everywhere”

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Accreditation

This post was originally written by Alexander for Bravo Fleet and posted on the Bravo Fleet forums. Use of Bravo Fleet's The Enemy of My Enemy (Part 1) is permitted under the Creative Commons 4.0 License and has been modified to suit the story and purposes of the USS Black Hawk Star Trek Role-Playing Simulation.