From Curzon Bennett, With Love [Part 2]

Posted on Sun May 5th, 2024 @ 8:46pm by Captain Takami Karibuchi & Commander Hikari Karibuchi & Yulena Shastakar & Lieutenant Commander Sakaan
Edited on on Sun Sep 8th, 2024 @ 1:03am

1,443 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Season 1, Episode 0: "A Time To Heal"
Location: USS Yorktown (NCC-91781), Commander Sakaan's Office, Deck 9
Timeline: Continuation of Part 1

Previously on Star Trek: Yorktown:

Sakaan arched an eyebrow. 'I am unfamiliar with some of your references. However, regardless of the Captain's experience, command of one of the newest classes of ship, with a mission as sensitive as the Yorktown's would not be given to someone that Command does not believe is suitable to the task.' She paused, and cocked her head, 'having the crew knowing of your achievements would also be beneficial to you, in order to build trust.'

"Well, you got me on that one.." Hikari chuckled. "So, switching topics, Commander, word from my sister is that there's been stirrings of... political discontent within the Star Empire; is there any information that you're at liberty to share regarding thesituation, as well as how it might potentially affect our mission?"

And now... the continuation!

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'It's difficult to predict,' Sakaan hedged. 'In the past, where there has been an unstable polity in their backyard, a united Romulan Empire has pounced and annexed the territory, particularly if there is a strategic resource, or they feel that the indigenous peoples can be integrated into their labour force without too much disruption over the long term.'

'The political fallout from the Shinzon coup in 2379 has been long-drawn out. Praetor Tal'Aura still presides over a political administration that is internally weak. It is not thought that she favours expansion at this time as it would give too much political prominence to the leading officers in any offensive - something Tal'Aura would be particularly sensitive to, given Shinzon's military background.'

'The military have never particularly warmed to her, and we've had reports over the decades of mutinies and orders being ignored, or re-interpreted. Leading figures within the martial establishment are reckoned to be expansionist in ideology, and would relish the chance at conquering new worlds for the Empire. There is a distinct, but unlikely possibility that a few officers within the military and navy could go rogue and attempt a strike at Annexari space.'

'Starfleet Intelligence believes that the Tal Shiar would find this a step too far, and would intervene to stabilise such a situation. Although the Tal Shiar are rivals to both the, ah, 'civilian' administration and the military, they are currently happy with the equilibrium between the factions. Although it has led to political paralysis and stagnation, it has allowed the Tal Shiar free reign within the Empire to facilitate their long-term plans for internal security. Senior leadership within the Tal Shiar believe a strong agency equates to a strong Empire.'

Sakaan steepled her fingers as she leant her elbows on the tabletop and leant forward. Arching an eyebrow she observed, 'the tripod is a most unstable political construction. Remove one of the legs, and the others fall. It is difficult to foresee which way they will jump when they learn of Federation involvement on their borders.'

Hikari carefully pondered this information. "Alright; so, my takeaway from this is that while the Star Empire itself may be uninvested in the Annexari, that doesn't entirely discount the possibility of a rogue military cell making a power play; in the unlikelihood of a worst case scenario, do if we know if the Annexari have a perimeter defense network that can adequately ward off a Romulan invasion?"

"Unlikely," Yulena surmised. "While our defense network during the rule of the Moldoviț Regime was vast and virtually impregnable, fringe communications were all but disrupted in the wake of our Civil War, which would make coordination in the event of an invasion difficult."

"So that would lead into my second question," Hikari continued, shifting her attention back to Sakaan. "Does Starfleet Intelligence have an estimate as to how quickly we can re-establish internal communications within Annexari space- whether it's in restoring their old communication network or setting up our own?"

'Most starbases have an inventory of subspace communications relay. We could take a sufficient amount of them in order to restore a functioning subspace communications grid for the Annexari.' Sakaan paused for a moment. 'It would be prudent to run this through our Flag Officers, and have the Federation Council earmark it as a donation, a gesture of goodwill if you'd like. I have no doubt, however, that the Romulans would feel that we were interfering in their backyard for nefarious reasons.'

She paused, then continued, 'anyhow. Should we take a cargo bay full of relays, we can restore the network and turn it over to Annexari civilian administration in a matter of weeks. If Starfleet does not wish to release the requisite amount of relays, then the Yorktown does have it's own manufacturing capabilities, and we could likely provide a limited early warning system for the Annexari in about two months, depending on our ability to sustain high warp speeds, a speedy method of bringing the relays on-line, and the number of systems required to be monitored near the border, and the number of redundancies needed to be built in to ensure that the relay network doesn't fail at one spinal point.'

"Starbase Mojave has some old relays that they've got laying around as surplus," Takami was quick to point out. "I could get in touch with a representative there, see if they'd be willing to lend us some."

"If you're willing to go to the trouble, then I'll take you up on it," Hikari nodded, before shifting her attention back to Sakaan. "If it's any of my business to ask, do you know if there's someone in Intel who could get us in touch with the Praetor, or at least a representative thereof? Perhaps if we can convey this to her in advance, we might be able to clear up the air and convince her that this network will be in all of our best interests- and would possibly even negate the chance of a Romulan splinter faction using the Provisional State as a staging ground in Tal'Aura's own backyard?"

The Vulcan let out a breath. 'There are back channels, naturally,' she conceded after a long moment of silence. 'We endeavour to ensure that even in the eventuality of the Romulans sealing themselves off from the rest of the galaxy as is their wont that there will be channels we can exploit. Some ... older officers, who fought in the War, have maintained relationships forged during that time. Members of the Romulan Senate, and the re-constituted Continuing Committee are also veterans of the War, and trusted by the current Praetor.'

She shrugged, 'whether or not those relationships can break down centuries of Romulan distrust and paranoia ... that is a judgement we cannot make.'

"At the very least, we've still got to try," Hikari insisted. "Granted, there is the possibility that it may blow up in our face, but if there's still a chance that we can maintain our relationship with the Star Empire by being forthcoming, then I'd say its worth the risk."

Arching an eyebrow, Sakaan replied, 'Commander Karibuchi, I was not suggesting that we do not try. Rather, I was pointing out the difficulties that have played out between our peoples for centuries.' She thought a moment, then carried on measuredly, 'it would be appropriate to have the Annexari request the material assistance through diplomatic channels, and for the Federation to reciprocate. Representations can then be made to the Romulans through diplomatic channels in an open and public manner. Much as has been done down the centuries, open, public actions accompanied by clandestine talk from trusted sources could ease some tensions.'

"Oh, but of course," Hikari grinned. "I've still got a few items on my itinerary that will require my foremost attention, but once that's all taken care of, I was hoping to get in touch with a representative of the Foreign Ministry, fill them in on our game plan so they can smooth this all out with the Star Empire."

Sakaan nodded, 'undoubtedly launching a new vessel is a time-consuming task.' She reached into a drawer in her desk and retrieved a PADD and slid it across to her Commanding Officer. 'You'll find my department ready to go. There are a few minor, standard requisitions for equipment attached. I had thought of transmitting it to you, but seeing as you all decided to pay me a visit this morning, I might as well pass it over now.'

Looking over to the Annexari representative, Sakaan asked, 'how stable is the current governmental structure? Will Yorktown be welcomed?'

To Be Continued...

 

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