241505.30 Plot Log: Cmdr Alistar McKeon
Posted on Sat May 30th, 2015 @ 10:43pm by Captain Alistar McKeon
1,080 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission: Midnight on the Firing Line
Alistar grumbled as he paced the waiting room he had been left in. Whoever this Admiral Green was, they had clearly either been delayed or had a habit of making officers rush to the waiting room. He had been pacing for nearly twenty minutes, and that had only started ten minutes after he had been left in the waiting room by some stiff faced flag lieutenant who had turned a deaf ear to Alistar's question about what was going on. One thing was for sure, Alistar was not happy. He had the sneaky feeling that the Endeavour wouldn't be hanging around DS5 long enough to grab some R&R.
"Commander?" a voice broke into Alistar's thoughts. He looked up to see a captain standing at the door. Walking over, Alistar nodded. The captain waved for him to follow. With a sigh, he did so, following the captain to a door guarded by a pair of armed security officers who watched every move that everyone who entered their field of vision made. The captain walked up to the door and stopped. "Commander McKeon is here to see Admiral Green," he said before simply walking off.
'Well, they're not wasting time on introductions,' Alistar thought as he was waved through the door. Heading through the doors, he raised his eyebrows at the flag office beyond. It was tastefully decorated and looked as if the admiral inside had intentions of staying for a while. It made sense, since sector commanders usually remained at a single starbase and only transferred their flag to a ship only when needed. Alistar spared a moment to take a look around before he turned his attention to the tall blonde vice admiral sitting behind the desk.
"Commander McKeon, please, have a seat," the admiral said as she set a PADD down and offered him a smile. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting but we've had a situation come up and I've been speaking to several other admirals on how to deal with it. You are aware of the growing tensions between the Romulan and Klingon governments, are you not?"
"I've been keeping an eye on it, but not the details," Alistar answered as he sat down.
"Chancellor Martok has had his position as head of the Klingon Empire challenged by a member of the High Council, Kur'vagh. Intelligence has predicted that Kur'vagh will try to stage a coup and dispose of Martok within a month, at which he will assume command of the Klingon Empire. Our predictions also indicate that in order to cement his position as head of the government, Kur'vagh will launch an invasion into the Romulan Empire. The Romulans have reached the same conclusion and they officially requested a Starfleet peacekeeping force to be dispatched as quickly as we can get the ships reassigned. Admiral Greer has already taken a task force that will take up position on the Klingon/Romulan border, and as soon as you get back to the Endeavour you'll depart to join them, however your orders are a bit more complex."
"I really don't like it when I'm given a complex assignment without being briefed on it beforehand, admiral," Alistar growled.
"I'm well aware of that, but the Endeavour is the best suited ship for this assignment. You're the fastest and best equipped cruiser we have, and you spent time on the Klingon and Romulan borders before. You also have proven that you're not afraid of a fight and that you have the guts and tactical brains to get the job done," Admiral Green said.
"So you expect the Endeavour to have to defend herself?" Alistar asked.
"I don't expect anything, I know you will have to defend yourselves. Your mission is to proceed to Lambda Hydrae and wait for the Klingon bird of prey Rotarran to arrive. You will then escort the Rotarran to SB234 and wait for further orders."
"Wait a minute!" Alistar snapped. "Lambda Hydrae is in the middle of the Romulan/Klingon N/DMZ! No ships from any military, Klingon, Romulan, OR Starfleet, are allowed in that sector! And the Rotarran? That's...."
"Chancellor Martok's personal ship. The Chancellor has seen the same evidence we have, and he's planning to gather his forces at SB234 and strike back at Kur'vagh and his forces when Kur'vagh crosses the borders," Admiral Green said.
"And if Kur'vagh's forces fire on the Endeavour or any other Starfleet ship?" Alistar asked.
"Kur'vagh has already been declared an outlaw by the legal Klingon government, and that claim has been recognized by the Federation and Romulan governments. Any ship claiming loyalty to Kur'vagh is automatically to be assumed to be a hostile enemy ship and fired on immediately," Admiral Green said.
"This is crazy. It's an internal political issue," Alistar said.
"And politics is exactly why Starfleet is so involved. Al, what will happen if Kur'vagh takes the Klingon throne unchallenged?"
"The Federation and Romulan Empire will be at war with the Klingons," Alistar answered. He sighed. "I'm going to go out on a wild guess and say that the majority of the Klingon forces don't want to get involved in a shooting war until there's an unchallenged leader in place."
"Correct. Rather than risk an Empire wide civil war, the primary fighting will be between personal forces loyal to House Martok and House Kur'vagh. Once that is settled, the winner will have total command of the Klingon Empire. If Martok wins, then we won't have anything to worry about. If Kur'vagh wins, then it'll be war."
Alistar shook his head. "You know full well that nothing will go according to this plan," he said.
"In the event that something unexpected happens, then you are to use your best judgment based on the situation. The safety of your ship and crew is paramount, but so is the defense of the Federation. Do your duty as a Starfleet officer, that is your secondary objective."
"Where is the rest of the peacekeeping task force going to be located?" Alistar asked.
"They will be keeping station and patrolling out of the fleet base located at Tanome Sar," Admiral Green answered.
Alistar nodded and stood before he offered a salute. Green stood and returned the salute. Taking it that he was dismissed, Alistar turned and headed to the door. Green stopped him at the door. "Commander?" Alistar turned back to face the admiral. She nodded before she spoke. "Good hunting and Godspeed."
Cmdr Alistar McKeon
CO, USS Endeavour
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