I was encouraged to post it here, and I hope everyone enjoys it. This, after all, is what happens when you introduce a society with a competent, well-armed military to the Trek universe.
Mwinyiburg, Henderson, ADN Colonial Zone
Universe ST-3
20 November 2153 AST
11:45 GST
Approx. UFP Stardate: 44890
In the backyard of a small suburban home, Hawa Small was kneeling by her five year-old son Farid to clean the boy up after he'd gotten muddy from going into the dirt after playing in their small swimming pool. As she wiped the towel over the boy's face, clearing the lighter brown mixture from her son's dark ebony skin, Farid asked, "Mama, what's a Texan?"
"Texans are people from Texas."
"Ms. Jenny at school says she's Texan. Where is it?" More questions from the always curious Farid.
"Texas is a country in North America, Farid. Well, from our Earth's North America. It's a State in the United States on the other Earths."
"What's the United States?"
"You'll learn what that is, was, when you get older and have history class," Hawa finished wiping away her son's face and looked him straight in the eye. "Now, you have to promise me you won't be jumping into the dirty after swimming. The dirt here becomes mud very easily." She was going to have to speak to her husband about getting an artificial lawn. "And it makes you very...."
Everything around them got terribly white for a moment. Farid brought his hands up to his eyes and screamed. Panicking, Hawa grabbed his hands and pulled them away. "Mama, I can't see!" he cried.
Hawa turned to see what had blinded her son, and the sight she saw caused her draw to stop. "Oh my God...."
In the distance, a mushroom cloud was growing on the horizon.
In Orbit
The Xepolite freighter Deyteliz pulled out of orbit a few moments after the vessel's sensors detected the atomic detonation directly below them, in the Bajoran settlement of Gytep. They had just finished transporting their load of unique consumer goods to a warehouse in Mwinyiburg. As the vessel powered it's warp drive, the Hetman who commmanded the vessel looked to his special "passenger". "The package was received."
"Very good," the dark-clothed Cardassian replied. "If you excuse me, I'll be in my quarters."
The Hetman nodded and watched the Cardassian leave. Like a handful of other Xepolite merchants, he'd done jobs for the Cardassian government, but this one left him feeling uneasy and frightened.
Though not enough that he didn't mind being paid.
Gytep
12:50 GST
Seated in the back of one of the trucks rumbling out toward Gytep from Mwinyiburg, Father Joseph Diagana - a priest of the Roman Catholic Church - was riding with Father Daniel Haddis of the Ethiopian Coptic Church. The two men were acquaitances and friends, and often talked about issues of Christian doctrine and faith. But now they were silent in their radiation suits, small bibles in their hands and grim expressions on their faces.
The truck rumbled to a stop in what had been home to thousands of Bajorans and aid workers. Many were still alive, though virtually all had radiation burns. As he emerged from the back of the truck and looked out, Father Diagana's mouth started to drop open. "Holy Mother of God..."
There were bodies laid out everywhere. In fact, it appeared that immediately after the nuclear detonation that shattered their new homes, the Bajorans had grimly set to work in dealing with the aftermath even as their bodies grew racked from radiation sickness. A Bajoran priest wearing charred clothes that looked like they'd melted into his body was trying to comfort a weeping young Human aid worker. One of the Bajorans directed Fathers Haddis and Diagana to the place to do their work - the lines of charred corpses wearing the various uniforms of aid workers and others. The two priests went to work giving the Last Rites to the slain while medical workers went to work on sustaining and healing the living.
Another truck had a camera crew from one of the local media TV stations. A frowning, sick-looking young woman looked into the camera from inside her radiation suit and began to speak of the known facts; that a nuclear device had been detonated in the Bajoran refugee settlement of Gytep, that there were over three thousand people living in Gytep, and that the casualty estimates had yet to be determined.
The reporter then brought the camera to a grisly site; a fallen building that had once been the town school. Nearby the rubble, where the irradiated Bajorans were still digging, was a line of small corpses. The reporter and her cameraman were silent as the shot panned over them. A Bajoran woman wearing scorched rags and with prominent radiation burns on her face and body was looking through the line. FInally she seemed to spot the right identifying mark, probably a necklace, and began to wail as she fell to her knees and lifted the charred, blackened body into her arms, some patches of surviving blonde hair on the child's scalp. The woman's crying was hysterical and painracking, drawing sobs from the reporter as her cameraman captured the image for all the world to see.
Nearby, as he gave Last Rites to the scorched remains of the Human schoolteacher, Father Diagana prayed for more than the woman's soul. He prayed for Justice. This was not just a tragedy. This was a grievous sin, an evil committed against innocent people.
And Father Diagana knew that the wicked who committed this sin would be punished.
Paris, Earth, United Federation of Planets
15:45 GST
Inside the spacious Presidential office overlooking the Eiffel Tower in the distance, Gao Hi-Yuan sat in a simple gray jumpsuit. The Commissioner of Starfleet Operations, Kerlo Tobis, was standing to one side. Admiral Garfield Dayton of Starfleet Intelligence was standing to the other. The two men had just informed Gao of the priority report about the atomic detonation at Gytep. "I see," Gao said. "Was it detonated by Bajoran terrorists and was it an intentional act?"
"We can't tell for either," Commissioner Tobis stated.
Gao nodded slowly at that. "Well, we need to get confirmation. The political situation would justify a demand for observers to the cleanup of Gytep, would it not? Our observers could also verify Gytep was a terrorist training camp."
"Yes, Mister President. I'll send out the order for Starfleet to assemble an observation team immediately. As soon as you get approval from the Alliance Government...."
"Do you really think the Alliance will bow to the demand?"
"Of course, Admiral Dayton." Gao smiled slightly. "Otherwise, they would confirm to the entire Alpha Quadrant that they had something to hide."
"Unless they had nothing," Dayton said.
Tobis rolled his eyes. "Admiral, you cannot seriously be questioning the intelligence again?"
"I'm not questioning it's authenticity," Dayton snapped. "I'm questioning how it was interpreted! We did not get any confirmation of the nature of Gytep before we informed the Cardassian Embassy of our find."
"Admiral, please don't insult our intelligence, and I'm not talking about spook crap when I say that!" Tobis slammed an open hand on the table beside the chair he was sitting in. "They were shipping weapons to the nearby city of Mwinyiburg. Heavy infantry weapons, the kind that the Bajoran terrorist fighters have been using to give the Cardassians on Bajor fits! Why would they be shipping arms to Mwinyiburg? The Alliance military has no supply depot there, and their Army and Marine bases are thousands of kilometers away!"
Dayton shook his head. "You have no idea of how dangerous this situation is? And how dangerous it is to make such a critical judgement based on very little hard evidence?"
"I believe Commissioner Tobis is quite aware of the danger, Admiral," Gao said, cutting in. "And I agree with his assessment, just as I did then. The Alliance has been working to destabilize the entire region. First Kelos and now Bajor. They must be brought to heel. This incident will embarrass their government. It will hurt their standing in the Alpha Quadrant and will probably bring down their current Administration. And I believe Rachel MacKenzie will be a far more reasonable leader than the militarist they have now." Gao leaned forward in his chair toward his desk. "I will be dispatching a note through the Alliance Embassy to President Mamatmas, insisting that the Federation be allowed to inspect the Gytep ruins as part of an investigation into how an atomic device was detonated in what was supposed to be a refugee settlement. Gentlemen, you are dismissed."
Washington D.C., Earth, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
19:50 GST
Inside the Oval Office, President Nicolas Mamatmas faced down his top security advisors with cold brown eyes. "Gentlemen, Lady," he nodded to Omiko Takahara, his Security Advisor. "I want to know what the Hell has happened on Henderson."
From his seat by Takara, Intelligence Director Sir James Bronson was the first to speak. "The investigation is still underway, Mister President. However, we have assembled enough data to rule out Bajoran involvement in the nuclear detonation."
"In what way?"
"The analysis of the blast pattern," Bronson answered. "Ground Zero was a public pavilion. Not the best place to hide a nuclear weapon. And our analysis of the residual elements and traces tell us it was a very crude device."
"Could it have been a suitcase nuke?"
"No. It was probably a tritium boosted device. Very low tech."
"The kind of device that Bajoran fighters would be able to put together using commnet data," Takahara stated. "This was a clear attempt to make the Bajoran liberation movement the primary suspect."
"How? Was it active in Gytep?"
"Not very."
Mamatmas nodded. "Anything else?"
"At the moment of detonation, a Xepolite-crewed freighter, the Deyteliz, was in orbit delivering cargo to a supplier in Mwinyiburg." Bronson leaned forward and handed Mamatmas a manila-colored folder. Within were documents and reports, including a picture of an alien warp-capable spacecraft. "Our sources have identified the Deyteliz as belonging to a Xepolite trading company with known ties to Cardassian military intelligence."
Mamatmas looked up from the folder with a scowl. "The Cardassians did this?"
Bronson exchanged a look with Takahara. "It is very possible."
Mamatmas turned his eyes from Takahara and Bronson to his Defense Minister, Gregory Rathbone. "Minister Rathbone, what do you think?"
"Given the information at hand, Mister President..." Rathbone shrugged. "It does look like the Cardassians could be respon...."
Bronson's phone rang at that moment. He took it out, noticing Mamatmas' scowl, and said, "I set it to only accept priority calls." After explaining himself, Bronson took the call. He gave Mamatmas a concerned look and said, "Really? Fax them to my portable immediately." Bronson took out his portable computer system and fed a few sheets of paper into it's printer. As he did so, they printed out text, which Bronson took and read.
"Director?"
"Sir, our analysts just received the latest decrypted Cardassian comm intercepts from our one of our code-breaking teams." Bronson handed one of the sheets to Mamatmas. "You'd better look at this, sir."
"This is the same Mossad team that broke the Cardassians' administrative codes?"
"Yes, Mister President."
Mamatmas began reading the sheet. As he did so, his face began to pale. "This talk of a package, do we know who sent it?"
"The Mossad team's decoders checked his identification codes versus the ones MI6 acquired in August." Bronson's jaw was clenched. "His name is Ortem Jorcet. He's an Obsidian Order agent, former military. And according to his Cardassian service record, he used to be a naval engineer."
"Meaning he'd know how to build a tritium boosted atomic weapon." Mamatmas placed the paper down. "Can we link him to the Deyteliz?"
"Not yet, Sir. But we've sent out an order to monitor the Deyteliz's movements. If we're lucky, one of our agents in Cardassia might spot Jorcet disembarking."
"Okay, do we have any more evidence?" Mamatmas looked at the assembled. "I want to make sure I've got a strong case before we put forward a military response."
"The local traffic controllers noted that Deyteliz left far orbit within two minutes of the atomic detonation," Takahara replied. "And they said there was a power spike from Deyteliz during it's transport operation, corresponding closely to the time of detonation."
"Power spike?"
"The East African Space Traffic Control Bureau had their systems on Henderson upgraded four months ago with state-of-the-art sensor gear," Bronson said. "It's the best sensor gear available in the Alliance, Mister President. I''ve told my people to go through the records closely to see if we can find anything more to use."
"I'm still unsure, gentlemen. I..." Mamatmas' comm device on his desk buzzed. He pressed it and snapped, "Ms. Henley, I told you I was not to be disturbed."
"I'm sorry, Mister President, but I have a courier from the Foreign Ministry here with a priority dispatch from the Federation. It's supposed to be directly from President Gao."
Mamatmas bit into his lip. "Find, send it in!" He looked at the others as a smartly-dressed young African woman walked in, likely a minor Foreign Ministry bureaucrat. She apologized to the President for the interruption, handed him the slip of paper, and excused herself. Mamatmas sat back in his chair and read the paper. When he was finished he angrily tossed it aside. "Damn that pretentious....!"
"Mister President?"
Responding to Rathbone's gentle prod, Mamatmas thumped a hand on the table. "Word of this got damned fast to Paris in ST-3," he said. "The Federation is demanding that we allow them to send observers to Gytep for the investigation into what happened."
"What?" Rathbone's expression was one of confusion. "They've got nothing to do with this. And aren't they supposed to have that damned Prime Directive of non-interference?"
"Gao must have found out awfully fast about the attack. I wonder why he was so interested in Gytep?" Bronson shook his head. "Mister President, I do not like coincidences."
Mamatmas rubbed at his forehead. "I don't see why we shouldn't. Let his observers see all those little bodies." Again there was a call on Mamatmas' system. "Yes, Ms. Henley?"
"Sir, the Federation Embassy has announced that President Gao will be going live on IUNS in ten minutes. The Embassy sent a personal memo informing you that you needed to watch."
"You can tell Ambassador Merryweather that...." Mamatmas stopped himself from losing his temper. "Ms. Henley, I'd like to be left alone from now on. Do not worry about informing me of anything short of a declaration of war until I say otherwise."
"Yes, Mister President."
For the next ten minutes, the discussion was centered on the facts of the investigation, the kind of press statement that should be drawn up. At the appropriate time, Mamatmas turned his chair to the wall and activated the monitor. The locale of Paris and the Federation President's office was clear. Gao sat in his usual suit, staring at the screen. Then he began to give his live address.
"As many already know," Gao began, "eight hours ago an atomic device was detonated in a Bajoran-occupied camp in Alliance territory, on the planet Henderson. The use of atomic weaponry is a horror,.and rightfully so. But it comes to no surprise to this government. While working with the Cardassian Union to deal with the dangers of Bajoran terrorism, Federation sources uncovered arms shipments to Gytep by sources in Alliance government. This could only lead to one conclusion; that Gytep was not a refugee camp as often claimed, but was in fact a terrorist training camp established and supported by the Alliance Government for the purposes of destabilizing the Cardassian Union and it's authority. We had informed the Cardassian government of this discovery in the hopes that Cardassia might have a chance to protect itself. Now we see that it was unneeded. The fanaticism of these Bajoran terrorists is seemingly so great that they were developing nuclear weapons to use against Cardassian forces, perhaps civilians, and it is a great fortune that they accidentally destroyed themselves with it instead of slaughtering innocent Cardassians. But even if the terrorists are gone, their backers remain. The Federation demands that the Alliance Government cease it's support for Bajoran terrorism immediately, that they turn over to Cardassia agents of terror for trial, and that they pay reparations...."
Mamatmas shut off the TV and tossed the remote onto the table. "Those self-righteous sons of bitches," he said, somewhat shocked. "They uncover some piddly ass evidence and like damned taddle-telling children they go off to the fucking Cardassians and claim we're supporting terrorists?!" The others remained silent. Though Mamatmas did not curse often, it was never a surprise when he did; it was the grizzled old Master Chief showing through the refined statesman. "Can someone please tell me where Gao and those idiots got it in their heads that Gytep was a terrorist camp?!"
"We'll look into it immediately, Mister President."
"I'd better go start preparing a press statement. And get the media to show as much from Gytep as you can. It'll be damned hard for them to claim they were all terrorists when people are facing dead children." Mamatmas thumped a hand on the table. "I don't suppose the Cardassians did this because of what the Federation told them?!"
"Always a possibility, Mister President," answered Takahara. "It would explain why they used a nuclear weapon. It'd destroy what they assumed to be a resistance training camp and, at the same time, discredit the liberation movement and us when an investigation proved it as a training camp and not a refugee settlement."
"But it was a refugee settlement, and now the Cardassians have killed hundreds, maybe thousands of Bajorans immigrants in the Alliance and aid workers, including Alliance citizenis!" Mamatmas shook his head and tapped the button on his desk. "The press is going to whip the public up again."
A voice came over the intercom. "Yes, Mister President?"
"Ms. Henley, get me the Service Chiefs."
Gregson Aerospace Force Base, New Norwich, ADN Colonial Zone
Universe Designate ST-3
20:25 GST
Gregson AFB was the home base for the 34th Strategic Bomber Group, a force of three bomber squadrons with 20 bombers each, thus consisting overall of sixty warp-capable aerospace bombers; British-built Harris bombers all. It was well-placed, about twenty kilometers outside the city limits of Fredrecton on the Earth-like planet New Norwich.
Inside the base's main building and the officers' rec room, Flying Officers Sheila O'Malley and Jenny Gomez were having a very unladylike arm-wrestling competition, much to the enjoyment of their fellows. However, it was soon to be interrupted.
As assembled officers of the 34th, 98th, and 112th Squadrons looked on, one of the Squadron Leaders turned the TV over to IUNS. It was replaying the Federation President's press conference and claim that Gytep was a Bajoran terrorist camp. A chorus of boos came from the assembled. Afterwards all eyes were fixed on IUNS giving footage from the aftermath of Gytep. Several broke into tears at the rows of dead children, the sight of Red Cross workers' burned corpses laid out, and the grim-faced Ethiopians from Mwinyiburg working on helping the survivors. The editor made sure to show the footage of what was widely becoming a signature photo of the event; a burned Bajoran woman cradling a blackened little corpse in her arm, crying. A few Catholics among the group crossed themselves out of habit for such a scene. It was heat-wrenching and enraging at the same time.
Two floors up, in the Base Command Center, Group Captain Amelia Fubuki was standing amongst the glowing lights and instruments of the command center, linked as it was to planetary traffic control and the Planetary Defense Command dug deep under the capitol city Lewisburg that was sixty kilometers away. Granted, Gregson AFB had no fighters - the aerospace fighter jets of the 54th Planetary Defense Group were stationed at McCarter AFB thirty kilometers from Lewisburg - but they all had to be aware of impending attack so that she could get her bombers in the air, if necessary.
The man at communications called out to her. "Captain, ma'am, we're getting a priority message from Sector Command."
This immediately brought Fubuki's attention. Sector Command on New Liberty would only be sending a priority message if.... She walked up and took the printout as it came out of the printing system. After reading it carefully, she asked the tech officer, "Are it's codes good?"
"Yes ma'am, the system has authenticated the codes."
"Then put me on the base PA."
The officers were still watching TV when an alert whistle came over the base PA system. "Attention all personnel, this is Base Commander Fubuki speaking. We have just received a command priority message from Sector Command, coming straight from Washington. At 20:19 GST, our Commander-in-Chief the President ordered all Alliance military forces in Universe Designate ST-3 to change alert level to DefCon 2. Repeat, we are now at DefCon 2. In compliance with the change in alert level, the base is under lockdown. Repeat, Gregson AFB is being locked down now. No one can leave or enter without authorization. All bomber crews are ordered to be ready to report for duty in thirty minutes. All officers will report to briefing at that time. That is all."
Thirty minutes later, all of the officers in the Group were assembled at briefing. Captain Fubuki and her subordinate, Wing Commander Lenny Tasker, greeted them and informed them that each squadron would rotate 8 hour shifts - in accordance with their new alert status, there would be one squadron in the air or space at any given time. Squadron Leader Fred Storms volunteered his 98th Squadron to go first.
Not half an hour later, Flying Officer Jenny Gomez was pushing the throttle in the cockpit of her Harris bomber, dubbed the Death Blossom, as it lifted off from Runway 4 of Gregson AFB. The bomber climbed in accordance with flight regs until it reached optimum high atmosphere altitude. At that point, Flying Officer Gomez switched to the belly thrusters to push the bomber into sub-orbit, from which she engaged the impulse drives and waited for her flight. The five flights of the 98th Squadron assembled into loose formation and moved away from New Norwich. Squadron Leader Storms gave each Flight an individual flight path. Gomez lined her Harris up with her Flight Lieutenant's craft and followed him into warp.
Trier, Earth, United Federation of Planets
23:18 GST
The Central Committee for the Idealogue Party was holding an evening session at Gao's request so that he could brief them to the developments in the Alliance Colonial Zone. The Committee was large, with over thirty members. They were in some ways the true power of the Federation - Party policy was dicated by the Committee, and all Party members generally had to be in line with policy lest they lose their patronage. And at the moment, the Idealogues controlled the government.
The door to the room opened and an aide walked up to Gao, who was listening to Committee Clerk Rathgol Torskani speaking. He whispered something into Gao's ear and handed him a PADD. Gao read it and his jaw dropped slightly. The Centauran Torskani looked at Gao with an expression of interest and stopped speaking. "President, is there something you need to share?"
Gao seemed to recollect himself for the moment, as if judging whether to share this new information with the Committee. Finally, trapped by Torskani, he nodded slowly. "Yes, Comrade Torskani," he replied. "Starfleet just forwarded a report from their stations on the Alliance border. The Alliance military just went on high alert."
There were blank looks across the room. "Mamatmas is going to escalate," an Andorian, Dortavkh My'Toaro, said aloud. "He's going to accuse someone of attacking Gytep. Comrade Gao, shouldn't we put Starfleet on alert? What if Mamatmas blames us?"
"That will be unnecessary," Gao said confidentally. Having recovered from the immediate shock of Mamatmas' escalation, he was now thinking his way through. "Mamatmas is rattling the saber and hoping to divert attention from the fact that his government was aiding Bajoran terrorists. But the Alliance press is uncontrollable. They will prove us right."
"Are you so certain?" Torskani folded his hands together at his seat. "How do we know for certain that this is, was, a terrorist camp?"
"Our intelligence found the Alliance shipping weapons there. Why else would they be sending heavy ordinance to Gytep but to train Bajoran terrorists?"
"Did you investigate the matter further?"
Gao scowled. Torskani was ambitious and now Gao feared that Torskani was going to use this incident against him. "We did all we could. And our agreement with Cardassia required us to share the information."
Torskani didn't reply to that externally, but Gao knew he was thinking on it. "Well, Comrade Gao, perhaps you should go attend to this new development?"
Gao nodded slowly before answering, "Yes, I will." He stood from his chair. "As Chairman of the Committee, I turn the meeting over to the Clerk. I shall see you again tomorrow." At that point, Gao left.
Torskani waited until he was gone before continuing the meeting. "Comrades, I fear that the Party Chairman and President has miscalculated in his recent decisions. There is growing evidence from footage from sources on Henderson that Gytep was not a terrorist camp. We should prepare a contingency should..."
Gao stepped off the transporter at Starfleet Command in San Francisco and stormed into the Command Center to meet with Tobis and Starfleet C-in-C Matthews. "What's going on?!", he demanded. "Has Mamatmas really put his forces on a war alert?"
"No, but he's gotten damned close," Matthews replied. "According to the information being released, Alliance military forces in ST-3 are at DefCon 2. That is the highest non-war alert level that the Alliance military has. The next step, DefCon 1, is essentially a war warning and indicates that war is imminent."
"He's insane!" Gao looked at the map screen, showing the Alliance Colonial Zone and markers for Alliance naval units deploying toward Cardassia and the Federation. "He's given himself no more room for escalation!"
"Or he knows something we don't," Matthews said.
"Order our local starbases and starships to increase sensor scans." Gao found himself sweating. "For all we know, he intends to attack us for the announcement we've made!"
"Sir, we have a small reserve we can deploy," Matthews said. "We could bring border strength up to 50 starships within 36 hours. And I can have the Enterprise on location in 72 hours."
"Fifty starships? Fifty-one including the Enterprise? How many ships does the Alliance have on sight?"
"Counting the ships monitoring space in Kelos? Roughly four hundred," was Tobis' response. "More if you count the border security forces like their cutters."
"Get me the Cardassian Embassy, then. If it comes down to it, the Alliance will be crushed between our forces and the Cardassians."
"The Cardassians, sir?" Matthews was taken aback. "Sir, I don't think we can trust them..."
"We have to now!" Gao stabbed a finger at the map. "These extra-universals... they're mad! They get caught supporting terrorists and their choice is to escalate tensions to war?!"
The door opened and Admiral Dayton entered. "Mister President, Admiral, Commissioner..." Dayton brought up an isolinear chip. "We just got this feed from one of our agents in the Alliance. It's from the private Internet site of one of the cleanup people in Gytep." He slipped the chip into a data port on the main screen controls and brought up the video.
The video was clear enough. The person carrying the video recording device was walking about in rubble, showing burned Bajorans and Humans being treated by emergency personnel in radiation suits. The agent continued to walk about, showing the diggers preparing what would be mass graves for the unidentifiable bodies. And then the bodies themselves - some tragically small, all burned beyond recognition. Most of the faces in the room turned white. Matthews' jaw fell. "Mister President, if this is released to the press...."
"It won't be. The State Press cannot be allowed to circulate this," Gao said. "We'll let Miller's people suppress it. They were always useful idiots."
"And what will we do in terms of the border sectors, Mister President? They're in range of Alliance subspace transmitters. They can pick up Alliance news sources. Can you imagine what this will rile up in the Muscovite Worlds? New Minnesota? Vertola?"
"Jam them, if you have to." Gao's mind was racing. This had to be fake, it had to be! If it wasn't..... The realization that dawned on him was horrible. If there were no terrorists in Gytep, then who set off the nuke? The Cardassians were obvious suspects. And the Cardassians suspected Gytep because Gao's people had told them to.
"This has to be fake!" Tobis' expression was one of bewilderment. "Our intel was good!"
"It was obviously incorrectly analyzed," Dayton said, trying not to give off an "I told you so" attitude lest he lose his job.
"Who cares about the intel?!" Gao's shout filled the room. "Gentlemen, do you realize that the Federation could be drawn into a conflict because of this?! The Committee will have my head on a platter, and even if they don't want it, the Council will deliver it to them anyway!"
"Then what can we do, Mister President?"
"The only thing we can. Get ready for the worst and wait." Gao leaned against the table, suddenly feeling older and tired. "We'll let Mamatmas play the hand he's holding, and see where it leaves us."
Washington D.C., Earth, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
01:53 GST
21 November 2153 AST
Seated behind his deskin the Oval Office, Mamatmas was straightening his tie, now wearing a full suit with a black tie. Cameras were being set up for Mamatmas' imminent public address, to be held at exactly 0200 GST. Before him was a quick speech, effectively a public statement that was going to refute Gao's claims.
The door opened and Director Bronson entered. He walked right up to Mamatmas and handed him a folder. "Here, Mister President."
Mamatmas opened the folder and saw a picture of a Cardassian male on the inside. "This is Jorcet?"
"The Deyteliz arrived at Bajor two hours ago. This was taken by one of our sources in the Bajoran Resistance currently living on the orbital refining station Terok Nor."
"And Jorcet couldn't have boarded anywhere else?"
"The only other planet they stopped at was a brief, thirty minute stop at Gormel III. We have a man there who watched their airlock. He didn't enter."
"Then we can link Jorcet to the Deyteliz, and the Deyteliz, can we prove it transported the bomb in?"
"Not yet, Mister President."
"Keep your people working. Prove it."
Bronson nodded and stepped away from the desk. Mamatmas placed the folder inside a drawer in his desk and started to look over his statement again.
Finally he was given the signal that the feed was about to begin. When the countdown finished, Mamatmas looked sternly at the cameras and began reading from the teleprompter.
"Good evening, fellow Citizens," he began. "Over fourteen hours ago, a nuclear device was detonated on the planet Henderson in Universe Designate ST-3. It completely destroyed the Bajoran refugee settlement of Gytep. The final casualty toll is still being assessed, but currently it stands at one thousand dead all of the settlement's 3,000 occupants wounded." Mamatmas began to deliberately make his voice stronger and harsher in tone. "This was not merely terrorism, but a deliberate act of murder against innocent and defenseless civilians and the dedicated men and women who worked selflessly to improve their lives."
"Our investigation into this attack is still proceeding," Mamatmas continued, "but we have already uncovered evidence that the Cardassian Union is responsible for this evil act. This evidence is convincing enough that six hours ago, I ordered all Alliance military forces in Universe Designate ST-3 to DefCon 2." And now for you, Gao, Mamatmas thought angrily as he gave a dramatic pause of a couple moments. "I will also state that I am personally appalled and angered by the behavior of the Federation President. While innocent Bajorans weep for the slaughter of their children, President Gao has the audacity, the sheer nerve, to claim that they are terrorists who deserved to be slaughtered and that this Government supports terrorism against civilians! As President of the Alliance Government, I have lodged the strongest diplomatic protest possible over this callous disregard for the suffering of innocents. And as an individual, I am enraged that President Gao seeks to use this tragedy, this despicable event, to attack the Alliance and the innocent Bajorans that we are protecting. The Federation has no only decided to abandon innocents to Cardassian brutality, but now they attack others for not doing the same. But this Government is not the Federation, and so long as I am President, the Alliance will never choose the path of appeasement."
"The investigation into the attack is continuing, but I can insure everyone that the following will happen. We will find out the truth. We will find those responsible for this act of terrorism. We will strike back and we will punish the guilty in full accordance with all that is right and just. And we will not allow the saber-rattling of Cardassia, the rulers of what I can justly call an Evil Empire, to divert us from our goal. That is all."
The feed cut. Mamatmas leaned back in his seat and put a hand to his chin. Now to wait and see what would happen. But in his heart, Mamatmas knew how this would end. It was the only way it could end.
War.
Capital City, Cardassia, Cardassian Union
Universe Designate ST-3
03:36 GST
21 November 2153 AST
The Capital City of Cardassia, founded and built after the military takeover of the government, was a sprawling technological metropolis with over ten million people living within a fifty kilometer radius of the center. It was in the center that the Command Complex was located. A massive network of offices, conference rooms, and even a barracks and a jail, the Command Complex was the heart of Cardassian power.
Deep inside that beating heart was a rather non-descript conference room kept for the use of the Central Command's Political Advisory Board. The Political Advisors were in effect the executive rulers of Cardassia, though their power was not absolute. It was they that "advised" the Detepa Council on what measures to take in government. In the Byzantine world of Cardassian internal politics, the Political Advisors were among the big players, since it took enormous influence and prestige to get appointed to the Board.
At the head of the Political Advisors was the Legate, Aamin Kelataza. The Legate - Legata in the original Cardassian - was the de facto ruler of Cardassia. Leader of the Central Command, head of the Political Advisory Board, and commander of the Home Guard Force, the Legate was the most powerful individual in the Union, though even his power was assailable by the right combination of foes. Legates had indeed been forcibly removed three times before in the history of Cardassian military rule, and nearly a dozen more times had seen Cardassian Legates retiring to avoid a similar fate. The ease in which entire leadership could change meant that the struggle for power in Cardassia never ended even as the State itself continued onward, as relentless as ever. Cardassians were often fond of saying that there was no greater power than the State, and that the State was a being in of itself.
Currently, the Legate was with the other five senior members of the Advisory Board. They were all older men - only the youngest still had black in his whitening hair - and all had served in the military bureaucracy for decades, working their way up in the usual fashion of alternating between backstabbing and bootlicking (leading to another favored Cardassian saying, "Even the shoe shiner has a knife to plunge into your back when you trip"). The one true military veteran on the board was 1st Rank Gul Relim Torcet, head of the Military Strategy Staff, a long standing veteran of Cardassia's wars of expansion and internal struggles.
"The images the Alliance is releasing from Gytep are very disturbing," 1st Rank Gul Yatar Hergata - the Board Vice-Chief - remarked. "It is beginning to appear that Gytep was an innocent settlement after all."
"The damned Obsidians should have known better," was Relim's remark in reply. "Refimo, why didn't you confirm Gytep's status before sending the package?"
The white-haired, cold-blooded woman - Administrator Refimo Tapal, the Obsidian Order's representative to the Board - replied to that with narrowed eyes. "The Order has it's ways. We did not think we could get an agent close nough to Gytep to confirm it's status without tipping the Alliance off as to our interest in the settlement. Certainly, if it had been a terrorist camp, such activity would have tipped them off as to our interest."
"The Obsidian Order, admitting itself incapable of something? Ha!" Yatar's laugh filled the room. "You slipped up with this incompetent blunder, and now we look like fools!"
"Oh really?" Refimo grinned, which she did rarely and always with the impression of a predator appraising it's next meal. "There are a thousand less Bajorans to plague us, and now we have shattered their sense of security by killing them in Alliance territory."
"I take it from your words that you are assuming the Alliance will not go to war over this?"
"If they do, Legate, they will not win. The Alliance's form of government makes them susceptible to the pressures of the electorate. Like in the Federation, once we bleed them white in border fights, their own people will demand peace and their politicians will have to find a way to give it to them." Refimo grinned cruelly. "We, on the other hand, have no such weakness. We will wage war with them until we decide otherwise, instead of letting the people compel us to an unfavorable peace."
"That is an unsafe assumption." Relim shook his head and tapped the table. "I do not think we should rush to war. We need time to rebuild...."
"Have you been keeping up with what Old Man Feril has been doing, Torcet?"
Looking at Yatar, Relim shook his head. "I have not."
"He's living in an industrial apartment with some other old soldier. He lost his pension after backing down following the fight in August." Yatar scowled. "Now is not the time for this talk. We came to power because we promised to never again back down to the Alliance. We will not do so this time. If it means war, then there shall be war."
Relim shook his head. "You could be leading us right into disaster. We have already lost the high ground with the attack on Gytep. If the Alliance defeats us, our entire Empire could be placed at jeopardy."
"I am well aware of that," the Legate replied. "But I am afraid that we have run out of options. We cannot back down, otherwise we risk our Empire anyway. Either the Alliance shall back down, or we will go to war with them." The Legate looked to 1st Rank Gul Ziyal Loskal. "Gul Loskat, inform our commanders along the Federation frontier that they will be receiving redeployment orders soon. If it comes to war, I want as much as our fleet as possible to be in position to overwhelm the Alliance's forces before they can bring more to bear."
"It shall be a very short and victorious war, Legate," Loskal promised.
That night, Yatar Hergata's aide, 6th Rank Gul Celrim Famcet, returned to his decently-sized suite in the living section of the Complex, carrying with him papers he was to properly file away in the morning pertaining as to the day's Political Advisory Board meetings. Celrim was Yatar's son-in-law, married to Yatar's second-eldest daughter who was currently staying in Yatar's private mansion on Jel Ikar with their children.
After doing some work on the papers, Celrim put them away and looked to the person he shared the suite with. Young and pretty, with light reddish hair, Jorma Gedys was a Bajoran girl Celrim had picked up four years before while stationed on Bajor. She was rather cute, adhering to Celrim's ideal figure of a woman with her flat stomach and slight curves. He had spared her from the wrath of his troops, who had been looking to brutalize her in anger after a Resistance bombing had claimed the lives of the unit's favored Senior Trooper and a number of other troopers. After ensuring she was fed and clothed, Celrim had convinced her to come live with him as his mistress, promising to arrange for her parents and younger brother to be moved to a safe zone on the planet. Of course, he hadn't yet told her that her younger brother had just been put to death as a Resistance agent and that her parents had been sent to Gallitep as punishment for his treason. No need to tell her that and find her digging a knife into his back while he slept.
Gedys was wearing a silken night gown that flowed over her body quite losely. Celrim was feeling more wound up than exhausted, full of tension over the possibility of war and thus all the paperwork that a war would entail. He ordered Gedys to get him some kanar, and she did so obediently. He noticed she was still sulking. "It's about the abortion, isn't it?" he asked after taking his first drinks.
"I've always wanted a child," was her meek answer.
Celrim took another drink. The kanar was already starting to make him drunk. Finally, he reached out and smacked Gedys hard across the cheek. She fell back into a chair. "Stupid bitch," he muttered. "If I let you have a child, it'd ruin both of us. They'd ship you back to Bajor to be a troopers' whore and my father-in-law would have me and the child killed to spare my wife the embarrassment."
"I understand, Celrim," Gedys said, rubbing her cheek. "I was just saying...."
"Don't say anything. Just don't. This is Cardassia, saying things will get you into trouble." He swigged at his kanar again. "No matter how high your rank is."
Gedys nodded obediently.
"Go to the bedroom, I'll be there in a bit."
Celrim finished the bottle of kanar alone and went to the bedroom. Gedys had removed her clothes and laid upon the bed. Celrim went right to work, having his way with her while Gedys tried to avoid his stinking breath.
In a strange way, Gedys was fortunate that Celrim was so drunk and intent upon sex. There was no telling what he'd do to her if he saw the tears of shame in her eyes.
Sotomura Aerospace Force Base, Henderson, ADN Colonial Zone
Universe Designate ST-3
06:12 GST
21 November 2153 AST
Senior Airwoman Gwang Myung Sun strode into the locker rooms for the bomber crews of the 52nd Strategic Bomber Group with a particular objective in mind; find the Squadron Leader for the 66th Bomber Squadron and bring him to see the Base Commander, Group Captain Monica Sandhurst.
The Locker Rooms were generally co-ed, though the showers and changing rooms were not, so Gwang didn't feel out of place. Finding a crew member with the 66th Bomber Squadron's patch on, Gwang asked where she could find the Squadron Leader. "New here, aren't you?" the young man asked in a Southern twang.
"Yes," was Gwang's response, in slightly broken English.
"Figures. He's over there, tokin' up."
Gwang followed the Junior Technician's direction and went toward the end. A man was seated there, getting into a non-flight duty uniform with the officer rank insignia of a Squadron Leader - the equivalent of a Major in other services. He was dark-haired and well-built, but the most noticable thing about him was the cigar between his fingers, which he was in the process of lighting. By the time Gwang got to him, he was taking a puff from the burning cigar. He let out a puff of smoke when Gwang stood before him and saluted. "Sir, I am Senior Airwoman Gwang Myung Sun. I have been instructed to bring you to Captain Sandhurst's office."
The Squadron Leader calmly finished tying his shoes and stood up, puffing at his cigar before returning her salute, allowing the young woman to release her own. "Well, Airwoman Gwang, lead the way."
"Squadron Leader Ryan Sheppard." A sharp, bossy-sounding English accent echoed in the Base Commander's office. Standing at five feet eight inches, Monica Sandhurst still managed to seem imposing with her tone of voice, what one would expect from an aristocrat born to command. Her dirty blonde hair was not cut to regulation, so she kept it in a bun at the back of her head. Cold blue eyes stared at Sheppard as he settled into a seat opposite her desk. "Formerly Major, United States Air Force Universe Designate SE-1. Distinguished bomber pilot and officer, including a squadron command against the Agresskan and action against the Neo-Nazi Revolt."
Puffing at his cigar, Sheppard didn't show any immediate reaction. "That's me."
A thin smile came over Sandhurst's face. "That's not synthetic, is it?"
"I don't smoke synthetic."
"Then put that damned thing out." Sandhurst's tone was caustic. She kept a folder balanced between her arms. "I read your service jacket on the flight here. It's quite remarkable. Survivor of the Big One, numerous commendations, and high academic marks at the Academy in your chosen field." Her thin smile disappeared. "You also had several conduct demerits at Colorado Springs and you must have thirty reprimands for violation of regulations due to your habit of smoking in flight."
"Thirty-four, actually" Sheppard corrected.
Sandhurst snapped the folder close. "It was enough to keep your ass at Major, wasn't it? No Group Commands for you. It got you forcibly retired. If your war record wasn't so damned good, I doubt the Aerospace Force would've done so much as given it a glance. They certainly wouldn't have invited you into the service."
"Didn't want to be a Group Commander anyway. I hate paperwork and I prefer flying with my airmen." He smirked at her. "And airwomen too."
After a short pause, Sandhurst put her hands together on her desk and leaned forward. "You know, I've served with many an American before. Most Americans, I've found, are rather good, professional officers. But there seems to be a small percentage of them who are determined to live up to their national stereotype as brash, undisciplined, loud-mouthed cowboys and would-be badasses. You strike me as the second type, Squad Leader Sheppard. And I don't like that type of officer. So long as you are under my command I expect you to behave properly."
"Of course, Sir. Or would you prefer 'Ma'am'?"
"'Sir' will do." Sandhurst smiled again, though this smile wasn't a very reassuring one. "And you're thinking the right thing. I fit my national stereotype rather closely too. I'm the tightest cunt or arse you'll ever serve under. And while I will allow for some eccentricity in our line of work, I expect it to remain within the regs. Break the regs and I'll have your arse shipped out to a staff job somewhere. Am. I. Clear?"
"Crystal clear, Sir."
"Good. Now we understand each other. You are dismissed."
Sheppard saluted at her, and Sandhurst returned it. He got up to leave, but as he approached the door, he stopped and turned. She looked up at him. "What is it?"
"You do realize, Captain, that within the week, we're going to be at war?"
Sandhurst nodded. "Probably so."
"And when we're at war, you're going to let me do my damned job, right?"
"I'll give you the targets and it'll be up to you to make sure they're nuked, Squadron Leader."
"Good. So we understand each other. Good day, Captain." Sheppard opened the door and slipped out, leaving Sandhurst to chuckle quietly before returning to her paperwork.
Near Zurich, Earth, United Federation of Planets
Universe Designate ST-3
14:20 GST
21 November 2153 AST
".....as of last evening, the casualty count for Gytep is now at eighteen hundred and twenty two dead. Authorities say that a number of the new dead are those who developed complications from radiation sickness before they sought medical help." The petite, smiling Caucasian girl on the video monitor paused a moment. "Planetary authorities have stated that the site cleanup will not be complete for a week. In addition to other measures, Henderson colonists as far east of Gytep as halfway around the globe have been asked to report to government buildings and local medical facilities for anti-radiation treatment due to suspected fallout from the Gytep blast. Planetary Governor Iskinder Tewase has urged all residents to remain calm and promises that sufficient doses of anti-radiation medication will be available."
"In other news, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their fourth straight World Series appearance in a Game 5 victory last night over the Boone City Pathfinders. We now go live to sports reporter Jamie...."
A finger tapped down on a remote that flipped off the video monitor. Sitting at his desk with hands together, Torskani was looking at two leaders on the Party Central Committee; Femi Dytai of Betazed and Patrick Wahlburg of Earth. "As you can see, gentlemen, President Gao has miscalculated gravely." Torskani tapped a second button that activated the shutters in his private study. They rose, revealing the beauty of the Swiss countryside for his guests to see. It was the estate of the Party's Clerk and had been since Jeytas Gathali had been Clerk for the infamous Jirvshk two decades before. "Gytep was certainly not a terrorist camp. Gao, in his eagerness to solidify his position and to undermine the Alliance, has now embarrassed the Federation."
"If he had been right, we wouldn't be having this discussion," Dytai pointed out.
"But he was not, so we are." Torskani poured himself a bottle of Centauran helda-ale and took a sip. "I have not worked my way to the position of Party Clerk to see the Party embarrassed by it's chosen leader miscalculating so foolishly. Gao had little evidence, but he acted on it anyway to appear bold. Now it has blown up in his face."
"It seems to me, Torskani, that you want to replace Gao," Wahlburg stated, a bottle of schnapps in his hand. They had all needed a drink after seeing some of the scenes from Gytep. "I'm not convinced I want to see you as our new leader."
"I have no desire to be President," Torskani remarked with a slim smile. "How many Presidents have we had since Miller? Five in twelve years, gentlemen. It has become clear to me that the Presidency is not an enviable position."
"But it does guarantee you the Chair of the Central Committee." Dytai sipped at some bourbon. "Leadership of the Party is a very valuable position."
"The Chair is not the sole power of the Party, though. As Clerk, I wield nearly as much influence as Gao does." Torskani's grin turned sly. "Perhaps more."
Wahlburg ran a hand through his wolf-gray hair to scratch at his head. "Given the situation, are you certain we should upset the stability of the government now?"
"Given the situation, we have little choice. Gao, through his foolishness, has dragged us into this affair. His removal could restore our neutrality."
"But if you will not replace him, who will?"
Torskani returned to his seat. "That is my primary concern. There are many in the Party who want Miller back. With Miller all they would have to do is echo her pacifism and she would let them do as they please. But returning Miller to power is a danger in of itself."
"The woman is deluded," Dytai said. "Nobody has forgotten how she reacted to being removed from leadership the last time."
"No, they have not. But right now, allowing Miller to become President would guarantee us a leader that would keep us out of this growing enmity between Cardassia and the Alliance."
"And what about the Klingons? She nearly destroyed our alliance with them."
"The troubles with the Klingons will soon be over, as soon as Picard does his duty and gives Gowron the Chancellory of their High Council. But if you are concerned, we could delay Miller's election until after the Klingon situation sorts itself out. An interim leader is possible." Torskani finished sipping before continuing. "Either way, I need your support. The two of you have the ears of the majority of the Committee."
"And why should we support this?"
Torskani's grin turned sinister. "Comrade Wahlburg," he said after another sip, "How are your grandchildren? Not the ones from your son's wife, but rather, from that Romulan slave girl he bought during his trip to the Triangle ten years ago?" He noticed the color drain out of Wahlburg's face. "The one who's borne him two children and is currently living in a private rural home outside Cancun? I believe she's officially listed on the planetary immigration roll as a Vulcan."
"How did you...."
"I'm the Clerk of the Party's Central Committee. It's my business to find these things." Torskani sipped again. "I can't help but feel how disasterous it'd be to your son if this was found out. Bringing a Romulan woman to Earth, a potential spy to the minds of many, and fathering children with her? He may even be kicked out of the Party for this. He'd certainly lose that lush position he's got in the BLN Distribution Ministry." Torskani shook his head. "And his wife would probably divorce him on top of that. I mean, cheating on her with a Romulan whore..."
Dytai's face turned red. "You can blackmail him, Comrade Torskani, but my family has no such...."
"Don't be so quick to think so, Comrade Dytai." Torskani turned his attention to her. "Do you know what they call your son on Nova Venetia? 'The Don'. It seems he's been using his position in the BNA Enforcement Bureau to extort money from Venetian businesses. They have to pay him money or he has them nationalized." Torskani noticed Dytai frowning. "As you know, Comrade Dytai, the Party is usually lenient about certain... abuses of power by those who operate the BLN and DEM. After all, it guarantees their loyalty to the Party. But that doesn't mean that such a flagrant abuse of power will be overlooked if publicly revealed. Your son could very well end up in New Zealand after the courts are through with him, and it would probably lead to his being banned from the Party. Imagine the damage this would do to your own prestige as well."
Wahlburg leapt from his seat. "You bastard! How dare you do this!"
"You would give me no choice!", Torskani retorted. "You have too much influence on the Committee and the Council. I must either win your support or destroy that influence. The choice is your's. Support me, or I will release all of my relevant information to the State Press, and they will destroy you!"
The two had lost most of the color in their faces by now. Finally, Wahlburg nodded. "Fine, you have my support. When you are ready, I will vote to remove Gao."
Dytai glared at him, but all Wahlburg could do was lean forward and put his head on his hands, clearly defeated. Finally Dytai swallowed and nodded. "You also have my support."
"Excellent, Comrades. I intend to push for the vote in two days, depending upon what happens in that time period. Now, onto lighter matters...."
I have to admit I'm really confused here, can you explain to me what's going on?
