New Orders

Posted on Thu Dec 17th, 2009 @ 4:36pm by Captain Vorn Krace

Mission: Borderline Diplomacy
Location: Starbase 386
Timeline: MD01 1809hrs

Vorn pulled down the zip on his uniform jacket as he stepped through the revolving airlock door of the Cardassian-designed space station which served as Horizon Fleet's headquarters. He felt worn down, not because their last mission was particularly hard work, but because it was particularly tedious work. For a full month they had done nothing but patrol the area of space known as the Elyshan Border - an admirable task, considering the rising tensions after the Battle of Altorus, but one that proved to be very uneventful.

The name 'Elyshan Border' was misleading though, Vorn reflected to himself as he headed from upper docking pylon 3 towards the turbolift that would take him to the promenade. It was, technically a Federation border, and it was the one closest to the Elyshan Empire, but it wasn't a border that was shared with the Elyshans. Instead, there was a region of unclaimed space separating the two. With the Taevon Expanse to the one side and unexplored space to the other, it was the surest route that they Elyshans would take if they were to mount an invasion of the Federation.

Vorn's thoughts were interrupted by the computer, chirping a message for him. Captain Krace. Report to conference lounge 12B to receive a message from Starfleet Command.

Sighing to himself, Vorn ordered the turbolift to redirect towards the conference lounge, which was just on the edge of the central hub of the station, wondering what they wanted him for so soon after he had docked. Surely they could wait a few hours for him to wind down and get back to his ready room?

Entering the specified room, he moved towards the large screen past the head of the table, and activated its interface, expecting the message to be played to him remotely. Instead however, Rear Admiral Ewan McDonald, the Commandant of the fleet's Academy walked through one of the doors to the conference room.

"Captain," the Scottish Admiral started. "Glad to see you in good health."

"Thank you, Admiral," Vorn replied. One of McDonald's duties was taking - or assigning one of his instructors to take - new Commanding Officers of the fleet through their own specialised command course at the Academy. Since Vorn had taken command of the Lincoln over two years ago however, the Academy Commandant had been replaced, with then-Commodore McDonald replacing Vice Admiral Newman. Vorn's course instructor had been Captain Isabel Kersare, long-time commander of the USS Malinche. "I hate to sound blunt, but what am I doing here?" he asked, hoping that their next 'mission' wouldn't have to be to babysit a ship full of Cadets.

"Straight to the point," McDonald replied, seemingly satisfied. "Good. I will respond in kind. I speak on behalf of the entire Fleet Council on this matter, Captain." That explained why the Academy Commandant was contacting him, in place of one of the fleet's Task Force or Task Group Commanding Officers - they were probably all occupied with tasks for their own vessels. It did however mean that whatever mission he was being given was big, if the entire fleet council were involved in it. "Last week, we received a communique from the Bevrudl routed through Deep Space 5, requesting a diplomatic negotiator be sent to them on behalf of the Federation. They're seeking protectorate status."

"Protectorate status?" Vorn asked, trying to recall what he knew of the Bevrudl. They occupied a small area of space within the region separating the Elyshans and the Federation, and had a stable and growing population and technological standard that meant they were approached for membership by the Federation during or sometime shortly after the Dominion War, to which the Bevrudl declined, wishing to remain neutral. They were approached again in 2380 - again, politely declining. "Weren't they already approached for membership?"

"Yes, twice," the Admiral said, confirming Vorn's own thoughts. "Both times declining. But it seems that this time... now that they are in the cross fire, they have decided that they can no longer afford to stay neutral. They need to choose a side for their own protection. Their region of space is located in a very strategic position, and would provide a huge defensive and offensive advantage for either side, if the fallout of Altorus escalated to war."

Vorn took some time to take this in, before voicing his conclusion as to why he was being told this. "And you want me to go as that negotiator?"

"That is correct," the Scotsman replied. "As you know, Starfleet officers holding the rank of Captain or above are de facto ambassadors of the Federation, and have the authority to broker treaties on the Federation's behalf. Your mission on Maldora two and a half years ago proved that you can operate diplomatically in the toughest of situations, and that is the kind of man we need for this mission. You will find all the data relevant for this mission on your personal database onboard he Iapetus within the hour, and you are to depart as soon as you have resupplied." Nodding curtly towards Vorn, it was clear that the Admiral intended to leave the meeting there. "Goodbye, Captain. And Godspeed."

Before Vorn could ask him any more questions, the Admiral had gone. "Great," Vorn muttered to himself. "Another crazy Admiral giving me orders out of the blue." He looked out the windows of the conference lounge, spotting his ship hanging from the end of the long docking arm high above. The last time he was at Starbase 386 was when he was promoted to Captain and ordered to transfer his crew off the Lincoln and onto the Iapetus. He was starting to come to the conclusion that he needed to stay away from this base unless he was in the mood for a surprise.

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Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer
USS Iapetus

&

Rear Admiral Ewan McDonald (PNPC)
Academy Director
Horizon Fleet
Played by: Capt. Krace