Background Research
Posted on Thu Jul 25th, 2013 @ 12:15pm by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer
Mission:
Renewed Beginnings
Location: USS Iapetus - Observation Lounge
Timeline: One hour after "Squatters"
Vorn had decided to meet up with Acle and Sara in the observation room rather than his ready room. It had only been an hour since their unusual hail from the Cardassian ship, but already he felt that he'd spent far too long in there looking at treaty documents and territorial agreements.
When he walked in, both of the commanders were already there, the rest of the room spartan and empty, allowing the three of them the room to themselves.
"I've been over the Treaty of Bajor back to front," he said, starting as soon as he came in. "It puts the boundaries of Cardassian space well away from this nebula, and there have been no attempts by the Union to expand this way since. Have you two found anything that might make their claim legitimate?"
Archer shook her head. "No sir. Even before the war, Cardassian claim to this area of space was questionable at best."
"We don't even have any recent records of their even patrolling this area, until right this moment at least." Acle added "Starfleet Intel has nothing on why that Cardassian ship is even here."
Vorn reached up to rub his beard; an action he felt he was doing out of habit more and more recently as he thought. "How about our relay? Can we make contact with Cardassia or Starfleet yet?"
"The relay is away Captain, but it has not yet reached the edge of the nebula. It will still be some time before that happens." Acle said before his voice dropped slightly. "We are on our own for now."
"You know, the last time I had a Cardassian threatening to fire at a Federation ship, we ended up having a disagreement," the captain said, as he leant against the frame around one of the view ports. The cruiser could be seen through the clouds of the nebula off the ship's port bow; the beginning effects of the corrosive effects of the nebula clearly visible in patches of the hull plating. "If shots get fired, this could cause another war. Do we know if there is any significance to their twelve-hour deadline?"
"I remember the last time I had a Cardassian threatening to shoot me. Granted, we were at war, I was behind their lines, and I just shot his brother." Sara paused a moment when she realized that the other two were looking at her. She decided to change the subject. "Actually, Captain, I believe I do know the reason for the twelve-hour deadline. According to the deterioration in their hull, I'd estimate that they don't have much longer than twelve hours before starting to lose structural integrity."
Acle remained silent for a moment, wrapped up in his own memories of the past interactions that he had with the Cardassian Union. They had blown up his ship around him, from which he and a handful of other crew members have barely escaped from. He shook himself slightly, then made himself pay attention to the rest of the conversation. "Twelve Hours until their hull breaches? That seems to be a convenient time frame." Acle began to thumb through his pad. "Doesn't that match up nearly with the time they gave us before we have to leave?" Acle asked.
"Yes," Vorn answered, still staring out at the ship through the view port. "And they're probably just trying to force us into leaving before they have to themselves." The captain sighed as he turned away from the viewport and walked over to the replicator. "Coffee. White. Double-sweet." He allowed the conversation to fall silent whilst it materialised and he collected the mug to take a sip. Turning back to the others, resting his free hand - bunched into a fist - on his waist. "OK, so we know that there is no legitimate claim by the Cardassians on this area. So why are they here? And why do they want us out?"
Sara offered her thoughts first. "There's always the possibility that they are trying to regain territory that they lost in the war. I also wouldn't be surprised if this ship is acting on their own. The other possibility is that aren't after territory at all, but that they found something in the nebula that they want to keep for themselves."
"I've seen reports that some Cardassians have been operating independently from the central government in the Gavarian Corridor," Vorn said, referring to the narrow region of space that separated the Cardassian Union from territory held by the Romulans, and the reports that he knew both of them - Sara still operating as the ship's liasion to Starfleet Intelligence and Acle being a command officer in his own right - would have also seen. "To my knowledge, there haven't been any reports of any such actions on this side of their territory, though I wouldn't be surprised in the least. The Cardassians have always been a very proud people... A democratic government moving away from the idea of the all-powerful Central Command has got to have rubbed on a lot of the military officers the wrong way."
"Perhaps that pride is what makes them think they can just move in," Sara mused out loud. "The Gavarian Armistice says that both sides have equal claim to this region. It goes against the treaty for one side to attempt to keep it from the other. Still, even if that ship is acting on their own without the blessing of the Cardassian government, if we fire upon them it can be construed as an act of war. But simply leaving as they asked can be a sign or weakness, and it may make the Cardassians think that they can try it elsewhere if it works here."
"Agreed," Vorn said, nodding. "Whatever we do, if it comes to that decision, is going to have repercussions beyond this nebula."
Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer
Commander Acle Walex
First Officer
&
Lt. Commander Sara Archer
Chief of Security & Second Officer
USS Iapetus
