quote:Whoa there; you can't just arrest people for looking at files they have security clearance to access. All we know is that he was looking at these files. We have no clue if has done anything with them or even plans to.
I don't know are DSU's being civilian officials & all supposed to have access to Starfleet files on planetary defenses? (I'd like a ruling on this Shik). If so I may have made a mistake in arresting him, if not I can at least nab him for hacking a computer terminal and since the file he's accessed is vital to sector security I can then upgrade the charges to espionage effectively getting him out of the way, at least for now.
quote:And yet it's been done every day on this planet for the past 10 millennia.
I can at least hope the Federation has largely moved beyond the need to devastate entire ecosystems for agricultural purposes, can't I? Besides in it's most radical form, which is what I fear that buffoon Qiao was planning, It would mean exterminating all native plant and wildlife and replacing them with Federation imports, preferably ones that are poisonous to the Klingons.
-------------------- condemnant quod non intellegunt
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
Yesh, that's my belief in the Federation as well. THAT IS CORRECT! I HAVE USED THIS GAME AS A TOOL TO PROMOTE MY OWN AGENDA!
posted
Well in that case I'll order DSU Qiao be released the next morning (a night in the brig might actually do the little twit some good). I'll also apologize for the rash actions of my (junior) security officers but remind him that there's a cold war with the Klingons going on and being this close to the border tends to put the security people on edge and that this whole, regrettable incident might have been avoided if only DSU Qiao had deigned to notify me, or one of my senior staff members, in advance. I'll also take this opportunity to inform him that I'm sending a Vulcan officer with him as a "security advisor" who'll command the local military police forces (and keep me secretly informed of all DSU Qiao's doings).
Finally I'll inquire with the Bureau of Colonization and the Sector Undersecretary what their plans for the colony where with regards to agriculture. If either of their plans mentions "totalitarian agriculture" I'm submitting a formal protest to Starfleet Command, the Secretary of Agriculture (I'm assuming the executive branch has one) and the Federation council. Otherwise it just means I'll have to keep an extra close eye on DSU Qiao and his staff.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
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OK, so.....time compression for events? SURE, why not!
QUESTION FOUR (six parts)
Espejo V, Repka II, & Ogul VI have agreed to form what they call the Sector Guard; Yvel IV has opted out of the pact. The leaders inform you that they will immediately begin patrolling the borders by the Penxi & the nebula with local cutters & "heavy" local ships (equivalent to escorts or destroyers). How does this affect your plans for exploration & defense (if any)? Do you sanction them & their actions? Justify your reasons & account for this new paramilitary element.
The colony force is about to depart K-10 & the final meetings are being held. One of the remaining tasks is to plan the route that the convoy will take. DSU Qiao wants to get to Sobchak's Planet as quickly as possible to catch up on any gains the Klingons might have gotten already; his direct route would take the convoy straight through the Ul'Chek Nebula. The captains of the escorts & transports would prefer to avoid the nebula, citing the astrogational hazards it poses; they wish to plot a route that avoids the nebula entirely but will add 3 days to the journey & will skirt the parts of Federation space that border the Penxi Optimus. It's up to you to break the deadlock. Make your decision on the route, explaining your choice. Weigh your options & plan for contingencies.
It has been 1 week since Nernst has checked in with K-10. No word has been received, but no wreckage has been found either. Their last update reported nothing that implied a hazardous situation. Address.
The colony convoy is attacked by raiders out of nowhere. Two transports are quickly destroyed before the escorts can engage the enemy; did they carry food, equipment, or personnel? The battle is lengthy & running, & any local ships you have nearby respond. In the aftermath, you have taken heavy losses. If you have a small escort force, 3 or 4 ships have been lost (tiny loses 3, small/medium loses 4, but leave at LEAST one vessel to survive); if you have a large force, you lose 1 or 2 ships (large/medium loses 2, large loses 1). If any local ships respond, you lose 1 of those.
The Gor-Bahtki are a lesser race whose planet is in one of the lesser unnamed star systems on the map; they are not a Federation member but they have enjoyed normal relations with the UFP in the past. An update from Starfleet notes that they have contacted the Penxi about trade ties. React accordingly, taking into account current & existing sector issues as well as future plans.
The convoy makes finally starfall at Sobchak's Planet. The unloading of the transports proceed apace & the convoy commander makes a report to you about the events. He notes that Qiao is convinced the Klingons are behind the attack because the pirate ships were cloaked & sensors recorded a neutron surge when they decloaked indicative of Klingon cloaking technology. Qiao infers from this that the Klingons contracted with a third party to ambush the convoy & thus have the planet forfeited to them. He also demands that you--as secotr commander--"personally take steps" to avenge the attack & help the Federation (& him) save face.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
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I'm most surprised that Safko has opted out of this pact... they're the closest to the Penxi and are the most likely to need extra defenses. Regardless, I will only be ignoring this new Sector Guard. My existing patrol patterns are sufficient for defensive purposes, and I will not be willing to let outsiders set Starfleet defensive policies and strategies. They will learn the error of their ways, eventually, but it seems that they're not going to listen to my recommendations. So if they choose to squander their defenses, that's their prerogative.
== Part B ==
Mr. Qiao's requests are overruled, the convoy will take the long way around. The only race involved with Sobchak's Planet was seeing who gets there to settle first. That race is already over, it's not like the Organians are going to be calling "Pencils down!" next week. Three days will not make the slightest difference.
The escorts will be India and the Avenger destroyer squadron, the Orion (TMP destroyer), and Michtlantecuhtli (corvette). I will also order the Skua and Bali Raj to extend their patrol routes near Sobchak's toward the convoy, and go to standing Yellow Alert in case they're needed to respond to an emergency.
== Part C ==
This only justifies my decision to route the convoy around the nebula. (I'm getting a flashback to that scene in DS9's "Soldiers of the Empire," with the helm officer sarcastically acknowledging Martok's command to go around the nebula. We're not Klingons!)
== Part D ==
Surprise, surprise. I'm going to consider my escorts to be a "large" force, compared to the other responses. However, Shik's directions don't make it clear if the ships refer to the transports, escorts, or both. I'm going to assume the two lost transports are included in the losses. This means that I've lost India (incredibly old, slow, and unable to respond to the quick raiders), and the Bali Raj (corvette overwhelmed by heavy fire). The transports were carrying equipment, mainly the materials for setting up the habitats and agriculture stations. Therefore, I'm going to recommend that Mr. Qiao name the settlement New Caprica City, since the colonists are going to be stuck in tents for a few weeks.
== Part E ==
No response, other than to have my intelligence officer pay a bit more attention to that system, in case the Penxi double-cross them. We'll stand by to play the role of the knight in shining armor if necessary.
== Part F ==
I give Qiao the same response as in the last question: fuck off. I will certainly have to start taking some more aggressive positions against the Penxi, pending an official response from their government. But there will be no retaliation of any form, for the moment.
Going forward, I'm going to have to consider planning some sort of offensive campaign, either diplomatic or military, against the Penxi. Let's see how they react, though.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Q4a) Isn't this lovely, the jackbooted military commanders of Espejo have ignored my recommendations once again. At least Yvel had the common sense to opt out (ironically maybe it�s because they're the furthest away from any of the sectors major threats). If they really want to endanger their ships, soldiers and planets in this way that's their decision, however I feel it my duty to inform the Espejans that with my limited resources in this sector I most likely cannot afford to come to the rescue. If their ships get themselves into any situation they cannot handle they're on their own.
Q4b) We'll go around the nebula, since the race to colonize Sobchak's planet is already lost I cannot possibly see any reason why such an insignificant delay would be of any consequence to our colonization efforts. Tactically I'd rather fight the Penxi out in the open then who knows what in that Nebula (not to mention the other hazards a nebula might pose to relatively slow, lightly shielded and unarmed transport vessels). I'll send patrol squadron 1 along to escort the convoy.
Q4c) That's odd, once squadron 1 has finished escorting the convoy they're to enter the nebula and perform a search for the Nernst.
Q4d) I'd categorize my escort wing as medium, which means I've lost USS Dazzler & USS Biter, now I'll really need those reinforcements from Starfleet. One transport was carrying about 1000 colonists and their possessions (though unfortunately DSU Qiao was not on board that particular transport), the other was the carrying the colony's command and detention centers. Though colony construction can proceed more or less as scheduled we are now at a significant numerical disadvantage compared to the Klingons and DSU Qiao will have to conduct his operations and communications from one of the police's heavy shuttlecraft and sleep in a tent until I can send the Hauler with additional supplies, escorted by squadron 2 in about 15 days. Fortunately the transport carrying the communications satellite survived so the shuttle's short range transceiver in combination with the satellite should be enough to allow relatively normal communications with the rest of the sector. Also we may temporarily have to reintroduce the stockade for offenders since we�ve got nowhere to incarcerate them. In the meantime I�ll dispatch the Lysander to search for the Nernst.
Q4e) There isn't much I can do about this for now except increase my intelligence gathering efforts. A situation like this one is one of the reasons why I initially requested two Oberths, but now even the one I've got seems to be missing.
Q4f) I will not launch any retaliatory strikes against either the Klingons or the Penxi without proof their governments were involved, besides I don't have the resources for it either. I will see if I can't increase my intelligence gathering efforts on the Penxi and their possible connections with the Klingons, maybe one of their "traders" could be "persuaded" to work for us given the right encouragement. I'll await the formal response from both their governments before I draw any final conclusions
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
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posted
Answers:
Safko was never invited to join due to their beliefs. They're basically "Space Quakers," remember?
The ship losses are 2 transports carrying whichever PLUS the losses from the escorts. Edit accordingly if necessary. (I had a feeling people would be blowing up India. Aren't I nice for giving you that opportunity?
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
posted
== Part C, ctd == Whoops, I forgot to comment on my actions! Two destroyers will be sent to sweep the nebula after the colony transports reach their destination. I may toss in the Skua if needed, as well.
Re: the India, whaddaya expect when a slow, lumbering battlewagon is assigned to escort duty against heavily-armed pirates? And if they did this poorly against Penxi, imagine what would happen in a general invasion by the Klingons!
I�ll echo IDLUN on this, Starfleet had better be sending me reinforcements after this debacle!
I do have one addendum to part F, that just occurred to me. I�m going to see if I can use the trade agreement with these folks to slip in some intelligence agents to gather data on Penxi internal affairs, or at the very least some news about their pirate operations.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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posted
Also, I would've sent India on the escort mission regardless. Even if I didn't know that I'd be losing ships, my choices would've remained the same. Not that I was planning on it getting blown up, but because it was the best heavy weapons platform available save the Saratoga. Also, I didn't have many ships to spare or alternatives to send instead.
Besides, I think that India was the best choice to be the assigned heavy cruiser anyway. Being older and therefore slower, it was ideally suited for escort duty since it wouldn't need to make extreme maneuvers. It was able to sit close to the transports and use its heavy phasers to fire in all directions. Under normal circumstances, that would've been perfectly sufficient... I just wasn't expecting the extremely heavy firepower that the pirates managed to bring!
Finally, the only alternative for a cruiser-type ship was the Saratoga, and I needed that to maintain a credible patrol on the northern flank, in case the Klingons decided to make some trouble in the next few weeks. And although the Saratoga would've been much more likely to survive the pirate attack (with state-of-the-art shields and weapons, and good maneuverability to match), that would've left the border dangerously open, with only an ancient and unresponsive cruiser and a single modern destroyer.
It boils down to this: I (or rather, my character) "gambled" that India would be up to repelling the pirates along with the other escorts. It wasn't.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Part 1: Starfleet's official stance in this sector won't change just because some locals have decided to form a vigilante group. We will continue to patrol along the designated routes. We have plenty of ships in the region that are quite capable of responding to any threat. Thanks anyway for your help.
Discretely I'll order the patrol ships to keep an eye on these Mnutemen. Should any confrontation happen between these civilians and the raiders, Penxi or Klingons, I want a Starfleet presence there as soon as possible.
Unofficially I'll continue to push for implanting Starfleet agents in among the Minutemen. We need to keep an eye on this situation and see that it doesn't grow to the point of setting off anything that can blow up in everyone's face.
Part 2: Since the colony force arrives by the end of this "turn," isn't this part irrelevant?
At any rate, the colony force will circumnavigate the nebula and take the extra 3 days. As has already been pointed out, the Klingons have already arrived and established their base. The race is over. There is no need to get there any faster.
If DSU Qiao is so adamant on arriving as soon as possible, I'll gladly stick him on a destroyer and rush him to Sobchak's Planet > He can camp there for three days until our ships arrive. Who knows, maybe he'll get a chance to meet the neighbors.
Part 3: Odd. I'll order the ships patrolling along the Ul'Chek Nebula (Dazzler, Bucanneer, Kite, Roc) to start looking for any sign of the Nernst. These ships are not to stray too far from their designated patrol route, but are encouraged to keep an eye out, dip into the nebula for quick looks. If the Nernst isn't heard from in another 2 weeks, I'll pull the Alacrity off her patrol route for a thorough search.
Part 4: From a pragmatic standpoint, the transports destoryed were carrying colonists and food supplies. This keeps the status quo at a balance. The citizens killed would have eaten the food lost had everyone made it to the colony. New colonists can be found, foodstuffs can be grown or rationed, but the equipment may be in short supply if any of that was lost.
Transports lost in action: USS Meth-Maren, USS Kuiper
Escorts lost in action: Q-ships USS Sullust & USS Ruff, Kestrel Class USS Skua, and the Ptolemy Class tug USS Al Rashid and her battlepod.
The India is heavily damaged, but survives the encounter.
Due to these losses, I resubmitt my request to Starfleet for additional ships.
Four Valley Forge Class Cruisers Four Siegfried Class Dreadnauts Six Avenger Class Destroyers Four Miranda Class Cruisers Four Oberth Class Scouts Four Ptolemy Class Tugs
Part 5: Hey, this is great. Go ahead and trade all you want. Starfleet and Federation citizens will gladly help in any way. In fact, here are some "advisors" we'd like you to accept as part of your trading company. No, really, we insist you take thse fine people on. They will be invaluable in conducting trade with the Penxi, as well as keeping in contact with the Federation. (They will also be invaluable to Stafleet in keeping an eye on this new development).
Part 6: I agre with DSO Qiao that something is amiss and either the Klingons or Penxi are behind the attack, especially with the raiders coming from nowehere. Sadly, the cloaking technology alone isn't proof enough of Klingon involvment. Orion Pirates are known to have cloaking devices, for example, and there is a flurishing black market of Klingon equipment. As sector commander I am "personally taking steps" to deal with this situation. Due to security restrains, I'm not at liberty to discuss what those steps are. Rest assured though, that with Starfleet patrols, the local Minutemen patrols and other means I'm not at liberty to say, the situation is quite contained.
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Just because I've got nothing to do for a few minutes, I'm going to take after Herb and fire off a plea for more ships from Command. It'll probably get ignored, but you never know.
1 Miranda- or Pyotr Velikiy-class heavy cruiser (to replace India; failing that, at least a Siegfried) 1 or 2 Abbe-class torpedo cruisers (to supplement my heavy fighting power; if the pirates are making short work of my ships, imagine what the Klingons would do!) 4 Polaris-class destroyers 6 Asmodeus-class corvettes
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BTW, That's a lot of heavy firepower you're requesting for this sector, Herb (or are you actually requesting double the amount of ships you think you'll need because of the way command handled our previous requests?).
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a. Well, if Repka is part of a power-projecting defense organization (which is odd since they are so small), I must assume they have at least decent planetary defenses, so I don�t really need that Avenger guarding them, do I? Still, this is a useless development. These ships are probably no more capable then the pirate ships, so even if they do manage to detect something passing through the big border, the pirate will probably detect them too, and will just temporarily go somewhere else, re-entering the border shortly. Thus, these border patrols are almost completely useless, and they leave important planets with fewer defenses. Starfleet should encourage that local planets to temporarily put their forces under our control until the pirate menace has been extinguished.
b. We will definitely not go through the nebula. Besides simple navigational hazards, there is a much greater chance of pirate ambush in the nebula, and the pirates have some significant forces, as their skirmish with the Klingons proved. We will go around the nebula, and furthermore, the Nernst and other ships in the nebula will deploy to the side near which the convoy is passing, to provide early warning if the convoy is in danger, and to assist if necessary.
c. The Nernst isn�t reporting in? This is a disaster, since it means the Spanker is missing too. The Buccaneer is immediately ordered to investigate, starting with their last known location and proceeding along the designated patrol route, being very, very careful.
d. Darn, my colony ship route and organization must not have been followed if going through the nebula would be faster...why must everything bad always happen to me? Fortunately, the Reporter, no longer needed to defend Repka, could tag along with the convoy on the way to its new assignment (hunting pirates in the nebula). However, this is when disaster strikes. Since we would have heard if the Klingons choose not to respond, I must assume the battle takes place fairly far from Sobchak�s planet, as the convoy would be coming from the upper area. Thus, the Reporter, Skua, and Condor bore the brunt of the fighting, with the Buccaneer coming to assistance later on. Unfortunately two of the colony transports (each self-contained, but with some unique specialty equipment) with 2,500 people were destroyed, taking with them the housing and equipment for those people. The colony�s long-range communications equipment was also destroyed. Fortunately, other two ships remained intact, allowing the remaining 2,500 people to set up a self-sufficient colony. Too bad the ship with the colony command staff wasn�t one of the destroyed ones... Many pirate ships were annihilated, but their cloaking technology gave them too large an advantage. The Skua was completely destroyed, while the responding Buccaneer was rendered unsalvageable. The Condor was so heavily damaged that it was forced to break off the battle, and will need to spend a very long time at an appropriate repair facility. Only the Reporter, the most capable of the escorts, managed to avoid heavy damage, the crew being able to handle the necessary minor repairs.
e. This really isn�t any of Starfleet�s business. I suppose, however, that they should be informed of the evidence connecting the Penxi to various pirate attacks, and be advised to move their transports in escorted convoys. Otherwise, the Federation might be interested in trading with them as well, depending on the specifics.
f. The Klingons should be contacted regarding the cloaking devices. There are several possibilities of how Klingon cloaking devices could have fallen into Klingon hands: unofficially government sanctioned transfer, perhaps unsanctioned transfer by parties wanting to provoke the Federation (the current Klingon sector commander maybe?), normal thieving perhaps using transporters in the original attack on the transports (they are forming a military abse, so they may have been carrying replacement cloaking devices). Of course, there is no guarantee that the technology is Klingon, but all avenues in diplomacy and intelligence need to be pursued.
Also disturbing is the power of the pirates in this sector. It is unlikely they managed to get their abilities themselves, so this probably confirms that some source, most probably the Penxi, is helping them. We need more specific information though. Perhaps some pirates were capture in the battle, and can be interrogated to yield useful data, or at least the construction of the wreckage analyzed.
Current situation: there are only three ships at decent readiness in the sector: the Avenger class ships Dazzler and Reporter, and the Lancaster class ship India. We need the India to help deal with the new colony, especially since the colony now has no long-range communications equipment. The transport ships will wait to resume their previously specified �safe� route (though nothing is really safe with cloaked pirates) as soon as the Dazzler arrives to escort them (local forces will be requested to guard Safko, and surely they would do this considering the current situation). The Reporter will immediately leave to investigate the disappearance of the Nernst and Spanker.
The Federation has greatly suffered from pirate attacks, so it is time to end them once and for all. It is recommended to Starfleet Command that a massive force (sufficient to crush the Penxi if necessary) be dispatched to this sector, with the Klingons informed of this to moderate detail, and invited to join in the buildup. The purpose of this is to pressure the Penxi to halt all pirate activities, and to destroy all the pirates, as well as invade the Penxi if they can be definitely linked to the pirates and refuse to do anything about it.
Of course, Starfleet Command hates me, so they probably won�t agree to my plan. At least send a couple of vessels to take up escort duty (preferably Predators, but Kestrals will suffice) of the remaining transports, and that Valley Forge class flagship...
posted
I forgot to add: though I refer to the attackers as �pirates�, I doubt they are actually pirates. Pirates would attack lightly defended installations in search of plunder, and of course, they would not destroy civilian transports before plundering them (if at all). These �pirates� clearly have a political objective. Since they are apparently all working together, this is further evidence that they are being controlled by the Penxi. The probable objective of the Penxi is to drive back the encroaching Federation and Klingon influence in this sector.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
so they probably won�t agree to my plan. At least send a couple of vessels to take up escort duty (preferably Predators, but Kestrals will suffice) of the remaining transports, and that Valley Forge class flagship...
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