That's fine. It was more for Teanna's sake that she did that so she realized that she had acted like Jodi used to. Had someone else under his command had done something like that, how would Valdez have reacted?
Nathan Valdez got put into an impossible position, the rule of law or his loyalty to family. I'm guessing Heath won't be happy with him over the whole affair. The twins will have learnt something from this as well. He'd have confined them to the brig to cool down before making his mind up how to deal with them.
......................................................................................................................................................... I.S.S. Enterprise, 24 hours later
Admiral Valdez was reading the formal apology looking for any in-perfections. "This should be acceptable" said Valdez as he finished proof reading it. "Time to swallow my pride and apologize" replied Teanna as she saluted Heath and made the formal apology. "Lt Cmdr Teanna Valdez, don't let this happen again. You are lucky the admiral stood next to you convinced me to accept the idea of a formal apology" said Heath.
"It won't happen again Captain Heath" replied Teanna. "Captain Heath I'll keep an eye on her, I know of a few exercises to channel that temper" said Valdez. "Admiral, I suggest you reduce your children's punishment. It's too excessive" replied Heath. "24 hours is enough for the girls to learn from their transgression. Captain Heath, if my girls bother you or cause issue, notify me and I'll have a word with them" said Teanna.
"Agreed, now it's all said and done I'm willing to consider a fresh start" replied Heath. "I don't know what came over me, not done something like that in 20 years" answered Teanna to which Valdez face palmed with that look of horror. "What's wrong admiral?" asked Heath. "I've never known her to use violence before, that's a new one. Teanna, I suggest you meditate on this, I'll meet you on the ship" said Valdez. Teanna saluted Heath and left the room for the transporter pad.
"You owe me for this" said Heath. "Fair enough Captain" answered Valdez. "You got put into a seemingly impossible situation, you were torn between duty to the law and duty to family" said Heath. "There's always a middle ground, it's just a case of finding it" answered Valdez and he saluted Heath and left for the transporter pad.
On the Agincourt, the twins were called in and Valdez repealed the punishment with Teanna's blessing. "24 hours was enough dad, we won't cause Captain Heath any more problems" said Marie to which Trianna answered "We nearly lost mom because of this." "Good, here's your ranks back and your privileges. Let that be a lesson to both of you" replied Valdez. "Yes dad" was chorused by both twins.
"It's been one of those days" sighed Valdez. "Nathan don't worry, you won't be sleeping on the couch" replied Teanna smiling. "I'm just going to forget this nightmare day ever happened, I'll contemplate this while I work on this personal project" answered Valdez as he looked though all the logs of the Battle of Antares. "What's that you are working on dad?" asked Marie. "A full unbiased and comprehensive history of the Battle of Antares, Marie you were there, anything you could add to that history?" replied Valdez.
"Who's it for?" asked Marie, Valdez answered "it's for Captain Heath and her survivors, I never forgot what she said to me about no one remembering her last stand, it's time the story was told" replied Valdez, "Teanna, I'm asking you to go and interview the survivors. Marie, you can help write this with me." "I'll have a look through the visual logs, I'll do a painting and call it "The Last Stand of the Wolves", I'm thinking Los Lobos going broadside to broadside with Astute while under fire from all directions" said Trianna.
"Heath does not know about this, this will be a family project. I'm also going to present her with a Star of Terra, her crew will be presented with the Imperial Cross individually in front of the whole fleet for their last stand" said Valdez. "Let's get this project started" said Teanna and everyone got to work in their respective roles. "Computer, Sabaton 40:1" ordered Valdez. "Good choice dad" said Marie.
Post edited by theraven2378 on
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Admiral Valdez and Marie were researching the tactics employed by both sides during the Battle of Antares, "nice counter to the encirclement" said Marie thinking aloud. "Heath turned her opponent's strength, their numbers into a weakness with that brilliant defense" replied Valdez. "And she put herself into a position of no retreat, Sun Tzu did once say put an army in a place of no escape and they will prefer death to flight" said Marie.
"Indeed Marie" answered Valdez. On the Enterprise, Teanna interviewed the Los Lobos survivors to get their side of the story, "Doctor, we would be honored to tell our side of the story" said Paris and the survivors sat down with Teanna and gave their account of the battle. On the Agincourt, Trianna created the boards for her painting of the Los Lobos' last stand. "A series of pieces will work here" she noted to herself.
Meanwhile Marie started making her tactical maps of the battle from opening move to endgame. "Very well detailed, all ships present and accurate in their positions" said Valdez looking at the maps. Teanna arrived 20 minutes later with the Federation account and said "add these to the book." Valdez read them and decided the book would be not only the tactical side of the battle but it would be told from the soldier's point of view as well. The family worked for the next five days putting the book together, Trianna's artwork was added as color plates with her master copy of the last stand of the wolves expanded and framed.
I.S.S. Enterprise
The Valdez family beamed aboard the Enterprise with two copies of the book, one for Sito and one for Heath. Trianna brought her master copy of her painting and they saluted Heath and her crew. "Captain Heath, Antares is a story worth telling. We all banded together as a family and we wrote the complete history of the battle unbiased and accurately" said Valdez as he presented Heath with the finished book. Trianna presented the painting to Heath and said "it's called the the Last Stand of the Wolves." Heath smiled, her story had been told properly.
"Captain Heath, You deserve this for that battle" said Valdez as he pinned the Star of Terra on Heath's uniform and shook her hand in front of her crew. "Los Lobos crew stand at attention please" ordered Valdez and 82 officers all stood to attention as they were individually presented with the the Imperial Cross. Valdez pinned the badge to their uniforms and shook each crew member by the hand.
"You all deserve recognition for your bravery, you may have fought on the Federation side but you all fought with the ferocity of a wolf. We are all honored by your sacrifices and extraordinary courage displayed that day, your stand will go down as one of the great last stands in history. Stands like Thermopylae, the Alamo and Camarón where the few stood against the many and refused to give into despair, be proud of your bravery" said Valdez in speech to the Los Lobos survivors.
Everyone on the bridge of the Enterprise saluted the survivors in a sign of respect. "Admiral you never forgot what I said about my fight being forgotten, thank you for telling our story" said Heath. "The honor was my family's, we respect strength and courage. You may replicate 82 other copies for your people to read" replied Valdez.
Post edited by theraven2378 on
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
They would greatly appreciate that. The key to the "rotating spherical defense" Is that it constantly forces the attacker to re-acquire targets as you move out of their firing arc. You're still going to take hits, but not as many.
Valdez would consider it an honor for Heath to help him train his daughters in the art of war. The "rotating spherical defense" is a tactic Valdez may employ but on a larger scale to cover his carriers and command ships if faced with the threat of being encircled.
@nappers1 Do you want Admiral Valdez and the twins as characters?
Post edited by theraven2378 on
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Valdez and his daughters stood on the holodeck. Simulation of tiny ships moved around them. "They're so cute at this size, " Marie commented. "I want a collection to hang from the ceiling," Trianna agreed. "They would look good on the shelves in the study," Valdez nodded in agreement. An archway appeared amid the stars and opened to admit Captain Heath. The twins snapped to attention. "Relax ladies," Heath said smiling. "You look like a cadet review." The two relaxed, but could feel their fathers eyes on them. "Your father asked me to teach you about tactics. But before we start, tell me what is the most important thing to remember about combat?" "All warfare is based on deception." Trianna said “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles," Marie added. Valdez nodded behind them "Wrong," All three looked at Heath in surprise. "Academy Tactics 101. All cadets are required to memorize the words of Earth military strategist Helmuth von Moltke. 'No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy'." They looked at her in confusion as Valdez smiled. "I'd forgotten about that one," he agreed nodding. "Truer words have never been spoken." "But all of your strategies have worked," Trianna countered. "That's because you all think the same way over here," Heath answered. "Let me show you something. Computer, run simulation one." One of the little ships moved in towards them and expanded to a foot in size. "This is a standard Miranda class frigate," Heath explained. "Nothing special about it except that it's about to have a very bad day." Above it, three Klingon ships, a Vor'cha and two Birds of Prey decloaked and straifed the smaller ship. As the three looped around for another pass, Heath touched the damaged ship and a status screen appeared. "That attack took out her warp drive and torpedoes. Tell me, how does this fight end?" "The Miranda doesn't have a chance," Trianna stated. "It's completely out classed," Marie agreed. "You concur admiral?" "Normally, yes. But your showing us this for a reason." "True." They watched as the ships came in for the kill, the power level on the Miranda even life support all went to zero except for shields which red lined at maximum. The Miranda rolled over and something came out of the bottom. It hit the bow of the Vor'cha and exploded disabling the three attacking ships. "Oh my god," Trianna yelled in shock. "They hit them their warp core." "That's insane," Marie agreed. "No one would ever seriously do something like that." Valdez stroked his chin. He had expected something but not that. "I have to agree. How likely is someone to do this?" Heath touched the Miranda again and it enlarged more and rotated so they could read the ship name. USS Los Lobos. "The original Los Lobos," Heath explained to their shocked expressions. "She was retired after this battle, too damaged to be repaired." Heath looked at her old ship for another moment then tossed her hair and turned to face them. "Lesson one. If you're opponent is desperate enough, there is no strategy that they will not try. Now are you ready for lesson two?" "Yes ma'am," they chorused with more respect than before.
"Very enlightening Captain" said Valdez, "if I remember rightly, you threatened to blow your warp core in an encounter with your mirror. Naynta Lot staged a little coup afterwards." "Sounds like Naynta" replied Heath. "It was messy to say the least" answered Valdez. "Tell me about the convoy attack last year during your raid into traitor space" asked Heath. "With one ship as well" replied Valdez, "we discovered a traitor military convoy and we shadowed it for a while under cloak waiting for the right moment to attack." "You became the hunter" responded Heath.
"Exactly, first we knocked the escorts out, two Defiants by closing to 500m and wiping out their life support systems. They never knew what hit them" said Valdez, Heath was a bit shocked at first until she heard the reason. "The most efficient way to knock out a starship is to incapacitate the crew, it's been like that since the dawn of naval warfare" he pointed out. "It's cold" replied Heath, "but effective."
"The 15 transports were wiped out one by one in quick succession before enemy reinforcements forced a withdrawal. Only two survived" said Valdez. "How long from start to finish?" asked Heath. "Less than 10 minutes" answered Valdez. "Hit hard, hit fast and withdraw" replied Heath. "Been the staple of the guerrilla for centuries and it compounds a conventionally thinking opponent every time" answered Valdez. "Very true" replied Heath.
"You may want to study how a Vietnamese general called Võ Nguyên Giáp who did not have the technology level of his opponent yet using unconventional methods of war, he forced his opponent to retreat from the war. He even used his opponent's mass media of the day as a weapon against them" suggested Valdez. "What conflict?" asked Heath, "The Indochina wars on Terra, 1946-75" answered Valdez, "in the first Indochina War, he inflicted a defeat so great it forced a colonial power out of the war. I recommend you study the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu"
The twins were paying attention to the tactics talk, "We may have to study, dad won't mind if we borrow some of his books" said Marie. "As long as I get them back in the same condition" answered Valdez. "Maam, we found a battle from some Federation data files. The Battle of the Mutara Nebula, in your previous reality it's considered a classic" said Trianna. Heath smiled, Mutara would an excellent example.
"Admiral, will Doctor Valdez approve of me teaching the girls?" asked Heath. Valdez answered with "just have a talk with her, she'll want to scan your head to make sure there is no deception. If she's satisfied, she'll approve." Heath gave some thought and decided to have a informal talk with Doctor Valdez. "Admiral, is the mind scan non negotiable?" asked Heath. "Afraid so, Teanna is most insistent about that" replied Valdez.
"I've been in this universe not long, a Terran marrying a Betazoid seems a bit odd given Terran xenophobia" said Heath. "Captain, me and Teanna fought together at the end of the war of liberation 21 years ago. We have a warrior's bond hence why I married her, we were both around the twins' age as well" answered Valdez. "Maam, mom and dad are very close" said Trianna, Marie added "they consider each other as equals. Dad once called her a Lioness, mom runs the household very efficiently" "Indeed Marie" answered Valdez.
"What was it is like growing up girls?" asked Heath. "Dad brought up the Terran side and mom brought up the Betazoid side, dad was more fun to be around though" said Trianna. "Dad taught us to channel our Terran temper by sparring with us on the staffs and mom taught us to channel our Betazoid abilities" added Marie." "An ordered upbringing then?" asked Heath. "Yes and no, dad understood the need to blow off steam. Mom on the other hand was the strict one" answered Marie. "Me and your mother made sure you stuck on the right path as well" replied Valdez. "Effective" said Heath. "There are better ways of maintaining discipline than the booth" said Valdez.
"Dad's firm but he's fair, he even had the booths removed and sent back to Terok Nor" said Trianna. "There goes your fun" joked Marie, Trianna countered with "I kept hold of an old school agony device besides you are the one trying to build a thalaron torpedo." "I love the smell of Thalaron in the morning,...smells like victory" responded Marie. "It must be that green glow" bounced back Trianna. "Indeed sister" replied Marie. "Enough please you two but funny at the same time" said Valdez.
Post edited by theraven2378 on
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The twins were on advanced command training. "Remember cadets, if the the orders are not clear" said Admiral Valdez to which Trianna answered "then it is the fault of the commander." Valdez smiled and said "good answer, all commands must be clear and to the point." Heath now briefed the cadets on their objective, "cadets, you will both take two hours in the big chair with the other as first officer. Marie you will go first as acting captain."
Valdez now sprung the second surprise on them, "Valdez to Jodi, launch a squadron sized simulation attack on Enterprise and be creative" ordered the admiral. Heath now gave the cadets their main objective, "cadets you will face a situation where you are outnumbered. Your objective is hold out two hours each, if either one beats Jodi extra marks towards your grade." Sito was observing the exercise and she told Valdez "Mother has authorized the release of Naynta, she supports your proposal to demote Naynta to Lt. Naynta has been assigned to the 352nd under Jodi as well."
"If Naynta steps out of line, she'll find herself doing fatigues duty and I can think of some horrible and smelly jobs" said Valdez. Sito smiled at Valdez's unusual methods of discipline. "The cadets, can they handle the stress they are going to endure?" asked Sito. Valdez answered with "the cadets will have to micro manage the crew and the bridge as well as dealing with Jodi, either they succeed or they fail. It's that simple."
"Should be interesting, let's see how they do" said Sito.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Both Heath and Valdez were beginning the cadet's training. Sito had Valdez pass on Naynta's release to Jodi. Jodi promise to keep her sister in check.
The twins were working well together, Marie had turned the 5-1 odds to 5-3 with a saucer separation and the Aquarius launch. Jodi predicting the move countered Marie and beat her by simulating a direct hit to the warp core. "Too predictable cadet, good effort" said Jodi over the channel. Admiral Valdez and Fleet Admiral Sito were critical about Marie's tactics. "Why were you defeated?" asked Valdez, Marie answered "I was too predictable and Jodi made me pay for that mistake."
"Cadet, learn from that error. You were very good on leadership, your commands were clear and easy to understand" said Sito. "I still failed to beat Jodi" countered Marie, Sito answered "but you achieved your objective of holding out two hours outnumbered, good job on that cadet." "Trianna, your turn" said Heath. Teanna had been observing the twins' command training and she smiled seeing Heath being that positive role model.
Trianna decided holding out was a secondary objective and decided to pull a surprise on Jodi, she waited for Jodi to move in close by faking a ship wide power loss on Enterprise. "Wait" ordered Trianna as she rolled the ship onto it's ventral side and deployed a training core which she set to detonate with 200m of the Cutlass. Trianna worked out the best time and gave the order to detonate the training core, the Cutlass and the four ships with her were disabled in less than 20 minutes.
"Trianna, well played" said Jodi over the channel. "Unorthodox and crazy" noted Valdez to Sito, Sito replied "agreed, how many enemies would expect that?" Heath smiled, "Admirals, not many" she answered. "Cadet, very unorthodox. Commands were clear and concise, you leadership needs more practice" said Valdez. "Which one gets the promotion?" asked Sito leaving the decision to Heath and Valdez. Both officers discussed which cadet to promote in private be fore they picked which cadet got promoted.
"Cadets, since you both achieved you objectives, you are both promoted to Lt Cmdr. Trianna, excellent use of deception in luring your opponent in. Marie, excellent leadership" said Heath pinning the extra pips on the twins' uniform. Both twins saluted and snapped to attention. "Girls, take a break" ordered Valdez as Lt Naynta Lot was marched onto the bridge, she spat at Valdez and Heath but was put in her place by both officers. "Would be a shame if something happened to your daughters" muttered Naynta in earshot of Valdez.
Naynta now found herself outnumbered 6-1 by Sito, Teanna, Admiral Valdez, Heath and the twins. "Admiral Valdez you would never hit a woman" said Naynta taunting Valdez. "I would not but she would" said Valdez as Teanna pushed Naynta against the wall with her arm at Naynta's throat. "Don't ever threaten my girls like that, girls be a pair of dears and give Naynta something to remember" said Teanna containing her anger.
Both twins doubled teamed Naynta and broke both her arms in 10 different places on each arm. "Next time you threaten us, it's both of your legs" said Trianna. Marie added "both arms is a friendly warning"
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"I believe I have seen enough," Heath said watching the scene unfold in front of her. They all turned to look at her. "There is a difference between discipline and brutality. They are not the same. That is something you need to learn because if someone insults or threatened you and you lash out and happen to strike a superior, that will be the day they will haul your lifeless corpse to the disposal unit. And this is from someone who once threatened to skin several of my crew alive before I came over." Sito touched her com badge. "Medical team to the bridge. She's right though. This will only start the cycle retribution all over again and eventually I'll have to have someone killed to re-establish order. you should restrain your violent tendencies toward your fellow crew members and redirect them towards our opponents." "We will try..." "That was not a suggestion," Sito said firmly. "Yes ma'am." "Now I believe that Captain Heath and your mother have things to discuss. Your training will continue another time. Dismissed."
"Commander, that was a bit excessive, cadets both of you fatigues duty 48 hours and confined to the brig until you all cool down. Commander you as well" said Valdez appalled at what happened. "Dad's gone military on us" said Trianna to which Marie answered "we've ticked him off." "You two have no room to talk either" said Valdez keeping his cool. "What have you got in mind?" asked Sito.
"My training team, a 24 hours session with them will teach them to control their tempers" answered Valdez trying not to swear. The twins looked nervous, they had never known their father lose his temper in front of them and he was clearly near that point. "Next time someone threatens you, never lash out like that again. You are both lucky you are my children, if that was any other officer I'd have personally shot them myself." said Valdez.
"Yes sir" chorused the twins intimidated by their father towering over them. "Guards escort the cadets back to the ship and make sure they carry out their punishment" ordered Valdez. The twins were marched off to the transporter, Valdez on the other hand was barely containing his anger. "Fleet Admiral, permission to hand command over to Rear Admiral Solat? I'm in no fit state to command emotionally" requested Valdez. "Granted, sit down and calm down" ordered Sito and Valdez complied.
"How bad is Naynta" asked Valdez concerned. "Nothing permanent but she'll be in sickbay for a month. Your children need to control that temper" answered Sito. "They've done far worse, they are far from innocent. Marie is responsible for four mass planetary genocides and Trianna wiped out the Rigel shipyards with biogenic weapons" replied Valdez. "They are your problem to deal with, I'm rotating you all out of the line until you can deal with the issues" said Sito. "Yes ma'am" answered Valdez.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Sito entered the sickbay to find Lieutenant Lot sitting on the far bed. "Must you always ignite the fire in people?" Asked Sito.
Naynta grunted at Sito. "You must be loving this? not only do I lose my ship, but now you won't allow me to regain-" Naynta barked only to be shut down by Sito.
"I still have them." Sito dangled Naynta's old admiral's pips in front of her. "Papela has ordered me to look out for you, and unfortunately I must now do so. Why can't you be calm minded like my Naynta? Or as 'sane' as Doctor Lot?"
"You've gone to great lengths over the past few years to hide your Betazoid heritage from others with those contact lenses," Sito smirked. "Papela wants me to protect you from yourself, and that is exactly what I'm going to do," Sito said signaling Doctor Tamiko.
"While you remain on this ship, you'll have the privilege of serving as my bodyguard. I won't let your natural talents go to waste ... oh ... and Tamiko here will be conducting your cosmetic surgery at 15:00 today. I've always wondered what you would look like with white spots."
Admiral Valdez supervised the twins' punishment directly. "This sucks" said Trianna under the watchful gaze of her father, Marie just grit her teeth and did not complain. "This is day one of your 72 hour punishment. Once your mother has finished her meeting with Captain Heath she'll be joining you" said Valdez. "These overalls itch and are uncomfortable" complained Marie to which Valdez answered "No talking, here is a 10 kilo bag of potatoes. You two will peel the whole lot and make sure they are ready for chef."
The twins got to work not daring to complain. They knew they had incurred their father's bad side and he was making them suffer through monotonous tasks. "Chef, your new kitchen hands for the next two days. If they complain you are authorized to increase their workload" said Valdez to his chef. "Will do admiral" replied Warrant Officer Alicia Mendez. "Carry on Mendez" said Valdez and he left the room.
"You two, you heard the admiral, start peeling and I want no complaints" ordered Mendez. "Yes ma'am" chorused the twins and they carried on peeling the potatoes, Trianna muttered something but Mendez heard it. "No complaints, Lt you are on extra hours for complaining" said Mendez to Trianna. Admiral Valdez however had returned to the Enterprise to have a word with Naynta Lot.
In the Enterprise sickbay Valdez asked Tamiko where Naynta was and Tamiko led him over. "Lt, the cadets are being punished for their actions, the commander is as well. You will take no act of revenge understood?" said Valdez. Naynta still in pain replied "crystal, what have you done?" "48 hours punishment fatigue duty in the galley and an extra 24 with my disciplinary team" answered Valdez. "Sito has dealt with me accordingly as well" replied Naynta to which Valdez answered "good, next time don't threaten anyone again. Lt, I'll wipe the slate clean with you but next time it's the booth."
"Understood admiral" said Naynta and Valdez left the Enterprise satisfied.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Admiral Valdez briefed Sito on the punishment he had imposed. "72 hours punishment, have you worked out how to deal with their tempers yet?" asked Sito. Valdez had put some thought into this and asked Heath to book a series of meeting with the counselor. "You putting your family on anger management?" replied Heath, Valdez replied with "that's the idea. Pick your calmest and most emotionally stable officer, this family has a lot to deal with and I cannot always be around to deal with these problems."
"Admiral, consider it done but I'll wait until the 72 hours punishment is up" said Heath. "Thanks Layress" replied Valdez to which Heath replied "no problem, it takes strength to realize there is a problem and to ask for help." "Tamiko told me about the little chat you had with Naynta. She told me that you dealt with her in a calm and rational manner with a little friendly warning" said Sito.
"I told Naynta never to threaten anyone again, the threat of the booth was my friendly warning" replied Valdez. "Naynta has become more complaint and agreed to no acts of revenge" responded Sito. "An eye for an eye makes the world a blind place" replied Valdez. Sito agreed, "no more" she ordered and Valdez was ordered to pass the message onto the twins. "Fleet Admiral, you may have to order Teanna to sickbay, I need Tamiko to do an examination of her" requested Valdez.
"Any reason why?" asked Sito. Valdez was honest about his suspicions, "The last time she was like this was when she was carrying Trianna, it's just a suspicion but I need to be sure" he answered. "Request granted, I want to find out the cause of this anger" replied Sito. "The girls only have two choices, go to anger management or lose their ranks" said Valdez, Sito agreed with the ultimatum. "Admiral, good luck. You'll need it" said Sito smiling.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The twins had been called into Doctor Lot's office. "Cadets, take a seat" ordered Doctor Lot, Trianna complained at having to go to counseling and anger management, "Dad do we have to?" she moaned. "I was called in as well, non negotiable for any of us" replied Admiral Valdez. "Not fair dad" groaned Marie. "Where do I start?" asked Doctor Lot.
"Trianna first" said Valdez and Doctor Lot started her questioning. "What triggers those violent impulses?" asked Doctor Lot, Trianna at first smiled and replied "being insulted and threatened" defiantly. "Words like mongrel?" asked Doctor Lot to which Trianna immediately reacted to angrily. "Cool it" ordered Valdez and Trianna complied. "I must have hit a nerve" noted Doctor Lot.
"Now what about Marie? Four counts of mass planetary genocide" asked Doctor Lot. "More like six" replied Marie laughing. "Now what's your trigger?" asked Doctor Lot, "the fact your are an orphan." Marie flew off the rails and Valdez calmed her down, "now what about the admiral?" asked Doctor Lot. "Me?" replied Valdez. "You are like a volcano, you look like you are about to erupt" responded Doctor Lot.
"You got me there Doctor" replied Valdez, Doctor Lot looked through her notes and got to work. "The root of all this goes to you admiral, tempers are often a genetic trait. What were your parents like emotionally?" asked Doctor Lot. Doctor Lot's question had hit a nerve, Valdez reacted to the question with "don't go there." "All that hidden anger and pain, keeping something buried like what happened to your parents is causing psychological damage" replied Doctor Lot.
"That's why dad does not speak of grandma and granddad, he's an orphan of the Alliance occupation" said Marie. "30 years of anger is not healthy" noted Doctor Lot. "The incident with my counterpart, do you always react with violence?" asked Doctor Lot to the twins. "Generally, depends on the threat or insult" replied Trianna, Marie added "we would not want to be perceived as weak."
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Doctor Lot had found a gap in the twins' armour. "Explain looking weak" asked Doctor Lot, the twins at first remained quiet but eventually Trianna answered with "because we're admiral's daughters, any weakness is something that can be exploited. Violence is our way of keeping the underlings in their place." "Interesting, admiral you want to add something to that?" asked Doctor Lot.
"They've been raised to be tough, they are no push overs by any margin" answered Valdez. "Maybe that is the problem, your daughters are too violence prone. I've studied the medical records from all incidents involving the twins' outbursts" replied Doctor Lot. "This should be interesting" joked Valdez. "Why the arms Trianna?" asked Doctor Lot. "He he, I like the sound of bones cracking" answered Trianna smiling.
"Maybe you need to find an alternative method of venting your temper" suggested Doctor Lot. "What like?" asked Trianna to which Doctor Lot suggested something like taking up a sport. "What like?" asked Trianna, Valdez came up with the answer. "I may have an idea, girls what about taking up boxing or martial arts?" he asked to the twins. "Sounds fun" answered Marie. "Now Marie, losing your parents...." asked Doctor Lot before Marie cut her off. "Don't go there, I wiped out whole planets for less" answered Marie.
"We're misunderstood" added Trianna. "Indeed" joked Marie, Doctor Lot had got enough to start her diagnosis and told the twins straight. "You two will be on cognitive behavior therapy for the next six months, twice a week you two will report to me for the two hour sessions. Admiral, I will want to speak you and Doctor Valdez separately." "Dad do we have too?" groaned the twins in chorus. "You heard the lady, if she deems you both not mentally sound she will have you removed from duty and there is nothing I can do about that" answered Valdez.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Sit." Teanna sat in the chair facing the desk. Heath made a slight show of sweeping her hair out of the way before she sat in her chair and crossed her legs. "Still not used to having this much hair," Heath said casually. "I've lost count how many times I've sat on it." She could see the comment Teanna wanted to make, but dared not to in her eyes. "I imagine so," she said instead. "Yes... Tell me. What's the difference between a soldier and an officer?" The question caught her off guard. "Ma'am?" "What's the difference between a soldier and an officer?" She repeated. Teanna tried to get a feeling on what the person across was thinking but all she received was the image of an armored gauntlet wrapped in layers of silk. She's done this many times before, she thought. Beneath the hair and boots is a hardened captain. "An officer leads by example while the soldier follows that example." "Nice try," Heath said. "But it was a trick question." "Ma'am?" "There is no difference. I've seen foot soldiers show more courage and intelligence than their superiors." Teanna nodded in agreement. "Rank doesn't automatically make someone intelligent." "Sometimes it makes them even dumber than they were before. It makes them do things that they shouldn't." Teanna felt herself tense up. Here it comes, she thought. "Do you know how many times you've come close to dying in the past few days? You should thank what ever diety you believe in that it was me that decided to yell at. Any other captain would have shot you between the eyes the moment you raised your hand to them." "I understand." "Do you? Do you really? I don't think so considering how you encouraged those two to act." "Ma'am, I..." "What comes first, them or your duty to the Empire?" "What?" "Answer the question." Teanna looked Heath in the eyes. "My children come first. They always will." "And again you are lucky that you're dealing with me. Because I agree." "I... What?" "They should come first. But for all your talk of raising them properly, you are doing the exact opposite. You have turned them in to entitled bullies who think they can do harm whoever they want when they feel insulted, and it appears that they got it from you." Teanna was silent. "Tell me doctor, if you had a crewmen with a history of repeatedly assaulting his fellow crew, what would you suggest?" "Repeated sessions in the booths to correct their...' "And if that didn't work?" "They would be..." Teanna couldn't bring herself to say it. "Executed." Heath finished. "You... You have made your point ma'am. I will... endeavor to change myself and them before..." Teanna closed her eyes leaving the final option unsaid. She's right, she thought. What is wrong with me? I need to... She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Heath. "When things settle, take some time and go be a family first. Then come back. That's an order." The smile on Heath's face was actually warm and she felt her concern for her and the girls. "I was wrong about you. I judged you by your appearance." "Not the first time." "I think... It wouldn't be so bad if the girls ended up like you. A little." "My mother would disagree with you. You may go now." "Thank you." Teanna stood, saluted and turned to leave. "One more thing," Heath said. "Yes?" Heath smiled. "Tell them if they lash out on my ship again, I'll nail their hands to the wall for an hour." Teanna looked horrified, then a smile spread across her face. "I'll be sure to tell them that." "See that you do." With that, Teanna left.
Soreth ran her had over her face. Unsure about potential consequences of the reports currently covering her desk.
The Alliance was considering some kind of operation into Terran space... This wasn't something she could afford to ignore, and the Molindrans agreed with her on that.
Furthermore circumstances presented an opportunity to improve relations with the Ask'kar, and that in itself was important given their alliance with the Breen.... She hated politics, almost as much as the Empire.
"Centurion Rolvar, send our latest intelligence to the Federation. Let's ensure they're not going across the mirror blind." "Yes mam as you wish. Will we be sending any forces of our own?"
Soreth thought for a moment. Her troops were still mourning over the loss of their best Star-Commander. "If it comes up, offer the assistance of several squadrons from Battle group Spear... I will confer with the Basalisks."
"Opening secure channels now..."
Why do I still play and put money into STO?
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
Admiral Valdez had got the news from Teanna and the twins got Heath's warning, "Family time, Heath's orders." Valdez asked "any ideas?" "Family hunting trip?" replied Marie, "maybe dad will let us use his vintage hunting rifles" added Trianna. "Family time in the wilds sounds excellent" responded Teanna.
"I agree, family hunting and fishing trip on Trillius Prime" said Valdez. Heath just smiled, "fresh air will do them a world of good" she privately noted. "What rifles do you use?" asked Heath. "Short Magazine Lee Enfields" answered Valdez, "very quick and smooth with the bolt." "Very classy, I do want to see the pictures" replied Heath smiling. "You'll get a copy" said Valdez smiling.
Antares (Prime)
Councilor Valdez got the the intelligence report from the RSU, "What do you think dad?" asked Trianna. "If Soreth is anything like Veel'Riz we can trust her" replied Valdez. "Agreed dad" responded Trianna. "I need you to work with Heath as liaison officer, you are to brief her daily on any new intelligence" advised Valdez. "Consider it done" replied Trianna.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"This is what I get for thinking things were too quiet."
Trianna smiled at Heath's image on the screen.
"I can assure you," Heath continued. "That we are not planning any kind of incursion over here. We haven't even seen any unusual traffic out here."
"Well our source has never been wrong before," Trianna stated.
"Then, we may have a new player in the game."
"One with their own agenda," Trianna agreed.
"We need this stopped and now."
"Agreed. We'll start checking on our end."
"And I'll make sure the gate stays shut," Heath paused. "I'm going to let our neighbors on the other side of the fence know."
"Is that wise?"
"If something does gets through, I want them know that it's not us breaking the truce."
"Understood."
"Be careful in your checking. If they want to start a war, they won't hesitate to get rid of anyone they see as a threat to their plan."
"And I thought the Intelligence section was safe," Trianna laughed
Councilor Valdez had arrived to speak with Heath on the new intel. "Layress, I'll speak with the Romulan Star Union. Besides they owe me a few favors" he said. "Trianna provided the logs of your 2390 incursion" replied Heath, Valdez smiled and replied "I'd make the battles required reading for your captains. The Romulan Star Union are a democratic republic with no love for the empire."
"We do have allies on the other side. General B'Vat and his resistance cells, from what I've heard they've been keeping the imperials busy" said Trianna. "That's good to know" replied Heath. "I'll need to report this to the president, we'll need all levels of government ready if things go hot" said Valdez. "I'll study the logs" responded Trianna. "Well we all have our jobs and sir, I'll meet you at the bar at 1800 hours" said Heath.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Flanked on either side by two Chavilaer (A Vulcan, and Reman), High-Protector Soreth calmly approached the doors of the R.D.W. Lliset, smiling at the sound of them opening in a whoosh. Ah… she’d missed these halls. “At ease,” she spoke as the two lines of shoulders on either side lowered their salutes.
Reaching the bridge of the dreadnought Soreth relieved her Shield Officer of command, taking what was probably her favorite chair in the galaxy. Forming up her honour guard, around the ship the eleven warbirds undocked and set course for Antares.
Why do I still play and put money into STO?
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
The station went to red alert, "report!" yelled Heath. "12 unidentified ships on course for us" reported the Los Lobos ops officer. "Getting a quantum signature now" reported Trianna. Valdez took one look at the monitor and advised Heath not to be provocative. "Noted bring the fleet to yellow alert, let them make the first move" ordered Heath.
"Let them make contact first, lets not appear hostile" advised Valdez. "Agreed" noted Heath.
Trillius Prime (Mirror)
Admiral Valdez was sat in a boat fishing with Teanna and the twins. Trianna had already got a bite, "it's a big one" she said as she battled the fish for three hours. She was soon joined by the family in bringing the fish in. "Nice catch" said Valdez when he saw what Trianna had hooked. "12 foot, you've got yourself a shark" said Marie. Valdez got the camera ready and took a whole family photo with their catch.
Teanna smiled, the twins had found a new hobby.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The Star Union vessels had decloked upon reaching the system, no sense in appearing hostile.
Altithia Soreth took a breath, remind reminding herself these weren't Terrans she was dealing with. She couldn't let her people down... Still she was no diplomat, she was a soldier down to the marrow of her bones, not to mention young by Romulus standards. Funny Sela, had placed her in command of the forces when they'd crossed over to fight the Iconians, and she was worried about this?!
"System control this is the Romulan Union flagship RDW Lliset requesting permission to enter the system and assume standard orbit."
"Let's see what the Councilor has to say."
Why do I still play and put money into STO?
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
Soreth sent the hail to Antares Station. "Admiral, we have a common enemy" she said over the screen. "I'm retired, military matters are handled by Captain Heath Layress. We've got a delicate truce with the Terran admiral on the other side, what brings you here?" replied Valdez.
"Can you trust this Terran to keep their word? We had wind of an operation to cross over" replied Soreth. "So far Fleet Admiral Sito has kept her word, we've set up a neutral zone with agreement from both parties not to cross over. Any breach from either side is considered an act of war" answered Valdez.
"Interesting, from our records the Terrans caused your family harm and yet you don't seek revenge" replied Soreth. "There is an old Earth saying, an eye for an eye makes the world a blind place" responded Valdez. "An interesting philosophy but we cannot put our differences with the Terrans aside" replied Soreth. "I'll have to report this to the president, we have oversight over the military in these matters" responded Valdez.
"I await your president's response Soreth out" she replied and the screen went blank. "Layress, when you see Sito next give her this official apology" said Valdez. "Interesting, Sito will want to read this" replied Heath. The apology read "What James T Kirk did was a breach of our prime directive, he illegally interfered in what should have been considered an internal matter and caused a century of pain for the Terrans. We officially extend this official apology as an olive branch to your government." "Nathan, I'll deliver this to Sito. Trianna you are with me, I'll ask for you to be under Sito's personal protection while we are there" said Heath. "Yes Ma'am" replied Trianna.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Comments
Had someone else under his command had done something like that, how would Valdez have reacted?
.........................................................................................................................................................
I.S.S. Enterprise, 24 hours later
Admiral Valdez was reading the formal apology looking for any in-perfections. "This should be acceptable" said Valdez as he finished proof reading it. "Time to swallow my pride and apologize" replied Teanna as she saluted Heath and made the formal apology. "Lt Cmdr Teanna Valdez, don't let this happen again. You are lucky the admiral stood next to you convinced me to accept the idea of a formal apology" said Heath.
"It won't happen again Captain Heath" replied Teanna. "Captain Heath I'll keep an eye on her, I know of a few exercises to channel that temper" said Valdez. "Admiral, I suggest you reduce your children's punishment. It's too excessive" replied Heath. "24 hours is enough for the girls to learn from their transgression. Captain Heath, if my girls bother you or cause issue, notify me and I'll have a word with them" said Teanna.
"Agreed, now it's all said and done I'm willing to consider a fresh start" replied Heath. "I don't know what came over me, not done something like that in 20 years" answered Teanna to which Valdez face palmed with that look of horror. "What's wrong admiral?" asked Heath. "I've never known her to use violence before, that's a new one. Teanna, I suggest you meditate on this, I'll meet you on the ship" said Valdez. Teanna saluted Heath and left the room for the transporter pad.
"You owe me for this" said Heath. "Fair enough Captain" answered Valdez. "You got put into a seemingly impossible situation, you were torn between duty to the law and duty to family" said Heath. "There's always a middle ground, it's just a case of finding it" answered Valdez and he saluted Heath and left for the transporter pad.
On the Agincourt, the twins were called in and Valdez repealed the punishment with Teanna's blessing. "24 hours was enough dad, we won't cause Captain Heath any more problems" said Marie to which Trianna answered "We nearly lost mom because of this." "Good, here's your ranks back and your privileges. Let that be a lesson to both of you" replied Valdez. "Yes dad" was chorused by both twins.
"It's been one of those days" sighed Valdez. "Nathan don't worry, you won't be sleeping on the couch" replied Teanna smiling. "I'm just going to forget this nightmare day ever happened, I'll contemplate this while I work on this personal project" answered Valdez as he looked though all the logs of the Battle of Antares. "What's that you are working on dad?" asked Marie. "A full unbiased and comprehensive history of the Battle of Antares, Marie you were there, anything you could add to that history?" replied Valdez.
"Who's it for?" asked Marie, Valdez answered "it's for Captain Heath and her survivors, I never forgot what she said to me about no one remembering her last stand, it's time the story was told" replied Valdez, "Teanna, I'm asking you to go and interview the survivors. Marie, you can help write this with me." "I'll have a look through the visual logs, I'll do a painting and call it "The Last Stand of the Wolves", I'm thinking Los Lobos going broadside to broadside with Astute while under fire from all directions" said Trianna.
"Heath does not know about this, this will be a family project. I'm also going to present her with a Star of Terra, her crew will be presented with the Imperial Cross individually in front of the whole fleet for their last stand" said Valdez. "Let's get this project started" said Teanna and everyone got to work in their respective roles. "Computer, Sabaton 40:1" ordered Valdez. "Good choice dad" said Marie.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Admiral Valdez and Marie were researching the tactics employed by both sides during the Battle of Antares, "nice counter to the encirclement" said Marie thinking aloud. "Heath turned her opponent's strength, their numbers into a weakness with that brilliant defense" replied Valdez. "And she put herself into a position of no retreat, Sun Tzu did once say put an army in a place of no escape and they will prefer death to flight" said Marie.
"Indeed Marie" answered Valdez. On the Enterprise, Teanna interviewed the Los Lobos survivors to get their side of the story, "Doctor, we would be honored to tell our side of the story" said Paris and the survivors sat down with Teanna and gave their account of the battle. On the Agincourt, Trianna created the boards for her painting of the Los Lobos' last stand. "A series of pieces will work here" she noted to herself.
Meanwhile Marie started making her tactical maps of the battle from opening move to endgame. "Very well detailed, all ships present and accurate in their positions" said Valdez looking at the maps. Teanna arrived 20 minutes later with the Federation account and said "add these to the book." Valdez read them and decided the book would be not only the tactical side of the battle but it would be told from the soldier's point of view as well. The family worked for the next five days putting the book together, Trianna's artwork was added as color plates with her master copy of the last stand of the wolves expanded and framed.
I.S.S. Enterprise
The Valdez family beamed aboard the Enterprise with two copies of the book, one for Sito and one for Heath. Trianna brought her master copy of her painting and they saluted Heath and her crew. "Captain Heath, Antares is a story worth telling. We all banded together as a family and we wrote the complete history of the battle unbiased and accurately" said Valdez as he presented Heath with the finished book. Trianna presented the painting to Heath and said "it's called the the Last Stand of the Wolves." Heath smiled, her story had been told properly.
"Captain Heath, You deserve this for that battle" said Valdez as he pinned the Star of Terra on Heath's uniform and shook her hand in front of her crew. "Los Lobos crew stand at attention please" ordered Valdez and 82 officers all stood to attention as they were individually presented with the the Imperial Cross. Valdez pinned the badge to their uniforms and shook each crew member by the hand.
"You all deserve recognition for your bravery, you may have fought on the Federation side but you all fought with the ferocity of a wolf. We are all honored by your sacrifices and extraordinary courage displayed that day, your stand will go down as one of the great last stands in history. Stands like Thermopylae, the Alamo and Camarón where the few stood against the many and refused to give into despair, be proud of your bravery" said Valdez in speech to the Los Lobos survivors.
Everyone on the bridge of the Enterprise saluted the survivors in a sign of respect. "Admiral you never forgot what I said about my fight being forgotten, thank you for telling our story" said Heath. "The honor was my family's, we respect strength and courage. You may replicate 82 other copies for your people to read" replied Valdez.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Sure, just give proper credit.
@nappers1 Do you want Admiral Valdez and the twins as characters?
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
'Mirror Wars 3 [IV]'
*Changed the section with the Iconian.
*Fixed some spelling errors
*Changed Paris' (Yellow) hairstyle.
Mirror Wars 1
*All missions in this series start at the Arawath System.
Valdez and his daughters stood on the holodeck. Simulation of tiny ships moved around them.
"They're so cute at this size, " Marie commented.
"I want a collection to hang from the ceiling," Trianna agreed.
"They would look good on the shelves in the study," Valdez nodded in agreement.
An archway appeared amid the stars and opened to admit Captain Heath. The twins snapped to attention.
"Relax ladies," Heath said smiling. "You look like a cadet review."
The two relaxed, but could feel their fathers eyes on them.
"Your father asked me to teach you about tactics. But before we start, tell me what is the most important thing to remember about combat?"
"All warfare is based on deception." Trianna said
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles," Marie added.
Valdez nodded behind them
"Wrong,"
All three looked at Heath in surprise.
"Academy Tactics 101. All cadets are required to memorize the words of Earth military strategist Helmuth von Moltke.
'No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy'."
They looked at her in confusion as Valdez smiled.
"I'd forgotten about that one," he agreed nodding. "Truer words have never been spoken."
"But all of your strategies have worked," Trianna countered.
"That's because you all think the same way over here," Heath answered. "Let me show you something. Computer, run simulation one."
One of the little ships moved in towards them and expanded to a foot in size.
"This is a standard Miranda class frigate," Heath explained. "Nothing special about it except that it's about to have a very bad day."
Above it, three Klingon ships, a Vor'cha and two Birds of Prey decloaked and straifed the smaller ship. As the three looped around for another pass, Heath touched the damaged ship and a status screen appeared.
"That attack took out her warp drive and torpedoes. Tell me, how does this fight end?"
"The Miranda doesn't have a chance," Trianna stated.
"It's completely out classed," Marie agreed.
"You concur admiral?"
"Normally, yes. But your showing us this for a reason."
"True."
They watched as the ships came in for the kill, the power level on the Miranda even life support all went to zero except for shields which red lined at maximum. The Miranda rolled over and something came out of the bottom. It hit the bow of the Vor'cha and exploded disabling the three attacking ships.
"Oh my god," Trianna yelled in shock. "They hit them their warp core."
"That's insane," Marie agreed. "No one would ever seriously do something like that."
Valdez stroked his chin. He had expected something but not that.
"I have to agree. How likely is someone to do this?"
Heath touched the Miranda again and it enlarged more and rotated so they could read the ship name.
USS Los Lobos.
"The original Los Lobos," Heath explained to their shocked expressions. "She was retired after this battle, too damaged to be repaired."
Heath looked at her old ship for another moment then tossed her hair and turned to face them.
"Lesson one. If you're opponent is desperate enough, there is no strategy that they will not try. Now are you ready for lesson two?"
"Yes ma'am," they chorused with more respect than before.
"Very enlightening Captain" said Valdez, "if I remember rightly, you threatened to blow your warp core in an encounter with your mirror. Naynta Lot staged a little coup afterwards." "Sounds like Naynta" replied Heath. "It was messy to say the least" answered Valdez. "Tell me about the convoy attack last year during your raid into traitor space" asked Heath. "With one ship as well" replied Valdez, "we discovered a traitor military convoy and we shadowed it for a while under cloak waiting for the right moment to attack." "You became the hunter" responded Heath.
"Exactly, first we knocked the escorts out, two Defiants by closing to 500m and wiping out their life support systems. They never knew what hit them" said Valdez, Heath was a bit shocked at first until she heard the reason. "The most efficient way to knock out a starship is to incapacitate the crew, it's been like that since the dawn of naval warfare" he pointed out. "It's cold" replied Heath, "but effective."
"The 15 transports were wiped out one by one in quick succession before enemy reinforcements forced a withdrawal. Only two survived" said Valdez. "How long from start to finish?" asked Heath. "Less than 10 minutes" answered Valdez. "Hit hard, hit fast and withdraw" replied Heath. "Been the staple of the guerrilla for centuries and it compounds a conventionally thinking opponent every time" answered Valdez. "Very true" replied Heath.
"You may want to study how a Vietnamese general called Võ Nguyên Giáp who did not have the technology level of his opponent yet using unconventional methods of war, he forced his opponent to retreat from the war. He even used his opponent's mass media of the day as a weapon against them" suggested Valdez. "What conflict?" asked Heath, "The Indochina wars on Terra, 1946-75" answered Valdez, "in the first Indochina War, he inflicted a defeat so great it forced a colonial power out of the war. I recommend you study the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu"
The twins were paying attention to the tactics talk, "We may have to study, dad won't mind if we borrow some of his books" said Marie. "As long as I get them back in the same condition" answered Valdez. "Maam, we found a battle from some Federation data files. The Battle of the Mutara Nebula, in your previous reality it's considered a classic" said Trianna. Heath smiled, Mutara would an excellent example.
"Admiral, will Doctor Valdez approve of me teaching the girls?" asked Heath. Valdez answered with "just have a talk with her, she'll want to scan your head to make sure there is no deception. If she's satisfied, she'll approve." Heath gave some thought and decided to have a informal talk with Doctor Valdez. "Admiral, is the mind scan non negotiable?" asked Heath. "Afraid so, Teanna is most insistent about that" replied Valdez.
"I've been in this universe not long, a Terran marrying a Betazoid seems a bit odd given Terran xenophobia" said Heath. "Captain, me and Teanna fought together at the end of the war of liberation 21 years ago. We have a warrior's bond hence why I married her, we were both around the twins' age as well" answered Valdez. "Maam, mom and dad are very close" said Trianna, Marie added "they consider each other as equals. Dad once called her a Lioness, mom runs the household very efficiently" "Indeed Marie" answered Valdez.
"What was it is like growing up girls?" asked Heath. "Dad brought up the Terran side and mom brought up the Betazoid side, dad was more fun to be around though" said Trianna. "Dad taught us to channel our Terran temper by sparring with us on the staffs and mom taught us to channel our Betazoid abilities" added Marie." "An ordered upbringing then?" asked Heath. "Yes and no, dad understood the need to blow off steam. Mom on the other hand was the strict one" answered Marie. "Me and your mother made sure you stuck on the right path as well" replied Valdez. "Effective" said Heath. "There are better ways of maintaining discipline than the booth" said Valdez.
"Dad's firm but he's fair, he even had the booths removed and sent back to Terok Nor" said Trianna. "There goes your fun" joked Marie, Trianna countered with "I kept hold of an old school agony device besides you are the one trying to build a thalaron torpedo." "I love the smell of Thalaron in the morning,...smells like victory" responded Marie. "It must be that green glow" bounced back Trianna. "Indeed sister" replied Marie. "Enough please you two but funny at the same time" said Valdez.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
'How far are you willing to go to save those you love?'
The twins were on advanced command training. "Remember cadets, if the the orders are not clear" said Admiral Valdez to which Trianna answered "then it is the fault of the commander." Valdez smiled and said "good answer, all commands must be clear and to the point." Heath now briefed the cadets on their objective, "cadets, you will both take two hours in the big chair with the other as first officer. Marie you will go first as acting captain."
Valdez now sprung the second surprise on them, "Valdez to Jodi, launch a squadron sized simulation attack on Enterprise and be creative" ordered the admiral. Heath now gave the cadets their main objective, "cadets you will face a situation where you are outnumbered. Your objective is hold out two hours each, if either one beats Jodi extra marks towards your grade." Sito was observing the exercise and she told Valdez "Mother has authorized the release of Naynta, she supports your proposal to demote Naynta to Lt. Naynta has been assigned to the 352nd under Jodi as well."
"If Naynta steps out of line, she'll find herself doing fatigues duty and I can think of some horrible and smelly jobs" said Valdez. Sito smiled at Valdez's unusual methods of discipline. "The cadets, can they handle the stress they are going to endure?" asked Sito. Valdez answered with "the cadets will have to micro manage the crew and the bridge as well as dealing with Jodi, either they succeed or they fail. It's that simple."
"Should be interesting, let's see how they do" said Sito.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Both Heath and Valdez were beginning the cadet's training. Sito had Valdez pass on Naynta's release to Jodi. Jodi promise to keep her sister in check.
The twins were working well together, Marie had turned the 5-1 odds to 5-3 with a saucer separation and the Aquarius launch. Jodi predicting the move countered Marie and beat her by simulating a direct hit to the warp core. "Too predictable cadet, good effort" said Jodi over the channel. Admiral Valdez and Fleet Admiral Sito were critical about Marie's tactics. "Why were you defeated?" asked Valdez, Marie answered "I was too predictable and Jodi made me pay for that mistake."
"Cadet, learn from that error. You were very good on leadership, your commands were clear and easy to understand" said Sito. "I still failed to beat Jodi" countered Marie, Sito answered "but you achieved your objective of holding out two hours outnumbered, good job on that cadet." "Trianna, your turn" said Heath. Teanna had been observing the twins' command training and she smiled seeing Heath being that positive role model.
Trianna decided holding out was a secondary objective and decided to pull a surprise on Jodi, she waited for Jodi to move in close by faking a ship wide power loss on Enterprise. "Wait" ordered Trianna as she rolled the ship onto it's ventral side and deployed a training core which she set to detonate with 200m of the Cutlass. Trianna worked out the best time and gave the order to detonate the training core, the Cutlass and the four ships with her were disabled in less than 20 minutes.
"Trianna, well played" said Jodi over the channel. "Unorthodox and crazy" noted Valdez to Sito, Sito replied "agreed, how many enemies would expect that?" Heath smiled, "Admirals, not many" she answered. "Cadet, very unorthodox. Commands were clear and concise, you leadership needs more practice" said Valdez. "Which one gets the promotion?" asked Sito leaving the decision to Heath and Valdez. Both officers discussed which cadet to promote in private be fore they picked which cadet got promoted.
"Cadets, since you both achieved you objectives, you are both promoted to Lt Cmdr. Trianna, excellent use of deception in luring your opponent in. Marie, excellent leadership" said Heath pinning the extra pips on the twins' uniform. Both twins saluted and snapped to attention. "Girls, take a break" ordered Valdez as Lt Naynta Lot was marched onto the bridge, she spat at Valdez and Heath but was put in her place by both officers. "Would be a shame if something happened to your daughters" muttered Naynta in earshot of Valdez.
Naynta now found herself outnumbered 6-1 by Sito, Teanna, Admiral Valdez, Heath and the twins. "Admiral Valdez you would never hit a woman" said Naynta taunting Valdez. "I would not but she would" said Valdez as Teanna pushed Naynta against the wall with her arm at Naynta's throat. "Don't ever threaten my girls like that, girls be a pair of dears and give Naynta something to remember" said Teanna containing her anger.
Both twins doubled teamed Naynta and broke both her arms in 10 different places on each arm. "Next time you threaten us, it's both of your legs" said Trianna. Marie added "both arms is a friendly warning"
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"I believe I have seen enough," Heath said watching the scene unfold in front of her.
They all turned to look at her.
"There is a difference between discipline and brutality. They are not the same. That is something you need to learn because if someone insults or threatened you and you lash out and happen to strike a superior, that will be the day they will haul your lifeless corpse to the disposal unit. And this is from someone who once threatened to skin several of my crew alive before I came over."
Sito touched her com badge.
"Medical team to the bridge. She's right though. This will only start the cycle retribution all over again and eventually I'll have to have someone killed to re-establish order. you should restrain your violent tendencies toward your fellow crew members and redirect them towards our opponents."
"We will try..."
"That was not a suggestion," Sito said firmly.
"Yes ma'am."
"Now I believe that Captain Heath and your mother have things to discuss. Your training will continue another time. Dismissed."
"Commander, that was a bit excessive, cadets both of you fatigues duty 48 hours and confined to the brig until you all cool down. Commander you as well" said Valdez appalled at what happened. "Dad's gone military on us" said Trianna to which Marie answered "we've ticked him off." "You two have no room to talk either" said Valdez keeping his cool. "What have you got in mind?" asked Sito.
"My training team, a 24 hours session with them will teach them to control their tempers" answered Valdez trying not to swear. The twins looked nervous, they had never known their father lose his temper in front of them and he was clearly near that point. "Next time someone threatens you, never lash out like that again. You are both lucky you are my children, if that was any other officer I'd have personally shot them myself." said Valdez.
"Yes sir" chorused the twins intimidated by their father towering over them. "Guards escort the cadets back to the ship and make sure they carry out their punishment" ordered Valdez. The twins were marched off to the transporter, Valdez on the other hand was barely containing his anger. "Fleet Admiral, permission to hand command over to Rear Admiral Solat? I'm in no fit state to command emotionally" requested Valdez. "Granted, sit down and calm down" ordered Sito and Valdez complied.
"How bad is Naynta" asked Valdez concerned. "Nothing permanent but she'll be in sickbay for a month. Your children need to control that temper" answered Sito. "They've done far worse, they are far from innocent. Marie is responsible for four mass planetary genocides and Trianna wiped out the Rigel shipyards with biogenic weapons" replied Valdez. "They are your problem to deal with, I'm rotating you all out of the line until you can deal with the issues" said Sito. "Yes ma'am" answered Valdez.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Sito entered the sickbay to find Lieutenant Lot sitting on the far bed. "Must you always ignite the fire in people?" Asked Sito.
Naynta grunted at Sito. "You must be loving this? not only do I lose my ship, but now you won't allow me to regain-" Naynta barked only to be shut down by Sito.
"I still have them." Sito dangled Naynta's old admiral's pips in front of her. "Papela has ordered me to look out for you, and unfortunately I must now do so. Why can't you be calm minded like my Naynta? Or as 'sane' as Doctor Lot?"
"You've gone to great lengths over the past few years to hide your Betazoid heritage from others with those contact lenses," Sito smirked. "Papela wants me to protect you from yourself, and that is exactly what I'm going to do," Sito said signaling Doctor Tamiko.
"While you remain on this ship, you'll have the privilege of serving as my bodyguard. I won't let your natural talents go to waste ... oh ... and Tamiko here will be conducting your cosmetic surgery at 15:00 today. I've always wondered what you would look like with white spots."
Admiral Valdez supervised the twins' punishment directly. "This sucks" said Trianna under the watchful gaze of her father, Marie just grit her teeth and did not complain. "This is day one of your 72 hour punishment. Once your mother has finished her meeting with Captain Heath she'll be joining you" said Valdez. "These overalls itch and are uncomfortable" complained Marie to which Valdez answered "No talking, here is a 10 kilo bag of potatoes. You two will peel the whole lot and make sure they are ready for chef."
The twins got to work not daring to complain. They knew they had incurred their father's bad side and he was making them suffer through monotonous tasks. "Chef, your new kitchen hands for the next two days. If they complain you are authorized to increase their workload" said Valdez to his chef. "Will do admiral" replied Warrant Officer Alicia Mendez. "Carry on Mendez" said Valdez and he left the room.
"You two, you heard the admiral, start peeling and I want no complaints" ordered Mendez. "Yes ma'am" chorused the twins and they carried on peeling the potatoes, Trianna muttered something but Mendez heard it. "No complaints, Lt you are on extra hours for complaining" said Mendez to Trianna. Admiral Valdez however had returned to the Enterprise to have a word with Naynta Lot.
In the Enterprise sickbay Valdez asked Tamiko where Naynta was and Tamiko led him over. "Lt, the cadets are being punished for their actions, the commander is as well. You will take no act of revenge understood?" said Valdez. Naynta still in pain replied "crystal, what have you done?" "48 hours punishment fatigue duty in the galley and an extra 24 with my disciplinary team" answered Valdez. "Sito has dealt with me accordingly as well" replied Naynta to which Valdez answered "good, next time don't threaten anyone again. Lt, I'll wipe the slate clean with you but next time it's the booth."
"Understood admiral" said Naynta and Valdez left the Enterprise satisfied.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Admiral Valdez briefed Sito on the punishment he had imposed. "72 hours punishment, have you worked out how to deal with their tempers yet?" asked Sito. Valdez had put some thought into this and asked Heath to book a series of meeting with the counselor. "You putting your family on anger management?" replied Heath, Valdez replied with "that's the idea. Pick your calmest and most emotionally stable officer, this family has a lot to deal with and I cannot always be around to deal with these problems."
"Admiral, consider it done but I'll wait until the 72 hours punishment is up" said Heath. "Thanks Layress" replied Valdez to which Heath replied "no problem, it takes strength to realize there is a problem and to ask for help." "Tamiko told me about the little chat you had with Naynta. She told me that you dealt with her in a calm and rational manner with a little friendly warning" said Sito.
"I told Naynta never to threaten anyone again, the threat of the booth was my friendly warning" replied Valdez. "Naynta has become more complaint and agreed to no acts of revenge" responded Sito. "An eye for an eye makes the world a blind place" replied Valdez. Sito agreed, "no more" she ordered and Valdez was ordered to pass the message onto the twins. "Fleet Admiral, you may have to order Teanna to sickbay, I need Tamiko to do an examination of her" requested Valdez.
"Any reason why?" asked Sito. Valdez was honest about his suspicions, "The last time she was like this was when she was carrying Trianna, it's just a suspicion but I need to be sure" he answered. "Request granted, I want to find out the cause of this anger" replied Sito. "The girls only have two choices, go to anger management or lose their ranks" said Valdez, Sito agreed with the ultimatum. "Admiral, good luck. You'll need it" said Sito smiling.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The twins had been called into Doctor Lot's office. "Cadets, take a seat" ordered Doctor Lot, Trianna complained at having to go to counseling and anger management, "Dad do we have to?" she moaned. "I was called in as well, non negotiable for any of us" replied Admiral Valdez. "Not fair dad" groaned Marie. "Where do I start?" asked Doctor Lot.
"Trianna first" said Valdez and Doctor Lot started her questioning. "What triggers those violent impulses?" asked Doctor Lot, Trianna at first smiled and replied "being insulted and threatened" defiantly. "Words like mongrel?" asked Doctor Lot to which Trianna immediately reacted to angrily. "Cool it" ordered Valdez and Trianna complied. "I must have hit a nerve" noted Doctor Lot.
"Now what about Marie? Four counts of mass planetary genocide" asked Doctor Lot. "More like six" replied Marie laughing. "Now what's your trigger?" asked Doctor Lot, "the fact your are an orphan." Marie flew off the rails and Valdez calmed her down, "now what about the admiral?" asked Doctor Lot. "Me?" replied Valdez. "You are like a volcano, you look like you are about to erupt" responded Doctor Lot.
"You got me there Doctor" replied Valdez, Doctor Lot looked through her notes and got to work. "The root of all this goes to you admiral, tempers are often a genetic trait. What were your parents like emotionally?" asked Doctor Lot. Doctor Lot's question had hit a nerve, Valdez reacted to the question with "don't go there." "All that hidden anger and pain, keeping something buried like what happened to your parents is causing psychological damage" replied Doctor Lot.
"That's why dad does not speak of grandma and granddad, he's an orphan of the Alliance occupation" said Marie. "30 years of anger is not healthy" noted Doctor Lot. "The incident with my counterpart, do you always react with violence?" asked Doctor Lot to the twins. "Generally, depends on the threat or insult" replied Trianna, Marie added "we would not want to be perceived as weak."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Nine Not sure 'Captain Sito' will be happy.
P.S.
Doctor Lot had found a gap in the twins' armour. "Explain looking weak" asked Doctor Lot, the twins at first remained quiet but eventually Trianna answered with "because we're admiral's daughters, any weakness is something that can be exploited. Violence is our way of keeping the underlings in their place." "Interesting, admiral you want to add something to that?" asked Doctor Lot.
"They've been raised to be tough, they are no push overs by any margin" answered Valdez. "Maybe that is the problem, your daughters are too violence prone. I've studied the medical records from all incidents involving the twins' outbursts" replied Doctor Lot. "This should be interesting" joked Valdez. "Why the arms Trianna?" asked Doctor Lot. "He he, I like the sound of bones cracking" answered Trianna smiling.
"Maybe you need to find an alternative method of venting your temper" suggested Doctor Lot. "What like?" asked Trianna to which Doctor Lot suggested something like taking up a sport. "What like?" asked Trianna, Valdez came up with the answer. "I may have an idea, girls what about taking up boxing or martial arts?" he asked to the twins. "Sounds fun" answered Marie. "Now Marie, losing your parents...." asked Doctor Lot before Marie cut her off. "Don't go there, I wiped out whole planets for less" answered Marie.
"We're misunderstood" added Trianna. "Indeed" joked Marie, Doctor Lot had got enough to start her diagnosis and told the twins straight. "You two will be on cognitive behavior therapy for the next six months, twice a week you two will report to me for the two hour sessions. Admiral, I will want to speak you and Doctor Valdez separately." "Dad do we have too?" groaned the twins in chorus. "You heard the lady, if she deems you both not mentally sound she will have you removed from duty and there is nothing I can do about that" answered Valdez.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Captain's ready room
"Sit."
Teanna sat in the chair facing the desk. Heath made a slight show of sweeping her hair out of the way before she sat in her chair and crossed her legs.
"Still not used to having this much hair," Heath said casually. "I've lost count how many times I've sat on it."
She could see the comment Teanna wanted to make, but dared not to in her eyes.
"I imagine so," she said instead.
"Yes... Tell me. What's the difference between a soldier and an officer?"
The question caught her off guard.
"Ma'am?"
"What's the difference between a soldier and an officer?" She repeated.
Teanna tried to get a feeling on what the person across was thinking but all she received was the image of an armored gauntlet wrapped in layers of silk.
She's done this many times before, she thought. Beneath the hair and boots is a hardened captain.
"An officer leads by example while the soldier follows that example."
"Nice try," Heath said. "But it was a trick question."
"Ma'am?"
"There is no difference. I've seen foot soldiers show more courage and intelligence than their superiors."
Teanna nodded in agreement.
"Rank doesn't automatically make someone intelligent."
"Sometimes it makes them even dumber than they were before. It makes them do things that they shouldn't."
Teanna felt herself tense up.
Here it comes, she thought.
"Do you know how many times you've come close to dying in the past few days? You should thank what ever diety you believe in that it was me that decided to yell at. Any other captain would have shot you between the eyes the moment you raised your hand to them."
"I understand."
"Do you? Do you really? I don't think so considering how you encouraged those two to act."
"Ma'am, I..."
"What comes first, them or your duty to the Empire?"
"What?"
"Answer the question."
Teanna looked Heath in the eyes.
"My children come first. They always will."
"And again you are lucky that you're dealing with me. Because I agree."
"I... What?"
"They should come first. But for all your talk of raising them properly, you are doing the exact opposite. You have turned them in to entitled bullies who think they can do harm whoever they want when they feel insulted, and it appears that they got it from you."
Teanna was silent.
"Tell me doctor, if you had a crewmen with a history of repeatedly assaulting his fellow crew, what would you suggest?"
"Repeated sessions in the booths to correct their...'
"And if that didn't work?"
"They would be..."
Teanna couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Executed." Heath finished.
"You... You have made your point ma'am. I will... endeavor to change myself and them before..."
Teanna closed her eyes leaving the final option unsaid.
She's right, she thought. What is wrong with me? I need to...
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Heath.
"When things settle, take some time and go be a family first. Then come back. That's an order."
The smile on Heath's face was actually warm and she felt her concern for her and the girls.
"I was wrong about you. I judged you by your appearance."
"Not the first time."
"I think... It wouldn't be so bad if the girls ended up like you. A little."
"My mother would disagree with you. You may go now."
"Thank you."
Teanna stood, saluted and turned to leave.
"One more thing," Heath said.
"Yes?"
Heath smiled.
"Tell them if they lash out on my ship again, I'll nail their hands to the wall for an hour."
Teanna looked horrified, then a smile spread across her face.
"I'll be sure to tell them that."
"See that you do."
With that, Teanna left.
Soreth ran her had over her face. Unsure about potential consequences of the reports currently covering her desk.
The Alliance was considering some kind of operation into Terran space... This wasn't something she could afford to ignore, and the Molindrans agreed with her on that.
Furthermore circumstances presented an opportunity to improve relations with the Ask'kar, and that in itself was important given their alliance with the Breen.... She hated politics, almost as much as the Empire.
"Centurion Rolvar, send our latest intelligence to the Federation. Let's ensure they're not going across the mirror blind."
"Yes mam as you wish. Will we be sending any forces of our own?"
Soreth thought for a moment. Her troops were still mourning over the loss of their best Star-Commander. "If it comes up, offer the assistance of several squadrons from Battle group Spear... I will confer with the Basalisks."
"Opening secure channels now..."
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
Admiral Valdez had got the news from Teanna and the twins got Heath's warning, "Family time, Heath's orders." Valdez asked "any ideas?" "Family hunting trip?" replied Marie, "maybe dad will let us use his vintage hunting rifles" added Trianna. "Family time in the wilds sounds excellent" responded Teanna.
"I agree, family hunting and fishing trip on Trillius Prime" said Valdez. Heath just smiled, "fresh air will do them a world of good" she privately noted. "What rifles do you use?" asked Heath. "Short Magazine Lee Enfields" answered Valdez, "very quick and smooth with the bolt." "Very classy, I do want to see the pictures" replied Heath smiling. "You'll get a copy" said Valdez smiling.
Antares (Prime)
Councilor Valdez got the the intelligence report from the RSU, "What do you think dad?" asked Trianna. "If Soreth is anything like Veel'Riz we can trust her" replied Valdez. "Agreed dad" responded Trianna. "I need you to work with Heath as liaison officer, you are to brief her daily on any new intelligence" advised Valdez. "Consider it done" replied Trianna.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"This is what I get for thinking things were too quiet."
Trianna smiled at Heath's image on the screen.
"I can assure you," Heath continued. "That we are not planning any kind of incursion over here. We haven't even seen any unusual traffic out here."
"Well our source has never been wrong before," Trianna stated.
"Then, we may have a new player in the game."
"One with their own agenda," Trianna agreed.
"We need this stopped and now."
"Agreed. We'll start checking on our end."
"And I'll make sure the gate stays shut," Heath paused. "I'm going to let our neighbors on the other side of the fence know."
"Is that wise?"
"If something does gets through, I want them know that it's not us breaking the truce."
"Understood."
"Be careful in your checking. If they want to start a war, they won't hesitate to get rid of anyone they see as a threat to their plan."
"And I thought the Intelligence section was safe," Trianna laughed
Councilor Valdez had arrived to speak with Heath on the new intel. "Layress, I'll speak with the Romulan Star Union. Besides they owe me a few favors" he said. "Trianna provided the logs of your 2390 incursion" replied Heath, Valdez smiled and replied "I'd make the battles required reading for your captains. The Romulan Star Union are a democratic republic with no love for the empire."
"We do have allies on the other side. General B'Vat and his resistance cells, from what I've heard they've been keeping the imperials busy" said Trianna. "That's good to know" replied Heath. "I'll need to report this to the president, we'll need all levels of government ready if things go hot" said Valdez. "I'll study the logs" responded Trianna. "Well we all have our jobs and sir, I'll meet you at the bar at 1800 hours" said Heath.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Flanked on either side by two Chavilaer (A Vulcan, and Reman), High-Protector Soreth calmly approached the doors of the R.D.W. Lliset, smiling at the sound of them opening in a whoosh. Ah… she’d missed these halls. “At ease,” she spoke as the two lines of shoulders on either side lowered their salutes.
Reaching the bridge of the dreadnought Soreth relieved her Shield Officer of command, taking what was probably her favorite chair in the galaxy. Forming up her honour guard, around the ship the eleven warbirds undocked and set course for Antares.
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
The station went to red alert, "report!" yelled Heath. "12 unidentified ships on course for us" reported the Los Lobos ops officer. "Getting a quantum signature now" reported Trianna. Valdez took one look at the monitor and advised Heath not to be provocative. "Noted bring the fleet to yellow alert, let them make the first move" ordered Heath.
"Let them make contact first, lets not appear hostile" advised Valdez. "Agreed" noted Heath.
Trillius Prime (Mirror)
Admiral Valdez was sat in a boat fishing with Teanna and the twins. Trianna had already got a bite, "it's a big one" she said as she battled the fish for three hours. She was soon joined by the family in bringing the fish in. "Nice catch" said Valdez when he saw what Trianna had hooked. "12 foot, you've got yourself a shark" said Marie. Valdez got the camera ready and took a whole family photo with their catch.
Teanna smiled, the twins had found a new hobby.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The Star Union vessels had decloked upon reaching the system, no sense in appearing hostile.
Altithia Soreth took a breath, remind reminding herself these weren't Terrans she was dealing with. She couldn't let her people down... Still she was no diplomat, she was a soldier down to the marrow of her bones, not to mention young by Romulus standards.
Funny Sela, had placed her in command of the forces when they'd crossed over to fight the Iconians, and she was worried about this?!
"System control this is the Romulan Union flagship RDW Lliset requesting permission to enter the system and assume standard orbit."
"Let's see what the Councilor has to say."
The Foundry, and my love of Star Trek
Soreth sent the hail to Antares Station. "Admiral, we have a common enemy" she said over the screen. "I'm retired, military matters are handled by Captain Heath Layress. We've got a delicate truce with the Terran admiral on the other side, what brings you here?" replied Valdez.
"Can you trust this Terran to keep their word? We had wind of an operation to cross over" replied Soreth. "So far Fleet Admiral Sito has kept her word, we've set up a neutral zone with agreement from both parties not to cross over. Any breach from either side is considered an act of war" answered Valdez.
"Interesting, from our records the Terrans caused your family harm and yet you don't seek revenge" replied Soreth. "There is an old Earth saying, an eye for an eye makes the world a blind place" responded Valdez. "An interesting philosophy but we cannot put our differences with the Terrans aside" replied Soreth. "I'll have to report this to the president, we have oversight over the military in these matters" responded Valdez.
"I await your president's response Soreth out" she replied and the screen went blank. "Layress, when you see Sito next give her this official apology" said Valdez. "Interesting, Sito will want to read this" replied Heath. The apology read "What James T Kirk did was a breach of our prime directive, he illegally interfered in what should have been considered an internal matter and caused a century of pain for the Terrans. We officially extend this official apology as an olive branch to your government." "Nathan, I'll deliver this to Sito. Trianna you are with me, I'll ask for you to be under Sito's personal protection while we are there" said Heath. "Yes Ma'am" replied Trianna.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius