Joint Back Log | FAdm. Malone & Adm. Hark | "The passing of the baton"

Posted on 241411.02 @ 10:44pm by Admiral Alexander Hark & Fleet Admiral Kerry Malone

Mission: Insurrection [Fleet Plot]
Location: Starfleet Headquarters
Timeline: Following "Facing the music"

=/\= Starfleet Headquarters =/\=

He was surprised that the place hadn't been ramsacked as they'd fled. It was exactly as he'd left it. Even his replacement as CinC hadn't touched anything in here, which seemed odd. It was as if his office hadn't been used since he'd left nine months previously. There were still the phaser marks on the wall from the purge, so it seemed likely that no one had been up here.

Placing a transport crate on the desk, Malone began to place what few personal effects he still had in this room into the box. The time had come for him to move on, and to accept a new assignment.

Traditionally, a Commander-in-Chief served a two-year appointment, and it was extended by a further year by the grace of the President. An additional year could be added, but only at the behest of the President again. After that, the CinC would step down, to allow the smooth transition and flow of promotions within the Admiralty, so that everyone had a chance to advance in position and rank. It wasn't unheard of for former CinC's to be reinstated for another term, but it wasn't the norm, and only happened after difficult periods, when a known hand was needed.

In this particular case, Malone felt jaded towards the UFP Council and the executive branch. He'd suffered considerably under the previous administration, and he didn't trust the government to not do so again. Leaving Earth was the only recourse, and as CinC - he could not do that. To be fair, he'd served his three years, and whilst he could attain a fourth, he really didn't want to.

For the last nine months, he'd been an active field commander, and he didn't realise quite how much he'd missed having the run of a starship. To feel the hum of the deckplates, and know that his decisions had instant implications. He found it very difficult to return to a planet-bound posting, and had asked Xander Hark, when he got back to Earth from his recall, to pop in here to see him.

Having found Vulcan to be mostly free, Hark had retired to the command ship of the fleet before being recalled to Earth, the sleek Klingon cruiser dropped into a standard around the same time the Admiral made it to the transporter room, a simple nod to the officer on duty presented a flash of orange light to consume Xander and whisk him away to Starfleet Tower.

Rematerialising in the transporter room, Hark was met by an aide who instantly handed him a padd, "If you will follow me Admiral, Fleet Admiral Malone is expecting you."

Burn marks on the walls, blood stains on the floor, all indicated that the tower hadn't been touched much after the mass exodus, the sight shocked Xander to the core, he'd come to be used to sights like this while he was on Qo'noS but it was certainly not what he was expecting while on Earth, a corner gave way to a corridor with the office of the CinC at the end.

"Please, go right in Admiral," the aide added as they approached the door, which slid open as the human stepped forward.

"Welcome to Earth, Xander." Kerry said, whilst he put a few items into his packing crate. "I trust Vulcan was easy enough?"

"Easier than expected, the Vanguard had already assisted the Vulcan government in reasserting control over the surface, it was just a simple matter of the Federation flotilla that faced us down, but they chose to surrender to us rather than face the Vanguard." Hark replied as he filed away the padd he had been handed and fished out one with his report, "For your perusal, when you have time."

"Hold onto it, Xander." Malone said, resting against his desk. "I had a wee bit of a blow-out with the Federation Council, and I stated I would not be asking to be reinstated as Commander-in-Chief."

"I see," Hark replied as he recalled the padd into the pockets of his jacket, "So your encounter with them was... not as productive as it needed to be?"

"They're considering reinstating the civilian oversight of Starfleet appointments, promotions and assignments - because of Vokar going to the Vanguard and taking the Pendragon. They doubt our judgement." Malone said, as he placed some more items in the box. "More specifically, they doubt mine."

"So because of the Vanguard, they're going to throw away the lessons that need to be learnt from this whole mess?" Hark replied as he ran his hand through his greying hair and leant against one of the chairs, "Maybe they will see reason, before this happens again."

"One can only hope so." Kerry said, and looked at Xander. "I've recommended you to succeed me, Xander. I'm sorry to dump all this on you, but Starfleet is going to need a firm hand to rebuild it, but also a fair one - as you're going to have to rebuild the fleets image, regain the confidence of not just Federation members, but people in Starfleet. As well as navigate the political crap that'll come from the rebuilding. You have a lot of work ahead of you."

"I certainly have one major headache to overcome, that's for sure," Hark replied with a slight chuckle, "What are you planning to do? Retire? I don't think I can see you sitting on a porch on a rocking chair just yet."

Kerry chuckled. "I've been reading these intel reports. It appears that the Gamma Quadrant could really use a firm hand, since all this happened, and the loss of Zetari - its a bit chaotic out there with little to no Starfleet presence out there. With your permission, I'll take on the vacant Quadrant CO and Fifth Fleet CO spots - and go and try my hand out there."

"I can't see a problem with it, we'll just have to get the assignments sorted out, afterall, we have to follow the trail of paperwork as much as the next Admiral, Kerry." Xander replied as the chuckle subsided.

Kerry smiled. "I already filed the paperwork, just needs your counter-signature."

"I had no doubt that you would, but what I meant was we need to let people get settled back into things here, we're still fragmented and disorganised, who does the paperwork go to at the moment?" the greying Admiral replied with a slight smile.

"Well, in theory, I haven't been relieved yet." Malone replied. "So we're all doing our old jobs until further notice."

"And those that didn't make it out? Or didn't make it back?" Xander replied quickly

"We still need to make a complete roster of who we have left, and try to reform Starfleet Command." Malone said, in earnest. "For the moment, you and I are it."

"There's a hell of a lot of work to get done before anything can be considered close to normal," Xander replied with a sigh, "Have you heard anything from the team we sent in to free people?"

"I have. The team liberated the prison, and rescued sixty people from detention. They were transferred to a neutral freighter which took them back to Qu'vat. Mostly aides and staffers, with a dozen flag officers. No sign of Ascari though. Bit worried about him, if I'm honest." Malone explained. "Sharpe's commanding an MEU in England at the moment, trying to retake Sandringham. He's getting a bit of interference though."

"At least we have some people back, gives us a little something to work with, some kind of structure." Xander replied with smile that began to cross his face, "Perhaps Hutchins still has a little support left."

"Well, Sharpe could get the job done faster if the Federation Council Speaker would stop changing his RoE's every ten minutes. I can't raise Sharpe on his personal comm anymore, so I guess he's not talking to anyone. We'll hear from him when the job's done, but given that he's got two and a half thousand marines, plus tanks and artillery to take out a Victorian house - I think he'll be alright."

"I can't see it being too much of a problem," Hark replied, "So, what's to become of our alliance with the Klingons now that they have repaid their honour debt?"

"That's a question for the diplomats and the Federation Council." Malone replied. "Since the Klingons have left the Federation, I suspect some sort of treaty will be in order. Something else you'll no doubt want to be involved in."

"Less a case of want, more a case of need, the Klingons have no love for the Council or the diplomats, they trust us and only us," Xander shot back as the smile faded.

"Unfortunately, despite what I might prefer, Starfleet serves at the grace of the Council - not the other way around. Although I do feel they'd be foolish to forget that Starfleet's loyalty to their body is dependant on their respect of Starfleet. This civil war we just fought is proof of what happens when the civilian government tries to ramrod its way into running Starfleet." Malone sighed. "I don't see the Klingons coming to the Federation anytime soon, and I suspect that a dente` with them is only going to work coming from either you or me at this point."

Kerry sighed. "The truth of the matter is that Starfleet is down to 45% strength, and that's barely enough to protect what we have, let alone anything else, and the KDF outnumber and outman us three to one. We need the Klingons now, for our own protection. We're weaker now than at any other time in history - and our enemies know it."

"Luckily, the Romulans aren't exactly at full strength either, the Tholians have had the Romulans to worry about and the Cardassians suffered greatly under the Triad," Hark replied with a nod.

"However, there have been stirrings in the Gamma Quadrant, and I'd like to see that they remain somewhat placated." Malone replied. "I don't forsee the Dominion being a problem, but there are other powers out there. At least for now, your biggest problems in the Alpha and Beta Quadrant are likely to be internal ones. The Vanguard are not going to just go away, like the council seem to think they will. They'll likely be competing with you to reclaim Starfleet vessels from the void, and fringe planets will be a hotly contested issue."

"Perhaps so, I'm hoping to try and make... an uneasy ally out of the Vanguard, they seem to have the Federation at their core, which means we have at least some common ground," the greying Admiral replied, "But, as with any faction, they are likely to have their own agenda."

"And the Romulans are going to be a player once the dust settles. They'll be in Tholian space, and they won't be leaving. So, you have a militaristic Klingon Empire, a renewed Romulan military and the Vanguard making inroads into internal Federation politics. Add to that, you've got the fall-out of the civil war to deal with, the rebuilding of Starfleet, and the appointment of nearly one hundred and forty Admirals to replace our losses." Malone smiled. "What a time to be Commander in Chief."

"What a time indeed," Xander replied with another light chuckle as he turned to look at the door, "I should probably arrange for my crate to be transported down here, no doubt I also have a meeting with the Federation Council coming up too?"

"No doubt they'll want to debrief you on what happened from your perspective." Malone replied. "Try not to make too many enemies over there."

"My perspective was mostly one of the Klingons making the decision for me, they didn't believe for one second what was coming out of the Federation," Hark replied with a slight wink, "Although, neither did I."

"Well, you were officially the number two guy during this whole thing, and they'll have questions for you." Malone said, as he closed his packing crate. "Burden of rank."

"Always questions," Hark replied again, his tone becoming more and more gruff as he imitated a Klingon, "The Empire would never have this many questions."

"No, in the Empire, you would've been executed for failing to be loyal to the government." Malone smirked. "Right, well, I've a few things to sort out around here, then I'm going to take some much needed RnR on Risa."

"Risa would be nice about now, but I guess I don't have much free time coming up." Xander replied with a chuckle as his padd chirped in his pocket, he pulled it out and activated it with his thumb, scanning down the message before sticking it back into a pocket, "Speak of the devil, I've been summoned."

"Best of luck, Xander." Malone smiled, as he hefted his crate off the desk, and extended his hand. "You're gonna do great."

"I think you'll need the luck Kerry," Xander replied as he took the hand and shook it firmly, "The Gamma Quadrant is bound to be a more unpredictable challenge, that's for sure, especially without Zetari to work from."

"By comparison, the Gamma Quadrant is the easier assignment." Kerry chuckled as they released their handshake. "I'll report in just prior to my departure for any final orders. Otherwise, I'm on leave after Wednesday. Got a few people to give assignments to, then I'm gone."

"Perhaps by then, the Corps will have the offices cleaned up," Xander replied as he turned back to the door and made moves towards it, "I best not keep the council waiting."

"Indeed." Malone said. "Have fun."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Fleet Admiral Kerry Malone
Former Commander in Chief, Starfleet
Starfleet Command

&

Admiral Alexander 'Xander' Hark
Chief of Staff, Starfleet
Starfleet Command