Joint Log | CinC & CoS | FAdm. Malone & Adm. Hark | "Reunions and Revelations"

Posted on 241404.10 @ 8:57pm by Fleet Admiral Kerry Malone & Admiral Alexander Hark

Mission: Insurrection [Fleet Plot]

=/K\= Qu'Vat shipyards, Klingon Empire =/K\=

Having been hastily repaired, the shipyards in orbit of Qu'Vat now sat with a small handful of Starfleet ships docked amongst the Klingon fleet, it's docking arms stretching out from the central hub and ending in a facility able to be expanded to fit any size of starship, eight such arms gave the station the look of an octopus, guarding the planet it orbited from anything that might threaten it.

Throughout the system, Klingon ships patrolled alongside the few Starfleet ships that had been under Hark's control when they had come for him, branding him a traitor to the Federation he had sworn to protect.

His office was just off Main Operations, its clear walls giving him an unprecedented view of the Klingon and Starfleet officers working side by side as they had done during the civil war, from his vantage point he could also see the information coming in from the border.

It was at this moment that seven starships dropped out of warp into the Qu'Vat system - all Starfleet. This likely would've raised the alarm, since at this moment in time, there was absolutely no way to tell if they were allied or opposing force. The starships were grouped around the command ship in the centre, which was the massive hull of the Magellen class battleship.

"Admiral, several ships have just dropped out of warp, we've been tracking them for some time, one them is identified as the Ticonderoga, Fleet Admiral Malone's flagship." came the call that Hark had been expecting, he was already on his feet and on his way onto the operations deck.

"Order groups Seven and Two to intercept," the greying Human replied as he took to one of the consoles to verify the readings.

"Groups intercepting in thirty seconds." the Klingon Captain replied with a nod and a slight growl, on the viewscreen, two patrol groups banked towards the newcomers and made towards them, shields and weapons armed and waiting.

The six ships that were with the Ticonderoga began fanning out into a classic defensive formation, to provide maximum 'broadside' capabilities from the cruisers, whilst the two escort class ships moved forward, ready to intercept.

"Open a channel to the Ticonderoga," Hark called out as he straightened his uniform.

"Channel open." One of the ops officers reported.

Aboard the Ticonderoga, Admiral Malone entered the CiC, after the red alert was sounded. He immediately took note of the patrol ships heading this way, and first thought was that perhaps the enemy had already taken this sector of space. Then he realized that any Starfleet ship could be friend or foe at this point, and that whoever it was, was likely being prudent.

"USS Ticonderoga, stand down and prepare to be escorted to the station, you are in Starfleet controlled Klingon space and any action otherwise will be acted upon." the greying Admiral stated as he received confirmation the channel was open.

Malone nodded to Captain Nolan. "Stand down, Captain." He said. "Have the rest of the flotilla remain on alert, and on the edge of the system, weapons hot, and warp drives spun up. If this is a trap, they're to bug out, not rescue us. 'Starfleet' is a term used by both sides right now."

"Ticonderoga to Qu'Vat station, we are complying with your orders." Alexia said, somewhat grim faced. She powered down the weapons, but kept the shields up, and put a scattering field across the hull, to prevent beam-ins.

"Very good Ticonderoga, this is Vice Admiral Alexander Hark, to whom am I speaking?" Hark responded as he gave a nod to the Klingon beside him.

"This is Captain Alexia Nolan, of the Federa..." She paused, looking at Malone. "The *proper* Federation starship Ticonderoga. I have aboard a priority one VIP."

"Ah," Hark replied with a slight smile, "Then let me extend the offer that I was given, the Klingon Empire offers asylum to Fleet Admiral Malone and any who support his cause, this station has been assigned to our use."

"We request permission to dock." Nolan said. "So as to allow our... guest... to disembark."

"Shipyard seven is being made ready for you, it should be prepared by the time you reach the station," Hark replied with another nod, "Inform your... guest that I wish to see him as soon as it is convenient."

The hulking form of the USS Ticonderoga slid into the gantry, and immediately was latched on with umbilical's, clamps and walkways via the airlocks. The airlock closest to the CiC allowed Malone, escorted by armed marines, who looked ready to kill anyone who so much as looked at the CinC funny, walked towards the Klingon station.

As the hatch leading to the station opened, the group were greeted by a team of Starfleet Security officers, heavily armed and armored, but still wearing their uniforms with pride, the lead officer, seeing Malone among the marines snapped to attention, "Admiral on Deck!" he called out as his team followed suit.

Kerry made his way forward. "Thank you." He said. "As you were." He then made his way out of the airlock, and towards the operations center, as he'd been directed to do so. A few moments later, he arrived in Ops.

The escort, now containing Marines and Security began to fan out, the Marines remaining close to Malone while security made their way around Ops and secured the exits.

Alexander looked up from his console and a smile crossed his face as he saw the CinC again, "Fleet Admiral, Welcome to Qu'Vat, the last bastion of Starfleet, a gift from Chancellor Ch'Krang."

"No-one better to have as an ally as an indebted Chancellor of the High Council." Malone said, as he stepped down into central ops. "I always said that if you're backed into a corner, there's no one better to have at your side than a pissed off Klingon." He smiled and extended a hand to his fellow Admiral. "Glad to see you Xander."

"And you Kerry, It would seem that you were prepared for what the council had planned." Hark replied as he shook the hand and placed the other on his shoulder, "How many have we lost?"

"You don't get to where I am without being able to play chess, Xander." He sighed. "I could see the pieces being moved, and counter-struck."

The question about the losses had been acknowledged, he just wasn't sure how to broach it. "Too many." He said, at last. "They stormed the campus before I could get the alert out, I got as many as I could, but no where near what I had planned for."

Hark just simply nodded as Malone spoke, the officers around them paying the conversation little attention.

"Best guess, they executed about a third of the people on the list." He replied. "Some were probably intentional, others were either shot out of hand by trigger happy fools, or resisted. They got Ascari - he's alive. I've no idea what happened to Drayson, he was reassigned to be Starfleet liaison to the President, so best guess is he was arrested when they took the President."

"Ascari... Intelligence? How did they manage to get him?" Hark asked, shocked slightly at the revelation that the head of Starfleet Intelligence had been taken, "I'm only free because the Chancellors personal guard were a little... offended when they read the charges against me, they deported the Federation security with extreme prejudice."

"We heard the news broadcast." Kerry said. "The Chancellor has declared war against the illegitimate UFP, and will grant safe harbor to any refugees. Clearly he's rather grateful for our aid in his little political problem."

"Lets just say that he owes you for disobeying the Federation Council when they refused to send additional forces," Hark replied with a slight smile, "The Klingons feel honourbound to you, that is a very useful thing to have in times like this."

"Indeed." Malone said. "Oh, before I forget, you were promoted... like... weeks ago... when Drayson was taken to Sandringham. You're now the Chief of Staff of Starfleet, and gain a fourth star. Not that that means very much right now, but that does technically make you the #2 of all of Starfleet."

"Interesting..." Hark replied quickly, "You could, in theory, say that it means even more now, despite the fact that we are being cast in the light of rebels, we still need to maintain our structure and our ideals, we're fighting for the restoration of them."

"Well, either way, jobs yours if you want it." Kerry said. "I'd better talk to the Chancellor, get things sorted out so we can run combined operations. I've no idea how many ships are going to come to our aid, or how many will stay away, or even side with the 'President'. Until then, our position here is shaky. They know where we are, and know where I'll be, and we have absolutely no way of verifying if they're friend or foe until they open fire on us. God I hate civil wars."

"The UFP Council won't risk coming for us here, they know the Klingons have a renewed military might and with the open declaration from the Chancellor... they know that the Empire will fight with us, they may send Intelligence after you... but that is always a risk," Hark replied

"Or you." Kerry pointed out. "You're as high a profile target as I am now."

"Very true, but you'll find that the Chancellor has eyes everywhere," the Admiral replied with a nod towards a pair of Klingons by his office, "My Klingon Intelligence assets, it would seem their services learnt much from Starfleet Intelligence."

"Well, hopefully not everything." Kerry countered.

"Anyway, my office has a direct link to Qo'Nos, the Chancellor no doubt knows that your flagship is here and will assume you're on board," Hark replied with a slight laugh as he gestured towards the steps up to the door, "I assume it will become your office, unless you'd rather keep on the move."

"I can't help but consider that keeping mobile might be better, or at the least, staying on the Tico." Malone said. "Putting both of us here, on the same station, at the same time, might be tempting fate. We have no idea how far they'll go to get rid of us, so we have to assume the worst."

"Agreed, all our eggs in one basket..." Xander quipped, "Well, we have the use of the entire Klingon Border Network, so if anything does come, we'll know about it."

"Might not be so blazen as an all-out attack." Malone sighed. "I don't see them flexing their muscles like that. Its too overt, too open for resistance, too... messy. There will be skirmishes, of that I have no doubt, between ships loyal to us and those loyal to the illegitimate government. But I think our biggest threat is going to come from the corrupted Starfleet Intelligence and the 'black division' within that organisation. They're masters at wet-work, and we're going to see a lot more of it."

"There have also been rumours, mainly from our people monitoring the communications network, of one of our own who is refusing to answer your call, but has also disabled multiple UFP vessels when ordered to stand down, I've got the file on my desk, trying to work out what his angle is."

"Which officer?" Kerry asked.

"A former Intelligence asset, Captain Vokar, he was given command of the Pendragon when they were satisfied of his loyalty, potential links to the Vanguard." Xander replied.

"You think that's where he's gone, the Vanguard?" Malone asked, concerned. The last time he'd dealt with the Vanguard had been when he commanded the USS Intrepid, and they'd been aiding the Krivaldi with advanced technology and ship designs to take down Starfleet. It had been a costly battle, but Malone and his strike force had destroyed the fleet at the Yamembei Anchorage.

"Possibly, although I doubt that they are the same ones that you encountered, his file lists an interaction with them before he was... recruited by Intelligence and notes a split, two Vanguard factions, one led by a mass murderer and one that Vokar considers acting in the best interests of the Federation." Hark replied with a slight nod, "If he has gone to the Vanguard, then they have gained one of our more powerful ships."

"It's hardly surprising that we're seeing factionalization." Malone replied, calmly. "This entire thing is going to tear the Federation apart, even if we defeat them. This is going to air a lot of old grievences with Federation policy, Starfleet policy and every other issue under the political sun. All that Hutchins and his cronies have managed to achieve is the proverbial opening of Pandora's box. We're going to see our position weakened in both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, possibly the rise of smaller powers, and as for the big powers... not to mention the ongoing problems with the Triad..." He shook his head.

"If the faction this officer has aligned himself with is interested in the safety of the Federation and they know about the coup, it may be possible that they will be willing to help us regain control." Hark responded, nodding again and sighing slighty, "You are correct though, no matter what happens, there will be a lot of mess to clear up from this."

"They're not going to help us without strings attached, Xander." Kerry said, sternly and cautiously. "But we're going to need all the help we can get - I just hope their price isn't steep."

"Given that this officer obviously does not trust us, or the new UFP council, it may be difficult to bring them around to our side initially, the price may be evidence of our willing to do what is necessary." Hark replied as he scratched the side of his head and sighed slightly, "Sadly... we have very little access to the Vanguard and virtually no information on their recent activities, with the loss of Starfleet Intelligence, we're limited."

"What evidence of willingness are they liable to want?" Malone asked, almost dreading the answer.

"From the reports we have on Vokar, it seems that he is rather... difficult," Hark replied quickly, "His file cites that he is impulsive, unpredictable and likely to break or bend the rules to achieve his mission, we may have to follow suit."

"We can't change who we are." Malone said, somewhat cautiously, since he himself had skirted with the line somewhat over his career. Sharpe certainly had. "We need to remind people that Starfleet has values, rules, standards, that need to be enforced. What the UFP is doing now, is contrary to who we are."

"That's why we're standing on a Klingon station in Klingon space, branded as traitors," Hark replied with a slight chuckle at the situation, "Have you had word from any of the member planets since you left Earth? Perhaps some of them have not yet fallen under the influence of whoever is behind this."

"I've not heard directly from them, but I've heard that Bajor is behind us, as is Trill, Betazed, Vulcan and Andor. Apparently, some of the new UFP Government's policies are rather... radical. There's a new Aliens Act that just got passed in the council, not sure how that happened, but it basically restricts non-Terrans from holding senior government and military positions." Malone said. "That *is* going to alienate the non-human population, but it will draw in allies from the human colonies - and possibly the Vanguard as well. We need to be careful."

"Lucky for us, there are many more Alien worlds than there are Human," Hark replied with a slight nod, "As for the Vanguard, if they were looking to align themselves with a faction against Aliens, I doubt they would be taking in a Vulcan who controls a very powerful ship."

"Who knows what they're doing." Malone said, and moved over to a console and began tapping on it, accessing the Ticonderoga's computer banks. "I discovered during my investigations prior to the coup, that a group - calling themselves "Federation First", is behind everything that's been happening. A little dirty work of my own, from reliable underworld people I can trust, tell me that Federation First is actually a modern day rebranding of Terra Prime, from way back in the early 2200's. The group was forced to go underground, after Jonathan Archer and his crew disrupted their activities on Mars just prior to the signing of the Federation Charter. Since then, they've evolved, adapted, become an underground movement. They rebranded themselves as Federation First to become more politically acceptable, and put up candidates for the council elections on usually Terran colony worlds. Lately, they've expanded their remit to include non-Terran worlds, but never allowing them to become leading figures in the movement. They'd need non-Terrans on their side to make what happened a reality." He allowed Hark to view the data.

"Interesting..." Hark replied with a slight raise of an eyebrow, "What else do we know about this group?"

"Surprisingly little." Malone said. "We know that Ian Hutchins appears to be its leader, since he just installed himself as President. Beyond that, we know very little of their people or capabilities. Up until a few weeks ago, we didn't even know they existed - at least as a credible threat. Following the Seige of Sol, they've been everywhere."

"It would seem the Seige of Sol was a great time for them to install people in the government, almost perfect." the greying Admiral replied.

"Possibly a little too perfect." Malone pondered. "Admiral Douglas warned me just before the Cardassian attack that he believed someone had infiltrated the Sol Defense group. I had IA investigating that after the attack, because our defenses were lowered, and there was no advanced alert of the attack. Not to mention the Home Fleet was out of position at the time. All the hallmarks of a conspiracy."

"Has there been any sign of IA since you had to flee?" Hark asked, "Perhaps they managed to get some leads before everyone was forced into exile?"

"Not a word." Malone said. "If I were a conspirator, I'd want them out of the way. They were probably taken out first. I've no idea."

"Hopefully they managed to get out, if they were on to something, they should have been expecting something like this,"

"We can only hope." Malone said.

"Anyway, you were going to speak to Chancellor Ch'Krang sir? You should be able to raise him in my office easy enough." Hark responded, glancing up at the room flanked by security.

"Yes, right you are." Malone said. "Lead on."

= To be continued... =

Fleet Admiral Kerry Malone
Starfleet CinC

&

Admiral Xander Hark
Starfleet CoS