"Admirals and Acrimony" - Duty Log - Commodore Sebastian Ascari , SFI & Admiral James Valtren
Posted on 241510.16 @ 12:17pm by Commodore Sebastian Ascari
Mission:
Reconciliation & Reconstruction [Fleet Plot]
Location: Starfleet Intelligence, Earth, San Francisco
Timeline: Current
Location: Starfleet Command, Earth, San Francisco - Office of Starfleet Intelligence Director, Sebastian Ascari
=====================================================================
Again. For a second time on his watch calamity had stricken Earth. A burning crater smoldered at the site of what was to be a historic moment of peace its dark, acrid smoke obscuring casualties, rescue and aid personnel, and the dead. High ranking personnel from the Federation, Starfleet, and the Romulan Star Empire had been caught in the blast which had erupted at the beginning of talks between peoples who had long harbored deep mistrust, resentment, and animosity. Any hopes that were present for some sort of budding peace with the Romulans had been dashed like glass shattering upon jagged rocks. The Federation and perhaps the entire quadrant now stood at a precipice. The specter of war with the Romulan Star Empire was omnipresent. Only a miracle could stave off what seemed to be inevitable given what had recently happened.
Those responsible for this heinous, cowardly act almost did not matter. If he had those responsible in custody this moment he could not be sure that presenting them to the Romulans along with ironclad facts, motive, and opportunity would be enough to placate them. The next few hours would be telling. Either the Federation would manage to avert this crisis by the narrowest of margins or yet another conflict loomed on the horizon; one of which would undoubtedly spill innocent blood, ravage peaceful citizens, colonies, and planets, and forever alter the politics and balance of power across the quadrant and perhaps beyond.
He ran a hand through his hair pinching the skin between his eyebrows somehow hoping this was a bad dream he would soon wake from. He stood in silence for a moment concentrating on nothing more than the gentle pressure above his nose when reality intruded confirming that this nightmare was indeed the reality with which he would need to contend.
“Ascari, what the hell is going on”, Admiral Jonathan Fullbright shouted barging into the commodore’s office along with a young adjutant that seemed pale perhaps at attempting to come to terms with the enormity of the current events. “An explosion just erupted at the most important diplomatic event in years which may have eviscerated both our own Federation and the Romulan delegations and your people can’t even tell me what the hell is going on! It’s chaos out there! Someone said Martial Law has been declared. There’s bodies and casualties all over the place. It’s Paris all over again!”
“What would you have me say Admiral”, Ascari replied. “I’m just as shocked, stunned, and outraged as you or anyone else is over what has just occurred.”
“Say? I want you to explain to me how the hell this has happened? How did these terrorists slip past our security? What did they use to create such a devastatingly effective explosion? Where were your people? Why didn’t they, no…why didn’t you see this coming? You assured the entire admiralty that everything that could be done regarding security and intelligence was being done. And now we have utter chaos and destruction on the streets of Earth! And adding to that – you have nothing to say?” The admiral heaved, his face flushing, at the verbal assault he had entered into upon the Intelligence Director, Commodore Sebastian Ascari.
“No organization can prepare or defend against every contingency Admiral. You’ve been on the bridge of a starship and out on a battlefield. There is always an adversary you can’t see; an unknown factor. I have no idea who has perpetrated this horrible crime. Do you want me to say intelligence was blindsided? Fine. We were blindsided. There are thousands of people out there at that event today. It is impossible to monitor everyone, every second, of every moment for any signs of suspicious activity. If you want that level of surveillance then I hope you are prepared to explain to the people of Earth why you believe they should have no freedom or liberty. We do not live in a police state sir and with all due respect I wouldn’t work for one if we did.
Now I can sit here and debate with you why failures occurred or you can get the hell out of my office and let me do my job! Time is precious given recent events. Are the people that have been terrorized by this atrocity better served by us arguing with one another or can we shelve this discussion for another time and focus upon the critical matters at hand, I ask you sir?”
Fullbright held out a stern finger waiving at the commodore. “Don’t talk to me like that commodore! I’ll bust you down to lieutenant and send you packing to the stockade for gross insubordination if you ever dare to speak to a superior officer with such a tone again mister. This entire situation is your fault Ascari. It is the job of Starfleet Intelligence to identify, warn, and prevent these types of events. This is the second time you have failed to do that commodore! The first time a Cardassian Fleet broke through all of our SOL system defenses and attacked Earth killing the Federation president, the Security Council, and dozens of high ranking Starfleet officials many of whom were close personal friends. Now, at the eve of historic diplomatic talks with the Romulan Empire, all chances of peace have been destroyed due to another clandestine attack you and your people failed to detect! Twice Asacri. You have blood on your hands and I’m going to make sure you pay for every drop that has been spilled as a result of your gross incompetence!”
“You speak of incompetence”, a voice stated sternly from Ascari’s office doorway. “I should think you would do well to take a look in the mirror Fullbright.”
Ascari leaned slightly to the left peering around the fuming Admiral. In his doorway stood the welcomed face of a fellow intelligence officer, Admiral James Valtren.
“I came as soon as I heard Ascari”, Valtren stated entering the office and stepping past Fullbright as if the man didn’t exist. “What is the situation?”
“Just a moment Valtren”, Fullbright shouted. “You are intruding on a personal discussion between myself and the commodore. Your presence is unwelcomed and is out of order.”
“Admiral Fullbright”, Valtren stated with an acerbic tone, “The commodore here has done an exemplary job of pulling together an organization that had fallen into complacency with various issues in funding, morale, and vision as a result of his predecessors. The attack on Paris by a Cardassian fleet happened on his predecessor’s watch not his. He was thrust into the aftermath of that event with the charge to right the ship and he has done that with a passion, dedication, and skill that few in Starfleet possess. We have a crisis situation on our hands. None of us have time or energy to waste on assigning or ascertaining blame. Might I suggest that you kindly leave intelligence matters to the professionals and assist with efforts to rescue and aid those impacted by this catastrophic event. We need everyone at their posts doing their jobs. Bickering wastes time, talent, and opportunities and none of us can afford to give a second given the current situation.”
“You intelligence types are all the same. Sticking up for one another. The Admiralty isn’t going to sit idly by this time while the Fedeartion is made a laughing stock again! If we have to gut intelligence operations to the last man to clean house and finally obtain an organization that delivers results and which can restore the honor and reputation of Starfleet then that is what we will do. I want our enemies to cower in fear at our name. Right now they are laughing at us! I’m not sure our intelligence departments would spot a burning star on a collision course with Earth at this point!
As for the dead and dying, this is the fault of intelligence and security. You should have seen it coming and stopped it. What the hell do you exist for if you cannot protect Federation citizenry?”
“Fullbright you pompous idiot”, Valtren shouted. Ascari took a step back. He had never seen Valtren lose his cool. The man was typically as level headed and cool under even the toughest of conditions. It was one of the reasons he had admiral bars on his uniform.
“We’re in the middle of an emergency and you barge in here wanting a head to place on a pike! Do you think anyone cares about placing blame or our reputation at this point in time? My god man, there are people dead and dying out there as a result of a terrible act of terrorism. Our priority is to see to the wounded, ascertain the specifics of the situation, secure the area, and quickly move to collect data, clues, and evidence to determine who and what was involved. Bickering with ancient Starfleet admirals who have been stuffed behind a desk for longer than should be allowed isn’t a priority.
Furthermore, as a full Admiral that outranks you as a Vice Admiral, I hereby order you to leave the premises and assist with support operations. Failure to do so will result in me busting you down far beyond that of cadet and shipping you off to the farthest stockade I can find for gross insubordination. Also, Commdore Ascari has my explicit permission to speak candidly with any member of the admiralty as he sees fit without the risk of repercussions or retribution regardless of rank. I will not have a valued member of intelligence degraded and mistreated by desk jockeys who are too preoccupied with reputation and appearance to grasp the big picture. Now do I make myself clear Admiral!”
“Yes sir”, came the two word answer dripping with scorn and recalcitrance.
“You’re dismissed.”
Fullbright, whose face was bright red, snorted before turning and leaving the office with his adjutant, who seemed pale before and now appeared sickly, trailing quickly behind him.
Ascari waited for a moment before speaking. He too he had to admit was still stunned at the recent exchange between the two admirals.
“Thank you”, he stated, “I could have handled Fullbright sir.”
“Nonesense. The man needed a dressing down. He’s spent far too much time behind a desk, on the golf course, or chatting with his usual gang of cronies to have his finger on the pulse of anything within Starfleet besides the odd political appointment. He was out of line. Don’t you agree or would you prefer that I had remained outside?”
“I don’t make it a habit to pick fights with the Admiralty sir. It’s bad for my health. I do however appreciate your kind words.”
“I wasn’t complimenting you Ascari. Don’t thank me. What I said was nothing more than fact. But enough of this. Down to the matters at hand. What do we know?”
Ascari’s expression which had softened slightly suddenly hardened as again reality took precedence. “Very little sir. I have been in contact with personnel on the ground. Security and intelligence personnel are on the scene of are en route as we speak attempting to ascertain the current situation. It’s a damn fine mess down there. I don’t have any solid facts, but judging by the blast radius and damage level I believe this isn’t the work of amateurs. This was a deliberate and planned attack. Perhaps it had been planned for some time. Whoever did this had experience, training, and access to sophisticated tools and resources.”
“I concur. We aren’t dealing with rank amateurs which rules out a substantial number of suspects. If this was indeed a sophisticated attack like we believe then we have highly skilled persons involved with access to tools, resources, and funding not typically within reach of most individuals or groups.”
Ascari pressed a button on his desk bringing up several muted news feeds on nearby monitors. “My people are currently working with security to secure the area. Transporter activity has been suspended planet wide. All ships in orbit have been ordered to hold position. A security quarantine is being put into effect. Whoever did this won’t be escaping if that was part of their plans.”
“Of all the times and places. It seems too contrived somehow, too expertly executed…”
“Excuse me sir?”
“Nothing. Just the ramblings of a man who’s perhaps seen far more than his fair share of pain, destruction, and catastrophe.” Valtren gazed at the displays as the feeds showed the area blanketed in clouds of smoke. There was little to see other than the scale of the attack.
“I want regular updates Commodore. If you need additional assistance or personnel contact me. We’ll be in the hot seat to explain this one as the dust settles. Fullbright was right about that point. Let’s make sure we obtain as many answers as possible as quickly as possible. What we discover in the next few hours might very well be a critical factor in determining relations with the Romulans. I sure as hell don’t want another conflict of any type. There have been far too many in my lifetime already and with far too little to show for them beyond ruined lives, destruction, and wasted resources.
Let’s find those responsible Commodore.”
“Yes sir”, came the reply.
~ To Be Continued ~
==================================
Commodore Sebastian Ascari
Director, Starfleet Intelligence
Admiral James Valtren
Starfleet Intelligence
and
Vice Admiral Jonathan Fullbright
