Post 18 - We're Gonna Need Bigger Boats

Posted on Wed Jan 27th, 2021 @ 8:09pm by Fleet Admiral Sturnack & Rear Admiral Mazikeen Caine (Smith) & Lieutenant Commander Katrina Strongwell

Mission: Episode 1: Acta Non Verba
Location: SFC Complex, Office of Interstellar Aid
Timeline: Day 13 - 1750 Hours

[SFC Complex]
[Office of Interstellar Aid]
[Day 13 - 1750 Hours]

While the turbolift trip from the CinC's offices to those of Interstellar Aid was actually quite short, the Vulcan inside the lift car had welcomed the moments of quiet afforded by the ride. So much had been happening since officially taking office the day before -- Sturnack felt there'd hardly been time to take a breath, much less sink into the deeply meditative state his condition was beginning to require. But in the turbolift, at least, he could center himself with a quick breathing exercise born of the teachings of Surak. Drawing a long breath in, he held the air in his lungs until the car stopped, its doors swishing open in conjunction with Sturnack's expelled breath. Wisps of threatening emotion metaphorically piggybacked on the air stream, calm rushing in to fill the vacuum left behind.

Stepping from the lift, the Fleet Admiral made his way to the central desk, noticing the sudden stiffening of those working in the office annex. It was as if twenty ships suddenly jumped to warp at the same time, all rushing in one direction or another -- no doubt a side effect of the Commander-in-Chief suddenly invading the office workers' inner sanctum. After all, such visits were entirely uncustomary. Were it Fleet Admiral McGarry instead of Sturnack, Admiral Caine would no doubt have been summoned upstairs instead. But the Vulcan had wanted to stretch his legs and get a sense of how Interstellar Aid was responding to the current crisis.

"Oh goodness," a low voice from a man at the reception desk whispered to himself, suddenly standing. "Sir! Fleet Admiral, welcome," he nodded quickly, a Lieutenant's pips adorning his collar. "How uh...how can I help you?" he asked, voice tailing upward with nervousness.

"I would meet with Admiral Caine if she is available," Sturnack replied, hands now clasped behind his back as he waited.

"Of...of course, sir. Let me just check that she's in and I'll," his face suddenly looked crestfallen. "Sir, I'm very sorry but she's currently away from her office. She may have stepped out for something. Should I contact her?"

"No," the Vulcan stoically shook his head. "My visit was unannounced. Thank you, Lieutenant," Sturnack nodded before subtly swiveling on his heels and moving back the way he'd come. As he walked back through the office suite, his eyes roved between various conference rooms with closed doors, wondering if the Admiral might be in one. Logic picked at the edges of his mind, denoting that he should have had Marlena officially schedule something instead of just showing up. Coming to a stop, he waited for the turbolift to arrive.

Caine and her Assistant Lt. Commander Katrina Strongwell rounded a corner, heading back to her office. "OK, as soon as the Garret puts boots on the ground, have them start evac and triage. Dispatch the Hope, and Comfort, tell the Captains..." she stopped, seeing Commander in Chief standing there waiting for a turbolift. "Hello sir," she said snapping to the position of attention.

"Greetings Admiral," Sturnack nodded deeply. "Please, finish issuing your commands. Afterwards, perhaps," he nodded back the way he'd come, "we could discuss the progressing crisis and how my office might assist yours?" With that, the Vulcan fell back, offering Caine the courtesy of giving orders without the impression of being hovered over or micromanaged. Instead, Sturnack looked out a nearby window, noting the movement of several shuttles in the airspace above the SFC Complex. Across the visible section of the Presidio grounds, a shuttlepad offered a convenient landing space for the comings and goings of Starfleet personnel craft.

"Yes thank you, Sir." she said to Sturnack then turned to Kat. "Um.... Yes tell the Captains they can break the warp protocol and advance at Max warp. Tell them the USS Bethesda with supplies and USS Miramar as Command and control will be there in 24 hours give or take." She paused thinking, "In the next 2 days two Corps of Engineer ships will arrive along with the USS Kiev loaded with more supplies. Thank you Kat." smiling at her red-headed assistant. Kat nodded and hurried off. Caine walked over to where Sturnack was watching the shuttles. "Like a swarm of bees protecting, feeding and supplying info to the hive."

"An apt metaphor," the Vulcan responded, not yet turning back to Caine. Indeed, the small craft did seem to flit around like insects, each on its own special mission. Sturnack appreciated the mental image. He turned then, nodding to the Director of Interstellar Aid. "My intent was not to eavesdrop. However," he inclined a pointed, Vulcan ear her way in demonstration, "my hearing is quite excellent. Your efforts to mobilize your fleet are admirable," he gestured again towards the Admiral's office, beginning to lead in that direction. "You appear to have the developing situation already in hand?" The last was phrased as a question, giving an opening for Caine to share any struggles or needs she might have in the wake of her commands to Strongwell.

She smiled, "I got the blessing of many life experiences and you got excellent hearing. As for the position as my mentor said 'its trial by fire' and I had a damn good teacher. " as she lead him towards her large office where the massive galactic map with dots all over it took up about all the space minus a small couch, her desk and a pair of chairs in front of the desk. "Can I get you anything Sir?" also Indicating to the chairs in front of her desk, as she then moved to the replicator.

"I am freshly beveraged," the CinC replied impassively, taking one of the offered seats. "However, the offer is appreciated." He waited for Caine to materialize herself whatever refreshment she'd envisioned before beginning the conversation again. "I am accustomed to the trial-by-fire approach myself. Fleet Admiral McGarry practiced the same when assigned me as his deputy. There was much to learn in a very short period of time. And while, like you, I was not wholly inexperienced or unprepared, it was still...a challenge," the Vulcan conceded. "Do your past lives include politics, Admiral? The unfolding crisis in the Chalvanan star system is soon going to constitute the necessity for political savvy on your part."

She nodded and ordered a sweet peach tea. Grabbing the replicated drink and sitting, she said, "An actor, a novel writer, and a psychologist. No politics, thankfully. I'm not a fan but if I need to, I can 'hang with the big boys.' Taking a sip, Caine continued, "I watched my mentor deal with politics, so I'm not completely in the dark."

"'Hang with the big boys?'" Sturnack asked, parroting the woman's words back to her. "That is a phrase I am not familiar with. Would you elaborate?" the Vulcan asked, his right eyebrow arching upward.

She chuckled, "I'm surprised you haven't heard that term before. It means that I may be new to this but I can still be able to get things done like a veteran Leader." she said. Then took a sip of the tea.

"I...see," Sturnack nodded, making a mental note to fully vet the term before perhaps incorporating it into his own bank of commonly-used aphorisms. In his youth, the Vulcan had been staunchly opposed to such jargon -- it occluded true meaning and lent to lip service instead of action. But as a man now much more advanced in age, Sturnack saw the benefit of putting others at ease by utilizing their own preferred terminology. "Admiral, I feel it would be prudent to consider the situation on Chalvana I. We'll know more once our own ships have arrived on scene but initial reports from the Martin Luther say the situation does not look promising."

She frowned, "sir as you know Chalvana I is a pre-warp society, if we interfere we would be violating the Prime directive. If we do decide to evac," she paused picking up a PADD. "There is about 3 million people on the planet that we would need to transport and or find a new home. I...just don't think we have enough ships in route to evac the population and not in the time frame if we had 3 days maybe I could get enough ships here, to clear the planet." She stood and walked over to the large map table and the dots of ships, stations and federation planets. "I will try if you give me the authority to pull every ship Starfleet has within 3 sectors and authorize them to travel at max warp." Looking up from the board to Sturnack.

"You are, unfortunately, correct about Chalvana I," Sturnack said. "The prime directive is very clear on this...we cannot interfere in the natural development of a society. However, the Martin Luther reports that the coronal ejection may not have been naturally occurring. They are studying the situation and will hopefully have more information soon. However, if the ejection was artificially created, would that change your thinking on assisting Chalvana I?" The Vulcan had his own mind on that but good leaders asked their people to weigh in before skewing their thinking by sharing their own thoughts. "If someone did cause that coronal ejection on purpose, should the Federation intervene with the affected pre-warp civilization?"

It took only 1/8th of a second for her brain to process, before saying "Yes. Yes, we should." Looking at the map again, Caine did some quick mental math for how to help all those people. "We are going to need a metric ass-ton of ships," she said to herself in a mumble.

"I'd like you to partner with Admiral Chambers from Starfleet Operations," the Commander-in-Chief nodded. "As Director, he can assist you in potentially pulling additional ships and outfitting them for the operation. However, keep in mind that, until we know for sure if the mass ejections were artificially caused, our hands may yet be tied," Sturnack noted with finality. He rose then, offering Caine a nod in departure. "Thank you, Admiral, for your efforts to assist those affected in the Chalvana system. They are...appreciated," he said, the word chosen with precision. "Please keep me appraised," the Vulcan ordered before making his leave, knowing Caine had even more to do now in the wake of his visit.

As the woman bade him goodbye, Sturnack slipped back out into the outer offices and set course for his own. Caine wasn't the only one with a mountain of work waiting. But at least the Vulcan had been able to stretch his legs before diving back in...

=/\= A joint-post by... =/\=

Fleet Admiral Sturnack
Commander-in-Chief
Starfleet Command

and

Rear Admiral Mazikeen Caine
Director, Interstellar Aid
Starfleet Command