When Duty Folds (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 27 Jul 2017 @ 6:28pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Vice Admiral Colin McDermott & Rear Admiral Harold Doolittle & Rear Admiral Nathan West
Edited on on 27 Jul 2017 @ 6:28pm

2,838 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - Starfleet HQ
Timeline: MD 14, 0941 hrs

Previously, on When Duty Folds (Part 1)...

Saalm adjusted her position in her chair slightly in an unconscious manner while she started to think back upon the implants she'd first discovered on Kreanus. With as stoic of features as an Orion could muster, she looked the vice admiral in his eyes and simply replied, "I did know about them."

A short pause ensued and Lirha realized the cadre in front of her probably desired more than an affirmation of her actions; they wanted an explanation.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

"I was able to study this technology before I was assigned to Galileo," she began. "When I was assigned to Starbase 137 before the Hobus Disaster, one of my functions as a communications analyst was to intercept and decipher Romulan transmissions and data plans retrieved from allied operatives. We uncovered several references to a new type of bio-molecular tracking device that the Tal Shiar was developing. Subdermal, covert, and able to deactivate and disintegrate into the subjects' bodily fluids once its power supply reached its half-life."

Stopping briefly to put a green finger to her chin in thought, she then shook her head as she reminisced. "It seemed ambitious and fantastical to every senior analyst I showed the reports to, but then again, Romulan technology has always been several steps ahead of Starfleet's. And I never thought it would actually be put into production...in less than five years."

Saalm realized she'd gone a bit off track and tried to correct herself. "The devices you mention were implanted in several of my officers and NCOs, but not all of them. They were variations of the original technology I just described, but were not optimized. I was able to remove mine while on Kreanus and examine it, and I constructed a handheld device to overload the transmission devices within the nano-circuitry.

"If you wish for my knowledge of this technology, I will offer it. But know that these devices found in my crew have limited transmission range and a rapid decay rate. By now...almost two months since we left Kreanus, they should no longer exist in any form except bodily waste. They do not pose a threat." But Medara's other capabilities do, the Orion thought to herself.

West cleared his throat softly to signal he had a followup question. When he was recognized by the chair of the inquiry he spoke up.

"Admiral, I believe the Admiral's question is more to the point of why wasn't the existence and implantation of the devices made known to us immediately upon arrival back in Federation space? More to my point why wasn't SFI informed as well, we might have been able to salvage something out of the chips that could have assisted us with the Romulans later on?"

Lirha's eyes drifted upwards while she pondered the question. It probably didn't look great to her superiors that this was the first time she'd gone on record acknowledging the implant technology. For some reason, however, and out of all the things she and her crew had recently experienced, it'd slipped her mind because she hadn't thought of it as pertinent.

"A slight of mind, maybe," she began to answer, "but I knew if any implants were still intact, the medical staff on board Chaka, Starbase 234, or Atlirith would have found them and reported it. None did. But since you are interested, I will provide more details of the technology to Starfleet Intelligence at another date?" she offered.

"See that you do, Admiral. On that note...What else has slipped your mind? What else have you forgotten to report about Kreanus?" Colin McDermott seemed annoyed at best, almost angry at worst. "You have been caught in one act of deception today. I find it incredibly unlikely an officer of your rank and experience would allow themselves to forget about anything remotely like those chips, let alone be so negligent in their duties as to presume 'others will handle it' when those others don't even have the faintest clue to look for it. Therefore, I can only take the absence of prompt reporting of it to be an indicator of intentional omission. What other capabilities does Medara have, Admiral? What have you not been telling us?" Pause. "Stockholm Syndrome, after all, has been known to happen. Perhaps you have become sympathetic to your captors?" Beat. "Or worse. Perhaps you have been turned. Wouldn't be the first time that happened to a prisoner of a hostile force."

"I have not forgotten anything else," Saalm retorted with slight clench of her jaw. "None of you asked about Kreanus' technology before, and so I did not mention it. And I would think, admirals," her gaze swept across the three of them once more, "that you would be more concerned with the geopolitical details of this world that is located in our space and yet is still unknown."

The Orion briefly paused to tug on the bottom of her shirt and tighten the fabric to her chest. "You want to know if Medara is a threat? And about her technology?" Lirha smirked at McDermott. "I've been in her colony's command center and seen it for myself. It is advanced, beyond what our analysts would think her capable of. She...allowed me to see it; she brought me to her administrative module knowing very well that I would report what I saw. She is former Tal Shiar -- her decision to allow me access was strategic, not an accident. A full report is in order, I agree, but I promise, that is not the question you should be asking right now."

"I agree with Admiral Saalm..." Doolittle interjected quickly. "We seem to be getting off track here. There will be time to figure out the implications of technological advances. We need to focus on the subject of this inquiry and that is the loss of the Galileo, along with the prior and subsequent actions of her command staff and crew."

West sat back and watched the Admirals paying close attention to Saalm. He saw something in her that made him think she could be useful to SFI, no matter what the board decided. No, check that especially if they decided against her. He carefully kept his mind nutral as he listened to the questions and back and forth of the board.

McDermott stared at Saalm. He just stared, saying nothing for a solid moment. Then:

"What kind of planet is Kreanus, Admiral? Where is it located, and how does it remain hidden?" These questions are asked rapid-fire, delivered almost like punches in a boxing match.

Saalm knew the questions about Kreanus would eventually come. An newly-discovered colonized planet located within Federation space wasn't something that could just pass under the sensors, so to speak.

"A rogue world, a true Class R by all accounts as far as I was able to tell." the Orion started to answer. "Probably ejected from its solar system millions of years ago...which is relatively recent. The surface was covered in ice miles deep, but the colonists found a way to drill through the ice and into the outer crust of the planet. That is where their colony is located, in the subterranean portion of the world." She paused to try to remember more details and observations.

"There is heat beneath the surface so I believe the planet's core is still spinning. Molten, of course, in order to generate the planet's electromagnetic field and heat the inner crust. But I do not know where it is located," Saalm continued. It was a partial lie, but more so the truth than any sort of intentional deception. "Navigating the nebula is near impossible and the world is not in a stable orbit around any star. It...moves, on its own path, which means its location is always changing. Only those on Kreanus have the real-time coordinates, and because they've adapted to operate in the nebula, they have the sensor capabilities to navigate their landscape."

McDermott raised his eyebrows. "I do not believe that you do not know where the planet is located, Admiral. You must have had some way to return to the planet after your 'mission'."

A way? Perhaps, she admitted to herself. But it was not the sort of tangible element that Starfleet was probably looking for. "I know of their general location within at least one light year, but I don't have the exact coordinates. But the world is always moving and changing position through the nebula, since it is a rogue. The Kreanus starships have heavily-modified their navigational sensors to compensate for their planet's stellar drift and the nebula's properties, but I am not a stellar cartographer. I can't replicate their mathematical formulas."

West continued to listen and then spoke up his voice a soft baritone "How did you become a General, and how does it affect your loyalties to the federation and star fleet?"

"I am an, admiral, sir," Lirha countered to West in a firm voice. "I have never forgotten my duties to my crew or to the Federation. Everything I did...we did, was in the best interests of our government." She paused and sighed before continuing. "Yes, I appointed myself with a Klingon rank title, but it was only temporary for the mission at hand. Would you have had me ignore the Kreanan's plea for help and refuse to help a sovereign world defend itself? How would you have judged me if I'd knowingly ignored secret Klingon incursions into our territory under cloak that risked starting armed conflict between Starfleet and the KDF?"

"I would have judged you more intelligent than to think you and your crew alone with no ship or support could assist the kreanan''s better than a well rounded humanitarian task force. One I might add at could have repulsed the klingons and brought your people home with less damage."

Saalm swallowed a small lump in her throat that'd just formed after West had spoken. She looked down at her polished boots and then to her creased pant legs before raising her head again. "I didn't have the fortune of being able to confer with the rest of fleet command. My crew and I were suffering and I made the decision that I thought was best for us at the time."

He knew he would have to be critical of her now if he was to be able to help her later. "Then you can understand how we might be worried that your decisions show a lack of forsight and inginuity that is dangerous in a Commanding officer?" West's voice had a note of finality as he leaned back in his chair to observe more.

"Yes I suppose," Saalm answered in a monotone voice that tried to hide her true feelings. It was obvious that each admiral in front of her had a job to do and tthat hose jobs didn't necessarily line up with Lirha's desires or ambitions. They were the fleet brass, the ones stuck behind the desks who made policy instead of practicing their work out in the field. She knew she was accountable to them, but in her mind, their opinion of her wasn't paramount. The only judgement she truly cared about was that of her crew, for they were the ones she'd almost sacrificed everything for.

For the last little while, Doolittle had been content to remain silent, listening to Admirals McDermott and West as they interviewed Admiral Saalm. But now he felt that he had to speak up. "Admirals, if I may..." he began, leaning forward in his chair and raising his hand slightly to get their attention. "I think there's something we may be forgetting here. While we were sitting here at Starfleet headquarters, safe and secure in our offices, Admiral Saalm was out there on the front lines, dealing with things. We all rode the center seat of a starship at one time or another and I'm sure that we all made decisions that may have seemed suspect to our higher-ups. I don't know about you..." he said, looking at each of the others in turn, "...but I'm pretty sure that I did. Whatever Admiral Saalm's methods were, and be they right or wrong, let's not lose sight of one fact - she was the one there and had to make decisions on the spur of the moment. She did not have the benefit of hindsight as we do now. And last but certainly not least, she DID manage to bring most of her crew home." He then sat back in his chair and looked directly at Saalm. "And for that, Admiral, I am immensely grateful."

"Be that as it may, Admiral Doolittle...Any gratitude we must feel must, unfortunately, take a distant following position to the reality that there are far, far too many unanswered questions about Admiral Saalm's conduct during and since the loss of Galileo," McDermott noted. "Admiral...I'm going to leave further detailed questions about Kreanus to Admiral West and Starfleet Intelligence. You may expect to be debriefed by that organization extensively. Instead, because our time is running short, I am going to lay out the situation to you.

"In a few days, I am expected to present my report as President of the Board of Inquiry to Fleet Admiral Quinn, the Chief of Staff of Starfleet. At that presentation will also be the President of the United Federation of Planets. The first question on their minds is going to be very, very simple: 'It looks like a court-martial is in order. It sure *sounds* like a court-martial is in order. Charges may well get very, very serious. The attack on the Sentinel is easily classed as treason against the UFP. Precisely what can you offer me in the way of solid evidence - not feelings, not what-ifs, not intentions to do the right thing, not appeals to idealism - what can you offer me in terms of solid evidence that Admiral Saalm *did not* commit treason, premeditated murder, and a host of other crimes?' Because, I'll be honest. there's a significant proportion of those at Starfleet Command who would not be disturbed in the least if you wound up with a life sentence to a penal colony and a dishonorable discharge from Starfleet. At minimum. If we still had capital punishment, you would be staring at that possibility, too.

"I want to be able to give them something in your defense. Thusfar, I don't have much; I don't really have anything solid." McDermott concluded. "Your response, Admiral Saalm?"

Court martial. Treason. Premidated murder. Life sentence. Those words began to echo over and over in Lirha's head, and yet strangely, she had known this could be a possibility. It would be her judgement day when the fleet eventually held her accountable for whatever transgressions they felt she'd committed, and in her gold blood, she knew there was probably little she could say to convince such higher authorities.

"I've told you the events of my circumstances and those of my crew," she started to answer to McDermott. "I don't know what more I can tell you. I...probably made mistakes, but I tried to do what I thought was best. For myself, those serving under me, and the rest in our Federation." She paused for a few moments to look down at her boots once more and give the admirals in front of her a final statement.

"Whatever you decide me guilty of is your right and I will accept my fate. But know this," her gaze swept across all of them, "what my crew and I accomplished -- even if it was not of standard protocol -- brought an end to Klingon incursions into our territory that we were not aware of and could have provoked major conflict with the Klingon Empire. All of you, more than anyone, know of their rapid expansion into former-Romulan territory after the Hobus disaster and you know their threat their fleet strength poses. Try to see the bigger portrait. Please."

West nodded to himself as he heard McDermott's statements. He knew he was in a good place to pull Saalm's ass out of the fire but it would take some time and skillful angling. He kept his face calm and impassive as he listened to the closing remarks from the other Admirals and simply raised his hand and shook his head as an indication that he had spoken his mind already. Now the 'fun' begins, he thought to himself.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

RAdm Harold J. Doolittle
Starfleet Bureau of Personnel
Starfleet Headquarters, Earth

Nathan West
Rear Admiral
Chief of Star Fleet Intelligence
Starfleet Headquarters, Earth

VADM Colin McDermott
Chief of Starfleet Personnel
Starfleet Command

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