[2008: NOV-DEC] How One Captain can destroy an entire Federation in a

[Chay Awatto]

>How One Captain can destroy an entire Federation in a single mission

::Ferris looked out the window and sighed a heavy and deep sigh. Things had taken a turn for the worse over the last five hours, and he wasn’t sure anymore how the meeting would turn out in the end. Hitting the window in front of him, he cursed a string of words that would make even the translator blush if it could. Frustration was what he was dealing with now.::

Ferris: o0Had that [...] Katerian Captain just done as he was told, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place! 0o

::It was because of the Starbase 118 Ops Captain that Ferris was now trying to repair relationships amongst several different groups within the federation. He should have known better then to expect Rocar to just sit back and do nothing. That would have been too easy. Instead, it was his actions that had now put the entire federation on edge and cracks were now starting to be seen in the normally solid federation quilt.

Pinpointing who did what first and to whom was not going to be easy, and he doubted it would be possible, or for that matter, make any difference. It was because of the events that took place on the 118 StarBase that an emergency meeting was called of all Federation representatives back on Earth. There were over 1000 delegates in attendance, each with its own council trailing behind them, whispering things into their leaders’ ears. The goal was to repair the damage that had been created.

Alone in his office, Ferris looked at his own reflection and saw the age creased across his face. He had been through the Marquis, the Borg and the Dominion. He had been through enough in his career that the last thing he needed was this as well!::

Eska: Excuse me sir. It is time to rejoin the others and continue the meeting.

Ferris: Hmm? Oh. Thank you Lt.

::Turning away from the window, Ferris moved around his large desk and over to the replicator, putting his cup back on the ledge.::

Ferris: Is everyone still in attendance?

Eska: For the moment, yes sir.

Ferris: Alright. Let’s see how round two goes.

::The walk from his office to the main meeting area was short, yet gave him enough time to put his thoughts together and see what was still needed to be said. Entering the massive room, the noise was over powering as different delegations argued with each other. Security was at its max for this event, as well as medical.

It wasn’t difficult to see, hear or feel the mood of the room. It was hostile, and tension filled the air. Ferris walked in and took the Presidents chair and allowed the room a few more moments to talk amongst themselves before he would start the next portion of the meetings. As he was about to restart the meeting, Lt. Eska passed forward a data padd with a grave look upon his face. Not exactly sure of what to expect, he took the padd and activated the screen. Before him scrolled the most recent edition of the Federation news, the Main news title being: Federation descends into Civil War!::

Ferris: o0Ah [...]. Like this is all we need now 0o Who Is leaking information to the press?

Eska: We’re still working on that sir.

Ferris: Well, we need to put a lid on it now or this meeting is going to go down in the history books as the one that started the war.

Eska: Yes sir.

::Ferris watched as his Lt bowed out and went and spoke to one of the security personal assigned to the president at all times. A breach in information could prove to be dangerous, especially now. The media always had a way of taking things and twisting them to sell a news story, even if it meant causing a war. As Ferris continued reading through the news article, he wasn’t too surprised to see that the Arbazans were named as questioning the ability of the Federation. They had been like that even at their joining in the federation. As well, there seemed to be factions of Klingons, Andorians, Klingons, and even Vulcans. Of course, there were also factions of Ferengis, but that was due more to what profit they could possibly gain should there be an all out civil war within the Federation. It would only be a matter of time before the list of factions grew.

Within Earths’ own history, Civil wars were “between a state and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state. It is high-intensity conflict, often involving regular armed forces, that is sustained, organized and large-scale. Civil wars result in large numbers of casualties and the expenditure of large amounts of resource.” (Wikipedia) When Ferris had first been approached with what had taken place, many ideas/suggestions were mentioned of how things could turn out. Civil war amongst members of the Federation had been mentioned, but wasn’t given much thought to. That was until now. Having done some research of his own into Earths’ own Civil war histories, he had learned that Scholars of war divide theories on the causes of civil war into either greed versus grievance. Roughly stated: are conflicts caused by who people are, whether that be defined in terms of ethnicity, religion or other social affiliation, or do conflicts begin because it is in the economic best interests of individuals and groups to start them? Now, here he was, well into his career, hoping to retire to some nice quiet destination in a few years time. And he was now having to watch it all slip away into some dark abyss. ::

Ferris: Lt. Eska, a moment please.

Eska: Yes sir.

::Eska quickly returned to the presidents side and bent down close enough to hear what Mr. Ferris had to say.::

Ferris: I’d like for you to compile a complete list of from ALL delegates of the following information. First, Where does their loyalties stand should the Federation be plunged into a Civil War – with the Federation Council or elsewhere? If elsewhere, ask them where. Second, I want to know what concerns they have with the event that caused this entire headache in the first place. What does it mean to them and their homeworld(s).

Eska: Yes sir.

Ferris: I want all this information within the next three hours.

Eska: Three hours? Bu….t, this will take much long than that!

Ferris: ::Looking closely at Eska and whispering in his ear:: If it takes longer than three hours, I will personally make sure that history remembers your name as being one of those individuals who contributed to the Federation plunging into Civil War because details that were considered vital to sustaining the Federation never made it to the President on time. Do I make myself clear?

Eska: ::swallowing hard:: Perfectly sir.

Ferris: Good.

Eska: But may I ask one question sir?

Ferris: What is it?

Eska: How will this help you avoid a Civil War?

Ferris: Simply put, it will force each delegation to seriously consider what it is they are suggesting regarding a Civil war and how it will effect not only them personally, but those who are both living on their homeworld(s), as well as those living abroad within the Federation as well as those serving within Star Fleet. They need to sit back and take a moment to truly ponder what their choices are, and to make the best one possible, not only for themselves, but for the greater good.

Eska: And you hope this will avoid a Civil War?

Ferris: What I hope and what will happen, I can not say they will be the same. But it will provide me with answers to my own question regarding why people are choosing the paths they are currently taking. I do not want to go down in history as being the last Federation President, an individual who was ignorant to not only the up front issue that caused a Civil war, but as well as ignorant of the underlying, non-spoken issues that influenced the larger issue.

Eska: Yes sir.

Ferris: You have three hours. Pull in all individuals needed. Each delegation has private quarters while here. Meet them in their own area, but make sure you have security present at all time.

Eska: Yes sir.

Ferris: And remember, no small detail is considered unimportant.

::Eska nodded and quickly departed to begin his own work. Ferris turned and looked at the large gathering area. The short recess had been called by the Arbazan delegation, as one of their group had taken ill. Thankfully, no one had left the area. At least that showed that there was still some promise of repairing what was left of the Federation and what it meant to all those who were members of the Federation. Standing, he took the gavel into left hand and banged it heavily on the small wooden platform. He banged it hard enough and long enough till the room silenced and all eyes were facing front to where he was now standing.::

Ferris: Upon consideration of recent events, a four hour break is to be had. During this time, representatives who work for me will be interviewing you each regarding this meeting. It is imperative that speak your mind and the truth, as what you say will be recorded in history for all future generations to read, see, hear, and interpret for themselves.

::Upon finishing his sentence, Ferris once again struck his gavel several times to indicate the end of this first part of the emergency Federation meeting. The past six hours had already proved to be long and excruciating, and a break was much needed. Turning away from his presidential box, Ferris excited the room and headed straight towards his office, while security was left to clear the place out and make sure that no smaller fights began, which might bring about a Civil war quicker than this meeting.::

Ferris: Heaven help us…everyone

::With the weight of the Federation and impending Civil War upon his shoulders, Ferris, once inside his office, headed straight to his office couch and a stiff drink, hoping the Federation could be saved.::

Edited December 27, 2008 by FltAdml. Wolf
Wolf: added the "Complete" marker.

[Jordan aka FltAdmlWolf]

Two quick notes:

1. Per the instructions, if you want your story to be considered in the contest, it has to have the > icon next to it. You can reply to this post and use the > icon, and we will be sure to mark your original piece as complete.

2. If you wish to include your story in the contest, it cannot be Copyrighted. Per our terms of service, all works which pass through SB118 properties (incl. but not limited to the Yahoo! Groups, and anything on the SB118 servers) are automatically licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license, which is not a copyright. Your original post must be amended to be included in this contest, or it will be deleted immediately from the server.

[Chay Awatto]

For some reason it won't let me show that the story is complete! How frustrating! Can someone help me in this regard?

[Jordan aka FltAdmlWolf]

For some reason it won't let me show that the story is complete! How frustrating! Can someone help me in this regard?

I will mark it as complete. Please address the other issue I mentioned above, as well

[Chay Awatto]

Thank you! I've gone ahead and removed the copyright from the title. I am curious though, for the future, exactly where can I find out how to add the "completed" to my entries?

[Jordan aka FltAdmlWolf]

Thank you! I've gone ahead and removed the copyright from the title. I am curious though, for the future, exactly where can I find out how to add the "completed" to my entries?

Right before the "post submit" button, there should be two rows of icons. Choose the one that has either the arrow or the > on it.