A Sort Of Homecoming

Posted on Jul 28, 2014 @ 11:04pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Edited on on Aug 22, 2014 @ 11:44am

Mission: Absolute Power
Location: Various

"A SORT OF HOMECOMING"

(Continued from "Eat Your Veggies")

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"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home."
- Confucius

"Home is where the heart is."
- Pliny the Elder

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Location: Paris, France, Earth
Stardate: [2.14] 0727.0455
Scene: L' Avenue de Champs Elysses


Storok, son of Stovik, turned his back on the Obelisk of Luxor and looked down the mile-long street. It was thronged with thousands of people from a myriad of species, and Storok doubted that many of them were true Parisians. It was a glorious mid-morning, dominated by that magnificent bright blue Terran sky that he had read about, and pleasantly warm, with no harsh abrasive winds as on his desert homeworld. Truly, he mused, this is as far from the Forge as I can be.

His new wife, T'Lena, was alternating between staring up at the Obelisk and reading the information on her PADD. She had roused herself before breakfast and downloaded hundreds of tourist guides to the city into the device, then spent their eating time selecting the best and deleting the worst of them. The conversation between them had been cursory, but Storok was not perturbed. Last night's vigorous mating had not left him with much interest in talking this morning.

The fires of Pon Farr were dying down now. Storok knew it would only be another couple of days before they extinguished. It was agreeable to him that T'Lena had suggested a vacation to Terra while he was enduring it, and this city of Paris was proving most amenable to his tastes. Since leaving their hotel this morning, they had strolled like illogical lovers down the Street of Elysian Fields, passing cafes, holographic cinemas, luxury speciality shops, and had taken a number of holographs under the hundreds of horse-chestnut trees that lined the avenue. It had been a good morning.

Storok shaded the sun with his hand, peering all the way back up the street to where the Arc de Triomphe stood. From this vantage point he could see the Place de la Concorde and the office of the President of the Federation, with the single sky-blue flag fluttering in the light breeze. The multitudes that thronged the street were gathered into groups, all standing around and pointing up into the sky. Several people nearby caught the mood on the breath of the wind, and cast their gazes into the sky.

"Wife," stated Storok, getting T'Lena's attention. "Look upward."

Both Vulcans joined the tens of thousands of people who were already staring skyward. At a low altitude, no more than a few thousand feet, the sky was shimmering as a wave of energy rippled through it. Like a malfunctioning child's kaleidoscope, a section of the sky over Paris was churning and rolling hard.

"What is it?" asked T'Lena.

"I am uncertain," Storok said. "Perhaps an atmospheric phenomenon?"

His wife raised an eyebrow. "I do not know of any phenomenon such as this."

"It appears something is happening," said Storok.

In the bright blue sky, the shimmering effect vanished, and amid a noise of rolling thunder, a large starship materialised into being. Outraged, reality was shoved to one side as the vessel emerged from behind its cloak, a blanket of sparks dancing on its hull as the titanium came into contact with the charged particles in the atmosphere. Her hull was once silvery bright, but now it was blackened and pitted by old scar and impact wounds. But there was enough of her saucer section intact that the tens of thousands people on the street below, including Storok and T'Lena, could clearly the name and designation of the starship, and as they all reached for their holographic recorders to take the pictures that would be imminently beamed around the Federation, a shard of sunlight caught the ship's ventral side and lit it up for all to see.

NCC-10000.

USS Century.

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The Federation Role-Playing Game Presents
A Mind's Eye Production of a Collective Film

STAR TREK: ABSOLUTE POWER

Starring
Shawn Collins as Jake Crichton
Christopher Del Gesso as Russ BaShen / Rawyvin Seth
Alix Fowler as Selyara / Kassandra Thytos
Jerome McKee as Michael Turlogh Kane

Introducing
Sarah Albertini-Bond as Phia / Evangeline Montoya
Jamie LeBlanc as Aerdan Jos
Justin Owens as Thomas Varn

Guest Starring
Susan Ledbetter as Admiral Marie-Claire Martine

FEATURING A SUPPORTING CAST OF THOUSANDS
WRITTEN BY THE CREW OF THE..... uh, to be decided?

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Location: USS Century
Scene: Conference Room
Time Index: One hour earlier


Michael Turlogh Kane mutely watched his senior officers filed into the conference room and take their places around the table. Not really his officers, he mused. They were officers without a starship, squatting privateers who had ensconced themselves aboard this half-rotted hulk after their own shipwreck. They had all fallen naturally into their current roles, but Kane had to wonder what was going to happen once they made contact with Starfleet again. Broken up and shipped off to new assignments, he thought.

Outside the viewport, Earth rolled by serenely. They had entered orbit half an hour ago, excitement tempered with sobriety as they realised that their home might not be a safe harbour. From under the comforting shroud of the cloaking device, they watched dozens of worker bees flit past on their way to and from McKinley, and half-obscured by the planet's horizon, the glittering needle of Spacedock hung like a jewelled brooch against black velvet.

"I've called you all together because I need you to know the facts of why we're doing this," he began. "We cannot simply make contact with Starfleet and hope for the best. Remember, we know that the fleet's Chief of Staff is the leader of the Neo-Essentialist movement, which is spreading like a cancer throughout the upper bureacracy of the Federation. We have no proof of this, but it is the truth. If we do not take steps to protect ourselves, Admiral Edgerton will ensure that we are silenced forever, just as he did with the former crew of this ship. Using his political power, he can have us reassigned to wherever he wants, can arrange anything he wants for us." He paused to let that sink in. "So we are going to decloak in the most convenient public location we can. Mister Byte?"

The gray-skinned android continued. {{In fifty-four minutes our orbit will take us over the city of Paris. It is mid-morning local time, and I estimate that we will be visible to almost one million people once we decloak. This action is likely to be captured by the world's media. Everyone will know that the Century has been found, and has been returned.}}

"They might just arrest and shoot us down a dark alley somewhere," pointed out Jake.

{{Unlikely, Commander. There will be very little chance of a cover-up when we are directly observed by so many.}}

"We will remain in our position and deactivate our engines," said Kane. "We'll use thrusters to maintain our altitude. They'll send tugs to bring the Century to orbital drydock, and by then the news will be all the way to Romulus."

"We're going to have some questions to answer," said Russ.

"Yes. We're likely to be separated and debriefed individually." Kane checked his PADD. "In all cases involving the loss of a starship, a Board of Inquiry must be convened. Things will be out of Edgerton's hands. He won't dare make a move against us with the rest of fleet command involved. We'll all have to give testimony, and that's what I wanted to talk to you all about." He put the PADD down, and looked around the table. All of them - Jake, Russ, Kass, Byte - were staring back expectantly. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "I'm not going to tell the Board anything about the Neo-Essentialists. I'm going to tell them that the Discovery was destroyed by the gravitic turbulence around K-60-Alpha. I'm going to tell them that Commander Stonn and his Neo-Essentialist mutineers, along with our own mourned shipmates, are missing and presumed dead."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Why not jus' tell 'em the truth and be done with it?" asked Kass.

"Because if I, or you, go in there spouting off that Admiral Edgerton is a Neo-Essentialist and his people infiltrated the crew and our mission was all about covering up his murder of Dupree and the crew of the Century, they'll ask for proof. And we have none. It will look very bad for us."

"Captain," said Russ anxiously, "what about the other hundred or so of our shipmates here aboard the Century? All of them are going to be debriefed too. Some of them will talk about Stonn, about the mutiny, about the Neo-Essentialists."

Kane nodded. "I know. That confusion helps us. At this point, rumours are our greatest weapon. Edgerton will not know what we know or don't know. As it stands, he doesn't know that we are aware of his other life as the leader of the Neo-Essentialists. If the Admirals of the Board ask about anything to do with a mutiny, I will deny all knowledge of it and repeat that the Discovery was lost to the gravitic turbulence while we were attempting the salvage of the Century."

"You're telling us to lie to the Admirals on the Board?" asked Jake.

Kane shook his head. "No, Mister Crichton. I'm asking you to. You'll have to decide for yourselves. You'll each have to examine your own conscience and decide whether or not you can lie under an oath to tell the truth. I've already deleted my personal logs from the Century's computer, and if you agree that this is the soundest course of action, then I suggest you do the same. The hope is that the Board will be confused, but will ultimately exonerate us all of any failure over the loss of the Discovery."

There was silence for a moment as each of them pondered what he had said.

"What happens afterward?" asked Russ.

Kane shrugged. "I genuinely do not know. We're likely to be left to our own devices while they're preparing to convene the Board, so you'll all be able to get some shore leave. You'll be recalled to give your testimony when the Board is ready for you. That's all we know right now."

"So that's it?" said Kass. "We'll all be goin' our separate ways? So long, nice ta know ya?"

"For now at least, yes," said Kane. "Once we decloak, our lives won't be our own anymore, at least for a while. We'll be walking right into another storm." He stopped. "Anyone have anything else to say?" Nobody did. "Then assume your stations on the bridge and prepare for atmospheric entry. We decloak in under an hour."

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Location: Your Living Room Of The Future
Scene: Holographic Emitter, set to FedCom's channel
Time Index: Around Two Hours After Decloak


DILBERT DAVIS: ....personally recommend a loofah and plenty of targy-style jemaheron. But once again, let's go back to the main news of the day, and if you've just joined us, this is FedCom's continuing coverage of the public decloaking of the USS Century in the sky over Paris this morning. If you've been under a rock all day, then here's what we know so far. The USS Century, first starship of her class and missing for the past ten years, suddenly and without warning decloaked over the Champs Elysses at ten-hundred hours local time. The event was witnessed by almost one million sentients around the city, many of whom caught the spectacle on their own holographic cameras. The Century held its position for almost an hour before Starfleet tugs operating from McKinley Station arrived to haul it back into orbit.

We have several unconfirmed reports that the Century is being operated by the former officers and crew of the USS Discovery, which was reactivated and dispatched to the Beta Quadrant on a classified mission several weeks ago. If this is true, it begs the question as to what has become of the Discovery, but for now, let's go to FedCom's Steve Tinsell who's standing by with a spokesman from the office of the Secretary of Starfleet. Steve?

STEVE TINSELL: Yes, Dilbert, I'm here at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco and with me is John Hiram from the office of the Secretary of Starfleet. John, you're the Secretary's secretary, is that right?

HIRAM: I am the senior official in the Secretary's office.

TINSELL: Whatever. What we all want to know is just what happened this morning?

HIRAM: Well, the Century declo-

TINSELL: We all know what happened, John!

HIRAM: But you just asked me-

TINSELL: There's so much more to this story! There's the fact that the Century was hijacked ten years ago by disgraced Starfleet Admiral Edmund Dupree, known leader of the Neo-Essentialist movement! There's the fact that the USS Discovery, which was dispatched to the Beta Quadrant, is now missing! There's the fact that we are getting word from various news agencies around the world that the Century is being crewed by the former crew of the Discovery!

HIRAM: Slow down, Steve. Not even we know all the facts at this point in time. We don't want to speculate about anything at this stage.

TINSELL: But can you confirm that the crew of the Discovery is aboard the Century?

HIRAM: Yes, I can confirm that.

TINSELL: So what happened to the Discovery? Where's Edmund Dupree? Whereabouts in the Beta Quadrant did they find the Century and what was it doing there?

HIRAM: I promise you that I don't know yet. I can tell you that, right now, the Century is in drydock and her crew are being debriefed. That is a process which will take several days. A press conference addressing these issues will be called in due course, I can assure you of that.

TINSELL: Is there any Neo-Essentialist link between the return of the Century and the loss of the Discovery? Are the Neo-Essentialists back? Are they amongst us at this moment? Could they be near our children right this minute?

HIRAM: You're speculating wildly again, Steve. We don't know any more than what I've just told you.

TINSELL: The Federation Phaser Association tells us that the only thing that can stop a bad humanoid with a phaser is a good humanoid with a phaser. Should we buy phasers and be ready to kill our neighbours?

HIRAM: Uh, I - ummm... no comment?

TINSELL: Tell us about Secretary Martine. This is the first big test for the recent appointee following the resignation of Xana Bonviva. Isn't it safe to say that the entire Federation is watching how she performs?

HIRAM: Secretary Martine might be new to the office, but I assure you she's eminently qualified. She is preparing for her own press conference on this issue later today. No doubt you'll be attending?

TINSELL: I'll be in the front row! Back to you, Dilbert!

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Location: Office of Starfleet Chief of Staff, San Francisco
Scene: You-know-who's palatial office


Leonard Cagney cringed inwardly at the sight of his boss getting angrier and angrier. Work today had started out so promisingly - a beautiful summer's day, a flirtatious wink from the young security guard in the lobby, and a delicious breakfast of authentic fruits and nuts. Being Rear Admiral Richard Edgerton's aide certainly had its advantages.

Except when things like this happened.

Every news agency in the Federation was now carrying the story - the amazing return of a long-lost starship that decloaked over Main Street Paris this morning. It had just gone three in the morning when the news had hit San Francisco, and by the time Leonard had been woken up, dragged himself out of Steven's arms and made it in to work, his boss had arrived before him, glowering darker than any night.

The situation had developed quickly. Not many people knew that Starfleet possessed cloaking technology, but the public appearance of the Century was now an intergalactic incident. The defunct Treaty of Algeron had prevented the Federation from pursuing cloaking technology up until a decade ago, but when the Romulan Incursion had occurred in 2414 the Federation had thrown out any and all treaties with the Romulans. The Century was living public proof that the Federation had developed a cloaking device capable of penetrating the heart of its own defences. Already this morning, the President's office had received urgent requests for meetings with the Klingon and Romulan ambassadors, and the machinery of government was scrambling to put some sort of spin on the news.

Right, now, Admiral Edgerton was standing stock-still in the middle of his office, watching some dullard reporter interview that Hiram fellow from Martine's office about a possible upcoming Board of Inquiry. Admiral Edgerton did not look pleased. His eyes were narrowed and his widow's peak jutted down from his forehead, sharp as a razor. His spindly arms and legs were straight as arrows.

"Admiral?" chanced Leonard. "More communiques, sir. The McKinley yard master reports that the Century has been evacuated and his engineering teams have begun examination of the vessel."

Edgerton did not answer at first, fixed as he was on the holovid interview. When he did speak, his voice was devoid of emotion. "Is the McKinley yard master one of us?"

Leonard knew what he was being asked. The Neo-Essentialists were strategically placed throughout the upper echelons of the fleet and government, but they weren't everywhere. "No, sir. He sent this report to your office as standard practice."

Edgerton made a non-committal grunt. He waved a hand in the direction of the holovid. The interview was over and Dilbert Davis was recapping for the tenth time this hour. "We appear to have been outplayed," he said.

The Admiral's voice was soft, but Leonard felt a pit of worry open in his stomach. Edgerton was not a man given to explosive rages. His fury was the quiet, deliberate kind. "Outplayed, sir?"

Edgerton stroked his chin. "We under-estimated the resourcefulness of Captain Kane and his crew. I had thought that Commander Stonn and the loyal crew we put aboard the Discovery would have been able to turn them to our cause, or at least succeed in their mission to destroy the Century. Now we have a very big problem."

"Problem, sir?"

"Yes, Leonard. Does Captain Kane or any of his crew know about what happened in system K-60 nine years ago? If they do, then they know all about who I am. If they share that knowledge with Starfleet Command, then you and I are not long for this world."

Leonard gulped. "Perhaps a series of unfortunate accidents, sir?"

Edgerton rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Leonard. If we move against Captain Kane or his crew then we risk exposing ourselves even more. No, we'll have to move cautiously." He rubbed his hands together. "If there is Board of Inquiry, the three presiding officers are likely to be Admiral Halle, Secretary Martine, and I." He turned to face Leonard with those piercing green eyes. "Get me everything - and I mean everything - on all the procedures and policies pertaining to a Starfleet Board of Inquiry."

"Yes, sir!" said Leonard, quickly retreating. Yep, the boss was in a foul mood today.

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Location: McKinley shipyard, Earth orbit
Scene: Yard Master's office


Michael Turlogh Kane stood up to attention as the office doors opened and Admiral Arto Halle walked in. His aides waited outside, leaving the two of them alone. The Starfleet Chief of Operations was reading a PADD, but when he came in he activated it and threw it casually onto the tabletop, where it landed with a clatter.

Outside the viewport, Earth rolled by, and the port nacelle of the Century was visible where she lay in drydock. It had been several hours since the ship had been towed to her berth, and Kane and the others had disembarked. As soon as they had, a security detail had sealed the ship off and engineering work crews had swarmed all over it like ants on a tasty morsel. Now, after milling around the station for the afternoon, Kane had been summoned to this meeting.

"Captain Kane," said Halle, going to the viewport and looking out into eternity. "Captain Kane, Captain Michael Turlogh Kane." He was rolling the words around in his mouth like an elocution marble. "What are we ever going to do with you, Captain Kane?"

Kane knew better than to talk right now, so he shut the hell up.

Finally, Halle turned around. "You brought back the Century. Thank you for that. But off the record, what the hell were you thinking? Decloaking over one of the most heavily-populated cities on Earth? Letting the entire quadrant know that Starfleet has a starship equipped with a cloaking device? Now the media are circling on the story like a bunch of piranha, so why dont you tell me why I shouldn't throw you to them?"

"Admiral, permission to speak freely?"

"I sad we were off the record, Captain Kane."

"Yes, sir." Kane relaxed his stance, met the older man's gaze as evenly as he could. "I didn't do it on a whim, Admiral. My crew are not to blame."

"How about I ask you some questions and answer them, Captain?" frowned Halle. "Not much of this situation is making any sense so far. I hope you can understand that."

"I'll answer if I can, Admiral."

"If you can?" said Halle. He was growing angry now. "Are you saying that you are unable or unwilling to answer a superior officer's questions?" He approached Kane, stood beside him. "Very well. What happened to the Discovery?"

"She was lost in system K-60."

"I know that!" snapped Halle. "What were the circumstances of her destruction?"

Kane took a breath. When he spoke, the lie was fixed and ready. "Her hull was compromised by the gravitic turbulence while we were attempting to salvage the Century. There were a number of casualties, including Commander Stonn, Lieutenant Calvari, and much of the security department. The survivors managed to restart the Century and brought her home. For their efforts, all of my senior officers deserve the highest commen - "

"Why did you return to Earth under cloak?" grated Halle. "Why not send out a distress signal? If you were mobile, why not return to the Suvin listening post and attempt to make contact with Starfleet? Why this public spectacle?"

"I choose not to answer, Admiral."

"You choose not to answer?" said Halle incredulously. "I am your superior officer and I am ordering you to answer me!"

"I regret that I cannot obey your order, sir."

"This is outrageous!" shouted Halle, finally losing his temper. "You may decide not to answer now, Captain Kane, but let me assure you that you will answer. If not to me, then to a Board of Inquiry. All of your senior officers will be before that Board. If any of you want to keep even a shred of your careers intact, you will answer!" He seemed about to say more, but checked himself. When he spoke again, it was more quiet, but no less forceful. "Our engineering teams are extracting every last bit of data from the Century's computers. Whatever they find will be brought up at the Board of Inquiry. Do you want to save yourself the trouble and tell me what I want to know?"

Kane shook his head. "The Century's databanks are empty, Admiral. There's nothing to be found."

"I see," Halle sighed. "Then I have nothing further for you, Captain. You, and all your senior officers, are on leave until the Board of Inquiry convenes. I expect that to be in less than a week. Do not attempt to leave Earth. Am I understood?"

"You are, sir."

"Dismissed," said Halle.

Kane turned on his heel and was through the door before either of them could say anything more. Leave. Suspension, more like. Until he figured out who was trustworthy and who was not in the upper echelons of Starfleet, then keeping his mouth shut was his best defence.

But all that was for another day. Today, he and all of his crew, were going home.

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Location: The Bowery, New York City
Scene: Second Avenue Subway Station


When the train whirred to a halt and the doors opened and the hundreds of passengers got off, Bonnie Reardon kept her place on the bench under the antique billboard. She took off her hat and shook her hair out, signalling to her contact that she was the one he was there to meet.

Nothing. The crowd shuffled to the exit stairs like a herd of cows to a slaughterhouse. Bonnie looked around in confusion, but as the last of the passengers moved away, one man remained. He was tall and whip-thin, skin as black as jet, and was dressed in a casual business suit like the hundreds who had been on the train.

He approached her with a smile. "Doctor Reardon?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. You're Mister Johnson?"

The black man nodded back. "Let's take a stroll out onto the street. You can tell me everything on the way in a quiet, conversational tone."

"I understand." Bonnie stood up, and together they moved to their stairwell. There were dozens of anti-gravity booths, but real New Yorkers still climbed up and down the stairs for a more authentic experience. Most of the passengers had filed out by now, leaving the two of them alone. "You've heard about the Discovery and the Century by now?"

"The entire quadrant has," smiled Mister Johnson. "Have we lost many of our brothers and sisters?"

"Yes," said Bonnie. They were half-way up the stairs now, and their words were starting to echo around the now-deserted subway station. "Only two of us survived. That's why I've made contact. I need to tell you all about the other one.

"Russ BaShen," stated Mister Johnson. "Am I right?"

Bonnie nodded. "That's him. What are we going to do about him?"

Mister Johnson reached out and pushed the hypospray into Bonnie's hand. The virulent cyalodin within the hypo hit her bloodstream almost immediately, annihilating her red blood corpuscles and spreading up through her arm as quick as thinking. "You, my dear?" said Mister Johnson. "I'm afraid you won't be doing much of anything. We'll be sure to make contact with Mister BaShen all in good time. But you won't be around to find out what happens. There's a Board of Inquiry coming up and we can't trust you not give anything away to Starfleet. You, Mister BaShen, or Captain Thytos. I'm sure you understand."

As the cyalodin reached her heart and her blood pressure plummeted, Bonnie Reardon managed one last gasp inward before falling backward, tumbling down the stairs and landing in a twisted heap at the bottom, neck broken.

Mister Johnson put the hypospray back into his pocket. Reaching the top of the stairs, he stepped into the afternoon sunshine, whistling a merry tune to himself.

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Location: Venice, Italy
Scene: Bonviva villa


After they had been given the once over by McKinley's doctors, Jake and the children had all been released from custody. Like the rest of the Discovery's senior officers, he was on leave, to be recalled when the Board of Inquiry convened. Like the rest of the Discovery's senior officers, he would have to give testimony to it.

He had not seen anyone else, hadn't even time to say goodbye to Cindy. Once the Century had been docked, they had had barely enough time to get their belongings together before the Starfleet security was moving through the ship, clearing them all out. Now, a brief trip through a transporter had brought them all home.

"Does anyone have the keys?" Jake said.

Shocked, they all looked at him. "No!" wailed Benito. "Can we still go in?"

"Sure," Jake smiled. He activated the anti-grav unit that their luggage was on, and it floated up to the front door. He took a moment to look around at the familiar garden and shape of the house in the late evening sunshine before entering the keycode to unlock the house.

As the children rushed past him into the hall, Jake's first thought of Xana, where she was, what she was doing, wishing she was home too.

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Location: Chinatown, San Francisco
Scene: Tseng's Noodle House


Kassandra Thytos met her niece and nephew on the street. After hugs and pleasantries, they all decamped inside the noodle house for dinner.

Family. Kassandra listened as Lysander talked about rehearsals for the Summer Concert series that the Philharmonic was preparing, and how excited he was to be working with the famous Nausicaan cellist Mo-Mo Ya, who was preparing for a separate concert in the city. She nodded and asked questions when Asta showed off her Ensign's pip and described life working on designing and developing new operating systems for starship computers here in Starfleet Headquarters.

They all ate their noodles and drank their tea, but pulling at the back of Kassandra's mind was the thought of the upcoming Board of Inquiry. As she smiled and accepted their offer of a guest bedroom, she finally allowed herself to put it on pause. There was nothing to be done except wait.

And in the meantime, perhaps live a little.

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NRPG: So begins our second story, "Absolute Power", which is all about.... well, the title kind of gives it away. All of your characters are on leave while the Board of Inquiry waits to convene, so keep the home fires burning! Once it's underway, you'll all have to post giving your testimony one way or the other, but in the meantime your grounded characters have some thinking to do.

CHRIS: The Neo-Essentialists know all about Russ BaShen, oh yes they do. They might even send a nice whistling man around to say hello. Also, what's Cindy up to?

ALIX: It's only a short hop from New York to San Francisco. Is Mr. Johnson planning a visit to Kassandra or not? I wonder will she be able to live a quiet life, at least for a week or two, while she mulls over what has happened, and what might happen?

SHAWN: Missing Mrs. Can't leave Earth. House full of sprogs. Career hanging in the balance. Lots to think about.

From this point on, our story will start to blend with the others in the game, namely the Armstrong characters, who will also be arriving back on Earth around now. Also, Susan Ledbetter will be posting for Marie-Claire Martine who, as you'll see, will have an important role to play in both the Board of Inquiry and its aftermath.


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Michael Turlogh Kane
A Captain in Starfleet


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act, Scene 1.117

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