E Pluribus Unum

Posted on Nov 17, 2016 @ 10:14pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Aftermath

"E PLURIBUS UNUM"

(Continued from "No Choice")

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Location: Starfleet Headquarters, San Franscico, Earth
Stardate: [2.16]1117.1815
Scene: (Temporary) Office of the Secretary of Starfleet


Michael Turlogh Kane got up when Marie-Claire Martine's aide (one of them anyway), motioned him into her office. Finally, after a couple of days of delays and cancellations, he had managed to make contact with someone in the upper echelons of the new administration, such as it was, and Kane was determined not to waste the opportunity. Rumour and uncertainty were still swirling around like a cloud of flies - political stability was something that could only come with time, he knew, but in the meantime most people watched and waited and speculated.

Paris had been destroyed over the summer. From his Luna hotel room in the Earthrise Hotel on Tycho City, Kane could see the Great Black Spot roll around once a day, every day. The thaleron weapon that Edgerton had deployed to destroy the Federation's capital had left its mark on the Earth's surface, a scarification that could be seen from orbit and that ruined the pristine blue jewel. In the absence of Paris, the offices and base of government had moved to San Francisco, taking up empty rooms in Starfleet Headquarters. It was cramped and there wasn't much privacy for the throngs of diplomats and bureaucrats who were struggling to impose a semblance of order on the administration, but it was a working government.

Marie-Claire was on her feet, stacking PADDs on a wall shelf, while trying to take sips of coffee from a cup that was precariously perched on the edge of her desk. "Come in, Captain Kane," she said. "I'm sorry I can only spare you a few minutes, I'm up the walls here and I have a Council meeting later. Take a seat."

Kane moved the coffee cup to a safe place and sat down. "Congratulations on your appointment as Earth's Council member, Madame Secretary."

"Oh, that." Martine snorted to herself. "I assure you, it's only temporary."

"Dislike politics?"

"Too much backbiting," she said, giving him a knowing smile. "There is a significant opinion among my colleagues that it is a bad idea to have the Secretary of Starfleet also have a Council vote. Separation of powers, you see."

"I do see," said Kane neutrally, and he did. The Federation had long been accused of being a homo-sapiens-supremacy club. Humans made up the majority of Starfleet's ranks, and their planet had been chosen to hold all the trappings of government when the Federation was founded. It made sense at the time, but there were plenty of people who felt that the wealth should be spread around a bit. "Madam Secretary, I'm here as the commanding officer of the Phoenix."

"No you're not," said Martine, waggling an admonishing finger at him. "The Phoenix has been stood down, Captain Kane. You and your crew, if they choose to remain in Starfleet, will most likely continue their careers in other duty stations."

"I've heard there has been some diplomatic pressure regarding the Phoenix's launch." Kane shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Not her launch," corrected Martine. "Her very existence." She seemed satisfied with her PADD-stacking work, and returned to the desk for a sip of coffee. "The Federation has never constructed anything like her. She's more than a dreadnought - the Phoenix was able to single-handedly take out more than one of the Aegis satellites. Her ability to travel through transwarp conduits means that she could suddenly turn up in orbit of Romulus and obliterate the Senate chamber. She's nothing short of a weapon of mass destruction, and she goes against everything that Starfleet was founded on - peaceful exploration. You're damn right there's been diplomatic pressure."

"You know they're repairing her in Spacedock right now, Madam Secretary. That hardly makes sense if Starfleet was planning to mothball the Phoenix."

"I said nothing about mothballing," said Martine pointedly. "All I said was that there is pressure." She sat down and wrapped her hands around her coffee cup. "But you told my aides that you wanted to talk about your crew, specifically those who have been detained by Starfleet Security."

"That's right," said Kane. Now they were getting to it. He knew that it was always going to be necessary to have former Neo-Essentialists give up what they knew on the organisation, to better help with mopping up and making sure it couldn't happen again, but there was something purge-like about having most of the Phoenix's crew taken into custody, politely or not, so soon after risking their lives to save the organisation that was now asking them no-doubt-uncomfortable questions. "Within hours of the end of the battle, Starfleet Security picked up several of my crew and our allies. I understand the necessity for debriefing them, but I also want to make you, as one of the ultimate authorities of Starfleet, understand what we went through during our two-year exile."

"I'm sure it was very - "

"With respect, Madame Secretary, you have *no* idea," said Kane fiercely. "All of the people in custody now, every single one of them, has lived in hell for two years, not knowing if their families or friends were being tortured to death in their absence by the Neo-Essentialists. Risking a premature death in the service is something that everyone signs up to do when they wear this uniform, and you might feel that the detained owe the Federation something, but, ma'am, they've paid their debt. They paid it in blood and sweat and tears. Two of my command staff paid for it with their very lives, and each of the men and women that your people are holding frankly deserves more gratitude than they're getting."

"Medals and promotions, is that what you mean?"

"No!" snapped Kane angrily. "I'm talking about not kicking someone when they're down! I'm talking about giving them your hand and helping them up, about reconciliation! Whatever those people have done, whatever mistakes they may have made in, at one time, supporting the Neo-Essentialist cause, they have moved beyond that! They have already proven their loyalty to Starfleet and the Federation, but most of all, they've proved their loyalty to right over wrong!" He stood up earnestly. "I'm not saying you should waive discipline. Any military organisation needs discipline. But you don't need to punish any of them. They've been doing that to themselves for the past two years."

Martine was silent a moment, then she nodded slowly. "I hear what you're saying, Captain Kane. If it's any consolation, I give you my personal word that none of their careers will suffer because their previous... political convictions."

"Thank you," said Kane.

There was a knock on the door, and another aide stuck her head in. "Madame Secretary, the Council pre-briefing...?"

Martine sighed and got to her feet. "Of course. I'm ready." She gently led Kane across the room, back towards the door. "Will you be at the Council meeting later?"

"Yes. I keep invited to these things." Kane shook her hand before leaving. "I hope you can come through for my people, Madame Secretary," he said meaningfully. "I'll leave you to it, then."

As he left and the PADD-carrying aide entered, Kane wondered what was happening to those who had been detained, and hoped they were safe.

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Location: Candlestick Auditorium, San Francisco
Scene: Public gallery


For the second time in several days, Kane found himself moving through a crowd of people, looking for his pre-allocated seat in the public gallery of Candlestick Park. The public gallery itself was broken up into several sections, and the Starfleet section was full of officers - no enlisted ranks, he noted with some surprise. The place was packing up fast, and seemed to be just as important a media event as the previous meeting a few days ago. There was a gaggle of journalists down in the media pit, and a veritable air force of holo-cameras floated above them.

Kane found his seat, between two other Starfleet captains. One of them, a Vulcan, was making small talk with the person sitting beside him, but Kane's other neighbour, a dark-skinned, dark-haired man with round cheekbones who looked to be somewhere in his early forties, held out a hand as soon as his arse hit leather.

"Citres Okram, starship Condor," said the man, shaking Kane's hand. He looked like he was from the Balkans, maybe even Greek.

"Kane, Phoenix."

Captain Okram whistled through his teeth. "The dreadnought? I'm jealous." He grinned. "We were in the Imperial's battlegroup. Hell of a fight."

Kane nodded. "It was. All your people made it?"

"No," said Okram pointedly. "Then again, I don't think there's a starship in the fleet that didn't lose someone."

Kane remembered the fourteen dead on the Phoenix, the dozens more wounded. "You got that right."

There was some movement near the stage, and a hush fell across the crowd as, without any sort of aplomb, President Sardak and the fifteen Council members appeared from the wings and moved to take their places at the Council table. Several Council members looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Kane could understand why - there wasn't normally this much scrutiny at a typical Council meeting, so their words had to be even more measured than usual. He spotted a FedCom camera panning over the crowd - the news organisation had recently reverted to its original name after two years as the 'fair and balanced' FedNews - and looked away from the bloody thing.

"Fellow sentients," said Present Sardak, the nearby voxcasters picking up his voice and transmitting it out into the hundreds-strong crowd, "welcome to the second meeting of the restored Council of the United Federation of Planets. We have much business to conclude together today, so let us take a moment to collect our thoughts before we begin. Foremost in our minds remain the casualties of the recent orbital battle in the skies of Earth."

Everyone went quiet, and stayed that way. Kane remembered the horror he had felt when, dazed after the hit that had damaged the main bridge, he had regained his senses and seen the vast gulf of space yawning open in front of him, only a thin forcefield keeping him alive. He thought about damage control team four and the three dead engineers and hoped they didn't suffer.

His thoughts were broken by Sardak's calm voice. The President's hands appeared from the voluminous sleeves of his brown kolinahr robe, activating a PADD that he was holding. "The first item on our agenda is to declare the Elandipole system, a star system in the Hyperion Expanse, a protectorate of the United Federation of Planets. The fourth planet in that system is a Minshara-class waterworld, that was colonised last year by seven thousand Federation citizens displaced from the Triangle. By declaring Elandipole a Federation protectorate, we will delegate responsibility for the colony's safety to Starfleet and extend to them all the rights due to citizens of the United Federation of Planets." The President looked over the Council. "Are any Council members against?"

Kane smiled to himself as the Council members remained silent. Seven thousand Federation citizens, evicted under the threat of violence from their homes on the space station Limbo, had been transported by the Phoenix to Elandipole, a beautiful planet of warm, shallow seas, white sandy beaches, and a world-ocean that sank down into midnight-black abyssals and canyons, where giant marine creatures waited in their depths. Although the population density was high because of the finite land area, the Shanty Town colony was off to a good start when the Phoenix left it.

Sardak nodded. "The proposal is unanimously approved. The Elandipole is now Federation territory. We charge Starfleet Command to immediately dispatch a colony ship to help the settlers build their society."

A polite ripple of applause rolled around the auditorium, ebbing and flowing like the soft Elandipole tide.

Captain Okram clapped along with the rest. "You look pleased," said Okram.

"I am," said Kane. "The Phoenix delivered those colonists to Elandipole from a space station in the Triangle. It's a beautiful world if you like beaches. Those people deserve their shot at a new life."

The applause subsided, and the President consulted his PADD. "The second item on our agenda is the diversion of emergency funds to the Paris clean-up effort."

"Ah, now we're getting into the meat of it," murmured Okram. "How much do you think they'll donate? One per cent? Two?"

Kane didn't know. Althought the Federation's economy was no longer based on currency, it still had to maintain a currency reserve in order to trade with external powers that *did* use currency. That reserve was in billions of bars of gold-pressed latinum, administered by the Ferengi-led Treasury. Kane didn't envy anyone who had to persuade the Ferengi to loosen their hold on the purse-strings, but at the same time, Paris was a disaster area.

President Sardak spoke in a slow, measured voice, aware that Paris was an emotive issue, especially for Humans. "The Council sorrowfully acknowledges the scale of the loss of life when Paris was destroyed by the criminal Neo-Essentialist movement this summer. While we mourn the dead, we must act quickly to protect the surrounding environment from any further contamination. This will be a monumental task, involving the work of many tens of thousands of people, civilian and Starfleet. Not only must the local ecology be restored, but the ancient buildings must also be repaired before a cultural disaster, as well as a humanitarian one, occurs." The President cast his eye over the Council. "Therefore, every member of this Council has agreed to immediately make available a full ten per cent of the entire Federation Treasury for this critical mission."

Impressed murmurs broke out in the crowd. "Ten per cent!" said Captain Okram in amazement. "That's incredible!"

"The cleanup operation in Paris is under the ultimate authority of the Department of Health," continued the President. "Although initial estimates of the half-life of the thaleron ion used in the attack were approximately five thousand years, we have seen over the past few months a quicker-than-expected dissipation of the pollution and breakdown of local radioactive material. While the air of Paris might be clean, however, every surface, interior and exterior, is still contaminated. Therefore, the cleanup operation is expected to last several years - I am unable to give a definite estimated completion time as of this stardate - and involve the use of heavy industrial machinery. There are the associated logistical challenges of maintaining such an operation, but we are confident that, one day in the future, the city of Paris will be restored and resettled to its former glory. To the people of Earth, know that we, your allies and colleagues in this great Federation, will stand by you in your hour of need, and we will not be found wanting when our friends need help. That is not the basis of our alliance, and this Council hopes that this Federation-wide endeavour to restore the city of Paris will cement the ties between Earth and the Federation that were so recently tested."

The applause that rang out after Sardak's speech was loud and punctuated by cheers. Moat of it came from the assembled Humans, and Kane had to admit that Sardak's words, although delivered in stentorian, non-emotional tones, had definitely lifted the spirits of everyone in the room. He found himself applauding along with both the Vulcan on his left and Captain Okram on his right.

"That's great!" Okram kept saying. "That's really great!"

The media were all over it - several of their reporters were murmuring into their voxcasters, trying to be the first to break the story. Paris to be restored and cleaned up in a project that would last years, not millennia - it was certainly a bit of good news.

Except that President Sardak didn't look too happy. His face usually was non-descript, not betraying any emotion, but then a student of kolinahr rigidly suppressed their emotions. Sardak's right eyebrow was raised in that satanic Vulcan manner, and he was holding up his hands for silence, which he quickly got.

"I fear you may be too soon in applauding," said the President ominously. "We come to the third item on our agenda." He paused, and waited for the hubbub to die down.

The wave of applause slowly came to a stop, and when it did, Sardak delivered one of the most shocking announcements in the history of the United Federation of Planets.

"The third and final item on our agenda," said the president, "is the dismissal of Humanity from its permanent Council position, and the re-establishment of the Federation capital world on Vulcan."

Never had the mood of a crowd shifted so quickly. Where a moment before there had been smiles and claps, now there were gasps of surprise and looks of confusion. Astonished whispers broke out in the crowd as the Human attendees started speculating on what was about to happen.

Captain Okram's face was twisted up into a mix of anger and confusion. "What did he say? Did he say they were moving to Vulcan?"

"He said more than that," Kane muttered darkly. "Listen to him."

Marie-Claire Martine was on her feet. "A point of order, Mister President! Earth calls a point of order!"

President Sardak extended his arm to her. "I yield to the Terran Council member."

The holo-cameras were watching intently, and all across the Federation the news channels were cutting into their programming. Before the astonished eyes of hundreds of people in attendance, and in billions of living rooms across hundreds of planets, this was going out live, right now.

Marie-Claire Martine was looking helplessly through her PADD. "Mister President, Earth was not informed of this item on the agenda."

"No," agreed Sardak. "Only some Council members were, enough to secure the majority. I decided on that course of action to prevent media exposure and possible civil unrest on Earth." He gestured to the Council table, and slowly, eight of them - the delegates from Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, Bajor, Betazed, Cait, Benzar, and Zakdorn - got to their feet, indicating that they, a majority of the Council, supported the motion.

The other Council members - from Bolarus, Trill, Delta, Efros, Denobula, and Edos - were whispering to each other in confusion while Marie-Claire moved to her aides and spoke quietly, but frantically, to them.

In the public gallery, Kane watched the officers around him do the same. The Council meeting looked bitterly divided, and he was unsure how the crowd would react. Several of the Human Starfleet officers had faces like thunder.

"They can't do that," said Okram definitely. "What's that Vulcan playing at? They can't kick us off the Council."

The Vulcan to Kane's left interjected. "Yes," he stated, "they can. The Articles of Federation indicate that there are four permanent seats on the Council, one for each of the Founding Worlds, but it also states that any Article can be changed by the consent of the majority of the highest governing body. In this case, if the Council decides that Humans are no longer to be permanent members, then they will revert to a non-permanent seat. A non-permanent seat requires an election, so Earth will immediately lose its seat on the Council altogether, since it was never elected to the position."

Okram was getting angry. "Listen, whoever you are, I did not take my starship into the firestorm of a space battle just to have your people sweep our Council seat out from under us! My people died, right in front of me on my bridge!"

"I am sincerely sorry for your loss," said the Vulcan, "but the law is the law."

President Sardak was speaking again, directly addressing Marie-Claire Martine. "I think you will find that this move is entirely legal and within the framework of the Articles of Federation, Secretary Martine. You may also note that this move has the support of the rest of the Founding Worlds. It may be unprecedented, but it is legal."

"It's an outrage!" came a call from somewhere in the public gallery. Kane thought he saw a man on his feet, pointing at the president in anger. Several voices - Human - called out their agreement. "What about Paris? What about the Seventh War? Humans *are* the Federation!"

Several off-worlers booed that when the man said it, and Kane felt a pang of worry - that kind of language was perilously close to the speeches given by the Neo-Essentialists. There seemed to be no going back on the Council - he saw several of Marie-Claire Martine's aides shrugging helplessly, saw a look of dejection come over her face. The mood in the crowd was turning divisive.

One of his aides must have pointed that fact out to Sardak. The President stepped forward to the podium, beckoning to Marie-Claire Martine to take her seat. "It may be helpful," he said carefully, "if the Council outlines why it came to this decision."

Marie-Claire Martine nodded. "Yes, Mister President. I can't say that I'm not incredibly disappointed in my Council colleagues, but a little clarity on their thinking would be welcome."

"Then I will endeavour to do so," said the President. He paused to collect his thoughts. "Humans were central to the foundation of the United Federation of Planets. They bridged the gaps of rivalry between Andorians, Tellarites, and Vulcans. At the time, Earth was the compromise candidate for the capital world, and in the past two-hundred-and-seventy years the entire machinery of both military and government has moved here. It has become more and more difficult to separate the military from the government. Moving the Assembly and Council to Vulcan, and keeping Starfleet on Earth, will be a good start to make that happen."

The crowd were quiet, listening to the President's words.

"This next truth may be difficult for you to hear," said Sardak, "but Humans have a problem. All major internal threats to the security of the Federation in the past three centuries have come from Human extremists, whether they be megalomaniacs like Khan Noonian Singh, or Human supremacists like John Frederick Paxton, or Admirals Edmund Dupree and Richard Edgerton. Humans are a part of the Federation. They are one of many, and while we thank you for your leadership and look forward to standing with you as equals in this great alliance, it is time now, after two years of Human-engendered discord and upheaval, to let others take the lead."

"Yes," mumured the Vulcan to Kane's left, inclining his head in agreement.

"I'm done listening to this," said Captain Okram to Kane. "We died in our droves during the Second Dominion War and during the Seventh War and every other goddam conflict the Federation has gotten itself involved in, and this is how they thank us? I'm leaving." He got to his feet. Looking around, Kane saw a mass exodus beginning, one that made him catch his breath in fearful surprise. "Are you coming with me?"

Kane looked at him. "I'm going to stay a while."

Captain Okram looked at him distastefully and moved away, and he wasn't alone. From every aisle in the public gallery, Humans were getting to their feet and walking out, some wearing Starfleet uniforms, some not. There were angry exchanges as they left, with many people, both Humans and off-worlders, calling for them to remain seated.

"Sit down!" someone shouted. "We're Starfleet - we obey orders!"

Kane wasn't alone in remaining on. Several Human Starfleet officers were still in their seats, ashen-faced, but they were still here.

"Please," said Sardak, " remain calm. I remind you that civilian authority over the military is still prevalent in this Federation. You are free to leave this meeting, but you are not free to disobey your superiors. Starfleet will obey the orders of the elected representatives of the peoples of the Federation."

"But not *our* people!" shouted someone, obviously Human, from a few rows behind Kane.

Sardak moved to the front of the stage. "It is our hope that Humans can begin a self-exploration of their relationship with the Federation," he said clearly, strongly. "Earth is still a member of the Federation, but for now, at least, she is one among many. From that many, we become one. Perhaps in time, Humans will regain a seat on the Council. I fervently hope that they will." He turned to the Council table. "I move for a vote on expelling Earth from the Council of the United Federation of Planets, and of the relocation of this governing body to the planet Vulcan. How say you all?"

Sardak was right - he had the majority.

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+++ FEDCOM BREAKING NEWS
+++ HUMANS NO LONGER PERMANENT COUNCIL MEMBERS
+++ FEDERATION GOVERNMENT MOVING TO VULCAN
+++ STAY TUNED FOR LATEST HEADLINES
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Later, in his hotel room watching the media frenzy, Kane realised that nobody cared about the ten per cent of the Federation's treasury being transferred to clean up Paris anymore. The talk was all about what had happened to the government today, what it meant, and what might happen in the future.

Richard Edgerton had often declared that Humans were the Federation. Was that true? Had it moved away from its initial diversity and into a Human-supremacy club? Had Humans taken their role as leaders for granted? Earth was, by far, the richest planet in the Federation. Its industrial power alone was enormous. Did Human join Starfleet to truly protect and serve the United Federation of Planets, or did they do it to protect the interests of their own species? Were the two the same thing, or were they different?

Maybe Sardak was right. Maybe Humans had too long been riding roughshod over the other member worlds. Maybe Starfleet, and all the Humans in it, needed to be reminded that they were one of many. Maybe this would be the thing that forced Humanity to have a long, hard look at itself, and wonder why no other species seemed to produce the Khan Noonian Singhs, the Richard Edgertons.

It was not a question that would be answered immediately. Eventually, Mmichael Turlogh Kane went to bed to sleep on it, wondering about the reactions of everyone he knew.

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NRPG: They did it. It's real. We're out. Sardak has outlined the reasons why, and a majority of the Council feel the same way. Nothing like this has ever happened in Federation history.

If you play a Human character, how do you feel? Betrayed by your government? Outraged that aliens are deciding the direction that your species is taking? Will you suck it up and obey orders? Will you resign in protest? Or are Sardak and the other Council members right?

If you play a non-Human character, how do you feel? Are you outwardly sympathetic, but inwardly in agreement? Are you worried that it's a step too far? Are you worried about serving alongside Humans who might not feel so invested anymore? Or has this been a change that's been too long in the coming?

These are big questions, and maybe you're the kind of player who just wants an easy ride through easy, episodic, escapist missions and doesn't want to think too hard about the fiction you write. But then we would be just another PBEM, and not what we are. The stories we write are grounded in characters who, each time you type out what they do, say, or think, are brought to life, and what use is a life that's an easy ride through escapism? Is that what Star Trek challenges us to do?

Shrug it off or think it through. Your call.


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
former Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117
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