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The Battle of Altorus
Post 16 - Aftermath

Briefing Room, Starbase 386
0800 Hours, MD-04

Two days had passed since the Battle of Altorus, and in that time, each of the involved Starfleet ships succeeded in limping back to Starbase 386 for repairs and an emergency debriefing.
 
From the moment the involved Commanding Officers entered the station's Briefing Room, it became clear that this was not going to be an ordinary meeting. Not only was there a great deal of tension amongst the gathered officers, there was also a great deal of talk that both of Horizon Fleet's well-reputed but rarely seen leaders would be overseeing things. If the rumors were true, then this would be the first time since the fleet was founded that the two were in the same place at the same time... a sign that the current events were far more serious than any that had come before.
 
"Why have they called *us* here?" Raemet asked Ocal. "You said this was going to be a meeting of the Fleet's commanding officers only."
 
Ocal looked around at the other COs in the room as she replied, "Commodore Iluvar seemed quite insistent that I bring Commander Vickers, Lieutenant Warrington, Lieutenant Skii, and yourself to the discussion, though he would not explain why. If I had to venture a guess, though, then it stands to reason that, perhaps, you are each in a great deal of trouble. Why else would you have been called to the proverbial principal's office with the rest of us?"
 
Raemet was speechless. He had never been a fan of getting disciplined, and was even less fond of getting reprimanded in front of the entire fleet.

A moment later, Lieutenant David Skii and Commander Joe Boston entered at the same time, having both been on the Tigris and were talking as they walked.

"Captain, I never did thank you for saving my life out there." David said. "Thank you." He said as he held out his hand.

"You're Welcome Cap.. I mean Lieutenant." Joe said with a smile shaking the man’s hand and then saw that they were not alone. "I thought we were going to be early."

"Sir...?" David did not finish his sentence, he looked at the faces and saw his crew, not containing his excitement he walked briskly to them. "Captain!" He exclaimed as he shook her hand quickly and then slapped Raemet on the shoulder. "Raemet, you're not dead yet!!"
 
Raemet winced at the rough welcome. "How observant. I suppose I should thank you both. Were it not for your assistance, and that of the others, those of us on the shuttle would most likely be dead."

Commodore Iluvar was standing near one of the viewports, gazing out at the Tethys.  While not nearly as heavily damaged as some of the other vessels, she had taken her fair share of the beating as well.  Despite his visual attention being on his own ship, he was simultaneously in a whispered conversation with a young lieutenant in services gold.

Lieutenant Warrington had arrived at the briefing room under escort from Commodore Iluvar, the man who had led the mission to retrieve the ambassador's shuttle.  It was the first time that he and the commodore had met face-to-face.  Jake had expected the man to be upset with him at the least, but it was the commodore who had suggested the two of them walk to the meeting together, without armed escort.  This had initially surprised him, but as Jake stood talking with the man as others entered, it became more and more clear that Iluvar wasn't your run-of-the-mill flag officer.
 
Commander Cathcart sat quietly with his hand over his mouth as he ran through the damage report on the PADD he had been given before transporting over. <I>"Jesus,"</I> he thought, <I>"Lewis is going to have a tough couple of weeks."</I> His battered little vessel was not visible from the viewing port and the over-bearing Cardassian architecture was doing nothing for his nerves. He spied the Flag officers entering the room and looked around at the other officers, unsure whether he should be snapping to attention or not.

Commander Vickers entered the room. She noticed several Starfleet Flag Officers present. Likely the Admirals would reprimand her for not turning the Frontier back to Earth when she managed to rendezvous with the ship. She was not responsible for stealing a Federation Starship, but one of them could claim she was an accomplice. The truth was she would've taken the Frontier after the Ambassador if she had the opportunity. Likely it was these same people that sent the Ambassador on a botched mission of peace that could be easily undermined by Denestra Shival and her supporters. Likely there were people, even in the Federation, that felt that peace was impossible with the Elyshan Empire. Nonetheless, Sara recognized a Starfleet Admiralty lynch mob when she saw one. The only thing that concerned her was who they were going to hang for this.

A moment later, the nearby doors swished open, and an immediate hush fell over the crowd. The rumors were true... Admiral Olivia Tavez and Admiral Antoine Meyer, the highest ranking officers in Horizon Fleet, had come to preside over the debriefing. The question now was, what would they have to say?

Iluvar turned when the fleet admiralty entered the room.  He said something briefly to Lt. Warrington and the two of them moved to take their seats.  Once seated, Iluvar gazed around the room at the weary faces seated at the table.  It had been a long haul and they weren't through it yet. 

After walking in with the Admirals, Isabel, along with James who she hadn't seen since the Joint Mission the Malinche had had with the Sentinel, moved off to the side of the room.  Technically they were here mostly as observers as they were not directly involved with the situation at hand.  Of course, now that James had command of 386 he was much more involved in the consequences of what had happened.  As two of the more experienced Commanding Officers in Horizon Fleet, they were also there to provide any input they had about what course to take.  Isabel glanced around the room, noting the various Commanding Officers - she had heard about all of them but hadn't met any in person until now.  The others in the room, who she assumed to be crew from the various ships, she didn't recognize.

Lange followed Captain Kersare into the briefing room that he’d so far had little occasion to use.  Most station business in his so-far short tenure as commander of the base had been conducted in his office or at the situation table in Ops.  The one thing this room did afford that his office didn’t was a clear view of Upper Pylon 1, where his ship was docked.  Lange couldn’t help but steal a look at the Peacekeeper out the window he and Kersare had ended up in front of.  Then he took a quick look around the room.  A good number of the 8^th Fleet’s best Captains were here, and from what he’d heard so far, this meeting wasn’t to tell them all they’d done a good job.  Lange’s official interest in the meeting was, of course, strictly limited to how the events to be discussed would affect his new command, but he was undeniably curious about just what had happened while he’d been hunting Cardassian mercenaries.

Meanwhile, Jake sat still in his seat, waiting to hear why he had been summoned.  The nervousness that he had pushed aside before finally began to bubble up.  He had been so certain of his actions and his decision to surrender...but what would happen to him now?
 
Commander Celezar knew he was late before he even set foot in the conference room.  Still, he hadn't been able to pull himself away from the repairs on the Tizona.  After being so mutilated in the battle, she was almost space worthy again thanks to K'Palla's over-time efforts on the two day retreat from the Altorus system.  Now, he just had to get through this meeting...which would be an accomplishment in and of itself, he realized as he walked in and saw all the Admiralty gathered around.  He took a brief pause as he stepped through the door, and took in the situation.  His prognosis: not good.  He did, however, manage to keep that opinion to himself, and sat down next to Commander Boston.  At this point, he couldn't see any outcome from this meeting that would be positive.

Olivia (PNPC) let her eyes move about the room, pausing at each person in attendance.  Noting Bathar's late entrance, she frowned slightly more than she already had been.  It was she who had called the meeting.  Decisions had to be made.  It hadn't initially been in her nature to take a hard stance with fellow Officers, especially when things...mostly...turned out alright, but over the years she'd learned that it was necessary at times.  She decided to skip unnecessary pleasantries - no need to thank them for coming, it had not been a request.  "For those who have not yet met me, I am Admiral Olivia Tavez.  Admiral Meyer and I have already been briefed on the events that have taken place, so we won't waste our time on that.  We have more pressing items to deal with."
 
"As it stands, some of you are lucky you haven't already been demoted," Meyer said with a scowl.  While usually an easy-going man, the Admiral was angrier than he'd been in years.  It wasn't specifically the officers in the room he was mad at, but the situation they now found themselves facing.
 
Turning to face Jacob, Olivia said, "Lieutenant JG Warrington, it is my understanding that you took it upon yourself to...remove...the Frontier from Utopia Planitia while it was being refitted.  And, after that, Commander Vickers decided to take command."  She looked over at Sara.

 "Yes, ma'am," Jake replied solemnly, "I did."  He was not defensive of his actions.  Knowing what he had done, he had also made the decision to accept the consequences.  Still, it was never fun to have an angry flag officer glaring at you, let alone two.

"If I may interject, Admiral," the elderly El-Aurian beckoned from her seat. "Before you reprimand Miss Vickers and Master Warrington for their actions, or even Master Raemet, I want to make sure it is perfectly understood that they were all acting under direct orders from me. I had a suspicion the Elyshans would attempt something during my mission, so I wanted to make absolutely certain that my people were in a position to respond if they did." She paused and took a moment to stare confidently at both Admirals and the other members of the fleet. "I accept full responsibility for their actions, and willingly accept whatever consequences may accompany them."
 
Olivia held up her hand, "I have not gotten to Mr. Raemet yet, Captain.  That is a whole other matter.  As far as Commander Vickers and Lieutenant JG Warrington, we have already come to a decision.  The incident will be noted in their service records, but there will be no other reprimand.  While we feel there were better options they could have pursued, especially since the Frontier was in the midst of a refit, we do recognize that they were able to bring you back safely."

Jake looked up in surprise.  A simple note in their records was not what he had been expecting as consequence for his actions.  At best, he was thinking reduction in rank...discharge...or worse.  The fact that the ambassador was taking the fall did not surprise him, but it did make him feel guilty.  He noticed Commodore Iluvar glance in his direction momentarily before focusing on the admiral again.

Meanwhile, Mordred continued to stare confidently ahead at the two admirals. She was pleased about their first decision, but judging by their tone, there was undoubtedly some bad news coming in one form or another.
 
Staring at his hands on the table in front of him, Celezar could also feel bad news coming.  So far, he had been able to fly under the radar for his refusal to move into the Altorus system, but if he knew Starfleet, he knew that they tended not to forget those things.  Still, the admiralty couldn't get too upset with him.  After all, he had joined the fleet when he had been given a direct order.  Still, it bothered him that they had responded to Ocal's distress call (in spite of the fact that she was sitting at the table with him now) and it bothered him more that these ships weren't on their way back out to patrol the border.  Why were they wasting time at this meeting?

With a slightly alarmed expression on his face, Martin placed the PADD he had been flicking through on the table. He honestly felt like he had no place at such a table of esteemed commanders and flag officers when all his ship had done was hold back a couple of smaller craft (not very successfully, going by the damage report). His eyes wandered around the room, never meeting another soul's; they were all too caught up in their own parts in this little scenario to be thinking about making eye contact with anyone. He stopped when he reached Admiral Tavez. Martin had never been one for hunches but something about this officer oozed bad 'juju'.
 
“I have to admit, I’d have done the same thing if it had been me,” Meyer said, trying not to feel like the hangman at an execution.  He paused for a moment and realized that he didn’t want it to appear that he was condoning the actions taken.  “But that is beside the point.  And if anyone outside this room learns I admitted it, I’ll find every single one of you the worst assignment you could possibly imagine, clear?”
 
Lange fought to kill the smile that was threatening to spread across his face.  So the Admiral was still a Starship Captain at heart, after all… He’d have to keep that in mind for his future dealings with the man, of which there would be many, since he lived on the base and rarely left it for anything short of a Federation-wide emergency.  Of course, it shouldn’t be a shock that the Admiral would admit to following his heart before the regulations, since his first command had been during the Dominion War, when regulations were bent, broken, or pushed aside entirely if that’s what it took to secure a victory (or at least less of a defeat) with your crew still alive.
 
“Good.  Now, if we’re all on the same page,” Meyer continued, as if he hadn’t just threatened the entire room with nightmare assignments.  “About the matter of Mister Raemet…”

Raemet immediately tensed up. Staring down at the table, he felt as though the eyes of every person in the room where upon him. Looking up, he was less than surprised to find out that they really were... all, except for Ambassador Ocal's, which were still trained upon the Admiralty at the end of the table.
 
In truth, Raemet was not surprised by everyone else's discomfort around him. He used to be Borg. He bared a striking resemblance to the Jem'Hadar, although Doctor Russell had always sworn that there were no substantial genetic similarities between them. Unfortunately, the facts rarely mattered to those around him, especially not at this table. Regardless of what they knew, they would always see in Raemet two of their greatest enemies, and no number of accomplishments or hopeless rescue operations could ever change that.

Iluvar felt the palpable tension in the room.  Indeed, he was not happy with the former drone's actions...particularly his methods for breaking the Ambassador out of Elyshan prison.  Even though Raemet's actions resulted in the Ambassador's safe return, Iluvar could tell that they had made a lasting impact on the elderly El-Aurian.  It had taken him a lot of persuasion and even some threatening before he had learned the truth of what had occurred to the Ambassador and why the Frontier had initially not allowed him to speak with her.  Still, he felt sympathy toward the Ambassador's shipmates.  He knew what it was like to lose the people close to you...that you worked with every day.  In reality, he probably would have taken many of the same actions.  It was one of the reasons he had chosen to speak to Lt. JG Warrington in private before the meeting.  He felt the young man needed a few good words of advice before this whole thing went down.

Celezar began to rap his fingers against the table rudely.  It wasn't that he didn't feel that the disciplinary actions against these officers wasn't necessary, it was that he didn't understand why he and the other commanding officers were here to witness it.  It was as if the admirals were looking for a crowd to increase the humility brought on to these officers.  He stole a glance at the one called Raemet.  He looked tense and uncomfortable in this situation, and Bathar couldn't blame him.  He stole a moment to sympathize for the man, and then returned to brooding about having to sit through a disciplinary meeting.

“We’ve had to balance actions against results.  Then there’s the fact that mister Raemet is not technically an officer in Starfleet, which makes the matter even more complicated.”  Meyer cleared his throat.  “Some members of the Admiralty have called for his head on a platter, but there are obviously some mitigating circumstances in these events.  As such, by order of Admiral Tavez and myself, Mister Raemet is officially removed from Active Duty for a period not to exceed three months.  After that time, you will be free to report back to Captain Ocal for duty.”

Raemet's head tilted curiously to the side. All things considered, he was almost certain he would be arrested and banned from ever serving on a Starfleet vessel. He couldn't believe the Admiralty in Horizon Fleet were being so reasonable with him, and at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if something more was going on... 

Then, a moment later, the door to the conference room hissed open and an officer with dark hair wearing a grey uniform tunic slipped in quietly.  He quickly walked to where Meyer and Tavez were sitting and handed each a small PADD. Whispering, he commented, “You wanted to know the results of the Council debate, sir, ma’am.  Everything’s right there.”

Lange noticed the Intelligence Officer enter and saw him hand what looked like a PADD to each of the admirals.  He couldn’t hear their discussion, but he presumed the officer was Lt Commander McNeil.  The man had often been an agent for Meyer throughout his career, and since the Tethys was in dock, it would make sense that he would at least check in with his former and possibly current handler.  As the Intel officer stood straight and turned to leave he gave Lange a nod.  It was indeed McNeil.  McNeil also nodded in what seemed to be Iluvar’s direction, then left as quickly as he’d entered.

Clearing his throat again, Meyer set his PADD down on the table.  “We’ve managed to dodge a bullet, for now.  The Federation Council has decided not to issue a declaration of war against the Elyshan Empire without the Empire declaring it first.  However, there has been a large increase in military traffic in and near the Empire, so Starfleet Command has been ordered to increase defensive patrols in the border sectors… immediately.  All of your ships are included in this order, Captains, which means for the time being this matter is being formally swept under the rug.”

“Those ships that need extensive repairs will be given immediate priority at the shipyard.  Those needing only minor repairs will be given the supplies needed to make them and will have to make the repairs en route to their assigned patrols.”  Meyer looked at the PADD briefly before continuing.  “Captain Ocal, since your ship is still in the middle of a refit, you will be temporarily assigned to help with tactical planning.  I’m sure your extensive knowledge of the Elyshan Empire will be a great asset there.  We are also, for defensive purposes, assigning a second garrison vessel here at Starbase 386.  Captain Lange, the USS Ticonderoga will arrive within the next 24 hours.  She’s fresh off a refit and was going to go back to active duty, but she’s yours now.  Any questions?”

It had gone very well, Iluvar thought.  So far, the hammer blows had been light.  The problem was that next time...and there would be a next time... they might not be so lucky.  He glanced toward Commander Celezar briefly before looking down the table at the admiralty.  Next to him, he could sense Lt. Warrington shift slightly in his chair.  The young man had gotten off lucky this time.  Hopefully, he would be taking Iluvar's words to heart for the future.

“If there’s nothing else,” Meyer began and looked around the table before looking to Tavez.  She shook her head, so he continued, “You are all dismissed.  If you have any urgent matters within the next few hours you can bring them to Admiral Tavez or myself.”  With that, he and Tavez stood and headed out the door and turned to the left, disappearing out of sight of those still in the conference room.

As the room was clearing out only a few officers remained. Joe Boston gathered around in the circle of officers that were standing around. "Well that went well." He said to the group.

"I agree sir." David Skii replied with a sigh. "They didn’t even say anything about me loosing the Midnight."

Lange watched the two admirals leave and most of the other officers file out.  A few huddled near the door to discuss what had happened, and a couple more stayed in their seats.  Lange himself stayed where he was at the window.

"There is two reasons only we got off light." Joe said looking as more people walked out of the room.

"Why is that sir?" David asked.

"Well for one trouble has been brewing between the Federation and the Elyshan Empire for some time now something like this was bound to happen. Plus they had an advantage with those shields, we figured out a way to get around their defenses. Second they also know that the Elyshans will not do anything to retaliate right now." Joe explained.

"How do you know that Captain?" David asked wondering how he got his information.

"It's simple Lieutenant, while they gave us a bloody nose we gave them a huge black eye." Joe said looking at each of them. "Would you attack someone who can now disable your shields with two torpedoes? Don't be surprised if your ship gets double the amount of tri-cobalt devices.  I would bet good money that right now the Elyshans are working on how to defend against tri-cobalt devices."

"I would not discount anything, Master Boston," a soft voice beckoned from the nearby table. Ambassador Ocal was still at her seat, deep in thought. "Were I in charge of the Elyshan Guard, I would not take the defeat in the Altorus system so lightly. They know we are a peace-loving people... they know we will not strike first... and they know that we have discovered a weakness in their defenses. For the time being, our ability to exploit that weakness is limited to Starfleet's rather unimpressive stockpile of tri-cobalt devices... and they probably know that as well."

She turned slowly to face the gathered officers for the first time since the meeting started. "Given that more time will only increase our stockpile of weapons, I think it is quite safe to assume that they will not wait to retaliate. In spite of the losses, I have a very distinct feeling they will strike hard and they will strike fast... maybe not as a fleet, but at the very least, in a manner which will impede our ability to penetrate their defenses."

Mordred suddenly seemed to have an alarming epiphany. "We need to contact Starfleet Command and warn them... for all we know, the Elyshans may already have an operation underway..."

“If I may interject, Captain, I would suggest you talk to Admiral Tavez,” Lange said.  “She’s going to be on the station for a bit longer and she’s got an office in Crossover Bridge 1.  I, in the mean time, am going to scramble my fighters and runabouts for some extra patrols.  Whatever the Elyshans may have planned, to pull it off they’re going to have to come right past this base.  They may even stage an attack here to distract us from their true objective...”

Mordred sighed and looked out the viewport toward the stars.

"Whatever that may be..." 

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