=Main Bridge=
=U.S.S. Lancelot=
Turan So felt as if he had become a forgotten man. Duringthe
battle, he tried to help out where he could. Even so, he had
heard nothing from the captain since the battle had
begun.So, he decided to pay Trent a visit. He stepped out
onto the bridge to be greeted by two securityofficers.
"Move aside," he said as he stepped out onto the bridge.
When they wouldn't budge, the ship's XO, Lalya Jalaan, told
them that it was OK. Only then did they back down.
"What can I do for you, sir?" Jalann asked as politely
as possible.
"I wish to speak to the captain."
"I'm sorry, sir, but he's down on the planet."
Before Turan could respond … "Commander Lalya, the
Qashqai has just landed near the Chimera survivor landing
site," the ops officer said.
"The Qashqai? Guzman's ship?" Turan said.
"Yes, sir," Jalann replied, not liking the tone in
thecouncilman's voice.
"Then I will beam to his location," Turan said as he
moved to the turbo lift.
"But, sir. Commander Rodgers hasn't …"
"I am a high ranking member of the Federation Council. I
do not need, nor require Commander Rodgers' permission.
Now, inform the transporter room to be expecting me."
Turan swiftly turned and walked into the lift with a
stride of authority.
- - - - - - - - - -
Several minutes later, he beamed to the planet and found
Commodore Guzman standing near the Qashqai.
Shane watched the teams from Qashqai to work on the site.
There were still several wounded crew that needed attention,
some crew that went missing after landing on Aeran III and
not forgetting … this area needed to be secured. Romulans
might have retreated, but who knows what dangers are lurking
nearby.
Shane had now almost twice a standard crew …counting even
the survivors from the Fox. Vlimar (shadowing Shane because
of the don't-let-the-commodore-alone-in-possible-danger-site
doctrine) shouted in warning as a figure materialized near
Shane. Turing around, Shane saw councilman Turan appearing
out of nowhere. Surprised to see the council man here, Shane
thought for a moment that the cavalry arrived … before
realizing that they were not due for another 10 hours.
"Councilman Turan?" Shane asked.
"Commodore Guzman," Turan replied dryly. "It would seem that
all of our efforts for a peaceful solution pertaining to the
Romulans have failed. But I am stating the obvious."
Looking at the council man, Shane replied: "you're quite
right Mr. Turan. We are now in war with the Empire and even
when it was not officially declared, it's a matter of fact
now."
"Prior to leaving Earth, I was given all the necessary
detailed information on the proposed defense pact between
the Federation and the Erassians. I was to discuss this with
them on Erass. Unfortunately, the war broke out before we
even made it to Erassian space," Turan said.
Shane could only nod: "Looks like that the Romulans were
planning this war quite some time ahead. I could believe
that the Romulan ships @ Charos could be gathered quickly,
but none will make me believe that Romulans had those 80
Warbirds inclusive all those advanced weaponry nearby by
chance ..."
Turan motioned for Shane to walk with him. "At times the
Romulans can be very predictable. Even theTal'Shair seems to
follow the same pattern. But this ..."Turan looked around at
all of the survivors and escape pods. "... this was not
expected. This had to have been planned for quite sometime.
Even when the Romulans were talking peace, they must had
already decided to make war. I saw it in their ambassador's
eyes as he sat in my office, drinking my ale ..."
Turan shook his head in disgust. "They made a fool out of
us, and I assure you, commodore... I'm nobody's fool."
"I think our Intel will have a lot to explain. We had
little to no warning about the intentions of the Romulan
empire and wouldn't it be the Erassians, none of us would
be now alive and standing on this planet. I believe that
this battle proved the necessity for an MDP with the
Alliance, don't you think so council man?"
Turan hated to agree with Guzman. He didn't like the
commodore or his tactics. That fact he never bothered to
hide. But, the Andorian was present during the battle. That
angered him more than his dislike for the commodore. "While
I believe that an agreement with the Erassians may be
necessary, this is not something that we can just jump into.
They came to our aid today, but what kind of allies will
they truly make?
Still ..." Turan stopped walking and turned to face the
commodore. "I will speak to the council," Turan said. "We
will have a pact with the Alliance as soon as I return to
Earth."
A slight smile appeared on Shane's lips: "That would be
very fortunate. I tried to support the MDP during all those
long days of negotiations, but a lot of high ranking
officers were not happy about it … and even worse,
Federation council seemed to absolutely oppose the pact. I
am not sure if they will change their minds even after such
a battle like this one …"
"Commodore, you're forgetting. I AM the council. Nothing
passes through the council without my vote or approval. And
if I want the council to approve something, then they
approve it. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to make
arraignments to return to Earth."
Shane looked at Turan, somewhat unsure of what to say. He
knew a lot of Starfleet politics, enough of Federation
politics to know that a single man has only rarely such a
great power, but on the other hand … IF … there is
someone with such might and power then it's surely Turan.
"I am glad we are the same opinion Council man … at
least for the matter of MDP" Shane said. It was no secret
that both man disliked each other … each for own reasons,
but this war made them to a sort of reluctant allies.
"Safe road home council man" Shane added.
Turan nodded and called upon the Lancelot to beam him back
on board.
Commodore Shane Guzman
1st TF CO
SSF Command
and
Councilman Turan So (npc by Rick)
Head of Security and Special Operations Committee
Federation Council
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