= Geneva, European Union - Earth =
Admiral Kathryn Janeway sat at her antique oak wood desk and reviewed the information on the padd in front of her. It was almost midnight and for a change she was having an early night, which meant getting to bed before 2AM. Outside a storm was raging, sending rain down from the clouds in torrents. An empty cup of coffee stood on the desk next to her computer terminal, and next to it a stack of several padds leaned threateningly to one side like the legendary Tower of Pisa... before it toppled over during World War III.
The padd she was reading - and the last one for the evening, she'd promised Mark - was concerning the SSF's 1st Task Force Commanding Officer, Commodore Shane Guzman. His actions regarding sending aid to the Erassians before the war broke out had cost him his position and nearly his rank. The order to relieve Guzman had come from Admiral Jefferson, Janeway's deputy, and Kathryn had to jump to stop the order in its tracks before it did more damage than good.
Jefferson didn't like having his orders disobeyed, and his ego sometimes got the better of him. He and Janeway didn't often see eye to eye, but he was a brilliant tactician and had served in Starfleet for almost 21 years. A feared and respected man, no one dared question his orders, except Janeway herself.
And considering Guzman practically single-handedly saved the Federation from a Romulan invasion at Aeran III, Janeway had no choice but to retract Jefferson's reprimand. At least that was the reason she gave him. She couldn't very well tell him to his face it was because he was behaving like a hothead.
With a letter to General Kira, Janeway had personally authorised Guzman's reinstatement as 1st Task Force CO and approved the proposed plan to convert SB 234 into the new headquarters for the SSF's 1st Task Force. An addition, she awarded him the Archon Award with Solare Flare for his negotiations with the Erassian Alliance. Who would have known that his history with the notorious General Ivanov would have proved to be beneficial in the end?
Since the Battle of Aeran III, not everything had gone according to plan. The Romulans had tried their luck again at the Khasazi Pass, but a small task force of ships led by Captain Chisulo had managed to head them off and push them back through the Neutral Zone.
An inevitable defeat came at the Qualor System, pushing Uhnari's fleet of seven ships back into a retreat and capturing the system. But the Qualor System was a much less strategic location than the Aeran System. There were no starbases at Qualor and no inhabited colonies near it. What was at Qualor, however, was a thriving Stone Age civilisation on Qualor II which Janeway hoped the Romulans would leave alone, but there was little chance of that.
"Are you coming to bed?"
Kathryn looked up at Mark who was standing in the doorway to her study. "Yes," she replied with a smile and put the padd down on her desk. "For one night the war can wait."
= End Log =
Admiral Kathryn Janeway
Joint Defence Commander
Starfleet Command
[NPC by Bren]
