Strategy

Posted on Tue Apr 11th, 2017 @ 5:22am by Lieutenant Commander Ziyal Tajor & Commander Bertrand Cuprum

Ziyal carefully hid her thoughts and emotions as she approached the office of the second officer. She did not want any of her uncertainty about the meeting to leak out. After her 'meeting' with the security chief, she did not want to make a fool out of herself in front of her direct superior. However, she still needed to talk to him. First, because she needed to actually report to him as her superior. Second, because she wanted his input about the Jennari. So, with a little trepidation, she pressed the button that would let him know someone wanted to see him.

Bertrand's head snapped up from the desk and he blinked muzzily. Had he actually slept? He should have gone off duty last night but there was so much...

What time was it?

He glanced at the Chronometer showing a reasonable ships time. Vague thoughts were coming back to focus for him as his brain returned to speed. First and foremost was the pressing matter of what had woken him with such a start. The door chime.

"Come!" he called his voice breaking slightly. He ran his fingers through his mop of hair and tried in vain to straighten the perpetual creases from his uniform.

Ziyal walked in, too focused on her inward concerns to notice that he appeared to just be waking up.

"Oh, Ziyal," he managed the name swimming to his mind as he stood and held out his hand left hand. "Welcome aboard."

He glanced down at his hand and seemed annoyed for a moment. He held up his gloved right hand instead. When she took it in a shake, she could feel the hard prosthetic limb under the glove. This one was not cumbersome like the chief engineers, though. It flexed and responded to her grip properly.

Ziyal took his right hand in hers, even without looking at it, one could feel the missing middle finger. "Thank you, sir, good to be aboard." She said professionally. "Still getting used to actually using a prosthetic sir?" She asked.

A flash of a scowl crossed Bertrands face, but he pulled it back and answered with a growl, "Twenty three years and I am still just getting used to it."

He gave himself a slight shake and gestured to a chair, "Sit down, Lt. If you were any more wound up at the moment Cor could run the engines off you. This isn't a bloody hearing."

Ziyal tried to calm down. Or at the least make it look like she was calm as she sat down. "Yes sir." She could feel his touch in her mind, reaching in and pressing against her shields.

Bertrand pushed around some of the clutter on his desk until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah, here we go. Chief of Strategic operations, isn't it?" he read of the PADD and then looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Do you have to broadcast your shield quite so loudly? It is making it hard to hear myself think, let alone you."

Ziyal nodded, "Yes sir, I served as a Strategic operations analyst at Starfleet headquarters before my assignment by Admiral Smith to the Cosmos, where I was officially chief of Strategic operations there in addition to my other duties."

She shifted uncomfortably. This was the conversation she had been dreading. In her experience, Betazoids who had spent a lot of time in starfleet had often gotten used to being able to read their non-naturally immune fellow officers. Occasionally even to the point of unconsciously pushing past natural resistances. They often saw it as being theirs by some sort of right. "Sorry sir, but if it's bothering you, perhaps you should step out of my mind." She said firmly, phrasing it as a polite suggestion rather than a command.

Bertrand raised an eyebrow. He placed the PADD on the desk and looked at her carefully.

"You weren't trained by the Cardassians, then. This is your own innate gift," he observed. "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I am not reading your inner most secrets, at least not telepathically. There is rarely any need to. It's just that the way you are blocking your thoughts is effectively by running mental static. You are obviously stressed at the moment and pumping static to compensate. It is very effective, but it will probably give me a headache."

He steepled his fingers, "I am an observer of people; part of my role in Security. Let me see if I can tell you something of yourself without the need for mental probes and then maybe you can let your guard down enough to prevent migraine."

"You were identified by Smith as someone who would give the impression of being on side with Gates, but who has a core that we could rely on, regardless of what you were presented with. You stayed on that ship without being discovered, which is not easy."

"Then you come on this ship, and you will want to be making an impression. So what does the new Start Ops officer decide to do?"

He snapped his fingers, "Research. You have been asking people about the Jenarri because you don't trust what you have been told by the Cosmos command staff. Now, how would you go about that?"

He smiled at her, "You'd be working up the ranks, talking to those who were eyes on at the battle. Which means..."

Realization dawned, "Which means you have been talking to Kilbane who gave you the short shrift and now you are expecting the same grilling from me. Have I guessed close to correct?"

Ziyal relaxed a tiny bit, "Yes sir, my first meeting with Lieutenant Killbane did not go smoothly. I was on the Cosmos because of my loyalty to the Federation, calling me a traitor, well I don't think that got us off on the right foot."

Bertrand let out a long suffering sigh, "No. Kilbane is from a very imposing Diplomatic family. They are used to their will being law, and he still suffers from not having everyone agree with him. The whole Cosmos business has him out of sorts, and you are not the first officer he has picked a fight with over it."

He glanced at Ziyal, "Sorry. It is hard for me not to see half of this crew as spoiled brats. Kids, these days, you know? No , you probably don't."

"But you've spoken to Cor, yes?" Bertrand prodded, "Next in line, and he would have let you know everyone on this ship is not a self righteous bastard?"

Ziyal smiled, finally relaxing enough to let a little of her emotions through, pleasure at the memory of her meeting with Cor. "Cor was very nice. He's the kind of person who you just want to listen to. Talking to him made me feel a lot better." Ziyal confirmed.

"So what is it you want from me?" Bertrand prompted.

Ziyal straightened up slightly, "Well, first, I need to talk to you as my direct superior on the ship. I want to know what you expect of me and Strategic Operations. Especially if there is something you need done that is not necessarily covered by our job description. Simper Gumby and all that."

"Simper... what now?" Bertrand asked. "I think Strategic Ops is a dynamic role. What the Captain asks fo today may not be what is needed tomorrow. For me, it is simple; If an order is given, your role is to make sure the resources are available to complete the instruction. That may be power redistribution, shift rotation management, medical supply restocking, etc. To be honest, I am not good at organization."

Bertrand indicated the mess of his office.

Ziyal nodded, absorbing the information. "Simper Gumby is a human phrase I picked up, it means always flexible. Not sure where it came from. Anyway, Second, I'm also analyzing the Jennari and developing plans that we might use against them. Right now, I'm still in that early gathering the data phase. I have all of the reports and everything, but I'm still trying to get the texture of the events. Official reports often lack that. I want to know what happened from your perspective and the little things that didn't make it into the report."

Bertrand nodded and sighed, "Truth is, kid, we're scared. The Sovereign class is the best thing the fleet has to offer and they pasted us without breaking a sweat. We have run multiple combat simulations and the Jenarri have won every time. They have some weapon that drains power, like the Dominion one... you're probably too young to remember. Point is, first volley they destroy our shields, then they can carve us up."

"The Fleet boffins have come up with a hundred different strategies from Corbanite and Polarons to Quantum Phase torpedoes. Trouble is they all require us to have main power operating."

"But the real risk is not even the ship to ship," Bertrand confessed. "There have been reports along the border of entire worlds converting to the Jenarri way of life, and when we have sent probes to find out what was going on, our own people shot them down. Now, I know brain washing, and there are limits to its effectiveness. You can't mass convert a colony like that. But we can't even get close enough to find out what is happening."

"All we have is this religious text set they sent us, and they are all sealed up so they don't get out and cause mass panic. You will have seen snippets given your clearance, but not the whole things. They are big on purity and singularity of purpose, not diversity like the Federation understands it. It sounds..."

Bertrand hesitated. A shadow came across his face and he paled slightly, his right arm twitching. "It is a rhetoric I have heard from other races. Assimilation, Adding biological and technological distinctiveness to their own, just wishing the betterment of all species."

He looked at Ziyal again, "And we never found a way to beat them either."

Ziyal was silent for several moments as she processed. Her mind clicked into analysis mode. It was almost a meditative state as she took apart the problem and looked for solutions. "Sir, I haven't finished my analysis. However, in Strategic Operations, we had our own version of the Kobioshi Maru. We were given an impossible situation and told to solve it anyway. When we do solve it, what we used to solve it is taken away and we're told to solve it again. Then we are rated based on how many ways we can solve it."

Ziyal contemplated the order that she wanted to take the information in for a moment. "They have a weapon that can drain power. However, like all weapons, there is a counter to it. Furthermore, there is a reason that the Federation has never invested much into energy-draining weaponry. It's a one trick pony, once you figure out how it is done, there is always a way to get around it. An excellent example is the Breen weapon you mentioned, it handed us a huge defeat, sure. However, by the end of the war all of our ships were hardened against it."

Bertrand responded, "True. But without much experience of the weapon it is difficult to know how to counter it. Not a lot of data."

Ziyal continued, "One common problem that weapons can run into is targeting. The inverse-square law means that if you hit more targets, you hit it with less force. Sometimes that's a trade you can make, sometimes not. For example, if we are attacking in tandem with another ship can they hit both of us if we are flanking them? If so, is the attack weakened? Or does it take so much of their energy that they can't shoot again? Even if we are out of power, what about say the shuttle that they missed? They might still be able to fire even if our power is down."

Bertrand nodded hesitantly, "We tried a fleet simulation using fighters. Unfortunately, without a command craft coordinating the attack it is difficult for them to make a significant impact on a capital ship. We also don't know if the Jenarii have secondary point defences."

Ziyal considered the reports of the mass conversions. "I think your right sir about mass conversions. They don't happen naturally. If they are shooting down our probes, that's the time to send in a ship, or several, to investigate. However, that they don't happen naturally means that there is a good chance that we can get them back. Historically, mass conversions are typically the point of the sword conversions. Making them a prime weak point to find guerrillas."

Bertrand growled, "That's the disturbing thing. None of the systems have any resistance activity. I mean literally NONE. Even on Earth we have some fruit loops who want to join the Borg, or cede with the Dominion. The conversion of worlds is at 100%. Don't give me that look, this is what we are finding. And we can't send ship in until we have a way of getting them out with information. At the moment they would get shot down as well."

Ziyal did give him the 'that does not make sense look.' "Sir, I find it hard to believe that any colony, even one built on a particularly dangerous border, which this is not, has enough firepower to destroy a flotilla of prepared ships. I doubt that there are many that could take on the Victory even on a good day. To do that, the Jennari would have to upgrade the defenses, and even then they would probably not be able to take on a fleet that comes after them. Even better would be if we could force a Jennari ship to come to their aid. That would allow us to engage them on our terms, not theirs."

Bertrand shook his head, "We are trying our best to avoid engagement. We know nothing of their fleet movement, and have yet to meet a single ship that we could match. We are not going to win this with a trial of force, at least not yet."

"One thing that the Federation does have in our corner is the fact that we are so big. We could take off right now at maximum warp and not hit the other side of the Federation until sometime next year. The Jennari are starting from perhaps a handful of systems, or we would have better intelligence on them."

"Agreed," Bertrand allowed, "but I am not keen on a war of attrition. They tend to be won and lost on the basis of popular support, and the Jenarri have that in spades over us."

Ziyal continued, becoming more passionate rather than detached like she had been. "More importantly, it tells us that they don't know as much about the Federation as it might seem. The Federation guarantees include the guarantee of religious freedom. In fact, if it did not, I'd probably not be here. If the colonies had converted legitimately, then they would know that the Federation would respect their right to believe whatever they want with no need to shoot at us. In fact, if I had some sort of religion that could easily make unwilling converts, then that's exactly what I'd do. I'd use the freedom of movement of Federation citizens to spread my religion throughout the Federation and make it a lot harder to put down. The fact that they shot down our probes tells us that they don't know that or if they do, there is some other reason that they can't."

Bertrand grimaced, "I don't agree. If your religion was a zero compliance sect, you couldn't spread it gently. That's what we are seeing. They allow no other path, and as such will not live... cannot accept the freedom the Federation allows for."

Ziyal's emotions ebbed back into calm as she continued her analysis. "Unless they are some form of hive mind, natural monocultures don't exist. Even within as single-minded of a species as my own, there are internal factions. Defeating them may not come down to a strictly millitary conflict, but encouraging a faction of them that does not want war. I'd be willing to bet that the faction that does not want war is still pretty strong, otherwise, they would have already attacked us."

"That's a hell of an assumption, and not carried out by any of the evidence we have seen," Bertrand countered.

Ziyal looked quizzically at him. "Which one sir?"

Bertrand counted off on his gloved fingers, "You make an assumption that, a) there are dissident factions, b) we can contact them and engage them in our strategy, and c) that their delayed tactic has anything to do with fear or hesitancy about us."

"Here is another scenario, the activist, militant lobby has spent decades purging itself of any dissent or factionalism. Having run out of internal targets it is now forced to turn its attention on other areas. It would certainly be in keeping with their "Clean your own House first" philosophy. Again, I know that this is unlikely, and i would say impossible for most races, but not all."

Ziyal took a breath, "All that is to say, sir, is that just because we have not found a way to defeat them yet does not mean that there is not a way to defeat them. It's them against the universe and when push comes to shove, there are beings with a whole lot more power than the Federation in the galaxy for them to deal with. I don't imagine that the prophets are going to be very happy if they get as far as Bajor for example. However, our war goals are simple, we want peace. We don't have to kill them all or convert them to our way of thinking, we just have to convince them that attacking us is a bad idea or not worth the effort it would take. It might suck to be us for a while, but in the long run, I'm putting my money on the Federation."

Bertrand sighed heavily, "I would like to as well. Truth is the Federation only continues because of good luck."

"Strategically, we have two things going for us. One, they can only stretch their hand so far. Every expansionist force needs to maintain support lines, which is why this forward ship yard at N5 is so important to us. Second, as much as they are galvanizing support behind their lines they are causing a great deal of fear on our side of the border, which will make it increasingly hard for them to push out."

"The thing is, Lieutenant, I have been in front of these people. I have met religious zealots before, and there is always just that taste of doubt that drives them as well as belief. Not in the Jenarri. There is an absolute commitment that I have not felt before, and I have tasted the Borg Hive mind."

There was a shudder. Bertrand closed his eyes for a moment. He tried a couple of times to speak but couldn't eventually he sat in silent for almost a full minute. when he did speak his voice was broken slightly.

"I agree that war is not the way. We are not into Genocide. But the first step in peace negotiations is to find common ground. We have not found any yet."

He opened his eyes again but his face was ashen, "I am sorry, Lieutenant. I... I might need a few moments. Can we continue this at another time?"

Ziyal nodded, getting up, "Yes sir. Just comm me, and we can continue whenever you feel up to it."

As she was leaving, Bertrand called after her, "There is one other position we need to consider. We are working on the assumption that these are just ideological zealots running on their own passion. Given we know of powers like the Q and Prophets, what if there is an entity, or entities behind these people driving them to frenzy? What if, we are not fighting powers that are limited to normal physics. How do you fight a god?"

Ziyal turned as she reached the door. "Sic the Klingons on them, sir."