[Galaxy] [Earth] 2158 Feb 12, JL LtCmdr Kareem Morotai & RAdm Suzanna Batenburg

Tue Feb 12 12:44:16 PST 2008

<<This is a slight back log for New Darwin, taking place before arrival
back home :)>>

///// SF HQ //////

"Admiral, I have a call from Commander Morotai from New Darwin Colony on
a subspace channel. The call was routed to Commodore Stirling but…"

"Put it through, I know where he is." Suzanna replied. Stirling was
talking with Admiral Palmer regarding the mission she had just given to
the Meridian.

// ESS Valiant - En-route to New Darwin \\

A few moments passed and the Starfleet Command was replaced with the
face of
Admiral Batenburg. Kareem couldn't help but look beyond the Admiral at
the blue skies of Earth through the window behind. He had never visited
the home planet of the Humans; he had often wondered what it was like
compared to his own world, and his new home on New Darwin. One day,
inevitably it would happen he felt sure. Quickly focusing his attention
back to the Admiral he gave a reassuring smile.

"Good day Admiral. I have an update on Captain McKenzie."

"Commander Morotai," Suzanna replied in greeting. "Ah… yes. I saw the
initial report." She had been very concerned about Julie, who had been a
roving Command Specialist and assigned to lead the Colony.

"She has suffered major head injuries and it is Doctor Vorgon's analysis
that she requires careful surgery which we can't complete here at New
Darwin yet. However he feels the eventual chance of near-full recovery
is high, under the right circumstances. I've already requested a
transport vessel, one has been scheduled to take a detour here then take
her back to Earth. However it does mean she is unable to resume her
duties as Commanding Officer of New Darwin for some time." he
summarised. "Lt Fisher, our second officer also sustained injuries in
the fight with the Naussicaans on the surface. He is going to need a few
weeks to fully recover but will be fine." he added.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Even if I am glad to hear that Lieutenant
Fisher will be making a full recovery." Suzanna replied. "When will you
be able to send a full report?"

"We will shortly arrive back at the colony. I plan a staff debriefing
for tomorrow, after which I will be able to compile a full report. Thank
you for authorising my other crew requests." Kareem said. He tried to
analyse the Admirals facial expression to see if he could gleam any
hints from it but, being an Admiral she had long ago perfected a
neutral, authoritative but friendly look.

"That sounds like a good plan, Commander." Suzanna smiled at the man,
"with Captain McKenzie injured and off duty for the foreseeable future,
as first officer it is your job to take command of the colony. At least
for now. Are you ready for that, Commander?"

Kareem paused for a moment. He could see Admiral Batenburg was a no-
nonsense kind of woman as she cut straight to the point in hand, the
future and command of the Colony. There was no time now to have doubts,
to worry. He would have to face the challenge full on. He recalled what
Garroway had said about the others.

"I am surrounded by some good, experienced officers here sir. I believe
I am ready to meet the challenge with their help. We've improved
ourselves as a crew, as a team, working toward a common goal in this
mission. Together we can make New Darwin prosper." Kareem nodded as he
finished, setting it in straight both to the Admiral and in his own
heart.

Suzanna quietly observed the alien for a long moment; she'd had
discussions with Stirling about the situation on New Darwin ever since
they'd heard about McKenzie. It would be a first time that Starfleet
would assign a non-human as a Commanding Officer on a Starfleet
facility. Yet wasn't that where the future was heading anyway? If the
alliance and cooperation that was being worked on came off the ground,
this was exactly where they were heading. Not only did she get a good
feeling off Morotai, and she'd learned to trust her instincts, it was
also a good and positive sign towards their partners in the alliance.

"I agree, Commander." She smiled warmly, "it may be unfortunate
circumstances, but I do believe that not only you and New Darwin are
ready for this, but so is Starfleet."

"Thank you for the faith, sir. I have sworn an oath to Starfleet and I
am not someone to take that lightly." Kareem replied. It was an
unfortunate situation for him to step into. "Perhaps when Captain
McKenzie has recovered she can return." he speculated.
"Since she wasn't able to give me official hand-over instruction, is
there anything that I need to know about? I am aware of some development
plans for the colony, for instance the hill cave conversion. But I
understand certain things are kept on a need-to-know basis, and up till
now I've not needed to know" Kareem asked, wondering if it was a bit
bold to be asking this, testing their trust so soon. Yet at the same
time, he felt he needed to know what was going on in order to make the
best choices. Once they got back, it would be up to him to drive things
forwards.

"You will be given the appropriate security clearance, Commander."
Suzanna said, "Did Captain McKenzie speak with you about her proposal to
set up a Starfleet Academy Campus on New Darwin?"

Kareem knew that the Captain had been a former Academy Commandant and
though this was the first he'd heard of these plans, it did not surprise
him she had made the proposal. "I've not heard about it, but it's
certainly an interesting prospect" he said. "It may serve the Daliwakan
population of New Darwin well if it is set up in the right way... would
it serve as an alternative to your Academy on Earth? Or more
specialised?" he asked, realising he had a lot of questions about this
that would probably be answered in the proposal report.

"The initial aim is to serve the Daliwakans that wish to join Starfleet
and give them the ability to get the right training. It may in the
future also be open for students from Earth. There were more discussions
needed on the issue to iron out the details, but the basic proposal was
approved." Suzanna replied. "I selected Commander Ahkmed Ji-Ribalda as
the Dean for the faculty. He was Dean of our Jupiter Station faculty in
the past."

"I look forwards to meeting Commander Ji-Ribalda. When can we expect his
arrival? I can get our development officer, Lieutenant Haydon to come up
with some possible sites for the campus in preparation." he nodded
feeling a certain degree of excitement at the prospect. He knew of a
number of Daliwakans who would thrive on this kind of opportunity to
advance their skills.

"The more prep work you can do, the faster we can get this off the
ground, Commander. I expect that Commander Ji-Ribalda will depart in the
next week, there are regular supply runs and I believe he is planning to
bring a first shipment of needs for the Academy with him." Suzanna
replied.

"Perhaps some time soon, you would like to visit the Colony? We have a
lot of things going on here and are planning to explore more of the
Gamma Saggitarii system soon. It would give everyone an extra boost to
have a visit from someone prestigious. That is apart from Thomas
Garroway!" Kareem smiled, he was sure the Admiral would have heard of
the former Commodore who had made his low-key arrival to New Darwin for
the Earth Cargo Authority.

There was a slight sparkle in her eye at the mention of his name, and
she had to admit, it had been way too long since they had spent any time
face to face. Besides of that, given the current circumstances, having
her go for a visit would show that Starfleet wasn't afraid, that it was
business as usual. And she'd been itching to get out of the office and
into space ever since she'd arrived back here from Forrest Outpost about
a year ago. "I'd like that, Commander. I'll talk to my aide and ask him
to fit it into my schedule."

Kareem was sure he saw a slight change in the Admirals expression at the
mention of Garroway. Perhaps it was just the idea of getting out into
space, and the exciting new frontier's of Earth space that inspired her.

"Understood Admiral. You are always welcome" Kareem assured. "It is a
ten day trip, I am sure I don't need to tell you to watch your back in
case those Naussicaans decide to keep picking on Starfleet ships. If I
may ask sir, do we know where they are getting their technology; is
someone supplying them?"

"I'll be careful, Commander. My security detail will see to that if I
don't." Suzanna said, already making plans on how to get rid of them on
the planet. "As for the Naussicaans, it seems a race called the Romulans
is instigating a lot of the current... unrest. And the Naussicaans don't
need much of an excuse to pick a fight."

"Romulans..." Kareem repeated. He'd not heard of them before but whoever
they were, their technology was evidently superior to Starfleet. He
hoped more would be revealed soon. "Is there anything further, Admiral?"
he asked.

"Not at this point, Commander. My aide will contact you with the
schedule for my arrival. Batenburg out." Suzanna smiled and nodded, then
walked over to the anteroom where here aide was. "Lieutenant, I need to
visit New Darwin, I'm sure the Republic is ready for some final testing,
that will be a good first mission. Get it organised, please."

LtCmdr Kareem Morotai, XO
New Darwin Colony

-- 
RAdm Suzanna Batenburg
Fleet Commander
Starfleet: The First Era
"Everything fits, otherwise we will make it fit."
http://www.firstera.net