Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental multi-fandom project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 4 May.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: Star Trek Enterprise and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios, and are used by myself for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

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"Ultimatum"
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

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"I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." - King Edward VIII of England, 11 December, 1936.

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United Earth Starfleet Command,
The Presidio, San Francisco,
California, United States of America
2149

He curled his fingers into a fist and drew it back, anger giving him the strength for what he was about to do...

"No! Don't do it!" a female voice shouted from behind him. It was too late, though, the tribunal had reached its decision and Newton, Leicester and Murphy had all invoked their respective laws, creating a new one in the process; 'When something goes wrong, it will require the square of the force of the cause to divert the situation from continuing to go wrong'. The female's plea just didn't have enough force behind it to alter the momentum of the situation. His fist connected with the door three times quick in a row.

From the other side, a muffled voice called, "Come in!"

Releasing his fist and using that hand to turn the knob, he opened the door and marched into the office, using his other hand to lay the envelope he was holding down on his superior's desk.

"I quit."

Commodore Maxwell Forrest looked up from his paperwork and narrowed his eyes, "Excuse me, Captain?"

"Commander," Jonathan Archer corrected sharply, "I refused the promotion and now you're telling me I have no choice in the matter? Forget it, I don't believe that."

"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement, Jon," Forrest started, only to be interrupted by Archer slamming his hands down on the Commodore's desk.

"My emotions? You're sounding like a damn Vulcan, Max! If taking humanity to the stars means giving up what makes us human, maybe the isolationists are right and this has all been one big, horrible mistake!" Archer retorted, "There were no problems at Lieutenant or Commander, so why does being a Captain make such a big difference when we're not even assigned to the same ship, Max? It doesn't make any real difference and you know it. This is just a power-game and I've already said that I'm refusing to play."

Despite the fact that Archer's rant seemed to be going back and forth from place to place, Forrest still managed to understand what the other officer was saying.

"Really, Max? I'm offered a promotion to Captain and when I turn it down because I'm told that I'd have to end my relationship with Erika because of the rank difference, the Admiralty decides that I don't get to turn it down? That's bullshit, Max, and we both know it. My father died before he could see his engine work because everyone was too-busy kowtowing to the Vulcans and now you're trying to force me to end the most serious relationship in my life? How much more does Earth plan to ask from the Archers? My father, my girlfriend, what will you try to take from me next, Max? My dog?"

"Be serious, Jon..." Forrest tried to start.

"I am serious, Max," Archer countered, "You're the one who's got to be joking if you think anyone's going to put up with this kind of crap when we're looking at putting crews into space for months or years at a time. Just ask anyone from the Cargo Service; Earth to Jupiter Station is one thing, but long-distance relationships don't work in terms of light-years. Relationships in Starfleet have to be between fellow officers and even officers on the same ships if they're going to last, otherwise I'm just the first person you'll see deciding that their own life is more important than rules and regulations on a ship. What are you going to do when veteran officers decide to start leaving Starfleet instead of having to fight feelings that develop between them over years of shared experiences out there? How are you going to find the bodies to crew your NX ships when word starts getting around that a person has to resign themselves to a monk or nun's life to be on one of them?"

Archer straightened up and removed his hands from Forrest's desk, adjusting the brown leather bomber jacket he wore, "It's your choice, Max; you can either change the rules or watch Starfleet self-destruct - and I'm going to be the first rat off the ship..."

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Author's Note: We're all familiar with Newton's Third Law of Motion, 'An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force', and Murphy's Law of 'whatever can go wrong will go wrong'. Leicester's Law, for those curious, has to do with the force multiplication principle. Basically that any force actually has the square of itself in power. One tank is equal to one tank, but because they exert twice the force by attacking and cause that one tank to have to divide its force between them, two tanks are actually equal to four tanks, and so on...