Materialising at Starfleet Command, Commodore J. Archer and Captain C. Walker entered the large building, although the usual atmosphere of the large building was calm and forgiving, it appeared as if every set of eyes where upon them as they walked through the building to the large outer office of the Admiral. Quickly ushered inside the large office, Archer and Walker immediately jumped to attention as they saw who was sat in the Admiral's chair. An aging human of almost legendary standing slowly stood as the Admiral helped him too his feet with respect. With their muscles tightened to the point of exploding, they relaxed slightly as he waved off the sign of respect while he walked towards them slowly shuffling his feet.
"Commodore Archer, it has been a long time"
"Yes sir, it is a pleasure as always sir" He said sharply.
"And you must be Captain Charlotte Walker; I have heard lots of things about you…"
"Not all the stories are true sir" She smiled.
Her almost lack of respect for the old man before her caused Archer and Forrest to fire her a dangerous look as she relaxed almost to the point of falling over as the old man walked towards her with a smile.
"You speak your mind, I like that. Tell me something Captain, are you by any chance related to Frederic Walker?"
"He was my Uncle sir" She smiled with fond memory.
"Of course, I thought so. We served together many years ago"
"I know sir, he told me lots of… interesting stories about you" Walker smiled.
"I bet he did. Archer, for the love of god, at ease before you sprain something"
"Yes Mister President!" He said quickly.
"Miss Walker, is it true that you have both uncovered information about our Romulan friends?"
"I wouldn't exactly call them friends sir, but yes. Is it also true that you had a little incident on Calicos Four?"
Laughing with fond memories, the old man shook the hands of both Starfleet officers before him, before he sat on a long black leather sofa placed against the window.
"It was true Charlie, may I call you Charlie?"
"Of course, may I call you Charles, or Chuck?"
The almost lack of respect she had shown for the President of the United Federation of Planets had caused something of a stir for the Admiral and Commodore as Archer walked towards her and grabbed her arm forcibly, spinning her to face him with flames burning in his eyes he spoke with a deep and powerful voice.
"Show some respect Captain"
"Relax Commodore, just relax. I used to be you once. So full of duty and honour I could not see past my own uniform, but my time onboard the Enterprise, my Enterprise had changed me in many ways… as you will also change" He said slowly.
"Of course sir, sorry sir" Archer said with respect.
"I have never liked being called sir. Please, call me Charles or Chuck, which ever you prefer"
With a smile, Charlotte sat facing the old Starship Captain and now President of the Federation, as she spoke with a soft voice, his face almost lit up with a smile.
"You know, we met once… I was about four years old at the time, I never forgot it"
"I remember, the little girl with pig-tails, i was very impressed with yout questions... all of them!" He laughed slightly.
"Thank yo sir. I was actually named after you. Uncle Freddie thought it would be fun"
"He was a fun officer… I'm sorry for what happened too him"
"As am I sir. So, why are we here?" She said abruptly.
"Down to business. The information discovered by Enterprise on our new Romulan buddies has caused quite a stir around here, our… Vulcan friends are looking into it, the Andorians are looking to Vulcan as a possible outpost of the Romulans, the Tellerites are crying foul… The Federation is fracturing"
"All this in two months?" Charlie said with shock.
"You'd be surprise Captain" Forrest replied. "The Vulcan Embassy has closed its doors for fear of retaliation…"
"What?" Archer yelled.
"Some… of our people are looking at the Vulcans as possible spies of the Empire…"
"The President is right, we have already received news of several attacks against Vulcan citizens" Forrest replied.
"Jonathon, Charlie… we need to defuse this situation before the Federation falls into anarchy"
"What can we do?" Charlie said quickly.
"Since the Romulans declared war against us, the general public is beginning to worry. We need something, the reports of your defence of Outpost Four is about to be made public… smile, you're about to become heroes"
"What?" Charlie scoffed.
"Captain, your tactics against the Romulans helped to defend the Outpost, your success rate against the Romulans is…"
"With all due respect Admiral, no! Archer commanded the fleet… I wish to remain… out of it. Sir, Jon… it was your idea. If you want a hero of the Federation, he's sitting right next to me. I do what I do for personal reasons not personal glory" She said quickly.
"Are you sure?"
"Very sure Mister President" Charlie smiled.
"Alright, Congratulations Archer… you're about to become the biggest name in Starfleet history, next to mine of course"
"I'm honoured sir"
"Now, what do we do with you Captain? Ohh I have an idea… Admiral, I believe the Challenger is awaiting her first Captain?"
"Yes sir. It is yours if you want it Captain?"
A large smile beamed across her face as she looked at the Admiral with shock, being offered command of one Starfleet's most advanced cruisers with a huge honour. Quickly thinking over her choices, she spoke aloud, almost clenching her eyes once she had heard what she had said.
"Thank you sir, I'm honoured… but I can't… sorry. The Tempest is fine; she's a great ship with a greater crew. I'll stay where I am!"
"Are you sure?" Forrest said in shock.
"To tell you the truth, I'm shocked I said that… but I'll stay where I am sir. Thanks for the offer; however, I do have someone else in mind for Command… if you agree!"
"As you wish Captain, these offers don't come around too often. Since the attack on Outpost Four, the Romulans have begun a major offensive against the Federation. Three Outposts along the Neutral Zone and several outlining colonies have fallen to the Romulan advance, Starfleet is out numbered almost four too one. As you know the mothball fleet has been reactivated along with any ship capable of Warp Five or more, we're upgrading them with the latest technology we can fit into their space frames. All leave has been cancelled, all reserves have been activated, recruitment has arisen by 40% and construction on new vessels has begun" Forrest said quickly.
"The Federation needs a hero on this Archer, that is you. In one hour, you will attend a press conference and give your accounts of what happened, Charlie… you will sit at his side. During which time you will both attempt to diffuse the anger swelling within the Federation towards our Vulcan friends"
"Yes Sir" Archer said quickly.
"It was once said that I wrote the book on Starship combat… and you Charlie, took that book and threw it away to write your own. After the press conference, you will be taken to Starfleet Academy; there you will teach what ever you can on Starship Combat until your vessel is repaired. Archer, you will oversee the repairs on your Taskforce"
"Of course sir" Archer replied.
"Chuck…" Charlie said quickly. "Why me?"
"You have the most successful combat record of any Starfleet Captain currently serving, event the Marine... Shran lacks behind you in a score list…"
"I would be better served if I was given a ship for temporary command sir. Put me back on the front lines" She begged.
"This matter is not open too debate… Charlie, you've been in space for two years chasing sensor ghosts and the Bortias… without a break. Take the time off and teach the young ones, they could benefit from your knowledge and experiance" The president smiled.
"Is that an order Mister President?"
"Call it a request"
As ordered by the President and the Admiral, after the debriefing, a long press conference was given to the people of the Federation. Although tensions around Earth and the vast inter-stellar Federation had arisen too almost boiling point, they knew that the Federation must remain intact if they are too defeat the Romulan threat. Many of the elder citizens of the Federation had lived and served during the Boarder Wars, this was different and all out attack against the Federation and its holdings.
For two years, Starfleet grew in strength as newer, faster and more powerful vessels where launched. The M.A. had been integrated into Starfleet as an advanced tactical force and ground troops under the command of General Shran, moving the Marine Assault Command Operations headquarters from Earth to an uninhabited planet deep inside Federation space and adopting tactics from Klingon and Romulan military forces they had encountered over the years making them a formidable force against any enemy attack.
As the Romulan War raged on for almost five years, it appeared as if every attack was designed to draw out the Enterprise and force her into a head on conflict with Romulan forces. Earning a legendary status throughout the Federation and its allies, the Enterprise had seen more conflict then almost any vessel as the Flag Ship had become a prize worth taking for the powerful enemy. However, with every deadly attack against the gallant ship, she always came back into the fight stronger then ever as shields and weapons technology had advanced at an incredible rate.
A vast fleet under the Federation control now patrolled space with close too 1'000 ships all heavily armed with the latest technology and the old design of the NX Class ships had almost been abandoned in favour of the twin hull design of the Enterprise Class ships.
