Star Trek Lost Destiny

By Hemaccabe

Book I: Race of Death

Chapter 25: Briefing

(Author's Note: Saavik and Mr. Spock. I know there is a lot of Star Trek ink that indicates that Saavik and Mr. Spock did the deed on the Genesis planet. It even goes so far as to indicate that they had a daughter and were married. I disagree and that is not canon for Lost Destiny.

Let's take a look at the evidence. In ST III, we definitely see Saavik promise to help a young proto-Spock who is suffering from Pon Far. They touch and rub fingers in a sign of connection. That's it. We don't see them later naked under a blanket or any other evidence. Saavik never even takes off her field jacket. Compared to the finger rubbing we see in the Enterprise Incident; it seems pretty tame.

We also have a very canon episode, Amok Time, where we get some insight as to what might be happening there. Clearly, Vulcan youth are betrothed young. However, that episode depicts what seems to be Spock's first visit home to consummate the marriage. Spock is no spring chicken at that point. He's probably in at least his thirties or forties. The betrothal seemed to involve connecting the two in some sort of permanent psychic telepathic bond, but that's it. No physical hanky panky.

At most we might imagine that Saavik agreed to a psychic bond with the porch light's on but no one's home version of Spock on the Genesis planet. Even that isn't certain, all she's promising to do is help.

I would also point out that there is a deleted scene in ST II which shows Admiral Kirk introducing an already flirtatious Saavik and David Marcus.

For Lost Destiny, it should be clear there was no hanky panky. Their relationship is of Father and Daughter.)

Mr. Galoorb had ponied up a pile of passes to various premium events on all days. I hadn't promised anything that compromised our mission or dignity. There was even an activity we had come up with together that was something I thought the crew might like.

I decided to hold another briefing. I was having a very difficult time striking the balance between readiness and shore leave. Give up too much shore leave, and we wouldn't be ready if the time came. Give up too little and the crew might never forgive me. I hoped another briefing would help them see things the way I did.

Senior officers assembled as normal in the Deck B conference room. Crew and remaining officers gathered in mess/rec rooms throughout the ship. I invited Peter to speak first.

Peter once again brought up an image of the Coridan system on the screen.

"Currently, the plans for the race are that it will be held at a brand-new track, tentatively named the 'Coridan National Grand Prix Raceway,' but already nicknamed 'The Smuggler's Run.'

"The race course has been established in the asteroid belt near the dilithium mines. This allows Coridan to use the already existing fuel depot and other ship support service infrastructure already available there rather than have to rebuild them near their home planetary orbit. The track already represents a substantial investment of Credits and capital. On top of what likely had to be spent lobbying for the race."

The location was actually to our advantage. We could cover both sites better that way. If the race was at the planet, we would only be able to cover one or the other. An opportunistic attacker could destroy whichever we left open. We would be faced with sacrificing dilithium crystal production critical to the Federation's military readiness and economy or sacrificing a race, and thousands of attendees, which would destroy Star Fleet's and my good name.

"The ship support infrastructure is required by the Formula One Group because the race is composed of ships which will need that infrastructure to be convenient. In addition to the ships directly related to the Formula One Group, there will be a number of liners, cruise ships and vessels simply dedicated to the race that will be making excursions for their passengers. There is also likely to be a class of private vessels, generally owned by well off, but not necessarily hyper rich folks that are either STL coming from here in this system or with slow warp drives coming from nearby systems. My folks took us by our family STL boat to a race at Laguna Seca when I was a child causing what many consider a lifelong affliction of being fascinated by fast spaceships.

"There will also be a class of super yachts which will generally have very expensive, faster warp drives which will come in all shapes and sizes including some ridiculously large super yachts which will also attend.

"While placing the race near existing infrastructure saves Coridan on construction costs, it means the festivities are out of transporter range of their homeworld. This compromises the goals Coridan has in this endeavor to promote their world and encourage tourism directly to the planet.

"This trade off makes sense because this Grand Prix may not be held over.

"There are some Grand Prix locations like Luna Seca Raceway at Earth's L4 and Monza above Tellar Prime that are classics and not likely to be scheduled away any time soon.

"There are also generally one or two new locations created each year. Most of those locations, like Coridan, will not get to host more than one race ever. Still, it's not a terrible investment as a good race track can be used by many different circuits and still provide value to the developer. However, minimizing the risk by minimizing cost is not a bad idea. Should F1 decide they want to come back to Coridan, which happens sometimes as a particular track and venue prove to be unusually worthy, Coridan could always move the track closer to their homeworld at a price substantially lower than the cost of a complete redevelopment.

"Also, during this race, Coridan will be operating convenient ferries that will allow someone at the race venue to proceed insystem and spend some time planetside, so Coridan will still realize some of those goals as well.

At this point I stood up and took over the briefing.

"Unfortunately, I must forbid taking such a ferry. Even if your shore leave time is long enough to cover a ferry trip, visit and return, you would still not be available for emergency recall if an incident occurred.

"We have been dispatched to this event to provide security for very real reasons. Twenty-six point seven five six years ago, a Romulan Star Empire capital ship, likely one of the most capable in their fleet, violated our treaty, crossed the neutral zone, destroyed four outposts and almost destroyed the Enterprise. Eventually that ship was stopped by the Enterprise and opted to destroy itself rather than surrender.

"While this attack constituted a major provocation. War was avoided.

"Star Fleet's best intelligence feels that these incursions represent a regular behavior for the Romulan Star Empire to so challenge their neighbors to determine if it is time for war. Twenty-five years would be an excellent interval for such a challenge, based on what we know about the Romulans, we are now overdue.

"If the Romulans are no longer using the challenge model, it is because they have become far more knowledgeable about the Federation in the last twenty-five years. As such, they will know that this race is an excellent opportunity to launch an attack that will cause the maximum amount of damage and confusion."

Of course, after their incursion, the Federation could have responded with full scale war. If the Federation had prevailed, we could have taught the Romulans a very clear lesson that this sort of behavior had serious risks and costs. If we liberated substantial territory of those who, even now, continued to suffer under Romulan oppression, we might have denied the Romulans the economic wherewithal to continue to be a threat. Of course, war is a tricky thing. We could also have lost. Enterprise's defeat of a single Romulan ship was no guarantee of a general war victory. Even under the best of circumstances, thousands, perhaps millions of lives would have been lost.

The Federation even without a war with the Romulans, all but for the Organians, would have been at war with the Klingons within a year. Without Organian intervention, depleted by war with the Romulans and with resources still committed to that border, the Federation would have done very poorly against the Klingons.

I continued my presentation. "While the Federation is larger than the Romulan Star Empire or the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire and Klingon Empire are larger than any of the four founding members of the Federation. While having an open, free society means that the Federation has a larger economy per capita and is more scientifically and technically innovative on a per capita basis, while also being larger, that is no guarantee of victory.

"Either the Romulan Star Empire or the Klingon Empire likely have far greater political cohesion and internal cooperation than the Federation. Their fleets have no false compunctions about trying to hide their military nature from themselves and have been built for war. These would be major advantages in a conflict."

One of the problems that perennially afflicted Star Fleet was a creeping pacifism where leadership, training and philosophy kept forgetting, more and more, that we needed to be a capable military organization that would defend the Federation in case of attack. Star Fleet expected her ships and crews to be diplomats, explorers and scientists. Even with the best of intentions, military drilling could suffer under such a regime. Unfortunately, sometimes intentions were not the best.

I had heard them once referred to in a guest lecture at the Academy by, now Star Fleet Chief of Staff Alexander, as the "Peace at any price, even if it means slitting our own throats party," were a Federation constituency that relentlessly protested any investment in weapons, military preparedness and even Star Fleet. Unfortunately, the core of this group seemed to be based on Vulcan in what I considered a clear perversion of the teachings of Surak.

While the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingon Empire had no such misconceptions and trained their crews relentlessly for battle.

One of the problems Star Fleet had at the beginning of the Four Years War was that we had swung too far to pander to this group. Many ships were lightly armed if armed at all. Development of arms had been neglected. Worse, many crews had NEVER drilled for combat. Even if their equipment was equal or better, untrained crews facing hard bitten, trained from birth, Klingon warriors was a prescription for disaster.

Since the Four Years War, Star Fleet still saw itself as diplomats, explorers and scientists. However, training standards now also clearly included military preparedness. Still, in the competing directives a Captain faced and the perpetual lack of time, I knew combat preparedness sometimes suffered.

While Captain Bacon on Dreadnought ran regular combat drills and I had made forging my crew into an effective fighting force a key component of our initial and ongoing training, Grissom hadn't had a combat drill the entire time I was aboard.

I continued my briefing, "This problem is compounded by the fact that Star Fleet knows, with great certainty, that the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingon Empire are cooperating in military technology. Klingon ships, including their top of the line D-7 Battlecruiser have been seen in Romulan hands. Presumably this has improved previous Romulan weaknesses in weapons and warp drive. Romulan cloaking devices have been seen in Klingon hands, greatly improving and diversifying the Klingon threat. If anything, this alliance has grown closer as the Romulans and Klingons have cooperated on the design and deployment of a new Warbird class of ships. Recently, what may have been an improved version of a weapon first seen deployed by the Klingons, was used against a Star Fleet vessel by the Gorns.

"This sharing of weapon systems and platforms means there is no combination of horrors we could not have to face. A classic Romulan Bird of Prey with disruptors and high-performance warp drive. A D-7 with cloaking device and super plasma torpedo launcher. Or both. Or more.

"Star Fleet has never faced a broader and more dangerous set of adversaries.

"In addition, there is an endless list of very capable bad actors that would like nothing better than to provoke a conflict between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. As Peter explained, there will be many individual ships present which will give excellent cover for any such group.

"Lastly, there is a symbolic dimension. Coridan is where the modern Federation was born. An attack on Coridan is an attack on the very idea of the Federation making it all the more tempting now when the eyes of the galaxy or upon it.

"Still, we will be trying to provide the maximum amount of shore leave to the maximum amount of crew. I am pleased to announce that after I explained to them just how hard you work, the nice folks at Formula One Group have provided me with a stack of free passes to many of the events occurring during the race weekend which I will certainly pass on to you."

That resulted in cheering.

"In return, I need for all of you to refrain from consumption of alcohol or other activities that will result in your not being prepared, at a moment's notice, to be recalled for all hands on deck. We are trusting you. In addition, senior officers and Formula One Group security will also be keeping an eye on you. If I find too many infractions, all shore leave will simply be cancelled. Names will be named. Punishments will be dealt. I hope none of that is necessary.

"Enjoy your shore leave."

I didn't like ending my briefing that way, but I felt it was necessary. I did genuinely hope it was wrong and it would not be necessary.

At the end of the briefing, as we started heading down the hallway, Peter took me aside and said, "Did you know Ruark is piloting for Williams?"

That was very interesting.

Ruark was a member of the extended Enterprise family and one of our mutual "cousins." Ruark was, as far as I knew, Uhura's only child. When I had last seen him, Ruark had been a handsome man with dark maple colored skin, tall and lanky. He stood just over two meters. He had seemed thin, but that had concealed strong corded, very attractive, muscles.

(Authors Note: Apparently, the name "Uhura" had come from the fact that Nichelle Nichols was reading Robert Ruark's book "Uhuru" on the day she came to audition for the role on Star Trek. It seemed like nice symmetry for her child to be named Ruark.)

I knew Ruark and Peter had been very close. They both loved spaceship racing. Peter was more the engineer ship builder than racer. Ruark was more the racer than engineer ship builder. I, and others, felt they could have made a formidable team. Unfortunately, I knew they had mostly competed. Still, as long as they had a good time. Peter had joined Star Fleet. I had lost track of Ruark. Apparently, he had gone into racing. To have gotten a seat in F1 meant he must be doing pretty well.

"Isn't Williams the lowest rated team?" I asked.

"Yes, but for a pilot to get a seat on any team is a major accomplishment. Especially Ruark."

"Why 'especially Ruark?'" I asked wondering if there was some lingering resentment I hadn't previously detected.

"Ruark is so tall. It's a disadvantage for a ship to have to be built larger for larger pilots. Ruark is light, he's lanky, but he's tall. F1 teams don't like their pilots to be much more than one point six meters and Ruark is over two. To get a spot on a team, he has to have overcome that. It's a remarkable accomplishment."

"Does that mean he can't be successful in this type of racing?" I asked concerned.

"No, if he's good enough. Other teams will overlook his height as well. But getting the shot at all, even on Williams, must have been next to impossible. Now he has a second impossible task of doing well enough on Williams to be picked up by a better team. Of course, Ruark never seemed to lack self-confidence." Peter explained.

That was true. Ruark always seemed like he feared nothing. When we were younger, for someone like me who seemed to have insurmountable problems before her and feared everything, his confidence was very attractive.

When I was younger, I wasn't sure if I should go to the Vulcan Science Academy, where I feared, despite my family and academic accomplishments, I would be declined. Or if I should go to Star Fleet Academy, where, despite my family and academic accomplishments, I also feared I might be declined. Or if I should protect myself by going somewhere else. Or if I should just stay home and hide under the bed.

Ruark, who had been visiting with us on Vulcan at the time, was the one who stayed up with me all night sitting on a rock at the top of a mountain overlooking the ShiKahr plain. Eventually, we had seen the dawn together. He had said to me, each time I protested why I shouldn't apply, over the course of that night, roughly one thousand, nine hundred and seventy-four times, "Girl, either of those places would be lucky to have a hottie like you. Go to Star Fleet Academy. My Mom went there. She's awesome."

I had applied for, been accepted and went to Star Fleet Academy.

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