Part 9 (Conclusion)

In the room was gathered a random selection of officer that Commodore George Horrocks had selected himself. It appeared to mainly be officers who had commanded battle groups as well as commanders of larger cruisers. Captains Shon, Yim, Thelin, Hawes, and a large number of captains from Group Three. So far as he could see, Reddy was the only Lieutenant Commander lucky enough to be in the room.

They were silent, many were good friends, even classmates, yet all were quiet as if it were a funeral. It turned out it basically was when Horrocks pulled out some old fashion paper and slid a piece to each man.

"Nine ships are gone, four more will be in drydock for maybe the next year, and sixteen ships will need major repairs, along with general damage throughout the rest of the fleet." they all took the lists and read over the names of the lost ships, some tried to conceal tears at the name Renown. "We have estimated somewhere in the area of twenty-five to thirty hundred crew dead, not counting civilian losses aboard Galaxy-class ships, like the one lost over Vega III." there were also two more Galaxy-class ships that had taken critical damage from plasma fire. Horrocks stood and clasped his hands behind his back, he turned and walked over to stare out the briefing room window. "Along with these losses, we've botched a couple of Sovereign-class ships, and lost the brand spanking new Regent-class starship. May I remind you that it is the only one in this quadrant, and that the other is not currently combat ready." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "And I know that there is no one but me to blame."

A Klingon, Reddy had no idea what, or why, he commanded stood. "No! The dishonor is upon the Borg, not the man who fought to protect his home!"

"I was the man who ordered this attack and I'll bloody well suffer the consequences!" Horrocks snapped, the Klingon was taken back by the comment but he made no further protest.

"Negative sir, you are not entirely responsible for the loss of life." A Vulcan, who commanded one of the more recent Noble-class experimental ships, spoke up. "You were assigned to command the Una Fleet, and you did so and ordered, while rather illogical, an assault that has won the day. While you did lose ships and crew, you successfully completed a mission, that if left for a later date, would have proven even more costly."

Horrocks sat down resigned. "They won't understand that, all they see are the losses and the numbers of losses. That's what affects the books, not the heroic stand, not the resolve or the fact that every man volunteered to be in the line. I guess this may have been my one and only flag assignment."

The Vulcan spoke up again. "A logical assumption, yet your concern with your place in the history books is one that seems to reflect arrogance."

"It's not arrogance Mister Chyv. . .well maybe it is, but us Englishmen are very proud of our heritage, and dishonor tends to affect our family lines for generations."

"The words of a warrior, and a philosophy of the Klingon Empire." the Klingon said.

Shon stood and stopped all conversation. "I for one, will not second guess your decision. Commodore, think of if we had delayed, or maybe if we had not attacked at all. Six months from now you may still be in control of some logistical staff right up to the point you are assimilated by the Borg that the Federation neglected to attack. Yes we could have attacked the day they arrived, but we didn't, and even if we had then, there still would have been losses. I have learned much of humans in my career, and I have learned that they always regret something, mainly loss of life. And I will not stand around here while you complain about losses that could have been much worse with a strictly constructed plan. If you would excuse me gentlemen." the Andorian stormed out.

The Commodore looked after him, not blaming the man. "I suppose I have been quite unfair with myself." he contemplated, then realizing that the eyes of the room were on him. "Dismissed."

Most stood and left, leaving only three left in the room beside Horrocks. They all stared at the man as he pressed his fingertips together and thought, he looked at Captain Chyv. "If you wish to boast sir, I suggest you leave before I forcefully remove you from my briefing room."

Chyv stood and walked until he was even with Horrocks. "I too support your decision. Even if it was costly, logic dictates that it would have been worse had we waited much longer." he left.

The Klingon stood and walked to the door and stopped. "Commodore, the people today were fighting for a most honorable cause. If they were Klingons, they would be met with celebration in Sto'vo'kor. I will see that they are properly honored on my command."

"Thank Captain, please you are dismissed."

The Klingon left.

Reddy had been sitting at the farthest end of the table, almost unable to see Commodore Horrocks, yet the Commodore looked down the table, raised his voice, and spoke.

"You invented the whole plan." He said.

Reddy stood and walked to a closer seat. "I only made the basics, you and your staff decided who would be where, and when." the Scotsman's face twitched. "I lost a ship in my group, a Centaur." that all he need say.

"We've both lost things today, good and bad." Horrocks had actually never lost a ship before, today had been the first time he had command of more than one, actually his first time commanding a ship into combat. "They gave me this whole job just so I'd botch it up, and it turns out they were paid in full."

Reddy couldn't respond to that. In fact conversation died right there, almost three thousand people were dead and even though not the most costly victory, it was definitely costly enough to fuel T'Kitos' campaign against Starfleet. Reddy stood and left the room, he had flown a shuttle over, it had been quicker that beaming, and took it back. Potter set them down quickly and they stepped off to hear a most peculiar sound.

Notes from a piano rolled over the ships PA system, ones that seemed oddly familiar from Reddy's times as a close friend of Samantha O'Connell. The notes played over several times until a drum set joined in, casually beating out a small rhythm with the piano. When a deep baritone voice spoke up Reddy realized it was the Engineers—a small acoustic band that enjoyed entertaining the crew in the mess hall every other Saturday night.

He finally recognized the song when the whole band joined into the chorus.

Will the circle,

Be unbroken,

By and by Lord by and by,

There's a better,

Home awaiting,

In the sky,

Lord in the sky. . .

The song went on through several versus, each chorus after the first echoes by hands that must have been watching from inside the room. It finally came to the final chorus, where one tenor female voice, an Andorian impulse engine expert, sang out of harmony until they reached the "Home awaiting." and sang the final notes solo. When she finished there were no applause, and before the PA cut off Reddy could hear them replace their instruments and step off the small stage they had.

No applause, Reddy thought and began clapping from his cozy chair in his quarters.

(Conclusion)

I would again thank all of you who have continued to read this story, and a special thanks to one in particular who has been quite the inspiration with positive feedback. As this story is still in it's young stages and—although I do have some plans for the future—I would welcome any suggestions you may have for the immediate story arc (Which is the Klingon War).

(Strange note: I have unfortunately found myself reading Patrick Reddy's, and several other characters in the voice of TNG cast, most specifically Jean Luc Picard and Data, even now I read this text interchanging between those two voices.)

I believe we may take a break from the Vega Conflict for a short time, it will continue with possibly a One Part special concerning the taking of the Vega Planets, which I considered including in this final part but decided against it. Again, I accept PMs about the story, any you ask I will try my best to answer. I already appear to have a friend who is not afraid of giving feedback.

FYI: Song mentioned in final paragraphs can be found here ( watch?v=KlqC6Y4v8Mk) You may have to jump to around :45 seconds to get to the start, kinda one of those recordings.