Teaching Tactics
by Starsinger
Jim tries to teach tactics and the way he thinks, Admiral Archer gives him a test. He wants to see this process for himself. Only, it doesn't go as expected. Don't own any of it. Shout out to AlbusSPotter for this prompt.
Fleet Captain James T Kirk stood in front of the class, eyes roaming. "Tactics as a general rule are something one gains from study and experience," he explained. "Once you have that knowledge, you may be able to start to put things together and see how the puzzle fits," he went on to explain several scenarios and how they might be approached.
"What about a new one," a voice called out from the back of the class. Everyone rose to attention as Admiral Archer approached. "We have a ship that went missing, or rogue if you will, last week. I know what happened, Jim, let's see if you can figure it out."
The ship was the USS Tereshkova, a small attack ship that patrolled the border between Federation and Klingon space. Jim looked at the scenario but something else nagged at the back of his mind. He flipped back to another page, ignoring the new scenario entirely. It was a scene similar to one he had seen in pictures five years ago while recovering from Khan's attack. "Why is he just watching bombs going off around him?" he muttered. Archer's eyebrows creased as he realized that Kirk wasn't focusing on the task at hand. He walked over. "This man, he's the same one in both pictures. Both times he's watching as events fold around him, the USS Vengeance crashing into San Francisco, and a more recent attack in the city of Tel Aviv."
"That attack was just written off as one by the terrorist organization the Hezbollah, Jim," Archer told him.
Jim gave him a strange look, "The Hezbollah as a terrorist organization hasn't been around since the Eugenics Wars two hundred years ago. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he isn't even human. If he's just standing there, he knows where the bombs are going and where they're going to hit." He pulled up a map of recent attacks around Earth and found a fairly consistent pattern, as random as they seemed.
"Why are terrorist organizations suddenly popping up when they haven't been active in two hundred years?" He suddenly pinpointed something that no one else had seen, his brain working so fast not even Archer could keep up. "Call New York, put them on red alert, they're the next target!" Archer looked at him, dumbfounded. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. What day would be better to make a statement about aliens than when a devastating blow was delivered to the United States over 250 years ago. Better put Washington DC on alert too." Archer pulled out his communicator and started issuing commands. He pulled out the PADD and forwarded the picture to all personnel to keep an eye out for the man.
The next day dawned clear and beautiful, as it had in 2001. Shuttleports and other air facilities were put on high alert, but quietly, they wanted to catch these people. Starfleet personnel in civilian attire boarded flights in and around the world. Then word started trickling in, terrorists were being quietly apprehended trying to take control of shuttles. None succeeded in their plots, but one shuttle did crash, killing everyone on board.
Archer found Kirk that day standing outside looking at the sky, "You saved thousands of lives today, Jim, and the world will never know it."
Jim smiled, that crooked wry smile he was well known for, "As it should be, John, as it should be."