Balance of Power

by KatlineStorm

On a world where loyalty is bought, resistance leaders are fractured between extremism and isolationism, and a collaborator-turned-tyrant rules supreme, The Patrol Fleet, a new force for peace and security, is born. A pacifist, a war veteran, and a cold, calculating human must ensure its survival- and that of the newly formed United Federation of Planets.

3. The Committee

"No, Admiral, no," Monika repeated again in exasperation, "I'm not saying that we restrict ourselves to the point, as you put it, that we'd be flying around scolding folks in great bathtubs of the stars.'"

"Then what are you saying, Captain Paige," Admiral William Jennings replied, the casualness of his tone and posture betrayed by the tension in his neck, "Because to me it sounds like you want all the ships that come out of your facility to repeat the massacre at Vorkado."

Monika pursed her lips and bit back her initial rebuke, straightening the newly fastened rank pips on her collar instead. Of course Jennings would bring up Vorkado, he and his ship had just barely survived the battle there against the Romulans during the War, and he had been well-known since then to be a hardliner for Starfleet as a military organization first, and an exploration fleet second. Over the past hour, he had lived up to that reputation by constantly insulting Monika, the Patrol Fleet itself, Admiral Qaletaqa, and insisting that the Patrol Fleet was a waste of time and a folly of resources. This, of course, from the same man who had argued that his ship, the Republic¸ needed to still be in service despite being well past its heyday.

"Will," Archer spoke up, "Nobody wants to repeat Vorkado, and I'd appreciate if you stopped bringing it up."

It was a gentle scold, but there was real pain and heartache behind Archer's otherwise simple request. A close friend of his had died in that battle, and Archer was nothing if not sentimental for old friends- living or dead.

"I'm not trying to dredge up bad memories, John," Jennings said, "But I am concerned that it seems like there's only a few of us here who have learned the lessons of the war against the Romulans. We can't go into that galaxy with the naïve optimism that the best experts, the right psychiatric professionals, or whatever other nonsense Qaletaqa and Paige have dreamed up are going to save us. The galaxy is a nasty place, and the areas that you proposed giving them to patrol are some of the most dangerous."

The assembled admirals murmured and nodded amongst themselves, casting furtive glances at each other over the viewscreens. It wasn't quite the Starfleet Joint Chiefs of Staff, but it was close, and certainly just as intimidating and unwilling to agree.

The special meeting that had brought them all, including Monika, together via subspace was to formalize the creation of the United Patrol Fleet. Admiral Taylor had created it, designed the basic form of it, and the creation had been signed off on by Admiral Archer, Admiral Shran, and Minister T'Pau, but that didn't mean that everything was greenlit, or that the project could even officially move forward into reality- after all, nothing good came without some bureaucratic finagling.

And the Federation Council and Starfleet had put together a commission for the meeting that was, certainly, an expert in bureaucracy.

At the center of the varied sets of screens, projecting real-time images of the assembly via subspace, sat Admiral Archer. Although he wasn't necessarily in favour of Monika, specifically, he was a proponent for the Patrol Fleet, and, because of his service record, his vote held no little amount of sway.

To his immediate left was Admiral William Jennings, commanding officer of the Republic, veteran of the Earth-Romulan War, and currently assigned to chart and stabilize the still-largely unexplored Delphic Expanse region. The bald-headed, mustachioed man was a military hardliner who had no real love for new species and civilizations that could pose even the slightest threat to the Federation, and his record up to that point reflected that when it came to his iron-fisted approach to pirates like the Naussicans, still-at-large Terra Prime members, and Klingons who strayed too close to Federation territory. As far as Monika knew, he was the most against the idea of a secondary fleet, and he was definitely no big fan of her.

On Archer's right, however, was someone with a much more moderated approach. Minister T'Pau, of the Vulcan Confederacy. Her steel gaze was impeccably steady, and her expression revealed nothing but the infinite patience of a Vulcan. T'Pau, Monika knew, supported the project. That was little comfort, of course, given that T'Pau had a reputation for being somewhat unpredictable and radical in her decisions. Her contributions to the discussion so far had been minimal, but the power she held was immutable, and her brief greeting to Monika at the start had revealed much just by how little she said. Monika had her support, but that decision could be easily reversed if she didn't play her cards right.

To T'Pau's left, Admiral Alexis Osman sat taking notes. She wasn't outright ignoring the discussion, but she had spent much more of it writing and attending to affairs off-screen than she had participating. Despite that appearance, Osman was likely giving the meeting her full attention. As the head of Starfleet's research, funding, resource, logistics, and administration division, Osman was perhaps the most powerful member of the meeting. Even if Monika received a majority, or even performed a miraculous clean sweep, the Alpha Centaurian's singular vote could eviscerate the entire project into oblivion. From what Monika had been able to suss out from her contacts at the Academy, and some lower-level clerks that a friend of a friend of a friend knew, Admiral Osman wasn't in favour of the logistical nightmare a second fleet would create, and she was still dealing with the fallout of the destruction of the Utopia Planitia shipyards during the war. Winning her over wouldn't be an easy task, and added yet another thing to balance in an already precarious debate.

Finally, to Admiral Jenning's right, and directly opposite Osman, was perhaps the second-most powerful member of the commission: Admiral Samuel Gardner.

When Archer was chosen over him to fly the-then experimental Enterprise ten years ago, Gardner had bided his time, worked his way up to Admiral, and then, in the wake of a terrorist bombing, was promoted to Chief of Staff of Starfleet. While others, like Archer and Jennings, may have taken the more grievous risks, Gardner had shepherded Starfleet through the Earth-Romulan War and had played a vital role in keeping the Coalition of Planets together long enough for it to evolve into the Federation. To say his legacy was impeccable was an understatement, and his presence on the commission was one he had taken voluntarily. He represented the United Earth in the primary Joint Chiefs of Staff, and, today, represented them again. If the Patrol Fleet was going to use Earth technologies, use Earth officers, and operate in-tandem with Starfleet, which was predominantly staffed with humans from Earth, then Admiral Gardner was going to have a say in things.

So far, Monika couldn't gauge where he stood on the issue, but it was a fair assumption to believe he was against the second fleet. The Starfleet of the 2160's was, in a way, his creation, and a product of his influence. Taking vital resources away from it wouldn't exactly be high on his priority list, especially not since they were still licking their wounds from the war.

"The areas designated for the Patrol Fleet can hardly constitute as dangerous," T'Pau said softly, "They would best be described as untamed."

Jennings snorted, "Oh yes, untamed, a synonym for wild, which is a poor euphemism for dangerous," He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at the Vulcan, "But don't worry, Minister, I understand how difficult 'danger' is to comprehend for the Vulcan people. Thankfully for the galaxy, however, humans stand when presented with danger."

If the verbal jab affected T'Pau, she didn't show it. Monika, however, felt flushed with second-hand embarrassment. Although it was common knowledge that the Vulcan Confederacy had withdrawn nearly all of their support within the first year of the War, it was still considered taboo to bring it up.

"The human capacity for violence is understood quite well, Admiral," T'Pau replied, "Which is why if this secondary fleet shows even the slightest predilection for it, I, and subsequently the Confederacy, will withdraw our support for it."

Monika quickly spoke up, "Which is why I have advocated for the Patrol Fleet to be staffed primarily with medical and psychiatric personnel, ideally from the outlying colony worlds. They would be the best prepared to deal with whatever we find out there, and they would have the necessary experience and background to provide aid."

"Hold on," Osman paused her notetaking, "We're staffing from the colony worlds? I was under the impression we would be using Starfleet personnel. Do you people have any idea just how expensive it will be to ferry them back to staging areas like Andoria?"

"Calm down, Alexis," Gardner motioned with a hand, "That's for if the Patrol Fleet survives the initial trials," He said with a glance cast down to Monika, "Right now, all Patrol Fleet cruisers will be operated by experienced and vetted Starfleet officers."

"I'll let the Concordium know, but may I suggest we extend an olive branch to the merchant and cargo services?" Osman followed up, returning her attention to her notepad, "It'll place less of a drain on Starfleet's ranks, and it'll be less of a nightmare trying to get those requisition and reassignment papers approved."

"Oh joy," Jennings sardonically chimed in, "Not only would we be thinning Starfleet ranks, but we're going to take in boomers, rocket jockeys, and cargo haulers. What a brilliant task force we're developing."

"Will," Archer gave him a sharp look, "The Enterprise had no shortage of personnel recruited from the merchant marines, both before and after the War. They're some of the finest people I've ever met or served with."

"John, they're good people, the stuff that makes Earth's economy tick, but they're hardly qualified to run a starship. Last time I was aboard one of those pre-warp monstrosities, I felt like I was back on the training grounds flying those metal deathtraps they called airplanes."

"Hardly qualified?" Archer asked incredulously, sitting forward and folding his hands on his desk, "Travis Mayweather was a boomer, and he was the best damn helmsman I ever had, and I know that he's one of the main reasons the Republic even survived the War."

"Mayweather is an exception," Jennings said as if he was correcting a schoolboy, "I wouldn't give control of an entire fleet to people like him though."

Although Archer had been calm and collected up to this point, Jennings' comment clearly incensed him, and he was halfway out of his chair when Gardner reigned him back in.

"Jennings, Archer," He snapped, "Just calm down. This commission wasn't created so you two could trade blows with each other. We're here to debate whether or not Admiral Taylor and Captain Paige's secondary fleet is worthwhile."

Archer and Jennings had immediately snapped to attention in their seats at the scolding, and, after Gardner had finished, they both readjusted themselves and calmed down again. Although, admittedly, Monika still thought Jennings looked like a cartoon bull, as he huffed and tried to drain the red from his cheeks.

"Now, look," Gardner said diplomatically, even as he stared down both admirals, "Nobody is saying we're even going to thin Starfleet ranks. The Patrol Fleet is a good way to let some of the pressure off of our primary task forces, and give a guiding light for what Starfleet needs to be."

Monika's spirit soared at that, perhaps Gardner was on her side after all.

"Besides, it doesn't have to be forever. Once Starfleet remembers what it's supposed to be, we can reintegrate the Patrol Fleet back in."

Or, maybe not. From that comment alone, it sounded like Gardner had his own ideas about what the Patrol Fleet was- and those ideas sounded like they differed greatly from what Qaletaqa and Monika had come up with.

"Admiral," Monika said, "What do you mean by reintegration? The Patrol Fleet is supposed to be a wholly separate entity, and when exactly would that reintegration take place?"

"Starfleet has lost its way. We had to adapt for the War, but that's opened a can of worms we can't rightly re-seal, and I'm afraid that if things keep going the way they are, we're going to lose sight of why Starfleet was even created in the first place."

"Of course, we had to adapt for the War," Jennings said, "The Romulans were the final reminder of mercy to us of what the galaxy at large is like. The Klingons gave us but the merest of examples, and the Xindi attack on Earth should have been the moment we stopped deluding ourselves," He continued, "Starfleet needs to be prepared. The War gave us the best chance to adapt for just how dangerous this galaxy is, and if we lose sight of the lessons we learned then the Earth and the Federation are just going to fall to the wayside when the next big interstellar power rises up to stop us."

"Starfleet is not a military," Archer firmly corrected, "We're a people of peace and exploration."

"Walk softly, carry a big stick," Jennings shot back.

"The Federation is the big stick, Will," Archer countered, "We have the first interstellar union that is dedicated to mutual defense and prosperity, no questions asked."

"Enough!" Gardner said, raising his tone sharply for the first time in the whole meeting.

He glared at both officers until he was satisfied they were silent, "This is exactly what I'm talking about. Starfleet was founded as a means for exploration and science, and yet I have two of my flag officers arguing about just how militaristic it should be. This is exactly why we need the Patrol Fleet, so Starfleet can see where it went wrong and course correct."

"Sir," Monika said, "With all due respect, the Patrol Fleet is not designed to be some moral cleanser for Starfleet. And you never answered my second question, when is this 're-unification' going to take place in your nebulously defined amount of time? Two months? A year? Three decades? What's the point of even creating a new fleet if you're just going to remerge it with the old one?"

It was a gamble to phrase her argument like that, of course, given just how easily her words could be turned against her, but it was a gamble Monika was willing to take. With any luck, it would force Gardner to confront the flawed logic in his own argument.

"Captain Paige is correct," T'Pau intoned, "I was led to believe that the United Patrol Fleet would be a separate fleet, Admiral Gardner. If you intend to simply do away with it when you feel it has outlived its purpose," She let her words hang in the air, unfinished, but their meaning clear.

"Alright, alright," Gardner said, holding his hand up in mock surrender, "Perhaps we don't need to merge the two together, but we are going to be pulling from Starfleet ranks to man this first generation of ships, and we're going to be pulling out some damn good ones too. I'd appreciate it if their time wasn't wasted on a singular fleet alone."

"I will see to it that they can choose to rejoin Starfleet proper at the end of their first tour of duty," Monika quickly supplied.

"Thank you, Captain," Gardner nodded to her.

"You're just going to let her cherry-pick officers, Gardner?" Jennings asked, careful to keep his tone in check after being rebuked twice, "Starfleet is hard-pressed for personnel as it is. If you're going to just give officers to her, why not let us go in there as a special task force and mop up the area?" He turned to cast a sideways glance at T'Pau, "Would that make it tame enough for you, Minister?

"Jennings, you of all people should know that Starfleet is in no position to establish yet another special task force," Gardner quickly replied, "We've got two squadrons of ships stabilizing Cheron and Algeron, and we're still deeply engaged in the Delphic Region mission that the Council authorized last year when we thought the Xindi were re-arming again. Those Naussicaans have got us bogged down but good."

"When one goes in expecting war," T'Pau sermonized, "They should not be surprised by the outcome."

Jennings rolled his eyes and looked away, constraining most of his reaction.

"Which does lead to another pertinent question," T'Pau turned her entire body to face Monika, "Captain Paige, how do you intend to prevent the Patrol Fleet from becoming yet another Starfleet?"

"As I'm sure we are all aware," Monika said, standing up from behind her desk, "A common thread linking Earth, Vulcan, and Andoria's pasts is a trend in our police and security forces to become bastions of corruption and tyranny. Admiral Taylor and I have worked extensively to ensure that the Patrol Fleet does not follow those same patterns. Each officer is vetted through an extremely intensive psychological and sociological process, and secondly, as I mentioned previously, the primary staffing of the Fleet will be done by experienced Starfleet officers and by psychological, psychiatric, and community service professionals."

"I am aware of that, Captain," T'Pau cut in, "In this instance I am strictly referring to the starships your fleet will utilize. Part of the issue that Admiral Gardner finds himself afflicted by," She cast a sharp eyebrow raise in his direction before returning her attention to Monika, "Is that ever since Starfleet equipped itself with weaponry advanced enough to defeat the Romulans and the Klingons, they have done little to scale back on the use of those weapons. It is a dangerous and lustful path they now pursue because of it."

"Our 'advanced weaponry', Minister," Jennings butted in, "Is strong enough to make even the Klingons think twice, and as we've clearly seen with the Romulans, there are probably even stronger aliens out there. Staying prepared, no matter the risk, is what's going to keep this Federation alive."

"And if someone, such as the Romulans, hijacks our ships again?" T'Pau fired back, her voice wavering just beyond the line of calm neutrality, "If they hijack an Earth cruiser and manage to reach any of the homeworlds, that advanced weaponry will cause untold death and destruction. I am certain that even you do not want their deaths on your hands."

"Nobody would ever get their hands on an Earth ship, Minister," Jennings chided, "Besides, if that's too dangerous for you, Vulcan, then God forbid you ever hear about the real destructive power that is warp speed."

"A highly regulated tool that has safeguards in place to prevent an act of terrorism such as you describe from ever happening, Admiral," T'Pau said, regaining her composure, "And if that is the only threat you can provide me with in defense of your militarization, I am truly sad for you and the limits of your imagination."

Jennings' mouth opened to respond automatically, before T'Pau's words sunk in and he was left agape, fumbling for a response. Archer spoke up before Jennings could come up with one.

"Captain Paige, you were saying something about the Patrol Fleet's defensive abilities?"

Monika hid her smile behind a tight-lipped grimace as Jennings still sat there, mouth open, staring at T'Pau, who had turned her full attention back to Monika.

"Yes, sir," Monika said to him, then, addressing everyone, she said, "From the moment I was asked to join this project, I intended to severely draw back most of the offensive capabilities that Starfleet developed during the War, and focus instead on the defensive technologies available to us. My best engineers have come up with a starship that they believe can not only withstand some of the toughest assaults, but could also be produced at almost any shipyard in the quadrant."

Osman immediately popped her head up.

"They're not pretty, or aesthetically pleasing, I'll admit, but they work, and they're tough. We took to heart the lessons Admiral Archer brought back from Enterprise's time in the Expanse," Monika inclined her head slightly to Archer, and then to Jennings, "And the harder lessons we had to learn from the War. These ships can take a pounding and then some."

"Perhaps you'd like to share those designs with Starfleet, Captain?" Gardner asked.

"We've already started implementing them to some of the preexisting ships that my shipyard was constructing. When they're ready, we'd be happy to provide Starfleet and the Alpha Centauri Concordium with the specifications."

"I would most certainly appreciate it, Captain," Osman said, "Until Utopia is back online at full capacity, having a design we could adapt to existing ships could help streamline the logistical issues we've been having."

"I'm impressed that you got to work on this issue so quickly, Captain," Gardner said, casting a suspicious glance towards Archer, "I was expecting to only start putting this into motion if this commission approved the idea."

"Well, we like our captains in Starfleet to be well prepared, right, Sam?" Archer said with a 'you got me' smile.

"Indeed," Gardner replied as he reclined in his chair.

The room fell silent for a moment as the occupants contemplated the discussion and each other. Admiral Jennings cast glances from left to right, trying to read the minds of his fellow commission members, no doubt. T'Pau was a bastion of serenity, whilst Archer rested his head against clasped hands, likely considering every aspect of the debate. Osman had gone back to her notes, and Gardner just stared into the space beyond Archer's shoulder.

Monika, for her part, had sat back down behind her desk, anxiously awaiting the next personal jab, the next topic that would spur on another half-hour long debate. The white pristineness of her office, and the dark blues and blacks of space outside of her windows, itched at her senses. Between that and the intenseness of the debate, it was close to overstimulation, and she averted her eyes to a corner of the room.

Qaletaqa and Monika had spent the last two and a half weeks etching out and fixing the United Federation Patrol Fleet charter- the same one that Qaletaqa and Archer had put before her in a moment that seemed to be at the end of another lifetime. There had been plenty to correct, change around, add on, and rewrite from scratch. Even though the Federation Council had approved the initial idea months previously, they had organized this commission for a reason, and Qaletaqa wanted to make sure that her pet project was so perfect that even scrutiny from people like Jennings couldn't sink it.

Monika just hoped it wouldn't all end up being for not. Her arguments were only ever going to have a small influence on the people that surrounded her- but the debates and comments they made to and about each other would decide everything, she could only trust that her and Qaletaqa's work would be enough.

"I still don't like it," Jennings said, unsurprisingly being the first to speak again, "The Federation is in a time of crisis, and sending people like Paige out to the borders to stabilize them is going to jeopardize everything we've sacrificed to get to this moment."

"With all due respect, Admiral Jennings," Monika said, "In a time of crisis, the someone who meets the needs of the situation is a someone worth their salt. I'm ready and willing to meet those needs, whatever they are."

"Yes," He grumbled, "I'm sure you are."

"I am not certain that you are, Captain," T'Pau said, her steel eyes locked on Monika's own, "While I still believe that the areas assigned to the Patrol Fleet are, at worst, untamed, they are still areas recently ceded to us by the Romulan Empire during their retreat. What you find out there may be beyond your capabilities."

"That's fine by me, Minister," Monika replied proudly, "Because while individualism is important, and we've no shortage of heroes in Starfleet who have exemplified that trait, too many people forget that the Federation, and, today, the Patrol Fleet, isn't about individualism- it's about the common good, and how to get a square, fair, deal for everyone."

"Indeed," T'Pau said, somewhat taken aback, both eyebrows raised.

"I have my own reservations," Archer said, pursing his lips, "And not too few of them about you, Captain Paige. The War was hard on all of us," He cast a sympathetic glance to Jennings, as if looking for a man that was no longer there, before turning back to her, "But I'm aware of just how difficult it was for you, and I'm aware that time does not heal all, if any, wounds. I want to trust you with this project, I want to believe you're the only captain worth her salt in a situation like this," He said, parroting her words back at her, "You say you're ready to meet the needs of reality, but the real world has a habit of forcing you into situations you could never prepare for. I'm concerned that what you find out there may push you too far, and that the rest of us, myself included, will be too far away to help."

Monika pondered her words for a moment, before rising to meet Archer's own.

"As one of the great reformers of Earth once said, it is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena."

"Who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming," Archer finished the quote for her with a thin, but genuinely warm, smile, "Theodore Roosevelt, nineteen-ten. Why am I not surprised, Captain Paige?"

"I've done my homework on reformation, Admiral Archer, I'm not going into this with half-baked ideals. The Patrol Fleet, and its success, is worth my entire career and then some. I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to see that it does."

"Well, Captain, that's what has me worried," Archer's smile quickly faded, replaced by his soberingly serious visage again, "You are so dedicated to the Patrol Fleet, to the success of this project, that I'm afraid that you really will do anything and everything to make sure it succeeds."

"I concur," T'Pau followed, "There is absolutely no room for error, Captain Paige. If you err, even slightly, if your desire for success and for peace blinds you to the cost that those two often require," T'Pau paused, her gaze deviating from Monika's for the slightest of moments, "Pacifism is a dangerous road for a human in untamed lands to tread, Captain. Do so lightly."

"I will, Minister. I promise," Monika replied, knowing full well that, being the only other pacifist in the meeting, T'Pau was the one person she was the closest to, "I will not fail you."

T'Pau inclined her head in a modest display of understanding, "Do not make me regret my decision, Captain Paige, because, for the record, I do have faith in you, but a promise in times such as these is a very difficult thing to keep," She nodded to Archer, then to Gardner, "The United Federation Patrol Fleet has my approval to move forward."

Osman chimed in at that moment, jerking her head up quickly enough that she almost seemed startled, "Have your engineers forward me those design specifications, Captain. I vote yes, if only because you may be saving me from a logistical nightmare."

With that, she said a cheerful goodbye to Admiral Gardner, and closed her connection.

"I can't believe this," Jennings snapped, standing up, "You can go out there if you want Paige, but don't expect any help from Starfleet when things start getting rough. You want to go out there, unprepared for hell? Fine, so be it, but you're not going with my approval. I reject Admiral Taylor's Patrol Fleet project, wholly and unequivocally."

With that, Jennings shook his head and left the room, his screen disconnecting, replaced by a black background with the gold and white pennant of the United Federation of Planets emblazoned on the center of the screen.

Admiral Gardner sighed, running a hand across his snow white buzzcut. Archer looked down at Monika as the silence stretched on for another terse moment.

"I'll be honest with you Captain, when Qaletaqa approached me about who she had in mind to lead this project, I wasn't thrilled. Frankly, from speaking to you and seeing how you've conducted yourself, I'm still not entirely satisfied," He paused and let out a long exhale before continuing, "You know your history, sure. You're no square when it comes to precedents, of course. But you're as much of a victim of the Romulan War as any of those who died on Denobula, or Algeron, and I can see the ghosts of that war behind your eyes even today, and that worries me. But Qaletaqa assured me that you can do this, that you can overcome the past."

There was another tense pause, and Archer looked away, considering his words, breathing sharply in shallow breaths as he did so. When he looked back at Monika, he tried to inflect some kindness back into his voice, but it seemed as if he didn't have the strength to do so.

"I'm only casting my vote as I am because I trust Qaletaqa, and I'm willing to give anyone a fair chance. But I'll be watching you Paige," He pointed down at her, "Very closely. If at any point you start erring, I'll know about it, and I'll put someone in charge who can get Qaletaqa's dream to fruition in the way she intends it. Clearly, you're familiar with Roosevelt, so let me paraphrase for you: It's easy to quote and critique, but it's much more difficult to actually be the man in the arena, to be the one who meets the needs of a situation as it calls to them."

"I understand that, Admiral Archer, as I'm sure you do," Monika replied, matching Archer's somber tone with a brave and firm one of her own, "But the galaxy needs this, and there's nobody else Admiral Taylor trusts to see this through. I'm assembling a solid team behind me, and we won't let you down."

"So I hear, Captain, so I hear," Archer mused, considering her, "My vote, at this time, is in favour of the Patrol Fleet project moving forward under Captain Paige's command."

Admiral Gardner clapped his hands together, seemingly relieved that the meeting was over.
"Well, I guess that settles it," He turned to Monika, "You have my support, Captain. I'll admit, I'm not very enthused about taking resources away from Starfleet, and I'll admit, I'm skeptical about having a pacifist lead this project, but I think Qaletaqa's on to something, and I'm always eager to do better in the future than we did in the past."

"You won't be disappointed, Admiral," Monika replied, "Even if I fail, I'll do so while daring greatly, and I can't think of a better way to live up to the core tenets of Starfleet."

Gardner smiled at her, nodded his head, and signed off. Archer and T'Pau nodded their farewell and did the same.

Monika took a breath, allowed the cool, recycled air of the station to wash over her, to calm her nerves from the beating they took just from being in that meeting, and then excitedly contacted Lesmila, eager to share her victory with the only person on her mind.