Chapter 410
THE CLUB
PARIS, FRANCE, EARTH
Jameson was sure he was going to be able to secure the contract for mining Maghreb. He was having a meeting with his investors to make sure all was ready to have an advanced jump on the contract bids once the Ambassador had a treaty signed. All of this was completely insider information and therefore illegal, but that did not bother Jameson. Eli Gold was attending the meeting when his communicator silently buzzed. He slid his communicator out of his suit pocket and read the message. It was very important, but not time sensitive.
Preliminary planning on the bidding and setup for mining was talked about over expensive plates of dinner at the Club. Jameson joked, "Vulcans do make a great salad, but do not ask them to fix meat. I think the whole planet is vegetarian." He took a long drink of whiskey.
"Their distant cousins, the Romulans, know how to make a good, stiff drink." One of the businessmen said.
Jameson shook his head, "It's too good. The effects are almost immediate. I'd love to serve it but need a clear head. Until somebody makes an anti-Romulan Ale pill, I'll save that stuff for later. Well, until next time."
All got up from the table and filtered out. Jameson turned his attention to Gold. "What is it, Eli? I know that look."
"Admiral Adama retasked the Excalibur away from Maghreb."
"WHAT IS THAT IDIOT THINK HE'S DOING? He is leaving Mamet undefended with Klingons in orbit?" Jameson exclaimed.
Gold said, "It looks bad, but I cannot believe he'd leave the ambassador defenseless. This is just a preliminary message, probably more at the office."
"Let's get back there now. We've got to tell Nogura to get that idiot Adama back in line."
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF STARFLEET'S OFFICE
STARFLEET COMMAND, EARTH
The junior aide came in and quietly said, "Sir, here is a message marked 'urgent' from Senator Jameson."
Nogura read the message and just a touch of a smile showed. "The Senator thinks he is my immediate superior. He is mistaken."
"But sir, he is chairman of the oversight committee, and quite possibly will be running for President next year."
Nogura looked up in a grand-fatherly, wise-old-man way. "Lieutenant, I appreciate that, but remember that my superior is the President. I have already briefed him on Admiral Adama's changes to the fleet plans in that sector, and my approval. The President said that was fine."
"But the Senator is requesting a meeting when he arrives in a half-hour!"
Nogura quietly sipped his tea. "Lieutenant, what is your concern? Go ahead, say it."
The lieutenant stammered. Here he was with CINC Starfleet and Nogura is carrying on a gentlemanly conversation. He thought that Admirals did not know that anybody below Commander rank existed. "Well, sir, I know the Senator has always been one that has been critical of Starfleet. His coming back here quickly suggests that he's really…"
Nogura had that very faint smile Japanese have, he sipped another sip of tea. "Go ahead lieutenant, perhaps less formal words may work in this case."
"He's really ticked off at you about something. That something would be Starbase 5's orders retasking half the fleet assigned out there!"
Nogura smiled. This lieutenant has possibilities. Perhaps a little bit of polishing here and there and a glimpse into how things are properly done. "Lieutenant, I am the Head of Starfleet. I answer to the President directly. The Senate oversight committee has oversight of course and can have me replaced, but I carry out the President's orders. Besides, the Senator made two serious errors demanding this meeting. His first was assuming he was in my chain of Command."
"What was the second?"
"He just let me know he has an inside source of information to confidential Starfleet Communiques." Nogura sipped some more tea.
The Lieutenant asked, "Couldn't the President have told him of what Admiral Adama was planning?"
"Possibly, but we just finished meeting with the President. You were in that meeting, what was your impression of how the President took the information?" Nogura asked.
"The President seemed to take it like it was routine. Not worried at all."
"Exactly. If the President was seriously concerned, he could have told me right then to do something different. Why dismiss us then call the Senator who is on the other side of the planet to come over and have a talk to change my mind? It does not make sense. The Senator overreacted and just gave away an important piece of intelligence. We have a leak somewhere in Starfleet."
"In this building?"
Nogura shook his head, "Not necessarily, but we have a leak between us and Admiral Adama. I would have expected Senator Jameson's fit about two days from now."
The lieutenant was incredulous, how could Nogura predict the future like that? Nogura saw the reaction and smiled a little bit. "I assure you that the rumors of my being a fortune teller are false. I have no clairvoyance. It is sometimes amazing that what is obvious to me is not to others."
"Why two days?"
Nogura got up and walked to the star map on the big screen. He started motioning to the stars on it. "Do not forget the aspect of time, it is your ally as well as adversary. If you remember it, turn it to your ally when you can. Starbase 5 is here, one day at subspace from here. Maghreb is here, about one day subspace from Starbase 5. Admiral Clayborne has only been informed for a few hours right now, assuming Captain Jackson told him right away. Geometry plays a factor, but in this case, they are pretty much on the far side of Starbase 5 from us, so we will hear from Admiral Clayborne two days from now. Senator Jameson didn't get informed by Admiral Clayborne, he also didn't get informed by the President."
The lieutenant saw what was the matter. "And right now only Starfleet channels know about the retasking. What do we do?"
"We explain to Senator Jameson why these changes are necessary. When you lead, you lead. Do not micromanage or worry about what people outside your chain of command are thinking about you. I give my orders to my individual fleet commanders, and they give their orders. Sometimes, as in this case, they ask me if I approve their orders, but usually they just carry out my orders."
"You could order the Excalibur to stay around Maghreb to appease the Senator."
Nogura quietly nodded. "I could, but at what cost? Admiral Adama made his call, and it was the right call. If I reverse him, I doom myself to second guessing every call my commanders make in the field, and thereby sacrificing my real job of coordinating and supporting my commanders. Jameson cannot see the big picture. Jameson only sees his interests at Maghreb, and what he sees is incorrect."
"Have you ever overridden a field commander?"
Nogura shook his head. "No, I'm fortunate to have good field commanders."
The lieutenant asked, "Were they the decisions you would have made?"
Nogura shook his head, "Not always. But they made the best decisions they could with the information they had. I must trust the people I have working for me."
"What if you don't?"
"I get rid of them. Say nothing of what we know about the leak to Senator Jameson or anyone else. You and I are going to start working on this by ourselves. We will only ask for help from people who we can trust." Nogura silently wished he could have gotten rid of the one person he did not trust, Clayborne. It was never too good to be that close to a politician.
IKV KLOLODE
The battle simulations were not going well. That is to be expected, Mara had upped the power of the expected cloaked D7 cruiser to 130% of a normal. The computer also was doing its best reaction time, not simulating a Klingon's reaction time. Always better to practice against a tougher enemy than you think you will face. Bottom line is that the first attack by the cloaked D7 was usually a debilitating one, it kept coming in from unexpected vectors.
The crew was between drills when Mara said, "I have the summation you want."
"Very good, remind us all what we know about Captain Jacobs."
Mara started, "This is a compilation of open-source material and what our spies have gathered. Captain Joshua Jeremiah Jacobs, son of Johnathan, son of James. He commanded USS Wolverine before the Wisconsin. Before that he was a Raptor pilot since he left the academy. Jacobs flew special ops missions during our war with the Federation, was commended several times. He had a notable crash landing during a routine training mission, the type of failure was deemed an accident and the fact that anyone survived was deemed remarkable. After the war, the Federation Leadership decided to disband the Marines and form Starfleet Security. They also decided that assault and fighter craft were unnecessary and proceeded to mothball all those squadrons and the carrier ships they were based off, forcing many out of the service. Jacobs was able to work his way into the helm division then XO of a starship before landing his first Captaincy of the USS Wolverine."
"While Captain of the Wolverine, he led a distinguished career. He was noted by Starfleet Admiralty as somebody that turned out good officers, a natural leader. As a tender captain, Jacobs was involved with many battles with various species, mostly us on the border, frequently outgunned but somehow survived. He was involved in at least three actions that have been classified beyond what we can illuminate."
Kang was listening intently. He said slowly, "What about the action with our son?"
Mara pushed a few buttons. "Our spies were very thorough. He is one of seven DERF class Captains that have their logs classified during that time period. From their declassified logs, any one of the seven Captains could have been involved in that battle. We need more information."
Kang nodded slowly, "Go on."
Mara pressed a button and various pictures and schematics of the Wisconsin showed up on the big screen. "After the Wolverine was decommissioned, his XO was placed in command of the Christopher Pike and Jacobs was placed in command of the Wisconsin, which was to be built. He was able to pick his own crew, and modify the design somewhat. The basis of the modifications was Jacobs' experiences as a tender Captain, which was always outgunned."
"The Wisconsin is a modified Enterprise class heavy cruiser. Most notable in the specifications is that it has an EMP-type device capable of rendering all forms of technology inoperative within a small distance for a short time. With this, they still have a minimal fighting capability, which we experienced. They also have two refurbished Raptors with an unknown capability. I would presume they can fight under an EMP effect as well."
"The missions the Wisconsin has done shows advanced planning and capability. They rescued a high-valued prisoner from a Norsican base inflicting much damage and not suffering a single casualty. They also fought a simulated battle against a superior foe, the Excalibur, and defeated them. We experienced a battle they probably would have won against a D7S and cloaked bird of prey despite escorting a heavily damaged ship. They also performed a pure ground action rescuing some babies from death that Starfleet is studying."
The tactical officer asked, "Studying? How?"
"They managed once again to rescue the babies using archaic weapons and not suffering a single casualty or violating their Prime Directive of not revealing they were off-worlders."
The tactical officer said, "Why did they do all that for some babies?"
Kang nodded, "That is being debated in Starfleet, we will get to that later. What I remember is that Jacobs saw an opportunity and a chance to accomplish it and took it. That leads me to the next question. What kind of man is he?"
Mara pushed a few buttons and several pictures of Jacobs came on the screen. "An extremely honorable one. There is an old Klingon proverb that says you are known by who your enemies are and who your friends are. His list of friends are known for their honor, some of whom we have run across. Kirk for one. It is also said that Admiral Adama is counted as a friend."
Kang nodded, "An extremely fierce warrior. When he sees an advantage, he will press it. He is indeed an honorable warrior; his word was good with me."
Mara pushed a button, and several faces came on the screen. "These are the list of people that are actively against him." She walked in front of the screen and started listing them, "Admiral Clayborne set up the wargame to discredit him. Senator Jameson was actively hostile during the planning stages of the Wisconsin, to the point of holding hearings which we all saw."
Kang smiled, "A great source of intelligence."
"Certainly. These are various officers that we know of that openly do not like him. This Captain, Dan Hammell, has made various log entries detailing how Jacobs did not rescue his ship during an engagement with the Norsicans."
Kang asked, "Any opinion on that request?"
The engineer said, "The fool Hammell was weak, Norsicans coerced him to eject his warp core then detonated it at close range, damaging his ship. Hammell was crying for help, Jacobs refused stating a greater need to rescue some hostages. Hammell had full impulse power and therefore minimal defenses and life support. Jacobs made a good call, and rescued many hostages. It was that time sensitive."
Kang nodded. "Who is that one, lower left corner?"
Mara pointed, "This one? He is our source inside Starfleet, a very good one. He has an old grudge against Jacobs specifically, we do not know what exactly of course."
Kang said. "Never trust a spy, especially your own. Jacobs, I like him, he is a formidable warrior. He dealt with us with honesty and integrity. He also has a sense of humor. So strange for a human. Let the Ambassador know we have his brief ready for the change in Starfleet ships."
BRIDGE
USS WISCONSIN
Jacobs was looking at the tactical display behind Leonaidas. The last shuttle was entering the pattern. Jacobs pressed the PA button, "All hands, we will be going to warp within two minutes. Prepare for warp speed."
All was quiet while they watched the shuttle land and the bay doors close. Once closed, Leonaidas said, "All stations report ready for Warp."
Jacobs looked at the viewscreen. "Mr. Washburn, on assigned course, warp seven. Departure angle on viewer."
"Aye aye, sir. Warp seven."
The planet rapidly shrank into the distance and the starfield effect showed the ship was at warp and accelerating. Soon it was showing at Warp 7.
"Mr. Agathon, ETA at Maghreb?"
Agathon said, "Stardate 7775.8"
Jacobs nodded, "JJ, send a message to Excalibur and Starbase 5 that we are underway, give them our ETA."
"Aye aye, sir."
Leonaidas said, "We have three days sir. Care to get a rest?"
Jacobs leaned back, "Not yet, I'll stand a watch here for now."
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF STARFLEET'S OFFICE
EARTH
Jameson stormed into Nogura's office unannounced and saw not just one but three Admirals standing waiting for him. Nogura said graciously, "Senator Jameson, we have been expecting you. Please sit down." Nogura motioned to the couches.
"Nogura, I want to know…."
Nogura interrupted, "Senator, please. I brought these men here to help you understand why Adama did what he did."
Jameson blinked, "I want you to…."
Nogura interrupted once again, "Senator, please have some tea and let's talk about this with civility."
"Don't you patronize me Nogura."
Nogura said, "I would not dream of it. You are agitated because your assumption is not correct. You think Adama made a mistake? Before we continue, I must ask your assistant to leave, this is classified information."
Jameson looked at all the people. He looked to Eli Gold and nodded. Gold turned and left with almost a pouting attitude. Jameson said, "There. What is so important that I cannot have my aide with me?"
Nogura nodded to the man to his left. He started, "Senator, I'm Admiral Craig Warren."
"I've heard of you."
Warren smiled, "I'm flattered. Then you know I'm heading up the Transwarp drive project."
Senator Jameson said, "I know that. Some of the warp drive machinery comes from my planet."
Warren nodded. "I'm a warp field specialist. A few days ago, one of our listening stations picked up a warp signature near the Klingon neutral zone. To be short, we believe the warp signature is from a Klingon battleship."
Jameson blurted out, "They don't have it, our spies would have picked up on its construction."
Nogura corrected mildly, "It would be dangerous to assume that. Klingon society is extremely difficult to penetrate. I have no problem believing that they could construct a battleship without us knowing it."
Jameson retorted, "Well I do. We have the best intelligence network, we…"
Nogura said, "Cardassians."
Jameson stopped and looked quizzically, "Who are they?"
Nogura decided to insert a little barb. "A major power with whom the Klingons are at war. We first heard about them from the Wisconsin, not from Starfleet intelligence or Federation intelligence."
Jameson gave a dirty look, making Nogura inwardly smile. Nogura said, "Point is, the best intelligence network failed to pick up that the Klingons were at mortal war with a species of whom we never heard of. The fact is there is a Klingon battleship patrolling on the Klingon neutral zone. This battleship is in a position that would be virtually unstopped until it got to Vulcan, quite possibly Earth."
"Impossible, the Organians would stop them." Jameson exclaimed.
Nogura said, "Senator, be careful. These men know the truth. I am surprised you don't recognize the other Admiral. He is the first Captain that fell victim to your classified file 'Peanutbutter'."
Jameson suddenly recognized the man. "Kirk."
Admiral Kirk said, "Senator, if you would bother to analyze the information you classified you would know that the odds aren't good that the Organians will stop this ship to prevent losses."
Jameson shrugged, "Not significant losses, probably a ship or two. The Organians will stop it by the time this theoretical ship does any serious harm."
Kirk let his agitation show, "Those are Starfleet personnel we are talking about, Federation citizens.
Jameson did not reply and Kirk pressed on, "Senator This ship is no theory."
"You haven't seen it, all you have is some wiggles on a scope somewhere."
Kirk continued, "Senator, we here at Starfleet are treating this as a real threat. To protect Federation interests, a shifting of the fleet had to be done."
"Why are you even involved in this? You are Commandant of Starfleet Academy, go teach!" Jameson tried to deflect.
Warren interjected, "Admiral Kirk's experience and talent is needed. We can always confer with him. Admiral Adama had to make some time-sensitive decisions. Before the discovery of the battleship the fleet was deployed with a couple of assumptions. First, any sizeable fleet deployment by the Klingons would be detected by us and countered with sufficient time. Second, the Klingon fleet would contain ships that were known in existence or under construction. This battleship ruins both assumptions. It is estimated twice as powerful as our current heavy cruisers and it also approached the zone without us detecting it. We are theorizing the Klingons may have found a way to mask their warp signature or part of the signature."
Jameson said, "But you can't prove it."
Nogura nodded, "Quite right, but the fact remains we have a Klingon Battleship too close for comfort, the only thing to do was to bring our battleship to counter the move. Admiral Adama made the only move he could, and cover Ambassador Mamet with the Wisconsin."
"With a Klingon in orbit overhead? Heavy cruiser to heavy cruiser? I thought you people didn't like even odds."
Nogura explained, "Ever since the first contact with the Maghreb, we've had sensor buoys in the system. It has only recorded one Klingon entering the system."
"What if there's a cloaked ship?"
"Cloaked ships still leave warp trails. We placed the buoys far enough out that a sublight ship would still be outside the system." Nogura explained. "We believe there is only one Klingon in the system, and it's Kang. So, we sent the most powerful ship we had in the area to go toe-to-toe."
Jameson exclaimed, "Kang?! We need the Excalibur there in case he tries to kill the Ambassador!"
Kirk shot back, "What's wrong Senator? The Organians will stop anything the Klingons do. Any losses will not be significant."
Nogura tried to calm things down. "Senator, Admiral Kirk has extensive experience of Kang."
Jameson sneered, "Really?"
Kirk looked evenly, "Yes. I had him and his crew onboard the Enterprise. An alien was affecting our minds, which we defeated together. After that they were onboard for a week before I could transfer them to a Klingon ship."
Jameson's mouth dropped. "Did you throw them in the brig?"
Kirk shook his head, "No, we issued them quarters. They were our guests. Kang will not initiate a fight without the High Council's orders. Even then, he is honorable to the extreme. He will not violate the treaty we have with the Klingons."
Jameson shot back, "So we have nothing to fear?"
Kirk smiled, "You were the one that said the Organians will protect us. What do you really believe Senator? Why keep Peanutbutter classified?"
Jameson saw it was hopeless. "If anything happens to them, I will have all your heads on a platter. You are careless with Federation assets." Jameson stormed out.
The three Admirals were standing and shaking their heads. Kirk talked first, "I'd rather be out in deep space. How do you guys do this every day?"
Warren answered, "I go fishing on days off."
Nogura was thinking out loud, "So Jameson considers a loss of a couple of starships acceptable but not Maghreb. We have some more problems coming."
Warren asked, "What do you mean?"
Nogura shook his head still thinking out loud, "I'm not sure. Jameson is totally irrational about his reasoning. He knows the truth that the Organians are not one hundred percent on enforcing the treaty, that is why he is worried about Maghreb. Perhaps he is right, but not for the right reasons?"
Warren asked, "That there is another Klingon enroute to Maghreb?"
Nogura walked to a star chart on the big screen on the far wall and started looking while he was doing the calculations. Kirk stated, "If so, Kang will stop any unauthorized action. He will follow the treaty until the Klingon High Council renounces it. And they will not because the Organians forced it on everyone."
Nogura quietly said, "Unless the target is not Federation interests. Let us wargame this out for a little while gentlemen." Nogura pushed a button and said, "Lieutenant, please bring in some cucumber sandwiches and water."
Kirk looked at the clock, this is going to be longer than just a few minutes. This was a real Nogura brain session.
OFFICER'S MESS
IKV KLOLODE
Ambassador Kraal sat forward, "So with all you are saying, we have nothing to fear from Starfleet ships? Kang, you'll be outgunned three to one and you aren't worried?"
Kang's patented stern look almost answered it alone. "I have been there before. What concerns me is that I believe there is a Black Fleet operation against us."
Kraal asked, "You or me?"
Kang shook his head, "I do not know. If there is a cloaked D7 coming, they have the advantage of time. They can wait until our defenses are lowered then attack."
"Then don't lower them."
"Keep shields up? For days at a time? First, how do we move material from the ship down to our Embassy? Next, over time our shield generators will overheat eventually. No, they will wait then strike at a time of their choosing."
Kraal said matter-of-factly, "Then why not get the Starfleet ship involved. They will be involved eventually. Work together on this. I know it is not the Klingon way, but neither is losing."
Kang shook his head. "You speak wisdom Ambassador. I will contact Captain Jackson immediately."
Kraal started to stand but Kang stopped him. "No, sir. Enjoy a little bit of time with your niece. I will be back later." Kang left the two of them alone.
Mara said to Kraal, "It has been good to work with you on this mission, Uncle."
Kraal chuckled and took a long drink of bloodwine. "Tell me Mara, does Kang know?"
Mara said quietly, "Know?"
Kraal asked, "You expect to have kept your secret? You have all the classic signs."
Mara thought she had covered everything well. She embarrassingly said, "Uncle, I don't know what you mean."
Kraal looked out the side of his eye while he took another drink. "Mara, I'm an old man. I was married fifty years to your mother's sister. I know what to look for in women when they…"
Mara interrupted, "After this mission. I was going to take myself off duty after this mission. I'll tell Kang when we leave this planet."
Kraal shrugged, "You should tell him now. He deserves to know."
Mara did not know how to respond. Perhaps her uncle was right. He sure was perceptive. How did he know?
BRIDGE
USS WISCONSIN
"Captain's log, supplemental. We have been underway enroute to Maghreb for two hours now at warp 7. Commander Santini has completed checks and we are now going to be increasing our speed to Warp 7.5. All is proceeding normally and we are taking this time to make sure the entire ship is ready for whatever awaits. Captain out."
Jacobs pushed the computer button and looked around. All is indeed well. The ship was performing perfectly, as it should have been expected. Lt. Jareau turned around, "Sir, we just got a transmission from Starfleet. It is background information for the mission plus two personal messages for you."
Jacobs raised an eyebrow; he had a feeling he knew what it was about. "Leo, please take the information and issue it to the appropriate department heads. Let us plan a meeting for 1600 tomorrow of the department heads."
Leonaidas nodded, "Aye aye, sir. Working dinner?"
Jacobs shrugged, "That sounds good to me. Check with each one, if somebody has something planned, we will plan on finishing the meeting at 1700. Who do we have on watch tonight?"
Leonaidas said, "Ensign Dietrich."
Jacobs looked at the clock, "Very well. Call him up."
Shortly later Dietrich stepped off the turbolift. Jacobs gave a quick brief, "We are on course for Maghreb, currently at warp 7.5. Engineering is monitoring the engines closely and will let you know if anything comes up. If any parameters start going out of nominal, then slow to warp 7."
"Do you want me to call you sir?"
Jacobs shook his head, "Not necessarily. If you do have to drop down to Warp 7 that is still considered normal and we will still be a little ahead of schedule on arrival. Anything less than that and I do want to know about that immediately. As always, if there is a question, call me." Jacobs stood up and stepped to the side. "You have the conn, Mr. Dietrich."
Dietrich sat down, "Aye aye, sir. I have the conn."
Jacobs finished, "I'll be in my ready room." Jacobs stepped up to the turbolift landing, took one final look around, then went through the door to his ready room.
Walking to his desk, he went to the food dispenser and ordered, "Hot chocolate." In short order, the mini-turbolift moved a cup of hot chocolate up to the ready room and opened. Jacobs grabbed a cup and sat down. He started up his computer and accessed the new messages. First one was from McGonagle.
JOSH,
I RELAYED YOUR MESSAGE AND EXPECT AN ANSWER. I GAVE HIM THE SAME THING I GAVE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST SHOWED UP AT MY COMMAND. USE THAT OLD TECHNIQUE I TOLD YOU ABOUT FOR COMMUNICATION. HE FLEW THE ONE WE FIRST FIXED UP FOR CROPDUSTING.
BE CAREFUL,
GEORGE.
Jacobs knew exactly what was going on. It was the best work-around that could be worked in the meantime. Next message was from Admiral Adama,
CAPTAIN JACOBS,
PAGE 141, WORD 3. PAGE 220, WORD 4 CHARACTER 1. PAGE 19 WORD 9 CHARACTER 2….
And so on it went. Jacobs reached up to his bookshelf beside his desk and grabbed his Bible and started working. He paged through and found the right page, word, and letter. On a separate pad, he wrote down JOSHUA. Nice beginning. Next item was a letter only and Jacobs continued to transcribe the message. He finished after a while; the work was long. The message read;
JOSHUA COPY YOUR COMS PROBLEM. SEND ME SPECIFIC DATA IF POSSIBLE, FOR MEDITATION. TAIL NUMBER SB5-UH4. BA OUT
Joshua smiled; it was going to be interesting which Bible words Adama is going to use to make messaging easier. He started working on a response, then decided to make things a little bit more difficult for eavesdropping.
BA ID CHECKS, WILL SEND DATA SOON. EACH MESSAGE I SEND WILL BE HIDDEN IN BATCH FROM MY SENIOR OFFICERS. REAL MESSAGE WILL HAVE SEVEN IN THE SUBJECT LINE, ALL OTHERS WILL BE TRASH. JOSHUA OUT.
Jacobs sent the message back and thought about the preparation for the next few days. He got up and walked out to the Bridge and said quietly to Jareau, "JJ, you and McGee please come up with a very short, concise message for me to send back to Starbase 5 about our communication problems."
Jareau quietly said back, "How short?"
Jacobs gave a wry smile, "I'm going to manually encode each character. I'll explain at the briefing tomorrow."
Jareau nodded, "I'll do that."
Jacobs said a little more loudly, "See you all tomorrow." There was a chorus of 'goodnights' as he stepped back in the turbolift. Jacobs twisted the handle and said, "Deck 8". The turbolift hummed off and Jacobs pressed the com button. "Jacobs to Pastor Octavian."
Octavian's voice came through, "Octavian here."
"It's Josh, can I drop by?"
"Sure, a little bit of a late night, isn't it?"
"I'll rest later." Jacobs quipped.
"Come on by." Octavian said about the time the turbolift stopped. Jacobs stepped out and walked around the curve of the corridor, nodding to crewmen as he passed them. At Octavian's quarters Jacobs walked up and rang the buzzer.
The door opened and Octavian said, "Come on in."
Jacobs stepped in and sat down at the offered chair. Octavian asked, "What can I do for you?"
Jacobs started off lighthearted, "Enjoy yourself tonight?"
Octavian smiled, "You bet. For us old fogeys getting to do a play-by-play is the next best thing to playing it."
Jacobs said with surprise, "You played? I never knew that."
Octavian shook his head, "Long before we met. The Marines taught it during Advanced Zero G training. It's a good game to get you thinking that up isn't always up. Not only that, but the game rewards aggressive playing, and that has Marine all over it. But you aren't here for that."
Jacobs shook his head. "No Ian, I'm not. We have several things cooking right now. We've been reordered to a planet called Maghreb, about three days from here."
"I've heard."
Jacobs continued, "I have no idea what it's about, background information just came in and I'm going to start familiarizing myself with it. To complicate matters, we know that our communications are compromised here on this ship."
Octavian's face was full of surprise. "How bad?"
"We think it's not that bad, but we're not sure. We think that the email from one person is being encoded, chopped up, bits attached to all of our messages, transmitted, then reassembled somewhere downline. We have no evidence that anything else is compromised, but there is a doubt."
Octavian's brow furrowed. "Can we do anything?"
Jacobs nodded, "That's what I'm here for. George has given a copy of our Bible to Admiral Adama. We are going to use that as the key to send simple messages. I am going to let Leo know what the key is and you, but nobody else."
"Why me?"
Jacobs said evenly, "Redundancy. If anything happens to me or Leo, I want this communications work-around to continue. You will have to inform Cdr Carter and let him borrow your Bible."
"Why not tell the department heads the key?"
Jacobs shrugged, "Maybe I will, but I'm putting out a fire right now. I'm going to keep the information as close as I can. If I told the heads and we could not contain it, they would be implicated."
Octavian nodded, "I can see that. Just leave yourself open to the possibility of letting the heads know. These people were here since the beginning and have earned your trust. Sometimes information can be too compartmentalized."
"I'll think about that. Keep us in prayer." Jacobs stood up to go.
"I will. Goodnight Captain." The two men had a big bear hug. Jacobs left and went down the hallway to his quarters. Might as well try to get some sleep, might be a while before he could get sleep again.
CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM
USS EXCALIBUR
Jackson was going over some of the data on this new battleship. Lt. Holt called in over the com. "Captain, Kang is hailing you, requesting a secure channel."
This was unexpected, "Pipe it in here, Miss Holt."
Kang's face showed on Jackson's screen. "Captain Jackson, we have a problem."
"I thought we took care of that. Are you worried about my going back on my word?" Jackson said irritatingly.
"Quite the opposite. I am letting you know that we are suspecting that there is an inbound cloaked ship."
Jackson said, "You said that there wasn't going to be one coming in!"
Kang replied sternly, "I have kept my word. I believe this is a Black Fleet operation."
As Jackson thought, it was silent between the two ship's Captains. "Kang, what do you think is happening?"
Kang explained, "After you told us that you were being retasked, I did some checking. I do not want to explain why, but I believe you are being drawn away from here by the Klingon High Command. The purpose I believe is that they want to even the odds over Maghreb."
Jackson said sarcastically, "No kidding."
Kang ignored the sarcasm, "Captain, I am telling you that there is an unauthorized ship enroute here. It is probably cloaked, possibly a heavy cruiser such as a D7."
Jackson sat up, "Why a heavy cruiser? Why so specific a hunch?"
Kang said plainly, "I believe they are going to try to kill me."
Again, some silence as Jackson thought. Jackson had done an honorable thing earlier letting Kang know that he was retasked, is Kang acting honorably or misleading him? "Do you know when this ship is going to arrive?"
Kang shook his head, "No, I am not sure it is only one ship. I believe the Black Fleet action will be large enough to take me out."
"What do you anticipate then?"
Kang's stern kept even, "I am not sure. Their motive could solely be to kill me. I would find that belief hazardous. The Black Fleet operation that you and I observed was part of an operation that was designed to test the Organian response to a Klingon attack."
Jackson blurted out, "How do you know that? Were there other attacks?"
Kang was silent for a minute, "You really do not know, do you. You were one of several simultaneous attacks, all similar in that they tested the time it took for the Organians to intervene. We have discovered the Black Fleet has been doing operations doing this testing for years. Captain Jackson, I am warning you the Black Fleet wants war with the Federation. I believe after they kill me, they will attack any Federation assets in the area. They may even try to make it look like we attacked each other."
"So, you want my help."
Kang nodded, "And Captain Jacobs' help too when he arrives."
Jackson eyed Kang, it was so difficult to tell if he was misleading, bluffing, happy or sad for that matter. Why would Kang lie about something that ultimately increased the readiness of the Excalibur?"
"Kang, very well. You will have my cooperation. Would you like to come over here to plan?"
Kang shook his head, "No, nothing that grandiose. We both need to be with our ships when this ship attacks. We can do everything via videoconference. I'll have my tactical officer contact your ship within the hour. Kang out."
Well, that was interesting. Just then Holt called in over the com. line, "Captain, Admiral Clayborne just beamed aboard, he's heading to the bridge."
Jackson knew what it was about. "I'll be right out."
Jackson went through the door and stepped out on the Bridge. He looked around and saw that everyone knew the Admiral was going to arrive within seconds. "Recorders on Miss Holt." Holt nodded just as Clayborne bursted on the bridge. "Jackson! I cannot believe you're going to follow through with this insanity! You cannot leave us here to get killed or captured by Kang."
Jackson asked, "Admiral, would you like to discuss privately in my ready room?"
"WE'LL HANDLE IT NOW! You agreed to assist me back at Starbase 5!"
Jackson nodded, "I did and I am. We will be on station until the Wisconsin relieves us. After that, I have orders to proceed to the Klingon neutral zone."
"I'm overriding those orders!"
Jackson shook his head. "My immediate superior is Admiral Adama. He has retasked us."
"I'm his superior! I order you to stay. The Wisconsin can go to the Neutral Zone."
Jackson could feel something helping him control his anger. Ordinarily, he would have yelled back. "Sir, Admiral Adama has the big picture, not you. You are here not as my superior but as a Starfleet liason to the Ambassador. We have given you full cooperation and will continue, until the Wisconsin arrives."
"I've sent a message back to Admiral Nogura asking him to keep us here."
Jackson did the mental math. "And if you did as soon as you heard the news, the answer will get here about the time the Wisconsin arrives."
"Then I order you to wait for that message."
Jackson shook his head, "I will not wait for a hypothetical message to arrive. I plan on having a short meeting with Captain Jacobs then be underway. Sir, there is a universe full of problems out there besides what you think there are."
"I will not be talked about like I'm ignorant how things work out here! What could be more important than protecting the Ambassador?!"
Jackson said, "If you would step into my ready room, I'll explain."
"Fine!" Clayborne walked into the ready room. Jackson followed after giving Holt a look to cut the recording.
"Just what is so top secret that it has to be discussed in here?"
Jackson said, "It is simple. Starfleet thinks the Klingons have their own battleship and need a heavy-hitter to stop it in case it comes across the border."
"The Organians will stop it!"
Jackson shook his head, "We both know that is not true. If it was, you would not be worried about Kang flying around your head like you are. I'm going to hand you off in a little less than three days because that's what my legitimate orders are. If that mythical message from Starfleet comes before the Wisconsin, of course I'll obey Admiral Nogura's orders."
Clayborne suddenly shrugged as if nothing was wrong. After all, what he really needed was a Captain to transport the containers clandestinely carrying weapons. And that was done. "Fine. You better find great evidence as to a battleship out there or I will hang Adama on the nearest wall! And I am going to clean house after that, Captain."
Clayborne turned and left. Jackson said out loud to no one in particular, "I bet you'll try."
