Chapter 809

ITV NEWS

"The exceptional revelation yesterday concerning the classified file PEANUTBUTTER is still being digested by various experts. This morning we have retired Starfleet Captain Turney with us. Good morning, Captain Turney."
Captain Turney (Retired) was a human sitting at a desk with the newscaster wearing a nice suit. "Good morning, Gretchen."

"Captain Turney, what can you tell us about the hearing yesterday and the classified file?"

Turney shifted in the seat. "It was remarkable. In my career, I've never heard any rumors of this action. The Enterprise was almost lost. If the Klingons were able to do that, it would have been a big propaganda coup for them. And a major loss for us."

"Why didn't the Organians interfere?"

"I'm still checking into that. It may have something to do with the disappearance of the Organians last year. I believe the Wiscconsin was involved in that too. The file PEANUTBUTTER is more extensive than I original thought."

"How so?"

"Well, they mentioned that there were over two hundered incidents. Truth is there are far more. The two hundered is only the ships that have survived. There were many that were destroyed. If we recovered the flight recorders and found out the Klingons were responsible, it was then classified."

"What can you tell us?"

"Well, as I was reading through the file last night, I got focused on some items of personal interest to me."

"Anything you can tell us?"

"Yes." Turney leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "A good officer of mine was transferred to a particular ship. Shortly later he was killed on his ship. The ship survived but he died. The file revealed that the ship was sneak attacked by two Klingon ships. They had a prolonged fight before getting intervened by the Organians. They lost twenty crew; my officer was one of them. Some rumors I remember were confirmed too."

"Rumors? Ships getting attacked? Such as who?"

"I do not want to go into it now. Starfleet should have time to contact the relatives of those who were lost. That should be respected. This info is so new that the danger now is that harm can be done to those who died in classified actions."

"What can you tell me about what you have read? Any conclusions?"

Turner sat straight up. "Yes, the Enterprise-Wolverine incident was the first confirmed incident that the Organians were either unable or unwilling to intervene. In all the incidents I read Organian intervention was either seriously delayed or not at all."

"There were more incidents?"

Turner nodded. "The entire file of PEANUTBUTTER seems to be a collection of incidents of where Organian intervention didn't happen in a timely manner."

"Why?"

"I think it was summarized yesterday well. Senator Jameson didn't want it revealed. He persuaded the President to classify it. Tightly, I might add."

"I have so many more questions…."

Turner said directly. "Let me jump to one point. The information was so tightly controlled as to make it more hazardous for Starfleet. Lives were lost, ships in some cases because there was an expectation of Organian intervention and nothing came. If we had been warned that Klingons were testing the treaty…."

"Why would Senator Jameson push to classify that information that tightly?"

Turner shook his head. "The only thing I can think of is that Senator Jameson was more afraid of that information getting out than of losing people."

SENATE HEARING ROOM

PARIS, FRANCE

People were filing into their places and sitting down. Jameson was sorting his tablets getting ready for starting the hearing. Gold leaned forward with a tablet and showed him the news. "Senator, the Morning's news is coming through. I have a summary."

Jameson ordered, "Just tell me."

"The information from PEANUTBUTTER is so new that none have talked with each other. Our people have not even been able to spin in our way."

Jameson turned, "We haven't come up with a plan on that yet."

"My point exactly. They have turned to their own experts, many of which are former Starfleet officers, and many have lost friends by unknown means. Others have been suppressed. There are so many people who want to tell their story. We will never get in front of it now."

Jameson was angry. "Eli, I don't care how you do it, get in front of this, NOW!"

"Very well, sir. I'll leave you here and go start talking to contacts during the meeting. You don't need me here." Gold said.

Jameson waived him off. Senator Jameson looked at the time and gaveled the meeting to order. "Come to Order. The Chair recognizes and welcomes the Klingon Delegation."

Ambassador Gorkon nodded acknowledgement. Jameson started, "My concern is how Captain Jacobs has destabilized the relations with the Klingons. I would like to ask Captain Kang…"

Captain Jackson interrupted, "Just a minute, Senator. There is my matter to handle first."

This jolted Jameson, who angrily said, "We go where I want to go. Captain Jackson, your matter is done."

"No, it isn't. You said I do not deserve my Captaincy, that is a charge not only against me but against Starfleet, which said I can continue as Captain."

Jameson was about to say something when Senator April said quickly, "You are correct Captain." The other Senators quickly voiced their agreement.

Senator April said, "Captain Jackson, we'll hear you out."

Jackson smiled, "Thank you Admiral-Senator." Jameson almost growled at that. "Now that PEANUTBUTTER is declassified, I can properly defend myself too."

"We were ordered to system NGC-1789 because of Klingon signals that were detected. We found a D7 that was intensely scanning an asteroid. We could not determine why they were scanning it so intensely; it did not make sense."

Jackson continued, "So we continued and investigated. What we did not know was that this was bait to draw us in. We started picking up an erratic signal that we could not locate or identify. I thought back to Captain Jacobs' advice about not playing the games of the opponent. We broke off and got ourselves into a safe haven to think of a new strategy. The cloaked ship was detected first with the good old-fashioned mark 1 eyeball. So, we came up with a strategy to use that."

Bim Freshligm asked, "Use what?"

"Our eyeballs as primary sensors. Every crewman went and manned every available window where possible. We had an idea to get a better backdrop than black space. So, we decided to make them play our game. We moved to a gas giant for backdrop. It was cat and mouse for a while, during this time I learned more about what Captain Jacobs had taught me about how to utilize my crew. The crew was motivated and working well together. I warned the Klingons that we will fire on any cloaked vessel if detected. Soon, we found a disturbance and fired on it, hitting a cloaked vessel. At that time, the D7 closed on us and hit us with some sort of stasis weapon. Now we know we were against a D7S.

"While we were being held by the D7S, they beamed over a boarding party and starting attacking my crew. Their focus seemed more in just creating carnage, not in taking over my vessel. We figured a way to coordinate a defense and were able to stay one step ahead, although at great expense. While the D7S held us immobile, the other two ships pounded us. I can see now it was a delaying tactic. They could have either captured us or destroyed us much quicker."

Senator April asked, "What is your opinion of the D7S?"

"Very effective weapon when used in conjunction with other ships. The nature of the stasis weapon seems to make the source ship immobile itself. They did not fire even a photon torpedo. I don't think that they will use a D7S by themselves."

Jameson said dryly, "Is that your expert opinion, Captain?"

Admiral Nogura answered, "Captain Jackson should be counted in the experts on D7S's. His was the most prolonged contact by far of a D7S. We yielded good intelligence among of which was that the D7S cycles every five minutes."

Kang leaned over to Gorkon and whispered. "We need to fix that."

Nogura continued, "And Captain Jackson's tactic is now called the 'Jackson Maneuver'."

Jackson continued, "The Klingons set up a warp core breach in our port warp core, and also, they compromised our antimatter storage facility. We were alerted on one of those cycles Admiral Nogura mentioned and ejected the warp core and antimatter storage facility. In the ensuing explosion, we were severely damaged. That and the damage we took from direct attack from the Klingon ships. Eventually, the Organians intervened and we were able to escape and find a hiding space in an asteroid."

"The Klingons separated and the D7S went back to intensely scanning an asteroid. It was not even the same one. They were laying a trap for whoever was coming to rescue the Excalibur. The Wisconsin came and started repairs with us. After that we went into battle. Up until Kang entered the battle."

Senator April decided to preempt Jameson. "Kang, what happened when you approached the battle?"

Kang looked at Jacobs sternly, "The Wisconsin was being held in Stasis by the D7S. We approached under cloak and decloaked as we were passing the D7S. The Wisconsin somehow was able to not only detect us, but target and fire while the ship was held in stasis."

Jameson exclaimed, "The Wisconsin fired first! Without provocation! Jacobs was starting the fight!"

Kang's gaze narrowed. There was silence for a couple of seconds. April asked, "Kang, to be clear, what is your professional opinion?"

"Jacobs fired on an opponent. I would have done the same had I had the same capabilities. He hit me exactly when I was the most vulnerable, while decloaking and with my shields down. The ability of the Wisconsin to fire while under stasis was not previously known to the Empire. He made maximum use of the advantage, as I would have."

Kang looked at Jacobs, "Jacobs was heavily involved in a hostile action, by a superior force. It is reasonable to fire on any cloaked vessel, if you can. He did not fire first; he was already in battle. I joined in and was fired on appropriately. Jacobs is cunning, and should be respected for that."

Jameson asked, "But he fired on you first! He should have warned you first!"

Kang's gaze shifted to Jameson. "Does a Starfleet ship have to warn each combatant prior to firing on them? I would hope so, it may have made many battles turn our way." The gallery nervously chuckled.

Jameson said, "But that's fair! We make sure that Starfleet fights fair!"

There were a couple of chuckles inside the audience. Jameson glanced around. "But didn't he negotiate with you dishonestly?"

Kang asked, "How did you get to that conclusion?"

Jameson said, "He didn't tell you about the Raptors!"

Kang laughed, "Senator Jameson, do you 'show your hand' when you negotiate? Or when you maneuver? I have seen different in just the last two days!" Once again, the crowd chuckled and now there was murmuring.

Jameson felt a strange mix between panic and anger. In his hesitation, Senator April asked, "Kang, how do you find Captain Jacobs' negotiating character?"

Kang said, "Jacobs is an honorable man. He negotiated fairly, and with honor. He had the upper hand without my knowing it, and could have dealt me severe damage or even destroyed me. Jacobs could have demanded much more, but merely negotiated what was fair."

April said, "Please state how he had the upper hand."

Kang recounted, "He somehow got two Raptors with Merculite rockets inside my shielding. I still do not know exactly how he did it, but he did. If he ordered them to fire, it would have been crippling. The way he negotiated and finally revealed the Raptors was most honorable. A true credit to the Federation."

Jameson was apoplectic. His face was red with anger. Unable to come up with anything more, Jameson needed to get rid of Kang. "Thank you, Captain Kang. Ambassador. You are excused from these hearings."

There was a little stir in the room. Senator April intervened, "Senator Jameson, you speak out of turn. I for one would like to invite the Klingon delegation to stay."

Jameson turned to April, "What for? They were here to give a character assessment of Captain Jacobs."

April said, "Yes, and the Wisconsin had several interactions with the Klingons this past year. In fact, they had more adventures with Kang. Is that correct, Kang?"

Kang showed a very small smile, "Indeed."

April motioned, "I propose that the Committee invite the Klingon delegation to stay for the duration of the meeting. They may provide further insight as to what happened."

Senator Bim Freshligm said, "I would like the Klingon's perspective. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say about events of this past year. To include the battle of Starbase 5."

The motion passed narrowly. Jacobs watched as the votes were taken, Bim Freshligm was the deciding vote. A small crack in the armor of Senator Jameson? The beginnings of a revolt?

Jameson was mad. "The decision of the committee is to invite the Klingon delegation to attend the rest of the meetings."

Ambassador Gorkon smiled warmly. "We accept. In the interest of de-escalating tensions between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, I will make available information we may have on these events."

April asked, "All information that we may request?"

Gorkon shook his head. "Certainly not, we do have our secrets to keep. I will make available as much as I can."

April asked, "Ambassador, why were the Klingons performing this action?"

Gorkon said, "This was not authorized by the High Council. The captain was later executed for weakness and disobeying the High Council."

April continued, "What was the purpose?"

Gorkon almost portrayed embarrassment. "Unbeknownst to the High Council, there was a faction that had organized some ships to antagonize the Federation. The Organian Peace treaty was imposed on the Empire, and this faction was trying to figure out a way around it."

Bim Freshligm asked, "And our keeping these actions against us secret?"

"Only furthered our purpose. We never imagined your need to keep that a secret, it still astonishes me that you did, and still the controversy over this secrecy. I see nothing that furthers your cause, yet you do. If it would help your matters, I can provide a complete action list from what the Black Fleet did to antagonize the Federation."

The gallery stirred a bit at that remark. Senator Bim Freshligm said, "I did not expect that."

Senator Jameson looked nervously. He had to change the subject and get to something else. "We will get back to more of Klingon matters later, as The Wisconsin had more actions with them. For now, I want to look at their next mission and reexamine the mission to Tangia. I want to look at the decisions Captain Jacobs made concerning following the Prime Directive."

The gallery stirred at that once again. Jacobs looked at Cogley and whispered, "Why change the subject? He still has stuff to grill me over."

Cogley's eyes narrowed while he studied the Senators. "Jameson is afraid he is losing the momentum of the hearings. He wants to change subjects because he has no support in information from Kang like he was hoping."

Jacobs asked, "What is the proper thing to do?"

Cogley picked up a datapad and pushed a couple of buttons. "We let him. With the Klingons here, we can always revisit this if needed.

Bim Freshligm said, "Senator Jameson, we have time to go to that. I have some questions concerning what just was revealed."

Jameson sensing a trap exclaimed, "You yielded the question time to me at the onset!"

"I did, with the provision that I or others can re-assert the privilege of asking questions. As I said, my questions start with Captain Jackson."

Jackson leaned forward to the microphone. Bim Freshligm asked, "Captain Jackson, I do want to keep on the focus of the hearings as to the Wisconsin's first year." Jackson nodded quietly. "What was your first plan on attacking the Wisconsin's convoy?"

Jackson frowned, "Are you asking what I would have done if I didn't let things get personal?"

"Yes Captain."

Jackson nodded and said frankly. "This was horribly mismatched in my favor. This is one of the reasons that BPV can be very misleading. Sure, the entire convoy had equivalent firepower of the Excalibur, and other factors make the BPVs equivalent. The problem is that it can be misleading. The Excalibur should be able to clean house on this exercise."

"What I should have done is come in fast and hit hard on one side of the convoy. I could have destroyed two or three freighters quickly and easily without damaging myself. Then I withdraw and recharge my shields before engaging again. I should have engaged wherever the Wisconsin was not, hit and run."

"With a battleship?"

"With a battleship." Jackson said flatly. "The problem with capital ships is the tendency to stay in a fight and exchange maneuverability for shielding or weapons. Battleships can move quite fast when needed, and I should have used that. I'd pick off cargo ships one at a time if needed. Eventually, I'd get them all. Then I would come in and finish of the Heavy Cruiser, the Excalibur would make that quite easy."

Bim Freshligm nodded. "In the past I was a freighter captain. You describe what my nightmare would be. Captain Shoron said as much the other day, Freighters are expendable in times of hostilities."

Jackson nodded. "Yes sir, they tend to be." Jameson showed irritation at a Senator being referred to as 'sir' again. Jackson ignored it and continued, "That's one of the reasons the wargame was unreasonable. If Starfleet really wanted this convoy protected, they would assign two or three light or heavy cruisers. The Excalibur could not move fast enough to engage all of them."

Bim Freshligm asked, "How many could you have destroyed?"

Jackson thought a bit. "I'd still get two on the first attack. But with each successive attack, it becomes easier to defend for the battle group as there are less and less freighters."

Bim Freshligm was quiet for a little bit. "And the purpose of this wargame?"

Jackson said, "Completely unrealistic. The setup never would happen in real life. The purpose would be to humiliate the Wisconsin."

Bim Freshligm looked at Jacobs. "Captain, you mentioned to Captain Shoron and the others that you did not want a single casualty. Why?"

Jacobs thought a bit on how to frame the reply. "I know what the reputation Starfleet has with freighters. In a real-world scenario, it is always a possibility to lose a freighter no matter how big the escort, unless you make it unreasonably large. Frankly, nobody wants to be that guy that gets blown up, even in a wargame. I know what you are thinking Senator, and to put it so others can understand, I knew that the freighter captains think that Starfleet thinks its ok to lose a few freighters, as long as most make it. I wanted to have them all survive."

"How did you come up with the plan?"

Jacobs looked at Jackson, who nodded agreement. Jacobs explained, "My Science Officer, Commander Hotchner, specializes in psychology and in particular, behavior patterns. Once he profiled Captain Jackson, he was able to come up with something that would make Captain Jackson abandon his plan and do something that we may be able to take advantage."

Jackson looked at Jameson, "That's true, every word. Captain Jacobs got so in my head I did several things stupidly. And I never knew he was doing it."

Jameson retorted, "Are you threatening me?"

Jackson laughed out loud, "No, Senator. Throughout history, people who were the targets of Psi-ops have one thing in common."

Jameson asked scoffingly, "What's that?"

"None of them realized they were in the middle of a Psi-Op. Kind of discovering you're in the middle of a mine field." Jackson said loudly, "Nothing then BOOM!" The gallery actually had some laughs.

Bim Freshligm continued, "So you did a Psi-Op against Captain Jackson? To Win?"

Jacobs said thoughtfully, "Yes."

April asked, "Captain, please elaborate the different parts of your plan. Don't hold back."

Jacobs took in a deep breath. "I needed to sucker the Excalibur into extremely close range. We have that EMP device, and I need to be very close for that to work. If I could EMP the Excalibur, I can launch my Raptors and hopefully capture it."

Bim Freshligm asked, "Why not destroy it with the Raptors? With the Merculite Rockets they have?"

Jacobs shook his head, "First, when the EMP fired, the sensors and computers will not be able to simulate the rockets. Second, the rockets probably would not destroy or disable sufficiently the Excalibur. It was a much better idea to capture it. The easiest way to capture it would be to make the crew abandon ship. So, while the ship was under EMP, the Raptors landed two key teams. One on the Bridge and the other in Engineering. The engineering set up a false warp breach, and the bridge made sure we kept control during that most critical of time."

"And your Raptors can fly without electronics?"

Jacobs nodded, "Yes they can."

Bim Freshligm thought a little bit. "You encouraged the crew to abandon ship because they thought they were blowing up."

Jacobs nodded, "We used the fear of the unknown against them. EMP does not even allow batteries to work. They were zero-g in complete darkness. That is very disorienting and not drilled. The calculated risk was when the power came back and warp breach warnings started, the crew would not think twice to an abandon ship order."

"And you captured the Excalibur. Without a single loss to the freighters."

"Yes sir. Uh Senator." Jacobs said.

Bim Freshligm smiled a little. He looked at Jameson, who did not return the look. "No worries, Captain. You are a respectful man. I for one commend you on that action. I wish I had somebody like you when I was a freighter captain during the Klingon war. No further questions."

Senator April asked, "Admiral Adama, why did you keep Captain Jackson in command of the Excalibur?"

Adama said, "Captain Jackson lost a wargame that was completely unreasonable and unrealistic. He then was ambushed by a force of Klingons which had a weapon that we know very little about. Lastly, he had every expectation that in the event of hostilities, the Organians would intervene because there was nothing published about Organians not intervening. Captain Jackson along with everyone else in Starfleet believed that Organian intervention would happen within seconds of hostilities breaking out. His actions were proper, and he did come up with a strategy on how to detect cloaked vessels."

Senator Jameson snapped, "Adama, you are just covering for a Starfleet Captain! You all have the 'good ole boys' network' and cover for each other no matter what!"

Admiral Adama gave Senator Jameson a look of steel. His voice was quiet but stern. "Senator, that comment is unfounded and slanderous. It is my responsibility to make sure all my ships are crewed with good personnel. When there is a problem, I get it taken care of as soon as possible. That goes for the lowliest crewman or Captain of the biggest ship. If I thought Captain Jackson was not able to handle the task, I would have removed him. Since you made that accusation, I want to know the evidence you have of my playing favoritism with my staffing."

It was silent for a few seconds. Jameson said, "Well you allowed Lt. Kenn on board the Wisconsin."

"It was at the pressuring of your office. I talked it over with Captain Jacobs, who had a talk with the then Ensign Kenn. We felt that Mr. Kenn had a significant change of heart to do his duty on the Wisconsin." Adama turned around to look at Mr. Kenn. "And I have to say that then Ensign Kenn has earned the promotion to Lieutenant, Junior Grade."

Jacobs added, "And become a fully qualified Badger. He completed the shipboard course of Badger training and is fully qualified as a Badger."

Bim Freshligm asked, "What does that mean?"

Jacobs looked at Bauer, who picked up the answer. "That means Lt. Kenn did the entire course of training that the rest of the Badgers did. He ran as far, swam as far, exerted himself, was sleep deprived, and pushed beyond his personal limits the same as the original Badgers. He managed to do this because we saw that there was going to be a need for elite troop training onboard ships. My officers and I designed the course to fit that." Bauer turned around and nodded at Kenn, "And Mr. Kenn completed the course and earned the privilege of being a Badger on the Wisconsin along with the responsibility. He has since proven himself in combat."

Adama looked at Senator Jameson, "Now Senator, why did you ask the question? Did you already know that Ensign Kenn was going to be a problem? Why would you put your own nephew into that position?"

Jameson angrily said, "He wanted to be on the Wisconsin, I was just wanting him to succeed."

Adama said, "On a ship that you yourself was very opposed. That does not make sense. I ask the committee to consider why Senator Jameson would want to put his own nephew on a ship that he did not like under a command structure that Jameson detests, and that is on the record." Adama looked at the others. "The way Mr. Kenn turned out is not only a benefit to Mr. Kenn, but also to Captain Jacobs and the Wisconsin."

Jameson thought quickly. "What about Nurse Griffin? According to reports, she was a serious problem on the ship."

Adama nodded. "She was. And I have the reports. One of the problems with her was that by the time the request for transfer was received, it was months before we could get her off the ship."

Jameson said, "You didn't get her off the ship right away?"

Adama said, "I got her off at the first opportunity when Captain Jacobs and Dr. Mallard made the request to get her off. The problems with Starship operations are that they can be out on the frontier for an extended time."

"What about resupply ships?"

Adama asked, "What about them?"

"You could have gotten her off on one of those."

Adama squinted, "We did get her off on a ship that we thought was going to come right for Starbase 5. Problem was plans changed. It was the USS Pike."

A hush fell across the room. Jameson realized he was out of his plan again. He did not want to draw attention to all that quite yet. Jameson temporized, "You didn't get her removed when the Wisconsin came back to the Starbase?"

Adama said, "The Wisconsin didn't come back to the Starbase after rescuing the Excalibur."

Jacobs added, "Dr. Mallard was trying to handle matters internally. We do not kick off somebody just for a mistake. We try to help them out."

Jameson realized this line of questioning was not helping things out. "It's getting late, I think before we go onto reviewing one of the most egregious violations of the Prime Directive I've seen, we better break for the day."

Admiral Nogura leaned forward to the microphone. "Members of the committee, I wish to register a protest as Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet. While I do recognize the time is drawing late, I protest the characterization of the next mission of the Wisconsin. Senator Jameson wishes to get a jump on the news cycle and drop a comment just before recess in the hopes that over the next several hours that comment can be digested by the news cycle. To briefly answer that egregious comment about evidence not introduced yet, the Wisconsin's action was reviewed by not only Admiral Adama on Starbase 5, but also the Admiralty here at Starfleet Command, and the action was judged consistent with the Prime Directive. With that, anything further that is spoken about the next mission, I demand we get a chance to respond before recess. Anything else is not interested in trying to find the truth but swaying the narrative. Either adjourn immediately or allow us to respond to any further allegations. Thank you."

There was a stir and commotion in the gallery. Before Jameson could say anything, Senator April said, "I make a motion to adjourn."

"Seconded."

Jameson called for the vote, unanimous to adjourn.

CAPITAL HALLWAY

HOURS AGO

Eli Gold just walked out of Jameson's office. He flipped open his communicator and said, "George Patel." Gold kept walking toward the entrance.

Soon Patel's voice came over the communicator, "Not a good day for you Eli."

"George, I was wondering if I can get a former Starfleet commander to your late-morning newshow. He can explain PEANUTBUTTER."

"You are kidding me. Right?"

Gold said, "No, I'm not."

"You guys really botched that up. It is a flood that will not dam. I'm surprised at both of you. If you never wanted PEANUTBUTTER declassified, why try to squeeze those Captains? Just let it die."

Gold temporized, "It wasn't the best move."

"It was suicide. Eli, you are smarter than that. Tell me, is Jameson losing it? What did you advise him?"

Gold knew that this was not really off the record. Nothing with newsies ever is. "I can't say, George."

Patel said, "That tells me everything. Jameson shot his mouth off. I'll tell you this, you are not getting in front of this. It's not a flood, it's a tsunami. Best thing you can do is start telling the story that it was the President who classified it, despite what he said. It will be a tough sell, one that you will have to do repeatedly, but that is what I think. That depends on what happens today. You need to get that mike away from Jameson, he will sink you. If he has already gone off plan, no telling how bad he is going to do."

Gold walked out the doors and started down the steps. "You know that won't happen."

"Eli, you got to realize you are on a sinking ship. Time to get off. Come over here, I'll hire you as a political analyst. Your connections would make you very marketable."

Gold never thought of leaving Jameson. If he did, he would never work for a politician again. Gold shook that off. "Maybe later. For now, can I ask you to stop connecting the Senator's name to the classification of PEANUTBUTTER? I'll make it worth your while."

Patel thought a bit. "Sure, I'll do that. Provided you give my evening team an interview to fill an hour segment on what it was like to be on Starbase 5 during the attack. We really do not have a good feeling for what it was like."

"Sure thing. I'll do it after these hearings."

"Fair enough, thanks for calling me first." Patel said.

"How did you know I called first."

"The time. You were just on camera leaving the hearing room. You have not had time to call anyone else. Jameson must really be worried about PEANUTBUTTER."

Gold told truthfully, "He is, he's worried about the narrative if a couple of ex-Starfleet types get in front of the camera telling their story."

"That's why I said you would look ridiculous. We are going to have ten former officers on this morning throughout the morning, all telling their story of being in a conflict with the Klingons, no Organian intervention." Patel said.

"You're kidding me. They are in system?"

"All here on Earth. The other networks have their mornings packed as well, no repeats. These guys are lining up to tell their story. I've heard a couple of preliminaries. These guys are seriously mad. They all thought they were the only ship ever involved."

Gold felt a twinge of panic. It was worse than he thought. Patel said, "As the information wave travels to the other planets, there will be Starfleet officers there as well."

Gold understood what he was talking about. "Thanks George, I gotta go."

Next call would be to Gold's assistant. That guy was going to contact off-world sites to start getting ahead of the wave. Gold needed to handle the stuff here on Earth. He could not even afford the time to go out to Jupiter Station. All this could have been avoided if Jameson stayed on plan. But no, he had to make it personal. Gold thought that he is still seeing this unseen hand work on Jacobs. Protecting Jacobs would be a better characterization. What about the unseen hand against Jameson? Maybe.

That sent a chill down Gold's back. In the past few days he has acknowledged that there was an unseen power working in his life and others. And this unseen power makes choices and affects events. Gold could see that this unseen power could be against Jameson, but that was not really accurate. Jameson was making his own decisions. Gold thought about the unseen power. One thing he could see was that this power seemed to be on the side of good people. Was that an accurate description? Or were there some people that were on the side of the unseen power? Gold could not stop thinking about this unseen hand and how he was interacting with it.

SENATOR JAMESONS OFFICE

AFTER HEARING ADJOURNED

Senator Jameson was yelling at one of the lower aides when Gold walked in. Jameson yelled at Gold, "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?"

Gold was tired, this day was so high pressure. He had enough of the abuse. "I'M OUT FIXING THE PROBLEM YOU CREATED, CHUCK!"

Jameson was about ready to shoot back when Gold pressed the point. Gold was so seriously mad at Jameson, not only for the miscalculation, but for all the bad, no, it was the evil that Jameson had Gold do for him over the years. "I've been talking to every news organization on the planet. They all say the same thing, we aren't getting out in front of this story. This is big news, and we're behind it. There are former Starfleet officers coming out of the woodwork to tell their story. All they needed was to know they were not the only ones. Between calls, I've watched a few interviews. This has all the stuff people want to see, a coverup causing tremendous pain."

"I told you.."

"Nothing! We are not getting in front. Best we can do is have them drop your name from the classification. They won't mention it. I've been calling everybody promising them everything I can to just keep your name out, but we aren't stopping the stories being told." Gold said exasperatingly.

Jameson realized he pushed too hard. He sat back with a frown looking off in the distance. "What's our play?"

"You got to lay off that Captain. I have heard from several execs that they think you're losing objectivity. You look like you are making this personal. I tell you your old tricks are not working."

Jameson had a flash of anger. "My old tricks? I've questioned many Starfleet…."

Gold snapped back stabbing a finger at Jameson, "Don't try that spin on me! Remember who I am! I've done your dirty laundry for years and orchestrated many things for you! You've got to stop making it personal with Jacobs!"

Jameson retorted angrily, "I want him sunk. We got to tell the story. They will turn on him."

Gold suddenly had an insight. Jackson was not warning Jameson. What if that unseen hand was working on him? Jameson is going down the path that Jackson warned about. Gold did not know how it was going to end, but he could see it was going to end in disaster, and he was right along for the ride. What if what Captain Jackson was saying was actually directed at Gold? It was interesting that many places he called today offered him jobs being an on-screen analyst. That would not help if he was in prison. Is that unseen hand now trying to help Gold? That would mean there was a God after all…..

Sam Cogley told him a lot about his God. One of love. But that would mean that this God of love had loved him despite the horrible things Gold had done. All the amazing things that happened at Starbase 5. Now providing a way out of the Jameson mess. Could Gold be one that can accept love? Gold suddenly felt unworthy. Cogley talked about that as well. This Jesus Christ came to him when Cogley was unworthy. Cogley was such a nice man, surely worthy of this God's love. Gold just said stuff that he had done was evil, and it was. Could God love Eli Gold even though Gold was evil?

Jameson was talking but Gold was not hearing. Jameson said, "Eli! You're not listening to me! We have our many business interests to protect to. Notify those corporations on Starbase 5 that supplied Starfleet in the buildup that we want to see them here, pronto. If they leave right away, they will make the end of the hearings."

"Which ones? They won't come without an order."

Jameson waived, "I'll get it tomorrow. Let them know it is coming. It will play into my hand on hanging Starfleet at the end. I'll get Jacobs, Starfleet, Nogura, the whole bunch at one time! It will be perfect to have those corporations there. I'm talking Windtalker Communications, Zur Mining, Indefatigable Fabrication, Eagle transportation, and Zayin Arms."

Gold felt his blood go cold over that. Those were the corporations that Cogley represented. They ended up being hospitable to him, they saved his life. He did not want anything to happen to them. Gold did not doubt the committee would pass the summons. "Yes sir. I'll send it out now." At least it was a head's up that an order was coming.

Was this part of the unseen hand? Gold did not know. He could not see how this would be good for them. Jameson had a plan concerning how to attack them. Gold just did not know what to do, only that he needed saving from Jameson. Saving from himself.