Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Flint and Steel

Unofficial Literary Challenge 14 - The Sound of Q-sic, Prompt 3

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Club 47 in Earth Space Dock had reopened from extensive renovations and Kathryn was invited to its first day reveal. She was not too sociable on her ship and she felt that appropriate. Although she had friends on Solaris, and had good rapport with the crew, it was also a place of duty. Yet, for this occasion, Kathryn decided to let her hair down, literally.

Her hair flowed from a short part along the right side of her head, with a slight wave, over her left shoulder revealing a long segmented ear ring to the right. Staying on the conservative side due to the other attendees being either diplomats or higher-ranking members of Starfleet and the Federation, her azure dress extended to the floor and covered her arms. Not being overly modest herself, she allowed her back to be exposed with the dress hanging from her neck and waist. From her hips, the dress exhibited her bare legs behind a wrapped curtain of lightweight sheer material which shimmered in the light. At just under six feet tall bare-footed, her dark burgundy high heeled shoes made Kathryn feel like an Amazon relative to other guests, even if it was only three more inches.

Multi-colored beams of light streaked from a rotating ball that floated around the cavernous room. It orbited a larger device blaring loud music, mostly from human origin. The room itself was plainly ornamented to allow for strobe lights to serve as constantly moving decoration. From that effect, shadows were stark and changed constantly. Although every corner of the dance room was visible, it was intermittent. The point was that privacy was not possible.

But that is what Kathryn wanted. After dancing with changing partners for a few exciting songs, she decided that was enough. Carefully dodging past other dancers, she reached the edge of the brightly lit dance floor and lifted her dress to allow for safe climbing up the stairs to the bar-room. Passing a force field between the rooms, the music instantly muffled to a dull warble or rhythmic thump. Kathryn pulled at her hair to keep it on her left side as she strolled to the bar and ordered a drink. Seconds later, a teal-colored drink appeared in a short clear glass with ice cubes floating within. She took a sip and looked toward the lounge area of Club 47. Knowing that area was the antithesis of the dance floor (while sharing a beautiful view of the Earth), she smiled slightly and walked toward peace and quiet.

Throughout the evening, Kathryn had been involved in various conversations. All of them generic small talk; the kind you would expect to have with unfamiliar people or higher-ranking officers. A polite, and sometimes professional, distance was maintained in the dialog. She didn’t expect salacious propositions as if she were at Drozana Station or even Risa, even if Club 47 was a bar, lounge, and dance floor inside Earth Space Dock. Although an “official” event, it was comforting not to have to talk “business”. On board a starship, most conversations tend to be toward its proper maintenance, or the specification to handle this-or-that duty.

Passing another force field, the already muted music from the bar area was almost eliminated completely. The serenity of the lounge, coupled with an expansive view of nearby space dominated by the Earth to the side was breathtaking. The lounge had plenty of available seating, especially for an event like this. Kathryn mentally shrugged off the curious fact and sat at an empty table closest to the main window. On board her ship, she enjoyed sitting at window seats to enjoy a drink. Her reverie swam through histories, reminders and nonsensical thoughts until a starship floated into view. The graceful, and intimidating, form of an Odyssey-class ship captured her attention until it disappeared.

“The USS Orion.”

Kathryn was startled as the speaker was standing near her table. Looking, the human male was clearly Asian and aged well. Dark grey hair worn long and to the shoulders, the Fu Manchu was also dark grey and made his distinguished presence intimidating. He wore the Command colors on his Admiral’s tunic. Kathryn noted she did not see anyone else in Club 47 wearing a uniform, other than the woman standing to his side and a step behind.

Her dark hair fell straight to the middle of her torso. Cheeks seemed to flow straight to the jaw accentuated by thick lips, even wearing a neutral expression she exuded a sexy friendliness. The standard-issue uniform’s white shoulders revealed her as a starship captain. Looking at the woman, Kathryn could not help but smile, partly out of relief for a friendly face between the two visitors.

Clearing her throat, Kathryn stood and saluted. Efficiently, the Admiral waved to brush aside protocol, have Kathryn sit back down and invite his female partner to sit down at the table. Kathryn was compelled to sit in her chair and wait for the next move.

The Admiral spoke first, “Captain Kathryn Selena Beringer, please meet Captain Tracy Maxwell Kent”.

Tracy nodded and smiled as she sat into a nearby chair, crossing her legs. Kathryn felt more relaxed and lifted her glass. She then watched the Admiral sit into another seat.

As he sat, the Admiral became more congenial, “my apologies to interrupt your festivities, I hope you are enjoying yourself?”

“Yes, indeed, Admiral Marik.”

The man smiled stroking his moustache. “Let me be brief: what is your opinion on orbital bombardment?”

Kathryn could not hide her surprise at the query. “Excuse me, sir?”

“I know this may not seem the place or time to discuss official business, but it is necessary.”

He did not ask the question again, nor did the Admiral explain it. Kathryn arranged her thoughts and took a sip to help buy time to craft an effectual answer.

“It’s not Starfleet’s best tool in the box to solve problems.”

Tracy and Marik exchanged glances and Kathryn felt as if she had just answered a word-problem with a number.

Captain Kent leaned forward enough for her hair to fall past her shoulders. “Of course. Let me be blunt, the Corps of Engineers have been working on projects focused on kinetic weapons, of all types. Torpedo technology has improved greatly since the days of Kirk. Yet, with everything happening in the galaxy, our negotiators need more force available to them, so to speak.” Her silky voice matched her beauty, yet Kathryn heard an edge in her words.

Kathryn’s raised an eyebrow. “Negotiators shouldn’t need firepower.”

Smirking, Kent replied, “normally we’d agree with that statement. The Iconians proved time and again Starfleet was not prepared …,” her countenance changed as her lips trembled for a moment second before she found her place again. “Well, let’s say it’s better to have a box with tools you may not need. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”

“I suppose.” Kathryn glanced at her drink before taking a sip to respect whatever loss Tracy remembered.

Admiral Marik spoke next. “Have you seen the new Jupiter-class yet, Captain?”

The change in topic was abrupt. Maybe the Admiral was pushing aside ‘work’ for a moment to help Tracy? “Yes. Very impressive. She will be the pride of the fleet, I’m sure.”

“Captain Kent is slotted to receive a ship from the first wave. The redesign is a perfect platform to test new weapons.” The Admiral stroked his beard again. “It’s going to replace the Galaxy-class in that regard.”

Marik’s dovetailing the topics made Kathryn feel uneasy. Sitting a little straighter in the chair she cocked her head to the side and looked to both officers. “Forgive me Admiral, but what’s going on here?”

Tracy sat back into her chair and looked to Marik as if to receive permission. He didn’t look away from Kathryn. She glanced over her shoulders before explaining. “One of the new Jupiter-class vessels will be the platform to test a new catastrophic weapon. The Javelin Lance uses kinetic technology at its simplest form. Essentially, a large Decatritanium ‘spike’ will be launched from orbit via electromagnetic rail at a ground target. The planet’s gravity takes over, pulling the ship-long missile to target.”

Kathryn’s eyes widened as she imagined the weapon and it’s causing fantastic destruction. In her mind’s eye, a large nail dived into the heart of an average-sized city and everything melted from amazing heat and explosion from impact. Cognizance whirled as she griped with the weapon’s feasibility and disagreed with the concept.

“Energy-based attacks are more accurate … a hell of a lot more accurate. The Javelin is simply indiscriminate.”

The warmth of Tracy’s smile was cooled by the mischievous look in her eyes. Admiral Marik cleared his throat. “Regardless of the details, the purpose of our meeting is to recruit your ship to assist with finding suitable testing grounds. Simulations prove the weapon is viable, but there’s nothing like the real thing. Captain Kent will be commanding the vessel. Myself or Admiral Takashi Kurita will be your contacts.”

“I …,” Kathryn paused. Being a starship Captain, she had a lot of leeway with decisions. Sometimes though, orders were orders and Kathryn had yet to be faced with a situation that pushed against her own moral judgment so much as to jeopardize her career. Admiral Marik was not overtly giving an order, yet it was undeniable that he was doing so.

Ships have increased in their lethality, and every cruiser on the line had orbital strike capabilities. Solaris was no different; the fact she has yet to use it may be either luck or fortune. But the power to obliterate a city was always at her command. From another point of view, by joining Starfleet, she accepted the possibility to do something against the fringes of her own professional morality.

Did this weapon, and this discussion, breach some personal code? The Federation was at full war with the Iconians. Before that, the Vaadwaur, Undine, Voth and Klingons. Starfleet was a military, after all, and weapon development was sure to take many turns. So, was the Admiral really asking for more than what was expected from a Starfleet Captain?

Kathryn decided he wasn’t. Before Kathryn could finish responding, Admiral Marik raised a hand to interrupt. He smiled as spoke.

“Don’t get me wrong, Captain Beringer. Your ship will not have this mission alone. Although the project is still in development, the prototype is ready. Coupled with the current state of affairs, targets are to be discovered rather than sought after; targets of opportunity, so to speak. We want to test on remote, desolate worlds with no chance against any form of life. COE plans this project will not be fully operational for several months, due to the Jupiter’s rollout, maybe more years before we see production onto capital ships. Yet, there is some secrecy involved, and that’s why we are discussing this with you personally, in a setting that would not be expected by prying eyes and ears.”

And that cleared the way for Kathryn.

“Yes, sir. I understand. Solaris is ready for this task.

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Cast:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Captain Tracy Maxwell Kent - Monica Belluci
Admiral Janos Marik - Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Mentioned but not seen:
Admiral Takashi Kurita - Ken Watanabe