Tigranian stepped through the doors of the Nelson's ward room. It was eerily identical to his own except for the rear bulkhead. Where he was used to seeing a waist length portrait of General John Joseph Pershing, an oil painting of Admiral Horatio Nelson in full Royal Navy dress stared back at him. In addition, there was a different CO sitting at the head of the conference table. For some reason, it irked him.
"Daniel!" Captain Quan said pushing up from her seat. "It's so good to see you again," she extended a palm for an awkward handshake.
He could see he was the next to last to arrive. The table had been set with a bone china tea service. Along the edges sat a Coridanite man and an Andorian woman, both wore the uniforms of Starfleet captains.
"Belen!" Tigranian said recognizing the man. "I haven't seen you since Starfleet Command back on Earth in '72.
"It has been a long time, Dan," he said also shaking Tigranian's hand. The Coridanite turned to the others. "We were both flunkie staff officers together as Lieutenant Commanders. I was in the Chief of Operations' Office, Dan was attached to Starfleet Intelligence…"
Quan awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Yes, we already know how that one turned out…" she said contributing to the collective awkwardness. "Since you already know Captain Tarn of the USS Nevsky," she continued politely, "Allow me introduce you to Captain Kivrana Zhe'vasda of the USS Shran."
"Captain…" Tigranian said shaking her hand. "It's a hell of coincidence they got an Andorian in command of a ship called the Shran."
"It's no coincidence," she said as her antennae straightened with pride. "Starfleet knew that Andoria would pitch a fit if anyone besides one of her own commanded a ship named for one of our greatest heroes." She cocked her head to one side as they all took their seats around the table. "Perhaps, Captain Tigranian, I can lure your own Andorian officer away from you. He's already a legend on this new class of ship."
"Oh no," Tigranian said, "Tren Scharr is mine and mine alone. His promised me his next stop after the Pershing is retirement, and I intend to hold him to that."
"We'll see…" she said as her antennae curled to match her scheming grin.
The doors to the room parted again and the final captain walked through. He was wearing the standard uniform, but a pair of golden wings glistened from above his comm badge.
"Parker!" Quan said rising to greet him. "Team, this is Captain Parker Bennett of the USS Hikaru Sulu, the Federation's newest supercarrier."
He nodded to the assembly as another Starfleet officer with familiar red pigtails and wearing a black flight suit strode in behind him.
"Captain Tigranian," Bennett said motioning to his companion. "When I found out you would be attending this meeting, I asked the XO of Cobra Squadron to accompany me. I hear you two know each other."
"Dee!" Tigranian said rising to his feet. He grabbed Daredevil's palm and pulled her into a friendly embrace. "Don't you show up in the damndest places?"
"I like to be unpredictable, Sir," she said with a grin. She took a seat next to her captain at the end of the table.
Captain Quan got an annoyed look on her face. She motioned for an enlisted steward in the corner to set another place in front of Daredevil.
"Parker," she said trying to hide her disdain for the perceived social faux pas. "I didn't know you'd be bringing one of your junior officers. Otherwise, I would have extended the invitation to the other guests as well…"
Tigranian held back a groan at Shu Yin's snobbish attitude. He shouldn't have been surprised. She had been the exact same way ten years ago. However, he immediately grew angry when he looked up to see that her jibe had actually rattled Daredevil. She looked down at her lap to hide her embarrassment at their host's snub.
"I for one…" he said forcefully sitting up in his chair, "am honored to be in Commander Neman's presence and you all should be too," he said looking around the table at the other captains.
"I didn't mean to imply she wasn't welcome…" Quan said trying to regain control of the conversation, but Tigranian cut her off.
"Commander Neman is one of the finest pilots I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Her actions at Bajor last year literally saved a planet, but besides that, she is one of the few fighter pilots out there who really believes in her obligation to protect capital starships. She fights for the "Heavies" like us and she won't quit, no matter what the odds say.
Now, I know you haven't been seating in the center seat as long as I have…" he said casting a glance in Shu Yin's direction, "but having the most guns and armor on the battlefield also makes you the biggest target on the battlefield. I for one, pray that I always have a fighting angel like her on my nacelle, and you should too."
"Well, like I previously said…" Quan replied with more than a hint of annoyance, "She's more than welcome on my ship." She nodded to Daredevil who returned Quan's gesture with a nod of her own. Dee then looked over to Tigranian with gratitude as the steward poured a steaming volume of tea into the cup and saucer in front of her.
"Those were some fine words, Captain T," Dee said reaching for the cup's handle, "but I don't know about all that. I just fly around in circles and shoot at stuff until it blows up." The other captains gave an awkward laugh. "I don't get invited to such formal gatherings very often. Mostly I'm chained to an oar below decks. It's pinky out, right?" she asked sarcastically extending the little finger on her right hand before taking a loud slurp of her beverage.
Quan rubbed her eyes.
"Let's get back to the topics at hand, shall we?"
"And those are?" Tigranian asked.
"What were you doing on the other side for so long, Dan?" Tarn said like the query was obvious.
"You all first," Tigranian replied looking around the table. "Where did your ships come from, and why didn't I know about their construction?"
"It's true, you've been a little pre-occupied the last six months," Zhe'vasda said. "But as you know, Min Zife is a war hawk president like the Federation hasn't seen in its history…"
"Look at this way, Dan," Quan continued. "In a little more than three years, we went from first contact with the Dominion to the most destructive war the Federation had ever seen. Starfleet hadn't even fully recovered from the Borg incursions, before we went straight into a conflict with a resurgent Klingon Empire, then war on three fronts with the Jem'Hadar, Cardassians, and Breen. If it hadn't been for our allies, we'd all be learning how to speak Vorta right now."
"That definitely showcases the importance of good friends," Tigranian said taking a sip of his own tea.
"You have bonded with the Klingons in way we'll never understand, Dan," Tarn said. "But many of us aren't as comfortable as you putting the security of our Federation in their hands."
"If Ben Sisko hadn't caught Gowron with his proverbial pants down when the Jem'Hadar pushed into Cardassian Space, he might not have ever rejoined the Khitomer Accords," Bennett added.
"Zife convinced the Federation Council that Starfleet was in desperate need of modernization," Quan said. "We shouldn't just be refitting our ships from a wartime footing back to exploration. We could easily run into new enemies as quickly as we run into new friends. The situation with the resurgent Romulan Empire and the Cardassian State only strengthened his hand.
The Federation is already the largest country in this half of the galaxy. On top of that, we also have mutual defense pacts with the Ferengi Alliance, Republic of Cardassia, Bajor, and the First Federation. That's a lot of space to protect."
"I'm only playing devil's advocate here, but Starfleet's primary mission is exploration," Tigranian countered. "When the voters find out he's dumping most of our limited resources into warships rather than new exploration vessels, he might find himself unemployed after next election."
"I think that's a risk he's willing to take," Zhe'vasda said.
"But why the secrecy?" Tigranian asked. "Why not take the argument directly to the people?"
"Because it's a lot easier to ask for forgiveness than permission," Tarn replied. "The ships are already built. When the knowledge of their existence goes public, all he has do is remind everyone of the Romulans, Breen, the Dominion still in the Gamma Quadrant. On top of all that, we know it's only a matter of time before we see another Borg Cube heading back to Sector 001."
"That's one way of looking at it…" Tigranian muttered. "A rather bleak way, but a way."
"The centerpiece of the new fleet will be the Sulu," Bennett said proudly. "We're the fastest fleet carrier in history. We can respond at Warp 9 to put attack fighters on the front door of any threat in a matter of days rather than weeks. Plus, we have the best pilots in our history on board."
"Guilty as charged," Dee added with a raised hand.
"Starfleet also now has four Pershing class battlestarships to screen for the taskforces of regular starships. We've got the speed, we've got the armor, and we've got the firepower," Quan said leaning back in chair. "Speaking to Admiral Paris two weeks ago before we left spacedock, he envisions us on a constant rotation: one in the Republic of Cardassia, one patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone, one in reserve in Federation space, and one refitting in spacedock."
Tigranian admitted to himself, it was a good plan. Cardassian Space and the Romulan Star Empire were on opposite sides of the UFP. With another ship near the core systems, this meant every point of Federation space was less than 48 hours away from a Pershing class travelling at maximum warp.
He just wished Pete Murphy and Paris had let him in on this plan. He couldn't help but ponder whether his relationship to Torlek and Chancellor Martok might have had something to do with their curious silence on the subject.
"Alright that explains us," Zhe'vasda said as her antennae straightened with curiosity. "Now, tell us about your little side trip, Tigranian."
"Yes, Daniel," Quan grinned as she leaned forward towards him. "What were you doing across the Neutral Zone?"
"Ahem," Tigranian said clearing his throat. He looked around the compartment and noticed the enlisted steward was still in the room "Crewman," he said calmly. "Do you mind running down to the galley and getting me a glass of water. I'm parched."
"Sir," the steward said very confused. "If you would like water, I can get it from the replicator on the wall," he said pointing to the slot less than four meters away.
"True, but I hear the water from your galley is much better."
The confused steward looked to Captain Quan.
"It's alright, Charles," she said waving him towards the doors. "Captain Tigranian just wants an excuse for you to leave the room without making you feel unimportant."
Tigranian rolled his eyes. Shu Yin had many fine qualities as an officer. Tact was never one of them.
Once the crewman departed, Tigranian spoke.
"I don't care how many fleet carriers, battlestarships, or starbases we build, the Federation will never remove the threat of the Romulan Empire unless we change its leadership from the inside."
"This doesn't have anything to do with those rioting slaves I keep seeing on the news broadcasts, does it?" Tarn asked.
"They're so much more than rioting slaves, Belen," Tigranian replied. "They are the hope for the future. I came to know their leaders very well when I was imprisoned in the Star Empire last year."
"I knew that a bunch of different species suddenly converting to Kahless worship out of the blue was too much a coincidence to believe!" Quan exclaimed. "You're the one who first put the idea in their heads, aren't you?"
"I showed them a new path back then, yes," Tigranian admitted. "However, they are the ones who decided it would be better to lobby the Klingon Empire for a new union."
"Martok can't seriously be considering their course of action, can he?" Zhe'vasda said skeptically. "I mean, they're terrorists, aren't they?"
"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Just ask the average Cardassian what he thinks of our Bajoran friends, Kivrana."
"You found them, didn't you?" Quan asked suddenly putting it all together. "You asked them to ally with us against Romulus?"
"Yes, Shu Yin, I did."
"What did they say?" Bennett asked excitedly.
"That is a message I am reserving for Starfleet Command's ears only," Tigranian said firmly. "We have some more details we need to agree on."
"Well," Shu Yin said a bit frustrated at Tigranian's evasiveness. It was obvious she considered herself privy to more information as a fellow Pershing captain than he was willing to reveal. "I'm so happy to have gotten us all together. Feel free to stay aboard as long as you like, but I'm sure we all have business we need to attend to," she said staring back at Tigranian. "And I'm sure Daniel has a lot of classified subspace communication with Earth in his near future."
She stood up from the table and excused herself.
The other captains quickly excused themselves as well, heading back towards the transporter rooms, but Tigranian lingered long enough to get Dee by herself.
"You know her, Sir?" she asked obviously referring to Captain Quan. "Doesn't seem like the most sociable commanding officer I've ever met…"
"Don't mind, Shu Yin," Tigranian replied shaking his head. "She has a permanent stick up her ass, but she's one of the most competent people in this uniform. Certainly if you believe all the stories circulated by our classmates."
"Sounds peachy," Dee said under her breath.
"What about you? I thought you were still at Top Gun?"
"Sulu needed all the competent pilots it could get and my name got thrown in the hat. You know I wouldn't pass up a chance to get back out here with things the way they are."
"I suppose not," Tigranian laughed.
"How's Sab and Fleetie? I hear through the grapevine that he finally popped the question?"
"He did, and she said yes."
"Well, I've got a bottle of Saurian Brandy sitting in my quarters with their name it, that is if you let the two of them off the boat to fraternize with a newly minted field grade officer."
Tigranian chuckled.
"As long as you don't use your new position for pleasure, profit, or personal safety, Commander."
"I can assure you, profit or personal safety won't be an issue. Pleasure on the other hand…I'm always looking for a good time."
Tigranian smiled as he raised an eyebrow.