Cptn Corizon

As Micheal Moore recently noted: There's nothing wrong with looking at other country's and seeing what they're doing right, and adopting those policies, while not doing what they're doing that's not working. The Europeans have done a lot right in the way of environmentally sound policies, while keeping their industry up. (Germany for example has the third highest GDP in the world, Japan, another country doing well on the front of Environmentally friendly policies, is number 2.) And there's no reason to not adopt some of their policies. On the more broad political note, I'd like to respectfully note that the assertion of "you and I know what's best for us" is a very 'Western' point of view considering for the largest portion of history in the world, the government decided everything for the people with out their input, and one that doesn't take into account historical context. To say the government cannot regulate how you dispose of your trash, for example, is to reject all government interaction. That's silly idea. Government is a needed entity to regulate society. Essentially, its back to social contract theory (to which a great portion of our constitutional theory is based upon.) The very nature of government is often to preform tasks that individuals alone can't accomplish. I don't disagree with your sentiment that we should work from the bottom up. In fact that's a major key point in Mister Gore's appeal to Americans, but the sad truth is that is simply not enough to effect meaningful change, especially when it comes to the large corporations who are the biggest polluters. They have to be regulated by the government in order to achieve that goal. PS: Without government subsidies, your every day life would be nearly impossible, so don't knock the IRS that hard.

In the pitch black cold of space, the warship Excalibur floated amidst her fleet mates waiting in anticipation for the culmination of months of planning and preparation. Aboard the once sparkling vessel of exploration cum battle-hardened lady, her master sat alone in darkness. Corizon’s thoughts coalesced from complex battle formations and minute battle strategies to the ultimate goal of the mission and the big picture. In twenty-four hours the fate of his Quadrant could well be decided. acrifice If the battle at the wormhole went poorly, if they failed in their mission to warn the Alpha Quadrant, if their task force was wiped from existence nothing would stand between the Scorpiads and an eventual assault upon the Federation. They could not be allowed to continue to hold the wormhole which allowed them to rebuild their forces. If they did, the Dominion would soon buckle beneath the sharpened stinger of the Scorpiads and then they would set all of their compound eyes on everything he held dear. Closing his eyes he sighed softly. Five years had passed since the Dominion had acquiesced to the Alliance. Five years had past since their ambition had been thwarted. So many good people had died in that conflict, died protecting the Federation. And now five years later, they were helping save the very people they’d once fought so bitterly against to protect the Federation once more. The irony wasn’t lost on Corizon. It was an alliance of convenience. It was an alliance of once bitter enemies who had put aside their differences to overcome a greater threat. These things happened in war—strange bedfellows. Clawed fists clenched tight on the thoughts. He hated the Dominion. He despised them. They had taken his pristine world of before the War and shattered it, forever altering what had once been the shining city on the hill. That world no longer existed. Instead it had been replaced by the dull-grey hues of reality. A city constantly under siege. Morals had compromised, and men now worked in the shadows to assure the continued existence of the city, breaking the very ideals that founded the city to assure her survival. And now he helped the greatest foe his beloved Federation had ever faced, to protect his beloved Federation. It was a compromise of his values that he was willing to make. His jaw hardened. The survival of the Federation was paramount and any sacrifice that had to be made was worth the price—even if it were his own life he paid with. -- Light-years away the flagship of the Scorpiad Empire, the Conquering Fury, joined her sisterships in formation, forming a wall of Scorpiad, Al-Ucard and Eritan vessels that moved in unison towards a head-on conflict with her enemies. Standing alone in the darkness of his chambers, General N’Krittt considered the situation carefully. His entire life he had prepared for this moment. The end of war was near. He could feel it in his exoskeleton. Soon the fate his empire would be decided by the prowess in battle. If they lost the upcoming clash of giants, the Wormhole would be lost and soon the war. Without the life-giving power of the wormhole, the larva that would grow into powerful ships like the ones he rode upon would be lost. He knew, despite the arrogant predications by the war council that without their ships, the Al-Ucard and Eritan would fail to subdue the Dominion. It would only be matter of time before another race rose to challenge them outright, perhaps the Dominion themselves. And of course their was what he had been told by the Emperor, and sworn to secrecy. This war was no longer just about revenge upon the Dominion. It was something more. His people were dying. Slowly. But surely. They were dying. Birthrates were low amongst all the sub-species, and those Scorplings that were being born were having higher and higher rates of infertility. No, this was no longer about righting a wrong. This was to be the last great push of the Scorpiad Empire; the last monument to the greatness of Archanis. If their race was doomed, they would go out, not with withering frailty but with fierceness of the strongest beast. He had been tasked, by the Emperor himself with the success of this campaign, and he would see to it that the monument was complete—even if he paid for it with is life.

And Al Gore hasn't challenged people to be more environmentally friendly? That was *the whole point* of AIT.

::smirks:: The Al-Ucard could easily be called "when a Halloween plot gets out of hand."

Well Agincourt has its own mirror that's separate from the mirror developed in DS9. And If I were to ever do a Mirror-plot on my games, we'd likely use that Mirror. :)

::blinks a few times:: People rarely use the Metro? This is news to me.

SD: 0707.01 Having suffered damages in their previous battle, the Excalibur heads towards their next target, though their is growing concern their won't be an Excalibur left once they reach their final target at the wormhole.

::puts away the bon fire material:: Presents he says?

SD 0706.24 The Task Force has departed from Camelot headed towards the staging area, where they will rendezvous with the combined Hundred and Dominion fleets before intercepting the Scorpiad fleet. The Excalibur however will be part of an advance group that will be hitting a number of priority targets in an effort to weaken the Scorpiad defenses, and allow safe passage for the fleet. The Excalibur's strike group, consisting of the Aida, Reliant, and Apocalypse are nearing their first target, a small communications relay station guarded by a handful of Al-Ucard ships in the Tangor system.

Mission Brief: The Excalibur is in the final stages of prep for launch on one of the pre-emptive strike group. 061707.txt

Excalibur continues to await what the feel is an imminent threat to Camelot Station, but intelligence is beginning to show a much more dangerous plot lurking. 061007.txt

The clicking of Scorpiad feet against the floors of the compound echoed sharply down the hall. General N'Krittt strode quickly towards the command center, moving subordinates out of his way, pushing those foolish enough not to clear the hallway against the wall as he passed. The heavy doors that sealed the command center off from the rest of the base heaved open, and N'Krittt made his way to the central command dias which rose from the floor. “Report.” He barked forcefully. “We have detected massive fleet movements from the Alpha Quadrant and the Dominion.” “Clarify.” “We're still putting together the...” The seasoned Androcot General hissed, he had not time for prattle. They were involved in the single largest commitment of their forces since the start of the conflict, and suddenly their enemies were mobilizing “I did not ask for an explanation of your inadequacies, I want what we do know.” The young Trog working the panel collected himself quickly, “The Allies have mobilized almost their entire force at Camelot Base and are moving them out, headed on an intercept course for our strike force. The Dominion have pulled nearly four entire fleets from the front lines, and we've detected nearly 600 additional Dominion forces moving on a course that will link them up with the Allied fleet.” “They've discovered our gambit...” “What are your orders, General?” The voice of one of the senior officers nearby called. “Should I send the abort signal to our fleet? If they know what we're planning then we're venerable.” “No...” “Sir...” “No, send to all of forces in range. Fall back to the wormhole. We will make our stand here. I wished to delay dealing with the Alpha Quadrant threat, but it seems they are forcing the issue...”

The crisis had abated, for the moment. Corizon slumped into the ready room chair with a heavy sigh. Damage reports were beginning to filter in from not only his own ship but the fleet at his disposal. So far they were light, which was good news. The fleet had stood strong against the Scorpiad scouting party, even if they had been caught flat-footed—something that irked him to no end. There was, of course, a gnawing feeling that he would see more of their gleaming, organic black hulls soon in the near future, but for the moment all was quite. On a positive note though (he was rather surprised they’d managed to get so much decent news all at once), Victria had apparently returned from her mission to the Scorpiad base. Funny that Segami had just asked about that very mission minutes before the attack in which Victria returned to the Camelot fold. Corizon took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Sleep had been a luxury he had rarely embraced over the last few weeks, spending late hours into the night planning the assault on the wormhole. The chimes rang, and Victria entered. The world spun, turning on its head, and darkness fell. Thy kingdom come. Corizon found himself on bridge of the Excalibur, his head and mind spinning faster than the universe itself. In the period of one brief hour, the entire tactical situation in the Gamma Quadrant had changed. He’d known that they had to strike against the Scorpiad stronghold at the wormhole sooner or later—preferably later than sooner. Fate, the cosmos, the One or whatever had decided differently. The timetable of a month to finish preparing for the attack against the wormhole was no longer an option. Now was the time in which they would be tested. Forged in the fire of battle, tested in the heat of combat, into darkness they rode. Thy kingdom coming. Three hours had passed since he’d given the news to the crew. Three hours since the line in the sand was drawn. What lay before the Dameon Captain was a truly Herculean task. In the course of the next forty-five hours, he would have to work a miracle, he would have to compress the planning and preparation of one month into those forty-five hours. His first task was to address some nagging issues on the bridge of his starship. He’d needed a helmsman, and he wanted to make some personnel adjustments with the Science and Operation departments—all of which were easily solved with a few strokes of paper work. Now onto more difficult issues. The communications terminal sprang to life, and the static image of the Dominion seal filled the screen. A few moments later and Taenix, leader of the Vorta Council appeared. “I wasn’t aware we’d be talking again so soon,” she said, her voice dripping of Vorta-saccharine. “What do I owe the pleasure.” “We’ve had to move up our time table for out attack on the wormhole,” Corizon said sternly, he had neither the patience nor the time for Vorta games. Taenix tilted he had slightly, in a very Vorta-esque manner, making Corizon wonder just how long that had been programmed into the Vorta genetics. “How much sooner?” “My forces will begin moving into position in 48 hours.” She choked back her instant response and fluttered her eyebrows. “That…that is much sooner than you’d indicated you would need our forces. What brought this on?” “Our intelligence indicates that the Scorpiads are planning to attack Deep Space 9.” Having not lived through the Dominion War, Taenix didn’t harbor the same feelings for that name her brethren did, but she knew many of the Vorta clones would have little remorse for the glaring reminder of their failure to conquer the Alpha Quadrant removed from sight. Pursing her lips, she considered how to respond. “This puts us in a very…different situation.” “I don’t think either of us would disagree with that statement.” “We are currently involved in a number of operations against the Scorpiad forces that involve a number of our ships…” Corizon’s ear instinctively pinned back. He didn’t like where this was going. “But,” she said with heavy exertion. “Your offer of…assistance to us is invaluable.” Slowly his ears began to return to their normal position, leverage was a wonderful tool. “Our intelligence indicates that Scorpiads have pulled a number of their own ships back to their base at the wormhole and at a staging area nearby. Perhaps if you pulled your own forces off the front lines and began culling them at the staging points discussed, it would force them to do the same with Al-Ucard and Eritan forces?” “That’s quite the gambit,” Taenix replied thoughtfully. “Bringing more of their ships into the battle certainly doesn’t help our chances.” “Hopefully, we’re more mobile than they are.” Taenix nodded. “I am not sure if I can commit the same amount of force we previously discussed.” She held up a hand to stop the remark nearly out of Corizon’s mouth. “But we will see you at the rendezvous, Captain.” Corizon bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, Taenix.” “If you’ll excuse me, Captain, I have much to attend too and little time to do see to it.” “Of course.” The screen fell to darkness. One down. Storm clouds gather, the air is damp, darkness rides upon thunder. Forty hours remained till the fleet had to be mobile. Orders had to be filed and commanding officers had to be brought onto the same page. The days of Dominion War were fresh in Corizon’s mind. “Captains,” Corizon said to the room of about thirty Starfleet, a couple dozen Romulan, ten Klingon officers and several Vortas gathered in one of the larger conference rooms at Avalon Base. It was actually the first time since the current crisis began that he’d been off the Excalibur. “I am glad you were all able to come on such short notice.” They looked at him and nodded. Corizon took a deep breath and looked at his notes on the podium. “We’re all very…busy…to put it mildly,” he said to a few chuckles. “So I’ll keep this short. “Due to information which you’ve all already been briefed upon, our attack on the wormhole has been moved up. In order to move our fleet into position, though, we must take out several midrange targets between here and the culling point for the allied fleets. “Those of you here have been chosen as the force that will launch early, along with the Excalibur to attack these targets while the rest of our forces move into position. You will receive your targets in priority order once you leave this room. In 48-hours you will leave for you target runs. Once engaged there is no coming back. If you cannot neutralize your target move onto the next one, then get to the culling point in time.” “Questions?” Forged in the fire of battle, tested in the heat of combat, into darkness they rode. Thy kingdom coming. Corizon walked purposefully towards Colonel Kimura’s office. This was going to be one his more unpleasant jobs he had to do in the last ten hours. He stopped just before the door, hesitating before ringing the chimes. “Enter.” Normally, people were more afraid to come to a meeting with Corizon than Corizon was to have a meeting with other people. This was different though. He was a solider too, and he knew what he was asking of Kimura. Kimura was one of his own generation, and because of that they had a special bond. Perhaps more than any other generation of Starfleet officer, they’d seen so many changes in their universe, so many battles. He glanced across the desk towards Kimura as he entered. “I am sure you’ve already read the briefing I sent you?” “Yes,” Kimura was curt. “And, yes, I am unhappy about it…” Across the long road they sundered, weaving together in braces, stronger together than apart. Thy will be done. Many toils awaited them, and hard would be their trial, trials of fire and darkness. Thy would survive. The world spun, turned on its head, and darkness fell. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.

FROM: Captain Ah-Windu Corizon, Executive Officer, USS Excalibur TO: Lieutenant Commander Laarell Teykier CC: Lieutenant, Junior Grade Tristan Xenatos; Ensign Dox Maturin; All Department Heads SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT RESTRUCTURING In order to streamline the chain of command and operations aboard the USS Excalibur, it is herby ordered that the Science and Operations command structures be merged. Lieutenant Commander Laarell Teykier will assume reposniblity for this new department to be referred to as Science and Operations. Attached is the requisite forms authorizing and authenticating this order and providing your new directives. --- FROM: Captain Ah-Windu Corizon, Executive Officer, USS Excalibur TO: Lieutenant, Junior Grade Mreh K’Hel CC: Lieutenant Commander E.J. Pilot; Lieutenant Commander Laarell Teykier SUBJECT: NEW ORDERS You are hereby requested and ordered to report to the Bridge at once, where you will be functioning as chief helmsman and attached to the Science and Operations department under the command of Lieutenant Commander Laarell Teykier. This order is effective immediately. Attached is the requisite forms authorizing and authenticating this order and providing your new directives.

SD 0706.03 With the Excalibur Security team returned, the eyes and ears of Camelot have been watching for signs of a retaliatory attack by the Scorpiads. Captain Corizon has mobilized the fleet in a defensive formation around Avalon and Camelot, and system remains at high alert. TBS: 12 Hours 06307.txt

SD 0706.03 With the Excalibur Security team returned, the eyes and ears of Camelot have been watching for signs of a retaliatory attack by the Scorpiads. Captain Corizon has mobilized the fleet in a defensive formation around Avalon and Camelot, and system remains at high alert. TBS: 12 Hours

Who said Bus? Cut the funding we dump into the interstate system and put it in mass transit, investing in light rail and bullet trains and see how quickly the interstate system dries up.

::hands her the peg leg:: One Eye, One Hand and a Peg-leg....what else do you need?

What do you mean lurks moar and picks fights! ::puts up dukes:: :lol:

A wing of Scorpiad fighters formed up on the flanks of their two Vampire-class scout ships just ahead of a group of some twenty-five G'Jak-class battleships and their attendant escorts. The black bio-organic hulls of the imposing ships glinted off the sunlight from New Bajor's class-L star. On the bridge of the lead scout, Major Gchk'Qu stood on the command dais looking at the holographic projection of the gathering fleet behind his vessel. “Signal the fighter wings and the Looking Death to cloak and follow us through to warp.” “As you command.” The two scout vessels and their fighters shimmered and disappeared into the darkness of space, ehaded for their target. On the larger, more complex command dais in the war room of the the leadship of the gathering Scorpiad fleet, Lt. General Ei-Kii’h`n looked at a similar read out. His black-blue Emri carapace glinted under the low lights, and his eyes filtered from the holographic projection to various read outs and officers. “How long until our fleet is fully assembled?” “Another seventy-two hours, sir.” “Excellent,” he said. “Once they've arrived we can make course for the target system.”

Lt. General Ei-Kii’h`n laid a data device onto the great desk of Commandant-General N’Karittt with force. “It is as I told you,” he said sneering through rapidly working mandibles. “The Alpha Quadrant scum should have been irradiated before they had a chance to fester our plans!” “You forget your place Ei-Kii’h`n,” the great Andrcot general replied, drawing his stinger into position. It was more of a show of authority than an actual threat, but it certainly served its purpose. “Forgive my…rashness,” Ei-Kii’h`n said backing down. “It is just I am frustrated by our lack of action…” Lowering his caudal from its strike position, N’Karittt took the data device into his hand like aperture for examination. “Explain this…” “The Dominion have captured two of our systems that were being held by the Al-Ucard and Eritan…” “And how is this related…” “They were only able to capture the systems after the Federation and their allies launched the attacks.” “I see…” “Sir,” Ei-Kii’h`n said firmly, yet respectfully. “We must act on this or they will only grow bolder in their attacks.” N’Karittt made a sound of displeasure. He had hoped to avoid a conflict with the Alpha Quadrant powers for as long as possible. With their situation what it was, he could nigh risk losing the ships that protected the wormhole, and the Al-Ucard and Eritan had their hands full with the Dominion as it was; openly using his own vessels had been a matter of last resort, but he knew what Ei-Kii’h`n spoke was true. “You do see that we must act?” Ei-Kii’h`n prodded. “Yes,” N’Karittt finally said. “This violation of our sovereignty can not be tolerated.” “Then we will rid the quadrant of this infestation?” “We can not yet do that…” “But…” “They are heavily fortified at their base...and it is not with our claws reach. No…we can not risk our fleet being detected before an attack.” “Then what will you have us do?”

To: Personnel Office Starfleet Command, Earth From: Captain Ah-Windu Corizon U.S.S. Excalibur, NCC-2004-B Re: Doug.t -------------------------------------------------------------- This communique is to serve as notice that effective Stardate 0703.11, Ensign Doug.t has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. This decision comes after extended review of his service and dedication to the U.S.S. Excalibur. It is a pleasure to have such a capable officer aboard and I sincerely hope we will profit from his assistance in the future.

Fanta...it comes in orange. Mmmm Santana on the Radio.

The USS Excalibur will be running as scheduled, though a decision on official or unofficial is TBA, pending attendance. However all absences will be excused due to the holiday.

Excalibur's Security team has secured the communication relay command station, and with the help of the Dominion have put down the last vestiges of resistance, while at Camelot Station all hands are at Red Alert in case of an retaliatory attack. 052007.txt