From the Readyroom of the USS HAWK

[STSF Precip 0]

Captain Zang sat in his ready Room onboard the USS Hawk. The chrono seemed to be moving slower than a Tholian Silkworm. The old earth phrase the watched pot never boils certainly applied here.

Yet Zang could not see the immense instrument of awakening his ship was towing. Oddly enough he only knew he had to tow a cloaked EM signature gathering device behind his ship during the memorial ceremony of Wolf 359. An intelligence gathering device… he had been told by his superior. He was also told under no circumstances was he to board the device, if he could call it that. The mass of the object towed by the Hawk was around the size of an Excelsior Class Starship. Why so big? He was ordered not to ask questions. Simply participate as planned in the ceremony and return the device to the assigned coridinates.

Zang and his crew were newcomers to the black ops game. This was their first assignment, to tow what was in his mind an illegal Federation Intelligence gathering device. Illegal in the sense that is was cloaked, which was in direct violation of several treaties with other governments. Yet the word WAS the key for the Young Terran Captain, for in black ops the rules did not apply.

So The Crew of the Hawk would complete their mission simply by participating in the parade of starships honoring the dead of Wolf 359. Several governments had sent Flagships to the event. The Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians even the Tholians had all sent impressive ships with high profile dignitaries. No doubt, Captain Zang thought they were doing some snooping around as well. Well turnabout is fair play in the intelligence gathering business. That thought earned a much needed chuckle.

Of course Zang would not find any humor had he known what he was towing. His superior was an adept liar. A Black Ops Command Operative with the cause of a zealot; he had an ideal opportunity to push forward his agenda of awakening the Federation to its growing sense of pacifism. Of course some thousands would be killed in this operation. Yet wasn’t that worth the billions of lives contained in the now “weakening” Federation?