Trouble is brewing..

[STSF Seiben 0]

The trap has sprung. The Captain thought to himself as the Challenger roared into action. After a monotonous two day wait, Seiben was about to throw in the towel and give up when the Orions finally took the bait of the decoy freighter and began to open fire at the derelict vessel. Before the freighter sustained any real damage, Seiben decided it was time to act and came at the aggressor with guns blazing, or so to speak.

 

Now, the might of the Excelsior class ship was engaged in hot pursuit of the enemy ship. Seiben recalled his memory of his past experiences with the Orions while commanding the Cherokee. The Polaris-Class Frigate had many run ins with Orion Pirates, so the captain knew them well. With his instructions relayed to navigation and helm, the Challenger stuck to the pirates like flies to honey.

 

Though considered one of the most powerful ships in the quadrant, and crewed by some of finest in the fleet (at least in his opinion) Seiben nonetheless knew better than to underestimate their enemy. If they were brazen enough to enter Federation space and attack two Starfleet ships, who knew what else they were capable of. To his relief, Seiben's new wife sought to retire in their quarters before the action started, so felt somewhat better she'd be relatively safe in their shared quarters one deck below.

 

It wouldn't bode well if anything were to happen to the new Roman Ambassador to the Federation. Seiben inwardly knew that he's in deep enough trouble for marrying her in the first place. He didn't know what to expect back on Earth, but suspected it wouldn't be pretty. He'd probably find out sooner or later, though most likely emphasizing on sooner, he'd thought to himself.

 

Though there were no rules in the Prime Directive against a Starfleet Captain marrying an alien species of a non-member world, particularly one as high ranking as his wife was, he knew some of the more hard-core traditionalist brass might make a stink about it. To what extent however, remained to be seen. He wondered if this was to be his last mission in the centre seat.

STARFLEET HEADQUARTERS – SAN FRANCISCO

 

“So you see, esteemed colleagues, something should be done about these rather outrageous course of action. Captain Rolf Seiben deliberately violated numerous Starfleet and ethical protocols marrying this high ranking member of Roman elite. Admiral Jeff Franklin had spent the better part of the morning bringing his case against Captain Seiben and his 'unwise' decision to marry the newly appointed Greater Romanus Ambassador to the Federation to members of the Federation Council.

 

A traditionalist to the core, Jeff Franklin was a stern man who followed protocol to the letter. The imposing figure of the tall, stocky built fifty-three year old admiral had an intimidating aura about him. This aura, an excellent battle sense and a textbook intelligence meant that he quickly rose in rank throughout his three decade tenure in Starfleet.

 

The other Council members listened thoughtfully as both sides with differing opinions both made their cases for and against the captain. The former of which, was represented by an equally tall man, smartly dressed in the crisp white uniform of a Starfleet Admiral. The man's demeanour was the stark polar opposite of Franklin's aggressive and imposing stance.

 

The jovial and charismatic man brought out his case stating that the marriage was no threat and no violations of any written protocols. His bright blue eyes sparkled with intensity as he spoke his case to the Council. He carefully and confidently explained the complicated series of Starfleet Protocol to the members of Council, expressing the fact that his younger brother had done nothing wrong.

“Furthermore, do remember that any action resulting in Captain Seiben's court martial or incarceration, would be seriously detrimental to our budding relations with Greater Rome as well as tarnish our reputation with some of our member worlds. I do ask the Council to remember that in factoring in their opinions” Admiral Hans Seiben smiled and took his seat, as he sipped his mug of fine South American coffee.

 

The Council Members quietly conferred to themselves. Hans looked around briefly at the members, nodding back at Admiral Franklin who returned his nod with an icy glare. He smiled back and took another sip of his coffee and looked back at the council chairperson, who cleared his throat to speak. “Thank you gentlemen for your time and opinions on this case. We'll take your cases into consideration as we deliberate on a decision” replied the council chair, an old balding human with an air of wisdom around him.

 

“This meeting is adjourned and will reconvene when Captain Seiben is able to return to Earth and state his case” Admirals Seiben and Franklin nodded silently and gathered up their belongings and left the council chambers.

USS CHALLENGER

 

Back on the Challenger, Seiben sighed as a quiet warble emanated from behind him. “Sir..” replied the communications officer, “You have an urgent message from Starfleet. I'm forwarding it now to your console.” Seiben raised a brow and quickly scrolled through the short text message. Hell of a time for a subpena, he thought to himself.

 

But, he quickly shrugged those thoughts aside as two bright streaks came from the ship and sped towards the Orion vessel. As the wake-homing torpedoes zeroed in on their targets, Seiben hoped that the ship would still be in one piece to return back home after the dust had settled.