The Excalibur Incident

[Cptn Corizon 0]

Keri Staunton sat placidly drinking a cup of warm ja-jun in her office overlooking San Fransisco Bay. She'd just finished an afternoon of meetings with Admiral Chadwick and Rear Admiral Blurox concerning what was now being nearly universally referred to as The Excalibur Incident. How one small ship could cause such big problems defied logic; there were, after all, thousands of starships operating underthe auspicious of Starfleet Command and none of them had managed to bring theFederation on the verge of an intergalactic crisis lately.

 

She sighed and finished her ja-jun, letting the last of the thick, seagreen liquid flow down her throat before opening the monitor on her desk once more. The report from the Republic had been most interesting as the situation had gotten more and more convoluted the deeper one dug into it. Apparently not only had Captain Corizon managed to acquire a cloaking device, reportedly from the 'Hundred' but he also had taken both Federation and Romulan citizens into 'custody' on suspicion they were involved with the smuggling ring he wasintending to break up.

 

Staunton felt asurge at her temples. How on Earth had she let herself be talked into headingup the investigation into this sorted affair?

 

"Keri," Nanietta Bacco said with a warmsmile. "It's nice to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

 

Staunton nodded back. It was good to seeher old friend. Her and the now President of the Federation had once spent a summer together sharing a flat while they were both interning at the FederationHigh Court of Appeals and had stayed close ever since, though lately not as close as either liked. That she'd called her in on business told her that this wasn't going to be an opportunity for them to bond.

 

"It's been a while," Stauton said with a nostalgicsmile, "still I am always happy to see you Nan, though I am assuming from your message this isn't a social call."

 

Bacco smiled and ran a hand over her silver hair. "As usual, you get right to the point."

 

Both women exchanged light smirks before Bacco continued. "But yes," she said. "I wish I was just calling you in for tea and chance to catch up, however, the universe seems beset to keep us from being able to do that."

 

"That will happen when you're the mostimportant person in the Quadrant," Staunton teased. "What's the matter?"

 

Bacco looked away out towards the Paris skyline and pursed her lips. "What I am about to tell you, Keri, is classified.Right now only my senior advisors and a handful of Starfleet Admirals have been briefed on it. The Security Council hasn't even been fully briefed yet."

 

Staunton nodded. She didn't have to tell Nan that she could trust her, that was already implicit by even having the conversation.After a few moments, Bacco brought her upto speed on the events of the last several months in regards to the Gamma Quadrant, the Excalibur, Captain Corizon, and her conversation with Thomas Fozzolo.

 

When she'd finished Keri sat, not exactly stunned, but rather surprised. Not that something like this had happened – it had happened before – but that it had managed to slip through the cracks so long was disconcerting.

 

"Alright," Keri said. "And what do you want me to do?"

 

"When Republic returns with the Excalibur," she said. "I am going to ask the council to appoint you to run the investigation under JAG."

 

"Okay," she said with a moment of hesitation.

 

That had been alittle over a week ago and she still hadn't fully felt comfortable with thesituation. The scope of the incident was still overwhelming. If what Fozzolo had told the President was true, then it extended well into the upper echelonsof Starfleet and the Federation government itself. How was she supposed to fight that?

 

She frowned again.

 

"So what exactly is going to be the scope of my investigation?"

 

"Specifically you will be asked to lead the inquiry into the actions of Captain Corizon and by extension his crew."

 

"And the other stuff?"

 

Bacco took a deep breath. "If it comes up in the investigation," she said, choosing her words delicately. "Then of course you're to pursue it to the extent you feel required and at the end you will be free to make any recommendations."

 

"Good," Staunton said, exhaling. "I won't lead a witch hunt."

 

"And I am not going to ask you to either,"Bacco said firmly. "I want to get to the bottom of this, but I also want to do it the right way. Captain Corizon needs to have his day in court."

 

"And the rest?"

 

"In time, I think we can shed enough light on this to flush a lot of it out."

 

It was a complicated case. On one hand, the Captain had readily admitted in his deposition to Admiral Blurox of willingly violating treaty and ignoring orders;but the mitigating circumstances meant that they needed to hear everything from everyone they could. She frownedagain as she glanced at her chrono, noticing that the first official meeting of the board of inquiry would start in less than an hour.

 

And if figuring out what to do with Corizon wasn't going to be complicated enough – there was the sticky matter of figuring out what to do with his crew.