"Chess vs The Clock"

[FredM 0]

ORIGIN: Task Force BSA QP0 Flagship Tjan

DATE: 11293 26 Eunj

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"The ship remains at tactical condition seven. All personnel to remain at station. This is the bridge," the younger Andorian said to an open channel throughout the ship. It was the same announcement he had been making every hour, on the hour, for the past several days.

 

In similar fashion, Lieutenant Hergin glanced back from the two officers who sat before him. "Admiral, we remain in stable position at waypoint six," he stated looking to the center of the bridge. For his part, Werin simply nodded although his glaze did not move from the sensor diagram on the circular table before him. The display showed a familiar sight, displaying a diagram of the Sol star group with purple objects of differing size in a rotational pattern around the outer edge of the system. Within it, several red and white items could be seen near the third and fourth planets. As he would recall fifteen years later, Fleet Admiral Werin was in the midst of one of the most complicated chess games he had ever played. Even his experiences later with the Romulan War would not compare to the present situation.

 

The issue that stood before them was to figure out how long the Vulcans and Terrans would allow the blockade to exist before the situation developed into all out war. Werin was not a fresh commander and knew exactly why his friend...his superior...Rear Admiral Morval had sent him here. Fleet Captain Tervain also knew this, though he was rather certain the commander of Detailed Scout Battery Group JM4/7 was growing agitated at the lack of definitive action. Truth be told, he wasn't alone.

 

Yet, in the game that would decide the players in the next galactic war, it was not yet Werin's turn to move. He knew this, Morval knew it and so did the Vulcans. The only question he had dealt with the pinkskins. He had no exposure to their kind before, only reading what limited intelligence information existed regarding their culture. This left him finding it difficult to calculate their exact response to his recent moves. The only thing Werin could develop was to ask what his reaction would be to a similar situation. He was between a super nova and a black hole.

 

These thoughts came to an abrupt end when the tall Andorian approached Werin and offered him a document. The Admiral glanced up at him briefly, noting how tired he appeared, then turned his attention to the item. "What's this?," he asked. The Commander raised his antenna and smiled, "They just figured it out..."

 

Over the next five minutes, Rear Admiral Werin would read over a transmission Fleet Captain Tervain's task force had intercepted. For his part, the ten year commander of DSB JM4/7 knew immediately that it had been sent so he would pick it up. The lack of any solid encryption in the midst of a major military crisis was, well, illogical and tactically unsound. Werin could not have agreed more. It was only after he read the words that he actually smiled for the first time since Adamant Force had been initiated.

 

The only words that mattered to the Andorian was where the Vulcan known as Khevio had reported "increased suspicion of involvement by agents of the Romulan Star Empire." To a certain extent it was somewhat humorous, as it meant the logic of immediately convicting the Andoria for the destruction of the T'Kel was starting to have cracks in it. Though Werin also knew that while this was a positive development, his pointy eared counterparts would continue to hold logical arrogance and dismiss it as rubbish.

 

Yet, apparently, they had thought so much of this data as to transmit it in a fashion so Werin would know they were starting to question their own conclusions. Why? Could it be a deception? Such an item would have little effect given the present odds, highly in favor of the Andorian vessels surrounding the Sol star group. If this was not the case, then what was it?

 

Rear Admiral Werin grumbled and sighed, "I need information...information no one seems to be able to get me!" The tall figure standing next to him lowers his antenna, "Our intelligence services are working to gather what we can about the Vulcans, but..." His sentence was interrupted by the elder Andorian, who slammed his finger on the blue and white ball on the sensor diagram. "I know what the Vulcan's are thinking...but I don't know about the pink skins! They are the key, don't you understand?," he said in a huff. The Admiral shook his head, turned and regained his composure, leaning against a railing that encircled the lower level of the bridge.

 

"The key is not Vulcans. Their actions will be dictated by the Terran people. We were sent here to ensure they did not begin a military buildup while being a puppet to the Vulcan High Command...", Werin said looking up at the ceiling, "We were forced down a trail to which I don't know if we can recover." The Tjan and her fellow ships were going to have to make a decision soon.

 

What none outside of the Prime Minister, several of his cabinet, Fleet Admiral Morval and Werin knew was that project Adamant Force held a secondary component. It was one that was time sensitive and must be put into effect within fifteen days after the blockade was in place. Almost a quarter of that time had already passed and when the chronometer ran out, unless Werin acted, the Andorian fleet would destroy every space operational vessel within the Sol star group.

 

Rear Admiral Werin was running out of time. What was worse, he knew that his pointy eared counterparts were now slowly starting to put the pieces together his own government had figured out long ago. The problem was, from Werin's perspective, the Vulcans were too slow.