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Cmdr JFarrington

Observe, Assess, Destroy

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Observe, Assess, Destroy

A joint log by Admiral Atragon and Jami Farrington

 

Keb was right.

 

To cope with her emotional turmoil, Jami's body had tensed, her sentences came in rapid-fire bursts, every word wrapped in judgment with no room for discussion.

 

Her problem? "Observe, assess, report" had instantly transformed into "observe, assess, destroy." Why the hell were they going to destroy - without provocation, without warning, without thorough examination of the evidence - the Arcturian shipyard? The consequences of such a monstrous act, even if Starfleet's intel was totally correct, were beyond imaginable. And to carry out such a sentence with only a cursory review of whatever evidence they would gather...?

 

Atragon entered their quarters and hardly noticed Jami's distracted state as he launched into his own issues as soon as the door swooshed closed.

 

"Precip is going to be a problem. I appreciate getting input from my commanders, but this is war, and in war we attack - or we die. It's what Black Ops does! It has been this way for centuries and it's not changing now. Black Ops is the dirty end of any pointed stick in a conflict. We're the ones that NO ONE wants to admit to knowing or directing. Yet, no war has ever been won without us and everyone knows it!"

 

He paused, realizing his train was off the tracks. "Right, where was I... Yeah, Mitar! He is pushing back too much on trying to protect his people while jeopardizing the mission. Security is where we will take our heaviest casualties and there is nothing we can do to stop that in war - if we want to prevail.

 

"This crew has never been to war, at least not on Manticore. I suppose this will be a test of everyone's mettle and we have to come together, now more than at any other time. We have to be focused on a common goal, we have to be able to utterly trust each other, we have to go beyond just being on the same crew. I can't run into a lot of second guessing over this mission. We have an enemy that must be defeated and the sooner that happens, the sooner the conflict can end. We will lose men and materiel, but if we can bring forth a decisive, crushing blow, then we can walk away sooner. The shorter the war, the fewer people have to die... but people will Have To Die!"

 

He finally stopped long enough to look at Jami's face and really See it.

 

Jami had paused mid-stride to stare at the man she thought she knew. From his tone, his determination, his apparent complete resolve to attack and destroy, she half wondered if she'd totally misjudged him all these years. On the other hand, it almost sounded as though he were trying to talk himself into it. But his words... A test of mettle... we must prevail... utter trust... we will lose men... people have to die.... Does he know what he sounds like?

 

"Yamamoto," she said simply.

 

His eyes unfocused for just a moment before he recognized the name and the reference.

 

Jami continued, her words heavy, weighed down with the thought of so many - both on Manticore and in the shipyard - going about their business, having dinner with friends, enjoying their families, standing their posts... who would be gone in a few hours. Suddenly. Unknowingly. Dead.

 

"Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, before he led the attack on Pearl Harbor, knew it was a grave mistake. And afterwards? Afterwards he knew he had awakened a sleeping giant."

 

 

"Come on! The Arcturans are no sleep...." Atragon attempted to break in, but only got half a sentence into the air before Jami's feelings started tumbling out in rapid-fire statements.

 

"Listen to yourself, Atragon. And before you... before we do this... put the war aside, put the lives that will be lost aside, put everything aside and think carefully of the circumstances that surround this... this charade. Why did they choose Manticore? And why did they choose to send us alone? And why Arcturus, a previously disjointed aggregate of warring factions who suddenly become a major power strong enough to take on the Federation? Forget for one minute the unlikeliness of the entire situation and just think about what we're doing.

 

"Atragon, the Federation may be waking a sleeping giant, but the giant will not be Arcturus. The giant will be the fringe powers who have not yet cemented their ties with the Federation, who will join with Arcturus and gods know what other major powers... all allied against us. You talk about war?" Her tone changed to a mix of horror and despair. "The war that would follow is... unimaginable, Atragon. Unimaginable."

 

Atragon stared at her with a steely gaze, his normal joking response nowhere to be found. "Jami, we're at war, make no mistake about that. This is different than any mission we have ever faced. This isn't a short, well-defined, containable event. War is long, ill-defined, messy, uncontrollable and Terrible.

 

"Do not think, for one minute, that I am finding any enjoyment in what I am leading us into. Do not think that I have any choice in what I am leading us into. We have been attacked, just as clearly as if a gunman came onto the Bridge and started killing our comrades. The Federation is at war! They have already voted on it, but have waited on announcing until we have completed our mission, in order to give us the best chance to collect data... and send a message. We are part of the Federation military and, as such, we must follow our orders."

 

He paused to bring emphasis to something welling up inside him that he must express. "The Federation is a peace-keeping armada, but what is the definition of armada? A fleet of warships. We are scientists and doctors and engineers and explorers, but first and foremost, we are Warroirs. Everyone on this ship signed up knowing there could be combat some day and, when called into battle, they will go. Do I want to see ANYONE die? Of course not. And the best way I know to keep people alive is to have the entire crew in the right mindset to get the job done properly, quickly and safely - in that order.

 

"Just as I am worried about Mitar, don't make me worry about you, too. If you need time to come to grips with our war footing, take that time, privately and quickly. In less than two hours we enter enemy territory; in less than a day we will engage enemy targets and enemy forces. Not ships, not people, not Arcturans, ENEMIES! That is the only way to pull us together into a fighting force that won't be second-guessing our sense of morality at critical moment. This is the time when we exploit the Chain of Command, we order the crew to do their duty, no questions asked - we can't show that we have any questions either."

 

He stopped, panting with exertion, the weight of command - especially on this mission - evident in his every word, his every move. He was right. She was right. How could two people be right and everything be so wrong?

 

"I hate it," she said finally, with an air of resignation. "I hate it all. But that's for in here, not out there." She waved a hand, indicating the area outside their quarters. "In here, you're my husband. Out there, I'll support you. Fully. I hope you know that."

 

Atragon smiled at his wife and let his MacArthur facade drop for just a moment. "Yes, I know you will support me, because you love me, because you love the crew and because you love the Federation - and I won't quibble about the ranking of those three, either." He takes one deep calming breath and the hardness creeps back into his face. "It's time for me to get out of our quarters and make sure all is ready for battle. I have talked the talk, now I must walk the walk. May the gods have mercy on us all."

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