Xi'Cadian Destiny (Part III)

Posted on Thu Nov 15, 2018 @ 4:36pm by Commander Caleb Ryan & Captain Maritza Soran & Civilian Melvyn Raddon

1,737 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Commander's Office
Timeline: MD 03 0900

[ON]

Melvyn checked his chronodevice impatiently as he waited outside of the commander's office. Ordinarily there was a specific procedure that civilians were to follow in order to have an audience with the commander. However, this situation was of dire importance and Melvyn was not some commoner. He owned the largest civilian employer on the Promenade. More importantly, his business had been severely affected by the latest uprising on the planet of Xi'Cadia. Initial reports showed that 83% of the planet's dilithium processing facilities and mines had been seized by Xi'Cadian forces. Orbital facilities had been secured by the recently-arrived Cardassian troop transports.

This was a crisis of immense magnitude. His meeting with the commander was absolutely necessary.

Soran and Ryan were going through the daily briefing, pertinent issues that other parts of the station had decided she needed to know about. A list that, with the addition of the newly opened colony, was only getting bigger. The door to her office opened and her yeoman put his head around the door. "Melvyn Raddon is outside, ma'am. He wants to speak to you."

She nodded. "Thank you, Claude." She looked at Caleb. "What do you think he wants?"

Caleb rubbed his eyes. “Your head on a platter?” he said. “With a garnish of mine?” He gave a bemused smile.

"More than likely." She tidied the padd on her desk, closing the screen. "Claude, please bring some chairs, then show them in."

A few moments later
Melvyn and Raymond were led through the doors directly into the commander's office. Both gentlemen took their seats and smiled with all the courtesy they could muster.

"Good day, Commanders," Melyvn started. "I'm here because I trust that you are aware of the crisis that has taken place on Xi'Cadia?" he asked. "I want to let you know that I am prepared to dedicate whatever resources Starfleet will need during their counter-offensive to take back the planet," he said confidently.

Soran glanced at Caleb, wondering what he was thinking. "Thank you, Mr Raddon, I'll will inform the State Department." When he didn't immediately get up and leave, she asked, knowing the answer in advance, "Will that be all?"

Melvyn tried his best to hide the look of dismay from showing on his face. He was not accustomed to being so casually dismissed, especially from an alien who thought too highly of herself. Melvyn thought it best to choose his next words carefully.

"Commander, perhaps I was not clear when I sai---" Unfortunately, Raymond was not as diplomatic.

"What do you mean will that be all?" he asked excitedly. "A Federation world has been invaded by the Cardassians and its lawfully elected government has been overthrown," he said as he sat up in his chair. "How can you sit here so calm when all hell is breaking loose right beneath your nose!" Raymond said in the same tone. "My God, woman, do you not watch the news?"

Soran looked at him for a moment. "Two points. First, a Federation world has not been invaded. The legitimate head of their government seceded from the Federation as is his right to do so. The Cardassian presence is troubling, but not an invasion." Though she'd willingly bet an internal organ that Cardassia was neck deep in the allegedly Romulan terror attack. But if Fleet Intelligence had anything to say about that, they'd not deemed it relevant to inform her. "Sitting here calmly, preparing for any fall out, doing my job, is far more likely to achieve resolution than flapping like a headless chicken. If you disagree, I really don't care," she said.

"Secondly, Mr Raddon. You are a civilian. This means that I am not able to discuss with you any measures that State Department or Starfleet Command are taking, considering, or rejecting."

Raymond was incensed. "We are not just pair of civilian rug merchants peddling our wares on the lower level of the Promenade," Raymond rebutted. "We are responsible for the largest production and refinement of dilithium within this entire sector!" he said strongly. "Are you blind or just stu--"

Melvyn interrupted his son before he could continue to antagonize the female Trill any further. "Commander, if Starfleet just sits by and merely watches as Cardassia waltzes onto Xi'Cadia and establishes a permanent base of operations, we will all suffer the consequences," he said more calmly.

"More importantly, Cardassia has seized control over a planet that is responsible for forty percent of the dilithium production in this sector," he said as he leaned forward in his chair. “They have essentially placed a stranglehold on the Federation's effectiveness and mobility throughout this region."

Soran wondered when Hell froze over without her noticing, because Raddon had a point. The loss of the dilithium processing would eventually bite hard. And whilst she was no more sanguine about having the Cardassian's have a foothold near by, it begged the question, "What consequences do you foresee for this situation, Mr. Raddon?"

"Grave consequences," he said coldly. "Grave and immediate. There is absolutely no reason why Starfleet does not launch a counteroffensive immediately to retake the planet and re-establish the proper civilian authorities," Melvyn said earnestly.

"The longer you wait, the more emboldened Cardassia becomes and more difficult they will be to be to dislodge from power," he added.

Soran folded her fingers together on her desk. "I need to remind you that the current government there are the proper civilian authorities." Even if it did look like the current head of state had his path to power paved with the bodies of his predecessors. Dead men's shoes and all that. "As such, the Prime Directive prevents us from interfering with what is essentially an internal matter, however much it inconveniences the UFP."

"And just how much of an inconvenience will you experience when that Cardassian fleet that you allowed to cripple the USS McBride decides to launch an invasion of Pangaea?" Raymond asked from where he was seated. "They'd have everything they need: access to dilithium resources, a stable base of operations, and a frightened Starfleet commander," he added.

"Are you going to take action or not?" Raymond said. His tone was more of a declaration than an actual inquiry.

At Raymond's minor outburst, Maritza glanced at her XO.

Caleb had listened quietly as Soran dealt with this upstart. His jaw was tense at the disrespect being shown by the upstart young Raddon, but he held his anger in check.

“Have ya served in war, Mr. Raddon?” Caleb asked. While he hadn’t specified, his gaze was on Raymond. “No, ya’ll’re too young,” he said. “So Ah’ll forgive ya if ya don’t know how it works. But this ain’t like one a yer holodeck games. Starfleet doesn’t just have armies lyin’ around on a map waitin’ ta be deployed. A military response ta the Xi’Cadian situation would require significant logistics reallocation. Ya don’t retake a system in a day. It takes months of plannin’. At best, Ah imagine Starfleet could get off a couple squadrons of Raptor fighters for a retaliatory strike. But the Cardassians have obviously been plannin’ this for months already. They’d be ready for anythin’ we threw at them half-cocked, an’ that would just end up gettin’ a lot of good young folk killed with nothin’ ta show for it.”

Caleb leaned back and sipped his coffee before continuing. “As Commander Soran said, this is a complicated tangle, with implications regardin’ the Prime Directive an’ diplomatic issues with Xi’Cadia an’ Cardassia. Sacrificin’ the lives of young folk should always be a last resort. Ya ain’t even let diplomacy have a chance. Starfleet doesn’t act unilaterally. We need authorization from the Federation Council. Ya’ll’d do better talkin’ ta yer Federation Council representative.”

Caleb put down his coffee cup. “An’ finally, ya’ll’re barkin’ up the wrong tree. We command a space station,” he emphasized. “We don’t have the resources ta project force all the way out ta the Typhon Expanse. We’ll pass yer concerns up the chain of command, but we’ve no authority over the fleet in this sector. As Commander Soren said, we can’t discuss Starfleet operations with civilians.”

Raymond narrowed his eyes at the Executive Officer. “I’m genuinely surprised to hear such blatant hypocrisy from you,” Raymond said. “I’d expect as much from someone like her,” Raymond said, gesturing towards Soran. “Maybe this would be a priority if your precious daughter were involved again,” he said sarcastically, referencing Security’s invasion of the Ferengi vessel. “That seemed to push Starfleet into action last time.”

Caleb shifted forward almost aggressively when Raymond mentioned his daughter, his fist clenching. He nearly planted it in Raymond’s jaw, but the elder Raddon interrupted.

“Let’s go, son. It’s obvious that Starfleet’s priorities lie elsewhere,” Melvyn said as he stood and began to leave.

"Claude will show you out," Soran gestured to her yeoman. "I will advise Starfleet of your offer and let you know their response as soon as I receive it. Thank you, gentlemen."

Raymond continued to lock eyes with the executive officer for several more moments, as if silently urging the other Human to actually attack him. Melvyn saw the visual standoff and gently tugged on his son's arm. "Come, we have other pressing matters to tend to," the elder gentleman said.

Caleb continued to glare hate at Raymond as they left.

As the doors hissed shut behind them, the two continued to walk to the nearest turbolift after being escorted by the yeoman. As the doors to the lift closed, Melvyn let out an obviously frustrated sigh.

"It appears that the incompetence of Starfleet has forced us to take matters into our own hands," Melvyn said.

"I knew this was going to happen," Raymond replied. "When have we ever been able to depend on outsiders to look after Humanity's interest?" he asked rhetorically. "Don't worry, sir, I'll have this straightened out in no time," he said as the lift came to a stop and Raymond stepped out.

FIN

Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer

Melvyn Raddon
Chief Executive Officer
Raddon Corporation

Raymond Raddon
Chief Operations Officer
Raddon Corporation

Cdr. Maritza Soren
Commanding Officer

 

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