Rear Admiral Rahlin, Personal Log, Stardate 59792.95
- Audio Transcript-
I'm still… processing the briefing I just came out of. It's putting a lot of things into context. Everything seems to be happening all at once. I had a meeting scheduled with Admiral Mungoshi this morning, but when I arrived, I discovered it had been cancelled. Instead, I was alerted to a meeting of the Brass on Starbase One.
I think we all clench up when we catch the current of a big meeting like this and on such short notice. It usually means something big is happening and rarely is it ever good. Today was no different. But the implications are… staggering.
When Admiral Picard took the podium, it felt like the second sign of impending bad news. And yeah… it's bad. It's… unbelievable. We were briefed on situation that's going to change everything… I mean everything. The Hobus star in the Beta Quadrant… it's dying. What's incredible is that the models place the death of the star within the next few years. When I was young and dreaming of Starfleet, I did a paper on the Hobus star. It's one of the oldest stars Starfleet has ever recorded. Apparently, for the past months, Starfleet has been in the early stages of coordinating what could be accurately described as a joint rescue effort of mythic proportions with the Romulans. The implications are staggering. The Romulan Star Empire has been in a state of turmoil since the coup by… the Picard clone? Shinzon. Saying it out still seems like a bad joke. But back to the point, truth is… I'm not alone in wondering how the Romulan Government, as the quadrants know it, survives this.
Initial models predict an explosion across ten light years. Picard has been put in command of a task force to aid in the relief efforts and help coordinate the largest evacuation and resettlement efforts ever undertaken in the history of… well, everything. The logistics are absolutely staggering. Finding suitable planets, building infrastructure, coordination between two governments that have a history of war and distrust… the people…
One world in the path of destruction has a colony of over twenty thousand Romulan citizens and that is perhaps one of the smallest of the many in danger. And that's when it occurred to me: where do I fit into this? My project, my prototype rescue shuttles… getting no traction for so long, then suddenly getting Starfleet to give it a chance… it all has something to do with this. The entire fleet is going to be affected by this. Our tiny piece of the galaxy is going to be affected by this.
The place was full of hushed murmurs as the brass was filtering out of the briefing hall. I was approached by a woman, Lieutenant Commander Musiker, who informed me that Jean-Luc wanted to have a quick word with me. Picard asked me what the status of the shuttle project and I explained to him the resistance I was encountering. I was right. Starfleet was pushing back because of resource management. They've known about Hobus for months now, but what was truly disheartening and not surprising was finding out that the Romulans have known about Hobus for at least the past few years. The power struggles, denial, political ambition, and plain stupidity had cost them time. It underscored how desperate they must be getting, accepting Federation aid.
But just like that, Picard granted me the USS Pride. Apparently, she wasn't in the dry dock waiting to be put in a museum. She was undergoing her final refit for one last mission. The Reserve Fleet is about to play a huge role in the logistics of this great undertaking. Not only will ships in the Reserve Fleet be serving their standard functions of support and relief efforts but will have to step up in roles usually reserved for newer ships, as Starfleet moves pieces around the board.
Picard informed me it was he that granted me the Pride and asked to be kept up to date with progress on the shuttles flight tests. My problem now moves to staffing an old ship when staff are becoming incredibly difficult to spare. But as an Admiral myself, it just means I am going to have to get creative with who I find. Some folks who didn't expect promotions are about to be surprised. Starfleet is going to be taking the lid off the situation soon, which gives me some time to get personnel.
There's something poetic about this being the USS Pride's final mission, considering her history. As for this upheaval, the Reserve Fleet is about to take a more prominent role as the support fleet, and I need to make sure my ship is in the thick of it. This timing is… these shuttles, this ship, will save lives. The clock is ticking.
I need a drink.
END LOG