Task Force 93 Briefing - Part 2: The Klingons

Taral81424

[Starbase Bravo - Meeting Room A]
[Day 03 - 1300 Hours]

The Beta Quadrant briefing reconvened after a recess for lunch. When scheduling it, everyone understood that most of the questions and discussion would be directed at Kara and her presentation on the current Romulan status quo. The other presentations could be smaller and scheduled between lunch and dinner.

The meeting began with Kara returning to the podium to get everyone’s attention. “Good afternoon. I would like to hand over to Commodore St. Clair" she said as she gestured her hand outstretched her left and stepped back from the podium "Juliet," she said with a smile.

At Admiral Thrace’s invitation, Commodore Juliet St. Clair moved forward. She cast a smile toward her superior officer while her yeoman arranged for a small step-stool to be placed behind the lectern. It was moments like these where Juliet hated the height difference between her and most of her peers.

She was actually quite good at delivering speeches and presentations like this. She has years of experience presenting intelligence data and the analyses prepared by her crew back when she commanded USS Tucker, and now, having spent over nine years as right hand to Admiral Thrace, she had become very skilled at presenting the latest strategic implications of any changes in the Klingon Empire, where she had focussed her attention while the more senior flag officer covered the significantly less stable Romulan Star Empire and its successor states.

She stepped onto the stool and up to the podium to address the crowd. Her pretty face, still quite young due to her extreme self-care regimen, and shock of bright blue hair drew the crowd’s attention, and when they recognized her (for which other flag officers were that short and with hair like that?) they knew to pay attention.

“Good morning,” she began. “First of all, a reminder that this briefing is classified. Though I’m sure you’ve heard that reminder a few times by now.”

She activated an image on the monitor behind her. The image was a familiar one. Years earlier, Juliet’s own intelligence department on Deep Space Six had edited together the sensor recordings, declassified, for use in moments such as these. This video had indeed been shown to most Starfleet Officers with the rank of Commander and higher, and she knew most of the younger people in the room were soon to reach command ranks. A version had also been shown on the FNN years earlier.

On the screen, two Vor’cha-class Klingon battlecruisers, flanked by four B’rel-class Birds of Prey, attacked a Starfleet Steamrunner-class and a small facility in orbit of a bright blue planet. The caption read Trinity System, SD 66691.5.

“As many of you recall, in late 2389, ships belonging to the Klingon insurgency known as the Sovereignty of Kahless invaded three sectors of Federation space and took power in a further two sectors within the Klingon Empire. Having not yet sufficiently rebuilt since Utopia Planitia, Starfleet was unable to launch an immediate counter-offensive. The Sovereignty managed to dig in and consolidate its forces. Underestimating their abilities, we lost another dozen ships in failed attempts to retake our systems, and forces apparently loyal to the S.o.K. destroyed the Xavier Fleet Yards, further compromising our efforts to liberate our worlds.”

The images on the screen changed to a series of short clips of Federation and Klingon ships battling Klingons defending various planets. Captions showed different planets, including the previously seen Trinity.

“The S.o.K. maintained de facto control of five sectors until 2391, when Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force jointly embarked upon Operation: Gatecrasher. More than half the planets in question were struck simultaneously in the first wave, and as they moved their forces to oppose us, a second wave assaulted the rest, including those worlds where S.o.K. leadership resided. Most of the Sovereignty’s leaders were killed, and their remaining forces were scattered. But where did they go?”

A new slide appeared. It was a static image of a crest. Unfamiliar to most, its sharp lines resembled four broken pieces of different blades, set over a spearhead, all of which were over two circles, one within the other, with many spokes going to the centre.

“Starfleet Intelligence has concluded that many of the ships once loyal to the Sovereignty have joined forces with the House of Mo’Kai,” said the diminutive, blue-haired Task Force Executive Officer.

“The House of Mo’Kai is one of the Great Houses of the Klingon Empire. Indeed, one of its members was Chancellor of the High Council in the years immediately following the Federation-Klingon War of 2256 to 2257.” Juliet gestured toward the image on the screen. “This is the crest of the House of Mo’Kai, though you will rarely see it anywhere except in ceremonial settings. The House of Mo’Kai has long been associated with tactics of subterfuge and espionage. Some of Qo’noS’s best spies have come from Mo’Kai.”

The next slide was a map of Klingon space, with one system, halfway between Pheren and K’T’Inga, highlighted. “This is the Mo’Kai throneworld, though its leaders have largely abandoned it, preferring to remain hidden and mobile. The Defense Force occupies the planet, though this has not dissuaded Mo’Kai from committing acts of terrorism.”

The screen changed again, showing additional video footage of the Khitomer Centre for Peace being attacked by numerous Klingon Birds-of-Prey. Its shields held, but a number of buildings outside the shield radius burned. “This was the annual peace conference on Khitomer five years ago. Unknown forces using Klingon ships killed two-hundred-eighteen people.” She took a deep breath. “The joint Starfleet Intelligence, Starfleet Security, and Klingon Internal Security Force investigation is still ongoing, though new evidence, recently declassified, points the finger at the House of Mo’Kai. We also believe, but cannot yet prove, that Mo’Kai is responsible for numerous attacks on starships and starbases within Klingon space and along our frontier, as well as cyber operations, high-level assassinations, and terrorist bombings on Federation and Klingon worlds.”

The slide featuring the Mo’Kai crest returned to the screen. “The situation with the House of Mo’Kai is still evolving. They have released no manifesto, nor have they stated precisely why they have been acting as they have. Indeed, they have never publicly claimed responsibility for any of these incidents. Many within Starfleet Intelligence, Starfleet Security, and Task Force 93 Command, are considering hypotheses to explain their behaviour. Mo’Kai has pushed many unaligned worlds closer to the Federation, and some, including Raeya III, have formally become members as a direct result of this crisis. Our allies in the Klingon High Council consider this to be an internal problem and have agreed to address it.” What she didn’t say, because that information was even more highly classified and highly compartmentalized, was that it had been eighteen months since the 2397 conference on Earth where the Chancellor made a promise to the Federation President that he would stop put a stop to the House of Mo’Kai, and that since then virtually nothing had been done to stop the growing threat they posed.

“In the meantime,” Juliet continued,” we continue to maintain our good relations with the Klingon Empire. Starfleet and the Defense Force work extremely well together, and the High Council respects those in senior Starfleet positions as honourable warriors. We continue to work cooperatively on joint missions and exercises. As the flag officer responsible for Klingon Affairs in Task Force 93, my political and strategic office will be moving from Devron Fleet Yards to the newly rebuilt Starbase 86, located above Archanis IV. If you paid attention in history class, you’ll know this planet has changed hands multiple times since 2256, sometimes peaceably, sometimes not. This Unity-class Starbase is a joint venture between Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force.” Her flag would move between 86 and her new ship, of which she would take custody in but a few weeks.

She looked directly into the eyes of many of the commanding officers, young and old, in the room with her today. “I want to conclude with the following message for the starship Captains and crews who will be out near the Klingon border. You may come across a situation where you will need to defend yourself or others from Klingon attack. We had hoped that the era of Starfleet fighting the Klingons was well in the past. Regrettably, the last fight between a Starfleet vessel and a Klingon one has not yet taken place. Remember that the Klingon Empire is one of our strongest allies, but if you’re unable to establish the Bird-of-Prey off your port bow as friendly, then you have clearance to take necessary precautions, and if you confirm it to be associated with House of Mo’Kai, then you have clearance to treat it as a threat.”

She smiled and acknowledged the crowd. “Thank you very much for your attention. I’d be happy to take any questions.”

Mason

He'd thought he'd know a lot about the klingons. He'd been wrong.

Raan had managed to grab a good seat near the front and, like all the briefings, he listened intently, arms folded over his chest. But since he had something riding on this, he listened more intently, a smile curving the corner of his lips as he realised that, yes, he'd lost.

At the same time though, his interest was piqued with the whole situation. He'd left home due to violence. Not just because of it but because on a planet where the entire population knew his face, and half of them hated him for it, he'd also turned out to be very good at it. His former unit tattoos were hidden by his uniform now, but he remembered the lessons that time had taught him. Lessons that could also be bent toward his service in the fleet.

Then the briefing was over and he sat back. He had no questions but he tilted his head in acknowledgement to the commodore when her gaze met his for a brief second before she stepped down. She'd won their bet. Fair and square.

BF_MJ

After spending most of the past decade deep in the Beta Quadrant, McCallister and the crew of the Odyssey had not encountered any aggression from the Klingon Empire. Quite the opposite in fact, on the rare cases they had dealt with a Klingon ship they had no issues with them.
Raising his hand after the commodore had finished her speech, McCallister cleared his throat. "Commodore, sorry to sound naive but are there any particular signs we need to be aware of regarding Mo'Kai ships? Is the High Council planning to distinguish the difference between their ships and those loyal to Mo'Kai, besides their crest?"

Taral81424

“Excellent question, Captain,” Juliet answered. “And truth be told one for which we do not have an adequate answer. Since the first major war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in 2256, House of Mo’Kai has been associated with trickery and lies. During that war, they were the Empire’s espionage apparatus, and through deceit took a senior Starfleet Admiral hostage.”

She sipped a glass of water on the podium. “Forces loyal to House of Mo’Kai will likely try to hide their allegiance. Until we have better intelligence to inform us on which ships are theirs, our recommendation is to treat Klingon ships as unknown until friendly communications can be established. I’m in the process of securing a way to verify the identities of Klingon COs, to minimize the odds of a Mo’Kai ship feigning friendliness and then shooting us in the back. But yes, for now, remain cautious until the ship is confirmed as friendly, ideally through direct open comm channels.”

She knew the answer wasn’t satisfactory, but it was all she had at the moment, until she could secure her audience with the High Council.