August 9th, 2271OUTSIDE STARFLEET HEADQUARTERS, SAN FRANCISCO,
"...livefeed now. We have Enterprise on spacedock viewers. The start of this mission was rocky, involving the ship's crippling and the loss of its first executive officer. But Captain Kirk and his crew have carved out a legend, tinged by both triumph and tragedy, including the murder of the captain's family in Iowa. With his entrance into Admiralty Hall, the refit of Enterprise, answering Council charges of genocide, his adopted daughter's testimony about Romulan atrocities on Hellguard, and pursuing the investigation into the loss of his family, it is easily said that Captain Kirk has a full rich month ahead."
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August 10th
THE BRIDGE OF THE USS ENTERPRISE
"We return, the last of twelve, and this is as much by grace as by all of you. Matt Decker could have found me shattered, or the Defiant could have found us fading. Admiral Nogura is set on bringing me into the command structure. So I will spread the talent they mean to stifle. Soon, I will have everyone here placed as CO's, XO's and Tactical. Your time on Enterprise is over, but your careers have just begun. You're losing a captain, but gaining a very biased advocate. Now I'll ask a moment of silence--for all those we lost."
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August 11th
STARFLEET HQ, THE PRIVATE OFFICES OF GRAND ADMIRAL HEICHIARO NOGURA
"You are my best operative. My position is strong, but I need to tell Admiralty Hall in no uncertain terms that this office will never be absorbed. That means grooming Jim Kirk to replace me. Any weaker choice will have that little Hitler, Cartwright, thinking I'm his Von Hindenburg. The refit will take Jim away from one of his loves. The Hall took away his family, and you will end his other attachment: LC Uhura. Spock is already taken care of. I need you to insert yourself-- literally-- between Jimmy and Nyta, and may George forgive me. Ready now, Admiral Ciana?"
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August 12th
ADMIRALTY HALL, COMMODORE BROCK CARTWRIGHT, OPERATIONS OFFICER
"Currently, you all outrank me. But I rule The Order. Our efforts to bring Lord Ghidorah to our space continue with vigor. Now, some here want to join with Nogura and bring Kirk here, into our ranks. Fools! Extortion can be undone. So can 'chipping'. If we bring Kirk here, it will be to kill him, something we politically cannot survive. We also cannot afford to have his xenophilia spread through his proteges, or the joy those most obvious enemies would take from our binding him to a desk. So the solution lies in doing what no one would expect."
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August 13th
THE SUPREME LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS, SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, PARIS, EARTH
"A new humanoid evolution on Delta Vega. A peaceful sodiavoric metamorph. A truly cybernetic species on Exo 3. The sovereign artificial life forms on Beta 3 and Gamma Trianguli 6. The symbiotes of Deneva 3, seeking only freedom of movement. A living pseudo-deity from his own world's past. Explorers from other galaxies. Multiple noncorporeal entities attacked, rather than communicated with. His record of practiced and polished misxenogy speaks for itself. On behalf of this august council, I accuse Captain James T. Kirk and members of his crew of a pattern of genocide, and ask that charges be filed to that effect."
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August 14th
ENCRYPTED PERSONAL JOURNAL, COMMANDER SPOCK
"I cannot stay in Starfleet, if not with these friends. Others would note my loss of control, as the traumas of Hellguard take hold. I cannot go back to Vulcan. I would be forced to expose my shame, including how Saavik was concieved and why I have never owned her as my child. I cannot stay on Earth. There, the Order snares anyone of ambiguity, and Peter Kirk lies in frozen hell, placed by my hand. Jim belongs in space. Born between worlds, space is my only home. So I will do what I must to put him back there."
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August 15th
"So you're going to become an MD, Christine? I don't know why you'd want to. Among my headaches is my Captain and closest friend. His choices are insanity or death. If he does not take time to stop and at long last properly mourn Peter, I have no doubt at all that one day he will break. But the other problem comes when I try and contemplate Jim without Enterprise. I can't. Thank God for Saavik. That little girl keeps his heart beating, and his mind from slipping under the burden. But a doctor knows that something's got to give."
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August 16th
A VID-CALL MESSAGE TO HANNAH SCOTT PRESTON FROM HER BROTHER, MONTGOMERY SCOTT, RANK OF CMDR., USS ENTERPRISE, STARFLEET
"Cissy? Ye can drop the 'Lieutenant' and call me just plain Commander. I wish there were more such news. There's all manner o' rumor about the Captain's fate, whether he's to be raised up or razed to the ground. I am no less confused about Enterprise. The technicians they have swarming over her seem enough to refit her in six months, not eighteen. In visions I saw that I would be granted my wishes for Enterprise three times. Once, by my hands. Once, by the Lord's Angels. Once, by agents of the devil himself. So which time is this?"
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August 17th
DRAFT OF PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN LT. CMDR. NYOTA UHURA AND CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK--TO BE REVISED
"How long has it been since those fields of Tarsus? I thought you were a god. Not a poser, like Gary or Apollo. In the myths, gods play at seeming like men who will not ever be stopped. You're a man, yet you meet the godly criteria in my eyes. But since we laid that boy to rest, you've done as you always have. Like a coward, you've fallen into your work, and like a coward, I'm afraid to go in and pull you out. Jim--I'm not going to try. I do love you. Its just no longer enough."
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August 18th
DAILY UPDATE, DOCTOR MYUU GERO, DIRECTOR, SPECIAL OPS PROJECT ZERO, ADMIRALTY HALL
"Efforts to repeat last year's contact with Lord Ghidorah have met with failure. We now have other concerns. I must conclude that the boy Peter Kirk is a power we have no long-term way of reliably containing. There have been psychic leaks. He's calling to his uncle, the nearest genetic match. We need Kirk off Earth, and not just for this. The boy's frozen brain has scanned two 12th-power entities headed in Earth's direction. They knew enough to bypass Lord Ghidorah's most likely current path. If they reach us, only the unacceptable release of the boy could stop them."
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August 19th
"Kyptin Kirk is currently targeted by three groups. Admiral Nogura vwishes him to enter the top command structure, no debate. The cossacks at Admiralty Hall seek to oppose this, though not by attacking the Kyptin. The Romulans play spin the truth, their kiss poisoned. They vwish everyone to remember that vwe crossed the Neutral Zone to rescue the half-Vulcan children on Hellguard, but to forget the kidnapping, rape and murder of their Vulcan parents--and the atrocities committed upon the children. As Security Chief, I must tell Kyptin Kirk all this. Or is that exactly vwhat these people vwant?"
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August 20th
NOTE FROM VICE ADMIRAL LORI CIANA TO GRAND ADMIRAL NOGURA
"Surveillance indicated that Kirk and Uhura were arguing. A rumor had reached her through my aides that Kirk had already accepted a slot at Admiralty Hall. My own nude emergence from the shower in Kirk's apartment had the desired effect. She left without hearing his explanation. By the time she's willing to listen, our objective will be achieved. Kirk is upset, hurt, horny and he got a very good look at a body that I'm quite proud of. He'll listen. We have the opening. All we need do is exploit it. The Hall loses this one. The good guys win."
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August 21st
"Pavel seems to think there's some sort of conspiracy to either keep Captain Kirk here on Earth or to get him back out into space. Not to be selfish, but what I wanna know is, what about Captain Sulu? I'll take anything, any class. I want to move on. If we were staying together, it'd be different, but we're not. So its time to build my own legend. Plus I think I've met--her. She's hinted at intelligence connections, and while they're legit, they're also vague. To me, that means S31. A knockout, and she's part of a well-oiled machine."
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August 22nd
PERSONAL JOURNAL, SAAVIK BRIANNA KIRK, AGE NINE
"I didn't mean to cause an argument. Captain Kirk is my father. He gave me his name. I saw him when I got off the transport, and I wanted a hug. So he hugged me. But on TransVid, all the Vulcans there--it looks like all Vulcans, everywhere- -said they were offended. Even Spock. I know he hates me, but I thought Daddy was his friend. I try to be Vulcan, but I'm on Earth right now. I'm here to tell what the Romulans did to me and the other children. But why am I always the one in trouble?"
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August 23rd
PERSONAL PETITION FOR TRANSFER, LIEUTENANT JANICE RAND
"I'm aware that I would get a better posting after Captain Kirk joins the Admiralty. That's why I'm applying now. Make no mistake, he is a great man, served by great people. I have no problem calling them my friends. I want to use what I learned from them, but have none say that I rose on anything but my merits. Give me a deck to swab on a freighter, so long as that swabby is in line for command. The jokes end now. 'Barbie' will be the first of Kirk's proteges to follow him to a center chair."
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August 24th
"Captain Kirk, my name's Harriet Janeway, and I'm a Starfleet Paris liasion, appointed to be your legal counsel before the Committee. My father was close friends with your father, and both were my heroes. Captain, this Committee is interested in looking big at your expense. They'll turn your missions into atrocities, your crew into gangsters, and cheerfully mix in the Romulans' charges. To them, the Hall is quiet Starfleet, and you are noisy Starfleet. Unless you fight them hard, you and the truth are about to go the way of Defiant--a long, painful fade from sight. Its your call."
=================================================August 25th
"I want Enterprise back. I want to make a difference. But those two goals may be mutually exclusive. Uncle Heichi wants me to succeed him, but am I the administrator Dad trained him to be? The Hall wants me back out there. Despite our deep political differences, we both see that the Federation's enemies need a face that slows their plotting and planning. My face. I just wish they could find Peter's killer. Nyta has left me, Spock has grown distant, Saavik is miserable while I'm facing charges and a determined lady Admiral. I could do with some un-interesting times."
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August 26th
CODED TRANSMISSION FROM ROMULAN AMBASSADOR NANCLUS TO THE SENATE PRAETOR ON ROMULUS
"As promised, I reduced Kirk's Vulcan child to tears. The aid of Ambassador Soval's widow and her retinue in setting all this up was invaluable, and she will be missed. Regrettable. The girl Saavik spoke the usual tales of horror. I asked of her devotion to her father. She will not be trouble again. The other Vulcans view her as an atavism. With Kirk removed from Enterprise, the Hellguard hearings turned to our advantage, and the cloaked fortress our Klingon 'allies' do not see being built right above Q'onos, we will have working control of known space within our lifetimes."
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August 27th
"Don't let this old country doctor kid you, Jim. My ex is not 'difficult'. Like us, however, she is a flawed sentient being. I worked too hard, she didn't seek counseling, she sought an affair, and I was too dense to catch on. She blamed the entire divorce on me, and feeling like a fool, I let her. Now our daughter tells me she must live with that same lie to keep peace between the two of them. Yeah, she's mine all right. So don't you ever accept the party line, Jim. Demand to know what happened to your boy."
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August 28th
"Permission to speak freely? Well, Admiral Ciana, then I will do just that. Do you think that popping out of Jim's shower would send me away forever? I am no more bound to his chair than he is to my Communications board. You're providing him with sex, and that is what he will remember you for. We two were about each other, not exclusivity. I hope that whatever Nogura's promised you is worth it. Because all that happened is that one lover ended things with another. But Nyta Uhura will never leave Jim Kirk. Some things are meant to be."
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August 29th
FINAL TESTIMONY OF SAAVIK BRIANNA KIRK, RE: ROMULAN ATROCITIES ON HELLGUARD
"Ambassador Nanclus, you have said that there was no ritual rape of children on Hellguard, and yet I was raped. You have said that my father planted these ideas in my head. He did not. You have stated that all of Vulcan finds me a disgrace. Plainly, its ambassador, whose house I dwell in, does not. You have sarcastically asked me if I know what happens to those who lie too often. To that I can only respond as follows: I do not know what happens to such habitual and practiced liars. After all, I have never been to Romulus."
=================================================August 30th
"Saavik tore that Romulan bastard a new one before the Committee. I can only hope her father does quite as well. Why are these people so uncomfortable with me? Its not ideology. Is it just a simple matter of approach? I'm still rudderless. Spock lied about his 'extended meditation', according to Sarek. Nyta just had to give the 'friends' speech. Lori is such an obvious front for Nogura's wishes. Am I now to throw in with a bunch of xenophobes just to get back where I belong? And is TJ right? Do those august Admirals know who killed my Peter?"
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August 31st
"Unit Designate Christine Chapel-2 reporting. The modfications made to this one by S31 Central Unit designate Roger Korby-3 enabled me to alter the main transporter at Starfleet HQ to recognize and then scatter Vice-Admiral Ciana's signature at a random point. Program in question was self-erasing. Given Kirk's psych profile, it is fortunate that we acted quickly to remove Nogura's agent of persuasion, and that Kirk himself witnessed said removal. The combination of such tragedy with Kirk's likely censure by the Council will leave an able resource in space minus prestige and confidence. This unit will now resume its un-self-aware persona."
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September 1st
"I have failed my friend and Captain. My logic is, I must determine, fatally infected by my past tortures. My path seemed clear. I had presented my evidence concerning the true fate of Peter Kirk, and of the blind eye Nogura had turned to the Grand Admiral himself. I bargained my silence on Jim's return to Enterprise. But Nogura, mourning the death of his aide, grew enraged at the thought that his godson was alive and close. His drive toward his goal has increased, and I have wasted a chance to go around my pain and see young Peter free."
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September 2nd
PERSONAL JOURNAL, GRAND ADMIRAL HEICHIARO NOGURA
"The Hall has asked the Council for a redefinition of their authority in matters of assignment. They don't want Jim on Earth. Spock I'll just write off as having some sort of Vulcan PMS. The Hall killed dear Lori. I'll just add that to the reasons I will never allow them to take my seat. Damn you, Jim, and damn your crew. Free will is for the talentless. People like us-like your father- have responsibilities. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, you will guide Starfleet when I'm gone. Because the alternative is no alternative at all."
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September 3rd
"You tell me that I'm Admiral Kirk now. Once, I thought that our disagreements were merely political. I see now that these run through the core of what we do and how we do it. Your encroachment on powers once reserved to others. Your species-driven innuendo and ever more racist jibes. The fact that my family's destruction, tied to security concerns, is not being addressed. You of Admiralty Hall have degraded the rank from which you take your name. So it is that I, Captain James T. Kirk of The Starship Enterprise, reject you. You--and all your works."
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September 4th
"Uncle, I feel sorry for you. Dad always spoke of you in the most glowing terms. But it is now clear that the man he held dear is gone. You keep proclaiming how you must deal with the Hall. What you're really saying is that you'd prefer not to deal with the trouble removing them would cause. Well, Admiral Nogura, people like that depend on such things. So give me back my ship, and my crew. Or in the name of the lost boy who called me Uncle, I will bring down a plague on all the houses of Starfleet!"
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September 5th
FINISH OF TESTIMONY OF JAMES KIRK BEFORE THE SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION
COMMITTEE, SUPREME COUNCIL, UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS, PARIS, EARTH"There are entities of considerable power headed here. But don't drop the charges against me for that, my allies, my opponents, or my record. Do it because I am the man who leads the ship that will break bread if we can, break the ice if we can't, and break the threat if it comes to that. Do that, and then, Councillors, with all due respect--get the hell out of my way. Because I count among the losses my ship has suffered those life forms that, through tragedy and misunderstanding, we will never have a chance to truly know."
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September 6th
AARON SISKO, LEGAL COUNSEL, ADMIRALTY HALL, NOTE TO COMMODORE BROCK
CARTWRIGHT"The Council's refusal to either charge Captain Kirk or to directly clarify what authority the Hall might have plays to the Hall's advantage. If Kirk were removed, those here would be suspected, despite your efforts for a contrary outcome. If the Council had given the Hall even the broadest authority, it would have limits. With no legal definition, you will have that power you wish to and may survive accruing. Now, Uncle Brock, farewell. I'm for Utopia Planitia, there to build the ships that this fleet needs, no matter who is running it. I will no longer cross your t's."
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September 7th
"Kirk called me a bad little boy, and I am. Though technically mature, I will relish my next task. Yes, these two beings will make an excellent test of humanity's unreadiness for what is to come. It may even be time for us to -oversee- them. The two children may be a greater danger than Ghidorah. The time has come to retire squire Trelane. Now the Federation and its enemies will understand their place. It is time for the celebrated captain and crew of the starship Enterprise to encounter the Q. Hmm. I should probably adopt a new look."
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September 8th
"Spock said some kind words about Saavik's testimony. Bones' daughter came to see him. Security Chief Chekov is beaming. Tactical Officer Sulu is getting this crew, including a Caitian and an Edoan, into shape. Nyta, always my friend, is now a properly titled Console Officer. Scotty says the Hall kept its word. The Enterprise is better than ready, though we leave without Janice and Christine. We are back. We are racing to meet the threatening unknown. I hold the unused rank of Admiral. We are together. Yet something is missing. Perhaps September 8th is merely a day as any other."
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Note: This storyline will be continued, in standard story format, in 'Encounter Thy Image'.
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