Post by theonis on Nov 1, 2014 21:26:40 GMT
FADE IN:
INT. SPOON'S QUARTERS
SPOON is sitting in a chair, his finger moving figurines on a chessboard on a nearby table as he plays against himself. The room is DARK and moody. With his hands making a pyramid he is deep in thought.
Admiral's personal log: Stardate XXXXX.X
Idle chatter has never been our strong suit in the office of Admiral. As a man, the aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. This makes this all the harder as a man, as an ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is abhorrent to us. Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that as a man we thought of ourselves as the master of thought, the molder of that character, and maker and shaper of our condition, environment, and destiny.
[picks up a black Bishop]
Today we started moving pieces on the board in which if we move any more it will most likely end with our removal of our office of Admiral, and even as an officer of Starfleet. It was always our prerogative to instill the value of life to all our officers. Sending some to even hand-deliver a death message to the next of kin to those that had died under their command was part of that learning process. For as long as we have been a commanding officer we have reinforced into the officers of Starfleet that the citizens come before ones own goals and motivations. As one of the legends of old Starfleet once said, “The needs of the many, outway the needs of the few… or the one.”
[places down the black Bishop]
And like that great man, we are about to become a hypocrite to our own teachings. All respect that we have earned over the years will be lost. Forever have we moved pieces on a chess board to get what we want. Making people do things we wanted them to do, all in order to protect the Federation. A man like this… is only viewed by his peers as a manipulator and someone to be weary against - to have ones guard up around at all times. Because of this we have little friends. Our personal life is unknown, even to the officers that interact with us on a daily basis. Bereft of wife, no children of our own blood, there is but a child whom we took as our own; we swore to our captain that we would raise her to give peace to his soul as he laid dying in our arms and drew his last breath.
[moves a white Pawn forward]
Because of this lack of attachment it has been easy for the twenty-nine years of service to put Starfleet and its citizens first over any personal goal or ambitions we may have had. Now though, we will play with a new chess board, with pieces in a way we have never intended. Considerable difficulties have arisen with a friend of ours, whom we have placed in command of a Starship - now struggling with his responsibilities. We will intervene for this friend, but never in our history of Starfleet have we placed one individual's needs above any one else’s. And because of this, our days as a Starfleet officer are limited. Granted, we may have had another thirty years to give, but, in days of old, thirty years was about the limit of a career. Nobody would think otherwise given human lifespans. Indeed, it is interesting what some will do for a friend.
We spoke with Admiral Hsalo today. Puma's uncle to Admiral Hsalo's niece, by marriage - if you want to call it that. We had asked the Admiral personally what he had thought about Puma’s ability to command, and the answer we had gotten was as predicted - a neutral response citing bias due to kinship. Caitians have a sense of loyalty to their kin - as well as other loyalties, but some of the strongest we have ever encountered nonetheless. Such loyalties can cause interesting results, as well as troublesome burdens to decipher in regards to intention. Indeed, though we are well aware that Admiral Hsalo has publically expressed his desire to kill his nephew on several occasions we highly doubt this would come from such a well-respected admiral, especially when it involves family ties...Such bravado is still useable nonetheless.
In order to move a piece on the board, we needed the admiral to provide such an answer, and, as maneuvered, he gave us what we wanted and needed. Given the neutral answer, we used our own reputation to put words in his mouth that Admiral Hsalo had little faith in Puma's ability to command. It matters not whether he really thought so or not, it was just a matter for others to presume that is was what he really meant.
[moves a black pawn to take a white pawn]
A useful turn of events. We put the Admiral into a very bad position. Comprehending Caitain culture compared to perhaps ninety-nine point nine percent of any population that is non-Caitian provides certain advantages. We made sure to inform the admiral in the presence of witnesses that we were going to go get orders prepared for Puma’s removal from command. However, in actuality they were for Puma's wife, Fissi, former Chief Medical Officer on Puma's vessel - the Executor. Due to Caitians' lack of phonetic language we shall dispense with any pretext of a chance of proper pronounciation.
[picks up the white Queen and moves it into a threatening position]
Admiral Starsinger, in the past a former subordinate of ours, was privy to this intercourse, and many witnesses can substantiate that encounter. We do our best to keep our subordinates in mind who have served a long time with us, and that they take us at our word and at face value.
Starsinger's wheels are turning, no doubt, though she may not fathom our intentions. It is all done for a reason or purpose. It creates a sense of paranoia in those who know us, which creates enough friction to not having many friends. To be a chess piece that needs to be moved, sometimes used, tends to be counter-productive to lasting friendship. As for chess pieces, we have already moved a few others.
[moves black Rook]
Indeed, orders were personally hand delivered to Fissi. She was told by us that we spoke with her uncle Kiso, with the insinuation that Kiso was of the opinion that Puma was unfit to command. Her loyalty to her mate is admirable - a female who stands by her male, but also a crack in the armor of that male.
The surprise attack on DS9, an attack even we could not have predicted, caused severe mental trauma to the Caitian upon the loss of his mate - though we think it was mainly the torture he endured during the questioning. Physically, Puma is unbreakable, but not mentally. Consequently, when he saw the child sucked out the airlock he only saw it as if it was his own child. He never was right after that. Our thought to put him in command of a ship to snap him out of it was unsuccessful as such. Now we sacrifice our career to help a friend in need. To get Puma to react we need to take away his family. Puma places too much emphasis on his family, and in front of Admiral Starsinger, Admiral Hsalo confirmed this. When asked about Puma, he had said publicly that Puma has a family to think about. This is true, but he puts too much emphasis on it. He is a Starfleet officer, and his loyalty is to those who depend upon Starfleet to protect them. There is nothing wrong in loving ones family, but the emphasis he places is… unhealthy.
[Moves the black Bishop to threaten white Knight]
Naturally, Fissi's protectiveness of her mate will cause a reaction based on our insinuations of Kiso's recommendations. We know fully well the extent of the consequences of pushing her buttons just right, to the point that even Kiso is scared of her. Her response will make the story the more believable to Puma. She will come down hard on Kiso. Well...at least that is the plan. Caitians are… hard to maneuver, especially when family is involved.
[moves white Knight]
Her orders are now to report to a Defiant Class vessel that is going into the Delta quadrant. She will be too far from Puma to stay in touch. Also she is unable to take her children with her, and Puma, being a Captain, can’t maintain his ship and look after his children alone. So, as predicted, Puma sent them home to his family on Cait to take care of them.
[white knight takes black Pawn]
Now this is where it took some finesse to create a correct lineup. Since Fissi will be so far out, she will never hear the news, unlike Puma, of their children's...demise, what ever you wish to call it. Eventhough Puma placed his children on a chartered flight back to Cait, we arranged for a civilian craft with monkeys to leave for Cait unto which we allegedly placed his kids. The ship had a plotted course that would take them through territory that is patrolled every few days. That patrol isn’t scheduled for another two days. Fissi will be long gone by then, whereas Puma will still be on starbase when the report comes in that the craft was destroyed and no life pods were found. For all intents and purposes Puma is going to experience the loss of both his children. Already the ship has been destroyed, staged to look like a random act from Mirror Universe ships. With every one focused on the Delta quadrant, Starfleet has a few holes.
When this news comes out, Fissi will be unreachable in the Delta quadrant. This will come as a natural blow to Puma just as he will receive orders from us for a mission. His petition for leave will not be granted upon his request. We have a fairly good idea on Admiral Hsalo's reaction to the loss of family as well, but it will be worth the wait as we will have to bide our time for our next move. But the plan is already in place.
[black Bishop takes white Knight]
It's still not the coup de grace for we are going to destroy Puma. We are sending him to his death; we will take everything away from him. To protect Fissi from this we have arranged for this personnel transfer to another ship for a reason. Since that admiral said that he needed his ship to disappear due to mission critical reasons this will work out nicely. Fissi's ship will be reported as lost in the Delta quadrant, with all hands aboard, about six hours after Puma and Kiso hear about the disappearance of Puma's cubs due to an attack.
[black Rook takes white Bishop]
Hsalo is collateral damage, but we require to destroy Puma. We must put him in a corner and force him to his knees, then destroy all that he is. Although Kiso will be affected we have insulated Fissi to the best of our ability. It shall be be the first time anyone will witness what happens to the admiral when his close family is taken from him. Eventhough his dislike of Puma is verbal bluster, he does consider him family. The removal of Fissi, however, will be rather… unpredictable - a rather unstable variable in the equation, but a workable risk in our favor to provide a believable story that Puma lost his immediate family. Although Caitians are difficult in regards to family politics, if the pieces were moved correctly, a strong disagreement should arise between Kiso and Fissi based on the setup that the children were removed due to her uncle's dislike of Puma, which will leave Kiso with the remembrance of the last conversation having been a fight with his niece about his actions towards Puma.
[queen-side castling of the White King]
As our adopted daughter is a Caitian, we arranged for her and Puma’s girls to be sent to Risa. Knowing Kiso, he will retreat to Andoria to mourn. He would not go to Risa even if his own mate ordered him to do so. Consequently the kids will never know any of this chess board maneuvering ever happened, or their unwitting involvement in it. We are not fond of the idea of having commited Article 134 Kidnapping, but this was to protect her from harm as well.
[black Queen takes white Queen; white Rook takes black Queen]
A dangerous game to be certain, but it need not go to a bitter end. The saddest part of this game is that should we win, we still lose in the end. Should we lose we leave a wake of destruction with enough fallout to dwarf World War III. We cannot lose; we must win, and since we will lose everything to win there is nothing left to lose.
[moves black Rook]
Playing with Caitians is so difficult...This game is perhaps the most fun of all the games we have played in a long time, but also the saddest. To insulate Kiso from this would be preferable, but, alas, for the game to work he has his part to play.
[moves white pawn forward to the last row and exchanges it with a Queen. He gently pushes over the black King as he takes a glass of alcohol.]
We shall learn to live with it...because we can live with it. Computer -- erase personal log.
CUT TO BLACK.
((Post may be edited due to fixing of plot holes. Also, not all the plans are revealed due to rampant Meta-gaming that happens.))
INT. SPOON'S QUARTERS
SPOON is sitting in a chair, his finger moving figurines on a chessboard on a nearby table as he plays against himself. The room is DARK and moody. With his hands making a pyramid he is deep in thought.
Admiral's personal log: Stardate XXXXX.X
Idle chatter has never been our strong suit in the office of Admiral. As a man, the aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. This makes this all the harder as a man, as an ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is abhorrent to us. Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that as a man we thought of ourselves as the master of thought, the molder of that character, and maker and shaper of our condition, environment, and destiny.
[picks up a black Bishop]
Today we started moving pieces on the board in which if we move any more it will most likely end with our removal of our office of Admiral, and even as an officer of Starfleet. It was always our prerogative to instill the value of life to all our officers. Sending some to even hand-deliver a death message to the next of kin to those that had died under their command was part of that learning process. For as long as we have been a commanding officer we have reinforced into the officers of Starfleet that the citizens come before ones own goals and motivations. As one of the legends of old Starfleet once said, “The needs of the many, outway the needs of the few… or the one.”
[places down the black Bishop]
And like that great man, we are about to become a hypocrite to our own teachings. All respect that we have earned over the years will be lost. Forever have we moved pieces on a chess board to get what we want. Making people do things we wanted them to do, all in order to protect the Federation. A man like this… is only viewed by his peers as a manipulator and someone to be weary against - to have ones guard up around at all times. Because of this we have little friends. Our personal life is unknown, even to the officers that interact with us on a daily basis. Bereft of wife, no children of our own blood, there is but a child whom we took as our own; we swore to our captain that we would raise her to give peace to his soul as he laid dying in our arms and drew his last breath.
[moves a white Pawn forward]
Because of this lack of attachment it has been easy for the twenty-nine years of service to put Starfleet and its citizens first over any personal goal or ambitions we may have had. Now though, we will play with a new chess board, with pieces in a way we have never intended. Considerable difficulties have arisen with a friend of ours, whom we have placed in command of a Starship - now struggling with his responsibilities. We will intervene for this friend, but never in our history of Starfleet have we placed one individual's needs above any one else’s. And because of this, our days as a Starfleet officer are limited. Granted, we may have had another thirty years to give, but, in days of old, thirty years was about the limit of a career. Nobody would think otherwise given human lifespans. Indeed, it is interesting what some will do for a friend.
We spoke with Admiral Hsalo today. Puma's uncle to Admiral Hsalo's niece, by marriage - if you want to call it that. We had asked the Admiral personally what he had thought about Puma’s ability to command, and the answer we had gotten was as predicted - a neutral response citing bias due to kinship. Caitians have a sense of loyalty to their kin - as well as other loyalties, but some of the strongest we have ever encountered nonetheless. Such loyalties can cause interesting results, as well as troublesome burdens to decipher in regards to intention. Indeed, though we are well aware that Admiral Hsalo has publically expressed his desire to kill his nephew on several occasions we highly doubt this would come from such a well-respected admiral, especially when it involves family ties...Such bravado is still useable nonetheless.
In order to move a piece on the board, we needed the admiral to provide such an answer, and, as maneuvered, he gave us what we wanted and needed. Given the neutral answer, we used our own reputation to put words in his mouth that Admiral Hsalo had little faith in Puma's ability to command. It matters not whether he really thought so or not, it was just a matter for others to presume that is was what he really meant.
[moves a black pawn to take a white pawn]
A useful turn of events. We put the Admiral into a very bad position. Comprehending Caitain culture compared to perhaps ninety-nine point nine percent of any population that is non-Caitian provides certain advantages. We made sure to inform the admiral in the presence of witnesses that we were going to go get orders prepared for Puma’s removal from command. However, in actuality they were for Puma's wife, Fissi, former Chief Medical Officer on Puma's vessel - the Executor. Due to Caitians' lack of phonetic language we shall dispense with any pretext of a chance of proper pronounciation.
[picks up the white Queen and moves it into a threatening position]
Admiral Starsinger, in the past a former subordinate of ours, was privy to this intercourse, and many witnesses can substantiate that encounter. We do our best to keep our subordinates in mind who have served a long time with us, and that they take us at our word and at face value.
Starsinger's wheels are turning, no doubt, though she may not fathom our intentions. It is all done for a reason or purpose. It creates a sense of paranoia in those who know us, which creates enough friction to not having many friends. To be a chess piece that needs to be moved, sometimes used, tends to be counter-productive to lasting friendship. As for chess pieces, we have already moved a few others.
[moves black Rook]
Indeed, orders were personally hand delivered to Fissi. She was told by us that we spoke with her uncle Kiso, with the insinuation that Kiso was of the opinion that Puma was unfit to command. Her loyalty to her mate is admirable - a female who stands by her male, but also a crack in the armor of that male.
The surprise attack on DS9, an attack even we could not have predicted, caused severe mental trauma to the Caitian upon the loss of his mate - though we think it was mainly the torture he endured during the questioning. Physically, Puma is unbreakable, but not mentally. Consequently, when he saw the child sucked out the airlock he only saw it as if it was his own child. He never was right after that. Our thought to put him in command of a ship to snap him out of it was unsuccessful as such. Now we sacrifice our career to help a friend in need. To get Puma to react we need to take away his family. Puma places too much emphasis on his family, and in front of Admiral Starsinger, Admiral Hsalo confirmed this. When asked about Puma, he had said publicly that Puma has a family to think about. This is true, but he puts too much emphasis on it. He is a Starfleet officer, and his loyalty is to those who depend upon Starfleet to protect them. There is nothing wrong in loving ones family, but the emphasis he places is… unhealthy.
[Moves the black Bishop to threaten white Knight]
Naturally, Fissi's protectiveness of her mate will cause a reaction based on our insinuations of Kiso's recommendations. We know fully well the extent of the consequences of pushing her buttons just right, to the point that even Kiso is scared of her. Her response will make the story the more believable to Puma. She will come down hard on Kiso. Well...at least that is the plan. Caitians are… hard to maneuver, especially when family is involved.
[moves white Knight]
Her orders are now to report to a Defiant Class vessel that is going into the Delta quadrant. She will be too far from Puma to stay in touch. Also she is unable to take her children with her, and Puma, being a Captain, can’t maintain his ship and look after his children alone. So, as predicted, Puma sent them home to his family on Cait to take care of them.
[white knight takes black Pawn]
Now this is where it took some finesse to create a correct lineup. Since Fissi will be so far out, she will never hear the news, unlike Puma, of their children's...demise, what ever you wish to call it. Eventhough Puma placed his children on a chartered flight back to Cait, we arranged for a civilian craft with monkeys to leave for Cait unto which we allegedly placed his kids. The ship had a plotted course that would take them through territory that is patrolled every few days. That patrol isn’t scheduled for another two days. Fissi will be long gone by then, whereas Puma will still be on starbase when the report comes in that the craft was destroyed and no life pods were found. For all intents and purposes Puma is going to experience the loss of both his children. Already the ship has been destroyed, staged to look like a random act from Mirror Universe ships. With every one focused on the Delta quadrant, Starfleet has a few holes.
When this news comes out, Fissi will be unreachable in the Delta quadrant. This will come as a natural blow to Puma just as he will receive orders from us for a mission. His petition for leave will not be granted upon his request. We have a fairly good idea on Admiral Hsalo's reaction to the loss of family as well, but it will be worth the wait as we will have to bide our time for our next move. But the plan is already in place.
[black Bishop takes white Knight]
It's still not the coup de grace for we are going to destroy Puma. We are sending him to his death; we will take everything away from him. To protect Fissi from this we have arranged for this personnel transfer to another ship for a reason. Since that admiral said that he needed his ship to disappear due to mission critical reasons this will work out nicely. Fissi's ship will be reported as lost in the Delta quadrant, with all hands aboard, about six hours after Puma and Kiso hear about the disappearance of Puma's cubs due to an attack.
[black Rook takes white Bishop]
Hsalo is collateral damage, but we require to destroy Puma. We must put him in a corner and force him to his knees, then destroy all that he is. Although Kiso will be affected we have insulated Fissi to the best of our ability. It shall be be the first time anyone will witness what happens to the admiral when his close family is taken from him. Eventhough his dislike of Puma is verbal bluster, he does consider him family. The removal of Fissi, however, will be rather… unpredictable - a rather unstable variable in the equation, but a workable risk in our favor to provide a believable story that Puma lost his immediate family. Although Caitians are difficult in regards to family politics, if the pieces were moved correctly, a strong disagreement should arise between Kiso and Fissi based on the setup that the children were removed due to her uncle's dislike of Puma, which will leave Kiso with the remembrance of the last conversation having been a fight with his niece about his actions towards Puma.
[queen-side castling of the White King]
As our adopted daughter is a Caitian, we arranged for her and Puma’s girls to be sent to Risa. Knowing Kiso, he will retreat to Andoria to mourn. He would not go to Risa even if his own mate ordered him to do so. Consequently the kids will never know any of this chess board maneuvering ever happened, or their unwitting involvement in it. We are not fond of the idea of having commited Article 134 Kidnapping, but this was to protect her from harm as well.
[black Queen takes white Queen; white Rook takes black Queen]
A dangerous game to be certain, but it need not go to a bitter end. The saddest part of this game is that should we win, we still lose in the end. Should we lose we leave a wake of destruction with enough fallout to dwarf World War III. We cannot lose; we must win, and since we will lose everything to win there is nothing left to lose.
[moves black Rook]
Playing with Caitians is so difficult...This game is perhaps the most fun of all the games we have played in a long time, but also the saddest. To insulate Kiso from this would be preferable, but, alas, for the game to work he has his part to play.
[moves white pawn forward to the last row and exchanges it with a Queen. He gently pushes over the black King as he takes a glass of alcohol.]
We shall learn to live with it...because we can live with it. Computer -- erase personal log.
CUT TO BLACK.
((Post may be edited due to fixing of plot holes. Also, not all the plans are revealed due to rampant Meta-gaming that happens.))