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| - "With all due respect, Mr President, one of the reasons the Federation has a Council is to deliberate over the decisions made by people in your position and to give a ruling on it, no matter whether the action has been undertaken or not. It has been this way since the inception of the Federation." Ambassador Grolek Tepp's deep and unmistakable voice echoed through the makeshift Council chamber, echoing off the thick walls that comprised the interior of Lakendi II's Monarchical Congress chamber, where the Federation Council had chosen to convene. As the Lakendians had only recently become part of the Federation, it had been a great surprise to accept the Council and President onto their planet so soon, but in these dire circumstances, there really had been no choice. The Lakendian people had been busy preparing their planet for the visit, which seemed to have become permanent. If any danger arose, the Council would be transported off the planet by the orbiting Enterprise-J and taken to another location, preferably one not in so much open space. "With all due respect, Mr Ambassador, I would rather be discussing the current situation with these aliens than what I have or could have done." "I thought you might." Turning away briefly, Grolek picked up a data node, and placed it on the table in front of him. Tapping a few buttons, a large 3-D map was projected holographically into the empty space above the node. A large, blue, and central section appeared – the United Federation of Planets, no less. Adjacent to that, a smaller red area appeared – the Klingon Empire. Beyond that, the greyness of the Gorn Hegemony seemed to cower in its own little space. The next item to appear was a series of thick yellow lines, extending from off the edge of the map as far as the edge of Federation territory, with one line going all the way to Earth itself. "This," started Grolek, "is a detailed map of incursions by the new guys on the block, the Saer'nar." Lorel stopped him. "The Saer'nar? How were you able to deduce their name when there has been no formal contact?" "The Enterprise located a data module from the wreckage and have had their best linguists working on it day and night since. Their language is incredibly different to anything we've ever seen – it's half symbolism and have alphanumerical. But one of the most commonly used words is translated as meaning "Saer'nar" - and as it's one of the only pronounceable words by our standards, we've chosen to use it. Back to this map," - Grolek motioned to the hologram - "we've been able to extrapolate roughly where these ships are heading, and where other ships have been." "How did you get this information originally?" "You remember our former president?" Who could forget him, thought Lorel. Medji Crassana, a Zalkadian, had taken office with a firm hand – perhaps too firm at times – but he had settled some of the most difficult conflicts in Federation history. Then came The Purge. This sole event was one of the main features of President Medji's reign, and it had been rather disturbing throughout the Federation – if not the entire Alpha Quadrant. It had all been started by the mere whisper of Section 31's name. The rogue organisation had been left alone by the majority of presidents, but this time he wasn't going to let them get away with anything. And as quietly as they operated, so quietly operated Starfleet Security, ordered to track down all members of Section 31 through stealth and subterfuge. Once they had been found, there would be nowhere to run. The whole operation began in 2570. Security members infiltrated Section 31 to it's highest level, and then, in 2573, the operation was in full swing. A huge base of sorts had been found on Fara Prime, a world not too far from each of the core worlds of the Federation. A perfect strike point. Then it all kicked off. Starfleet Security took less than two days to capture all but five members of Section 31 and bundle them onto a cargo vessel. They were taken to an uninhabitable planet and held in captivity there. As Section 31 had no written records, Medji had ordered Security to "purge" their memories in order to find out information. A few had escaped, just. Most of the prisoners were killed off afterwards, so there would be no trace of the missing agents. Efficient, but brutal. "Section 31's files were stored in an location known only to Starfleet's C-in-C and few others including yourself, Mr President. Fortunately, during the attack, a few more people became aware of the existence of these files and through various means we were able to track them down to a planetoid in Tholian space we've deduced is called Anaura – quite literally, 'place of darkness'." "Mr Ambassador, please get to the point." Lorel wasn't interested in time-wasting, not now. There was a civilisation to be saved, and he wasn't going to be the one who led to its downfall by standing around and doing nothing. "Well, we've noticed that the Saer'nar have come into contact with several vessels, mostly Klingon, and their fleet is most of the way through their space and is on its way to Earth. We estimate they will reach the planet in approximately 12 days time." It didn't make sense. Why attack Earth when it is crippled beyond help? "We must slow down these ships somehow. Admiral Turnbull, can we intercept the Saer'nar fleet before its too late?" The human looked slightly bemused at being called to the fore of the proceedings, but he obliged nonetheless and stepped forward. "We have 23 ships currently hiding in the Lembatta Cluster, as a bit of a surprise for the Saer'nar, but I don't think it'll be effective enough." "How many ships do the Saer'nar have, Mr Ambassador?" Grolek peered at a monitor and spoke. "There are 44 in their main fleet, plus two heading off for the outer colonies. But there's no doubt about it, their main strike point will be Earth." Another of the ambassadors present, an Aaamazzarite named Hiryiaaa, stood up, and a small light blinked on in front of her, indicating that she wished to speak. "Madam Ambassador," said Lorel, motioning for her to step forward. Hiryiaaa help up her hand, signalling that she preferred to stand where she was. "Ambassador Grolek, do you have reasonable evidence to confirm that Earth will be attacked again? Are there not other choice worlds such as my own, which surely pose a much greater threat to these Saer'nar?" Lorel looked at Grolek, and saw a visage of puzzlement creep over his face. Hiryiaaa was right – it did all seem a little strange. According to the map still displayed on the holoprojector, even Qo'noS was a more tempting target. "I see your point, Madam Ambassador, but I believe the Saer'nar are attempting to penetrate the core of the Federation, as they will be able to go outwards from there and meet little resistance." Hiryiaaa sat down, apparently satisfied by Grolek's answer. The Xindi continued. "I believe it is in our best interest to ask our allies for some help – namely, ships from the Klingon and Romulan fleets. With a joint attack, we may be able to slow down this armada." Lorel wasn't going to point out the flaw, but saw that no-one else would dare, so he did. "Mr Ambassador, it took a combined effort of 53 Starfleet ships to destroy a single cruiser. To destroy an entire fleet would ask for much more than that. Would the Romulans and the Klingons be willing to spare so many ships for a possibly suicidal assault?" A few murmurs spread through the Council chamber. This would be a split vote, Lorel was sure. "With permission from you, Mr President, I would like to propose a vote on this matter." Lorel nodded, sure that most would be against it. The Klingons might join us, they like a good fight. The Romulans however wouldn't be so keen. "All those in favour?" Lorel watched as members voted, and the results came in on the hastily erected screen at the fore of the chamber. Lorel was surprised when he saw that the members were voting in favour of the proposal. He was even more surprised when he saw that everyone had voted in favour.
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