Part I: Early News from Light Years Away, Too Early
Posted on Thu Sep 17th, 2026 @ 4:55pm by Captain Norberto Palacios & Lieutenant Commander Dante Ambrogio & Rear Admiral Daro Rixx
Edited on on Thu Sep 17th, 2026 @ 5:17pm
2,008 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Maintenance and Recovery
Location: Strategic Affairs Council Chamber, Starfleet Command, Earth
Timeline: BACKPOST: 2033 Hours / Eight Hours After T'Varel's Assassination
[SAC Chamber, Starfleet Command, San Francisco, Earth - 2033 Hours]
The council chamber had been designed to make even the tallest and largest of Federation citizens feel small. Its ceiling rose several stories above the polished floor, crossed by dark ribs of structural alloy that had been paneled in a rich dark wood. A mezzanine level occupied a second storey but seldom held any purpose other than to collect dust.
The Federation seal hung behind the seat of the Chair in a field of muted blue while Admiral Jasper Secord finished reading the contents of the data PADD held in his left hand. He had spent far too many years in this room and long ago stopped noticing any of its decorative charm. In any event, he never believed buildings themselves held any power--it was acquired authority from the people who served inside of them.
He finished reading and brought the gavel down once, the sound traveling cleanly through the chamber.
"Then we're adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Get some sleep."
There was laughter from one of the other Starfleet officers and civilian delegates. Jasper smiled, gathered the PADDs scattered before him, and rose from his chair. He had just stepped down from the dais when a young woman in a dark suit jacket with the emblem of the Independent Interstellar Press Corps (IIPC) slipped past the cluster of aides waiting for him.
"Admiral Secord?"
He stopped.
"I'm sorry, Admiral, do you have a moment?"
For a moment Jasper caught himself looking at her long brown hair which ended halfway down her back. Her figure was slim and lithe, like a ballet dancer and her plump lips and big eyes gave him a tingle in his chest.
"Of course." He looked at the identification clipped to her jacket which proved her clearance to be there. "It's Mara, isn't it?"
She blinked, surprised. "Yes, sir."
"Your mother still living on Luna?"
"She moved to Vulcan last year."
"That's right. Your father was the one on Luna." He gave her an apologetic smile. "How is your brother?"
Her expression softened and she swiped away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "He's at the Academy now."
"Already?" Secord shook his head. "God. I remember when he was about yea-high."
He held a hand somewhere around his waist and smiled.
"He's doing well I hope?"
"Very well."
"Good." Jasper's smile deepened. "That's what really matters, Mara."
A drone cameras were hovering near them and pointed in their direction. Jasper seemed not to notice them. He answered her question about the Council's deliberations with a few easy sentences, offering enough substance to be useful and enough discretion to leave his superiors satisfied. He made a small joke about committee work being the Federation's most enduring form of warp travel and laughed when she did.
When another journalist called his name from twenty feet out, he raised one index finger in acknowledgment.
"One at a time," he said. "I'm only one man."
"You're Jasper Secord," someone called. "That's usually more than enough."
That remark earned a broader laugh from everyone present.
Jasper laughed with them.
He was good at this. People liked him because he made being important look like a minor inconvenience that he'd learned to enjoy. He remembered birthdays. He asked about sick parents. He knew which officers had children applying to the Academy and which delegates preferred Andorian tea. He could make a Lieutenant Junior Grade feel heard in the middle of a busy corridor and make a Federation councillor feel incredibly clever without ever having to flatter him.
A hand touched his elbow.
"Admiral."
Lieutenant Commander Jung-hee Cho had appeared beside him.
Jasper looked at her. She had the kind of face that was seemingly carved exactly for delivering bad news. She was severe without being cold, and after years of working around Starfleet Command she had acquired a reputation for never wasting words when a half-dozen would do in a pinch.
"We need to speak," she said.
His smile remained in place for a few seconds longer while he continued to face the drone cameras.
"Certainly."
"Alone, sir."
It was at that same moment that several of the assembled journalists stopped what they were doing and were now glued to their own data PADDs, receiving transmissions about something.
He passed his leather portfolio to none of the aides and waved two of them away. He simply tucked it beneath his arm and collected the remainder of his data PADDs from the table, and followed Cho toward the side corridor, passing between two junior officers standing on either side of the door.
Within half a second of the door opening, noise and shouts hit them immediately.
"Admiral! Admiral Secord!"
"Can you confirm the ambassador is dead?"
"Was Ambassador T'Varel assassinated?"
"Was it poison, sir?"
"Admiral, did Starfleet security fail in its duty?"
"Does Starfleet believe a Romulan faction was involved?"
Jasper stopped for the briefest moment and turned toward the reporters in the side corridor with his familiar trademark smile. He lifted one hand in a small wave, as though the questions were nothing more serious than greetings from old friends.
"Thank you, everyone. We'll have something for you shortly."
He turned and followed Cho.
She took him through a narrow side passage and into an empty conference room. The door closed behind them.
Jasper's smile disappeared.
"What happened?"
Cho walked toward the far side of the room. "During the opening ceremonies on Barisa Prime, Ambassador T'Varel was killed."
"I heard that much."
"Cause of death hasn't been confirmed. There are indications some kind of telepathic assault. Poison has not been ruled out."
The Admiral stared at her.
For a long, pregnant moment the room seemed too quiet.
Then he set the portfolio down on the table with enough force to make it slide across the polished surface.
"Who fucked up?"
Cho met his eyes, her expression neutral.
"Astrea. Remy Johansen's ship."
Jasper's jaw tightened and he flexed the fingers of his right hand.
"What the hell happened to security?"
"Admiral--"
"What happened to security, Jung-hee?"
"A trifecta of security forces was present. Vulcan, Romulan, and Starfleet."
He looked at her, seemingly unsure whether to take a seat or defenestrate her.
"Not to mention Starfleet Marines," she continued. "The perimeter was heavily controlled. There were multiple layers of screening and internal security."
Secord turned away and kicked one of the empty chairs. It struck the wall hard enough to spin.
"Jesus Christ."
"Sir."
"Someone's going to have to eat this."
Cho gave a small nod. "I agree."
Secord rubbed his thumb along the edge of his portfolio. His fire of his anger had begun to fade away, settling into something colder.
"I've already spoken to Captain Auvray," Cho said. "He's assured me he's keeping an eye on Astrea and on any further actions."
Jasper looked at her again. Then he smiled and there wasn't even a hint of warmth in it. It was the kind of smile not meant to be capturing by a camera.
"Auvray had better hope Johansen continues to fuck the dog on this," he said quietly, "because if this turns into something bigger, it's be his fat French ass in the stockade."
"Auvray knows."
Secord looked toward the closed door. Beyond it, the reporters were likely still shouting and looking for any statements they could get away with publishing.
He picked up his portfolio.
"Get me Daro."
Cho hesitated for a quarter of a second. "Admiral Rixx?"
"Who else?" Jasper spat.
"He's been in Fleet procurement meetings all week. I believe he's just across campus."
"I don't care if he's orbital diving on Neptune. Get him."
She nodded. "I'll find him, sir."
Jasper nodded in return, then stopped her as she reached the door.
"And give the media something."
Cho turned.
"The facts," he said. "T'Varel is dead. Cause of death remains unconfirmed. Investigation is ongoing. Starfleet Command will issue a statement following the Office of the Federation President."
"Don't speculate about the weapon," Jung-hee suggested firmly.
"Agreed."
"Don't say assassination."
"Understood."
"And don't let anyone drag you into questions about Astrea."
Cho's recommendations for facing the media were sound. Normally, Jasper was capable of putting his own words through a filter and providing the absolute minimum by using the maximum number of words. It served to give the media something without any true tasty morsels.
He repeated the statement to himself, quietly, getting the cadence right.
"T'Varel is dead. Cause of death remains unconfirmed. Investigation ongoing. Starfleet Command will issue a statement following the Office of the Federation President."
He looked over at Cho whose hand was now on the door knob.
"Good?"
"Good, sir."
Cho turned the knob and opened the door.
"Cho?"
"Sir?"
"I want Daro in my office before twenty-one-hundred."
She nodded again before moving.
Jasper leaned closer as she passed him.
"I'll stuff my big dick in their mouths for now."
She didn't smile--she rarely did.
"Ready?"
Secord nodded.
He raised a hand to his hair, smoothing the little pompadour into place. He checked the line of his uniform jacket, straightened the collar, and took one breath.
Cho disappeared down the corridor while Jasper waited solid two seconds. Then he opened the door.
Upon seeing him emerge, the reporters surged toward him.
"Admiral Secord!"
"Admiral, can you confirm--"
"Was this an assassination?"
"Was the ambassador poisoned?"
"Are the Unification Accords cancelled?"
Jasper raised both hands, palms open.
"Everyone, please."
Magically, his voice was warm again and the smile came easily. He waited until the shouting had diminished and the drone cameras had settled on him.
"I can confirm that Vulcan Ambassador T'Varel is dead. At this time, the cause of death remains unconfirmed, and an investigation is underway. Starfleet Command is working closely with our Vulcan and Romulan counterparts to establish precisely what happened."
A reporter called-out something about the USS Astrea.
Secord's expression remained open.
"I understand why you're asking. There are a great many questions tonight, and I promise you we're asking the same ones. What I won't do is speculate while an investigation is still underway."
Another voice shouted over the others.
"Was Starfleet security compromised?"
Jasper looked toward the reporter--a thirtysomething Bolian in a crisp suit and tie.
"We have no evidence of that at this time."
He smiled again.
"And I'm afraid that's all I have for you tonight."
The drone cameras silently hovered, continuing to record.
Jasper remained there for another minute, answering what he could and declining what he couldn't. He asked one reporter whether her son had recovered from his illness. He remembered another journalist's upcoming transfer to Bajor. He made a gentle joke when someone complained about missing supper.
He was patient. He was gracious. He was Admiral Jasper Secord.
Somewhere across the Starfleet Command campus, Rear Admiral Daro Rixx was going to receive a message that his old friend wanted to see him.
And somewhere much farther away, aboard a ship whose captain still believed that doing the right thing always mattered, the first pieces of the Audit were already beginning to move.
~tbc~
Admiral Jasper Secord
Chair, Federation Strategic Affairs Council (FSAC)
Starfleet Command
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Rear Admiral Daro Rixx
Long Range Mobility & Defense Command
Starfleet Command
(NPC of Maxun Spello)
Captain Norberto Palacios
Chief Auditor
Starfleet Command Audit Division
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Lt. Commander Dante Ambrogio
Executive Officer
USS Phoenix
(NPC of Alexandra Blackstone)
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