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Message #:42
Time to look for the author...***1919 - "Rebuttal," by Capt. Hunter |
(Excerpt from the Federation News Agency Broadcast)
::The screen comes alive with catchy music and the GlobeCom logo::
(The scene is Admiral William Ross, the C-in-C of Starfleet Command, stepping to the podium to address the Federation Council)
+Good morning everyone. Let me begin by first saying how sorry I am that all of this has come to pass. It is a dark day for Starfleet......a very dark day. This great organization of ours has weathered many storms during its long history......a history that even predates the Federation itself. Perhaps, because we do have such a long history, we have become to believe that we are invincible. We aren't. Perhaps some of us have come to believe that as we are 'out there' on the final frontier that we have the inside scoop on what's best for the Federation. We don't. Starfleet isn't perfect......as the recent events would seem to indicate. I myself have never felt we are perfect. To be perfect means to be no longer alive. As long as one is alive, they will make mistakes. This is our mistake. We allowed certain individuals to attain positions of power, and this is the result. Could we have prevented this???? Perhaps. It is our duty to protect the Federation, not make policy that dictates how it is run. Those of us who work for this great organization have done what we felt was needed to protect those who are under our care. The opinions of Captain Hunter are his. He is quite entitled to them. However......+
Ross stopped. He looked out over the assembled masses, and at the video cameras, the multitude of monitors that showed his image back to him. He glanced down at the speech he'd written last night......that long sleepless night that was nothing but a blur to him now. Where did this all go so wrong???? It wasn't supposed to be like this. Nothing but one conflict after another. Espionage going on behind every closed door. Political manipulations, officers betraying the oath of the uniform. But did he really?? Or are we just pissed that he came forward as he did?? Where is the line?? Our job is to protect the people of the Federation. Are we better served to accomplish this by keeping things quiet, or making it public?? Hunter disobeyed an order by revealing this. But has he put the Federation at any greater risk?? Yes, there is panic. But at the same time, there is a feeling of solidarity I haven't seen in a long time. People want see an end to this crisis. They want action. And......they are willing to stand up and support those who are willing to take that action. He may not be aware of it......but Hunter has tapped into the great well of public opinion, and has managed to galvanize a large portion of it. If he were a politician, he'd be a sure bet during an election. He managed to polarize the public. You either like him or hate him. There is no fence sitting. And the numbers seem to be in his favour. Was what he did so very wrong?? I myself just said Starfleet wasn't perfect. Why do we expect every officer to be then?? We like to pride ourselves on having people who can think for themselves. Why then are we angry because this one man did just that?? I don't like what he did. There......I said it. That's why I'm angry. I don't like what he did. He broke the rules by not going through channels. But......had he gone through channels, he never would've been able to say what he did. Even if he'd resigned, the Official Secrets Act would've kept him silent. Simply put, we have sacrificed our freedoms. We cloud it under the cloak of 'officialese', but it all boils down to the same thing. By following the rules, Hunter could never have spoken his mind. We wouldn't allow it. And that is the scariest part of all of this. When did we allow this to happen?? How could we have been so blind?? And what do we do now??
The Starfleet C-in-C looked back up.
+I'm sorry. I can't continue. I find I'm unsure of my own stand in this matter. My loyalties to the Federation are as strong as ever. I want only the best for all concerned. However, I'm not sure we've been doing that. I'm not sure about a lot of things right now. I was prepared to stand up here today and condemn someone who I've known for many years. It was I who gave him his first command. I cannot condemn him......as there is a part of me that agrees with him. Don't get me wrong. I disapprove of his methods. I'm madder than Hell at the uproar this has caused. But......I find myself asking the question, 'what is the real reason I'm angry?'. Am I angry because he broke the rules?? Am I angry because I don't like what he did?? Or am I angry because he's made us all look foolish?? Because I have all these questions, I cannot at this time pass judgement on him. What if, say in twenty years, he actions are proven to be justified?? We just don't know. There is an old saying that we don't just inherit the world from our parents, but we also borrow it from our children. We have to think of the legacy we leave for them. Have we done all that we can to see to that?? I honestly don't know. I do know we've lost two starships recently. I have to take some of the blame for that. One ship was lost while on a routine trip......the other when it disobeyed orders and took off on its own. Yet another example of how Starfleet isn't perfect. Maybe we aren't the solution but rather part of the problem after all. So......I'm not going to play politics. I'm not going to pass judgement on anyone. Instead, I'm am going to leave you all to make up your own minds. I'm going to go back to work to try to fix things......maybe with a new perspective on matters. Thankyou.+
Ross ignored the explosion of voices that occurred as he slipped away from the podium. he knew that instead of smoothing things over, he'd only added to the wrinkles. He was also sure he wouldn't last out the day in his present job. Still......he hadn't mentioned any names, nor had he pointed any fingers other than at himself. So perhaps he would still have an opportunity to make things right. The only problem was......he had no idea how.
