Audacious Ending

Posted on Sun Aug 24th, 2025 @ 2:36pm by Commodore Dazad Targaryen & Captain Zseeq

801 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Audacious
Location: Ready Room, Deep Space 12
Timeline: 2401-05-05, 05:30

Captain Zseeq stood outside of the Ready Room on Deep Space 12 staring at the door. The Saratoga had returned to the Starbase a short while ago, with the Audacious in tow, and the Commodore had demanded to see him tonight rather than wait. He'd been called to the principal's office before and, never in his experience serving with the Commodore, had a late-night meeting been a good thing. Pressing the door chime, the Deltan Captain waited for approval to enter.

It came far quicker than Zseeq would have hoped. Commander Targaryen opened the door right as he pressed the control.

"Apologies, Commodore, you asked to see me," Zseeq interjected quickly.

"I did, Captain," the Sector Commander answered as he stepped back into his office. He motioned for the captain to enter.

The Commodore's office hadn't changed much since Zseeq had last seen it. Located not far from Operations, the Commodore's Ready Room was a spacious office where he could host private meetings with visiting dignitaries or the Commanding Officers under the Commodore's command. The Commodore’s desk occupied the center of the room with seating for two guests (and a third chair that could be moved up). Behind the Commodore's desk was a large viewscreen that defaulted to the United Federation of Planets logo - so that the Federation's logo was prominent on any communication that the admiral would have from the room. The wall to the left of the desk featured a large LCARS display with a direct uplink to Starfleet Command, as well as a model of the Starship Khitomer. Off to the side was a door that led to the Commodore's quarters, as well as his conference room.

Walking over to the desk, Zseeq sat in the chair to the right and put on his game face as the Commodore took his chair.

"So, tell me about the recovery of the Audacious," the El-Aurian directed after sliding his chair forward to be closer to Captain Zseeq.

Zseeq knew what the Commodore was looking for, but chose to play the game, "It was a bit more routine than I expected, all except for having to travel into Romulan territory."

"I read that report, Captain," Targaryen said as he picked the datapad up from the desk. "The Audacious, a ship that I directed you to bring back by any means necessary, was trapped behind enemy lines and barely operational. You decided it was appropriate to fire a spread of Photon Torpedoes at a ship that had no communications in hope of simulating its destruction?"

"I could see no other alternative, Sir," Zseeq answered. "The Romulans needed to think it was destroyed, or they would have pursued us until the Audacious was recovered. As discussed, we could not allow the Audacious to fall into enemy hands, so I took steps to ensure that the Romulans thought that the Audacious was no more. We needed an appropriate cover story, thus the pirate story, and the torpedoes created enough of an explosion to confuse enough for the Audacious to get away - under its own power I may add."

Dazad tossed the datapad on the desktop, "Zseeq, this could've gone the other way far too easily. You got lucky. A ship that Starfleet Command - that the C-in-C herself is watching - demanded be returned could have been lost spectacularly. The risk of war with the Romulans rose exponentially because of your actions."

"You authorized our travel through the Romulan Border," the Deltan interrupted.

The Commodore nodded, "I'm aware of that. You just need to be a bit more careful with your command and how you execute our orders, Zseeq." Dazad rose from his desk and walked over to the window. He looked out upon the Maelstrom silently for a moment, "Zseeq, I'm not going to lie to you, Starfleet Command didn't want you to have the Saratoga. It's a legacy ship, a ship that has a history, and you're a fresh Captain that's barely out of the gate and already causing trouble. Zseeq, consider your command and your decisions carefully before you make them. Starfleet's not the same as it always was. We need to prove our worth again to the people, especially after Frontier Day, and I can't have one of the captains under my command running around acting like the next Jim Kirk. You're on notice, Captain, Starfleet is watching and will take the Saratoga off of you if you don't play by the rules." Dazad checked his PADD, "I have a call with the C-in-C in five minutes I have to get ready for. You're dismissed."

Zseeq wasn't done. He spoke, "I understand regulations, Sir, but every decision I made..."

"I said dismissed," Dazad said forcefully.

"Aye Sir," Zseeq said rising to his feet and quickly exited the room.

 

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