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Starfleet Hero Arrested and Missing With Heirs to Star Kingdom
June, 2376, Terra: Today, it is reported that Starfleet Bureau of Personnel relieved Cdr. Wilhelm M. Reihardt of command duties as Executive Officer of Starbase Olympus, in the Sossal Starsystem, five days ago. Further, by Special Executive Order, he was arrested and detained for transport to Terra to face charges of dereliction of duty through conspiracy with the Star Kingdom of Manticore, which recently attacked Starbase Olympus, and for taking actions of political intent outside of his scope of duties, to wit, the formal Protectorship of four of the Heirs to the Manticoran Throne. The order comes only weeks after the UFP Council approved the exception in scope of Reinhardt's duties, and there is some confusion about the legality of the arrest orders. Admiral Harcourt of BuPers does not comment, and Cdr. Reinhardt is in secure courier being transported to Terra. The JAG herself was questioned regarding this matter, and commented, "Cdr. Reinhardt is not under legal indictment permitted by Starfleet Command. I have already served administrative notice to Bureau of Personnel regarding this action, and they have taken it before the Federation High Court for adjudication, claiming special dispensation. We cannot actually find Cdr. Reinhardt, and BuPers has been delivered an order to reveal the whereabouts of this officer, as has Starfleet Intelligence Courier Service, which was charged with his detention and that of the Manticoran Heirs."
Reinhardt, 52, is the man immortalized by the holovid show "Blackbird Squadron" as Will O'Day, the kid who challenged a fleet. He has performed service as both a licensed mercenary CO and as a Starfleet officer, moving across both roles over a period of 30 years of service. He is also the only living Ten-Ace, a starfighter commander with over 100 official 'kills' in service to Starfleet. He only recently re-entered Starfleet service at Starbase Olympus, and was promoted to Commander and given the coveted XO spot there in the aftermath of the recent Battle of Sossal.
As Reinhardt is the adopted son of CO of the lost Starship, USS Knight, special attention has been paid to this matter by the Judge Advocate General's office, which is still unsatisfied with the results of an investigation into the mysterious Battle of Dunnin's Star, where the Knight was lost. Admiral Hart, JAG, has said that "Bridger and Reinhardt were both involved in special investigations at the request of this office, and they have both disappeared from view under mysterious circumstances. This is, I believe, more than a coincidence."
Franz Halleck, Special Investigator for the Federation High Court, is investigating the disappearance of the Manticoran royals along with Reinhardt. "This is not a case of a communication error, as both the Intelligence Courier Service and BuPers maintain. This is obstruction of UFP Council orders, and we are beginning to launch an investigation into this matter, at the highest level."
Admiral M'Benga, of Starfleet Intelligence PsyWar Division, and a longtime associate of Captain Bridger, as well as a past advocate of Cdr. Reinhardt, had a hard line regarding this matter. "That ship should arrive in this system in a matter of days. If it does not, then that is the proper time for a serious look at the matter. But I will tell you, Will Reinhardt has been under severe stress due to the terminal illness of his ex-wife, and I believe that he may require some serious counseling regarding his recent choices in the matters of taking on the responsibility of the heirs to the throne of a power that we are in a 'police action' with, at this moment."
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Federation News Network
High Court Investigator Dies in Freak Transporter Mishap
July 1, 2376, Terra: Today, Federation High Court Chief Investigator Franz Halleck was killed, when a freak power surge destroyed the transporter buffer at the time that he was transporting from the offices of the JAG to the main transporter pad of the Federation High Court building...
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Federation News Network
Fire Destroys Court Records
July 2, 2376, Terra: JAG Director Admiral Hart narrowly escaped death in a fire in the Pike Building yesterday, when a main transformer caused a plasma fire in the security services area next to the offices of the Security Court chambers of Bureau of Security HQ in San Francisco. Two clerks died in saving the lives of the five other personnel nearby.
Following the death of Inspector Franz Halleck only 22 hours before, this incident has led to a Special Investigation ordered by Federation High Court Justice Fenton Appleby, into potential conspiracy. This action has been opposed by...
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Federation News Network
Partial transcript of reports 2am EST, Terra time
July 3, 2376, Ares III Observatory, Mars orbit: Partial transcript of reports 2am EST, Terra time
CommAresOb (CAO): The anomaly is registering incredible power, but we cannot pinpoint it.
Sector 001 Tac Office (STO): Can you explain what it is? Our instruments spot it, but we cannot fathom what it could be.
CAO: It is definitely a Barachi Effect of some kind. A portal into another space. And when it opens, and within minutes, it is going to be huge.
STO: How huge?
CAO: At least 100,000 km across. And with the power of a protostar.
STO: (long pause) Is this a natural phenomenon?
CAO: We can't tell. We don't have a clear reference for it. Well, it is a little bit like the Bajoran Wormhole. But it is not even a semi-stable phenomenon.
STO: We're calling a system-wide amber alert. Can you keep us posted just in case?
CAO: Sure. We'll keep an open com line to you. But, when it opens, it may futz com channels all over the starsystem.
STO: Just what we need. Okay, thanks. And we'll keep an eye on you, too. You're a bit close.
CAO: Not for long. My director is using station holding impulse to move us away a bit. In about two minutes. Got to go, for a few.
STO: Thank you, Mr. Campbell. We're watching you.
CAO: I rest assured that you are doing so. See you.
(three minutes later)
CAO: Oh, shit. Oh, man!
STO: This is STO Command. Please clarify. Oh, lord!
CAO: Yeah, it is incredible. Hey, our com just...
STO: CAO, CAO, we have lost you on com. What is your status. (pause) We have lost CAO, and this thing is huge, and disgorging debris.
CinC, STO (CSTO): CinC on-line. What kind of debris?
STO: Not debris, well, not most of it. Ships. Eight, nine, ten...
CSTO: Ten ships? We are on conditional yellow alert>? Are these Manticoran?
STO: Sensors are crazy there. Um, this is similar to output from the weapon that we think destroyed Knight and the Dunnin Star Marine Base, according to the few sensor logs we have from there, sir.
CSTO: Systemwide Condition Yellow! All units within 3 parsecs and not of battle holding alert will return to defense of Sector 001. Can you make out any more?
STO: At least 10 ships, sir...and some weird signals. Uh, really weird signals.
CSTO: What kind of signals?
STO: Nothing dangerous. But somebody is sending a hell of an elaborate code.
CSTO: To where?
STO: Hidden com sat. We just painted it.
CSTO: Can you read the code?
STO: No, sir. And the sat just sent something out, elsewhere in the system. We cannot trace it. Sir, this is definitely one of our own top model ComSensNet sats.
CSTO: Capture it. Send units to take it. I want to know what it is. And send starfighters to eyeball those bogies. How many, best estimate.
STO: Twenty. And some of them are definitely starships of some kind. Several of them show rocky emissions. I think they are damaged.
CSTO: Get that eyeball. I'll be up there in 28 minutes.
STO: That's a long time, sir.
CSTO: After those two transporter 'errors' in the last week, I don't want to transport, just now.
STO (long pause): I understand, sir.
CSTO: I bet you do, Captain. Out.
(29 minutes later)
CSTO: CinC, we have identified 29 ships in the portal phenomenon, and another 11 potentials. We are going to full Yellow, since the ships do not respond. Our Starfighters will ident as possible, beginning in a minute.
STO: Sir, we have found another odd signal. A separate com sat, beaming to the ships int he portal phemomenon.
CSTO: Did we get the first sat?
STO: It disintegrated when we tried to deep scan it. Just like it should, it we had set it for a potential enemy.
CSTO: Goddammit! Who is playing this crazy game?
STO: Sir, signal came from Spacedock.
CSTO: It did? Where? And how?
STO: A security team has been dispatched to check, sir.
CSTO: Okay, you don't need my orders for this, Captain Ak'Kena. Take discretionary action.
G1: This is Sec001 Gold One starfighter. Boomer in command. We have visual identification of those ships. One Ambassador, one Sovereign, one...
CSTO: Our ships?
G1: I think so, or copies. Some of them are pretty battered. Oh, god! An original Bradbury! And a Queen Anne, a type nobody has seen in 200 years! A Klingon cruiser, D-7. A...
BOGIE ONE: This is USS Knight, returned to Sol system with 35 refugee craft in pretty bad shape. We are requesting permission to get these craft to locations where SAR teams can help them. Most of them are kept together with wishful thinking and spit. This is Captain Howell Bridger, CO, of USS Knight. We have our bearings, and these ships are directed toward facilities that can help them. We are coming back to Terra.
G1: The ships are scattering. All points.
STO: Confirmed. Thirty six bogies, and transponders are now beginning to report who some of them are. USS Knight, SS Marie Corleoni, a merchant lost 201 years ago. USS Paul A. M. Dirac...
CSTO: The Ghost Ship?
STO: Oh my god, it is. The Klingon cruiser was lost over 100 years ago. Some of these ships are carrying emergency repeaters, and identify subofficers attached to Knight or to the Dunnin Star Marine Base. This looks kinda real, sir.
CSTO: This is Admiral Keln Badru, Sec001 Tac Command CO. What the hell is going on here? If this is Bridger, get on screen RIGHT NOW!
G1: The anomaly is closing. God, what a wash of energy THAT is!
STO: Just get away from it, and keep watching any of those ships that are armed.
G1: Yes, sir. This is one hell of a thing.
STO: Yeah, I think its the craziest thing I have seen since the Borg in '73.
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Federation News Network