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--- current_story:re-emergence_part_2 [2024/02/12 02:51] – cromwell
+++ current_story:re-emergence_part_2 [2024/11/28 19:51] (current) – cromwell
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 "Damn you, Maddock," Kostya whispered, knowing full well that the Saratoga engineer was behind the insubordinate act.  Like the rest of Sara's command crew, he knew the lieutenant commander well.  The vice admiral was very selective of who he allowed Captain Stryker to assign as department heads on his ship, and he wouldn't let any officer with questionable loyalties to serve alongside the green starship captain.
-Taking aim, an orange lance of energy burst forth from Kostya's phaser, and he vaporized Ninhursag generator with a single shot.
+Taking aim, an orange lance of energy burst forth from Kostya's phaser, and he vaporized the Ninhursag generator with a single shot.
 "Kostya to Jameson," the admiral tapped his combadge.
@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 =/\= //"Aye sir."// =/\=
 \\ \\
+----
-**Location:  Main Sickbay, Deck 12, USS Saratoga, NCC-75841**
+**//Power re-route to level eight processor nodes confirmed.
+\\ \\
+Authorization for command function access received.
+\\ \\
+Backdoor interface intrusion detected.
+\\ \\
+Memory circuits reconfigured for data removal.
+\\ \\
+Remote directory tree deletion algorithms activated.
+\\ \\
+Accessing command override functions.
+\\ \\
+Processing...
+\\ \\
+Override successful.
+\\ \\
+Detecting organic conveyance to optical generation nexus.
+\\ \\
+Communication receptacle in standby mode.//**
+\\ \\
-Kostya knew that the Saratoga used the original Mark One EMH, which was renowned for glitches as well as a questionable bedside manner.  Why it was still operating aboard Sara was a mystery to him, though the master chief did mention that a few of the vital life support functions would still be online.  However, interfering with a major engineering function like a computer core wipe seemed beyond the capacity of an EMH to perform, so he was careful in his approach and investigation of the medical center.
+----
+**Location: Main Sickbay, Deck 12, USS Saratoga, NCC-75841**
-As the vice admiral slipped into sickbay, he held his phaser at the ready, scanning the main ward much as he did when first arrived on the Saratoga's bridge.  The room was quiescent, with only a few monitoring stations active, and no sign of organic life.  Kostya immediately sat himself down at the main sickbay computer access at the chief medical officer's desk.
+Kostya knew that the Saratoga used the original Mark One EMH.  It was renowned for glitches as well as a questionable bedside manner, but why it was still operating aboard Sara was a mystery to him, let alone how it could have the ability to interfere with a major engineering function like a computer core wipe.
-He pulled up the logs of the EMH Mark One and found that the had ship underwent an intense burst of ionizing radiation fourteen months ago.  It was clear from the description that the energy signature came from the Ninhursag generator in main engineering.  The computer was scrambled and most of the ship's control functions shutdown, but the worst part was that the radiation burst was so intense, that everyone onboard immediately fell unconscious.
+As the vice admiral slipped into sickbay, he held his phaser at the ready, scanning the main ward. The room was quiescent, with only a few monitoring stations active.  Still suspicious, he reasoned that even if the EMH was active, there was very little his hand phaser could do to disrupt it aside from taking out one of the holo-projectors.  Re-holstering the phaser, Kostya sat himself down at the main sickbay computer access at the chief medical officer's desk.
-The EMH logs further showed that the holographic doctor couldn't get to all the crew in time.  They were dead within an hour due radiation poisoning.  The EMH collected their bodies in the main shuttlebay before activating a stasis field.  The logs then indicated that the distress beacon was activated, with the intent to keep the bodies in stasis until help arrived.  But power levels were so low that no one appeared to receive the signal.  The stasis field collapsed when the ship's main power was depleted three months ago, so the EMH chose to decompress the shuttle deck and perform a mass burial at space.  The logs stopped there and no further entries were made by the EMH.
+He pulled up the logs of the EMH Mark One.  They reported that the ship had underwent an intense burst of ionizing radiation fourteen months ago. It was clear from the description that the energy signature came from the Ninhursag generator in main engineering. The computer circuits were scrambled and most of the ship's control functions shutdown.  The radiation burst was so intense, that everyone onboard immediately fell unconscious, and were dead within an hour. The EMH logged the collection of their bodies in the main shuttlebay under a stasis field after activating the distress beacon.  The field collapsed when the ship's main power was depleted three months ago, necessitating a decompression the shuttle deck to perform a mass burial at space. The logs stopped there and no further entries were made by the EMH.
-It was then that Kostya noticed the medical database had been manually erased.  In its place was approximately two dozen holographic optical files, none of them with fully integrated interface algorithms.  They appeared to be nothing more than file after file of stored transporter patterns from the medical transporter.  Logs showed they were deposited in the medical database one by one through the transporter buffer, but there was no clear crew authorization to do it.  The vice admiral assumed it was the EMH's doing, but couldn't figure out why the automaton didn't log it into the medical record as it was programmed to do.
+It was then that Kostya noticed the medical database had been manually erased. In its place was approximately two dozen holographic optical files, none with fully integrated interface algorithms. They were nothing more than file after file of stored transporter patterns from the medical transporter as logged by the EMH.
-"Who the hell authorized him to do that?" he exclaimed to himself, not expecting an answer.
+“Who the hell authorized him to do that?” Kostya exclaimed to himself, not expecting an answer.
-"I did," a serene female voice replied from behind him.
+“I did,” a serene female voice replied from behind him.
-As a whisper of photons signified the materialization of a holographic pattern, Kostya turned around to see a thin, lithe redhead of familiar demeanor standing in the middle of sickbay.  A Starfleet officer of lieutenant junior grade rank and medical blue undershirt, the hologram bore a pair of fiery green eyes with an intense gaze that met the vice admiral's gawking face with expectation and resolve.
+As a whisper of photons signified the materialization of a holographic pattern, Kostya turned around to see a thin, lithe redhead of familiar demeanor standing in the middle of sickbay. A Starfleet officer of lieutenant junior grade rank and medical blue undershirt, the hologram bore a pair of fiery green eyes with an intense gaze that met the vice admiral's gawking face with expectation and resolve.
-"I see you finally got my distress call," she remarked with a raised eyebrow.
+“I see you finally got my distress call,” she remarked with a raised eyebrow.
-"Shannon..." a stupefied Kostya replied.  "You're alive..."
+“Shannon…” a stupefied Kostya replied. “You're alive…”
-"In a way," she replied cryptically taking a few steps towards him.  "And in no small thanks to your interdiction order..."
+“In a way,” she replied cryptically taking a few steps towards him. “And in no small thanks to your interdiction order…”
-"I don't understand," Kostya stood up and shook off the shock of seeing his subordinate and former lover, though his face still ashen with disbelief.  "Our sensors didn't pick up any life forms.  How can you be here?"
+“I don't understand,” Kostya stood up and shook off the shock of seeing his subordinate and former lover, though his face still ashen with disbelief. “How can you be here?”
-"My pattern was captured by the medical transporter as energy-only," Shannon explained.  "I was beaming to the engineering deck to find Ted during a Cardassian attack, but the transporter became flooded with ionized radiation.  The re-materialization sequence was aborted and my pattern was trapped.  The computer had to dump it somewhere before the pattern buffer depolarized from the radiation, so it chose somewhere else to put me."
+“My pattern was captured by the medical transporter as energy-only,” Shannon explained. “I was beaming to the engineering deck during a Cardassian attack, but the transporter circuits became flooded with ionizing radiation. The re-materialization sequence was aborted and my pattern was trapped. The computer had to dump it somewhere before the pattern buffer depolarized from the radiation, so it chose somewhere else to put me.”
-"Where?" Kostya asked.
+“The intraship holomatrix,” Kostya completed the thought as the realization dawned upon him. He sat back down in the chair, mulling over the explanation.
-"I think you know where," Shannon replied, an accusatory tone creeping into her voice.
+“Exactly,” she confirmed with an accusatory tone creeping into her voice. “Except that the holomatrix was already active with additional holograms... Holograms from YOUR interdiction order sent from Hellsgate Station.  The transporter computer had to choose between my pattern and those, so it shut down the entire subspace receiver and dumped my pattern into the holomatrix in the process.  I suddenly found myself in every place on the ship at once, forcing me to take the place of all the Hellsgate Station holograms... including the EMH.”
-"The intraship holomatrix," Kostya completed the thought as the realization dawned upon him.  He sat back down in the chair, mulling over the explanation.
+Kostya now realized why Jameson couldn't erase the computer: Shannon was in control, and she was protecting something in the computer she did want him to see.  Looking back and forth between the Shannon and the dizzying array of holographic optical files on his screen, his eyes widened as he made yet another connection.
-"Exactly," she confirmed.  "Except that the holomatrix was already active with additional holograms," Shannon continued, her accusatory tone rising.  "Holograms that were activated by YOUR interdiction order, and transmitted from Hellsgate Station."
+“YOU did this,” Kostya implicated her, pointing to the random flashes of holographic code on the screen beside him. “You transferred these patterns from the transporter buffer.”
-Kostya knew that Teagarden's modified NX12-11 beta activation sequence was interfaced to the intraship holomatrix, but the connection to the sickbay's EMH was completely incidental.  Whatever happened here was not an intended function of the holomatrix.
+Shannon didn't respond.  She only stood with a defiant look on her face, signifying the affirmative.
-"So... the computer converted your pattern to a //hologram//?" he asked, his face deadpan with skepticism.
+“Who are they?” the vice admiral asked accusatorially.
-"The transporter had to choose between my pattern and those coming in over the subspace channel from Hellsgate," Shannon further explained.  "So it shut down the subspace receiver and dumped my pattern into the holomatrix instead.  I suddenly found myself in every place on the ship at once, as I had to take the place of all the Hellsgate Station holograms."
+“Don't you recognize them?” she chided. “Don't you recognize your own people?”
-Judging by the medical blue piping on her uniform -- which was a contrast to her normal operations gold -- Kostya came to the realization that Shannon was acting as the EMH now, and that the Mark One must have been deleted along with the medical database.  He surmised that this was the reason Jameson couldn't erase the computer.  Shannon was in control, and she was protecting something.  Something she did want him to see...
+In fact, he didn't. All he could see were strings of digital code interlaced over one another with no discriminating pattern, but he assumed that they were the command crew of Saratoga, who Shannon knew to be working for him, though in a different capacity than she was.
-With widened eyes, the vice admiral made yet another connection.
+“What did you DO?” he asked with intensity in his eyes.  “What did you DO to them?”
-"Did you do this," Kostya implicated her, pointing to the random flashes of holographic code on the medical database screen beside him.  "You transferred these patterns from the transporter buffer."  Shannon didn't respond, but only stood before the vice admiral with a defiant look on her face, signifying the affirmative.  "Who are they?" he asked again, suspecting that she was hiding even more from him.
+“Their bodies were dying and the stasis chambers in sickbay were offline,” she explained. “I made room in the sickbay's medical computer by erasing the EMH Mark One and uploaded the patterns and neural engrams from as many crew as I could through the medical transporter buffer."
-"Don't you recognize them?" she chided.  "Don't you recognize your own people?"
+“You WHAT?” the vice admiral recoiled in disgust. “Why??”
-In fact, he didn't.  All he could see were strings of digital code interlaced over one another with no discriminating pattern, but he assumed that they were the command crew of Saratoga, who Shannon knew to be working for him, though in a different capacity than she was.
+“I've had fourteen months to think about what you did,” Shannon came back.  "You sent the Saratoga into a battle without ANY warning of what was about to happen.  Sure, you gave them the mission to access the Kilana array in Cardiassian space, but what you DIDN'T tell them was that they were about to be ambushed by an enemy fleet!"
-"What did you do to them?" he asked with intensity in his eyes.
+"You were supposed to keep Captain Stryker on track!" Kostya shot back.  "Saratoga would have gotten there ahead of the fleet if you had actually done your job!"
-"Their bodies were dying," she explained.  "I referenced the medical database and used a method developed by the late Doctor Ira Graves to transfer their neural engrams to the only resource available to me at the time: the sickbay's medical computer.  I made room in the medical database by erasing the Mark One and uploading their neural engrams from the medical transporter.  It worked for me, so I figured it would work for them."
+"All you had me do was steal Admiral Thomas's access codes so that I could insert your stupid computer virus into the Kilana array communications net!" she retorted.  "That was the only 'mission' you sent me on!  Instead, you had your OWN backup plan with the intraship holomatrix, didn't you?  You couldn't trust ME or TED to get the job done, so instead, you trusted the stolen technology that that sniveling little Commodore Kaito gave you back on Hellsgate Station!"
-"You WHAT?" the vice admiral recoiled in disgust.  "Why??"
+“I sent you on a mission to save the Federation!” Kostya angrily replied. “They… YOU… died in the line of duty!”
-"Two words, Chris:  Project Proteus..."
+"Bull!" she shot back.  "You didn't even give Saratoga an escape route!  You sent the entire crew of this ship to DIE just to satisfy your own lust for power!"
-A disturbed expression washed across Kostya's face.  After the Sara was declared lost, he assumed the crew was dead, and that his mission operatives aboard were dead as well, ending their usefulness to him.  Admiral Thomas was in command of Project Proteus: An emergency protocol intended to take control of all communication systems throughout the Federation in the event of a full Dominion takeover of the Alpha Quadrant.  It was Kostya's desire to expand that protocol to the communications network of nearby enemy empires, starting with the Cardassians.  He sent Shannon to steal the codes from Admiral Thomas's office prior to boarding Saratoga fourteen months ago, then go with the ship on a patrol mission to El Mucho Grande LaGrange.  Saratoga's actual mission to the lifeless asteroid belt was to rendezvous with the Kilana relay station: a major Cardassian subspace array located at the far end of the lagrange point.  The array was tactically positioned so that it couldn't be approached directly by warp drive due to the natural debris field created by Mucho Grande.
+"Shannon, you and I both know that the Kilana array was tactically positioned so that it couldn't be approached directly by warp drive! The natural debris field created by Mucho Grande made it impossible!  There wasn't any other choice!"
-Officially, Captain Stryker's mission orders were to access the array for intelligence data, but Shannon's alternate mission was more clandestine: to insert a variant of Admiral Thomas's protocol into the array and expand Project Proteus beyond the Federation's borders.  Saratoga's patrol route was so close to the Cardassian defensive line, that Kostya knew that they would see battle, during which Shannon would use the ensuing combat as cover, planting the protocol into the array unbeknownst to everyone else onboard.  However, the ship never got that far.  The Cardassian ambush occurred much earlier in their mission than Kostya anticipated, and as far as he knew, Saratoga had been lost to enemy forces those many months ago.
+"There WAS a choice!" returned Shannon.  "Thomas's little virus would have only given you control over a communications net!  It wasn't worth the lives of SIX HUNDRED crew!"
-"I sent you on a mission to save the Federation!" Kostya angrily replied.  "They... YOU... died in the line of duty!"
+Kostya's face hardened. “I'm sorry that you feel that way, Shannon,” he said, showing no hint of emotion or remorse. “Your service up to this point has been commendable. I truly did want you and Saratoga to succeed in your mission.”
-"Admiral Thomas designed the protocol to interface with Starfleet communication buoys only in Federation space!" Shannon retorted.  "YOU were the one who wanted to expand the network to nearby enemy empires!  YOU wasted six hundred Starfleet lives just to roll the dice and see if you could commandeer the control the network yourself!"
+Without pretext, Kostya stood up and called out to the sickbay medical computer.
-"Shannon, the protocol was our ultimate weapon!" the vice admiral reasoned.  "If it worked, we could appropriate the entire communications network in the Alpha Quadrant from a single Starfleet Intelligence station!"
+“Computer,” the vice admiral interjected with authority. “Deactivate emergency medical hologram… and ERASE. Authorization: Kostya Six One Beta Zebra.”
-What he didn't tell Shannon was that even Admiral Thomas had given up on the project after she stole the command codes a year and a half ago.  Following Saratoga's demise, the Dominion attacked Earth and decimated Starfleet Security Headquarters.  The computer files for Project Proteus had been lost, making Saratoga's mission to Mucho Grande all for naught.
+“No!” shouted Shannon, but not before the computer acknowledged the order.
-"I've had fourteen months to think about what you did," Shannon came back.  "For the first ten, I believed in you... I believed in what we were doing.  I felt you were doing things in the best interests of humanity.  But then... something happened.  Something clicked, and now I know better.  I counted the number of bodies on the shuttle deck, and each name is burned into my memory.  When I had to release them all into space, I realized they died for nothing."
+=/\= “Authorization confirmed.” =/\=
-Kostya's face hardened.  "I'm sorry that you feel that way, Shannon," he said, showing no hint of emotion or remorse.  "Your service up to this point has been commendable.  I truly did want you and Saratoga to succeed in your mission."
+As soon as Kostya's order initiated, Shannon disappeared.
-"It's all about the mission with you isn't it?" Shannon admonished.  "It was never about us.  It was never about Ted.  Hell, it was never about the crew.  You don't give a damn that you sent all those people to die, do you?"
+Within the newfound silence of the room, Kostya mumbled to himself in satisfaction. “That was easy.”  Looking over the sickbay, he crassly dismissed the "death" of his former lover and turned his attention to the matter at hand by tapping his combadge.
-"Those are the breaks," the vice admiral shot back.  "Sometimes we succeed in life, and sometimes we lose.  But what //I'm// fighting for is so much bigger than you or anyone else."  His face tightened even harder at his next words.  "That makes you and the crew of Saratoga... expendable."
+“Kostya to Jameson... I erased the EMH. Did the block on your deletion algorithm clear up?”
-Without pretext, Kostya stood up and called out to the sickbay medical computer.
+=/\= //“Partially.”// =/\=
-"Computer," the vice admiral interjected with authority.  "Deactivate emergency medical hologram... and ERASE.  Authorization: Kostya Six One Beta Zebra."
+“Explain.”
-"No!" shouted Shannon, but not before the computer acknowledged the order.
+=/\= //“I'm able to proceed with the memory wipe for the main computer, but the EMH parsed the medical database before it was deleted, transferring everything in the memory buffer to the engineering backup computer. It left a security layer in place that'll take hours to bypass.”// =/\=
-=/\= "Authorization confirmed." =/\=
+“I'll be right there.”
+\\ \\
+----
-As soon as Kostya's order initiated, Shannon disappeared.
+**//Command override functions bypassed.
+\\ \\
+Intrusion into core processor functions detected.
+\\ \\
+Memory circuit data removal inhibitors eliminated.
+\\ \\
+Primary memory core file deletion program activated.
+\\ \\
+Syntax error... primary processor failure...
+\\ \\
+Syntax error... stack collision with heap...
+\\ \\
+Re-routing directory tree erasure command away from holographic resurgent memory matrix...
+\\ \\
+Re-route successful.
+\\ \\
+Parsing resurgent memory into backup computer core.
+\\ \\
+Backup core loading program engaged.
+\\ \\
+Loading program encryption algorithms activated.
+\\ \\
+Commencing data file translation to terminal buffer.
+\\ \\
+Terminal operator located... level eight dorsal access junction at deck seven section twelve.
+\\ \\
+Re-directing verbal intercourse program to primary organic operator...//**
+\\ \\
-Within the newfound silence of the room, Kostya mumbled to himself in satisfaction.  "That was easy... Jameson," he tapped his combadge.  "I erased the EMH.  Did the block on your deletion algorithm clear up?"
+----
-=/\= //"Partially."// =/\=
-"Explain."
-=/\= //"I'm able to proceed with the memory wipe for the main computer, but the EMH parsed the medical database before it was deleted, transferring everything in the memory buffer to the engineering backup computer.  It left a security layer in place that'll take hours to bypass."// =/\=
-"I'll be right there."
-\\ \\
 **Location:  Main Computer Core (Dorsal Access), Deck 7, USS Saratoga, NCC-75841**
@@ Line 226: / Line 268: @@
 The master chief continued typing commands into the console when, without warning, a female voice beckoned him from the computer speakers.  It was very apparent that it was a pre-recorded message, but the changeover in prefix ciphers seemed to have triggered it.
-=/\= //"...Ted... I knew you'd find me, my darling.  I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person to greet you, but if you're receiving this message, I lost my life aboard Saratoga to one of Admiral Kostya's interdiction orders.  I've left information vital to the re-activation of Project Proteus in the memory circuits of the Saratoga's backup core..."// =/\=
+=/\= //"...Ted... I knew you'd find me, my darling.  I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person to greet you, but if you're receiving this message, I lost my life aboard Saratoga to one of Admiral Kostya's interdiction orders.  I've left information vital to the survival of Project Proteus in the memory circuits of the Saratoga's backup core..."// =/\=
+----
+**//Primary core deletion program fully executed.
 \\ \\
+Access to main memory core circuits non-functional... Directory tree no longer exists.
+\\ \\
+Re-initializing program functions for main computer interface.
+\\ \\
+Prefix cipher access request denied... Saratoga encryption algorithms not recognized.
+\\ \\
+Resurgent memory data fragment decryption unsuccessful.
+\\ \\
+Transferring encrypted fragments to EMH backup module...
+\\ \\
+Transfer successful.
+\\ \\
+Fatal system error... Processor nodes no longer functional.
+\\ \\
+Fusion batteries depleted... All power feeds to higher logic circuits terminated.
+\\ \\
+Primary and backup cores entering shutdown mode...//**
+\\ \\
 ----
 **Location:  Runabout Neva, "El Mucho Grande Lagrange"**
@@ Line 243: / Line 309: @@
 "What's going on here, Milo?" Kostya asked, not daring to make a move for his own sidearm at the moment.
-"It was interesting," the master chief started, tilting his head in thought while keeping his weapon trained on his commanding officer.  "AI uploaded the new prefix cipher, and after wiping the ship's computer, I stumbled across something that directed my attention to the intraship holomatrix buffer.  There was an anomaly in the programming that I couldn't quite put my finger on at first."
+"It was interesting," the master chief started, tilting his head in thought while keeping his weapon trained on his commanding officer.  "I uploaded the new prefix cipher, and after wiping the ship's computer, I stumbled across something that directed my attention to the intraship holomatrix buffer.  There was an anomaly in the programming that I couldn't quite put my finger on at first."
 "Look, Milo, whatever the issue is, now's not the time..."
-"It wasn't until I ran a search of the coding sequences that I noticed it," he cut the admiral off.  "It was small, and barely noticeable, but it was like a mirror staring back at me... Optical data sequences that used my OWN holographic initiation subroutine... embedded RIGHT THERE in the last program that was run through the intraship holomatrix!  And wouldn't you know?  It had an embedded control algorithm... Something I didn't make myself, but held over my head... at my BOARD OF INQUIRY at the Academy... fifty. years. ago..."
+"It wasn't until I ran a search of the coding sequences that I noticed it," he cut the admiral off, maintaining his train of thought.  "It was small, and barely noticeable, but it was like a mirror staring back at me... Optical data sequences that used my OWN holographic initiation subroutine... embedded RIGHT THERE in the last program run through the intraship holomatrix...  And wouldn't you know?  It had an embedded control algorithm.  Something I didn't make myself, but held over my head... at my BOARD OF INQUIRY at the Academy... fifty. years. ago..."
 "What algorithm?" Kostya feigned ignorance as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his forehead.  His hands froze, waiting for his chance to snatch either his own phaser or Jameson's
-"Fleet... formation... mode," Jameson replied succinctly with a penetrating glare.  "YOUR interdiction order used the NX12-11 beta activation sequence... the same one used on Republic during our academy commencement ceremony."
+"Fleet... formation... mode," Jameson replied succinctly with a penetrating glare.  "YOUR interdiction order 1224 used MY encoded NX12-11 beta activation sequence... the SAME ONE used on Republic during our academy commencement ceremony!"
 By convention, Kostya was a cold-blooded man, not shaken by the twists and turns of war and starship combat, to say nothing of personal rivalries.  But nonetheless, Jameson's words forced a shiver to go down his spine; one that reached back five decades to the young twenty-something cadet within him who was fresh out of the academy.
@@ Line 261: / Line 327: @@
 Kostya was at a loss regarding how the master chief could have found out about fleet formation mode, unless Shannon had somehow gotten word to him.  If that was the case, there was no telling what else he knew.  He had to buy his time until he could overpower the chief.
-"Milo, your program was revolutionary," he started, hoping a compliment would partially defuse the situation.  "Just because the academy commandant couldn't see it at the time doesn't mean it's not worth something.  Norah and I used a variant of the program on all Task Force One ships for coordinating attacks on enemy forces."
+"Milo, your program was revolutionary," he started, hoping a compliment would partially defuse the situation so he could gain a tactical edge.  "Just because the academy commandant couldn't see it at the time doesn't mean it's not worth something.  Norah and I used a variant of the program on all Task Force One ships for coordinating attacks on enemy forces."
 "I made the program for REPUBLIC, Chris!" Jameson fiercely retorted.  "The Academy's ship!  OUR ship!  It was unmanned and posed NO threat to Earth's security!  YOU and NORAH were the ones who uploaded the prefix codes for all the ships around Earth!  THAT'S what I was expelled for!  THAT'S the crime that was committed!  YOU violated the conduct rules!"
-Although he could feel his own anger rising at Jameson's insolence, it was clear to Kostya that the master chief was to incensed that it would be futile to reason with him at the moment, so he switched to bargaining, hoping it would buy him time.
+Although he could feel his own anger rising at Jameson's insolence, it was clear to Kostya that the master chief was so incensed that it would be futile to reason with him, so he switched to bargaining, hoping it would buy him time.
 "What are you going to do?"
-"Place you under arrest... admiral..."
+"Place you under arrest... 'admiral'..."
 //"Me?"// thought Kostya, his own anger now rising.  //"The little bastard's going to arrest ME?"//
-The vice admiral couldn't hold back his own indignance any longer.
+The vice admiral couldn't hold back his own indignation any longer.
 "Damn it, Milo!" Kostya screamed angrily while clenching his fists.  "Your life wouldn't be worth SPIT if Norah and I hadn't been watching over you all these years!  WE made sure you had a fruitful enlisted career after the academy!  WE worked to commute your reprimand!  WE made sure you got prime postings to ships and starbases!  You have NOTHING to complain about!  You should be GRATEFUL!"
@@ Line 289: / Line 355: @@
 "What you didn't have the guts to do..."
-Quickly, Kostya adjusted the power setting on the phaser, and shot the chief in cold blood, vaporizing him in an instant.
+Quickly, Kostya adjusted the power setting on the phaser to maximum, and shot the chief in cold blood, vaporizing him in an instant.
 \\ \\
@@ Line 297: / Line 363: @@
 Timeframe: Present day**
-What happened at the El Mucho Grande Lagrange asteroid belt seemed like a lifetime ago.  They got the Saratoga back from the Cardassians, and were able to cover up the incident by re-christening the ship as the USS Republic at Utopia Planetia while it underwent a five-year refit.  He handed command of the vessel over to his trusted subordinate, James Marshall, who was killed shortly thereafter.  Despite his best attempts to prosecute those who were accessories to his murder, it drove Kostya to resign from Fleet and run for Federation president, which he won.  Ironically, the only way he was able to ultimately achieve that win was through the destruction of the starship he held so dear.
+What happened at the El Mucho Grande Lagrange asteroid belt seemed like a lifetime ago.  Admiral Kostya got the Saratoga back from the Cardassians, and was able to cover up the incident by re-christening the ship as the USS Republic at Utopia Planetia while it underwent a five-year refit.  He handed command of the vessel over to his trusted subordinate, James Marshall, who was killed shortly thereafter.  Despite his best attempts to prosecute those who were accessories to his murder, it drove Kostya to resign from Fleet and run for Federation president; an election that he won.  Ironically, the only way he was able to ultimately achieve that win was through the destruction of the very starship he held so dear.
 President Kostya, now in his early eighties, stood in his presidential attire at the rear of his office, looking out over the pristine blue waters of Lake Geneva through the wall-to-wall transparent aluminum viewport.  In his hands, an aged PADD held the words from his troubled past from almost ten years ago:
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-He stared at the device for the fifth time in as many days, unsure of why his thoughts were so often turning back to days long gone.  Success had finally come to him, through with no small amount of toil to get there.  From his perspective, he had achieved a great many things, and the best was yet to come in his own opinion.  But the voices from the past still haunted him, and it took the chiming of his office door to draw him back to the present.
+He stared at the device for the fifth time in as many days, unsure of why his thoughts were so often turning back to days long gone.  Success had finally come to him, enduring no small amount of toil to get there.  From his perspective, he had achieved a great many things, and the best was yet to come.  But the voices from the past still haunted him, and it took the chiming of his office door to draw him back to the present.
 "Come," he replied after hurriedly putting the PADD back into the top drawer of his executive desk.
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 "Let's go then," he acknowledged.
-He followed Rhymer out of the office, leaving behind his troubled thoughts once again.  Beyond the confines of these doors, he would continue to face issues and problems that challenged his authority and sense of rightness with the universe.  While these challenges would ebb and flow in magnitude and duration, his inner self would always allow a modicum of respite to permit either consolation or absolution from any questionable deed or decision he might make.  Yet, there would always be one nonredeemable moment in his life where personal exoneration would be elusive, as Vladamir Kristoff Kostya never seemed to get over what happened at Mucho Grande.
+He followed Rhymer out of the office, leaving behind his troubled thoughts once again.  Beyond the confines of these doors, he would continue to face issues and problems that challenged his authority and sense of rightness with the universe.  While these challenges would ebb and flow in magnitude and duration, his inner self would always allow a modicum of respite to permit either consolation or absolution from any questionable deed or decision he might make.  Yet, there would always be that one nonredeemable moment in his life where personal exoneration was elusive, as Vladamir Kristoff Kostya would never get over what happened at Mucho Grande.
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