11-10-2025, 04:18 AM
Ameen listened in silence, absorbing each perspective. The bridge, which had been a quiet hub of analysis, now buzzed with the tension of a profound moral debate.
He heard Midshipman Brennan's creative, if complex, holodeck solution. He heard Dr. O'Fee's stark and moving description of the beings' suffering—the precise humanitarian argument he had requested, one that made inaction feel monstrous. He then heard Midshipman A'kilees' bold, pragmatic, and incredibly high-risk plan, complete with a courageous (and perhaps reckless) offer to lead the team.
He was proud of his crew's initiative. But it was Lieutenant Gath's observation that had truly, and suddenly, altered the foundation of their dilemma.
Ameen turned from the viewscreen, his gaze sweeping across his officers.
"Thank you all," he said, his voice cutting through the quiet. "Your counsel is invaluable. Doctor O'Fee, you've given us the humanitarian imperative. We cannot, in good conscience, let them suffer."
He then nodded to his junior officers. "Midshipman Brennan, Midshipman A'kilees—your initiative and out-of-the-box thinking are commendable. Mr. A'kilees, that is a... definitive... proposal. Your courage is noted."
His gaze then locked onto his Security Chief. "However, Lieutenant Gath has just raised the single most critical point in this entire scenario. The timeline. If your calculations are correct, Lieutenant, and these... pioneers... have been adrift for about a hundred thousand years..."
Ameen let the implication hang in the air for a moment.
"Then the culture we are trying to protect no longer exists. We are not looking at a pre-warp civilization. We are looking at its fossil. Their world, Icarus III, will have had one hundred millennia to evolve. They could be warp-capable. They could be... extinct. The Prime Directive's clause of non-interference may, in fact, be irrelevant."
The entire ethical landscape had just shifted...
"Lieutenant Ra'an," Ameen said, his voice now sharp with a new, urgent purpose. "That is our new priority. I want a long-range sensor scan, maximum power, on Icarus III. I need to know its status, now. Is it inhabited? What is their current technological level? I want to know who we're dealing with before we decide the fate of their ancient ancestors."
He turned back to his engineering team. "While she's doing that, we still have a practical problem. Commander Keir, Midshipman A'kilees... I want a formal risk assessment on the Midshipman's plan. Is it viable? And is it the only option? Doctor O'Fee suggested replacing their batteries. Is that feasible? I want solutions, people."
"Lieutenants Gath and Powl," Ameen added, turning to his tactical department. "While Lieutenant Ra'an gets us current sensor data, I want you to go a different route. Midshipman Brennan, you will assist them. I want a deep dive into the Starfleet database. Find everything we know about Icarus III. I want historical threat assessments, records of any listening post chatter, and their general disposition. If they are warp-capable, I want to know if they are members of the Federation, hostile, or isolationist. Start with Lieutenant Gath's 100,000-year hypothesis and work forward. Be ready to report by the time we have the sensor data."
The debate had concluded. The investigation had just deepened.
== Tag All Senior Staff, Midshipmen A'kilees & Brennan ==
He heard Midshipman Brennan's creative, if complex, holodeck solution. He heard Dr. O'Fee's stark and moving description of the beings' suffering—the precise humanitarian argument he had requested, one that made inaction feel monstrous. He then heard Midshipman A'kilees' bold, pragmatic, and incredibly high-risk plan, complete with a courageous (and perhaps reckless) offer to lead the team.
He was proud of his crew's initiative. But it was Lieutenant Gath's observation that had truly, and suddenly, altered the foundation of their dilemma.
Ameen turned from the viewscreen, his gaze sweeping across his officers.
"Thank you all," he said, his voice cutting through the quiet. "Your counsel is invaluable. Doctor O'Fee, you've given us the humanitarian imperative. We cannot, in good conscience, let them suffer."
He then nodded to his junior officers. "Midshipman Brennan, Midshipman A'kilees—your initiative and out-of-the-box thinking are commendable. Mr. A'kilees, that is a... definitive... proposal. Your courage is noted."
His gaze then locked onto his Security Chief. "However, Lieutenant Gath has just raised the single most critical point in this entire scenario. The timeline. If your calculations are correct, Lieutenant, and these... pioneers... have been adrift for about a hundred thousand years..."
Ameen let the implication hang in the air for a moment.
"Then the culture we are trying to protect no longer exists. We are not looking at a pre-warp civilization. We are looking at its fossil. Their world, Icarus III, will have had one hundred millennia to evolve. They could be warp-capable. They could be... extinct. The Prime Directive's clause of non-interference may, in fact, be irrelevant."
The entire ethical landscape had just shifted...
"Lieutenant Ra'an," Ameen said, his voice now sharp with a new, urgent purpose. "That is our new priority. I want a long-range sensor scan, maximum power, on Icarus III. I need to know its status, now. Is it inhabited? What is their current technological level? I want to know who we're dealing with before we decide the fate of their ancient ancestors."
He turned back to his engineering team. "While she's doing that, we still have a practical problem. Commander Keir, Midshipman A'kilees... I want a formal risk assessment on the Midshipman's plan. Is it viable? And is it the only option? Doctor O'Fee suggested replacing their batteries. Is that feasible? I want solutions, people."
"Lieutenants Gath and Powl," Ameen added, turning to his tactical department. "While Lieutenant Ra'an gets us current sensor data, I want you to go a different route. Midshipman Brennan, you will assist them. I want a deep dive into the Starfleet database. Find everything we know about Icarus III. I want historical threat assessments, records of any listening post chatter, and their general disposition. If they are warp-capable, I want to know if they are members of the Federation, hostile, or isolationist. Start with Lieutenant Gath's 100,000-year hypothesis and work forward. Be ready to report by the time we have the sensor data."
The debate had concluded. The investigation had just deepened.
== Tag All Senior Staff, Midshipmen A'kilees & Brennan ==