Kitanya applauded as well, but did not leave. She agreed with what the Betazoid had said whole-heartedly. It was time people began to take responsibility for their own divisions, rather than spending all their energy working on someone else's problems. She stood as she applauded, then waited until the furor had died down. "She has a point, Admirrral," she said to Kettering. "The rrresponsibility forrr ourrr own people is still therrre. We arrre all in positions to make ourrr own divisions betterrr." She didn't mention what was probably already common knowledge about the controversial changes she had already made in Spec. Ops. "Lasiterrr is a concerrrn, but if he falls, and anotherrr rrreplaces him, the prrroblems in ourrr own divisions will still be therrre. That's why we have a chain of command, so that each level is rrresponsible forrr making theirrr unit the best it can be. Fighting about Lasiterrr does't get that done."
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--- Begin Message ---> > Kettering responded, "Enough of the infighting. We know who the
> >enemy is, and bickering over small, unimportant matters is a waste of
> >time." he was looking right at Tyrus as he finished as if to say "can it."
>
> The enemy? Those were strong words, and it troubled her greatly that
> Kettering used them. She now realized who would end up as the ultimate
> leader of this group, should it come to it. And yet, they were divided
> themselves. She wondered if this was indicative of all of Starfleet -
> little factions fighting among themselves. As long as they fought, they
> were weak, and would not be able to come together to form a decisive
> opposition. But if Lasiter stepped too far off the track, they *would*
> unite, and together, they would make a formidable enemy. She didn't want to
> fight these people, but she would, if she had to. She decided to quietly
> ma! ke some inquiries among the Caitian community in Starfleet. They were not
> great in number, but that made them all the more cohesive. Most Caitians,
> especially Mikan but the other clans as well, had a high sense of loyalty.
> If push came to shove, she wanted her people to be united on the side of
> Lasiter. She made a mental note to talk to the Caitian UFP representitives
> as soon as she got out of this meeting.
>
> The Tellarites were going to be a problem. Hard-headed as ever, it would be
> tough to overcome their voices. They were loud, outspoken, and vehement in
> their opposition. Whether they spoke for all Tellarites, who could say.
> Tellarites fought among themselves even more than they fought with others.
> But scuttlebutt was making the rounds, and it was definately unfavorable.
> She hoped the meeting would end soon, though she was still curious as to
> what else would be! said.
>
To make things better a voice from right behind Kitanya spoke up. This time a Betazoid."As long as we agree upon just who or what the enemy is, Admiral Kettering. I am not sure that Admiral Lasiter is the enemy. I am not sure that a foriegn power is the enemy. I *am* damned sure that this kind of pointless bickering and childish name calling *is* the enemy." The Rear Admiral (2 pip) from Betazed now stood to take the spotlight and the floor. There were rumblings to indicate that others in the crowd agreed with her.
"Instead of nitpicking on the problems with the current situtation, and doing nothing about it. Why not do what we can out in the field. We can follow up on our own, we can implement our own iniatives, we can mentor and mold good officers...Just complaining about things is not going to help anything. If you are going to just complain about it, doing nothing, then I tell you that I am ashamed to be a part of this group. To think that the once proud Starfleet has been reduced to a bickering mob of fools. Fools you all are."
Simmons replies, "We are going to do something. Kitanya and Ty are going to talk to the CinC.."
He was cut off, "That is crap. It took you how many months to come up with that!!! 8 months to plan a 'let's talk with the CinC'.... That is so pathetic. While you sit here talking about making changes to improve Starfleet, I am going to make changes with Starfleet. I may only command Second Fleet, one of the smallest, but I *can* make a difference. I know who is corrupt. I know who is stealing. I know who is not up to par, and I know how to take care of them all. I hope that more of you decide to stop bitching about things and start correcting things. You don't have to be a radical to make a difference, you just have tostand up and say 'No More.' THAT, is just what I plan on doing."
With that she turned and headed out. Much to the surprise of Kettering and some others, applause started to fill the room. Mostly from the moderates in the gathering. Some from her very own 2nd Fleet.
As she headed out so did some of those that give her the applause. The Vulcan who commented earlier headed out with her, as well as about 15 others. That group was a good mixing of humans, Betazoids, and Tellerites.
{Thoughts...}
The meeting, minus those that left, continued for another 30 minutes or so. When it finally broke Kitanya had heard plenty.
{response}
--- Chris http://home.earthlink.net/~csalmi ICQ: 28233696--- End Message ---
