>> They all took a seat. "Connor has raised a point that I think should be passed
>along to you, Sam. AGain, this is not intended to meddle within the domain of
>Starfleet. I just thought this needed to be brought to your attention. What you do
>with this information is then entirely up to you."
>>
> 'Sh!t, the diplomats want to weigh in on a issue concerning the fleet.',
>Lasiter thought to himself. His reply was to simply turn his full attention to the
>new comers to the room.
>
>"Sam, I feel strange talking about this to you," Connor told him. "On the other side
>of the zone, however, fleet and state are much more tightly joined than they are
>here, so they have us at a disadvantage in that
>department. As I'm sure you know, there has been a definite and substantial warming
>of relations between the Federation and Rihannsu Star Empire over the past several
>years, and especially over the past several months."
>
Lasiter nodded his understanding.
>
>"They know even have a permanent ambassador to the Federation, up on Spacedock. This
>left us a bit embarrassed, because we hadn't yet appointed
>an ambassador to go there. We're just about to do that."
>
"Mr. Secretary I am not sure that I am following here. I am not exactly clear how
this applies to me or to Starfleet." he asked without expression.
>
>"We understand from some of our sources," Connor said, "that the RSE Command feels
>that Starfleet - and therefore by extension the UFP - doesn't respect
>them, however. Apparently one of the indicators they use to guage our level of
>respect is the strenuousness of the command along their border. And they,
>apparently, feel that the Sixth Operational Fleet suffers from...
>suboptimal leadership."
>
"Ahhh, Now I understand..." Lasiter replied outwardly. However, his thoughts
were somewhat different. This could be a political ploy to get rid of a good officer,
or a devious little plot by the Romulans to weaken the border defenses. Never did
trust the diplomats...
>
>"Sam, I don't know the gentleman in question at all, and although I did a stint in
>Starfleet as a junior officer in my youth, I don't at all feel qualified to judge his
>credentials or his work. If you say he's the right
>man for the job, that's good enough for State, and we will simply move ahead as if
>we'd never learned this information."
>
>Celeste had been sitting rather quietly, but her gaze was intense. Sam could tell
>that she was an excellent observer, and that there was a lot going on behind those
>crystal clear green eyes of hers.
>
'Ok, so this may not be a political ploy, but still I will have to ask around...'
Lasiter thought to himself, noticing the quiet observation from Under Secertary
Sinclair. Perhaps some reaction would be prudent at this point...
"Well, I am at a bit of a loss, Sir. I do not know Admiral Booker all that well.
I have spoken to him on many occassions, but I can not say that I know him or the
condition of his fleet well enough to comment just yet. However, what you are telling
me is surprising to say the least, and quite alarming at most. I can assure you that
this will be looked into, and if it proves to be true I will act quickly to rectify
the situation."
Even as he said this, Lasiter thought that Booker was kind of a light weight.
Never really had a sense of vision, forethought that he should've had. Lasiter also
started to develop a list of possible replacements.
{response}
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