Taken aback, he answered, "No. Of course not. There are exceptions to every rule, Admrial."
"Unless the exception *is* the rrrule," she snarled. "You condemn us in Starrrfleet Command as lazy, stupid, useless. You condemn Lasiterrr forrr being impotent and helpless. Well I've *seen* the state of the fleet, and I know the thrrreats we arrre facing, both frrrom within and without. It's a battle everrryday in Spacedock to walk the edge of the knife. One wrrrong step and everrrything you've been building, everrry foundation you've been quietly laying, comes down like an avalanche. The changes I made today in Spec Ops werrren't just spurrr of the moment decisions. Weeks and months of quiet planning went into it, so I could do it just when the time was rrright, when everrrything was prrreparred. And it was Admirrral Lasiterrr who gave me the grrreen light to do it! I worrrk damn harrrd at my job, Admirrral," she yelled at the Tellarite, "and so does everrry otherrr perrrson in Starrrfleet Command. We'rrre trrrying to hold togetherrr a fleet that is tearrring iteslf aparrrt at a phenomenal rrrate. Just because we'rrre not scrrreaming ourrr plans out frrrom the rrrooftops doesn't mean we'rrre not doing ourrr damndest to keep the fleet going just one morrre day. So arrre you suggesting that all of Starrrfleet Command whould be gotten rrrid of in one fell swoop?" The pig had given her a golden opportunity. By attacking Starfleet Command as a whole, he made it easy to deflect the attention away from Lasiter to all of Starfleet Command. Attacking one man was one thing, but attacking the entire command structure, one of whom was standing in front of them, was something that she doubted would be too popular. It became less like concern about one man, and started to appear more like mutiny. And with the exception of the intense radicals, she doubted anyone there wanted to go that direction. (resp?)
