Burning Questions

Posted on Thu May 25th, 2023 @ 6:31am by Commander Queed & Captain Maho Takahashi

1,442 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Insurrection
Location: Press Conference, Spacedock
Timeline: After 'Watching the Captain's Address', before 'Miyahara's message'

Previously, on Star Trek Myogi:

"So, Senpai; step up." Maho used the name she had affectionately called Miyahara. "May god bless the United Federation of Planets, and may god protect the men and women of Starfleet, and all those folks at Starfleet Headquarters who are trying to preserve order. Thank you, and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

And now, the continuation:

As Maho walked off the stage, the gathered reporters erupted into a flurry of questions. When Maho reached backstage, she turned to Queed to speak to him.

"Those reporters have questions they're going to want answered." She sighed. "The situation on the ground and the system-wide curfew that will be going into effect in a few hours will likely be chief among them."

Queed nodded solemnly, "I understand Captain. I'll handle them. If there's anything else you think I should mention, now is a good time to let know."

"Just remember that the reporters gathered in that room come from beyond the Federation as well." Maho said. "Oh, and try not to let the questions run for too long. The speech was about 8 minutes, so try and keep the questions to that length."

Queed nodded once more and turned to walk out onstage. He peered at the small audience of reporters knowing not to expect very easy questions but he also hoped they wouldn't verbally beat him up too bad.

The moment Queed walked onto the stage, the gathered reporters all began asking questions at once, attempting to talk over each other in the hopes that their questions would be answered first.

Queed let out a short sigh and held his hands up knowing he had to set limits first. "Please, one at a time speaks. I have time for eight questions." He surveyed the reporters gathered and finally pointed to one near the back. "You there, in the purple. What is your question?"

"What can you tell us about the situation on the ground at Starfleet Hedquarters?" The indicated reporter asked.

“The rioters are being rounded up by local authorities with the help of Starfleet security personnel,” Queed answered calmly. “People are also being asked to vacate the area voluntarily. Next question?”

He looked around and eventually pointed to another reporter on the other side of the venue about half way to the back wall, “How about you there, in the red hat.”

"The United Earth government has enacted a system-wide curfew, can you elaborate on that?" The reporter with the red hat asked.

There wasn't much to say about it except to re-iterate the protocols that were being enforced. "The system wide curfew is from eighteen hundred until six hundred hours for the time being. It is a temporary curfew. " Queed stressed the fact that the curfew wasn't indefinite. "When these current troubles are over it will be lifted. It's my duty to remind you all that during the curfew, non-essential travel would be heavily restricted and travel overall would be discouraged." He looked around and noticed some unsavory expressions on some of those present. He knew some would be displeased but nothing was to be done about it now.

Queed raised his hand to indicate who would get the next question. He could sense the tension in the room rising. He looked to the opposite side of the room thinking, 'Only eight more to go,' "How about the lady in the blue there. You have a question?"

The lady in blue was the first Romulan reporter who had been selected to ask a question.

"There are reports coming from the ground about some members of the crowd having current or former affiliations with Starfleet." She said. "Do you know anything about that?"

The short answer was no but Queed had a feeling that wouldn’t satisfy any of the reporters present. Time to be a little creative. “Authorities are still investigating those allegations. It would be premature to comment further.”

He looked around the group again for who to call on next. He was trying to choose randomly from every part of the group. Going again to the left side of the group he called on a lady dressed in dark red, “How about you? You have something to ask?”

"Will Miyahara be brought in to answer for all of this?" The reporter asked. "There are unconfirmed reports of Starfleet sending personnel to apprehend him."

"Miyahara's whereabouts are currently unknown," Queed said slowly, "However, people are, in fact, being sent to bring him to justice." Another easy one, Queed thought. He noted a Cardassian in the audience. Time to be the diplomat. He extended a hand in their direction, "You there. You have a question?"

"What is the Federation doing to ensure the safety of foreign citizens during this crisis?" The Cardassian man asked. His question was in relation to an incident earlier in the day, when a Cardassian reporter standing near the Cardassian embassy had been mobbed by pro-Miyahara protesters.

“We are all Federation citizens so there are no foreigners here,” Queed started, “However, those not of Terran descent are being asked to stay home for the time being until this unrest has ended… which we hope will be within twenty four hours.” He hoped he sounded as diplomatic as he felt. More importantly, he hoped he was correct.

"What do you mean 'no foreign citizens'?" The Cardassian pressed. "Are the embassies operated by foreign powers such as Cardassia and staffed by their respective citizens considered Federation soil and their staff members considered Federation citizens?"

The Cardassian could already picture the headline that would flash across Cardassian territory the next day: 'Federation slips up, forgets existence of foreign embassies.'

Queed mentally kicked himself for the faux pas. "I merely meant that not all people living on Terra are Terrans but are Federation citizens. Those of you in embassies working for your respective governments are asked the same, that is, please stay in your embassies until the unrest has ended. Now, to you, directly, I say, if you want to report a mistake in my explanation, go ahead, but also report that it was my mistake, not the Federation's or Starfleet's mistake. Can we be clear on that?"

"Yes, sir." The Cardassian responded.

The Cardassian's pressing for clarification had taken one of the question slots, meaning that there was now only four more questions that could be answered.

Somewhat surprised the issue was that easily laid to rest, Queed looked around again. He noted a chronometer on the far wall. “All right then, who wants to ask the next one?”

The crowd of reporters seemed to have moved closer to the small stage he was standing on. Queed took note of it but didn’t think much of it, in fact, it was normal in most situations like this. He motioned for a man in the front, “How about you?”

"Will captured rioters be given fair trials?" The man asked.

Queed looked right at the questioner with an almost unbelieving expression. Then he answered with a clear, "Of course."

He looked out into the throng again and motioned to a reporter in the back wearing a dark hat, "Have you got a question?"

The reporter in a dark hat was a Bajoran man with a scar on his face. He looked up and made eye contact with Queed, a smug look on his face indicated that he was going to ask a question most in the room weren't going to like.

"What steps are Starfleet taking to ensure the only peaceful resolution to this crisis?" He asked.

Queed was unsure what, exactly, was being planned at the moment. "Starfleet is always committed to peaceful and diplomatic resolutions. This should not be news to anyone. As for the current crisis I'm sure plans are being made but I am not yet privy to those ongoing discussions just yet." He hoped that was a satisfactory answer despite not actually saying anything of substance. He was not a fan of giving those kinds of answers, but sometimes they were necessary.

He looked around one more time at the assembled reporters. "That's all I have time for today... and I'm sure as more information becomes available further press conferences will held," Queed announced. "Thank you all for coming."

While a few reporters vocalized displeasure, the ruckus he expected failed to materialize. Guessing that was a good thing he made his exit to catch up with Captain Takahashi.


A USS Myogi post by:

Captain Maho Takahashi
&
Lieutenant Commander Queed

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