Personal Log, 14 February 3310: Upheaval
14 Feb 2024Glen van Ross
Condition III | EMCON Charlie | Trianguli Sector BA-A d85 | Velocity: 35 km/s | Orbital Distance: 123,310,586 kmSaratoga left Rhea a week ago on what the Navy calls a deterrence patrol: visiting various systems where Federal interests might be threatened, "showing the flag" in allied and neutral ports of call, reminding the galaxy that despite its manifold and well-documented flaws, the Federation of Star Systems still aspires to be a force for good.
Many felt cautious optimism at the news that President-Elect Winters had begun selecting Cabinet officers, and that transition teams were at work ensuring a seamless and trouble-free handover. The Hudson-Archer administration's slow erosion of civil liberties and inexorable drift toward authoritarianism was going to end, at last. The dawn of the new Winters-Rochester administration would be celebrated, certainly in her headquarters system by Federal Liberal Command. Within the Navy Public Affairs Office, there were discussions over which cities and planetary ports would receive a fly-over on Inauguration Day, and squadrons had started to select pilots for those roles.
The swearing-in of a new President and the peaceful handover of executive office would, if nothing else, prove that the democratic processes of the Federation still functioned.
As the poet Robert Burns wrote some 1,515 years ago, the best-laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry. The week we thought we were going to have—with celebrations, fly-pasts and a new president—would become something very different.
IMMEDIATE traffic received at 1424Z 13 February indicated that a series of earthquakes, tsunamis and aftershocks on Rhea's third planet had destroyed entire towns and city centres, with the death toll expected to reach tens of millions. Task forces within jump range were instructed to hold mission-capable airlift and CSAR assets in readiness, and contact the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre for tasking instructions. There was a noticeable uptick in chatter on FTL satcom networks, even from vessels that normally operated under more restrictive EMCON regimes.
One of Sara's long-range airlift and logistics craft had departed Ito Orbital (above Rhea 3) that very morning; it was inconceivable that the world below was now a scene of unparalleled devastation.
The battle staff in the flag plot collected what data was available, when it became available. Information coming in from JFRCC was sparse—they had their hands full, and managing the SAR workflow in-system was more important than answering the queries of us onlookers, hundreds of light years away. Reports from civilian news media supplemented the trickle of information from secured, official channels. The overall picture was not good, and as the day wore on it was becoming apparent that the scale of the disaster would rapidly outstrip the capabilities and resources of local system authorities. At any moment we expected to hear that the assistance of the Pilots' Federation and third parties had been sought. I am certain it will happen within the next few hours.
The people of Rhea 3 will need all of the assistance they can get.
With apologies to Shepard Fairey, whose style inspired the Winters inaugural poster; and Mathew Maddison, FDev UI designer, whose "Olympus Village" and "Eta Cassiopeiae" tourism posters were adapted for the background.