Return of the Bastet

[Tenacity]

//For reference on events leading up to this thread, please read this thread:
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40779
Please, if you arent a high ranking individual of The Order, particularly among it's high command, do not post here//

Captain Thompson stood behind a podium, to the right of the Order's High Command members, addressing a large crowd of Order personnel. On the left hand side of the room, fifty two individuals stood behind a short wall, all of them wearing chains around their hands and feet, strung together and secured to the wall of the room. These individuals were the remaining crewmen of the Order Carrier Bastet.

Thompson spoke to the assembly, "Ranking members of The Order..." he paused and turned to the high command members on his left, "...and honored chairmen of the High Command - Months ago, one of our finest ships, the Assault Carrier Bastet, was comandeered by Admiral Aki Kimura and a portion of the ship's crew loyal to her. Admiral Kimura was, at that time, a member of the High Command, and was wanted for creating diplomatic unrest between The Order and it's allies."

He paused and took a breath, "In these past months we have not been able to find or capture the Bastet, and there have been numerous reports of the ship attacking house military vessels across the width and breadth of Sirius. Sixteen hours ago, the Bastet returned to us, and was surrendered to The Order by the remaining crewmen you see to your left. Admiral Kimura was not aboard the Bastet, though all other rebellious crew have been accounted for."

"The Carrier Bastet has been apprehended, and is currently undergoing refitting and maintenance at Evora Shipyard so that it may be re-admitted into the active fleet under a new crew. The purpose of this meeting today is to assess the evidence against the remaining crew members, and their punishment at this Court Martial. After the hearing and conviction, we will be assigning a new crew to operate the Bastet."

Thompson turned to Commander John Mathews, the closest to the front of the room and the XO of the Bastet during it's renegade travel across Sirius. "Commander Mathews, you acted as Admiral Kimura's first officer and second in command during these past few months, and it was you that gave the order to return the ship to us. Explain, if you will, the reasoning behind her betrayal."


Mathews stepped forward slightly to address the crowd, and the High Command, "Admiral Kimura betrayed no one. At the time of the Court Martial notice against her, the Admiral was at the brink of uncovering something that may have prevented another full on war with the Nomads. If she had come in willingly, she would have lost command of her ship and her goals would have been forfeit. That is why she chose to disobey direct orders from the High Command."

"During the time in which the Bastet was considered renegade, yes... we did attack numerous house military vessels. If you do enough digging, you'll find that every last one of them was being controlled by an infected individual, under the influence of the Nomads. The group known as the 'wilde' have invaded every house by this point, and our ship logs will show records of communications with these craft before their destruction."

"Six days ago, we were piloting uncharted space under orders from Admiral Kimura, when the Bastet was attacked by an unknown craft, matching no nomad, phantom, or human records in our databanks. This craft, no larger than a gunship, easily overcame our Carrier's defenses, and unleashed a weapon which rendered the entire crew unconcious for seven hours. Sometime during those seven hours, all of the experimental technology we had aboard the Bastet, along with Admiral Kimura herself, were removed from the ship."

"I chose to return and take responsibility for Kimura's actions because I believe that there is a threat to Sirius greater than the nomads, greater than the phantoms even. The ship which attacked us was something never seen before in Sirius, and it overpowered us without seeming to exert any effort at all. If there are more of those ships out there, and they have any plans to invade Sirius, there will be nothing we can do to stop them."

"So... I will take responsibility for the actions of the rest of my crewmen here, and for Aki's decision to disobey direct orders. All I ask is that a search and rescue effort is put forth to find her, and investigate this new threat."

---