Tracy: Theo, I can already tell something is bothering you. You’d better just get one with it.

Patterson: I’m afraid I have some difficult news, that isn’t going to sit well with you Jack. I just had a meeting with Ross, Nechayev, and Leyton in the CNC office. After much arguing and deliberation… It has been decided to pull the plug on the Intrepid Class development project. If you check your docking schedule you will see two ships scheduled to arrive tomorrow. They’re going to pick up the partial hulls of the remaining Intrepid classes under construction to be mothballed at the Antares shipyards. But the complete hulls for Bellerophon and Guinevere will stay with you.

Patterson: Jack, Jack, good god man breathe.

Tracy: Pulling the plug on the Intrepid Class, is this some kind of sick joke Theo?

Patterson: It’s no joke. Look, I truly am sorry. I was just as passionate about this endeavor as you were. I fought this decision every step of the way. …The fact is that after the recurring issues with the Intrepid, that entire nacelle retrofit and now the loss of Voyager, Starfleet feels that the class is a… Lemon. That our attention should be refocused elsewhere.

Tracy: “Elsewhere!” “You mean on the Sovereign class, don’t you? Or those Excelsior retrofits! Oh hell Theo, they’re not scrapping this for the Defiant are they? Of course that would be where the focus is shifted too with Nechayev and Leyton involved in the matter. This is just one more step in their big plan to make Starfleet the military arm of the Federation and put us all under the thumb of Starfleet Intelligences latest reports. Oh and I bet they used your personal connection to Captain Janeway and Voyager to manipulate you into giving them your vote to do this!

Patterson: You are out of line Admiral. The only person who has bought up Voyager in these discussions is you. Just now. And you know the guilt I feel over the loss of that ship and Kathryn. Her father and I went through the academy together damn it, I lost him too.

Tracy: Face it Theo, you know what I am saying is true. Especially with Nechayev, and Leyton. They want the Federation to always be dealing with some sort of conflict, they thrive on it, and they want to reshape Starfleet into enforcers with Starfleet Intelligence pulling the strings. We would be no different to the Romulan’s under the control of the Tal Shiar, or Cardassia under the control of the Obsidian Order.” I know that the new Sovereign class is Nechayev’s personal pet project, and that she wants the Sovereign itself as her flagship and personal command. So you tell me Admiral, when was the last time an Admiral had command of their own Flagship? I’ll tell you; it was nearly a century ago when Admiral Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise before the V’Ger encounter. Now I know that we’ve had our disasters in recent years, bu-

Patterson: I am warning you again Admiral, if you do not back off this instant, I will relieve you of duty and reassign you away from McKinley. Maybe Starfleet R&D altogether. Now. Construction will continue as scheduled for Bellerophon and Guinevere. I fought for those ships and you’ll finish them. BUT. You will surrender the remaining Intrepid class hulls to the Anaheim and San Diego in the morning. As I said, the hulls will be tractored to the Antares shipyard for storage. Who knows, we may one day get to deploy them. I also fought to not have the materials recycled. Now. Upon their departure you will reconfigure their slipways in preparation of laying the keels of the next two Sovereign class vessels, all classified systems slated for the installation in the Intrepid classes will be diverted and implemented into the Sovereign class. Have I made myself clear, Jack. Knowing I had overstepped my bounds, and my next words determined the course of my career, I swallowed before replying.

Tracy: Yes Admiral, understood Sir.

Patterson: That’s more like it.

Now there is one more matter to address on this subject. The intrepid herself. She’s being towed back to Utopia Planitia, the ship is still unable to travel under its own power and continues to experience catastrophic system failures across the board any time she tries to go above quarter impulse. I’m forwarding you the ship's damage reports and I want to know if the failures she is reporting could have also occurred aboard Voyager, causing her destruction.

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