Captain Ertmo - Sending a Message
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Aitas
May 29, 2026, 4:13:59 PM (6 days ago) May 29
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((Mess Hall, USS Kepler – Contested UAW Territory, near Zumaris))
Ertmo: If people are only still sick back home, then they’ll probably talk. If the Zumardi have already killed millions…
Then he’d swallow his pride and do what he had to for a cure. But he didn’t think the Astrofleet would do the same.
Seleya: Then we at least have a chance to prevent those deaths. The Zumardi do not want this conflict either.
Hopper: Right. ::Eying Ertmo with curiosity:: Our views on our responsibility as a technologically-advanced civilization differ from your own… Our own Prime Directive prohibits interference with less-advanced species, whereas I understand yours takes a more– ::seeking a non-inflammatory word:: –custodial stance. You weren’t seeking conflict either.
Captain Jumper seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation, if Ertmo was any judge of Federation body language. He had more doubts about that then he’d have had just a few days ago.
Ertmo: I’m starting to understand that this isn’t how you usually do things. But no, we weren’t there looking for conflict.
Ashwood: Response
Seleya: I think a cease fire to work on the cure for the pathogen would be beneficial. Have any of the Zumardi been removed from their homes by the UAW already?
Ermto’s head turned back and forth as he thought.
Ertmo: A few, yes. We were told there were specific medical needs, and some who had applied for refuge…I am less certain what the Zumardi would say, now.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: I’m not sure the Zumardi see it the same way – negotiating any sort of agreement while they still feel under imminent threat from your people, whether that’s military threat or the threat of forced relocation, is going to be fraught. ::Hands out, in an invitational gesture:: If there was a chance of easing their concerns about their citizens’ wellbeing, it might go a long way towards building a bridge.
Seleya: May I ask, and I apologize if you are repeating yourself Captain Ertmo as I was not here for your earlier conversation. But where was the UAW planning to relocate the Zumardi? And what were the UAW’s plans after the three planets had been relocated?
Hopper: Yes, your records mention some sort of ‘technological quarantine zone’ procedure – but we’re unclear on the details.
Ertmo: One of the other planets in their system, from what I heard. We were told it’d be the least destructive option, as it was only Zumaris that had the dilithium, and thus the risks to them. Quite a bit of time had been put into considering what sort of accommodations they’d most enjoy. We don’t usually build organic cities.
He wondered what the Federation would do if the Zumardi had been about to blow themselves up. But with the pathogen it was hard to dismiss their technology, also.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: There’s another Earth phrase, Captain, that comes to mind. “There’s no place like home.” Has the UAW ever encountered a species that seemed happy to relocate – or have you always encountered some level of resistance?
Ertmo: At least one of them seemed grateful, afterward. But they were being quarantined away from the remnants of a Borg cube. That is the first case of a relocation I know of.
He slumped a little in his chair; the Federation had been kind enough to make him one that was more comfortable.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
He was pretty sure the gesture from Captain Jumper was understanding. Mostly sure?
Hopper: The UAW is still young, for an interstellar organization. You may not have made too many friends yet, but at least you haven’t made too many enemies either. There’s still time to turn this around… Just how many other planets, species, have you quarantined in this manner?
Ertmo counted off the number on his fingers, stopping at one hand.
Ertmo: There may be more I wasn’t told about…but three.
He was the captain of the Enterprise, he should have known these things. They should have trusted him.
Or maybe, given his current tone of conversation, they’d known that they couldn’t. They’d sent him out to be a symbol of an ideal the UAW cared too little to properly pursue.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Hopper: I hope, Captain, that whether or not you agree with your government’s previous decision to attempt annexation of this sector and to relocate the people here, or with the insurgency’s response, you’d agree that the Zumardi were here first… and that the UAW’s actions ultimately provoked this conflict?
Ertmo: We were more compelled by the promise of resources than our own responsibilities. It seems the Zumardi were not as unaware as I was led to believe. ::his eyes flickered in color:: So yes.
It stung, still, but more like the juice had than the full betrayal it might have been. Perhaps he was just too tired.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: What did you send to the Astrofleet? I can try to speak to them again, there are some old backup systems closer to the Zumardi that might still work.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: Don’t know what the Admirals are thinking, but the Federation would count for a lot with most of the Astrofleet. Especially if you had something solid to offer them.
It wasn’t quite optimism, this letting himself think there was still something he could do. But it was the closest thing to it he could manage.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: I doubt they’ve changed the codes for the old system. If anyone wants to yell at me about it afterward, then I can hope they’ll be alive to do it.
Somehow, he was starting to think he wouldn’t have a ship after this. Or a position in the Astrofleet at all.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Tag/TBC
Ertmo: If people are only still sick back home, then they’ll probably talk. If the Zumardi have already killed millions…
Then he’d swallow his pride and do what he had to for a cure. But he didn’t think the Astrofleet would do the same.
Seleya: Then we at least have a chance to prevent those deaths. The Zumardi do not want this conflict either.
Hopper: Right. ::Eying Ertmo with curiosity:: Our views on our responsibility as a technologically-advanced civilization differ from your own… Our own Prime Directive prohibits interference with less-advanced species, whereas I understand yours takes a more– ::seeking a non-inflammatory word:: –custodial stance. You weren’t seeking conflict either.
Captain Jumper seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation, if Ertmo was any judge of Federation body language. He had more doubts about that then he’d have had just a few days ago.
Ertmo: I’m starting to understand that this isn’t how you usually do things. But no, we weren’t there looking for conflict.
Ashwood: Response
Seleya: I think a cease fire to work on the cure for the pathogen would be beneficial. Have any of the Zumardi been removed from their homes by the UAW already?
Ermto’s head turned back and forth as he thought.
Ertmo: A few, yes. We were told there were specific medical needs, and some who had applied for refuge…I am less certain what the Zumardi would say, now.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: I’m not sure the Zumardi see it the same way – negotiating any sort of agreement while they still feel under imminent threat from your people, whether that’s military threat or the threat of forced relocation, is going to be fraught. ::Hands out, in an invitational gesture:: If there was a chance of easing their concerns about their citizens’ wellbeing, it might go a long way towards building a bridge.
Seleya: May I ask, and I apologize if you are repeating yourself Captain Ertmo as I was not here for your earlier conversation. But where was the UAW planning to relocate the Zumardi? And what were the UAW’s plans after the three planets had been relocated?
Hopper: Yes, your records mention some sort of ‘technological quarantine zone’ procedure – but we’re unclear on the details.
Ertmo: One of the other planets in their system, from what I heard. We were told it’d be the least destructive option, as it was only Zumaris that had the dilithium, and thus the risks to them. Quite a bit of time had been put into considering what sort of accommodations they’d most enjoy. We don’t usually build organic cities.
He wondered what the Federation would do if the Zumardi had been about to blow themselves up. But with the pathogen it was hard to dismiss their technology, also.
Ashwood: Response
Hopper: There’s another Earth phrase, Captain, that comes to mind. “There’s no place like home.” Has the UAW ever encountered a species that seemed happy to relocate – or have you always encountered some level of resistance?
Ertmo: At least one of them seemed grateful, afterward. But they were being quarantined away from the remnants of a Borg cube. That is the first case of a relocation I know of.
He slumped a little in his chair; the Federation had been kind enough to make him one that was more comfortable.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
He was pretty sure the gesture from Captain Jumper was understanding. Mostly sure?
Hopper: The UAW is still young, for an interstellar organization. You may not have made too many friends yet, but at least you haven’t made too many enemies either. There’s still time to turn this around… Just how many other planets, species, have you quarantined in this manner?
Ertmo counted off the number on his fingers, stopping at one hand.
Ertmo: There may be more I wasn’t told about…but three.
He was the captain of the Enterprise, he should have known these things. They should have trusted him.
Or maybe, given his current tone of conversation, they’d known that they couldn’t. They’d sent him out to be a symbol of an ideal the UAW cared too little to properly pursue.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Hopper: I hope, Captain, that whether or not you agree with your government’s previous decision to attempt annexation of this sector and to relocate the people here, or with the insurgency’s response, you’d agree that the Zumardi were here first… and that the UAW’s actions ultimately provoked this conflict?
Ertmo: We were more compelled by the promise of resources than our own responsibilities. It seems the Zumardi were not as unaware as I was led to believe. ::his eyes flickered in color:: So yes.
It stung, still, but more like the juice had than the full betrayal it might have been. Perhaps he was just too tired.
Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: What did you send to the Astrofleet? I can try to speak to them again, there are some old backup systems closer to the Zumardi that might still work.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: Don’t know what the Admirals are thinking, but the Federation would count for a lot with most of the Astrofleet. Especially if you had something solid to offer them.
It wasn’t quite optimism, this letting himself think there was still something he could do. But it was the closest thing to it he could manage.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Ertmo: I doubt they’ve changed the codes for the old system. If anyone wants to yell at me about it afterward, then I can hope they’ll be alive to do it.
Somehow, he was starting to think he wouldn’t have a ship after this. Or a position in the Astrofleet at all.
Hopper/Seleya/Ashwood: Response
Tag/TBC
Captain Ertmo
UAW Enterprise
United Alliance of Worlds
O239307A10
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