Discovery

A man walked down the Champs-Elysees in Paris. He was carrying a small visual communicator in his left hand. The man greeted a family of Boleans coming down the street. In the distance, the man could see the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile. The man continued to and eventually sat down in an empty bench on the side of the street. He smiled at how peaceful the Federation citizens were, and he wanted to make sure it stayed that way forever.

The man began to call someone using the communicator. Luther Sloane appeared on the small screen. "Charlie, what do you have for me ?"

Charlie began."Well, Congress was discussing budgets and things like that. They also discussed a recent pardon made by a high-ranking official of Starfleet. Apparently, Admiral Leary released a dangerous criminal and assigned him a ship."

"Who ?"

"Admiral Leary."

"But he's dead."

"Yes. The strange thing is, Admiral Leary contacted the USS Leviathan in the Beta Quadrant *after* he died. From Starfleet Headquarters even."

"Who was the criminal ?" Demanded Sloane.

"Captain Lighter. He was assigned the USS Lynx. More secretive sources say he is out to destroy the Leviathan and kill Captain Devore."

"Something tells me Admiral Leary has nothing to do with this." Sloane thought for a moment. "Go to San Francisco immediately. I want you to search for information on Admiral Leary. See if he is responsible for this. If he isn't, I want to know who is. Lighter must be stopped. If the Leviathan prototype is destroyed, Congress will deny Starfleet the power to build slipstream driven vessels. That will put us behind technologically by a couple hundred years !" Sloan became very serious. "Charlie, find out who is planning this vendetta and put a stop to it ! I don't care how many lives are lost. The Leviathan MUST be a success ! If Devore dies, I shudder to think of what consequences the Federation will have to suffer."

Charlie nodded. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Devore comes out of this alive and the Leviathan unscathed. Lighter won't see Earth again. You can count on that."

"Good. I knew I could trust in you Charlie." Sloane cut off the communication.

Charlie began to run to the nearest transporter station. He would be paying Starfleet a visit.