FROM: Admiral Kelly (Starfleet Command, Earth)
TO: Admiral Thackett (Starfleet Sector Command, Eta Eridani)
CC: Rear Admiral T'Kela (Superintendant, Starfleet Academy); Captain Kaildvar (Starfleet Academy Engineering); SC_xo-list@η-eri (Eta Eridani Command Officers)
SUBJECT: U.S.S. Tyee deployment, training cruise
Admiral:
As of stardate 89645, I have requested and required Commander Dev Jodahn to assume command of the U.S.S. Tyee for deployment to the Aldebaran sector.
As you may know, the Tyee is a modified Vanguard-class cruiser commissioned by Starfleet Academy as a proof-of-concept vessel. She has robust repair and maintenance facilities which allow engineers to complete field repairs of a scope and in locations that they could not otherwise complete outside of a shipyard.
As you are also surely aware, the increasing numbers of engagements along the Klingon front have stressed the capacity of repair and maintenance facilities in your sector. Many of my colleagues have expressed concern at the spikes in the amount of downtime for ships and officers. It is my hope that the Tyee will greatly help alleviate this issue and boost our overall fleet readiness to more acceptable levels.
I have acknowledged a formal protest from Admiral T'Kela of Starfleet Academy with regard to this deployment. I understand that great care must be taken to protect the safety of trainee-level officers, where it does not interfere with fleet operations. I would have preferred to assign a standard crew, however (1) manpower continues to be an ongoing challenge for our rosters, and (2) training a new repair crew in the specialized operation of the Tyee would take an unacceptably long amount of time. In the interests of compromise, I have imposed the following restrictions on Commander Jodahn:
- The Tyee shall not engage in and must avoid active combat zones.
- The Tyee shall not engage its "en-route repair" mode (or otherwise engage in repair activities while at warp speeds).
- The Tyee must implement a four-shift rotation to ensure adequate rest periods for trainees.
- Trainees may only disembark at locations and at times authorized by me or Admiral T'Kela.
Between you, me, Admiral T'Kela, and Commander Jodahn, we will revisit the appropriateness of these restrictions on a continual basis. As the security situation of the sector develops, I foresee modification to these orders.
Commander Jodahn has identified the 26th Fleet and Task Force Argo as units that may make the best use of his services. I have given him full authority to determine where and when repair operations will have the highest impact, within the restrictions set forth above. He is currently en route to Outpost Argo.
It is my hope that these enterprising young stars from Starfleet Academy will truly excel at this opportunity to get our operations in Eta Eridani back on track.
Zion E. Kelly
Admiral
Starfleet Command