“Yesterday one of our greatest leaders has been taken from us by the hands of fate. Fleet Admiral Lance Thomas was pronounced dead on arrival after a tragic shuttle crash took his life.” – Prime Minister Ethir Th’chaaveq
The loss of Fleet Admiral Lance Thomas has shaken the organization Solas Tempus to it’s very core foundations. The original founding member of the group had become something of a living legend throughout known space. Known for his tenacity and steel backbone as well as his lavishly foul temper he was a force to be reckoned with. Still, to this day, the true origins of the man remain a mystery. Questions have often been asked about where the man came from and how he came to power; those questions may now never be answered.
On October 27th Admiral Thomas’s personal ship, the Sleipnir, was forcibly dropped out of warp by the barrier which surrounds the Schatten Star System. The vessel was still going at nearly light-speed and headed for Soteria when a distress call was received and ships were dispatched. The Admiral had lost control of the vessel and it entered a flat spin after on of the impulse engines exploded. A further rescue attempt by the Irvyn failed to bring the ship under control but did divert it away from Soteria and instead toward Schatten II. The attempt further sent the ship spinning on all axis, further research indicates that by that point in time, the ships inertial dampening field had become inoperative. The vessel crashed into Schatten II shortly after, though it is likely the extreme G forces acting upon the vessel prior to the crash caused the death of the Admiral before the ship crashed.
The body itself has been transported back to Trocara where an autopsy was performed and burial preparations are being made. While the body is still secured and not available for viewing, the autopsy report had been released to the public, at least in part, and specifies the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death has been ruled accidental. Investigators are still combing over the evidence to piece together the exact chain of events, however the DPI and Solas Tempus have both remained close lipped about the investigation. Neither the DPI nor Solas Tempus have responded to requests for comments.
Official Statements
A brief official statement by the Prime Minister of the Serenity Concord was released the following day on the 28th.
Yesterday one of our greatest leaders has been taken from us by the hands of fate. Fleet Admiral Lance Thomas was pronounced dead on arrival after a tragic shuttle crash took his life. Efforts are underway to piece together the exact nature and sequence of events that have resulted in his death, everyone deserves answers. We will work methodically through the evidence at hand to determine exactly what occurred, Admiral Thomas deserves no less of us. Our hearts go out to his family and those closest to him at their loss and his wife, Drem, should know that the entire Concord mourns with her. We ask that everyone respect her privacy and the privacy of Admiral Thomas, this will be a difficult time for everyone but we will get through it, together.
Prime Minister Ethir Th’chaaveq
The Prime Minister has been unavailable for direct comment, however, sources close to him have expressed that he is deeply saddened by the loss.
While no official statements have come from Admiral Thomas’s widow, Drem Thomas, multiple sources within the organization have reported that she has left Nimbus Station and that no one has seen her since. The official word from within Solas Tempus is that she has been placed on administrative leave, details on of Ms. Thomas requested that leave or not are not available. Her ship, the USS Drakon, was placed on lock-down for a brief period of time and rumors say that the USS Lilith was ordered to pursue the Drakon that same day, though the Executive Officer of the Drakon (Emily Damion) and the Commanding Officer of the Lilith (Neo Akazuli) could not be reached for comment. The assistant to Captain Akazuli did respond to our requests for information stating that many vessels undergo readiness exercises as part of routine training and that no further information should be read into such events. However, the assistant was unwilling to confirm or deny that the Lilith and Drakon were involved in any such exercises.
Memorial Services
Memorial services for Admiral Thomas have been scheduled for late in November on Trocara, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have confirmed they will be in attendance and several prominent members of other governments and agencies throughout known space have also communicated they will be in attendance as well. Sources within the United Federation of Planets have reported that there is some discussion over presenting the Ms. Thomas with a posthumously awarded Medal of Valor for her late-husband, commemorating his achievements. The Chancellor of the High Council of the Klingon Empire as well as the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire as well as several members of the Romulan Senate have also confirmed they will both be in attendance; if that is the case it will be the first time the leaders of both worlds have been at such a ceremony together in decades and could be an historic meeting should the two choose to speak to each other. The Federation President is confirmed to be in attendance and rumors have surfaced that even Admiral Jean Luc Picard will be attending as well as Admiral Katherine Janeway though aids for both officers have said that such decisions have yet to be made and that both have many duties to attend to which could prevent them from attending. The aid to Admiral Picard did add that “Admiral Picard sends his most sincerest condolences to Ms. Thomas for her loss and that he hopes she knows how many in the universe respected and honored her husband.”
