Qnorna Kannal

## Chairmanship

Granddaughter of popular Chairman Moerv Kannal, Qnorna Kannal led the Unionists to a victory late in Y151 on a platform promising economic revival, a new exploration drive, and a reform of Star Fleet and the rest of the Federation military. Kannal backed a major expansion of the National Guard and planetary defenses, in part to make sure that there were plenty of local government contracts available to satisfy the various member planets. Star Fleet was not expanded in terms of fleet size, but additional money was allocated into technological research to improve the quality of the fleet, and to provide more jobs and reduce bickering among the member planets. This program was successful in reducing economic friction between the various worlds.

Kannal’s term was also marked by three brief wars: with the Romulans in Y154, the Klingons in Y156, and the Gorns in Y157. All three wars were resolved through negotiation. Kannal presided over the signing of the Treaty of Pelione that that ended the war with the Romulans and re-established the old border and neutral zone. Formal diplomatic relations were opened and strictly controlled trade began to cross the border for the first time.

The Organian Peace Treaty ended the conflict with the Klingons. Brokered by the powerful (but not omnipotent) Organians, the new treaty allowed for economic development and scientific exploration of uninhabited planets within the neutral zone between the two powers. This was intended to address Klingon accusations that the Federation was trying to “strangle” Klingon trade, while maintaining the Federation’s strategic position and enabling both sides to utilize valuable resources in the area. The Organians also agreed to act as neutral arbiters in disputes between the two powers. Alas, in some ways the treaty actually increased tensions, rather than preventing them, as many planets within the neutral zone became focal points for conflict rather than cooperation. The upgrade of border base stations to battle stations (which had begun much earlier) was completed in Y160.

Less controversial was the Treaty of Algoran, which began the process of Gorn/Federation friendship. Here, the Federation apologized for attempting to colonize the territory of the then-unknown Gorns, while the Gorns paid reparations for the destruction of the Federation colony on Cestus III. (That planet was beyond the limits of the Y102 declaration, and its establishment had been hotly debated. The Federalists felt that since no one was there, the limit was not relevant. The Unionists felt that the principle was important, and that there were plenty of worlds inside the declared limit. When it was discovered that there was another species in that direction, the Federalists were humiliated.) The Gorns were happy to accept a border based on the Y102 Border Declaration. Trade routes were established, and the two sides began a series of diplomatic and cultural exchanges.

Reelected by a huge margin in Y158, Kannal herself believed that this flurry of diplomacy only postponed a wider war, although she did not make this belief public, as she still hoped to avoid it.

In her second term, she began pushing for greater military spending, but found this difficult to get through the Assembly. An attempt to obtain support from the Organians in a “limited action” against the Klingon threat backfired and increased tensions dramatically with the Empire. The Klingon-Romulan Treaty of Smarba brought the two empires closer to each other, and boxed the Federation in.

Kannal attempted to counter the closer relations between the Romulans and Klingons by opening up the Romulan Empire to the galaxy through détente; she hoped to reduce the Romulan xenophobia, and to pursue closer relations with the Kzintis and Gorns. Kannal also began a new exploration drive toward the galactic core, looking for more resources. (This was highly controversial, as any sustained drive would quickly go beyond the Y102 Border Declaration.) By the end of her second term in Y164, Kannal felt that war was still possible but no longer inevitable, provided that wise leadership remained in power. Kannal was particularly proud of the “measured response” to the Klingon massacre of Federation colonists on Rita’s Planet in Y164.

## Post Chairmanship

She retired to academia at the end of her tenure, but during the General War she returned to public life and served as the ambassador to the Gorns under the Baranov and Kirnad administrations. She helped convinced the Gorns to join the war in Y174. In Y178, she was assassinated. The culprits were never caught, but Romulan operatives were suspected.

## References

1. ↑ John Sickels (30 March 2011). *GURPS Federation, Fourth Edition*. Edited by Jean Sexton. (Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.), p. 18. ISBN 978-1-58564-155-0.