A trail to follow... Questions to answer

Posted on Mon Jun 1, 2015 @ 8:42pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Samantha Raylen & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant AJ Taggart & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant AJ Taggart & Lieutenant JG Markus Davenport & Ensign David Kincaide & Ensign Kaden Dylo & Master Chief Petty Officer Peter Tomaszewski

3,152 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: U.S.S. Victory
Timeline: Before 'Hell Hath No Fury'

On the main viewscreen, the sleek form of an Intrepid-class starship hung against the stars on the right side of the screen, while on the left, the interior of the other vessel's bridge was visible, it's Captain centered in the display; Captain Kennit was speaking. "You should have all the data we've been able to download from the Bethesda's systems now. Unless you have any further questions for me, Captain Marsh, I think it's high time the Victory got underway and searched for the source of the illness which killed the Bethesda's entire crew."

"Agreed," the older man replied. "We'll stay on station until the tug arrives, then escort the Bethesda back."

"Safe travels, Captain Marsh," Kennit told him.

He replied immediately. "Safe travels, Captain Kennit."

Signing off, the viewscreen image of the other officer vanished, leaving just the image of his sleek ship now moving slowly towards the drifting, haunted Bethesda.

Kennit wasn't wasting any more time. "Helm, do you have the navigational information downloaded from the Bethesda's computers loaded into our navigation system?"

"You bet I d-d-do," Penny said, a slight stutter in her voice. She cleared her throat, running a self-diagnostic as she turned to face the Captain. "Course set, and ready."

"Get us underway, Warp 6." Kennit ordered.

*Systemic error now at 53%,* Penny's diagnostic whispered in her brain. "Warp six, aye," she said steadily. She'd had the course plotted for the better part of twenty minutes and jabbed her finger at the 'engage' button with gusto.

Once they were on the way, the Captain turned and looked at her First Officer, seated in his place on the bridge though still looking rather the worse for wear. She rose and moved closer to him, speaking softly. "Are you certain you're all right?"

Alec was feeling far from alright, but he gave Rhea a confident smile; only it probably looked like the look he saw on some of the crew of the Bethesda. "Sure thing, Captain. Feeling better all the time," he lied, replying in an equally soft voice, and then added, "thanks for asking and caring."

Not convinced, and not bothering to hide the fact, she let out a soft hmmmm in response and then said, "call all senior staff to the briefing room in an hour. I need to know our operational status...and we need to go over the information we have. Assuming we do locate the source of the infection, the last thing I want to do is bring it back over here. We're going to need to discuss additional precautions and safe guards to make certain that what happened to the Bethesda's crew does not happen to us."

He gave her a 'What?' look as Rhea clearly didn't believe him. With was understandable as he didn't believe himself. "Will do Captain. Call the senior staff to the briefing room in an hour. Got it." He just hoped he remembered it.

"You're a terrible liar, Number One," the Captain said in a mild tone. Handing him a data padd, she added "We received this communique from Starfleet Command. I've reviewed it, you should as well. We'll discuss it with the others during the briefing as well."

On the data padd was the message from Starfleet.


PRIORITY ONE MESSAGE

TO: Task Force 38 Commanding Officers and Staff
FROM: VADM Robert Dowd, TF38 Commanding Officer
RE: Vaadwaur Activity Notice

There have been increased reports of Vaadwaur activity in and around the Mordred Nebula as well as throughout our Area of Operations. Any Starfleet vessels coming in contact with Vaadwuar ships are to take no hostile action unless fired upon. As of now, no formal diplomatic relations have been established between the Federation and the Vaadwaur, or their allies. It is unclear what their objective is, but all vessels are advised to proceed with caution and relay any scans back to headquarters as soon as possible.

All scientific activities will continue as usual, no changes will be made in the missions of any current vessels on deployment.

The USS Magellan and USS Monitor are being deployed to patrol the route from the Transwarp Aperture in the Mordred Nebula to Starbase 900. Any vessels exiting the aperture are required to check in with SB-900 upon arrival in the Delta Quadrant. NO UNAUTHORIZED VESSELS WILL BE ALLOWED ACCESS TO THE APERTURE.

I am providing you with all the background information we have on the Vaadwaur and their alliance with various powers in the area.

Additionally, I am raising the threat-level in the region to THREATCON: CHARLIE until further notice. All vessels traveling outside the sensor range of SB-900 or any other Starfleet facility in the Quadrant should stand at Yellow Alert.

Be diligent, stay alert.

VADM ROBERT DOWD, TF38 COMMANDING


Alec offered Rhea another weak smile. "Me? I was being perfectly honest." He jested as he took the PaDD. blinked and read.....slowly. He forced himself to pay attention to the information contained on the PaDD. The Vaadwur weren't to be taken lightly. You best be prepared for a fight and precede from there. When he finished he handed the PaDD back to Rhea.

"The Vaadwur? Just what we need. At least we can go to Red Alert if we do encounter them. Do you have any additional orders concerning them Captain?"

"Lets hope that we don't encounter them.." was the Captain's sincere reply. "However, maintain long range scans. The moment even potential Vaadwur activity is detected on our sensors or our comm systems.. I want to know."

"Yes Captain. I can't agree more. We definitely don't need any surprises from them. I do wonder what they are up to. They have been quiet for a long time why pick now to suddenly become active?" Alec mused aloud.

AJ had been sitting at his station listening to the exchange. Spinning around, he interjected. "They were building up their forces and taking any weapons and people they can get their hands on. As for the question of why, they realized that they could put up an actual fight and so they've hit a few ships and a Forward Operating Base here on Anchorage. Didn't you notice that your weapons complement was beefed up before you left on this cruise?"

The Captain didn't answer, instead she waited to see how the XO would respond to Taggart's remark. If Hunter didn't respond with his usual mix of sarcasm and fire, she'd know without doubt that something was still wrong!

Hunter looked at Taggert, then to Rhea, then back to Taggert. He had a sneaky suspicion Rhea was waiting for him to reply to Taggart's uncalled for comment. Summoning up the last of the reserve energy that was keeping him upright, he replied. " Cruise? This isn't a love boat Mr. Taggart. And as for the beefed up weapons complement, thanks for pointing that out. Of course, the fact that it was on the manifest showing the extra torpedoes was a clue. However, thanks for mentioning it out AFTER we left the starbase," Alec finished, suddenly very weary.

Penny immediately swung around in her chair, sitting back with her hands folded in her lap. The back of her mind was maintaining watch on the helm, but observing inter-male phallus-measuring was one of her side hobbies.

AJ tried his best not to unleash his own trademark sarcasm and bit his tongue. "Sir, those extra weapons were brought on board and verified by the Starbase quartermaster and myself after my stint in Sickbay. Did your Intelligence Officer not brief you on the conditions out here?" he asked in an attempt at a jab.

"My Intelligence Officer? I wasn't aware I had my own personal Intelligence Officer. You mean the Victory's Intel Officer don't you Mr. Taggart? And no, neither I nor the Captain was briefed on the conditions out here. Apparently, Command felt comfortable in our ability to handle any situation we might run across and not to put us on edge needlessly. This communique just clarifies the situation," Alec volleyed back.

AJ balled his hand into a fist underneath his console but responded in a silkily calm voice. "Respectfully, sir--you know damn well who I was referring to. Starfleet protocol 736-21 clearly states that either an embarked Intelligence Officer or a Task Force Command Officer will brief the Captain and ship's company on all relevant field conditions. I'm surprised that you weren't aware of that, Sir."

Alec glared at Taggart. He felt like shit and wasn't in the mood for this nonsense. "Oh, I'm quite aware of the protocol Mr. Tarrgart." Alec's voice was deceptively quiet, but with an underlying line of emotion that was like that of a coiled snake ready to strike. "I'm also aware of the fact that you aren't the Victory's Intel officer nor the Task Force Command Officer. Perhaps you weren't aware of your position on the ship." Alec finished, normally this type of exchange he thrived on but now he was feeling very drained by the whole exchange.

"Thirty love," Penny said, giggling.

Blackburn fumed as she overheard the last exchange from inside the turbolift. She was still recovering from her dose of radiation poisoning and thus still felt weak. Stepping put onto the bridge, she leveled her gaze at AJ. "That is enough of the pissing contest. The command staff were given the basic background information regarding the region. I got no special notice from Starfleet to suggest otherwise. And until I am informed otherwise by Starfleet Command or Starfleet Intelligence, I alone am the senior Intelligence Officer aboard this ship, which means if you have some information that affects this ship and it's area of operation, you had damned well better tell me. Because I am tired of being kept in the dark about shot that I should have been informed of. Understood?"

Penny pouted and turned back to the helm. She was trying to check their course when the computer gave her an error message. She frowned and entered the command again, and again the computer gave her an error. She began to grow worried that the helm was having trouble and pulled up the error report, but it made no sense. The computer didn't understand her instructions.

She entered commands one more time, and as she did, glanced over and immediately saw the problem: her left hand wasn't moving. She ran another diagnostic on her own systems and found the systemic error was up to 68%. She rerouted her own command pathways and flexed her left hand gently.

In the 6.4 seconds of real time it had taken to run through that, she hoped ops hadn't noticed. She resisted the urge to glance over and check, and instead completed her course check, while making a mental note to see someone as soon as she could.

Feeling she'd allowed the display to go on long enough, the Captain said simply "Ladies..Gentlemen.. we have a job to do." Her voice was soft, but the underlying note of steel in her subtle tones was unmistakable.

Alec turned to her, heard the tone and knew even in his weakened state not to push the envelope any farther. "Of course Captain. Right as always." He agreed easily. "Orders?"

"Same as before. Continue to follow the Bethesda's course over the last two weeks prior to the illness striking her crew. Full scans of the sector around us as we go and search for anything unusual or out of the normal that isn't expected to be there."

Alec nodded in full agreement. "Sounds like a plan to me."

- Transporter Room -

LTJG Chris Halloway stepped off of the transporter pad into the new, but familiar, surroundings. Transporter rooms were essentially the same everywhere. Grunting as he picked up his excessively heavy bags of possessions, the Vulcan/Betazoid hybrid looked over to the transporter operator and gave a brief smile and nod. "Thank you," he said.

As he reached the door with his belongings, he realized he didn't exactly know where he was. Turning back to the operator, he asked, "which transporter room is this?"

"Transporter Room Two."

"So we're in the Primary Module?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thanks again," Chris said as he headed out the door for real this time. Once in the turbolift, he directed it to Deck 4. Looking again at his padd, he confirmed his quarters: Cabin 417. After finding it, he entered the security code provided and entered. Looking around the room, he found it small, but private.

Chris only took a few minutes to put some of the basics in their place. Hanging his bat'leth, mek'leth, lirpa, morning star, and warhammer would come later. Leaving them in the bags, Chris made his way toward the bridge. Captains and XOs usually wanted their new officers to promptly report in.

Just before the turbolift door opened, Chris did a once-over on his uniform, making sure it was all in order without too many wrinkles. Tugging and adjusting, Chris looked forward, waiting for his turn to meet his leaders.

With a hiss, the turbolift opened, and Chris made his way out onto the bridge. Walking around the edge of the bridge, he found the Captain. Standing at attention, Chris stared straight ahead and briskly stated, "Lieutenant Junior Grade Christopher Halloway reporting for duty."

Turning from where she'd been reviewing long range sensor data, the Captain said, "At ease Lieutenant. How was your trip out to join us?"

"It was fine, ma'am. It was a bit of a quick turn-around. I was waiting at Starbase Nine Hundred for your next return, but this mission gave Starfleet a way to get me here sooner. The Concorde is a fine ship, especially for an Intrepid-class. They were saying it was nice to not have all of the first-of-the-class bugs that I had to put up with on the Intrepid. But, I've been itching to get my hands into a Prometheus for a while.

"Are there any immediate needs that I can help with, ma'am?" Chris asked.

"We can work on getting you into the swing of things after you've completed your check-in and gotten settled somewhat. You'll need a sit-rep from the XO. Commander Hunter can get you up to speed on our current actions and then we'll go from there." Kennit told him, with a glance towards Hunter to be certain that he was aware of her expectation that he fill in the new arrival.

"See me when you've gotten yourself acclimated to the Victory and I'll bring you up to speed on our current situation." Hunter told Victory's newest officer.

"Aye aye, sir," Chris responded. He heard the turbolift door open and looked over the XO's shoulder to see who it could be.

Nicole stepped out of the turbolift and crossed the bridge quickly, padd in hand. She came around to the XO's station and put it right in front of him. "Medical report on the crew," she said. "No lasting signs of dehydration." She looked at the unfamiliar and far too straight-standing face and nodded in his direction. "Who's the stiff?"

Taking the PaDD, Alec scanned it quickly. "Thank you Doctor. That is good to hear and know." He looked up from the PaDD, his eyes meeting hers, "You and your staff did an excellent job in treating and containing the problem." His eyes followed her gaze to the officer in question. "That would be Lieutenant junior grade Christopher Halloway."

"Grand, more newbies," she said, stepping away and walking up to her newest charge. "You, Sickbay, five minutes," she said, pointing at Halloway as she passed by. She returned to the turbolift and back to her domain.

Even though Chris had relaxed at the Captain's direction, he froze when Dr. Anderson entered the bridge. Several things hit him at once, overwhelming him. First, was the doctor's beauty. Chris had always been attracted to fair-skinned, brunettes, and she was stunning. Secondly, he could sense her irritation, but dismissed it as a result of the stressful situation Victory had found herself in. Finally and the most overwhelming part, Chris also sensed Dr. Anderson hiding something. His Betazoid sense couldn't identify what it was, but Chris could sense a dark secret of some sort. This mystery only served to enhance his instant and illogical attraction.

Chris' mind started to clear just in time to hear, "You, Sickbay, five minutes," before the doctor swept by on her way out.

Chris blinked a couple times before turning back to the captain. Looking back at her and clearing his head completely he requested, "With your permission, Captain, I'd like to save the medical check-in for last. It's not that I'm trying to avoid it; I've just had a history of that exam taking longer than expected, and I want to get my other check-ins over with and get on to familiarizing myself with the ship's systems."

From the XO's station, Alec quietly muttered, "Oh boy." at the younger officer's request. But he refrained from saying anything else as he knew Rhea had heard him.

The Captain just shook her head, "I'm afraid not. The Doctor would have my head and I need it where it is.. Best to report to Sickbay and get it over with. Trust me.." she added.

Chris smirked at the captain's remark. "Aye aye, ma'am. I'll get right on it." Without further ado, Chris departed the bridge for sickbay.

As Lt. Halloway departed, the Captain walked past where the XO was seated and subtly administered a mild 'thump' with her middle finger to the back of his shoulder. She would normally have thumped him in the back of the head, but was showing consideration for his current state of health and instead, just tapped his shoulder as a reprimand for his soft, but audible comment a moment earlier.

Alec looked up as Rhea thumped him on the shoulder, he was thankful she didn't do more than that. He kept his face neutral but his eyes glinted in mischief.~Probably afraid I'll fall over and feeling like I do, I might~ He thought to himself.

Penny turned again and glanced around, taking stock of who was there. She suddenly giggled, completely out of place and timing, and wondered why she did, then realized it was belatedly for the exchange between Nicole and the new crewman. She sighed, worried that the delay was another symptom. *I'll have to see Nicole again,* she thought. *If only Tommy was here...*

She saw the XO and the nurse side of her took charge, sizing him up. She caught his eye and made a drinking motion. Water cured all.

Alec caught Penny subtly reminding him about drinking water by making a drinking motion. He nodded his head and gave her a wink. That the message was received and understood.

---

 

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