...

Posted on Fri Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:34pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers

3,672 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: USS Victory
Timeline: Morning Briefings

[Conference Room]

0750 hours

The Captain was first to arrive for the scheduled senior staff meeting at 0800. She wanted to see who would arrive on time.. and who would be late. The night before, a message burst had come in from Starfleet Command, and she wanted to get an update on ships current status as well as an update on how things were going now that Dr Anderson Senior had arrived and been aboard for a day. A low simmer of irritation still remained after Dr Anderson II's outburst the day before. Based on the information she’d received from Command, the Captain had a course of action in mind..

Alec drifted in next. He looked around saw Rhea and flashed a smile at her. "See? I'm not late." He bantered playfully at her knowing he just escaped being disciplined the last time he arrived late at a meeting. He had no desire to press his luck.

The Captain merely smiled a little, not speaking.

The doors opened again and Professor Anderson walked in, nodding to the two faces in the room, taking a seat towards the far side of the table, sitting back and crossing his legs.

A moment later the doors opened again and Nicole and Camille walked in. Nicole sat down in a chair halfway down, sitting back and crossing her legs, keeping her eyes from the Captain and the Professor. Camille sat next to her, on the side closer to the Professor. She smiled at those present and gave them a polite wave with her fingers.

Miguel walked into the room with his mug of hot tea in one hand and a PADD in the other as he was reading reports from the previous evening. He looked up and saw who had already arrived and nodded to them "Good morning everyone." he said as he went to his usual seat and sat down.

Cassandra walked in hot on Miguel's heels and slipped into her seat. She nodded to everyone and turned to face the Captain, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

A minute later, Penny walked in and very deliberately walked around the table and to a seat next to Cass. She turned and saw the Professor and lit up, giving a wave before Cass whispered, "beep, beep, Penny," and she roped it in, looking at Nicole and blushing, then turning to the Captain.

Zack had entered quietly and sat in one of the chairs at the far end of the table. He didn't seem to be his usual self these days.

After another minute passed, SPO Summers entered the room and sat down between two empty chairs. She smiled at the group and said, " Hello, " and pulled out her padd and stylus.

Arashi had just woken up and got the message for the briefing. He took a quick sonic shower and put on his uniform. He was ready for the day and wanted to get the briefing done and get on the mission. He arrived at the briefing room, where everyone had gathered. He waved to Nicole, and then sat down. He sat down and waited for the briefing.

For her part, the Captain had not seemed to be paying that much attention while awaiting the arrival of the senior staff. Her attention had been on the PaDD loosely held in one hand. Finally, once everyone had arrived she made a brief show of noting the time, and then said “Improved arrival times..very good.” With a slow look toward the XO she added, “For once..”

Then, “Let’s get started. Mr. Torres, how goes the after-action check of the Ranger?”

"It's fully operational and ready to use when and if needed." he told her. He had gone over every system himself since none of the engineering staff was familiar with it's systems like he was.

“Excellent.” Kennit answered. “And the Victory? Any issues which I should be aware of?” she asked him, vaguely thinking that at times getting the Chief Engineer to divulge information was a bit like trying to pull teeth from a ticked off gundark.

"No ma'am. Everything has been working as it should." he replied. Though he was tempted to say at least until their next battle. Though even he had to admit the last battle was fairly easy for them. So much so he couldn't really call it a battle.

“Security.” The Captain said. “Any issues in your department? Have you instituted a continual watch over the bio-hazard lab following Doctor Anderson’s recommendations?”

Arashi looked at his PADD. "We have security guarding the bio-lab in six hour shifts so that there is guards there as much as possible and escorts to and from the lab for personnel involved in the investigation. As far as issues goes, there is nothing at this time." He said. "I have had the security personnel armed with phaser rifles and had them ready for any boarding actions." He looked to the captain as he finished.

“Very good, thank you Lieutenant.” The Captain answered. “On that note..” Kennit then said. “Doctor Anderson. Which ever one of you feels so inclined, have you made any progress?”

"Possibly," Nicole said. "We're going to attempt using prions to attach to the virus and render it inert. The computer is currently running simulations and will have hopefully a dozen or so options for us to begin experimenting with. We'll cull through the options today and hopefully begin to synthesize trials within another day or so."

“Prions.” Kennit echoed. “And if instead you create an even more deadly viral agent which creates a nightmare disease that will affect the structure of neural tissue? Then what? Prion diseases, as I understand them, are progressive, have no effective treatment options, and are always, ultimately, fatal. What then? We are trying to stop this thing, not make it worse.”

Nicole wasn't sure if the Captain was stating the obvious for everyone else's benefit, or just insulting her. Either way, she wasn't going to waste their time. "Once the first round of trials are complete, we'll review and begin secondary tests to confirm. In the mean time, we'll also be looking into any other methods we can devise."

“You have not answered my concerns Doctor.” The Captain answered. “You are taking a chance of creating something even worse which would not be stoppable.”

"And you have never answered mine, Captain," Nicole said, her voice hard. "One good turn, and all that. Your concerns are perfectly valid. They're also perfectly pointless. If we limit ourselves to only things that carry no risk, we might as well give up now and go chart some stars. We've taken every precaution we can. Obviously we do not wish to create something worse, and we will avoid that as much as possible. We've explored all the safe options, it's time to explore the less safe ones. If you have other suggestions, I'll entertain them, but after three weeks, there's precious little we haven't tried."

Camille thought it useful to speak up, and hopefully reduce the tension of the room. “I had the same concerns, Captain, and raised them yesterday. We’re ensuring that whatever prion we come up with has no impact on normal-type prion proteins of the nervous system. All we want it to do is design something that refolds surface proteins in the virus, either inactivating it or making it susceptible to the host’s immune system. And as Dr. Anderson noted, we’re taking every possible precaution.”

Kennit’s gaze turned to the science officer, dark and intense. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to Dr. Anderson. “Pointless Doctor? I think not. If you screw up the lives of everyone on this ship are in danger.”

"No, Captain," Nicole said. "If I screw up, the lives of everyone on this ship are over. I already know that, as does everyone else sitting here. Rehashing that is what's pointless. So, if you want us to scrap this prion idea, order me to stop and I will, but I'd appreciate a suggestion to replace it with."

The instant urge to lash out flared in the Captains dark eyes, though her facial expression never wavered. “What precautions are you taking to ensure there is no chance of an accidental release of the altered virus?” Kennit questioned.

"The synthesizer is isolated from the air supply in the room and can be vented to space on command, or if the computer reads a breach of the inner seal. The entire lab is cut from the ship's air supply and can be beamed into space as well. No samples are outside the containment box and if anything is done to breach the box, everything is beamed out and the air is sucked out of the room. The same precautions we had in the shuttlebay, the same precautions I detailed to you two weeks ago, last week and two days ago. Do we go ahead with this, or not, Captain?"

Zack listened to the exchanges between the captain and the new doctor.

“I do not like your tone Doctor. Last week, and two weeks before that we were discussing the study of a deadly virus, not attempting to genetically modify it. If this is the necessary option to attempt to break it then do it. But do not expect me to sit back and not question actions which could put this ship and it’s crew at even greater risk.” The Captain stated, her voice now holding a note of ire in its otherwise deceptively calm level.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Nicole deadpanned, then settled back in her chair, crossing her legs.

The Captain’s gaze never wavered, dark with a smoldering hint of almost hostility for a moment before she turned away in a very slow, deliberate movement. “All right then.” she said, her voice mild but the underlying warning was unmistakable. “The ship is in operational condition, and our medical and science staff are confident they won’t inadvertently kill us all with their experimentation. So, let’s move on. Starfleet, in it’s infinite wisdom has decided that as we were the ones to capture that pirate vessel, should therefore as a matter of course investigate information retrieved from that rattle-trap of a ship they were flying. Starfleet believes there is a Starbase of sorts established where the pirates operating in this area are operating out of. We’ve been tasked with going to take a look. I think that all things considered, taking Victory into a potential hostile situation would be unwise. So, we’ll be using the Ranger and going in undercover to pay this Starbase a visit and see what we can learn, without letting on that we’re there to gather information.”

Miguel wasn't sure if he liked the logic behind this. He was also curious as to how Starfleet could have come up with that theory without much time to investigate this. But he decided not to question it. "Who will you be taking with you Captain?" he asked.

Summers looked up from her padd and directly at the Captain.. "Captain, can you surmise that this Star Base might be 'multi-alien?' If you are looking for volunteers that *will* obey orders *and* fight, if necessary,*also* upon your orders or if attacked, I'd wish to volunteer. "

Her gaze traveled from Torres to Summers, then focused on the XO. “I won’t be taking the lead on this, Commander Hunter will be leading this away team. Who he opts to take with him is at his discretion. I will say that science and medical staff will remain here for obvious reasons, and I want Mr. Torres to remain aboard as well in the event a technical issue arises which requires his expertise.”

Summers nodded and turned to Commander Hunter. " Commander, what I have said to the Captain, I also pledge to you, *if* I may be part of this mission. If not, I will also 'understand.' "

Alec met Rhea's look and then turned to look at the others. "Thank you Chief." He said his gaze settling on Summers. Before he spoke again. "Penny, Mr. Holbridge, Mr. Tanaka...." His gaze settled on Summers again. "And you chief."

Summers nodded her head in a 'thank you,' at the Commander and slightly smiled.

Penny lit up. *Pirates and plaguers and parents, oh my,* her mind chanted.

“You may wish to include a few of the Marine officers as well. They will provide a good guard force.” Kennit commented,

Alec gave her a sideways glance. "I'll consider it." He answered smoothly.

Already annoyed with the Doctor, the XOs comment did not sit well with the Captain either, it showed in the flash of ire in the depth of her dark eyes though her facial expression remained neutral as ever.

Summers wrote on her padd and sent the message to Tanaka's: " Depending on what we're supplied, re-arms, I will also have my sword. " She then thought to herself...' Under cover...that sounds very interesting..'

Alec caught the flash of anger in Rhea's eyes and he knew he had struck a nerve. He hadn't rejected her suggestion for Marines to go with the away team. He said he would consider and he would. He wasn't wet behind the ears. He knew how to make up an away team and he wanted it small. Though adding a couple of Marines or Logan wouldn't be a bad idea. He'd think on it.

Having heard the Captain's order that he would be staying on the ship. Miguel just nodded and then sent Raylen a message through his PADD that he'd probably be spending more time on the bridge and she'd be in charge in Engineering.

Zack spoke up. "Captain: Of course I will obey your orders, and for the record, I object to biological weapons and I will do whatever is in my power to stop whoever has one."

"Hear, hear," Thomas said from the back of the room.

Camille’s face scrunched in an almost-frown. “Pardonnez-moi if I misunderstood, but I sincerely hope that that was always our plan. To destroy some of the most dangerous weapons ever made, perversions of everything a life scientist should stand for.”

Nicole flinched slightly. "One would think...." she muttered, giving a hard look to her left.

Thomas felt the gaze but didn't say anything.

“Children...” Kennit said, her dark gaze falling on both of the Andersons in turn as her very clear warning carried clearly regardless of the velvet softness of her voice.

Arashi looked at his PADD after Summers sent her message. Sure that sounds good. If we are going to use swords as part of our disguise then we need to make sure that they are sharp. Don't forget to check your balde. A warrior's blade is his or her's soul. He then sent her the message back as he watched the rest of the crew speaking. The captain seemed angry but he really wasn't paying attention to the conversations.

Summers read Tanaka's reply, and scribbled her answer. " It will be sharp, don't worry about that..it's not really part of my disguise, I keep one handy for various reasons. I think it will do so for this mission. " Summers looked up from her padd back at the Commander for a second, and felt her stomach and insides tighten a bit then calm down. She closed her eyes for a second then looked at the cieling real quickly before getting back to the discussion.


“While work continues on the virus here, the mission to gather information at this suspected pirate operations point is to be just that. You will carry a cargo of alcoholic libations, primarily created through the judicious use of our replicator but each bottle will be subtly enhanced with some of Mr Torrres’ outstanding home brew. Your cover is that you’re coming here searching for trade. No fight. No stirring up the locals. No Starfleet insignia. We want information on who is operating here, and a rough guess at the level of illicit black market only. Are we clear?” she asked.

"Arrr!...re we going to be needing to change our appearance so that we're not recognized by anyone who knows the Starfleet Officers in the area is what I was asking," Penny said quickly, trying to look as small as possible as the Captain shot down her enthusiasm with a glare.

"That's a good idea Penny." Alec chimed in and warming to the idea of again being in disguise, not yet seeing Rhea's glare "We can get eye patches and tattoos maybe even a parrot."

Despite not being on that mission, Camille smiled with glee. "Please take plenty of pictures before you go!" Camille said happily. She then turned more serious when she noticed the Captain's glare. "For identification and tracking purposes, of course. In case we need to find you later."

Rising from her seat, the Captain began to slowly prowl around the table in a counterclockwise motion. “As is standard Section 31 protocol for undercover operations within non-Federation aligned territory, should you run afoul of local authorities and your identities be discovered, you will be disavowed. Your personnel records will show you’ve been AWOL for some time, and all knowledge of your actions and activies will be denied.” Having reached Lt. Naroot’s seat by this time, the Captain lightly brushed her fingers along the Lieutenant’s shoulder for a moment, leaning down slightly to add in a tone conveying a subtle hint of malice, “I’m sure they’d have quite a good time questioning you..”

"Klaat-" Nicole growled.

"Lieutenant," Cassandra snapped, her voice quiet but authoritative. She shook her head gently and Nicole kept quiet, but was glaring hard.

The Captain met the irate glower of her Chief Medical Officer with eyes that betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Cold and hard, she seemed almost to hope the Doctor would challenge her. Her words, hard they may seem, were none the less true. The away team would enter an unknown station, in a region where the Federation held no authority. It was not a game they were playing and she spoke as she had out of a genuine concern that her crew return unharmed. Kennit had spent a lifetime deeply embroiled in such situations.

Summers looked at both the Captain and Commander. "Alcohol? What are we to do if their crew 'insists' that we 'hoist a few with them?' I can not speak for the others, but I have not consumed alcohol to excess in..I can't remember when.."

Zack responded. "Sickbay can give you something to counter the effects of the alcohol, so you won't get drunk. We just have to dress like normal people...try not to stand out. The less obvious you are, the better the mission has a chance to succeed."

Summers looked at Zack. "Lieutenant, I don't know if one would compare me as 'normal people,' as for not 'standing out,' I think my height might cause 'some' to look."

“If basic details need to be explained to you, perhaps you should not be a part of the away team. Your inexperience and need for hand-holding will be a hindrance and place the rest of the mission team into danger.” Kennit snapped.

Summers eyes blinked. " I wasn't asking for any 'explanations' Captain. And I promise to not hold anyone's hand, unless they ask me. "

Miguel had a slight smile on his face as he observed what was going on. He was surprised by the Captain's rising temper. But he wasn't sure if it was because he would have lost it awhile ago in her position or for another reason.

Zack looked at the captain. "Captain, forgive me if I'm overstepping." Then he looked at Summers. "I'm sure that we will encounter aliens taller then you, so your height shouldn't be an issue...in fact, it might be a plus." He waited to see if the captain was going to wring his neck. "The idea is, you're a trader...or a scrounger....stay in that role, and you should be fine. In fact, I would be happy to partner up with you for this assignment." He looked back to the captain.

Summers looked at Lieutenant Logan for a moment. Then for another moment. She raised her right eyebrow and slightly smiled. "Done." She replied.

Kennit rolled her eyes, “You all have your orders. The away mission will launch in 24 hours. Dismissed.”

Alec listened as watched the exchange between Rhea, Summers and Logan. For his own part he wasn't thrilled with Logan asking to be on the away team as he not Rhea was leading it. He kept his irritation to himself. He would rethink his original away team announcement including adding Marines to it.

Not waiting, the Captain exited the conference room.

With the briefing apparently over and the Captain having already departed, Miguel stood up and excused himself.

Alec watched as first Rhea and then Miguel stood up and left the room. Shaking his head, he headed for the door. He needed to prepare for the mission as well as talk to Rhea, to check on her. Her show of temper in the meeting worried him.

Camille looked one at a time to both Doctors Anderson. “Venez vous-en, we need to get to the lab.”

Nicole nodded and followed her out, Thomas following behind.

Arashi headed to his quarters to prepare for the mission. He had to grab a few things and get them ready for the mission. Now they were going to track down whatever and whoever did this to the crew of the ship that they investigated and hopefully destroy them.

Zack stood up and left the room with Penny sticking close, trying to hide next to him.

Cassandra watched the others file out and, when the room was empty, finally exhaled.

 

RSS Feed