Post Number: 160 *Answers*

Posted on Wed Oct 23rd, 2024 @ 10:06pm by Captain Marius Pontmercy & Lieutenant JG Celine Quinn & Ensign Erin Couldis & Commander Jordan Haines & Lieutenant Commander Michael McMahon & Lieutenant David Chambers & Lieutenant Jude Haines & Lieutenant Amanda Hemsley & Lieutenant Marty Stokes & Lieutenant T'Shas Cruz & Lieutenant V'Lar & Major Charlotte Thrace & Master Chief Petty Officer K'Ral De Bruinhiena
Edited on on Wed Oct 23rd, 2024 @ 11:38pm

1,886 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Secrets

On:

Marius slammed his hands down on the rests of his chair in frustration as he watched the empty view screen. What in the hell had just happened? HOW had it happened? He tapped his comm badge angrily, and said,

"I want all Senior Staff to report to the Conference room, now." He was not one to speak harshly, but he was angry, worried, and out of time. He stood, glanced at Mike, and walked out of the room.

He had expected to be the first person to arrive, and so was not disappointed. He was too angry to sit, so instead he stood behind his chair, facing out the viewport away from the door.

Mike ran after the Captain. “What the hell sir. We have to find him. “ he was in a panic and could only imagine the holy hell that his Aunt was creating herself. Marius did not turn, but held up a hand.

"Commander, please have a seat. We will get to the bottom of this, but panicking does no one any good, least of all your Uncle."

T'Shas entered the Conference room and took a seat. Marius turned to ensure that McMahon had followed his order, and then returned to the window, silently seething.

Mike sat down. Marius was right and he knew he couldn’t do anything now. But the sooner people made it in the sooner they could find his uncle.

Jordan entered the room, looking serious in a way that hadn't often been the case for the man. This time was different...this time was personal.

Marty walked into the conference room with her padd that she had put all of the information she’d gathered from her examination of the Admiral.

The heavy footsteps as Charlotte stepped into the room were probably the best indication of just how furious she was, even if her face didn't give it away, she didn't take kindly to unknown aliens turning up, putting some of her people in sickbay and running off into the wild blue yonder with a Starfleet Admiral. She leaned against the wall. V'Lar wasn't far behind her, taking a seat.

Erin wasn't Senior Staff, but for some reason had been contacted by the Captain to make an appearance. She slipped in quietly, following behind Doctor Hemsley, MCPO De Bruinhiena, and Lieutenant Chambers.

The Master Chief seemed to be the most annoyed out of the bunch, then again, he was also the only one out of uniform since he was off duty. His ears were twitching atop his head as he sat down in the conference room, trying not to think about the rump roast he had sunk his canines into, the delicious beefy juices and flavor had hit his tongue just a split second before the meeting was called.

Jude Haines was the last to arrive, looking frustrated and angry, and with a weapon strapped to his hip that showed that he had been ready... but for an enemy he couldn't face. He took a seat, wanting answers.

Finally, Pontmercy turned. His features were set in a mask of anger and fury, and instead of sitting he pushed his chair out of the way and leaned against the table, palms outstretched and holding his weight.

"Admiral Bradley was taken by an unknown Alien race. They were almost impossible to spot, and somehow made their way through our shields and defenses," he spat out. "We need to get him back, and figure out what the hell they wanted him for. So how do we accomplish this?"

“I’m going through the event in my head. Each time they appeared in front of us it was as if space in that spot had stopped. I want to work with Chambers to see if we can figure out how they did this.” Mike said.

"Yeah, that is as accurate a description as any," Marius allowed. He glanced down the table at David. "Chambers, as soon as we are done here get with Commander McMahon. I want to know how the hell they managed it. What else people, come on! I want solutions and answers."

Marty was in a bit of a shock. Normally, she’d have been able to sense the presence of the beings that had come aboard but in this instance, she felt nothing and as soon as the admiral disappeared, she had ceased to sense his presence as well. “Captain,” she said looking at Pontmercy. “I sensed nothing from the beings even though they were on board and in close proxy me. Furthermore, I could no longer feel the presence of the admiral just before he disappeared.”

"I have ensign Thrace working through data on the aliens that goes back eight years." V'Lar said

"I hate to bring this up but we have more concerns than just the Admiral." Charlotte said.

"Which are," Marius asked, fighting to keep from yelling. He wasn't mad at his crew, but the frustration he felt at being so helpless was overwhelming.

Mike spoke up. "We have an enemy who can show up and attack and we could not see them until they seemed to allow themselves to be seen. We know nothing about them, except they seem extremely advanced in technology. The only bright side is the fact that LtJG Eschenauer was able to spot the difference in space when they appeared."

"The additional concern is that this alien race knew where the Admiral was, they now know the position of this base, when we go and get him back we're going to be bringing him back here, and at that point the cycle repeats." Charlotte said "They know where we are, the tactical position of this base is no longer secure."

"You're suggesting that we move the base," Pontmercy asked?

"Yes sir I am." Charlotte said "The aliens knew where he was and their attack was surgical and that made our defences look completely inadequate, heavens help us if they come for blood. Tactically we're faced with a two stage problem, first how to get the Admiral back and second how to ensure that the aliens don't have an easy time searching for him once he's rescued, moving the base's location forms part of the latter step."

"Fine, let's work on that, sure," Marius said. "What I would love to know is how the figured out he was here in the first place."

“I think that is a bigger issue than moving the base. Even if we move the base, we have to figure out how they knew he was here. Do we know if medical found anything while he was down there?” Mike asked.

Chambers had slipped in during the exchange from his duties. The Admiral's disappearance, and the circumstances surrounding it, had offended him personally. The base was his responsibility, and any unauthorized boarding party chafed him to the core. Yet, the manner in which the incident had happened brought two possibilities to mind. Either the Xindi, or worse.....Breach of time? He'd voice his opinions when he got the chance.

"What I can do right now..." Mike said pulling up the screen in the confernce room.. "is to show you what their ship looks like, and what they look like. Other than that, I don't know much. The only person who did was my unc.. Admiral Bradley. It could be in classified files. We might be able to get some more information if we get access to them."

"Is this from the same data that I've got people churning through?" V'Lar asked

“Who can access them!” Jordan demanded as he stared at Mike. “I’ll go rattle some damn cages, I am quite good at that, trust me.”

Marius held up his hands.

"Let's focus, people," he said with a sigh. "Lieutenant V'Lar, get with Lieutenant Commander McMahon after this meeting to determine information gathering. Eschenauer was able to figure out how to see them, at least briefly, and I want to use this information to find a way to track them down. Chambers, you get with Eschenauer and figure this out."

"You said Hannah was working data on these guys?" Charlotte asked looking at the Intelligence chief who nodded "That's my stop then and let's hope she's got something."

"No V'Lar. What you got is the unclassified stuff, which really isn't a lot. The classified stuff I can talk to my Aunt about and see if I can get access to it." Mike said.

V'Lar nodded "Let's be clear about one thing." she said "The minute we walk out of this meeting this classified information does not exist, we've never heard of it, never linked it to either the attack or Admiral Bradley, we don't know the first thing about who the aliens are or why they abducted the Admiral, and we're certainly not going to put any of this into log entries or work records" she paused "It's been a bad day already let's not make it worse by digging ourselves into a hole with internal affairs."

"Ensign Couldis," Marius said, "I want you to work with the Medical department and Lieutenant Stokes. As a Betazoid, your ability to hear thoughts and read minds is going to be helpful when we get to the actual searching for the Admiral."

"Well I will have to be fairly close," Erin said, speaking up for the first time. As a junior officer, she was feeling out of place, and it was written all over her expression.

"Even so, it may be useful," Marius said.

"Aye Captain," the Ensign said.

“Together we should be able to sense their emotions well enough,” Marty said looking at Couldis. “Two minds are always better than one.”

“We should do some checking with our contacts around us.” Jude spoke up. “Surely someone else saw them and may give us a lead to where they headed.”

“Also why Bradley?” Jordan growled. “They targeted him. They wanted him.”

"We can assume it was regarding something that happened eight years ago, but I don't like making plans without all of the information," Marius said. "De Bruinhiena, I want you to work with Engineering and Operations, see what you can figure out. Cruz, you're with Ensign Thrace. Lieutenant Eschenauer took scans of their craft, maybe you can figure out their biological makeup." Standing up straight he said, "you all have your orders. I don't have to remind you what's at stake. Figure this out. You're dismissed."

Off:

Captain Marius G. Pontmercy
Commanding Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Junior Grade Celine Quinn
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Ensign Erin Couldis
Assistant Chief Counselor
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant JG T'Shas Cruz
Chief Science Officer
USS Arcadia/ Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Commander Mike McMahon
Chief Operations Officer
USS Arcadia/ Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Junior Grade V'Lar
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Arcadia/Starbase Obsidian

First Lieutenant Charlotte Thrace
Marine CO
USS Arcadia/Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Junior Grade Marty Stokes
Chief Counselor
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Commander Jordan Haines
Executive Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Jude Haines
Chief Security Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant David Chambers
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant Amanda Hemsley, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

Master Chief Petty Officer K'Ral De Bruinhiena
Chief of the Boat
USS Arcadia / Starbase Obsidian

 

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