Post Number: 301 *Getting Information*

Posted on Mon Oct 20th, 2025 @ 11:25am by Captain Marius Pontmercy & Lieutenant Commander Michael McMahon

967 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A New Beginning

On:

Marius exited the turbolift and was once again standing in the Operations center of the Starbase. It never stopped surprising him just how large the room was, and by extension the entire Starbase. How they had managed to bring it to the Delta Quadrant was still a marvel. He scanned the room, and saw McMahon standing by a console. He crossed the distance between them and when he was finally beside the man, spoke.

"Any news, Commander?"

McMahon looked up from the console, his expression a mixture of focus and weariness.

"Plenty of data, Captain—though not much of it what we’d call good news. Traffic control is holding steady, but I’m seeing supply shipments running behind schedule again. Engineering is still trying to get a handle on the latest power fluctuations; they’re minor, but recurring often enough to be irritating. And Intelligence hasn’t pushed through any updates since yesterday, so we’re flying a bit blind on the Synthulan front."

He paused, tapping the console to pull up a schematic.
"I’ve redirected extra teams to logistics and systems monitoring, just to keep the place running smooth. Nothing critical yet, sir, but… I’d say it feels like calm seas before a storm."

Marius frowned, taking in all of what Michael had said.

"The supply shipments running behind schedule is going to be an issue- especially with the addition of the Ocampa. Can we get an updated eta?" He did not like the idea of running low on things they needed. "I have a meeting with Lieutenant Chambers later today- I will speak with him about the fluctuations. We need to make sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible around here. We have no idea why the Kazon left the planet, but something may have chased them off and we need to be ready." Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, trying to hide just how tired he was. "When things calm down here I am planning on sending a team back to the Alpha Quadrant. Hopefully they can pick up survivors, and maybe get an idea of what exactly is happening there."

McMahon exhaled through his nose, fingers dancing over the console as he pulled up the most recent cargo run logs.

"Latest word is that the supply convoy is still two days behind, Captain. I’ve been in contact with their lead freighter—they’re hitting gravimetric shear pockets on their route in, slowing them down more than planned. I’ve already drafted an alternate corridor that’ll cut down transit time if Command authorizes the detour, but until then we’re at their mercy."

He hesitated, then lowered his voice slightly.
"As for the Ocampa—our current stores can stretch, but only if we tighten rationing protocols across non-essential departments. It won’t be popular, but it’ll buy us breathing room if those ships slip any further behind."

Mike straightened, the edge of tension in his shoulders evident.
"Understood about the power systems. If Lieutenant Chambers can smooth out the fluctuations, it’ll make everything else a hell of a lot easier. And… you’re right about the Kazon. Something pushing them off their own hunting grounds isn’t exactly comforting. If we’re sending people back to the Alpha Quadrant, I’ll have Ops work up a readiness package for long-range support, just in case they run into the same kind of surprises out there."

"That's not a bad idea," Marius stated. "Please do that. We are going to have to come up with an easier and faster way of traversing the distance in the future- especially as Ocampa is becoming out home base. But for now, this will work." He sighed, glancing out the view screen. "Anything else?"

McMahon hesitated a moment, then gave a small shake of his head.

"Nothing that’s going to ruin our day, Captain—just the usual headaches of running a city in the middle of nowhere. Docking queues are longer than I’d like, but manageable. Civilian traffic is already starting to double what we projected when we got here, so we’ll need to expand berthing sooner rather than later. And… morale’s holding. People are tired, but they’re working. They know what’s at stake."

He tapped a control, bringing up another schematic.
"I’ve also been coordinating with Commander Callister and her Starfighter division. They’re rotating patrols tighter around the system and assisting with traffic control—makes arrivals smoother and keeps our defensive net sharp at the same time. Her pilots have been quick to adapt to base-side operations, which frees up my Ops teams to stay focused on logistics. And on the broader side of things, I’ve been working with Lieutenant McMahon in Strategic Operations—he’s been integrating fleet readiness projections with my supply models so we can match resources to deployment plans. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s keeping us ahead of the curve."

Mike glanced back at Pontmercy, a wry edge to his tone.
"I’ll have the alternate corridor plan on your desk within the hour, along with readiness projections for a long-range team if Command gives the go-ahead. Beyond that… we’re steady, for the moment. At least until someone decides to test just how well our ‘home base’ can hold up under pressure."

"They can attempt it, at their peril," Marius said. "It sounds like you have a handle on things, Mike. I appreciate your hard work. Let me know if anything comes up& and I'll be looking for that report," he said with a small smile, and headed for his ready room.

Off:

Captain Marius G. Pontmercy
Commanding Officer
Starbase Obsidian

Lt Cmdr Mike McMahon
Chief Operations Officer
Starbase Obsidian

 

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