Post #311: Skulduggery and Salvage Rights

Posted on Thu Apr 9th, 2026 @ 6:06pm by Major Charlotte Thrace & Lieutenant V'Lar

809 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A New Beginning
Location: Astrometrics
Timeline: current

There were a few positive things about the current situation. Without an imminent threat to the base it gave time for the likes of Charlotte and V'Lar to turn their attention to the Alpha Quadrant and answering the question of how best to run operations there, in truth they weren't even close to being able to do so - they lacked up to date intelligence, the ability to move freely and above all a formulated strategy. All of which made every moment that the pair could get Astrometrics focused on the Alpha Quadrant much more valuable. V'Lar was working the console while Charlotte leaned against the other side of it.

"So run me through this ears idea of yours." Charlotte said
"Simple enough." V'Lar said "We've assumed based on the situation when we left the Alpha Quadrant that it's likely by now that the Cardassians have taken over DS9 and reoccupied Bajor."
"Fair assumption based on tactical strength." Charlotte said
"If so then that means that the Cardassian computer network extends to the Federation sensor posts that are on the Gamma side of the Bajoran wormhole." V'Lar said "That gives us an access point."
"How?" Charlotte asked
"Empok Nor." V'Lar said "Cardassian Nor type station, sister station to DS9, abandoned by the Cardassians prior to the end of the occupation of Bajor, but still to the best of our knowledge operational and tied into the Cardassian network. It's the perfect listening post. We use Empok Nor to relay intelligence through the network to the sensor posts. And then somehow get it from there..."
"You don't sound sure which is odd for you." Charlotte said
"Lieutenant Eschenhauer is working on the how we shift the data through the network... and I'll be putting a team together to figure out the how we pick it up on the other end." V'Lar said
"Sounds like a minor away mission is being planned." Charlotte said
"To Empok Nor... yeah we'll need one." V'Lar said "Just to program the computer."

Charlotte looked at the large screen in the room and smiled "Empok Nor's right near the Badlands." she said
"So?" V'Lar said
"So there's a load of old Maquis hideouts in the Badlands." Charlotte said "And with that potentially a few raiders."
"They're pretty old by todays standards." V'Lar said
"Yes but critically not Starfleet." Charlotte said "Our biggest problem with operating in the Alpha Quadrant is doing so without having half a fleet of hostile craft bearing down on us. We can outfit raiders with up to date once we get them. They're a little bulkier than runabouts, so we have the Renee Picard slipstream in drop off the away team for Empok Nor and then do salvage in the Badlands while the away team goes to work and pick them up on the way out. But that's not going to help us with the more troublesome issue - Romulan territory."
"Meaning Tal Shiar." V'Lar said "More competent than the Cardassians and highly paranoid and likely even more so after the Synthulans, my guess is they monitor ships in their territory. Raiders won't cut it there long term... once or twice yeah sure but beyond that? Once they figure out how we're operating which they will it'll be shoot on sight."
"And we haven't got the ships to risk on that sort of thing." Charlotte said
"What if we did?" V'Lar said
"Meaning?" Charlotte said

"Family doth hath its privileges." V'Lar said "Prior to the destruction of Romulus my mother was the commander of a Romulan vessel, she traded the captain's chair for the Senate after the Shinzon incident but... I know where the ship is."
"Go on." Charlotte said
"Minos Tureth." V'Lar said bringing the planet up on the screen in the lab "Romulan colony bit of a backwater largely ignored and forgotten by the Romulan Government, somewhere between three and four hundred people in terms of size, my mother was the last Senator for it before the Empress took power after Romulus was destroyed." she smiled "The IRW S'harien was her ship and it was kept on the planet - with the rise of the Empress, those who didn't entirely support the state of affairs started hiding things that would otherwise bring the fury of the Empress down on them."
"Well our biggest problem right now is that we can't build ships." Charlotte said "So if we're going to rebuild Starfleet and rebuild the Federation then its going to be, at least at first, in a manner never seen before and I'll be damned if we're going to pass up the opportunity to get our hands on a Romulan vessel. And while we're at it, if those colonists want out..."
"Then let's get them out." V'Lar said

***************

Major Charlotte Thrace
Marine CO
Starbase Obsidian

Lieutenant V'Lar
Chief Intelligence Officer
Starbase Obsidian

 

RSS Feed