Emergence: Part 1

Posted on Wed Nov 1st, 2023 @ 6:57pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis & Lieutenant Jackson Smith & Lieutenant Soto Gantt

1,364 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: Bajoran Wormhole, Gamma Quadrant, DS18
Timeline: 23 August, 2396, 1700 Hours

[ON]

Malcom stood by the window in his Ready Room, waiting for Lieutenant Smith to arrive. They'd dropped out of warp not long ago and he knew that the Bajoran Wormhole was not far away, even though he had yet to see it. Starfleet had banned all travel through the wormhole until the situation was resolved. Malcom was eager to get started for multiple reasons, including the fact that a Bajoran patrol craft was about to find out they'd been left behind. He needed to brief Jackson on one more detail before they could start their transition to the Gamma Quadrant.

They had just dropped out of warp and Jackson knew that things would be happening soon. His heart raced slightly as the excitement of the pending action flowed through him. He took a quick breath to steady himself and chimed at the captain's door.

"Come in," Malcom said. He turned and watched Jackson come in. "Don't even think about saluting or anything. Grab a seat." Malcom did the same and as he looked at Jackson, he couldn't help but be proud of the young man. He'd changed so much in the past few years and even though his transition to intelligence had been under duress, he'd proven himself more than capable."

"I know that you spoke with both Commander Rees and Commander t'Aegis about this upcoming reconnaissance insertion. I wanted to hear any questions you might have about it and then what your expected course of action will be," Malcom said.

Jackson walked in and sat down. He shook his head slightly and chuckled, "Yeah, I got the mission. Just to be clear, you know this is crazy, right?" His right eyebrow turned up, "I mean we are to fly out of the wormhole, in just space suits? Assess the situation and get back? Floating out there in space with no protection? "

"You know, when you say it that way it makes me question my command prerogative," Malcom said. He sighed. "I know it sounds crazy but we've done a lot of crazier things." He paused. "At least a few crazier things. And the suits you're going to be wearing are up-armored and have their own propulsion systems. Your job is to get in, see what's going on, and beam that information back to us. This is strictly an intel-gathering mission."

Jackson sighed as well, "Well crazy seems to be what I am best at..." His eyes darkened and he leaned forward, "If we are going to get you good intel, we will need some sort of portable sensor. Otherwise, we are just going by sight. I am sure Lieutenant Gantt can get us something. Which means, I will need him to run it and if something goes wrong. If you can spare Commander t'Aegis? She will be useful if we encounter any resistance. Also, Chief Stephens when things go sideways as they will."

Malcom was nodding as Jackson read off his requested crew. He wasn't surprised at the names. They had all worked well together in the past, especially on Quinor VI.

"Approved," Malcom said. "And I know they will go sideways so make sure that you've got contingencies and more contingencies."

"Great! We will get started planning contingencies. Let's just name this mission Contingencies Mission. I think it sounds better than Crazy Ass Mission." Jackson stood up chuckling. Before departing, he looked the captain in the eye, "We will get it done." Jackson left quickly, there was a lot to do.

---

Jackson looked across the conference table. He couldn't help but smile, this group of individuals had been through a lot together. And it seemed, they had a lot yet to do. He took a deep breath, "Everyone knows the plan. Gantt, once we get on the other side, we need to gain as much information as possible. Have you made any headway on a portable sensor?"

"Plenty. We have something fast, reconfigurable, portable, and, thanks to custom coding, returns plenty of fast short-range data." Gantt folded his hands in front of him on the table. "As soon as I solve the random circuit burn-outs it will be ready to use."

"Great, do your best to solve that. And any extra range on the sensors will be useful." He looked at each of them, "We are going out into the middle of space with no ship near for safety, and no idea what we are going to encounter. Any thoughts on that? Give me some worst-case scenarios."

"Death, capture, interrogation, torture, extorsion, injuries of varying degrees," Rhiana stated very matter-of-factly. "Not necessarily in this order." While she appeared outwardly calm in these scenarios, she was anything but. There was a time, not too long ago actually, when she could not have cared less whether she lived or died - or so she used to tell herself. But her situation had changed considerably since then. Protecting Xavi was her highest priority and while she was determined to return to the Firebird alive, she could not help being concerned with what-ifs. "Malfunction of the scanning equipment," she added, forcing her mind back to the problem at hand, "An armada of hostile vessels, a completely destroyed space station. Should I go on?"

"I was going to say a worst case we are cut off from the ship, lose comms, and have to survive on our own for a few months," said Gantt. He gestured towards Rhiana. "But the Chief Tactical Officer covered all of that and more. Succinctly."

Even though Rhiana did not exactly smirk, but there was something in her expression that could be interpreted as humourless mirth. "What you describe is merely a temporary setback, Lieutenant Soto. We will not be using a shuttle. This sortie will be made in EVA suits. If we are cut off from the ship, our chances of survival for an extended period of time are close to none. Unless we are picked up by enemy forces or, possibly but unlikely, by survivors from the station."

Jackson listened to the back and forth. Rhiana replied with her expected efficiency. "The commander makes a good point. We won't have much chance to do anything if we are cut off. Let's get into more specifics of stuff that we can do. For example, if the entrance is mined, do we have the equipment to disable the mines?"

"I was just saying worst case. In specifics, the portable scanner is built into a large frame that could act as a kind of sled for other equipment," said Gantt. "You figure out what you want to bring and I'll make it happen."

"We can bring some of our toys from the SCIF along if we have a pack sled. It will help with contingencies." Charles added. "I think I saw something that can work to disarm any door charges or we might just trigger the charges from a distance." He shrugged as he offered his thoughts.

Tapping on his PADD while Charles talked, Gantt said, "I've send over the schematics of the sled I built with the portable scanner. I've marked off space that would block access for the equipment. Otherwise, that's the space you have to work with."

Jackson nodded as the discussion continued, "Great, Charles work on a list of items that will fit in that space. This is going to be one of our most unusual assignments. Let's dig into the specifics of what we might see..."

[OFF]
Commander Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Jackson Smith
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Lieutenant Soto Gantt (NPC by Leed)
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Chief Petty Officer Charles Stephens Jr.
Chief of the Boat / Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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