Re-Group
Posted on Thu Nov 3rd, 2011 @ 10:39am by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Cailean Fox, M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Cedric Shepherd & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Lieutenant JG Myles Hane & Lieutenant JG Lucy Carter & Captain Alexsa Kendrick
1,879 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Unmasked Miners
Location: Briefing Room, Deck 1
Timeline: Current
ON:
Elsie stood at the head of the briefing table, the most actively involved officers and crew assembled before her. She had already begun the briefing as the recently returned away team had filed in and took to their seats, a look of anticipation on everyone's faces as they had rushed straight from the shuttlebay. The captain nodded to Commander Michaels as she sat down last as she continued on with her dialogue.
"...which means," she took in a slight breath to pause and allowed the room to settle into silence, "that the Romulans now know that we're here and, most probably, that we are now aware of what they are up to."
It was difficult for Elsie Halliwell to relinquish control of any situation in life, most noticeably when it came to the realm of her command. She was staunch but approachable, and yet she harboured an essence of responsibility that engulfed her being; her mannerisms. If her pips didn't denote her position amongst the crew, then her tone and demeanour most certainly did. And yet, in this time of emotional trial (the addition of her daughter now residing on board) she felt utterly powerless to exact a committed decision in relation to mission specifications. In truth, she felt lost and distracted. But, with the turn of the tide now placing her crew... and loved ones into possible danger, the old stoic Elsie Halliwell was back.
She turned directly to Michaels. "We need to devise an approach to this situation that is sensitive to the Prime Directive as we know it whilst also safeguarding the Taylforthians both on the surface and on the installation whilst also, in tandem, removing the threat of the Romulans." She shook her head and placed an exasperated open palm on her forehead, the usual prickings of a tension headache forming about her temples. "We haven't even begun to consider about what we're to do about the floundering inhabitants on the waters." She paused, refocused and cleared her mind. "We need options, and lots of them."
"For the sake of putting it on the table," Shepherd said thoughtfully, "I don't know that the Romulans are a threat. Yet." He gave a slight shrug, as though unwilling to admit it, but continued, "they stood us off when we approached their operation, but we're still in a 'no shots fired' situation. We'd be remiss to class them as a threat right away. Suspicious, certainly," he nodded. "They're plundering a neutral system's resources in a flagrant disregard for sentient ethics, especially given the distress of the Taylforthians. But I'm uncertain the Romulans can be called a threat to us at this stage."
Blake coughed at Shepherd's comment to mask his scoffing that the Romulans posed no threat. Regardless they were certainly a slippery race and normally once that dogged every step of the Federation. Shepherd gave no indication that he noticed.
Kendrick thought about adding something from the side where she stood. Although her orders to be on this barge were to be an observer and not a participant, knowing that Romulans were involved made her uneasy--her dealings with the species before now had been... strained. Ultimately, she thought it best, for now, to remain an observer, but it by no means stopped her mind from working and thinking about Romulans and the past. The Romulans are a secretive people. They believe that misdirection is the key to survival, they never behave as the enemy would expect, and they never let anyone know their true strength. One thing was clear though, the Ranger crew would have to treat their inclusion as a lot more than 'suspicious'.
"I doubt the Romulans are here simply to observe," T'mpest said dryly. "On the surface it looks like they're neck-deep in this mess -- no pun intended. We brought back a large amount of data from the outpost. We need to sift through it before taking any overt action."
She looked at Halliwell. "Since they know we're here, we should continue our efforts to find out what happened to the planet and offer help if needed." She paused to think for a moment. "Depending on what we find, we might be able to send a covert team to the outpost. We'd have enough information to pass for Romulans and infiltrate the facility -- but only if the information warrants further investigation."
'The element of surprise is gone, they know we're here, and we couldn't "pass" for anyone, not convincingly enough to not get caught. The Romulans would likely have to be dealt with head on and subterfuge on any scale with them was out of the question'... Nope, better not--she was an observer, Kendrick thought again.
"I concur," said Shepherd, nodding again. "we can't make a sound plan until we've gone through the data, especially since the probe in orbit is going to generate a new flood of information. I suggest we also hang a probe out by the Romulan position as well. It can sit out of weapons range and be an alert beacon if they try and start something."
"Oh now we want to probe for abnormalities," Birsi dourly mused, the tightening of her arms across her chest the sole reference to the thought. The peace she embraced during her brief retreat was severely ruffled, as the combination of academia and her adoptive mother's stories slotted the Romulans into the category of 'people she didn't want to spontaneously run into.' Thanks to Commander Michaels' stupid little shuttle stunt, they'd done just that. Yet beneath her frosty posture, Birsi couldn't help thinking about how unusually quiet the realization transpired from the Romulan end. She was surprised they hadn't reacted sooner, territorial as they were. Better yet, she wondered why they hadn't claimed Taylforth outright. Doing so would've gone a long way towards bolstering their control as far as she could figure.
Jimmy shot a look towards Birsi. "I'd like a quick word later, crewman. Also," he turned to Captain Halliwell, "Whatever we do, I'd like to stay here and gather and organise all the data, preferrably with Commander Michaels."
The Bajoran returned a momentary glance to Jimmy. Eerie as his timing was, it didn't quite match her curiosity about what he could possibly want to discuss.
"They'll be able to track a probe, even if it's out of weapon's range. I'd suggest we wait just in case they consider that a hostile act," T'mpest said quietly. "Also for the chance we might -- and I stress might -- need to infiltrate, it is not that difficult to appear Romulan. Especially if you know the language and the history. With the data we have from the installation, we should have all we need to pretend to belong there. But that is still a big If. That should be a last resort if we can't find what we need another way." Right now, she just wanted to get to her office and go over the data with Sammi. She'd send a copy of it to Jimmy as well so he could sift through the data as well.
"I'll have my people start going over the data on that Romulan ship," volunteered Shepherd. "With time to study, we should be able to get a good idea of its capabilities. I'd like a hand in the study of the orbital station's data as well."
"Is it just me, or was their 'deer-in-headlights' reaction to the shuttle weird?" Birsi chimed in bemusedly. She'd taken to her PADD in order to calm her mind, and the readings from the away team's contact bolstered some of her earlier ideas. "I don't have any direct experience with Romulans, but considering these guys are upholding their track record for secrecy and manipulation, I'd have expected situational awareness to match."
Shepherd replied directly to Birsi. "If anyone was caught in a headlight, it was us," he said, with rueful smile. "The move of the ship was a brushback. With their shields up to meet us, we could either fire or back off. And we're the Federation," he smiled, shrugging a humorous mea culpa, "not the Klingons. And they know that full well. We weren't going to just start shooting, so we had to take option B and back off."
"I genuinely believe," Elsie interjected, leaning a little forward and placing her hands on the desk before her, "that the Romulans, whatever they are doing, have been blinded by their own arrogance of success." She paused, stood up and then began to circle the room behind the stationary chairs. "We have absolutely no idea how long the Romulans have successfully occupied this system, save for the ten year band we've allowed them. But, I'd like to act fast whatever I decide to do. What little surprise we had on our side is now gone, and I don't want to get caught battle-planning the scenario if they have ideas of calling for back-up from their friends in the Star Empire."
Craning his neck to watch the Crewman, Blake nodded at her wording and decided quickly he liked her, certain more than T'kaarch. First off, Birsi was an attractive woman, though he'd make sure Sehra would never hear him admit it out loud. . .
'This many leagues from Romulan territory?' Jimmy thought, while sitting silent, 'and risk all out war?' The only reason he didn't speak up was the fact that this was his captain, and the Chief Science Officer probably wasn't the one to tell her off like that.
"Well," Shepherd spoke into the ominous silence that followed Halliwell's worst-case scenario, "everybody's cards are on the table now. They know we know they're here, and they know we've scanned their ship and we'll be watching for them. They're clearly not in an aggressive posture, but are also clearly going to try and defend themselves if we try and push them around. But until we have a better idea of what that ship of theirs can do, we can't push at all."
Snapping out of it, Jimmy spoke up. "We scanned as much of the ship as we could, and it's absolutely massive. My best guess is it being a transport ship of some kind."
"Agreed," replied Shepherd. "But you can do all kinds of things with a platform that size if you're clever. A few hours to study the data isn't going to put us at the mercy of a Warbird."
"Then you all know what to do," Elsie replied, nodding to the team before her. "But make it quickly. I want to reconvene in two hours with a plan of action."
Alex smirked inwardly to herself as the immediate plan of action manifested, 'Sure we all know what to do -- analyse the data, avoid the Romulans while attempting to find a way to infiltrate them to analyse more data, at the same time avoid the Romulans while trying to find out what the hell they're up to, and above all don't do anything stupid... well there may be no preventing that...'
Jimmy shot a curt look to Birsi to ensure she was coming, then stood up and, after nodding at the captain, left the room.
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