Cold Scheme (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 12 Mar 2022 @ 6:55pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Lieutenant JG Karras & Ensign Mimi & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror
Edited on on 12 Mar 2022 @ 6:58pm

3,131 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 10, 0112 hrs

Previously, on Cold Scheme (Part 1)...

The acting captain appeared visibly surprised. The security chief had called her bluff. Which she privately admired, but couldn't convey in a public setting. "Request denied," Tarin shook her head forcefully. "I won't leave Galileo with only one security officer on board. If the plan to draw our unknown visitor away doesn't work, we might end up in trouble." The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Or so it'd been drilled into her at the Academy.

"As for Commander Warraquim," Tarin looked at the Akkadian, "she is first and foremost our chief medical officer, and a doctor. Her expertise is needed where there is very little on her team." There wasn't much more for her to add on the subject. She shifted her attention back to the collective group. "I don't know what our away teams will find at the cold station. Hopefully a severe comms malfunction that can be fixed in a day. You'll need to trust each other and your abilities. Nothing out here goes according to plan in my experience."

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Aria watched the Captain for a moment, but realised she couldn't object. She had raised her concern and they had been dismissed, so she sat back. She did consider mentioning that unless Lieutenant Karras happened to be good at the medical side of things, Charlie team was also short a medic, as she had only known him as a counsellor, but in all fairness, I haven't read his file, he could be a doctor and a counsellor, however that was not her wheelhouse. So she kept silent, attentive to the rest of the briefing.

Marisa glanced at Aria. She had a valid point. The science officer wondered what the acting captain was really up to. There was a lot they weren't being told.

Cold Station... From her seat as team makeup was being discussed Sofie had been trying to guess at what it might be. Cold made her think condensed matter, low energy, things like that. But there would be no reason to keep those secret. Maybe it was cold storage for viruses and the like, but the only reason that would need to be secret was if the Federation itself was developing biological weapons... The possibilities were all racing in her mind "Captain, sir," she said with a timorous half raised hand "You say it is secret from even you but is there really nothing you know about what goes on at this station?"

"I don't have any information surrounding this station's research. That's above my clearance." Tarin let out a quiet sigh and sympathized with young science officer who she'd first met on Regula I in the cargo bay. She seemed like a good officer in the short time she'd known her - smart, sharp, with good deductive reasoning skills. Questionable PT scores, but that could always be improved upon with a simple change in regimen. "If I knew, I would tell you, Ullswater. All of you."

"What about personnel?" Karras asked, pushing down his personal concerns and focusing on the mission at hand. "Any idea of the crew compliment?" If they had to go looking for people, it would be helpful to know how many people to look for.

"Ten, according to the manifest provided to me," answered Tarin. Her hazel eyes returned to her PADD which contained limited crew data. After several taps from her fingers, the large LCARS monitor blinked and displayed portraits of four individuals, each designated by their respective names. "The facility is run by a Doctor Troy Barker. Under his command are three research leads - Doctor Lia Quil, Doctor Marcus Mulder and Doctor Sa'Rahn. The four of them are considered VIPs and essential personnel. In the case of an evacuation, you're ordered to prioritize their recovery."

Jeysa noted down the names and roles Morgan had mentioned alongside her other notes, most of which wouldn't be leaving the room though because of the level 10 security, she wanted to make a 'cheat sheet' for the away teams to reference if needed

Allyndra had sat in the traditional position of second officer and she did not object that Karras had taken the medical officer position, though technically a counselor would be at the head of the table. She listened carefully before raising her hand.

The acting captain noticed the doctor's visual cue. "Yes, Commander?"

Allyndra stood as she thought it was more respectful. "Captain, I have a question. I will admit not so well versed in this kind of planning, but I am wondering what if this 'tail' or ship decides not to follow us? If it were me, I would wonder after a point why the asteroid field and then think maybe something there or perhaps it was exactly that, a subterfuge. I could see myself doing one of two things. Either look to see if other signs such as the shuttle craft or just wait in quiet figuring that sooner or later that this ship may return. So my question is what if this happens? What if we get a distress call from the away team and our tail has not followed after this ship? Are we then planning to then engage said 'tail'?"

The question the doctor had asked was complex in nature. Even the best laid plans never played out to expectations. Ultimately, the technology to predict the future didn't exist. Tarin considered her reply for a moment. "No course of action is ever guaranteed to succeed. We're taking a risk here - I think all of you know this. In an ideal galaxy, this sector of space would be empty aside from Starfleet vessels. But we know that's not the case now. We have an urgent mission to accomplish without the luxury of time. I'll be here on Galileo with the rest of the crew doing my best to defend that mission....that means protecting you and all the others in the away teams."

"We're a Starfleet vessel and I don't intend to engage any other starship unless fired upon first, or if they attack our away teams. If Galileo's diversion fails, we will circle back to the cold station's location to provide cover and diplomacy, if needed." Tarin's voice was vigorous with conviction.

Allyndra nodded. She did not think that was possibly viable but as the captain indicated there were few choices. "Thank you captain." She took her seat.

Blake was watching the other officers down the table, taking it all in. Tarin's briefing, her plan. The reactions from the others. "What about the research?" she finally asked the question that was bothering her most. "If the work they're doing at this station is so secretive that it can't officially exist, then we could be about to walk in on all kinds of unethical. Our mission is to save the scientists and destroy the station if it's already lost, yes? Not to bring that kind of research, or paraphernalia from it, back onto our ship."

The Nova-class' temporary CO absorbed the entirety of the first officer's question and the deduction contained within. She suppressed an admonitory frown - just barely. "I have no reason to believe that secrecy correlates with ethics. There could be many reasons why research is hidden or not formally acknowledged. Maybe OPSEC is required to avert attention from foreign intelligence agencies? Or an experiment is too dangerous to conduct in standard Federation facilities?" She tilted her head to the XO. "Those decisions are above our purview...made by those who have more knowledge and experience than any of us. Let's not speculate in the face of the unknown."

The second half of Blake's query warranted a more practical reply. "I haven't received orders to recover anything from the cold station except for its personnel. I think," she collected her most logical thoughts, "if the facility's research is truly in jeopardy, it has to be abandoned and destroyed. Experiments can be replicated. Personnel can't."

Blake remained motionless throughout the response, keeping silent. Perhaps Tarin was just more of an optimist than she was herself. In her experience, people only hid things for two reasons; fear or shame. Sometimes, a mixture of both. Blake had just seen too much in her life to believe the more forgiving explanations that Tarin put forward. Or perhaps it was a matter of trust or faith. She wasn't good at those either these days.

Allyndra did not like the too dangerous part. "If too dangerous captain, what if something has gone wrong? Say something that this ship and its personnel cannot handle like a radiological or biological disease? What then? Do we just like the last mission then, destroy everything to cover it all up? I would worry about crew moral if that happened so close to the previous mission."

The doctor's concerns weren't unjustified. Tarin shook her head with conviction. "If either away team encounters something they're not equipped to handle which threatens our personnel, you have my authorization to immediately evacuate the facility and abort the mission. Once everyone is back on board, I'll move Galileo to a safe distance then launch quantum torpedoes at the station until I'm satisfied it's destroyed. I'm not in the habit of sacrificing lives for 'science'."

Allyndra made a tilt of the head. It was probably the best that could be hoped for if things did go that way. She did not envy that Tarin had been put in a very difficult spot. Perhaps something to talk to her about later.

Morgan used the momentary silence to bring up a new display on the main LCARS monitor. The faces of the four VIP scientists were replaced by a three-dimensional schematic of the cold station which slowly rotated along its Y axis. "The research facility is located within an asteroid - carved out by excavation miners to provide natural EM shielding and physical protection from the elements. The design decision also affords a high level of security - visual and sensor-based."

The display stopped rotating when Morgan tapped a button on her PADD. She zoomed the view in to the cold station's deck layout. "You can see there are three levels within the facility. The surface-most is administrative where most of the office chambers are located. The second level houses the research labs, and the isolation labs and reactor compartment are down on the third."

Tarin zoomed the image back out and highlighted a single large hatch on the upper-most deck. "The only personnel or shuttle access in and out of the station is through this docking bay. It's equipped to handle support craft up to the size of runabouts. This will be both teams' point of entry and exit."

Sandoval was taking copious notes on her PADD. She didn't have questions right now, but she would as more details became available--if they became available. The acting captain didn't have the clearance for the information Marisa wanted most.

Tris had found this entire briefing quite fascinating, including the prudent questions asked and the quite honest replies provided by the Captain. Yet, the most important part of the briefing, for Tris, had just arrived, the access and departure of the shuttles to and from the station. Shizn spoke up quite confidently, “Captain, as for access, does the Station have two ports available?” Not letting her answer, he asked, “And could we be allowed to try an installation of a portable transporter array on at least one of the shuttles?” He raised a curious left eyebrow, yet he kept his face serious. This was not the time for levity. And he really wanted to ask about this asteroid field, but that question could wait.

"These station blueprints indicate only one docking hatch," answered Tarin, lightly shaking her head. "The rest of the facility is surrounded on all other sides by the asteroid's silicates, nickel, iron and other metals. It's one way in, and one way out." She enhanced the LCARS image on the large yellow-marked doors. "The Type 6s you'll be using are small enough to both land inside the docking bay." Her thoughts reversed to the Andorian's second question. She presented an open palm to Shizn. "If you have the personnel to outfit the shuttles with emergency transporters, you have my authorization. And you have..." she glanced at the chronometer, "four hours to get it done."

"I can assign a group to help you Lieutenant, it should not take long." Mimi said, finally breaking her quiet observation and note taking, there was provision on the type 6's for a small transporter with only a few minor modifications.

“Yes Sir. Thank you Sir.” Shizn’s reaction was sincere as he looked at the Captain and then to Ens. Mimi. “4 hours should give us the time to install a transporter onto one of the shuttles.”

Surveying the rest of the officers in the room, Tarin allowed several seconds of silence to transpire before placing her PADD down on the table. "Any further questions before we arrive?"

"Is the base shielded, or sensor resistant?" Mimi asked, she knew it would be highly likely, the station wouldn't want any passing ship able to see what was going on there.

"There are several localized EM dampers operating on the asteroid's surface," confirmed Tarin. "The natural properties of the surrounding planetoids also generate short-range sensor interference. It seems Starfleet chose this specific location and asteroid cluster for a reason," she surmised. "Navigation to and from the cold station will be done using pre-set waypoints and visual cues. I'll transfer the approach vectors to your PADDs and both shuttles' helm stations. Study them then memorize your points of reference in the local starfield. Don't get lost."

Those were the concerns of Tris. He had assumed that entry and exit through the asteroid field would be limited. He was a touch concerned about a possible passage that might be possible, even though a bit risky. That info might come in handy. After review of the field and waypoints, he should probably speak to the Commander or their new Captain.

"Captain," Rice looked at the Captain, meeting her eyes. "How much can I tell Ensign Turell? Or shall I just tell her to report to the shuttle and she will be briefed properly enroute?" she asked, wanting to make sure she got the balance right.

A curt shake from the acting captain's head preceded her discerning reply. "We're on a need-to-know basis. This briefing remains classified, Level 10 clearance. You know how to handle it."

"Yes, Captain," Aria said, although inside she realised she had to jump a little bit further into the How to Chief with the best of them manuals."

The once-curious Galileo officers were now silent in the conference room. Tarin watched the seconds tick by on the chronometer until she was confident there were no further questions. For now. "If there's nothing else, then start your preparations. Brief your teams as best as you can. Load any equipment you will need. I'll see you all in the shuttlebay in several hours. Dismissed."

Marisa nodded and turned for the door. She had a lot to do, especially as she wasn't sure what they would find and what they might need. Plus she had a team to prep. She hoped there would be enough time.

Aria got up as well, looking ahead before she sighed. She would just have to tell Amanda to go to the shuttle, and to expect anything. And that would be it. Couldn't tell her anything else since this was all classified. It worried her. It angered her. She hated the idea of the Ensign going in blind, as the only Security person.

Sofie wanted to hop along after Aria, this would be Sofie's first ever away mission which also happened to be into an unknown danger with high levels of classification and the prospect of outside interference and with all else that was going on in her mind she had been feeling the dread slowly building up insider her throughout the briefing. Right now she could do with a friend, some reassurance, but the Lieutenant seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and if Sofie was being honest with herself she was also worried Aria might think less of her for expressing the anxiety.

Shizn rose from his seat with a strained look of concentration on his face as he walked toward the door. There was so much to do, so little time, and he knew he couldn’t do the special install on the shuttle himself. It was a situation to bring the best minds on the ship together.

Karras made a break for the door. He knew there was a lot to do in order to prepare, but he was going to need a good twenty or so minutes to himself for an emergency centering meditation. He was upset by the secrecy, and he had noticed that he had been a bit judgmental and even sarcastic over the last few days. Likely the stress of the new assignment combined with the covert mission. If he was going to be of any use to his crew mates, he needed to find balance and find it fast.

Sitting quietly Allyndra waited while most made their departure. She was not very happy with this briefing. There was little she could do about it, but this seemed to be fraught with problems from the get go and she could only wonder about those higher ups, but also a person that would take those commands with little question. It was something to ponder on for a bit.

Uncoiling her tail from around the edge of the chair Mimi slowly stood up and headed for the exit. Her ears twitched a little nervously as she walked, she didn't like the sound of this assignment and hoped that all of this would be nothing more than a broken communications array.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Commander Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTjg Tris Shizn
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Karras
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo-A

Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Second and Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

PO3 Jeysa Zeror
Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

Lt. Aria Rice
Chief of Security
USS Galileo-A

ENS Sofie Ullswater
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed