Senior Staff Briefing (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 31 Jan 2013 @ 4:23pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Amril

3,743 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 01 - 1315 hrs

Previously, on Senior Staff Briefing (Part 1)...

Maenad watched the interchange between Stone and Liyar with disinterest. There were more important things to be done here, she thought with a scowl into her PADD. "I am curious about the M-class moons," she began, glancing at her notes. "How many are there, and what is the potential for intelligent life existing either presently or historically? I would like to know, if possible, whether we are dealing with a potential first contact situation. I think it would be premature of us, and ill-advised, to consider harvesting a system of its resources if it is home to life that may see us or advance to a time in which they will need the resources for themselves." A studious frown replaced her blank expression as she leaned back in her chair, looking down the table at Captain Sutherland.

"I am interested to hear of this possibility as well," Liyar said, turning his gaze back toward the rest of the gathered officers.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Captain Sutherland blinked at Maenad, "Forgive me, perhaps Captain Lirha and I haven't been clear. The system is a recent discovery and only basic sensor readings were done. The purpose of this mission is not to harvest any material or resources, it's to do a complete survey of the Rojar System." Sutherland shook her head, some of strands of her blonde hair fell over her eyes forcing her to brush them back behind her ear. "As for the Borg. There hasn't been any Borg activity since the USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant, they left the Borg in pretty bad shape, according to Admiral Janeway's mission report. So Tatiana you can relax."

Eve let out a sigh of frustration, "First of all my name is Evelyn. I haven't gone by that name since we last served together, Captain. Second, unless we have concrete proof the Borg have been eradicated, I'm not convinced this region of space is safe."

Well, Lilou thought. At least there was one question answered.

"Reports are that the Borg assimilated thousands of systems and species in a nine hundred year period across the galaxy. The transwarp conduits were found to go through the entire galaxy. The Borg 'queen' was killed twice...once in 2373 by Captain Picard and then again in 2378 by Captain...Admiral..." he frowned staring at his PADD then actively scowling at it. "This can't be right," he said, refreshing the data and checking again. "By rank to be determined when the frelling information isn't contradictory, Janeway," he finished, still scowling at the PADD. "We can't just assume, then, that the region is safe from Borg attack. I'd rather have my men prepared for the potentiality just in case." He glanced to Captain Saalm in case she had any objections.

Lirha listened to Stone's proposal and gave him a silent nod. In her estimation, it was always good to be prepared for any possible situations, even though the likelihood of such an encounter was very remote.

The engineer looked between Stone and the captains and Quinn behind them. Surely all of these security precautions had been considered by Command before they'd been sent here? Their job was to survey the system and leave the fortifications to the USS Venture and whatever other ships they might or might not deem necessary later. But she couldn't say that, not aloud, not in front of all these people.

Maenad was starting to get angry. They were a tiny science ship smaller than the Venture's nacelle; if the Borg came for them, they had two options as she saw it: run away or be assimilated. The briefing was supposed to be about the Rojar system, yet everyone was wasting breath on Borg. "I am sure that all of this has been taken into account already," she said after Stone had shut up, "It seems to me that we are getting caught up with the wrong questions. We are conducting a survey mission, not a tactical exercise against a long-neutralised Borg threat." She let out a breath through her nose, feeling like she was the only one present who had questions about the mission. Maenad returned her attention Captain Sutherland, "What sort of contingencies has Starfleet taken in case we do find intelligent life in the system? Considering that, apparently, there are several M-class moons within Rojar's habitable zone, it seems to me that life potential is higher than most systems. Are we to continue surveying the system for resources or do we leave it alone?"

Liyar blinked, tilting his head at Sutherland. "Affirmative, a survey of this system and its resources could appear suspicious, should any sentient life occupy the planets within the system." He added it with the subtle drop that indicated it wasn't necessarily a statement, but more a question - a question of why the notion had been dismissed so abruptly in the first place. "One does not survey an entire system without the assumption that it poses usefulness." There were many incidents in Federation history where alien lifeforms reacted hostilely to even an encroach on their space, let alone a survey of it.

"If we discover inhabitants on one for the moons, and if warp capable we'll proceed with first contact protocols. If they are are a pre-warp culture, we'll keep to our Prime Directive and not interfere, however we'll still categorize the aspects of the system." Sarah Sutherland answered, crossing her arms over her chest, "If this system belongs to regional power, we haven't detected anything to suggest that. This region of space is vastly unexplored."

Jacob listened intently and took a ton of notes. He quietly observed his fellow officers to get a better measure of their personalities; it was something he always did, it was how he made better decisions about the people he was working with. He made no remark at all though. The prospects of all this intriguing area was almost unbelievable, but as usual, he would need hear more before he made any remarks.

The Orion captain remained silent as Sutherland took the lead and answered her crew's questions. The blond captain's answers were precise and accurate, and Lirha was personally grateful to have such a competent captain joining them on their upcoming mission.

Until this point Pola had remained very quiet. The upcoming mission was interesting in the sense of the work would involve but she knew her involvement was very minimal due to her own position onboard. She had listened to the conversations happening around her but didn't see a point where she could involve herself. She didn't think that Maenad's comment was very prudent. There was only one reason in which Starfleet would provide the aid of a Galaxy class ship on a science mission and that would be because of the plausible risk of attack. Jeremy was doing the job he was assigned on this ship, keeping them safe and making contingency plans for situations where danger was possible.

Leaning forward, she did have a query which was specific to her department. "I will apologise for my ignorance here. I know that we are heading into the unknown, and as such the conditions we are to be exposed to are unknown, but if there any conditions, or gases, which you would expect to see where it would be prudent for medical to be prepared for? It would help me with ensuring we bring onboard extra supplies for medicines we may not usually carry much of."

"Doctor, I am unsure what the health conditions would be in this system, however I did instruct my Chief Medical Officer to bring in an extra inoculations for various forms of radiation," Sarah replied honestly.

Letting out a breath, Pola made some notes as she realised that she may need to try fit in some quick research herself before they left. She didn't wish to be caught short if something medical came up which they could have easily prepared for.

Throughout the briefing Dea had remained silent so far. It was a lot to take in. Besides that she needed a chance to ponder what they were being asked to do for a short time. Listening carefully to everything that was said.

After all of her staff had had a chance to inquire about the mission, the Orion captain turned her focus towards mission planning. "We have a lot of work to do and not much time to complete it. Lieutenants Panne, Pendleton, Amril, and Commander Holliday will be coordinating our initial mission plan, including ideal survey sites, areas of interest, and away team composition. Lieutenant Mialin and Chief Quinn will be coordinating our support craft deployment, and Commander Coleman and myself will supervise general operations. The rest of you will have your regular duties to attend to, as well as participation in away team assignments as necessary." she said, then suddenly paused as she remembered a last minute memo she had received from Starfleet Command as soon as Galileo arrived at SB-185. "I also need to inform you all that due to the historic nature of this find and the subsequent interest it has generated throughout the Federation, Starfleet has assigned a Press Corps team to our ship who will be beaming over shortly from Starbase 185. Their function will be to report on any 'discoveries of interest', and will be staying on board Galileo for the duration of our survey. I personally do not believe that such a mission is suitable for members of the Press, however that is not my decision, and we must make do with our orders. Please try your best to cordial and polite to these civilians...after all, we will be on camera and I expect all of you to present nothing but the most professional image of a Starfleet vessel and her crew."

Maenad touched the bridge of her nose for a moment and closed her eyes. She didn't like the sound of that. "I suggest everyone use caution with them," she said, still touching her nose, "And that nobody presents anything to them unless it's been approved by someone else or they know what they're talking about." The last thing she wanted was for some reporter to misquote one of them as saying something they never meant.

Jeremy went silent at the mention of the press coming aboard the ship. There were too many reasons why this was a bad idea. The aforementioned security concerns regarding the potential discoveries shouldn't be broadcast so freely throughout the Federation at this time, not until the original surveys could be confirmed or denied and sufficient security for the sector set up. More personally he knew that he was not an ideal Starfleet officer to be around the Press ever. But he knew there was no use in trying to get the Press left behind because Saalm already said it was orders that came above her and Jeremy was sure no admiral would agree to retract permission for the press to come aboard merely because it made the ship's CSTO uncomfortable. He started tapping his thigh, lightly, while he waited for the briefing to be over and he could leave for his office to try to figure a way to make sure he was never around where the Press might be. Fortunately, in this, he knew he would be in agreement with Commander Holliday, Captain Saalm and everyone else aboard.

Evelyn's jaw dropped when she heard about press corps. "The press? You can't be serious?! So not only are we going to be in a hazardous region of space, we are going to turn the Galileo into some sort of Reality Television show?!"

Lilou didn't understand what was going on. Had the rules of hierarchy been dismissed for the meeting and no one had told her? She didn't remember Captain Saalm saying anything to that effect. So why were all the commanding officers sitting here and outright questioning her in front of the captain of another starship? Saalm had already said she didn't like it. It wasn't as though- "It's-" she wet her lips and fought the impulse to bury her face in her PADD's screen as she spoke, "Not liking it won't change the orders," she finished softly. "Cameras are better than phasers, right?"

"No," Jeremy muttered.

Lilou twitched, carefully lowering her head a little further.

Rubbing a hand across her forehead, Pola wondered if there was something in the water that everyone seemed so quick to pick apart and argue over information they were being given. She could see why a camera crew on a ship would be so small but if they couldn't be stopped then they needed to be welcomed. In the meantime, she had some plans she needed to get done as away teams would require a medic, and with the small staff she already had, she may need to see about sending people with basic medical training from the rest of the crew.

Liyar looked up once again at the mention of a press contingent. He suppressed an inward sigh. As their diplomatic officer, it was more than likely that he would be seeing quite a lot of them. He agreed with Lilou. It was what it was. Kaiidth. He had nothing additional to say on the matter and focused on his PADD again, and the trade calculations within.

"Fine, however I would want to personally speak with the members of the press contingent, set ground rules, for them." Eve looked up at the captains.

As far as Dea was concerned it had been one of the more heated staff meetings since she had been assigned to the Galileo. There were several reasons for that but she shoved that thought aside. While the idea of a press contingent coming aboard didn't sit with her well, she said nothing. Remaining professional because as the Captain had said orders were orders.

A Press Corp was the last thing Jacob ever thought he would hear. He shook his head a little and spoke up, his voice deep but soft, "Captain Saalm, Captain Sutherland, I believe this mission could be fraught with grave dangers, and on a personal level I am very concerned about the safety of these individuals and on a scientific standpoint, I am concerned that these individuals could potentially contaminate any site we might find. I strongly agree with Commander Coleman on having very strict guidelines for these individuals." He held the gaze of both captains whether or not they thought he was correct or wrong; as he had never been accused of not speaking up no matter the consequences.

Captain Sutherland looked at the officers before her and then turned to her counterpart. "Your crew brought up valid points. If you agree, prior to them setting foot on either vessels, we should have guidelines set."

"Yes," Lirha agreed with a nod, "I concur. As civilians, their authorization codes and access to information will already be rather limited, but I think it would be prudent to develop mission-specific guidelines and brief them as soon as they arrive." she added, letting her gaze travel to both Evelyn and Sarah. "Lieutenant Coleman, I expect a listing of such guidelines on my desk within the hour."

Evelyn nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Either way - with the combination of a Borg threat, however insignificant it may be deemed, plus the rogue actions of the Federation press roaming about the Galileo, security is going to be paramount. I want every console displaying any information classified above level 4 to be secured from prying eyes."

The XO picked up his PADD and began making a series of notes regarding actions to be undertaken in order to ensure the safety of the Galileo. She was a small ship, an easy target for a Borg vessel in the neighbourhood for a few new drones or some raw materials. "I want all security personnel to be prepared for a possible engagement, and all weapons aboard ship to be configured to a rotating modulation immediately. Mr. Stone see that it is done. In addition I want the warp core checking over for peak efficiency - Galileo isn't the fastest in the fleet but if we need to run, I want it to be a sprint, not a marathon, understood Miss Peers?"

"Yes, sir," Lilou answered, lifting her gaze. "We'll be ready."

"Commander," he said, "I'm also going to issue Gauss/Phasers to the security department. Also, I suggest key members of the crew be put under tracker, possibly with implants, to make it easier to keep track of them in case of hostage or kidnapping threats again. I understand there is a tracker/transport enhancer that will allow our systems a better chance of transport retrieval even through some shielding."

That sounded like a horrific idea, Lilou thought, but she dropped her gaze to her PADD again. Not because it wouldn't be smart, from a security perspective. It was. But because she had no idea what else he might use his ability to track individuals for. She already had a commbadge. What more did he need?

Nodding in agreement, the XO added his security chief's request to the list of details that were quickly piling up on his PADD. After the loss of their captain during the last mission, John was determined not to let such an action happen again.

"Discuss it with medical - I have no problem with all senior staff being tagged unless Dr Ni Dhuinn and her teams have any objections."

Delainey focused her attention on what had been said as much as what had not been said. Given the behavior of some in the room, she had much to reflect upon. However, for the moment she focused on one specific issue. "With regard to the press contingent, I suspect I'm not offering anything profound when I say I suspect they will try to ask us about all sorts of things not necessarily limited to this mission, whether authorized or not. Should we brief the crew to simply say 'no comment' or is the brass expecting us to be more accommodating, assuming nothing we share will compromise safety and protocol?"

Deep in thought, John had to think back on his own opinion regarding the situation with members of the press aboard his vessel. Whilst generally he would be against anyone outside of the senior team making comments, sometimes it was simply unavoidable.

"We will be courteous but not overly informative. Any mission-sensitive questions should be forwarded to either the Captain or myself for an official reply."

Looking across the table of personnel one final time, Lirha clipped her PADD back onto her belt then clasped her green hands in front of her. "Very well. If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed. Department heads, be sure to brief your personnel as soon as possible and get them up to speed." she said, then turned towards Amril to issue one final order. "We are taking on an additional complement of probes for this survey, please take a team and report to Cargo Bay 1 to supervise the loading process."

For the first time, Amril was addressed directly and offered a reply. Until then, he had been silent, but watching and listening carefully. This was his territory, the subtle interplay between members of the crew, the things he learned about them and their personalities that would not show up on a personnel file. He certainly looked very much the classic vorta as he sat up straight and rested his hands on the table, smiling pleasantly, unfased by the tensions in the room. "I will see to it immediately, captain."

Jeremy, having the advantage of not sitting at the table and the need to navigate the bodies, was able to make it to the door and out quickly, muttering praise to Sidi for how well he behaved during the meeting and realizing he'd have to try to find some way to keep the promise of getting him to the station and see about chasing squirrels. Plus, Jeremy wanted to make sure to avoid Lt. Commander Coleman as much as he could for the next few days, weeks or maybe years. He had plenty of work to do researching the most likely threats and responses.

Having realised that she had alot of work on her plate to get prepared in the short window of space which their docking at the space station provided. Nodding and smiling softly at the people still gathered around the table, Pola pushed back her chair and quickly followed Jeremy from the room.

Maenad stood from her position at the end of the table. One of her legs had fallen asleep from being crossed, but she could walk just fine. Without looking at anyone or saying anything, she made her way out of the room and back to her office where she would summon Kiri and organise a department briefing.

Lilou sat where she was as Stone left, then Pola, then Panne. Standing cautiously, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and nodded to Holliday and the captains. "Thank you, sirs," she murmured, then tucked her PADD under her arm. Her gaze flickered between the other chiefs briefly before she cleared her throat quietly and slipped unobtrusively from the room.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Captain Sarah Sutherland
Commanding Officer
USS Venture
NPC played by Sarah

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Amril
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Commander Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer/ 2XO
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

LTjg Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer/K9
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

ENS Lilou Peers
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

MCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

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