The Perils We Learn

Posted on 10 Apr 2012 @ 5:00am by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman

2,310 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: Starbase 234, Briefing Room
Timeline: MD 02 - 1400 hrs

[ON]

Moving swiftly through the crowded corridors of Starbase 234, the Orion captain finally found the doors to her designated briefing room. Despite being briefed prior to departure from Earth, she had received a coded transmission from Starfleet several hours into their journey requesting her presence at a classified intelligence briefing. There apparently were new developments in the Galileo's upcoming mission, and Lirha was anxious to get as much information as possible. Tapping the door's console, she stepped through as the large, gray double doors swished open. The room was occupied with several grey and red-collared personnel, a mixture of intelligence and command officers. Lirha quickly moved to a vacant chair and took a seat, placing her PADD on the large table in front of her.

Having originally planned to head to the meeting alongside his CO, John unfortunately had not been able to escape the Bridge in time, and instead had been forced to head to the meeting slightly later than he had planned. Eventually, after having to stop and ask the computer for directions a couple of times, he found his way to the conference room; the wide doors opening ahead of him as he approached.

The sheer number of command level staff in the room made John blink for a moment, he was unsure as to what he was going to be learning here, but with this many staff, it had to have been something important. Catching a glimpse of green skin, John quickly found his way to the right hand side of his XO and settled in, nodding to her as he waited for the meeting to begin.

Evelyn arrived slightly after Holliday, she made her way around the table and took her seat on the other side of Lirha, as she sat down she looked around at the other people in the room and recognized most of their faces.

Lirha gave her XO and intelligence chief a small smile, grateful to have them with her in what was sure to be an interesting briefing. She recognized several of the other senior officers in the room, former colleagues of hers from her years as an intelligence officer. With her green hangs folded in her lap, she leaned back in her chair and waited for the briefing to begin.

A grey haired Human man stood up and walked to the large briefing screen imbedded in the wall. Lirha instantly recognized him as Admiral Henderson, Starbase 234's commanding officer. The room went silent as he began to speak.

"The information contained in this briefing is classified, level ten clearance." he began as his cold blue eyes looked over at Lirha and her colleagues. "Commander Saalm, we have new developments regarding your assignment." he began in a deep voice. "Five days ago, we lost contact with the USS Petersham, a Miranda Class transport that was on its way to resupply Starbase 152. Its last known position was roughly two lightyears inside the Klingon Neutral Zone. We've contacted the High Command and they say they know nothing of the Petersham's whereabouts. We've diverted several starships over the past two days to investigate, but they haven't been able to locate anything on sensors. The Empire is staying tight on this and is denying us any type of rescue or recovery operation. They say their own ships are perfectly capable of conducting such an operation and they will keep us 'advised' if they 'come across anything unusual'." he said, then paused briefly with a scowl on his face.

Taking a moment to absorb the information that was being passed to him, John began to take a few notes on the PADD that he had instinctively brought along with him to the briefing. Nothing sensitive enough to warrant him being jumped by security as soon as he left the briefing room, but enough to give him an idea of what was happening. The news from the Klingons was more than concerning, they had slowly been becoming more and more distant from the Federation over the past few months, and seemed at times to be on the brink of dissolving the Khitomer Accords and making their way into bordering territories.

"Admiral" John began, making sure his voice could be heard over the surrounding group of officers. "With all due respect, the Klingons aren't going to do anything to help us...and the Galileo is a small ship...are these developments likely to lead to an increase in the probability of a firefight with the Klingons?"

Evelyn was looking down at her entwined fingers, her thumbs pressed against each other. "It almost guarantees it." She shifted her gaze to John, "The Khitomer Accords clearly states that allied vessels have safe passage, and should an event occurs when a ship is lost in allied territory, an investigation must be permitted. Since the Klingons are denying even that basic statute, makes you wonder if the Accords are even valid today."

Lirha sat quietly in her chair, not speaking as she listened to those around her voice their concerns. It was now obvious to her that there was more to this mission than had originally been spoken of. Her XO's concern were valid, and tension between the two sides seemed to be growing tense. And of course Evelyn was correct about the right to conduct an investigation, but Lirha knew well enough that the Klingons would do whatever was in their own interests.

The Admiral stared at the Galileo's group for a moment before finally speaking up. "Of course they won't help us, Commander," he said to John, "That's why we've dispatched the Memphis and her escort to begin searching for the Petersham. They're a much larger and intimidating presence and we doubt the Klingons will want to engage them. They departed five hours ago and will arrive on station in just over twelve hours. In the meantime, you will proceed as planned with your extraction. That is our top priority at the moment and if we're to successfully transport the project and its personnel, it must be done quickly and quietly." he said.

"Does this mean we have permission to engage the Klingons if necessary sir?" John wasn't going to beat around the bush now. From what it seemed, Starfleet was sending some rather large warships into the area, which hopefully, would act as a pretty good distraction for the Galileo to slip in undetected. That said, all it needed was a single bird of prey to spot them and decide that "honour" told them to attack, and the mission could become much more difficult.

"Hopefully it won't come to that." he quickly answered, "But we have a third of the Fifth Fleet currently docked here less than a few lightyears from the Neutral Zone, should they be needed. Rules of engagement state you may return fire if fired upon, but considering the...nature of your ship, your best bet is to get the hell out of there." he said, the coughed to clear his throat before continuing.

"Once you've entered the Neutral Zone, you are to maintain communications silence with Starfleet. Ship to ship comms are acceptable as we don't want to appear too suspicious, but you won't be able to send or receive any updated intel from Starfleet until you reach Federation territory again. If you come across any information regarding the Petersham's whereabouts, report it to the Memphis and continue on with your assignment. You need to get to Starbase 152 as soon as possible." he finished.

"Understood sir" John replied flatly, he was more than a little annoyed that the combat capabilities of his ship had been dredged up by some Admiral who spend his time behind a desk. He had become rather fond of the little Nova-class these past few days, and was itching to find out exactly what it could do in battle. Waiting for his CO, he remained silent and ready for further instructions.

Evelyn pressed her lips together taking the information in, "Admiral, you said the Petersham was on it's way to Starbase 152, was there anything on board the vessel that could affect our assignment to Starbase 152?"

Lirha glanced over at her XO, and then to Evelyn. She had asked a good question and one that was on her mind as well. Having been an intelligence chief herself for two years previous to the Galileo, she knew there was always more to the situation than at first glance.

Staring coldly at the blond intelligence chief, the admiral turned to a senior intelligence flag officer at the opposite end of the table and gave him a nod. Standing up on queue, the grey-collared man rose from his seat and moved in front of the briefing room monitor. With a couple taps on his PADD, the black screen suddenly displayed several large technical schematics of advanced technology.

"Unfortunately Lieutenant, yes." he began as he pointed to the various civilian personnel on the screen. "The Petersham was to resupply Starbase 152 with enough food stores and equipment for the next three months, as well as deliver the final components needed to complete the prototype. The technology itself is state of the art and, needless to say, very sensitive. We have reason to suspect the Petersham may have been seized and the deniability of Project Sienna may have been compromised." he said.

Evelyn just shook her head, "Isn't this just wonderful." She her eyes locked with the Admirals, "You going to share with us what equipment the Petersham, had for the project? Or you going to continue to be an asshole and keep us in the dark?"

A commotion began to develop as some of the other officers at the table objected to the lieutenant's inappropriate use of words. "You're on a need to know basis, Lieutenant." the intel officer stated firmly and with a scowl at Evelyn, "You had better remember that before you find yourself reassigned and sitting behind a desk filing reports for the rest of your career." he said.

Lirha half-stood up, putting a firm hand on Evelyn's shoulder as a warning to keep her mouth shut, then turned towards the intelligence officer. "Sir, Lieutenant Coleman is right." she began as she agreed with her blond crewman. "If you're going to send my crew on this mission, I expect to be properly briefed and not have intel withheld from me which might be vital to the assignment." she said.

After a momentary pause, the senior intelligence officer nodded and returned his attention back towards the screen. "Project Sienna is much farther along than we initially led you to believe. The technology the Petersham was carrying includes the final components needed for completion of the prototype. They were manufactured at Jupiter Station and are the final step before we enter the testing phase. Of extremely high priority are a set of particle manifolds capable of generating immense magnetic fields." he said, pointing at the detailed briefing monitor.

Evelyn wanted to roll her eyes at the Admiral's "Need to know argument" After hearing him explain the contents of the ill fated vessel's cargo Evelyn wanted to bang her head on the desk. "Isn't this fantastic?" She said to no one in particular. "For all we know, the Klingons may have the manifolds and think we're building a weapon."

"Yes, perhaps." he replied with shake of his head. "Regardless, your mission is still the same. We're not sending you in there alone. You will have support from the Memphis in the sector, should her assistance be required." he answered simply, then paused before continuing. "Retrieving the manifolds is a secondary objective. The priority is still transferring Project Sienna. Our plan is to keep the Klingons occupied while we search for the Petersham, which should allow you to reach Federation territory with minimal resistance."

John found himself mildly surprised by the level of passion to which his CO had reacted to the commanders of this station trying to use rank to silence any opposition. Granted he didn't exactly agree with the choice of words that their Intelligence officer had used, but he wasn't going to begrudge her fighting back on behalf of the Galileo and her crew

"Well in that case I guess we had better get a move on - a search and rescue operation only lasts so long before people start getting suspicious."

"Our thoughts exactly, Commander." the old man replied from the side. "You're scheduled to depart at 1600 hours, promptly. I've sent an updated manifest to your PADDs. We're assigning you additional security personnel for this assignment as a precaution." he said then paused for a moment before stepping forward. "Are there any other questions?" he asked.

Lirha sat silently along with her crew as she digested all of the new information. Tensions with the Empire had worsened in the past seven days since the initial briefing, and she now feared that they might be nearing the tipping point. She agreed with her XO, and time was now working against them.

"Very Well. Dismissed." said the Admiral in a curt tone. The personnel in the briefing room hurriedly rose from their seats and began to file out of the room.

Just as they walked out, Evelyn turned to Lirha and Holliday, "That," pointing at the door, "that is the incompotents that will plunge the entire Federation into war." She groaned with disgust and walked away.

"All we can do is try...." John acknowledged as he followed the others back towards the airlock.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LtCDR John Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

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