Tip Of The Arrow

Posted on Sat Oct 22nd, 2022 @ 8:11pm by Commander Lillian Carter & Lieutenant Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida & Lieutenant JG Sher'ra Verona & Lieutenant Commander Tiandith 'Tia' Tobru & Lieutenant Is'san & Lieutenant JG Lyras

1,501 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 5 - Objects In Motion
Location: USS Cerberus Bridge
Timeline: Mission Day 6 @ 0800 Hours

ON

Lillian sat in the Captain's chair overseeing final preparations for departure. All repairs had been completed and the multi-vector assault mode was working again... well according to the engineering staff it was fixed.

Dean had already been on the bridge overseeing the last power transfers from the station. Fortunately, since the battle that cost them so many relays, power junctions and whatnot they had been replaced and in some places upgraded. Must be the effect of a Commodore looking out for you.

"We show all green for departure, Captain. Not so much as a blip at the moment." he offered as she turned to face him. There was a small nod of acknowledgement before others began the same pre-departure routine.

One of the Turbo Lift doors opened to let Hiro onto the Bridge. He felt a little tired after having continuously worked on repairing the ship. He walked over to the Engineering console and activated it. "Engineering is ready, Captain." he said after he had looked at the readings that were displayed.

Standing at her station, Sher’ra was conducting a few final checks on the tactical systems. She was eager to give that MVAM a test run, but for now, a slow power up of the weapons and shields would have to do, “Tactical systems on standby, Security teams onboard and ready for anything”

Is'san had been busying himself with the pre-flight from the moment he had arrived on the bridge, his fingers dancing across his console as if he was a seasoned pianist plying his trade to a captive audience.
"Umbilicals retracting, impulse engines are powering up. Thrusters are at standby, by your order Commander..." Is'san caught himself and nodded his head at Carter. "My apologies... Captain!"

Ryan was quietly checking his station, he adjusted his glasses, then looked over towards the others who were present. He felt a quiet bit of joy going out on a mission.


Lillian nodded, satisfied. "Helm, release the docking clamps and lay in a course for our survey area."

"Yes sir. Docking clamps released, we are floating free. Course set for seven three seven mark two nine five. Thrusters engaged and we will be clear of the station presently!" Again Is'san stated, his tone light and almost jovial at the thought of actually getting to some exploration for a change, although he couldn't shift this nagging feeling in his ganglia.

"Once we're clear of the station, take us to half impulse till we clear the Briar patch, then take us to warp 5."

Warp 5 to where? Hiro thought as he brought up the graphical representation of the Impulse engine's performance. He couldn't remember anyone telling him their destination.

"Aye sir!" Is'san's own thoughts mirroring those of Yoshida's. Details were thin other than the coordinates that had already been programmed into the flight control computer.

Satisfied they were underway, Lillian stood "You have the bridge Lieutenant Is'san. Keep me informed. Have Lieutenants Tobru and Lyras report to my ready room."

Is'san acknowledged with a nod, pointing a finger at a nearby crewman to indicate she should relieve him as he started to rise and move towards the Command chair.

"Captain... If I may, we have the coordinates for our destination, but the details of the mission seem to be a little... shall we say sparse. Will there be a briefing?"

Lillian smiled "Apologies for keeping you in the dark XO, officially we are on a routine mapping mission of the star system at those coordinates and that is what shall be entered into the log. We shall also be despatching a survey team who will be conducting their own independent survey. I've got to go into a briefing now with the survey team to go over their mission. I'll call you in when it's finished so we can go over the details.... in private" she had put emphasis on certain words, hoping the XO would read between the lines.

"Understood Captain... To quote the infamous Mr Spock... Hours would seem like days!"
He hoped his obscure reference would be picked up and comprehended by the Captain, not wanting to let on to the rest of the bridge crew that there was something else going on and that Is'san was fully understanding what the Captain was indicating.

The Kelpian assumed the command chair as he watched the select officers file in one by one to the ready room, his own curiosity more than keenly focused on what could be being said behind the closed door.

As summoned the freshly minted chief medical officer walked into the bridge, unable to keep the awe from his features as he gazed around. Ever since the discovery of the Romulan half of his genetics, he had given up the attempt at full emotional control. He'd simply apply it when and if a situation warranted it. He walked over to the ready room and signalled his presence.

As the turbolift doors opened, an opposite lift, he could see Lt. Lyras coming out. She smiled at him as they both met up and approached the ready room of Commander Carter and pressed the chime to await entry.

Lillian called out "Come in."

After the pair had entered Lillian added "Computer, secure this room. No entry without my authorisation."

She turned to them "How goes the mission plan?"

"I have put in place a small team, as requested. Lt. Lyras, Chief Kit, PO2 Favre and myself. I feel a larger team would draw attention. I have also chosen a team of quite similar species. Keep us plain and uninteresting." Tia explained. "I also leaked a small piece of information through some local contacts that Starfleet had discovered the thieves but at the moment the chatter is still quite quiet."

Carter nodded. "I've been thinking about how to get you inserted. It's going to require some subterfuge. I'm, going to issue Starfleet warrants for your arrest and accidentally leaked them around the local trading outposts. You're going to 'steal' one of our shuttlecraft. The Cartels are more like to be accommodating if they think you're on the run from Starfleet. I'm going to have engineering cosmetically damage the shuttle, so it looks like you were in a firefight when escaping. I'll also have them fill the shuttle databases with seemingly valuable Starfleet intel, all of which of course will be fabricated and contain tracking software so hopefully, we'll be able to get a peek at their databases in the process. Once we're finished here, report to sickbay so the doctor can fit you with the subdermal communicators. These will allow you to remain in contact with each other and also in an emergency will send an encoded distress signal to the Cerberus. If we receive that signal, we'll come in and extract you but that should only be used as a last resort as while it will be encoded, the location of the signal will be traceable. Hopefully, you'll be able to get in, get the information and get out without being uncovered."

"Similar species?" Lyras gave the woman a once over. "Apologies ma'am but you and I do not look anywhere near similar..." He hesitated before looking back at the captain. "I assume, we will be looking for information on this virus? And who engineered it?"

"You are nothing out of the ordinary so in that respect, you are very much similar to me." Tia countered. She didn't like being looked over no matter what the circumstances. "Choosing a team that stands out isn't always best practice." Choosing an Orion, a Caitian or anything a little more exotic would draw attention and Tia wanted to be seen, or not seen, on her own terms. She had listened to Carter and was happy with what she had heard but had left the conversation open as Lyras had asked a question or two.

"You do not have pointed ears," Lyras pointed out, "unless you are aiming for me to...conceal them?"

Lillian tried not to chuckle. "Just try and blend in. Get in, get the information about the virus and get out. We'll give you 72 hours to get there and back. If we haven't heard any by then, officially the Cerberus will have to return to Deep Space 21. I believe that covers everything. You two should report to sickbay and I've got to have a chat with the XO."

Tia shook her head slightly but let the question go as she sensed the feelings of amusement from the Captain. Blending in was exactly what she was going for. "Very good Captain. I'll continue preparations and oversee the transfer of falsified data to the shuttle." she nodded and looked over at Lyras.

"I will gather what supplies we need," the Vulcan offered, visibly not very keen on being made criminals.

=====Bridge=====
Ryan watched as the people went into the Captain's Ready room and then turned back to his scans, it was looking like something was definitely afoot.

 

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