Preparing the Team

Posted on Sat Feb 11, 2017 @ 10:03pm by Commodore Michael Aravan & Major James Mattis & Lieutenant Marisa Cheshire & Lieutenant Commander Arrda & Lieutenant Martha Cusack & Lieutenant Vincent Kramer & Lieutenant Krem & Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes & Lieutenant Xylia Lischka
Edited on on Thu Feb 16, 2017 @ 5:55am

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 4 || 0900 Hours

Michael stood at the head of the conference table as the last department head settled into a seat and brought up a map on it and stood there for a moment looking at it. From their position, it would be a long run deep into Orion space to get to Stameris if that was indeed where the Starfleet personnel from the Orion Sector Tactical Command were being kept.

He hated getting bits and pieces of information from the Orion woman and knew they were going to be in for a rough spot based on what Vashkele had told them, but he had to depend on his crew. He looked at Xylia and gave a nod before he looked at the others.

"As you all have noticed, Commander Weisz isn't here," Michael said. "She's taken a personal leave of absence and I've decided to make Lieutenant Lischka the acting Executive Officer due to her previously passing the Command course for the position. With that being said, I'll turn the floor over to her as she also has a working relationship with our informant."

Xylia stood when the Captain turned things over to her. She had to admit to being a bit nervous about her temporary role and where she sat on the chain of command totem pole prior to this. Someone was to be unhappy, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do the job she'd been given. "The information our guest provided us regarding Raimus has proven to be fact, and because of that, we have decided to grant her request for asylum. She has also provided us with a bit more."

She paused only for a moment to allow that to settle in with everyone before she continued. "We have the names of two 'special' holding facilities on Stameris. Shol'Tar and Kelshaak. We also know they're heavily guarded, which means getting anywhere near them will be extremely difficult. We're looking at Neg'Var Warships, Vor'cha attack cruisers, D'deridex Class, D'Kora Class Troop Ships, Galors and Hideki Fighters. There is even a subspace pass code required to get the right frequency to get in."

The German woman paused once again. "I'm going to be taking a team over to Raimus' ship to look it over. Maybe we'll be able to find something we can use there. Any questions so far?"

The more Douglas heard, the less he liked this whole situation. The list of battle ships made him wince, and his mind immediately began to try and come up with some new strategy for protecting the Triumphant. As to questions, one jumped to the forefront of his mind: was Starfleet insane?! Sending one ship into the initial mess was bad enough; but going as deep in as they now had to, and against the odds that they now knew were present, was beyond mad.

Douglas suspected she would give them more on the arrangement of the ships they would be facing, their patrol patterns (assuming she knew that), etc.; so he did not ask that. First things first, he cautioned himself. Take a breath and back up. "Who will make up your team; and what sorts of things will you be looking for specifically?" he asked, focusing on the first step first.

"A team hasn't been chosen yet, but as soon as that has been decided, those members will be contacted directly," Xylia replied. "As for you're second question, we're looking for anything that can help us. In fact, we're considering the possibility of using the ship to get where we're going. Since most things are transmitted via subspace frequencies, we should be able to go undetected. The Victorious will also be going because of its ability to cloak."

Tom raised an eyebrow at the mention of Maddy's leave. His reaction would have been far more noticeable had he not fought to contain it. He was rather disappointed that she didn't reach out to him after the fact, but he would make it a point to seek her out. As far as the task at hand, Tom wasn't sure to think of that either, other than that he'd likely stay aboard the Triumphant, keeping her ready for action. Ensign sh'Paveress would likely be tapped again for the Victorious.

Martha listened and took on board what was being said. It sounded like quite a heavily armed facility and either way she had a tough task ahead. At least the one thing was the Odyssey-class had a much more modern design - but Martha knew all too well they would have been refitted up to modern standards. For now she chose to stay silent and continue to listen to what was being said.

Marisa also continued to listen intently, though furrowed her brow a little at the possible enemy presence. Looking around the room she noticed one or two tells from the other officers around the table and could tell that a few of them were thinking the same thing.

The pilot focused on the thermos she had clasped in both hands for a good second before she piped up. "What kind of damage are we looking to inflict on the syndicate? Are we just getting our team and going or are we looking to give them a big black eye? Maybe take out the market?"

Michael turned his attention to the CAG Commander. "Our primary goal is to get our people and get out again. The intelligence we've gathered so far is only preliminary, so we're going to have to go in prepared. Lieutenant Lischka has proposed taking Raimus' ship in since it's recognizable and no one knows he's been taken yet. The Triumphant will be in the Orion Nebula nearby if there's trouble and the Victorious has a cloak, so it will be the escort. The fighters will only be a short warp jump away in the event of trouble, which we've been led to believe we can expect in spades."

"There's a good chance that the syndicate vanguard is on alert but in a low power state so as not to show up on subspace scanners." Marisa said thoughtfully. "If the team aboard Ramius' ship can get me co-ordinates of their fleet and confirm that they are indeed in a low power state I can plan a strike mission with some Raptors loaded for bombing and take a few of them out with a torpedo barrage before they can raise their defenses."

Xylia turned her attention toward Marisa. "While I can appreciate your enthusiasm, the entire purpose is to go in undetected. Not to mention rules of engagement. We do not fire unless we've been fired upon. So, unless that happens, you will wait until you're ordered to do otherwise."

The amount of smuggling and murderous raids that the syndicate was responsible for during her tenure at K7 would be more than enough justify a retaliatory strike in the pilot's opinion, but she managed to swallow her objections. "I'd still recommend that you make getting the fleet's composition and coordinates a mission priority anyway." Marisa said in a confident cadence with only the slightest hint of sourness at her swallowed desire to dispense justice. "It will be invaluable for concocting an order of battle for when it does inevitably hit the fan."

"No one said those wouldn't be provided, Lieutenant," the German woman stated.

Michael looked over at Lieutenant Rho as Cheshire brought up that they needed the information, which was true enough. "What can you get for us, Lieutenant?" he asked the Chief of Intelligence.

Alex hadn't taken a seat as the others had when they'd entered. Instead, he opted to stand, leaning against the wall opposite the Ready Room's entrance. The Intelligence Chief had been quietly listening to everything being said and to everything that wasn't. As stoic as a Vulcan, Alex responded, "What exactly do you need, Captain? Fleet composition and coordinates? The subspace pass code?"

Xylia hadn't been addressed, but she felt the need to interject. "I already possess the subspace pass code."

"At least we hope it's the pass code," Michael said to Xylia. "So far, our guest hasn't steered us wrong." He looked back at Rho. "Contact Admiral T'Ral and see what you can learn. I highly suspect that Starfleet Intelligence still has operatives in Orion space who can help with that."

"But, before you do that, I'd like to speak with you once we're finished here," the Acting XO stated.

Alex simply smiled. High suspicions seemed to be the norm where Captains and Starfleet Intelligence were concerned. As for Captain's Aravan's, Alex knew them to be true...at least at one point in time. He nodded to the Captain, "I'll take care of that as soon as we're done here, Captain. But, not before you and I speak, Lieutenant." He turned his head to face Xylia and nodded.

Michael nodded and turned to the Chief Engineer. "What's the status of the repairs on Victorious and Engineering, Lieutenant Kramer?" he asked.

"Power and propulsion systems are now up and ready," Kramer replied. "We are testing those last replacement parts at this time. There are some questions still on what took place on the Victorious." He glanced to Barnes knowing he was on top of that situation.

Mattis stood, rather that sat, in a corner of the room. He wanted to take in all the information he could before either he was asked a question, or offered an opinion. He knew, more than most, the deadly consequences of offering bad advice or getting a incomplete sight picture.

Michael looked over at the Marine Major in the corner and raised an eyebrow. "If you could join us here at the table, you may be able to see the information on it better, Major," he said.

Walking over, Mattis sat down, all kinds of thoughts running through his head, but outwardly, he showed no emotion, his face and gaze as cold as ice.

Michael turned his attention away from the Marine for the moment and looked at the Chief of Operations. "Chief Barnes, what's the status of our power allocation?"

"We should be back up to full power," Tom reported, now that sh'Paveress and Kramer managed to take care of the Alpha Core. "My concern is more for the Victorious. Its shield grid suffered from some unforeseen polarization of several of its coils. We managed to take care of it, but I do have a team performing a series of Level Two Diagnostics on the entire ship. I just want to be sure she's ready when we need her again."

Kramer listened intently and slightly nodded unconsciously at the Operation Chief's assessment.

Xylia looked toward Barnes. "How long before she is ready? We're going to need her sooner than later."

"No more than an hour or two," he replied to the Lieutenant serving as the Executive Officer. Regardless of the Captain's choice, Tom did find it a bit odd that a member of the Senior Staff wasn't appointed in Maddy's stead. This was definitely unorthodox, but hey, so was all of Starfleet. "If you need it sooner, I'm sure Lieutenant Kramer and I can step up our efforts."

Kramer glanced again at Barnes, and gave him a nod to confirm his willingness.

Michael nodded and looked to Xylia. "Do you have anything else to add, Lieutenant?"

"Not at this time, Captain, but if anything comes up I'll alert the senior staff," the acting XO stated.

The Captain looked over at the Ferengi Chief of Science. "Are all the sensors back online, Lieutenant Krem?"

"As far as I'm aware, all of our issues with the sensors have been taken care of," the Ferengi nodded.

"Is Medical ready for potential casualties?" Michael asked Finn.

"We are," Finn added quickly with a soft nod. "Emergency Medical and Triage teams will be on stand-by. We should be able to respond immediately as soon as you need us." He said with a quick second nod.

"Good. Everyone get to your departments and prepare," Michael said. "I have a feeling it won't be long until we're at red alert and fighting our way in. Dismissed."

Making his way over to the Captain after the meeting had dismissed, Mattis asked, "Any specific orders for me and my men sir?"

"You and your Marines will be going on the Victorious and the Galor class once it's repaired," Michael said. "Pick a team of two hundred and fifty out. The rest will stay here on the ship."

"Understood, what are the ROE for this mission sir?"

"Fire only if fired upon," Michael said. "Even then, don't shoot to kill unless you aren't given a choice in the matter. We don't need another fiasco with the Marines like on Raimus' ship. Go get ready."