Alice talks to the Red Queen

Posted on Sun Sep 3, 2017 @ 6:46pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Lieutenant Marisa Cheshire

Mission: Strange Matter
Location: Hangar/Commanders Office
Timeline: MD 28 || 1700 Hours

"This is the second ship you've personally flown into a code 2 this shift boss." The crew chief said, calling out from at top Marisa's fighter, hunched over an access panel as he shone a light into its guts. "If you don't slow down I'll run out of parts and you'll have to ask Navigation to borrow one of their shuttles to sortie."

"I did ask them nicely not to shoot." Marisa said with a slight smirk, looking up at the chief from the deck, before uttering a sigh "It's nothing structural is it?" she asked with concern ebbing into her tone, they'd have to take it out of rotation for a while if it was, and with the situation escalating that was something Marisa could definitely do without.

"No, the Breen's energy dampeners just did a number on the EPS system." He replied "I just need to replace about a hundred meters of conduit and one thousand connections. Gonna be tedious to do, but she should be ready by the start of gamma shift if I get started now." The chief reassured without lifting up his head. "Garm 3 is another story though. Impulse reactors are shot and the rear frame is warped. The back end is going to have to be completely rebuilt."

"I understand, we'll make do. I appreciate all your hard work." Marisa said with a smile as she walked off to the showers.

As soon as she was out of earshot of anyone she let out an relieved sigh. Two combat sorties in one shift was a stressful prospect, and she was somewhat relieved to be on solid ground. It was the glint from the ceiling mounted turrets that snapped her out of it, remembering the events of the computer core infection and the loss of 3 of her officers.

Her mind wandered to the events of the day as the sweat and grime from 8 hours in a flight suit evaporated from her body. They had prepared for cloaking yet the Romulan ship decloaked right in the middle of their tachyon detection grid, then it took the Triumphant's shields out in one hit, then a Breen ship manages to drop out of warp meters from her without setting off her ship's sensor's until the last moment.

As she was looking in her locker she paused as she looked at her clothes and rather than grabbing her civilian clothes, she donned her duty uniform. The day's work isn't done she thought to herself as she buttoned up her red shirt.

=^=Lieutenant Cheshire to Commander Weisz. Sorry to bother you at the end of your shift but have you got a moment sir? I've noticed some things that I feel need your urgent attention.=^= she said after tapping her com badge.

=^=Report to my office, Lieutenant. Weisz out.=^= the Commander said before ending the link. Her curiosity had her wondering what was going on, but there was also the stack of PADDs on the edge of her desk that required her attention. Those would have to wait for now.

After mounting her pips on her collar she grabbed her squadron jacket and headed on up to the Commander's office.

///

Upon arriving at the Commanders office Marisa did the usual. Pressed the button on the door and waited for a response. In addition she also did her best to mentally suppress the feeling of apprehension welling up in her as she remembered Commander Weisz apprising gaze she was subjected to last time they were in a room together alone. That and the daggers she was getting during the briefing. She swallowed slightly as she waited.

"Come!" Maddy called from inside her office.

Marisa did as she was bade with only a slight pensive inhale as the door opened. She stepped inside and gave the commander a crisp salute once she was over the threshold.

"Sir, thank you for seeing me." She said with a professional cadence "I gather things have been just as exciting for you as they have been for us?"

"More or less," the redhead confirmed, gesturing for the Lieutenant to take a seat. "You mentioned something that needed my urgent attention. What is it?"

"We just had a Breen ship drop out of warp right on top of my CAP of the area around the Triumphant with no warning." Marisa said with a firm inflection as she took her seat. "And I mean nothing, until they dropped out about 100 meters from us. Fighter sensors aren't as good as the Capital grade ones on the Triumphant, but we should have picked up a Breen ship about a quarter of a light year out based on our flying conditions." She continued, moving her hands as she spoke. "That, coupled with the battle this morning." The pilot shook her head with frustration "Sir, we set up a tachyon detection grid and the Romulans just passed through it as though it wasn't there. Then the Triumphant's shields went down in one hit. If the Eraiko had a fighter complement and sortied them for an anti ship mission it's unlikely we'd be having this conversation."

Maddy listened as Marisa spoke, looking thoughtful a she did. "Back when Vashkele and her band of merry pirates boarded the ship, our sensors were toyed with. Maybe they aren't up to par still, but that shouldn't be the case considering we just had the ship overhauled after the last mishap," she said. "All we can do is run a diagnostic on the sensors to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. I can assure you we'll determine there are no problems. In the meantime, stick close to the ship when you're all out running your patrols and report anything unusual."

"I think it's a bit more serious than that." Marisa replied "We have just over 100 ships with independent sensor systems, so you're probably right that everything is working with in acceptable parameters. Or if it's not, we've got more than enough redundancy." She looked down for a moment and took a deep breath. A part of her thought she was blowing things out of proportion. Though she still felt as though it was her responsibility to air these concerns to her superiors, no matter how paraniod it made her look. After steeling herself she looked up and, making eye contact with the commander, continued. "My concern is that the strategies we used today are considered to be hard counters to cloaking technology by Star' Com' and they did nothing to slow them down. That, in my mind, and given the redundancy of our setup this morning and this afternoon, leaves three possibilities. Wide spread sabotage, a hard counter to our sensors or a currently intangible threat."

"There are limitless things within the galaxy we have yet to encounter despite centuries of exploration, Lieutenant, and we could very well be dealing with something we currently have no knowledge of now," Maddy said, leaning back in her chair. She kept her eyes on the Lieutenant across from her, unsure what the other woman wished her to do in this situation. "You and your fighter group are our first line of defense. Be vigilant and prepared. You all have the training for these situations. You have the fighters for it. And more than anything, you have the ability to pull it off."

She took a breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "A Romulan ship decloacked within the tachyon grid, and the Breen ship arrived almost on top of you. Both fact," she stated. "But, did you not manage to drive them both away? You did, which is also fact."

"Barely." Marisa replied with thinned lips. She then let out a sigh of resignation, letting some of the built up tension. "I know there isn't much more you can do about it." She said with a little sympathy ebbing into her inflection "All I'm asking is that you keep it in mind. Maybe just mention something down the chain to Intel? Ask them if they've got anything on any Pact countermeasure research programs that might explain this. If not I'll accept 'Intangible' as the explanation and play it by ear."

"I will take that into consideration, Lieutenant," the redhead Commander said. "In the meantime, I have a few things to mull over and go see Master Chief Barnes about the sensors. I will get back with you as soon as I'm able to. In the meantime, as I said, stick close to the ship during patrols and report anything unusual. Dismissed."

"Aye aye, sir." Marisa said as she got to her feet. As she got to the door she cast a glance back with a soft smile. "Thanks for hearing my concerns."

"It's not a problem, Lieutenant. I'm sure everything is fine, but we'll check to make sure," Maddy stated before she reached for a PADD to review.