SpecOpsWarning

Posted on Sun Feb 18th, 2018 @ 12:51pm by Captain Michelle Bartlett & Major Hailey Weston

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Location: Captain's Ready Room

The screen in front of Hailey suddenly began to blink an alternating green and red, her personal method of getting her attention. She hit the button on the bottom right, bringing up whatever had set off this particular alarm. The initial line read out:

'SPECOPWARN:
MarInt has reported high level asset inside Cardassian controlled space in the Delta Quadrant requests assistance and extraction for high priority Federation asset. Request for assistance involved repairs requested involving Condor-class starship or extraction pending inability for repairs. High priority Federation asset title Commander Olivia Bowman, emergency extraction requested.

Coordinates follow receipt. Available Raider team response requested.
SPECOPWARN"

Hailey sat back in her chair. Commander Bowman? She'd seen the woman come on board, but that had been a Cardassian plant eventually found out as Gul Kasella, someone she actually did have a file on. And this? If it was her... She pulled a PADD out and quickly transferred the message over to it, then typed out a rapid response:

"Hotel India Whiskey confirm." And sent it.

PADD in her hand, she whisked out of the office and went at a dead run to the turbolift. Less than a minute later, she was striding onto the bridge and over the the Captain's chair, "Ma'am, I have a priority message for you, in private?" She gestured with the PADD towards the ready room.

"Of course. Commander, you have the bridge." she said, looking at Rostra. "I'll fill you in once I know what's not classified and what is." she added as the two headed to the Ready Room.

"A priority message?" she asked. "Has Intelligence and Strategic Ops been briefed on anything yet?"

"No, ma'am." Hailey stated, "This came over the comm less than five minutes ago and I brought it straight to you. I'll go see them as soon as I head out of here, but I can already tell you what I'm going to need. I do need engineering support and small craft support. I'll have an insertion plan within the hour, but here's where we're going." She pointed at the coordinates on the PADD, About ten hours away from here."

Michelle looked at the data. In many ways, she was actually quite relieved. She had considered Olivia to be the first casualty of this entire mess. At least one member of the senior staff made it. "I'm... How did she survive? Kasella assured us all that the real Commander Bowman was killed in a Cardassian prison."

"That's the information I have, ma'am. That is literally the entire warning order I received. The how and the why were mitigated by the need for getting the information out as quickly as possible. This itself is an expanded version of the request itself. That they took the time to name Commander Bowman in it tells me that it's a critical operation, ma'am." Hailey remained in a posture of at-ease, "And barring some sort of miracle, I'm in the best position to handle the request, despite that I only have a handful of actual trained personnel fully qualified for this sort of mission." She contemplated for a moment, "I'm going to take Sergeant Valentine with me, but Gunny Rori I'll leave here to head up who's left."

"All right." Michelle replied. "I'll get Intel and StratOps on piecing everything together. I'll make sure they stay out of your team's way and don't harm them. When do you depart?"

"About forty-five minutes or so." Hailey responded instantly, "We call this a drop-kick mission and we have a protocol for it. Might be upwards of an hour, just because we don't have a shuttle already prepacked and just needing warmed up. But just be warned, there's a chance the shuttle might not be coming back, even if we do. If we get burned and still E&E out, plausible deniability might require us to completely destroy it."

"Understandable. Do what you must to get Commander Bowman back." Michelle added. "I'm not sure where we'll assign her, but... we'll worry about that once she's safe."

"Yes, ma'am, we'll get her back." Hailey came to attention again, "It's the least we can do for her."

"Agreed." Michelle said. "I'm glad the Admiral knocked enough heads together to see that."

"Ma'am, these aren't from the Admiral, well, not Admiral Marquette. Rear Admiral Fogarty, Marquette's Intel Chief, is the one who runs the special operations units out here, and this came direct from him. The whole debacle with Gul Kasella apparently made this a rather high priority." Hailey smiled, "And I happen to agree."

"As do I." Michelle said. "The things they must have done to her..." she added. "It's a miracle they found her to extract."

"It is indeed, ma'am." Hailey agreed, "With your leave?"

"Dismissed. Good luck." Michelle said.

END

Captain Michelle Bartlett
Commanding Officer
USS Wellington

Major Hailey Weston
Marine CO/Second Officer
USS Wellington