Great... Now What?

Posted on Thu Jun 7th, 2018 @ 12:11am by Major Hailey Weston & Captain Michelle Bartlett & Lieutenant Talea Honn

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Just after 'We've Got Company!'

Michelle headed into the ready room after handing the bridge to Mordin. She chuckled a little at the thought of Valeria getting so much time in the big chair. She almost might not want to leave it if she wasn't careful. Not bad for a simple farmer's daughter...

"Welcome back, by the way." Michelle said to Hailey as she took her seat. "Sorry it wasn't a little less dramatic."

"It's good to be back, ma'am." Hailey smiled back, "It was an outright textbook extraction, in and out without any issue, didn't even get much of a hiccup from the system control. Commander Bowman was given a set of quarters when we got the red alert, but we can get to her later on. Anything I need to know about the situation?"

"Our routine surveillance mission took an... obviously different turn." Michelle replied. "We ended up discovering a planet that somehow was stuck frozen in time for a yet unknown period. Commander Tang led an away team down there and appears to have been captured." she added. "I will need you to prep a team for potential deployment. I just don't quite know if we're going in all guns blazing yet."

Hailey nodded sagely, "I can put together a team of the usual suspects. But I'll definitely take a look over whatever we have on down there. I do need to bring another thing up with you if I can?" She waited for a brief nod, "I got my new Exec a couple days ago, but I'm not going to certify her until I can run her around a bit. Lieutenant Zen has some potential, but until I can, I'm making Gunny Rori my exec-in-truth."

"Of course." Michelle replied just as Jason entered.

"You needed to see me?" Jason asked.

"It's about our newfound planet. I'll wait for Commander Honn to arrive." Michelle said.

"So... I take it first contact didn't go so well?" Jason asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Michelle responded with a sigh.

Hailey shook her head, "The good news, sir, is that if the shit hits the fan, I'm ready to go down and get our people back." Hailey then smiled, remembering when she and the Commodore first ran into each other, literally. She had fled the situation at the opening of the Prancing Mythical Creature after that.

"I'm hoping it won't come to that." Jason said, looking at Michelle for further clarification. At that moment, Honn walked in. She stopped to nod at everyone and then took her seat.

"Please tell me that this whole 'shoot first, ask questions later' stuff wasn't initiated by us?" Talea asked pleadingly.

"I can confirm that it's not." Michelle said. "I'll get right to it... The away team has been captured and is being held down on Reh'nar. They don't seem to understand that they are considerably years ahead of where they were frozen and believe we are a threat."

"That would explain why they didn't do much more than shake the ship with their firing on us." Hailey mused, having missed most of it and arriving late on the bridge, "Do we have any idea how long we're talking about them having been frozen in time? I know I haven't heard anything about this world or these Koldarens from any intelligence report."

"So far, nothing. Until almost 45 minutes ago, nobody knew these Reh'nari even existed." Michelle said. "Even Ts'usugi star charts have nothing in this area going back 3 or 400 years. So right now our operating premise is that they vanished in our 20th or 21st centuries."

"And we aren't sure why or how yet?" Honn asked.

"The only people who know or might have started investigating are being detained on Reh'nar." Michelle said. "We know very little about them or what they're after. Right now, all we know is they seem to think we're spies. Or Koldarans."

"Has anyone asked Lieutenant Mordin if the Ts'Usugi have had any contact with the Koldarens? Or even if they have any sort of species profile on them? If the Reh'nari were 'frozen' during a war and since the star was already here, it was just a localized anomaly, certainly the Koldarens are still around in one way shape or form?" Hailey asked.

"That's the odd bit." Michelle replied. "Sensors show nothing looking like a Koldaren vessel or anything resembling Koldaren technology. I've asked our teams to consult the Koldaren Archives but they say very little about this. According to even the more recent star charts, this area was in the Koldaren sphere of influence but they never formally settled it for some odd reason."

"Odd indeed." Hailey confirmed, steepling her hands in front of her face for a moment as she just thought out loud, "Ancient species coming out of essentially multi-century instant cryo-sleep from in the middle of a war. they're going to be on edge, razor's edge, but since we're even talking about a rescue operation, we already know that. Inferior technology, so we can roll over them in anything except close combat and we'd probably even kick their asses in that." Her eyes looked up to the Captain, "We may want to consider a show of force and send a high-powered negotiator down to the planet. I know Commander Tang s there, but she's got what? Three others with her? Perhaps if Commander Honn and a proper escort, dressed to the nines and obviously heavily armed could make an impression and they may take us rather seriously?"

"You up for it?" Michelle asked.

"I mean... I did have a good teacher." Talea replied to her predecessor-turned-CO. "I think a negotiation or at least some sort of discussion is necessary. Fighting a race with practically ancient vessels is hardly a fair fight to start."

"I could have ended their entire fleet with 20 quantum torpedoes." Michelle said. "It was like shooting fish in a barrel."

"I think we're all agreed an armed diplomatic team is the way to go then?" Jason asked.

"I think it would be the better choice for now. What remains our priority is to get our people back. Then we can try again for a proper first contact. We also will have to alert Starfleet Command out here as to what we're dealing with." Michelle said before turning to Honn. "Commander, under no circumstances are we to discuss any of our technology or anything that has happened while they were frozen until Commander Tang and the away team is safely back on this ship."

"Aye, ma'am." Honn replied.

"I'll get Rori, Valentine and..." Hailey thought for a few moments, "Let's throw Zen and Finch in there to get them some experience as well for your escort, ma'am." She gave a sortof sheepish smile, "I'd go myself, but with the exec on the ground, I'm pretty sure I need to be up here, right ma'am?" She looked to Miichelle. This Second Officer thing was definitely going to get in the way of being on this sort of away mission, that was for sure.

"Proceed. Prep them for deployment." Michelle said, before smirking a bit. "And yes... I will need you aboard since the First Officer is incapacitated. Hopefully not decapitated." she said with some concern. The last thing she needed right now was an away team lost not even a month after... well... all that.

"I'll get them briefed in and have them ready to go in a half hour." She inhaled briefly, confirming to herself she was making a good call on it, then pushed herself up from her seat, "I'll have them meet you in the transporter room, ma'am." She said to Talea, already moving towards the door.

"Thank you." Talea said. "Well.. I suppose I'd best prepare. If that will be all, Captain? Commodore?"

"It is." Michelle replied. "Good luck, Commander." she added, hoping she wasn't sending more down there to get abducted.

OFF:

Commodore Jason Myers
Task Group CO

Captain Michelle Bartlett
Commanding Officer
USS Wellington

Major Hailey Weston
Second Officer/Marine CO
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Commander Talea Honn
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Wellington