Posted by Captain Orvos Legen (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - Briefing Room

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Main Sim - Briefing Room

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Main Sim - Briefing Room
Posted by… suppressed (18) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

IC: Orvos nodded to Marishka curiously, taking note to be better observant of his senior staff. “Thank you Marishka,” he said to her before she departed.

Turning to the staff, he wasted no time. “Starfleet has discovered five missing ships that had never arrived to their designated ports. These ships were set on autopilot with dead or missing crews. What we do know is that sensor logs on these vessels seem to indicate a cargo vessel dropped out of warp and immediately fired on each vessel. All of these seem to be separate instances. Each ship encountered has a similar story. Once the shields of these ships dropped, sensor arrays were targeted and the ships were boarded. Attacks seemed to last about 10 minutes.”

“What we do know is that each vessel seemed to have been fired on with Breen weaponry. However, readings from inside each ship indicated that the only weapons fired were Federation phasers. And it seems that whoever boarded each vessel were familiar with the designs. No vessel was the same, and not all of them were of Federation charter.”

“We are currently en route to the suspected area of attack which is a remote asteroid belt in the sector closest to us. There’s still one ship missing with no transponder signal. Quite frankly, it seems we may be dealing with pirates or some sort of black market? Though I’m open to thoughts and questions regardless.”

He leaned back, allowing the brief to sit in and give people room to speak their minds.

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Benjamin frowned at the description, he had no experience in dealing with pirates in his career but this sounded far harsher than any stories he’d heard before, why kill or steal an entire crew “Is it usual that entire crews go missing or are murdered?” He asked out of a genuine horrified curiosity.

Doctor Grey
CMO

Orvos raised an eyebrow as he considered responding. His chief intelligence officer beat him to the punch.

Faye lifted her brows. “Yes. Accidents do happen, and this ship is known to disappear now and again, but I wouldn’t count that as normal.” The Athena was rarely anything that fit that description.

“So we have someone who either stole Breen weaponry or bought it from them legit, and then dumped it on a cargo vessel. I am still surprised they snuck up on Federation starships. I’ve worked cargo ships, speed and maneuverability is not their forte. But regardless, the person running the show is experienced and thorough. The smash and dash method is a favourite of the Orion Syndicate, but I hate blaming them for everything even though they tend to earn it.” Faye tensed and then blew out a breath. “And the missing crews bother me. If they weren’t going to be just killed because they were in the way and they wanted no witnesses, then there’s usually only one reason to hijack a crew and that’s to sell them on the slave market.” That she actually managed to say any of this with a modicum of calmness surprised even Faye.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Stone’s mind had mulled over much the same factors while on the bridge as the details were presented once more, Serena returned to the same thoughts and conclusions. As she was about to say as much, she turned her attention to Orvos as he moved to speak.

“I agree,” chimed in the captain.

Marishka had the chance to hear the words Breen and Orion Syndicate before the doors of the ready room closed. Now it was time for her to do her own investigation. Official or not, she would get some answers.

• Marishka

Liam reflected on the information give. He pulled away his mouth from his fingers then spoke. “Five ships. Were they all attacked around the same routes or different ones? If different, how far apart? We might be able to determining a ‘hunting’ ground of sorts.”

His eyes flicked briefly to acknowledge Marishka when he heard the doors open.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“It would seem they were all attacked in the same relative area. Flight paths of the ships seem to pass near an asteroid belt that we’re en route to.”

“Breen weapons pull a lot of power.” Hammor said. “Far more than phasers or disruptors of the same power level. But putting them on cargo vessel could make sense, actually. Secondary power systems dedicate to the weapons could make them more efficient, and you would still have room for loot.”

Hammor, CE

Orvos nodded in agreement with Hammor’s statement. “It sounds like we’ll need to be ready for incoming breen weaponry. And we’ll need to have a plan before getting there. Thoughts?”

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Anyone who even remotely knew Faye could see that her mind was running fast at the moment, calculating and expanding ideas. “Their vessels are organic-based, so it would be good to keep that in mind, because even if you steal tech and dump it on another vessel, it’s roots are still organic in origin. The way something organic reacts to impact, energy, everything, is different. And their weapons drain energy from their opponents vessels. But we could take advantage of that and create a feedback system, propelling it back at them. Yes, they would drain energy off of us, but in a crunch it would take them down too! Plus we have to be mindful of the rumours that some Breen vessels might have cloaking devices. If this cargo vessel had one of those too, an organic cloak would function differently. I can’t calculate anything on that without at least knowing the original power source, but it could make it easier for them to sneak up on us because we don’t know what we’re on the lookout for.” She lifted a hand. “Oh! I might be able to set up a hacking protocol. Since it’s not a Breen vessel itself, I’m pretty sure I can handle it.” Faye shrugged and seemed to finally take a full breath, though her mind was still working through various permutations.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Orvos’ attention turned to Faye when she spoke. Her fast paced mind jumping from item to item was leaving his own Nine century old brain in the dust. He nodded, pretending to understand as he allowed his senses to take in if anyone else was just as addled as he found himself to be. Truth to be told, it hadn’t taken him long to get what she was saying. “Sounds like we have a lot of unknowns? But it’s a start.” He glanced about, curious if anyone had anything to add to what was shared.

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Faye and Ducante brought up good points about Breen weaponry, and their particular properties. That was kind of a pickle. But already their CIO had some good ideas. The thing was, the victims, so far were civilian vessels. They didn’t have the “oomph” in their weaponry that the Athena did. Reports also had no mention of torpedoes, much less quantum torpedoes. Those could be fired without any real risk to the Athena’s power systems.

And then there was the cloak. “Speaking of the cloak. I might have a counter. Well two counters.” Her tone was less of an order, but more spitballing with colleagues - the scientists, the tacticians. “We can glitterbomb them.” Expecting funny looks she leaned in. “We prep one or more torpedoes that pop and scatter a large cloud of clingy, sensor reflective material that coats them. Even if they try to hide, we can still see their outline. It’s about as ghetto and low-tech as it gets, but…”

“Cool!” Faye said, breaking into a grin. “I love it. Why go high-tech to match them when we can go low-tech. They won’t expect it.”

Hammor nodded and said “Oh, I can definitely whip something up along those lines.”

She left the option, the question in it silently hanging in the air. “As for the other option, same kind of idea, but we hit them with tracking rounds if they’re getting away. A “dud” or so they think. Impacts the hull and splatters with a radioactive isotope we can track. Wouldn’t take much either. There’s some good options in the historical database, at least back to the Kirk era that we can track sectors away.” She paused. “Or Hell, even put a little in some bait cargo if we get boarded. Though if that happens we’ve really screwed up.”

Lt. Cmdr. Stone, Executive Officer

“Why choose?” Hammor said. “We can do both as easily as we do one or the other.”

Faye had several comments ready to go but the moment being boarded came into the conversation, Faye froze. She focused all her attention on breathing and at least seeming like she was okay.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Janna was taking in the conversation with curiosity. None of this was her expertise but she was always open to learning. She also didn’t miss Calloway’s sudden quietness, but since she could tell the CIO had it under control at the moment, she let it be. “If we’re going to be patrolling this area and we do expect to run into trouble, we might want to have the civilians and family areas on alert. I don’t like worrying them unnecessarily, but we don’t need the school rooms in a panic if we do encounter someone who wants to take shots at us. I can even discreetly tell the educators and key folks in different areas to be prepared.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Daggum’s eyes moved to his wife and he slid a hand unnoticed by the others under the table and took her hand and squeezed it.

Hammor, CE

For many it would just look like Faye’s mind had drifted elsewhere for a moment (and it had in its own way), but that familiar touch and reassurance made Faye take a breath. Her heart was racing but she was present.

Orvos’s empathic senses were conveying extra information to him that likely most others would miss. His eyes kept trained on each person as they spoke, despite the feelings he sensed. To Janna he spoke. “I agree. Probably a good idea to coordinate with security on that as well.”

Turning to all present, he added, “I like the ideas presented. Let’s run with it and get that ready. Despite our exceptional chances of seeming success, I still want to be prepared for any unfortunate scenario. Running some drills would be wise if time permits.

“We need to know why these people are doing what they do. If we can find out the why, we can be much better prepared. They’ve kidnapped crews and sent the ships on their merry way to their destined port with the dead still aboard. That feels more like a message. And our very presence could be perceived as a challenge to that message. We should definitely be ready for a fight. Whether it’s ship to ship or person to person. Have your departments prepared just in case.

“I’ll see what I can find from my side of things,” Calloway said, finally pulling her hand out from Daggum’s. She was okay now.

“And unless we have any objections, it would seem best to immediately investigate the asteroid belt when we get in system.”

He paused, his eyes surveying the expressions in the room as his sense soaked in the feelings. He let his words hang, allowing others to chime in as they felt inclined.

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Liam hadn’t spoke during the whole meeting. His eyes shifted from one speaker to another and drank in the ideas. However, when the Captain spoke of being prepared for a fight, the chief science officer tensed. He took a deep breath then pushed his nerves aside to speak. “So far, the ideas sound solid and simple. No objections from me.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Benjamin sighed inwardly, another fight. At least his staff was well versed in combat triage by now. “Same here, sir.”

Doctor Grey
CMO

Faye nodded. “We might as well get ourselves in there and see what we can find.”

~Faye Calloway, CIO

“I’ll make sure we have damage control teams on standby, and I’ll start rigging the torpedos now.” Daggum said.

Orvos paused before speaking. He took in the faces at the table. There was determination and ideas. And a plan was forming. But most of what they needed to do would be decided when more information was discovered. “We have enough to go on. I trust you all to do your part. And while we are sailing into potential trouble with an incomplete picture, I trust we will get to the bottom of whatever is happening. And, perhaps, we’ll make it home in time for supper, eh?” he said with a hint of lightheartedness. “Let’s get this done. You’re all dismissed.”

Without looking her way, Orvos gently brushed Janna’s mind. Would you stay for a moment?

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Faye nodded and then looked to Dag, giving him a look he would know all too well as a ‘I’m okay, but not really’ look.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Daggum nodded once slightly and followed the rest of the staff out of the room.

Janna remained sitting with a thoughtful expression on her face as people filed out.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Orvos finally gave Janna his full attention when everyone had left the room. “So, what should I be prepared for?” he asked, somewhat open-endedly. He was speaking about the crew, though however she interpreted it was fine with him. He had his own impressions as an El Aurian, but Janna was growing into something similar. And her experience with people was an asset to him. Never mind the fact that she was also eye candy to him.

-Captain Orvos Legen, CO

Hammor, CE