Posted by Commander D’Vash Odinson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side Sim - Conference Room - CRIT… And So It Begins

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Side Sim - Conference Room - CRIT… And So It Begins

Posted by Commander Garinder’Jen th’Jir (Executive Officer) in Side Sim - Conference Room - CRIT… And So It Begins
Posted by… suppressed (21) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Mardusk looked around and made sure everything was squared away and the Skipper had three pots of coffee. The meeting requests had gone out yesterday, and the giant Orion had spent the next day sweating bullets. He knew the Captain was supportive of his and Cochrane’s CRIT team initiative. And the Brass had applauded him and Alex on the idea and gave them their blessings. But now… now is where the rubber met the road.

And Gravel was nervous.

He had gone over the potential candidates time and time again. And he knew the new CIO had the background and experience he was looking for. The question was: would he want to take the job? It was going to be hard enough coming onto a new ship, not just to him but to everyone, and settle in. Now along comes Mardusk to drop a new team with massive responsibilities and leeway to operate in his lap. A team that he would be responsible for, but who he also had to trust enough to hand the reins over to if someone was better geared to handle the specific situation. And it was the leeway that worried him. Cochrane was a ship’s Captain. It was his idea to have the team only answer to the CO. He said it would ‘cut down on the bull@$#t’ if they didnt have DH’s and off-ship authorities tugging at the team all the time. And he was right… but that meant a CO had to be willing to take it on the chin if the team screwed up. And so did the team leader. It was a lot to ask of Kelly and the new CIO.

“Double edge sword much?” he said out loud to no one in particular.

Mardusk, CoS

The door swooshed open and the ships new Intel chief stepped in. “Double-edged sword, Cmdr.? It depends on what type of battle you’re going into. The single-bladed Oriental weapons are useful for quick, precise strikes, but personally, I like the big, two-handed swords and battle axes my ancestors used to invade Europe. Those were just big and scary.”

He stepped forward and introduced himself. Cmdr. D’vash Odinson, CIO.” He was nowhere near as big as the Orion security chief, but he was built solidly. D’vash’s appearance more closely resembled his human mother, but if Mardusk paid any attention, he would notice a slight green tint to Odinson’s skin color, showing that there was some Orion blood in the new crew member.

Odinson (CIO)

Mardusk chuckled and said “Talking to myself actually, sir.” and he held out a truly massive hand to D’vash and said “Lieutenant Commader Gravel Mardusk, Security Chief and Co-Architect of either a really good or really really bad idea. Either way, thanks for coming. I hope the presentation doesn’t disappoint.”

Mardusk, CoS

Jen followed behind shortly after, entering as punctual as one was able without being a Vulcan. The meeting agenda that the Security Chief had called was cryptic and brief. CRIT. He had only recently met the security chief as the co conspirator of the anomalous bar that still had his antennae quivering. All they needed was a Horta in this meeting to make it a truly eclectic and alien meeting. He glanced at the rank insignia and half smiled. “If we have too many more of us in this room there will need to be a name for it. A ‘flight of commanders’ perhaps?” He looked at the newcomer whom he recognized as one named Odinson. “Commander, welcome aboard,” he said to the newest member. It wasn’t hard to remember his name after the rank. It wasn’t every day that a new full commander was aboard.

One corner of D’vash’s mouth pulled up into a grin. He stood up and nodded to the XO. “Thank you, Commander. I’m happy to be here, and exited to get back into the field.”

He looked to Mardusk. “Any spoilers before the Captain arrives?” he inquired.
- Jen, XO

Mardusk smiled slightly and said “Now where the fun be in spoliers?” and he chuckled as he gestured for the XO to be seated. “This is a proposal myself and the CO of the USS Manhattan put together a few months back. We were discussing the need for specialized responses across all departments, and how to make that efficient and easily mobilized. What I’ll be presenting today is the plan that we developed and that the Skipper and the Fleet Brass have approved for trial runs here and on the Manhattan.” The big Orion was obviously a bit nervous… but just that fact would show those that knew him how serious he took the project.

Mardusk, CoS

Odinson had dealt with his share of Orions in his early Intel days, usually at the other end of a phaser. He could tell by Mardusk’s demeanor and the way he carried himself that he was a loyal Starfleet officer. No need to worry about him. He still carried suspicions about most Orions he dealt with, but most of them weren’t in the fleet.

Odinson (CIO)

Jen contemplated the idea. He was open to new things, though had reservations. There was, technically, little that was new under the sun, and the effectiveness of many a plan could be researched. However, every tactic was circumstantial. He moved around to pull out a seat and gestured to Odinson. “Have a seat,” he offered. “No sense standing on ceremony. You were last on the Olympic. Same class ship. What do you see as the principle strength and weakness of that design?” Jen glanced at Mardusk. His expression presented the option to him as well, though with the Orion making the presentation his take was that he preferred to stand. He might be an IO now but his prior position was as his now.
- Jen

D’vash thought for a moment before replying. “The interchangeable mission modules were a definite bonus. That gives the class the ability to take on just about any kind of mission. A lot of flexibility for whatever the need may be. In my honest opinion, the only weakness she has is that there are civilians on board. In times of crisis, you can’t worry about if your family, spouse, and children are safe.”

The door opened and Kelly breezed in rapidly. Running the floating palace she had been given was like being the mayor of a small town. There were always a few civilians here and there on a ship however they typically always belonged to someone. Now the Atlantis was a ship of Starfleet crew and private contractors. The crew were fine.
The private contractors were the handful. They were bound by some of the rules of Starfleet but not all. Privately she called come of these contractors the Starfleet Ship Association because they complained about every minor inconvenience they saw both real or imagined. Inhaling deeply, Kelly smelled the scent of coffee in the air. “God Mardusk tell me that is the stash your mom left when she visited,” Kelly moved to the pot pouring a large mug.

Savoring a sip she moved to the table and sat down. “So what have I missed,” she looked at the XO, COS, and newest CIO.

Captain Kelly Bordeaux

Mardusk nodded and said “Side chatter,Skipper. Waiting for you for the nuts and bolts.” Mardusk then slid PaDDs to everyone and said “Skipper is aware, so they’ll be review for her. Fleet has approved implementation of a new response group. You can read the order and overview here.”

On the device was a document marked confidential and entitled ‘CRIT Directive- Activation and Implementation’. It read:

“Based on discussion between two senior Security personnel, a need for a ship-specific rapid response entity was identified and addressed with the creation and subsequent approval for the formation of CRIT (Containment - Response - Intervention - Tactics) teams on the USS Atlantis and the USS Manhattan.
These teams are to be made up of individuals from all departments who possess uncommon skill sets and are capable of operating under extreme stress and pressure. The qualifications for the CRIT designation are as follows:
• Complete psychological and medical assessment and approval of CMO and CMS for duty on the team.
• Recommendation of Department Head and two subordinates. (In the case of a Department Head application, recommendation will come from CO and XO).
• Skills test conducted by CRIT team members.
• Monthly Physical and Psychological assessments.
• Passing of Final CRIT Simulation test.
Upon completion, CRIT certification will be assigned.”

“It must be noted that all CRIT teams are ship / station specific. CRIT designation is non-transferrable from posting to posting. Any previous CRIT member who transfers to another duty station will have to reapply for the designation.”

“CRIT teams will deal with any situation deemed necessary for their deployment by the Commanding Officer. The Commanding Officer can deploy CRIT at the request of others, but the final decision rest with that entity. In the event the Commanding Officer is incapacitated, CRIT will automatically activate to asses and respond as needed. Specific examples of CRIT activation are:
• Boarding Operations
• Away Team operational support in unknown or hostile areas
• Hostage situations
• Repelling of Boarders (Operational support to ship’s Security)
These are examples of CRIT team use. By the nature of the team, their use will be varied and unique from activation to activation.”

“The hierarchy of the team is unique. There is a designated team leader, but their position is one of ensuring the team is current and prepared. All CRIT members have an equal voice in team decisions, but ALL members are expected, even mandated, to defer to the subject expert on their team for any given situation. To explain: A freighter has been boarded by pirates and the warp core has begun to go critical. The team leader designates risk priorities. Here, the warp core is the priority. The team’s Engineer takes the lead, directs the team to contain the breach. When that is done, the Security expert would take the lead to deal with the pirates. This is why the team must be a truly cohesive unit. Trust and mutual respect for each member is key.”

“CRIT teams will have access to all supplies and equipment they deem necessary to carry out operations in the manner they see best. This level of logistical support is uncommon, and Commanding Officers and Team Leaders should be diligent in ensuring such support is not abused.”

“Oversight and responsibility for the actions taken by the team fall to the designated Team Leader and the Commanding Officer of the ship or station. Disciplinary actions against CRIT team members are encouraged to be done out of public eye on order to maintain the desired reputation of professionalism, integrity, and elite capabilities. Only if deemed necessary by the team as a whole and / or the Commanding Officer will charges against a member for actions taken during CRIT operations be made public. It should be noted that this is not done to protect members of CRIT, but to protect the public view of the operational entity.”

“CRIT will be activated for period of one year Standard Time from this date. After such time, a review by the approving Admiralty will be conducted to make a final decision on the efficacy and desirability to maintain the program.”

Mardusk watched as the assembled group read, and waited for questions.

Mardusk, CoS

“Interesting concept, Mr. Mardusk,” D’vash began. “A team of specialists to be first responders to any given situation. Definitely a viable option with a crew this size. Approximately, what size of a team are we looking at?”

Odinson (CIO)

Mardusk smiled and then shrugged. “That’s what I believe is the core strength of this concept. No formal team sizes, no mandated equipment lists. Each team is it’s own entity, designed to meet the specific needs of the post by those who are actually doing the job. They decide how many they need, what equipment, what training. They are responsible for being able to deploy in a myriad of different scenarios and be effective. How they do that is up to them. Oversight and responsibility coupled with flexibility and ease of responsiveness. That’s the goal.”

Mardusk, CoS

OOC: Fixing typos.

OOC: And just to be devils’ advocate here because we need someone who objects <G>
IC:

Jen had been pondering this idea and being quiet. It might work for a special ops group within scope to undertake something more covert than overt, but they were separate groups to begin with. Specialized. The Fleet was different from the Marines. The latter had one objective. Lethality and military operations. Well, okay two objectives. Starfleet was designed for a jack of all trades set of objectives. All things to everyone. Jen didn’t precisely agree with that. He thought the whole thing held a lack of discipline. However, that being said, they needed to be flexible.

“I don’t see it,” he said at last. “A specially trained group for a specific purpose - which by your own admission is limited. Apart from a combat role a Starfleet vessel can be called on to anything in which case operational away teams are chosen by their particular expertise in matters to get that job done. There is no need for an elite group. A Mythology class is not even specified as a battleship but exploration and diplomatic missions. While it can have rare operational moments that is not her design. What you are proposing would be more suited for a Viking or Pendragon class or even the Chimera class than a Mythology. I’d think you’d all be gathering a great deal of dust on your persons before anyone dusted you off to do what you are thinking. Were I still on the Chimera I’d be all in on this idea.”
- Jen, XO

Mardusk looked at the XO and said “They arent there for a specific purpose, that’s the thing. They exist to handle those situations where it will be either too time consuming to gather together all the departments and figure out what we are doing, or when we simply need an immediate and varied response. You are focusing on the combat side. This isnt a combat response. Its…” and he thought for a moment and then said “Ok, look at it like this. What is more important in a survival situation… one really good knife that you have to try and find somewhere, not knowing where you last saw it? Or a muti-tool that sits in you pocket every day? Do you want a tool box in your hand? Or do you want an entire garage of tools that you have to sort through to deal with the breakdown? CRIT isnt special forces. And it’s not damage control or EMT’s. It’s all of them. Available immediately as soon as the CO presses a button. Will they be as effective as full security response team in a hostage situation? Not necessarily. But will they be able to respond faster and have more options available to them to at least give the security team an advantage when they do arrive? Without a doubt. See Commander, you are looking at CRIT as an overall solution… it’s not. It’s a specialized response. It’s the best people in their fields on the ship cross-training the other best people in their fields on the ship and responding as a group for those situations that require and immediate and varied approach. And if you think those situations arise so infrequently that the team will… what did you say? ‘Gather dust’?” and he laughed, but not at the XO but in a friendly manner. “Well, if that’s your thought than all I can say is welcome to the Atlantis.”

Mardusk, CoS

“Fair enough,” Jen replied. Battle plans were just that and made when one had the luxury to make them. “Are the people under you in your department knives to be looked for when you need something done? I’m guessing that if you have a job to do given by necessity, simple routine or a call for an away team where a certain skillset is needed that you know your people enough to call the ones you feel would be best suited for that. Am I correct in that assumption?”
Jen, XO

Kelly mulled over what the XO said chewing her bottom lip. Frankly she hated that this was something command thought was good and should be implemented everywhere as a pilot program to judge its feasibility. That always translated to someone was scared it wouldn’t work and they would seem like they failed. It was why no one name was ever tied to something or why it took months in a committee to move a pencil from one ship to another.

Her issue was Cochrane. While she had only met him a half dozen times in a scattering of committee meetings and briefings, the man seemed to be level headed putting the needs of his crew over his career. If he was backing this it was the one name she could trust.

Moving forward Kelly rested her elbows on the table tapping the PaDD as she spoke. “Forgive my flippancy here but what I seem to be reading here is a real life Sanctioned version of the B Team?” Most around the table would recognize her reference about the do gooder paramilitary team helping those the universe forgot.

“I see Jen’s concern. This team could build resentment in the crew if they are deployed. People could make the assumption Jen and I don’t have confidence in their skills. CRIT could be seen as Elitists and not for their skills. I do however like the idea of no one specific person in command at any given time. I have seen more missions go to hell becuase the person in command thinks they know more that the person next to them. My biggest concern is the brass using this to promote themselves or using the team as scapegoats when something goes wrong. “

Kelly had unwavering faith in her crew and her COS. So far she had never been given pause to doubt Mardusk or his ability to delegate when needed. Still there was a lot of new faces with years of experience behind the eyes looking at her. “Odinson you are new here. Half the stuff in your file is redacted or on an as needed basis which apparently was not needed to be shared when you transferred over,” she let out a half chuckle showing she felt most of the stuff was hidden to hide his personal accomplishment in tasks so that others could “share” in his successes. It was so much easier to say we did it when you didn’t risk something but harder to claim it was a group effort when a report read about a solitary officer doing the impossible and being successful.

“Nine times out of ten something you find hinky is going to deploy Hannibal, Face, Murdock and the green BA here so speak freely. What’s your two cents on the feasibility of a team like this and the ability for a team to work together as perfectly as this presentation is suggesting?”

Taking a sip of her coffee Kelly waited for someone to reply. She had asked three questions. Only one was directed to a person. The ones about elitism and culpability were open for anyone to answer.

Captain Kelly Bordeaux

Mardusk looked at the new XO. “To answer your question: You are correct. But I dont know who the best medic is. Or the best surveyor. Or the best computer programmer. You’re the XO of the ship. Do you know who our best negotiator is? How about the best linguist? And we can take it a step further, Commander. What if the best medic was cross trained by our best marksman? Or our best computer programmer was cross-trained by our best linguist? Not only have we now identified our specialists, but we have put them in an environment where they can become even broader skilled and made more versatile options for the Skipper to utilize in a pinch.”

Mardusk, CoS

D’vash had been listening to both the pros and cons of Mardusk’s idea. Leaning forward and clasping his hands together on the table top, he replied to the captain’s question.

“Starfleet Intel has used variations of this plan many times in the past to a great deal of success. The difference between this and that is. . . those missions and teams were planned well in advance. Intel would reach out to the Intel officers on various ships asking for referrals for, for example, a specialist in quantum engineering, or a negotiator, or a ghost. . . . they would be recruited by SFI for this one mission. They’d train together as a team, do the mission, then be transferred back to their ship after it was done.”

“With Mardusk’s plan, the team is already assembled and can go at a moments notice. I would expect that during down times they would train as a team as well. Working together, cross-training together to become the best of the best. Each member taking the lead depending on the situation parameters. I’m assuming, Mr. Mardusk that there would be a team leader, per say. The person putting the team together, making sure every spoke on the wheel fits, relaying objectives and sharing Intel. That person then defers the leadership to the specialist while on the mission.”

“I think another important factor to consider is that each member of this team can physically AND psychologically handle the stresses that come with the job. Being mentally healthy is tantamount to the success of what you’re asking the team to do.

Odinson (CIO)

Mardusk nodded. “Yep. The first Team Leader is the only role designated and recruited without CRIT input. After the leader is designated, CRIT handles all selection and vetting. That way they are beginning to build the intimate familiarity from jump. And the monthly medical and psych reviews keep everyone current and accountable for their personal well-being. Couple that with the required clearance from Medical and CNS prior to commencing the in-team selection and training, there should little room for error in bringing in someone that isnt mentally and physically capable.”

Mardusk, CoS

“So how is the First Team Leader chosen,” Kelly asked. “You said they are the only member designated.” Staring at the faces of the officers around the table anyone could fill the role however one stood out to her. Odinson. With his intimate knowledge of off the books missions and his training in seeing a big picture out of a million snap shots from years of intelligence work, he seemed the best candidate so far to her. Regardless Kelly would spend quite a bit of time talking to Jen about his thoughts before she made any official decision.

Kelly Bordeaux. CO

Mardusk had been waiting for that question. He nodded and said “The first Team Leaders were chosen from a list of candidates compiled by Fleet, Captain Cochrane, and myself. We whittled it down, made our recommendations, and then the Brass chose from there. Only part that is up in the air is if they accept the new role or not. Skipper, that info should be in your last comms from the Admiralty. Everyone involved wanted final approval from the respective CO’s. And, since it is a team operated under their sole authority, it should fall to you to ask.” he said with a grin.

Mardusk, CoS

OOC: Taking out the tag … think we’re all here ..

“And if it is never activated, what then?” Jen said. “A team like that is one to be used and not sitting on Terran laurels. A typical away mission works based on rotation, department head or their designates that they choose. There are long stretches of time traveling in space before meeting anything. Especially with a Mythology class ship. I mean, it’s not like we’re going to run into say a Carrier class ship under sail as a pirate vessel anytime soon.”

He was becoming aware that this was something imposed on them rather than a good idea in the wrong place. He was, in short, fighting a losing battle. The Captain felt this was perhaps elitism. Jen knew special forces ideas when he saw them and it would have worked wonderfully on the Chimera. But here? The ‘brass’ had really picked the wrong class of ship to do this on.
Jen XO

Mardusk looked directly at the XO and said “And again you are missing the point. Commander. Yes, a typical away team mission works exactly like that. This is for atypical situations. And the excessive time we spend traveling? Ample time for training and cross training. And I can see you think this is a bad idea. Maybe this isnt the right setting for something like this. But that would again miss the point of a tailored, command specific response. It cant be the wrong place for it, because the command itself designs it for themselves. Each team will be it’s own entity… not some cookie-cutter SpecOps team who all trained on Mars and then were deployed to the ship. Our best people. Trained by our other best people. Capable of immediate activation and response without having to contact individual departments and sorting through duty rotations.”

He then looked at the Captain. “You said there would be a concern about elitism. That was a concern I actually brought up in these discussions. Admiral Hallway and Vice Admiral Von’ton both looked at it from a psych point of view. Since there are no prerequisites to apply, no ‘Ten weeks of this training and two months at this school’ type stuff, they believe it will be just the opposite. Anyone can apply. They just have to posses something, some skill or knowledge, that the team leader thinks they need. Will everyone apply be selected? No, of course not. But if they aren’t, they can train and study and try again. And what does that do? Makes them more capable overall, so they are an even bigger asset to the ship regardless of whether or not they get the credentials.”

He looked at the table in general and said “This is an opportunity to do something really unique on a brand new ship. And I think we would be remiss if we chuck out the airlock without even trying.”

Mardusk, CoS

“I think Mr. Mardusk has a good point,” the CIO added. “If you want to be on this team bad enough, you’ll work harder to achieve it. Than in turn, makes you more valuable to the ship as a whole.”

“I understand it is an opportunity for additional training in areas of interest. Do not think I disagree with that. Personal advancement in their career or trade is encouraged on every level. I can see the usefulness of this .. elite arm .. as a mechanism for this additional training that would be useful in one’s personal growth and career.” His hands came out in a brief open handed gesture then back down. “I don’t see it on this class of ship.” As much as they stressed it wasn’t a special ops type of group, the more Jen thought that was precisely what they were talking about. He’d used them. He’d been on them. That was combat. This was a vessel class that would better sport an elite group of scientists than what they were describing. One didn’t need an ornithologist who could snipe their studies out of the air.

“Nor do I feel it is elitist, Commander. These individuals won’t be sitting around on their butts during down time. If I’m interpreting this correctly, it might be just the opposite. They’ll be spending part of their time in this training, while still expected to do their regular duties in engineering, security, medical, or whatever department they are in. These people aren’t getting special perks or treatment in any way. They’ll be taking on a secondary and more dangerous risk than your average ship mate. It’s going to take a very certain type of individual to be a part of this team.”

Odinson (CIO)

He sighed and looked at the group. “Gentlemen, Captain, I honestly don’t see it, at least here. I think the application is limited and the benefits less than perhaps expected. However, I will agree to a trial and see whom is interested and what benefits come, personally. I’ve seen many a good idea turn into a table of drinking buddies around a table with little gained but additional weight and more skill at poker. As well I’ve seen some come to effective success and career improvement.”
Jen