As he made his way to the Chimera’s security section, Lt. Reid tapped his combadge, voice steady and clipped—every word carrying the weight of preparation.

=^=All Security personnel, this is Lt. Reid. Department-wide briefing—priority one.=^=

Conner stepped into the briefing room, pleased to see some of his security team had already arrived, ready for the briefing.

He grinned seeing one of those were Ens. Shau.

“Ens. Shau, I think you’ll be happy to hear that Lt. Velez reports that you’ve come a long way in learning how things work here on the Chimera. Here’s your chance to prove him correct.”

Once all the security team had arrived, Reid cleared his throat and began.

“Effective immediately, we are transitioning to pre-deployment security posture alpha in preparation for operations in the Scallax system. This is not a routine mission. Expect instability, divided loyalties, and potential infiltration attempts.”

He pulled up an image of Scallax Prime on the view screen. “There has been a military/political insurrection on Scallux Prime. The planet is full of locals, Federation civilians, rebels, and military. Our job is to get the Federation people out and safe..”

“First—ship security protocols.”

“Deck Chiefs will review and update access permissions across all critical systems. Engineering, CIC, armory, and command-level infrastructure are to be restricted to authorized personnel only. No exceptions. I want biometric verification and rolling authorization checks in place before we arrive in-system.”

“Second—evacuee intake procedures.”

“When Federation citizens begin coming aboard, they are to be processed as unverified entrants until cleared. That means full scans, identity confirmation, and behavioral screening. I don’t care if they’re Starfleet, civilian, or waving a Federation flag—they get screened.”

“We are not bringing a hostile aboard because someone looked harmless.”

“Security teams will be assigned to all intake points. Establish controlled movement corridors—evacuees do not wander this ship. You escort them, or they don’t move.”

“Third—internal containment readiness.”

“I want rapid-response teams on standby at all times once evac operations begin. If something goes wrong, we contain it fast, we contain it clean.”

“Brig readiness is to be maintained at full capacity. Prepare overflow protocols.”

He began pacing.

“Fourth—coordination with Marines.”

“Colonel Hammond’s people will be handling combat extractions. We support them. That means perimeter security, transport zone control, and detainee handling if required. Review joint-operation protocols and be ready to deploy on short notice.”

“Fifth—counter-infiltration and intelligence.”

“I want quiet eyes everywhere. Anyone showing sympathies to the insurgents, anyone acting out of pattern—you report it. Immediately. We are not waiting for proof to start paying attention.”

And with an extra seriousness to his voice, Reid adds, “Understand this—our job is not just to protect this ship. It’s to ensure that every loyal Federation citizen we bring aboard stays safe once they’re here.”

“And tha is something we will do.”

“Department heads, I want preliminary readiness reports in six hours. Team leads—drill your people. I expect precision.”

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera