Posted by Gamemaster Amadeus (Gamemaster) in Captain’s Ready Room - Post Senior Staff Briefing

Posted by Lieutenant Conner Reid (Chief of Security) in Captain’s Ready Room - Post Senior Staff Briefing

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady (First Officer) in Captain’s Ready Room - Post Senior Staff Briefing
Posted by… suppressed (20) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>
<more snippage>

Instead, I’m going to continue my primary mission: protecting this ship and her crew. If that mission happens to align with protecting the people of Scallax from Federation overreach, then perhaps my loyalties haven’t shifted — perhaps the Federation’s have.

VOSS, A.
Colonel, SFMC
Commanding Officer, USS Cinzano

– GM Amadeus

The more Freja read, the less she liked this mission. Her gut was telling her that there was a bigger picture, but someone wasn’t talking about it. It wasn’t Voss or anyone on that Scallax independence council either. She wasn’t precisely sure how she wanted to handle this, but it definitely needed careful management, but it was definitely time to share notes with her XO. She’d probably wind up conferring with Hammond afterward too to get his perspective.

=^=Andreassen to Commander Grady, please report to my ready room when you have a spare moment.=^=

~Freja Andreassen~

=/\= On my way, ma’am=/\= Finn’s voice came over the comms.

A few moments later the XO had arrived and stood before the captain.

“Ma’am things are progressing outside: the Favereau is en route, though I will say her captain is not pleased to be pulled way from some vaccination mission, departments are making appropriate preparations for our arrival and we should be in the Scallax system in a few days,” he smiled expectantly at the senior officer, “What can I help with in here?”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“Good,” Freja nodded, pausing briefly, “I’ll speak with Captain Y’lar when we’re done here. She should know the potential hornet’s nest we might be headed into.”

She leaned back, “So I’ve been researching various things. I’ve learned that Colonel Voss, the commander of the Cinzano, is part of the separatist council that formed on Scallax. The Admiral conveniently left that out which I’m not overly happy about. Scallax itself was subject to numerous raids from likely the Orion Syndicate, which is where the Cinzano was sent to investigate, but Voss’ logs indicate he felt something was being withheld from him or that someone was insuring his intelligence briefs were stage managed and controlled as to what he could see. Probably lead to him joining the separatists because prior to this assignment he was a model officer.”

“There is a lot of information provided to us, but there’s still much unsaid,” Freja paused after a moment, “Voss will have to be handled carefully, I’ll chat with Colonel Hammond before we arrive in Scallax to get his read on Voss’ record from a marine standpoint. I think that our primary angle should be approaching the Scallax council with ‘okay, you want to separate, we’re not going to interfere with that, we are here primarily for Federation citizens who wish to not be part of the movement and relay your demands up the chain of command’ type of thing. Plus, we lack the military fire power to really do much else beyond protect ourselves and the Favereau.”

“I don’t want to relay these concerns with the crew at large yet, mainly because I don’t know if I’m just reading too much into the information I’ve uncovered and I don’t want to worry or frustrate the crew unnecessarily. As my XO, I think it’s important that you know what’s on my mind for the most part when it comes to mission details though. I don’t like keeping things from my XO, so that’s what this discussion is about. The message to the senior staff and crew at large though should be that there is evidence in the mission briefs that there are some shifting loyalties in the Scallax system and we have to be extremely cautious. They can’t access Voss’ reports as I can, but it wouldn’t be hard for anyone reviewing the planetary feed data we received to put two and two together that Voss likely betrayed his uniform.”

“Any questions, thoughts, concerns?” She finished.

~Freja Andreassen~

Before Grady could reply, the chime rang to announce Reid’s presence outside.

Once given the okay to enter, Conner approached the captain’s desk.

He nodded to the XO and offered, “Good, I’m glad your both here. Permission to speak freely, Captain?”

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

“Please do,” Freja nodded.

~Freja Andreassen~

Finn stood by quietly, waiting for Lieutenant Reid to speak. What the captain had just told him was a lot to take in. There seemed to be so much more at play here and he was concerned about what the Chimera and her crew were being sent into. He knew they could handle a great deal but missing essential pieces of information from Starfleet could cause things to go haywire. He was glad Captain Andreassen had decided to read him in, as well as Hammond. At least with the command officers knowing the information they could guide the rest of the crew and hopefully, keep the chance of success high.

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

His gaze went from the captain to the XO and back to the captian.

“Ma’am, sir, I think we’re going about this mission the wrong way. There are so many unknowns right now. Besides a rebel takeover of the government, do we even know why yet? What are their reasons for wanting to leave the Federation? Are their gripes legitimate?”

“If the Federation is the reason for the revolt, I think going planet side with a contingent of marines is just going to add fuel to the fire They’ll look at it as another strong arm Federation tactic. That could lead to more aggression and violence. Do the rebels have hostages? Going in with guns blazing could put those people more at risk.”

“I don’t think sneaking in and hiding our presence in the system is the best of ideas either. I suggest we go in under a white flag, letting them know we are on a humanitarian mission to evacuate those Federation citizens who wish to be evaced. There may be many that support the rebels, for all we know. We offer that, as well as setting up negotiations and listen to their complaints. Isn’t the ultimate goal here to come up with a peaceful resolution?’

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

“There is something more going on, which is why I’m leaning heavily on entering the system under the idea that we are here to assess the rebels wants and desires and listen to them and to assess the status of Federation citizens known to be in the system at the time of their takeover,” Freja replied, “I’ve been reviewing the data packet sent, Colonel Voss is part of the rebel council, he’s betrayed his uniform. I’m personally curious as to why, because prior to this mission he was a model marine, something pushed him. If he was set up to fail, that could do it, and if we’re also being done dirty by command, I need proof before I start blowing a whistle....this is just gut feeling based off of what I’ve seen thus far.”

She leaned back, “A peaceful resolution would be preferrable in my mind, but given what I’ve reviewed, there might be something more akin to black ops going on in the background, if so, we need to proceed with caution. Again, I can’t prove it yet.”

~Freja Andreassen~

While Freja was discussing with the XO, an errant thought occurred to her about other inconsistencies. How was she supposed to figure out who was a LOYAL Federation citizen in the limited time given to her? What exactly did that mean? Was this part of the more that she felt was going on? Was she intentionally being set up to fail? Or had she potentially missed something.....

– GM Amadeus
USS Chimera

“Coming in under the pretense of hearing out their demands will at least hopefully get us close enough to get some more information. Some of the crew are working on several ideas for stealthy approaches if you want to have that option in your back pocket, ma’am,” Finn offered, before his face took on a more puzzled look. “I can’t understand how someone works their way up to colonel and then abandons everything… there’s got to be something else going on here. If its some kind of coordinated effort what stops it from trying to turn other high ranking officers?”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“That is what has me....concerned, there’s just too may holes in the official story we’ve been told thus far,” Freja replied, “Which is why I agree, we go in under the ‘hey, we’re just hear to assess the situation and hear you guys out’, but we keep the stealthy options on the back burner ready to go…if things get…hairy. My primary goal as of now is to protect the Chimera crew and the Favereau crew while still attempting to figure out what the heck happened in the Scallax system. I might be able to get a better read on people once we start talking, I don’t plan on prying open their minds per se, but hopefully I can get a sense of whether they have their hand on a trigger.”

~Freja Andreassen~

Conner gave a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you see it that way, Captain.. I hate to say it, but if the Federation is complicit or somehow the reason for the revolt, that WE, the Chimera, is here to set the situation right. This may come down to doing what’s right or doing what Command wants us to do . . . each person on this may have to make a decision on morality or loyalty.”

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

“Indeed,” Freja nodded, “There’s still a lot we don’t know about the system status, particularly because of the communications blackout. A lot might have changed and I suspect the situation is going to continue to be fluid, we have to be ready to adapt strategies on the fly. My main focus is always the welfare of the crew and this ship because frankly we can’t do anything at all with regard to command’s mission objectives if the ship is too damaged or worse.”

~Freja Andreassen~

Finn nodded as the conversation progressed. This was very troubling territory and there was a lot to balance between duty to ship, Starfleet, the Federation and one’s own conscience. He was glad they had an experienced leader in Captain Andreassen.

“I think part of our preparation for taking on evacuees should be to make sure we don’t have anyone with nefarious ideas trying to turn our officers. At what point to we bring the rest of the senior staff in on this? The Chimera would be another big prize to have along with its contingent of fighters.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“We don’t yet know all the motives of the rebels,” Freja replied, “Remember, Voss and his crew were assigned to the system for a while. They had time to develop friendships and contacts with the Scallax people, it’s not entirely....unexpected that they would sympathize with the Scallax cause, but it does mean we need to stay vigilant. Our senior staff are quite intelligent, they’re going to put it together. For now, we should stress that the situation is very fluid and we aren’t sure where all the pieces on the map are yet, so we need to proceed with extreme caution.”

She leaned back in her chair, “I think I’ll chat with our resident marine commander, get his opinion as a fellow marine on Voss’ apparent defection, he may even know Voss or know people who served with him previously. I’ll also reach out to the Favereau, give Captain Y’Lar a heads up. We should also assume our outgoing communications are being monitored, particularly as we get closer to the system. Anything particularly sensitive goes over secured channels only from here on out.”

~Freja Andreassen~

“Captain, I’d also like to suggest a small investigative team go planetside undercover, just to get a feel for what’s going on down there. People who can take care of themselves. Myself, Col. Hammond, and a security guard or two. Maybe Lt. McIntyre as well. He’s got Marine training.”

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

“I’ll leave you to discuss that possibility with Col. Hammond, I’ll okay it if we don’t get shot at the second we get into the system,” Freja nodded, “As that will drastically change whatever approach I have.”

~Freja Andreassen~

Finn stifled a chuckle, considering the seriousness of the situation. “Here’s hoping we aren’t warping straight into the shooting gallery because I think some eyes in there would be very valuable to us. There’s so much of this that is getting my brain in a twist and I would feel a whole lot better if we had a fresh perspective. Ma’am, I wonder if it would be worth exploring Lt. Reid’s covert ops with the modified runabout plan from some of the junior officers? That way even if they do start shooting at Chimera as soon as we get into the system we could have the runabout sneak the landing team in.”

He turned to the security chief, “I’ll admit I’m a little jealous, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on a good recon mission.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“You’re welcome to come along, Commander, but that’ll be totally up to the captain,” Reid replied.

He gave a sidelong glance toward the captain to see her response.

Conner left the Ready Room and began making his way to the marines detachment on deck 29.

As he walked the corridor, he called engineering.

=^=Lt. Sapeth, this is Lt. Reid. How are those modifications to the runabout coming along? I’ll be needing it soon.=^=

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

While they were talking, everyone became aware of at their own time and in their own way, that 8 of the 48 hours had passed.

OOC: This is just my way of keeping count of the intervening time so there’s not endless going back and forth. If we take too long we’ll arrive regardless of whether your ready or not but when you’re happy with your preparations. Indicate your warp in point and through the magic of video editing we’ll move on to the next act in the sim.

– GM Amadeus
USS Chimera

After the COS left, Freja turned to her XO, “Once I talk to Hammond, I think I’m going to grab a meal and start researching that list of Federation citizens that was included in our briefing packet. If Voss turned, we have to assume others might’ve as well, we have about forty hours to get a headstart on trying to figure out who might have separatist leanings. I’d like you to also help with that, recruit our CNS to the same task, he might be able pick up patterns in actions that you or I would miss because we don’t study behaviour as he does.”

~Freja Andreassen~