Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - RTF Briefing Rooms - Senior staff briefing
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Posted by Lieutenant Andrea Stone (Chief of Security) in Main Sim - RTF Briefing Rooms - Senior staff briefing

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - RTF Briefing Rooms - Senior staff briefing
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

“If you require assistance, don’t hesitate to call security for help.” Andrea commented. She would prefer to be the one that led the ‘girl’ out, but the captain seemed to ok with this choice.

While everything else looked in order, she decided to listen to the briefing. She chose to sit at the chair the closest to the door however.

Lt. Andrea Stone, COS

Thank the gods. The spybot had been removed from his briefing and now the curious, but all-too-disruptive, child as well. Finally it seemed as if Cobb would be able to deliver that well-rehearsed speech. Standing and straightening his tunic, he opened his mouth to speak…

Moments after Gen and Casela left, and crossing past them as she entered, GLaDOS entered the room. She glanced around, read the situation, then stepped forward and placed her PaDD on the table. “The requested information. Is everyone here? If so, I believe it is time to begin this meeting in earnest. I apologize for my lateness.”

Lt. Cmdr. GLaDOS, CSO

“Lt Commander,” the captain all-but-groaned in greeting, her assumption of control of this gathering not lost on Zachariah Cobb. “Ah, yes…if you could please take a seat. In truth you haven’t missed anything yet.” Only a new anomaly and a cryptic warning that we’re heading towards impending doom. But who’s keeping track, eh?

“So, as I was about to say,” he continued in a more commanding tone, for now choosing to ignore the PADD on the table, not yet ready to hand this moment over to the hovering Science Chief, “it might have happened sooner than we all expected. It definitely came sooner than we were prepared for, with the refit still being underway and all. But we are all Starfleet Officers and have been fully trained throughout our careers to be prepared, at any moment, for a mission to strike. As of fifteen-hundred hours today, that mission has indeed struck.”

He began to pace a limited path of five steps left and then right, hands clasped tightly behind his back, posture as straight as he could manage. His bad leg was beginning to burn and ache from the tension of the day’s events.
“Details have so far been…sparse. You’ll all have seen the Admiral’s briefing by now, I’d expect, but to summarise - we are en-route to the Paulson Nebula, where a civilian vessel, the USS Einstein, has fallen out of contact. Of course, us being specialised in the area that we are, that is not the end of it. Video messages seem to indicate that the crew encountered some kind of…” his pacing ceased, the captain seemingly unable to lend any mental energy to movement while he wrestled with the completion of his sentence. “…infection? We don’t yet know the exact nature of what assailed them. But what we do know, is that the symptoms resemble severe head trauma and, in some cases, paralysis.”

Finally he chose to acknowledge the PADD, nodding first towards it and then to the CSO as he continued, “Now I’ve had Lt Commander GLaDOS and Lt Synthi-er cross-compile a list of possible diagnoses and also possible…causes. I’m hoping you have something useful for us, Lt Commander?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

OOC: As agreed with Miriam, since she’s now on LOA for the week, I’ll just presume that the PADD contains all of the info given in the main sim science lab thread.

Cobb lifted the PADD and silently studied the information on it, his eyes widening a millimetre for every subsequent word that he read. Once done, he returned his focus to the gathered officers and began to speak in a more measured, almost whispered, tone.
“I’m sure I don’t have to remind any of you that this information I am about to impart is highly confidential and must, under no circumstances, be discussed outside the limits of this ship. Lt Commander GLaDOS here has detailed four other anomalies, currently in ARU containment, that displayed similar…properties. Firstly, is a…well,”

He cleared his throat, as if something about reciting the details of the case made him feel foolish. Or perhaps just downright uncomfortable.

“A pencil,” he shrugged, eventually. “A staedtler pencil to be exact. It seems that this pencil got caught up in a terraforming experiment and now weighs the size of a small moon. And a ukelele, composed of an as-yet unidentified material. But when played, it causes those within earshot to dance until they drop dead from exhaustion. I have no idea how these things relate to the anomaly we’re on the way to study but, suffice it to say, we need to be conscious of every object and item we choose to introduce into the affected area. There’s no telling how even the most innocuous of items might be affected.”

He paused and ran a hand along his beard. Were any of the crew even remotely surprised by the incidents he had just recited? Frightened by them? Or was this simply another day in the glorious ARU?

“The next anomaly in the report,” he went on after a time, “was an incident that occurred on the USS Yatorino. It seems that the crew were experimenting with phase transitions and…well, somehow they were decomposed and recomposed into something resembling themselves but wholly more…malevolent.”
He paused again. Shivered. Were this crew to be transformed into different, more nefarious versions of themselves, would Cobb even be able to tell? These people who he was expected to trust with his life, he barely knew enough to hold a conversation with past the usual, meaningless pleasantries. Once more his gaze studied each of them in turn, wondering if, in that moment, they were thinking the same of their new captain?

“The final anomaly recorded here,” Zachariah seemed somewhat relieved to conclude, “has its origins in ancient history. 2000 BC on the historical calendar, to be exact. A mummified hand thought lost centuries earlier, was recovered and returned to an ARU vessel, the USS Heppthestus. The Captain of that vessel, taking possession of this hand within his own quarters, suffered some kind of severe environmental malfunction. So severe, in fact, that they had to remove and contain his entire room! There is no mention,” he finished with a nervous swallow, “what became of the Captain himself.”

Closing down the PADD, Cobb slid it back to GLaDOS then, returning once more to his seat and steepling his hands underneath his chin, he announced, “By now you all know my history, know that I have not encountered anomalies of this nature before. So I’m relying on the expertise and the judgement of each of you to tell me exactly what you need for this mission to go smoothly. We still have no real information on the situation in the Paulson nebula, although its probably safe to assume that if Starfleet are sending the ARU then they know it’s going to be something…out of the ordinary.”

“GLaDOS,” he turned to the CSO, “I want you to continue working with Lt Synthi-er and Lt Kastil on a presumed diagnosis and treatment plan for the survivors. Dr Kastil, you also need to prepare Alpha sickbay for any crew casualties that we might incur.”

“Captain Manhattan,” he moved on to the RTF Chief, “prepare your team for an away mission. I want you to lead the initial exploration of the Einstein and be fully prepared to capture whatever might be lurking. Work with Lt Hampton on any equipment you might need for capture. And Hampton, you’ll also need to start considering how we might contain this thing once we get it back onboard.”

Next the captain addressed the Security Chief. “Lt Stone, I want you to provide a back-up team for the RTF on the Einstein and also a second team to remain on the ship and guard it from any…unexpected anomalous effects. You’ll also be responsible for securing the containment of the anomaly so work with Lt Hampton to familiarise yourselves with the operation of the containment cell.”

That left the command team and Zachariah turned to Ryder at last. “Commander, I want you to co-ordinate efforts on the Einstein itself. I’ll manage the ship side of the mission.”

Then rising again to his feet, Cobb attempted to bring the meeting to a close. “So, you all have your orders. Any questions?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Stone knew, that all information that was available was provided. Unfortunately it wasn’t much. The security will have to be on their toes, and expect anything.
She saw no point in asking any further information on what was on board the Einstein. And she got a feeling, there will be a lot of missions where they will be going in blind in the future.

Lt. Andrea Stone, COS