A Brief Asphyxiation

Posted on Mon Jul 31st, 2017 @ 11:54pm by Fleet Admiral Donatella Figueroa & Lieutenant Commander Victor "Vic" Miller & Commander Christopher Samuels MDiv, PhD & Lieutenant Commander Ezekiel Hill & Lieutenant Junior Grade Ethan O'Donoghue & Lieutenant JuniorGrade Fethraie D'Darra

Mission: S01E01 - At the Brink of Night
Location: Deck 6 | Briefing Room

Captain Figueroa had fetched the starship Musashi's young Chief Helmsmen from the transporter room and proceeded to take him into the mission conference with her. They made a brief stop at his quarters on the deck to drop off his belonging, but were now arriving at the Briefing Room.

Fig took a seat at the table, six other members of the crew were seated at the table representing various aspects of the starship. Communications was absent. Fig would have to make do. She had left the young man 'in charge' of the Bridge, but really a Chief Petty Officer was babysitting him. He was not Starfleet and he did not have the security clearance to be privy to all the information that was going to be discussed.

"Gentlemen" she said addressing the room as a whole, opting to not single out her Chief Weapons Officer. "You may have never heard the planet Zaran II nor its native species the Zaranites before today, However, by the end of this meeting you all will become somewhat better educated on the matter" she added.

The screen off to the distance came down and a 'projector' like device in the middle of the table came up and turned on. Soon the screen started showing imagery of a Class-J Gas Giant planet with several D-6 Klingon Battle cruisers weaving about. "Zaran II as of 36 hours ago" she stated.

A few minutes prior, Christopher Samuels had entered the briefing room and took a seat toward the head of the table. He wasn't the first one there, a eager young ensign had already been seated. The young man sported a rather large, goofy grin on his lips. Christopher eyed the young man with curiosity; and wanted to ask why he was smiling, but, he didn't bother. His mood was on the foul side, but he didn't want to have that show through. Besides, it's not the kids fault that Dylan still is refusing my calls, he thought to himself.

After everyone assembled, which Christopher was grateful for the distraction, Fig began her meeting. He watched the screen as the video feed played back. His brow knitted together, mostly in confusion. He tried to remain neutral when it came to Klingons, but sometimes his hatred won out. "What are they doing there?" he asked, his tone was neutral, not even a hint of inflection could be heard.

Fig looked at her Chief Science Officer. "Pissing me off for starters" she said very deadpan. "The Zaranites have filed an application for membership to the Federation sometime back. Currently, they are still under review, but we have declared them a protectorate. The Klingons are there flexing their muscle...trying to prevent the Zaranites from becoming members of the Federation and hoping to force the Government of Zaran II to withdraw it's application."

Ensign Arturo Marquez had been the first to arrive at the meeting, surprised he had been asked to join the senior staff. He was excited to be at an official meeting, and the goofy grin on his lips had proved that. However, that grin promptly fell when the meeting began. He watched the screen, watched the D6 Klingon ships circle Zaran II like vultures. He had barely been a teenager when the Four Years War started, but like a lot of people on Earth, he had been raised to despise and certainly not trust Klingons. "But why?" The two words had slipped out before he even realized it was happening. All eyes were on him now and his cheeks color. "I mean, Zaran Two is a Federation protectorate, right? The Klingons gotta know Starfleet would come to their aid," he said, in a voice that was a bit hire pitched than most males, and slightly accented.

"That planet is known to us," Feth spoke up. "To...Vulcan Security that is...and what little there is to know." She placed her PADD down and eyed the display. "I've only known it by its Vulcan name and Vulcan Security does not deem it a highly strategic asset. Its location provides no real tactical advantage save for the expansion of Starfleet's borders. There is no logic in the Klingon's interest in Zaran II. But there is instinct. The UFP and the Klingon Empire are certainly at odds and any expansion by the Federation the Klingons may see as a threat. Little would be gained upon Zaran II's entry into the UFP, hence no logic in the Klingon's current actions. This leads me to conclude that they are only wanting to see how we react and to what lengths we are willing to dare. Logic, therefore, dictates that they will grow bored and leave if we ignore the situation." Feth looked about everyone, raised an eyebrow and continued, "But they will only get the idea that they can step on us and do what they want with impunity."

Fig agreed with the Vulcan's stoic assessment. There really had not been any logical reason for the Klingon's presence other to as the young navigator so eloquently said, know that the Federation would respond. Figueroa could not help but to think of the expression poking a hornets nest. The Vulcan was sharply accurate with her logic. "You are correct, Ensign" replied Fig as she took a breath to continue.

She was stopped however by the beeping of the communication's console near her. "Captain here, go ahead" she answered. It was the young Trill she had left on the Bridge informing her Starfleet Command had just sent over a message. It was rather urgent. "Patch it through to my console here" she instructed.

Giving it a quick yet thorough read through she then looked at the Vulcan. "It appears there may be some more merit to the Klingon presence after all" she began. "Our people working with the Zaranites have concluded their analysis on Zaranite technical capabilities. Where they may overall be slightly behind us, they seem to be gifted when it comes to sensor technology. The Zaranite's have a means of picking up Klingon vessels quicker and with more accuracy than our own" commented Fig. "Looks like the Klingons are not fond of that predicament."

Vic himself glanced at the information, its surprising the Rigelian pirates haven't moved in yet he thought, clearing his throat. "Are we going for talks or can we knock a few heads?"

Christopher resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the chief engineer. Sure, he despised the Klingon's just as much as the rest of the veterans around the table, but he was much more open to talks and negotiations over another fire fight. Especially in this situation.

Fig chortled at her First Officer's questioning. "Number One, whenever I come across Klingons, there's always some knocking of heads" she said. "I know some of you may be sitting there thinking 'We are going to take on several Klingon battlecruisers? That's suicide'" the Captain said with a smirk.

"Well, I like my suicide the same way I take my eggs. Sunnyside up" she added. "We will not be engaging the Klingons alone. We are to rendezvous with the USS Constitution and USS Enterprise and join them at the Zaran system" she explained.

“I will coordinate with the Security Chiefs of both ships to better strategize our efforts,” said Feth.

The Captain gave a nod. "Sounds...logical" she said with a small smirk.

Looking at her Chief Medical Officer, Fig pressed on. "A Landing Party will be going down to the planet. Conditions merit environmental suits. Doctor, can you cook up a cocktail for the landing party...injection or otherwise to help their respiratory systems? The conditions down there are pretty harsh even with EV suits."

Zeke had been silently listening to all the opinions. The captain, he felt, was still behaving like the War was still on, and the Ensign was too naive to grasp the tenacity of the Klingons. The image of of Klingon battle cruisers lazily gliding through the exosphere of that giant orange marble made his stomach turn.

When the Captain asked him for a cure-all for the planet's atmosphere, he took a moment to recall possible treatments, "Abuterix." Zeke blurted it out as if the name itself was sufficient explanation, "An injection of it should open up the airways enough to make breathing tolerable."

Zeke paused for a moment and considered the side-effects of his solution, "Although I can only administer Abuterix once every 24 hours. Perhaps I can to speak to some a Zaranite physician on the surface, if you'd permit it. They have excellent respirator technology, it could be useful to us."

The Captain nodded. She would trust the Chief Medical Officer's judgement on medical and safety matters. "Proceed with that course of action, Doctor. You have my support" she said fully agreeing with him.

Fig shot a look at her Chief Science Officer. "How long can a human last down there in an EV suit?" she asked for confirmation.

Christopher gave that question some thought, even though Zaran II was a Class-J plate, not all Class-J planets were created equal. Just like with most classified planets, there were various zones, and each zone could vary in temperature, pressure, and composition. He wasn't entirely sure the Abuterix would work, the composition of Zaran II was heavy on hydrogen compounds, hydrogen compounds that could eat up EV suits, and lung tissue. Even if the Zaranite respirator technology was allowed to be borrowed to them, it still wouldn't help all that much. "With the addition of the Abuterix, no more than sixty or so minutes, and that would be pushing it."

"Captain, can I speak with you privately after the briefing?" Vic said, having realized that there might end up being another hand come into play with the Zaran system.

Please don't be a resignation already she thought to herself. "Of course. Stay after and we will discuss it" replied the Captain.

Ethan had sat in the briefing all to quiet for his own liking, taking everything in that was being said.He nodded and cooed at the right times, but he would be the man flying this crew into the danger zone so to speak. Ethan tapped his fingers together, a sign that his mind was ever restless and thinking.When the klingon D6 veselles came onto the view screen, ethans internal attitude dropped about a mile. Sat there processing everything he was making adequate, tactical notes in his head, his hand flew up a sign of respect for his commanding officer “Well it would appear the klingons are baiting a trap” he said in cut and dry irish tone.

“Its the way they form up that makes me think this, its all in the pattens” the young ensign said as he pondered further “Zaran II is under the protection of the federation it only makes sense that these klingon dogs are laying some form of elaborate trap, they may not be the most vastly intelligent species but there battle tactics are well preety good” the young ensign said as he closed his mouth for now, leaving the group with his two pennies worth on the situation.

“It is possible,” Feth spoke up, “that there are cloaked ships also patrolling the area. From the distribution of ships according to our records, as one vessel goes near a moon or behind the planet, it could cloak and another could decloak in its place, thus maintaining the number of vessels that we see now. In theory, there could be double the number of ships that we currently count.”

It wouldn't be the first time they lured me into a trap she thought privately. "I agree that they could be baiting a trap...WHAT?" she said nearly gasping when Feth's words rattled her. "Cloaked ships? Are you expecting Romulans at this pow-wow?"

Feth raised an instinctive eyebrow. She was confused at first then realized that, “my intel could be flawed to be true.” She looked around the room. All eyes were on her at the moment. A twinge of anxiety pricked at her nerves. “This is considered sensitive information and, since it lacks any merit or evidence, it is only speculative at this point, but Vulcan Intelligence believes the Klingons and Romulans may have met in secret with plans to sell cloaking technology to the Klingons.” Many of the eyes left her and went back to the Captain and/or the display illustrating Zaran II. “Again, there is no evidence indicating such a meeting did, in fact, happen or that any transaction has taken place. I meant my remarks earlier to be taken as a suggestion of possibility.”

At hearing the Vulcan ensign talk about cloaking technology, especially it belonging to the Klingons had caused Arturo's breathing to hitch. If Klingons had cloaking tech, they would be in serious trouble. He found himself hold his breath, and when the Vulcan amended her statement, he let it go slowly.

Fig breathed a small sigh of relief. May I never see the damn day a Klingon vessel can cloak and decloak. Romulans and Klingons make strange bedfellows she thought to herself. "Well, we will be vigilant at condition yellow" she said. "Gentlemen, let's get to work" Fig added sharply.