D-8: Declassified

Posted on Thu Feb 1st, 2018 @ 7:23am by Fleet Admiral Donatella Figueroa & Commander Christopher Samuels MDiv, PhD & Commander K'Niras Sh'howul & Lieutenant Caleb Garcia PhD & Lieutenant Junior Grade Shras th'Zarath
Edited on on Mon Feb 5th, 2018 @ 2:09pm

Mission: S01E02 D-8 With the Devil
Location: USS Musashi | Deck 6 | Briefing Room

There was so much to do in so little time. She had already ordered the starship be set on a course towards the fringes of known Klingon space, ultimately heading for a small Klingon controlled system known as Boreth by human tongue. Federation knowledge of Boreth was very little at this point. What they did know was it was a small yet relatively significant system to the Klingons. It was said to have been a system in which some of the most earliest Klingon colonization occurred and as such the planet Boreth itself held a great spiritual sense. However, Fig did not find Klingons to be very spiritual. She recalled during her captivity that Ke'gak once said the great Klingon warrior rose up and slaughtered their Gods. It reminded her of Ancient Earth's Titans and Olympians. What Fig and the rest of Starfleet did not know was exactly how important the purity of Boreth was. The Klingons would exterminate any alien vessel that went near Boreth. The did not take kindly to outside intrusion.

The Captain had handed off conducting the junior mission briefing to La'Quentin Cartwright whilst she gathered her senior staff in the briefing room on deck six for a rather detailed and declassified mission briefing. Everything in the room was already set up. The crew had been given data PaDDs with an overview of their mission and why they were going to the Boreth system. On the screen was projected an image of the same Klingon shipyard design which they believed would be in the Boreth system.

Captain Figueroa had given the crew several minutes to digest the information on the PaDDs before diving into the mission briefing. "We believe this to be the same design as the shipyard in the Boreth system. Starfleet Engineering and Starfleet Intelligence have been studying it for the past few days to try and find a vulnerability. We believe that we have located such vulnerability on the underside of the shipyard. With enough force and persistency, centralized on this area," she said changing the projected image to the underside, "We should be able to knock out the shield generator and allow for some of our personnel to board via transporter," she explained.

Shras looked over the readout and nodded. To him, that was preferable. Why search for a weakness when you already have one was his line of thinking. "Agreed," the brand new CoS said

K'Niras was shaking his head. "I have two questions, sir. What is the purpose of boarding the shipyard? Do we know how many Klingons are aboard?" He had more questions, but he didn't want to overload the Captain with questions and there was no telling if his others might get answered in the ones he did ask.

Fig took in the questions, churned them and produced the most concise and honest answers she could give. “I went to the Elba II Psychiatric Facility to evaluate the credibility of Captain Garth whom has been trying to get anyone’s attention about an alleged Klingon prototype battlecruiser. We believe his intel though questionable in nature, may be true. This is where the prototype is being constructed. This is a preemptive strike. There’s no other way to say it... we are boarding the shipyard to destroy the prototype before it can be completed,” responded Fig. “As to how many Klingons are aboard... we do not know. This mission is extremely risky.”

K'Niras laid his ears back a little in embarrassment. "I meant... why not just destroy the station, but I think I understand what you mean. Although, if they have a prototype... it is possible they have some sort of plans for that prototype. Of course, this would set them back I'm sure..." He sort of let it all trail off, not sure if he should continue rambling out loud.

Caleb Garcia sat there, there wasn't much he could add at this moment. Like so many of the people around him, they had gone through the war, and this supposed D8 was a huge deal. However, he felt that just going in and blowing things to high heavens seemed wrong to him, yet he couldn't place a finger on why it felt wrong. Until he figured that out, he didn't feel it was his place to chime in at this particular point.

The Captain nodded understandingly. What K'Niras had said was tactically solid. "This will definitely set them back quite a bit from our intelligence estimates. We could destroy the entire shipyard it we so wanted. Truthfully, I would be supportive in doing so. I see no reason why we should not plunge the dagger in deep and let them bleed out. However, I have my orders and Starfleet Command has their reasoning. Our mission is to prevent war or at the very least delay it with this blow. We don't want to begin a war right here right now, but we do want to send a firm heavy handed message," explained Fig.

K'Niras nodded in response. "Is there any way that we could teleport the Klingons off the station? Then we would be free to destroy it without killing anyone." He wasn't sure if the replicators could handle that with the speed and efficiency that they would need, but it was worth a thought. "I'm sorry to keep asking annoying questions. I'm sure you already have a plan in mind."

Though the conversation was in its infancy, Arturo felt uneasy about the subject matter. The idea of a large more powerful Klingon ship had unnerved him, but going into a Klingon protected area was something entirely different. To ease his worried mind, he began to calculate odds and the odds didn't seem in their favor which lead to more worrying. Despite the worry, kept his mind focused and the one thing he did to keep his mind focused was to focus on numbers and calculations.

Christopher Samuels sat there, elbow on the armrest of the chair, two fingers tapping against his chin. He hadn't said anything despite the fact that Fig had stolen a couple of glances in his direction. What she was waiting for, he couldn't be certain. Affirmation? He himself stole glances at the others, most were quiet or offered very little by way of opinion. The only one who really offered anything was K'Niras and even then the offered suggestions were standard suggestions. In short, no one knew how to react and no one knew what to say. Sure, they would follow Fig without question, but could she ask to be followed? To him, this was more than a risky mission, this was a suicide mission. Garth was the linchpin in all of this, they were going off of what a deemed lunatic was saying. Yet, it was compelling and could not be ignored. He cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Though I agree that this prototype needs to be destroyed, I think it is very naive to think this type of intrusion isn't going to cause an interstellar incident once again," he said, clasping his hands in front of him. "Not to mention, the loss of life will be rather extreme on both sides. Again, I am not saying that we shouldn't take care of this, and agree this would be a good preemptive strike but if we expect this to be a blow to the Klingons, I can't agree. This is just going to fuel them, and we will undoubtedly face another war... which means more loss of life." His gaze fully fell onto Fig now. "We have to be prepared for the consequences of our actions."

She looked at Commander Samuels. I know you are right. I know it's foolish to cling onto hope that this will prevent a war, it may very well just start it, she thought to herself before responding. "In for a penny, in for a pound?" she offered simply. "We make a stand here, take action to hopefully slow down the start of a war if not prevent it altogether, but in doing so we may very well be the start of the war," she stated, looking around the table. "Ouroboros," she said flatly.

There wasn't much Christopher could say past that. Sure, he could protest, sure he could state again what they were taking on, but that was not going to persuade the captain. Her mind was made up, and she was okay with what Starfleet ordered. He knew Fig wanted to strike the Klingon's where it hurt, hell or high water. God help us, she is going to get us killed to get revenge, he thought to himself. He was fully prepared to die for the uniform, he had many close calls, but this was a suicide mission that was just going to start another war. He would gladly sacrifice his life to save another, but all he saw with this was the aftermath, the death and destruction that would follow.

Fig returned her attention to the option brought forth by her Chief Communications Officer. "Transporting the Klingons off the station...." Fig repeated the suggestion and started the mull over it. "I would love to do that. It would make the boarding parties' jobs a lot easier. Though I believe the problem with that will be the several Klingon vessels we are likely to encounter and the shipyard's defenses if it has any. In order to transport our people aboard, our shields must be lowered. The same goes for using our transporters to move the Klingons off the shipyard and transport them elsewhere... and I don't think we can afford to do that without exposing ourselves too long. Is that correct, Doctor Garcia?" she asked, looking at her Acting Chief Engineer for guidance.

Caleb, up to this point, still didn't have much to contribute. When the Captain addressed him, he gave the question some thought... he must have been thinking for too long because he went to open his mouth and was interrupted by the Andorian Lieutenant who sat across from him. Then the Commander spoke after, and Caleb wondered if talking before others spoke was commonplace in the briefings on the Musashi.

"Perhaps we can trick the Klingons somehow. Some sort of diversion. They'd be looking in Area A while were in Area B getting the mission done. Maybe trick their sensors so they can't get a bead on where we actually are?" the Andorian in the room said. "That way If we do have to get in a fight, it's at least on our terms."

"Is it really on our terms though?" Christopher asked, looking directly at the Andorian. He refrained from rolling his eyes. Diversion? Beaming all the Klingons off the station? What was this, a James Bond movie? Everyone seemed to keep forgetting that what they were about to undertake was going to have real life consequences. Not waiting for an answer, he turned his attention back to Fig and asked, "What if we aren't successful? What if we don't destroy the facility? What is the back up plan?"

K'Niras tipped his head to one side, his ears still back. "I don't have any solutions. From my own personal calculations, if we don't destroy the facility and the prototype, they we are as good as dead anyway. If this was what the Federation wants of us then we will have to make the best of it," he turned his gaze to Christopher. "Not that I think that the Federation is without flaws and need to be followed blindly, but we are looking at the possibility of either giving our lives for this or giving our lives later down the line when we are outmatched and outgunned by the new star of the Klingon fleet rolling off the line in six months or a year." He showed his front teeth a little aggressively. "Is there need for a back up plan?" The question was more rhetorical than anything else. The backup would be, of course, to try and survive.

Fig silenced the room with one look. "When that prototype blows, the facility will be damaged if not destroyed. I do not care about the facility. Whatever happens to it, happens to it. It is that prototype that we need to concentrate on. It's divide and conquer, gentlemen. Two boarding teams. One team will make their way onto the prototype and plant explosives in their most crucial areas," she said.

"Team two is our backup plan. They will board the shipyard facility and make their way to the computer core and take every bit on information they can find on the prototype. Schematics, armament, anything and everything" she explained. "Team two will be under my leadership. Doctor Garcia, I noticed your mouth ajar a few moments ago. The floor is yours," she said gesturing for her Acting Chief Engineer to add whatever he wanted.

Finally, Caleb thought. It was nice to be addressed and not be interrupted, however, he was an engineer and an academic, he was used to either being ignored, talked over, or interrupted. He had done it to others, and others had done it to him--it was the way things went. He just thought it would be different in a briefing room on a vessel with different department heads. Apparently, he was wrong. "First, I want to address the transport issue," he began to say, "you are correct in that shields would have to be dropped here and on the facility and this dee-eight, which leaves us vulnerable and a target. Plus, we really don't have the resources to handle those type of mass transports... unfortunately we aren't a Constitution-class starship." He knew that was probably punch in the gut to the Captain, but the reality was that there were certain aspects of the Ares-class that lacked severely, but hopefully some of the refits and upgrades would compensate for that. It was what it was.

He had also considered what everyone had said and was surprised at how dismissive everyone was of the other. Commander Samuels, he knew was a man of faith, so of course the loss of life would bother him and yet his concerns seemed to be dismissed. Lieutenant Sh'howul had ideas about transports but mostly seemed to agree with the Captain, and was dismissed. Ensign Marquez, who looked like he was twelve, didn't say anything but his eyes said everything. Then there was the Lieutenant th'Zaranth who didn't have much to say at all. He just didn't understand the breakdown. However, he had his own thoughts and wondered if those too would be dismissed by someone else in the room.

"I think everyone here has made valid points. We are certainly taking a gamble with what we are undertaking, but this is one of those times where the risks are worth it. I think though, what we are forgetting is our limitations in a lot of different areas. This is a big undertaking for us, and a lot can go awry, and I believe Commander Samuels is right in that we have to realize and live with the consequences because this could blow up in our faces--no pun intended." Caleb shrugged. "No matter what we think, or our objections, we have to undertake this, especially if it means the survival of the Federation." His voice was a deep baritone, yet he spoke softly and melodically. There was no ill will in his tone, malice, or anger, he was just stating, what he felt, was the right way to go about this.

Fig listened and she listened fully, taking in every point, every word, and every inflection the man made no matter how subtle. She nodded at points during which she judged the responses from the others based on their body language. So far, everyone in the room had said something except for her helmsmen. EJ was peculiar bordering on awkward at times. On the Bridge in the middle of a fight, you could hear him throughout the ship. When it came to these meetings and briefings though, he was like a quiet little mouse.

“Lieutenant Garcia, you’ll be with me. We will see about getting the schematics to the prototype. Lieutenant Sh’howul, you will be leading the other boarding team heading onto the prototype and planting explosive charges,” the Captain said starting to give out assignments.

K'Niras listened as well. He nodded and smiled at what Caleb had to say. "Thank you Lieutenant, good man. Keep us on track." His gaze shifted to the Captain as she spoke. "Yes, Sir..." he responded to Fig's orders.

This was a good segway point for Captain Figueroa to discuss the break down of teams and who would be remaining aboard the Musashi

....TBC...