[BACKPOST] The Strategic And The Tactical

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 6:19am by Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Arthur Torres Dr.
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:39pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Torres' Office
Timeline: Before "Entering the Unknown"

A Mission Post by Lieutenant JG Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Arthur Torres Dr.
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Torres' Office
Timeline: Before "Entering the Unknown"
Tue Aug 8th, 2017 @ 10:27am

It was another day aboard the USS Pandora. The ship had just left the relative safety of Talarian space to enter the Expanse itself, and despite the grim nature of his job, the ship's Chief of Security, Cailus, felt oddly optimistic as he strolled down the corridor for his meeting with the new Strat Ops officer. While Torres' presence suggested dark things waited in the Expanse, there was something to be said for such raw exploration. All of the Sec/Tac personnel were thrumming with excitement, and Cailus couldn't help but be caught along with them.

As Cailus reached Torres' office (helpfully marked as "Chief of Strategic Operations"), he frowned at that belated realisation. Strange that he should feel so happy about such a mission, given how his last one had ended on the Churchill. Shae's perky, nerdy enthusiasm was really rubbing off on him, it seemed.

Shaking that idle thought off, and settling his expression into a proper, professionally neutral look, he tapped the chime.

Walking in, Cailus stood in front of the desk, placing his hands formally behind his back. "Lieutenant Torres, sir," he said curtly in greeting, analysing the man in a flash: superb physical shape, an oddly relaxed seating position, some kind of cultural adornment, disciplined facial expression suggesting emotional balance. "I'm Lieutenant Griffin."

Arthur looked up from his desk, which was once again covered in sector maps, flimsy-looking plastic sheets detailing various starship locations as well as Pandora's own expected mission radius within the Expanse. He was marking them with an intelli-pen, transferring his notes directly to the padd that lay next to him on the desk.

"Ah, Lieutenant Cailus. Thank you for meeting me here." He waived at the maps before him. "I'm afraid I've hardly been able to spare the time to eat since arriving, let alone make the time for proper introductions."

Bemused at the use of his first name, Cailus merely shook his head. "Of course, sir. Shall we get straight to business?"

"Yes..." Arthur sighed, stacking the map he had been analyzing on top of a number of others. He nodded toward the solitary chair on Cailus' side of the small desk. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

Cailus did just that, although even sitting down his posture was stiff as a board, looking back at the man with his usual, calm intensity.

"As I understand it, this whole region's a powder keg waiting for a spark. From what I can tell, too, Pandora very nearly provided that spark a little under two weeks ago." Art stretched his neck, popping a kinked muscle loudly. "Frankly, I think Fleet brass is moving beyond the 'let's be prepared' stage. They expect a conflict here. An actual shooting war. If not with the Tzenkethi, then with somebody. The Cardassians, maybe. Somebody. And soon."

Considering for a moment, Cailus nodded grimly. "Frankly, sir, that's why I was glad that you got assigned here. I hadn't even heard of the Cardassians or Tzenkethi before being assigned to this ship, never mind the overall strategic or astropolitical concerns of the Expanse as related to direct threats to this ship's safety." He sighed. "I'm sure you've read the report by now. The Tzenkethi reacted to a simple navigational error by massacring an entire Talarian crew, then laying a trap with the ship specifically designed to ensnare a Federation starship. If the Palatine hadn't been there..."

At that, he paused, visualising the scenario. Tzenkethi cruisers surrounding them. Shields failing. Fire everywhere, bulkheads collapsing, choking on the smoke. Running to the escape pods. Shae and Aoife.

Grunting hoarsely, he forced himself to focus on Torres. Handsome guy, if a little unusual, somehow. "In short, sir, yes. I agree. Based on what I saw from Ambassador Sevros, he was determined to get revenge on the Tzenkethi. Given that they murdered his son and everybody else on that cruiser, I'm not quite sure that I blame him."

"No?" Arthur seemed to think on this for a moment, then: "No. Perhaps not. And it has shown us something useful. It's shown us how easily things in this region could spiral out of control. The Tzenkethi are pushing for open conflict, and my guess is that next time there's an incident, someone like your Ambassador Sevros is going to make all of our lives very difficult. Tell me, what do you know about the Expanse?"

"Very little," Cailus said bluntly, unwilling to colour the hard truth.

"And the Ravagers?"

The dour Security Chief's expression darkened, and he reluctantly shook his head.

"What little I've read suggests an awfully coordinated effort for a bunch of pirates. With the Tzenkethi and the Cardassians, both, pressing for increased military action in the region... well, I'm concerned that if we punch too large a hole into the Expanse we're going to end up not having much say about what comes out on our side. And we're going to be showing the whole region that there's a potentially profitable zone of expansion for anyone who wants to do some military conquest without directly hitting Federation targets. This mission might be marked down as 'exploration', but the strategic implications it presents are enormous."

Listening with rapt attention, Cailus nodded. "So there are a lot of eyes on what we do out here," he said, the frown deepening to turn his face into worry incarnate. "And if we find something of strategic importance to the surrounding powers..."

"We might be the only thing standing in the way of anyone who is feeling 'opportunistic' that day," Arthur said, nodding. "It's a damn worrying position."

The two men sat in silence for a moment, and then Arthur straightened in his chair, putting as much of a smile as he could muster on his face.

"Still. This seems to be a good ship, with a good crew. I'm happy to serve aboard her."

Cailus' expression was rock-like by comparison in the face of Torres' pleasantry. "Indeed, sir," Cailus agreed curtly. "It was good to meet you."

Arthur nodded. "Pleasure was mine. And look, I don't want to be the grim reaper here, or anything, just realistic. If there's anything Security needs -- if any of the resources I have access to will help you do your job, they're at your full disposal."

At that, Cailus hesitated, considering the man plainly. "I'll be sure to do that, lieutenant," he said. "Moreover, sir, I hope you know that you can be candid with me on any subject. I know that a lot of the command staff are...dreamers. Captain Temple, Commander Glyndar, Lieutenant Brennan, Doctor Adaestron...they're all good officers, Starfleet's best, and very pleasant to work with. They're also optimists." He looked stern now, and very serious. "I, lieutenant, am not. I've seen how missions like this can go wrong. If you feel that there is any aspect of Sec/Tac's performance that can be improved at any time, or my own performance, or if you feel that there is a threat to the ship, then I would appreciate your candour."

"I'm happy to provide it, lieutenant." Arthur, too, had the countenance of someone with the excessive weight of reality resting on his shoulders. The lines on his face stood out in wrinkles running like ravines, each one a hint of some experience that he would rather not repeat. Leaning into his chair, his thumbs absently fidgeted, a common habit of his. "I was a dreamer too, once," he finally said after a short silence had elongated beyond the point of normal conversation. Then he laughed. "Cynics usually started out as dreamers somewhere along the way. That's always been my belief.

"Tell me, why did you join the Fleet? That's not an order by the way," he added, his tone suggesting an attempt at humor.

Cailus merely raised an eyebrow, bemused. "That's a somewhat lengthy story, sir." He hesitated, faintly wistful before returning to his typical stern look. "In short...my wife persuaded me to do it. She nagged me, to be specific, shortly after I proposed to her. I was law enforcement at the time, Le Corps de la Paix, and it was a good life, but Starfleet was something more meaningful. The situation with the Klingons was very tense back then, and with everybody worried about an all-out war, I wanted to make a difference. My wife knew that, so she practically kicked me into enlisting."

Cailus was silent for a moment, frowning at the memories, before shaking them off. "And you, Commander?" he asked quietly, looking frankly at the man before him. "How did you end up out here?"

"That's right, I remember reading about your... circumstance." Arthur frowned slightly, realizing the weight of the subject he had broached with this man who was still very much a stranger. He wondered if, had he not been so preoccupied with his own personal life if he would have otherwise let his sentimentality lead him down this road. The smell of Stacey's perfume was suddenly strong in his senses. As strong as if she were standing right beside him, and for a brief moment, he had to fight the urge to look. "Just what shows up on the top of your public file, of course. That's quite the situation to live with, lieutenant."

Frown still in place, he stood, walked to the replicator, and (as much for something to do as because he wanted a drink) ordered himself a cup of Ethiopian coffee. "I love the stuff," he said, tipping the freshly materialized cup from side to side so that the liquid inside sloshed gently. "Can I get you something?"

Cailus briefly considered declining, but after a moment, he shrugged. "Yes, thank you," he replied briskly, standing up and moving to the replicator, quietly ordering a chilled berry cider.

Arthur sat on the edge of the table, sipping at the coffee. It had the strong taste he liked so much, a taste that reminded him of a childhood he sometimes wished he had never left. "I suppose that Starfleet was always a possibility for me. Neither of my parents were in the Fleet of course. Both of them hated it. Hated the militarization. Hated how focused on 'defense' it had become."

Raising an eyebrow, Cailus sipped his cider as he stood and listened. "They sound like very principled people," he commented quietly.

"They were... anarchists? I suppose that's the right word." Arthur laughed, a genuinely merry sound. "They were in the Maquis you see. It's all in the past, now. Hell, the Federation's honored half the Maquis who died during that hellish Dominion invasion... but my parent's never really forgave the Federation for turning its back on those colonies. Still, I always had an interest in space and exploration, and they made it clear from when I was just a kid that they would stand up and support any decision I made." He tapped one of the pips on his collar with a finger. "I did a lot before this, but perhaps it was inevitable, in the end. Sometimes you just know."

Cailus nodded at the last. "Aye, sir. I know what you mean." He paused, considering. "I joined Starfleet for the challenge...and because I was a brash young idiot who wanted to fight Klingons as much as protect people. It was only a little later that I got the stupidity blown out of me. Eventually, when I ended up on my first deep space mission on the Churchill...hell. I certainly wasn't expecting exploration to be so much damned fun."

"Well, here's to the joy of exploration," Arthur said, raising his coffee. It was a mock salute, and cheerful, but one not entirely void of seriousness, for Arthur had not forgotten all the dangers with which he had already swamped the poor lieutenant's mood. It was back to these that his mind now turned. "By the way Lieutenant, I'd like to overview the security protocols with you and Major Haliwell, once we're under way."

Glad to return to a more proper topic of conversation, Cailus sipped his cider. "Of course, Lieutenant. I was planning on looking back over the protocols anyway."

"Do you know him well?" Arthur said. "Major Haliwell, I mean?"

Leaning forward slightly, Cailus frowned. "Good Marine," he reflected after a moment. "He's got a good command of his people, and if what I hear about his record is true, that man has seen more combat than the rest of the command crew combined. Even so, he hasn't tried to meddle with Security. The man is damned smart, certainly more so than most Spec Ops Marines that I've met."

"That's something to be thankful for, then," Arthur said, and chuckled. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Lieutenant. I appreciate you making the time to have this discussion."

Cailus nodded, setting his drink down on the desk as he stood, knowing a dismissal when heard one. "Of course, sir. Have a good day."