Standing By... On the Sidelines

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 6:22am by Captain Tobias Rao
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:00pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Palatine
Timeline: After "Your The Captain Now"

A Mission Post by Captain Tobias Rao
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Palatine
Timeline: After "Your The Captain Now"
Sat Jul 21st, 2018 @ 5:33pm


Tobias sat behind his desk in his Ready Room reading over yet another report that confirmed no contact from Nyx and the USS Pandora whilst they retraced the course of the US Merrimack.

He was growing concerned that there had been no word from his friend or any of his crew on board. Whilst they were out here exploring the Inconnu Expanse, there was always the risk that something would happen to one of the vessels out here and with the Pandora being on the frontline of that expedition, Tobias was trying to avoid fearing the worst.

As he took a sip of what seemed to be a now cold cup of coffee, Tobias heard the internal comm chime. He pressed the receive button on his desk.

"Morgan to Captain," he heard his Operations Chief over the comm and smiled. Having set Will on trying to get hold of someone at Carnwennan Station, this sounded like he'd had some success.

"Go ahead Will, how did your hunt go?" he asked.

"Very well sir. I have Rear Admiral Li on hold from the Station...shall I put her through?" asked Morgan.

"By all means, Commander."

Rear Admiral Li appeared on the Viewscreen before Tobias, from her office on Carnwennan Station.

"Captain Rao, Its normally good to see you, however under the current circumstances I need to come straight to the point," Li explained without wasting any time.

"By all means Admiral, what the situation we're facing? Does this concern the Pandora?" Tobias could see this was almost a mission briefing in the making, but he let the Admiral take the lead.

"12 hours ago, I spoke with Commander Nash on board the Pandora after receiving a very distressing report. Nash confirmed that The Pandora was investigating a natural phenomenon that sweeps through the Expanse. However a probe that was sent out to record further data seems to have caused a reaction in the phenomenon."

"The Pandora suffered damage to her weapons systems, Shields and Warp systems once the wave made contact...however, upon further investigation it seems that the Senior Officers on the Bridge and any on duty Bridge personnel have disappeared." At this point Li took a breath and could see Rao's face showed now sign of either surprise or wonder a her report.

"Very well, what do you need from the Palatine?" he asked.

"For now, remain on standby Captain. I need the Palatine ready to move when Commander Nash updates me on his next move. He's due to report in soon with a report on the various avenue's that he and the remaining crew are looking into,"Li replied.

"I have faith in Owen, but I also want to see Temple and the other good officers that are missing back as well. The Pandora is our flagship vessel in the Inconnu Expanse and we need the best crew aboard her to keep that expedition moving."

Tobias nodded in agreement with Li. "Nash is a good man and very capable of both holding the crew together, he's worked hard to earn his Executive Officer post...but Temple and the others make up what is a brilliant crew and I agree that we need those good officers back," he explained.

Li leaned forward slightly on her side of the screen. "I have no doubt in Owen's ability to command but for now he's the Pandora's Captain until... or if... Temple and the others return."

Her statement was clear and Rao heard it very clearly. Li wasn't sure if the other crew members were going to return or not and that could also mean that the Pandora could be recalled if she didn't have the required full crew compliment. It could also mean that the Palatine could be called in to take over that role and that was something that Tobias didn't want.

During their time in the Inconnu Expanse, he'd come to know Nyx and the others as friends, not crew or fellow colleagues and the last thing he wanted was to be the one that walked in and stole the show from underneath them, regardless of following orders from whatever Starfleet Admiral issued them.

"As of now, The Palatine will remain in position, on standby to assist the Pandora as and when she requires that help. We'll do whatever we can to help the recovery effort when they ask," Rao said clearly.

"Very well. Until then,I'll keep in touch. Li out," replied the Admiral before the screen went dark. Rao sat back and considered the situation for a moment. It wasn't pretty and years of experience also gave him the chance to make sure that he didn't make it worse.

Tobias left his Ready Room and headed to the Bridge, walking over to the Helm. he leaned in close to the Cardassian Helm officer. "Mr Mako, hold position here please...until further notice," he instructed quietly.

The Cardassian nodded his understanding of the order and put in the appropriate commands as Rao walked over to the Ops station where Commander Morgan was attending his duties. "Time for your next Hunt Mr. Morgan. Run continual scans from our current position and let me know only when you locate the Pandora... also send out a repeating signal to them as well...nothing loud, lets keep it discreet," Rao explained.

Morgan moved to begin his next duties as Ra sat ack own next to Commander Raven, the Palatines Executive Officer.

"Anything I should be aware of Captain?" she asked.

"Nothing to worry about Commander... Lets just say that I like the view," he answered carefully.

The Vesta Class Starship remained in position as ordered, waiting and enjoying the view...

took his seat next to his Execuive Officer, Commander Raven.