Butterflies and Hurricanes

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 3:51am by Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Owen Nash & Cailus Griffin & Major Leo Halliwell Sr. & Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield & Captain Bethany Wallace & Lieutenant Van Kolbeck & Lieutenant Machwen Adaestron & Lieutenant Commander Janet Glyndar & Lieutenant Laurel Oakley MD
Edited on on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 7:05am

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Senior Briefing Room

Nycolas Temple had been busy arranging chairs and snacks for the Pandora's first senior crew briefing, and his first as Captain of this fine vessel. Truth be told, he was more anxious about the mission specs that he was about to reveal than actually holding the meeting itself. After the welcome drinks on the Rec Deck and individual conversations with all of the crew, he actually felt fairly comfortable around them all. And hopefully, they were comfortable around him.

But now the Pandora was warping towards the Inconnu Expanse and the reception they would likely receive out there was going to be anything but friendly. He hoped they were ready. Nyx looked up as the first arrival entered the room.

Lt. Van Kolbeck had felt that he had settled in well to the new Sick Bay. Life on Deck 6 was relatively lively now that his new staff had arrived, along with Ensign Adaestron the Assistant Medical Officer. So far things were going well as various reports and tests on the computer medical systems were occurring with satisfaction.

Entering the meeting room the doors opened to reveal that he was one of the first few to arrive. Kolbeck was a bit surprised as he his self-was a bit late in arriving. He had his usual stainless steel mug of coffee. Carrying along his Department PADD with the ships Medical roster as well as inventories completed, he ensured he would be ready to answer any potential mission related questions for the USS Pandora. He was interested to see what would be happening as he was unaware of the ships plans.

He took a seat near the side of the table and acknowledged the Captain. “Hello Sir. Fine day!” He nodded.

"Hej Van," Nyx replied with smile. "Indeed it is. Mange tak for coming so quickly."

Shae was not far behind the good Doctor, her attention fixated on a PaDD she was reading. As she entered the briefing room, she peeled her eyes away from her reading long enough to glance around to see who else was here; just the Captain and the Doctor for now. "Captain, Doctor," she greeted with a small smile and a gentle nod of her head as she took a seat at the long table, doing her best to get back to her reading until the others arrived. She felt a bit guilty seeing Van, though, as she had been putting off her physical; Shae wasn't too fond of doctors, nor was Aoife for that matter, and while Doctor Kolbeck was pleasant enough to talk to, neither she nor her daughter had been to see him for their mandatory boarding physicals as of yet.

Leo stepped into the room a few minutes after Shae, stopping just inside the door he adjusted his uniform top and looked around, noting the individuals already in the room then slipped into a chair, slipping his Beret off and placed it on the table in front of him and looked to the Captain, giving him a short nod before settling back in the chair

Bethany stepped into the room not far behind Leo and quickly moved to the chair next to him, not stopping to look around, more fixated on getting to a seat. In her hand she carried two pads and placed one infront of Leo as she sat beside him, shooting a quick smile down to the table to the others gathered.

A minute or so later, Cailus entered. With only a terse nod, he took a seat next to the Leo on the far end of the table. Cailus offered Shae a glance and the tiniest of smiles, but was otherwise utterly professional as he waited.

Oakley and the First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Glyndar had not intended on arriving together, but had shared a turbolift and therefore were practically glued together for the remainder of their journey to the meeting. Janet kindly gestured for Laurel to enter before her and they sat quite a ways apart from one another with Janet taking the closest seat open near the Commanding Officer whilst Laurel squeezed in where there was an opening.

"Captain" said Janet with a nod at the man. She was examining everyone...looking to see who all was present and was curious if anyone knew more than she did about what was ahead. Nobody really read as such though, so she drew her attention solely on the Captain, the man of the hour and head of the table.

"Commander," Nyx replied with a similar nod, sliding over a briefing PADD over to her as she sat down.

Katniss certainly not accustomed to attending senior staff meetings, although she was Chief Research Officer this side of it was all new to her. She hadn't met many of the crew yet so this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce herself. Dressed in unifrom she also had her lab coat on and the black rimmed glasses that she technically didn't need, they just made her look more geeky and intelligent. She took a deep breath before she walked in, no doubt a little late.

"My apologies for my lateness." she said as she felt the eyes of the room turn towards her. She felt a lump forming as she looked for any spare seat so she could just quickly sink into and hide.

"Not at all," Temple replied happily.

As soon as the door to the ready room had closed, it whizzed open again, and Ensign Machwen Adaestron walked through. He spotted an empty seat next to Lt. Kolbeck. When he reached the chair, he nodded to the Nycolas, "Captain," before sitting down. He looked around, seeing if he could spot Dr Oakley, but to no avail. He had been waiting to see her, so that he could finally get a good telepathic conversation going with someone. It may have only been a few days since he had spoken telepathically with his family, but for somebody who grew up with that as his main method of communication, it made the ship seem... silent.

Owen finally arrived in the room and nodded before apologising for his tardyness. "I'm sorry I'm late...had a small matter of repairs near Main Engineering... An Engineers job is never ending..." He explained before taking a seat.

"Of course not," Nyx replied with a hearty smile. "I won't keep you too long."

The captain then smiled to the assembled crew, "Thank you all for coming today. We don't have long before we're in the Expanse and we have a complicated path ahead of us before we get there."

He turned in his chair a little to the large LCARS screen behind him, tapping on the corner of the panel to bring up a map of the area they were travelling towards.

"We were instructed by Command to take the Carnwennan Corridor into the Expanse, as this was the safer option." Temple began, "However, that's not to say this option is necessarily safe itself."

The map magnified to show the Corridor, a narrow section of space between the Talarians and the Tzenkethi Coalition. Also marked on the map were known Ravager locations.

"As a result of the Breen Crisis and the loss of Deep Space 7, the Federation was forced to cede exploration of the Expanse and as a result the Breen, Tzenkethi, and Ravagers have taken advantage of our absence." Nyx continued. "We know the Tzenkethi are trying to claim the Corridor for themselves, but are repelled by the Ravagers and the Talarians. We are expecting patrols from all three powers to greet us on our journey."

He gave a half hearted smile, "So, that's our predicament."

Owen took in the situation as the Captain explained what they were headed into. He was also thinking of the tense situation the various patrols would cause.

"Well at least its not going to be boring whilst we're there... I can keep active sensor scans going once we're in the local area of either the Breen or the Tzenkethi but that might also make us a tempting target," he explained. "Passive scans are an option but they don't have the same range..."

"Luckily we'll have the USS Palatine with us," Temple replied, "Their ship will act as deterrent and protector but we won't know exactly what we're dealing with until we're in the Corridor."

"Why don't we just go around the Tzenkethi space if this corridor is so dangerous?" Shae suggested. "It may add more time to our travel to go the long way, but if it helps us to avoid confrontation with the locals, wouldn't that be ideal?"

"We will be hugging close to Talarian space, but by reports the Tzenkethi have strengthened their forces and annexed systems within the Corridor itself, effectively moving their territory into the previously neutral zone." Temple replied. "It will be our job to map the new border as we travel, but again we won't know exactly the extent of the changes until we're there."

Leo leaned back, tipping his chair as he steepled his fingers in front of his face, listening carefully. The space they where entering was a volatile area, and frankly, if things went wrong shipboard actions could be seen before long. Gods, lets hope that doesn't happen, any of the factions with an interest in these conflicts would be a force to be reckoned with. . He paused for a moment before looking over to the Captain "Have we heard any reports of boarding actions or similar incidences happening during this volatility, Captain?"

Nyx frowned, "We know DS7 was destroyed, as well as some listening posts, but the Federation hasn't had the resources as yet to investigate the circumstances. From what we know of the Ravagers, however, I do believe boardings are part of their tactics." He paused, reflecting on this point for moment. "They like to take ships whole, crew included."

Leo reached up and scratched his nose a little before lowering his hands back into their steepled position as a frown formed on his face "I see... I have experience dealing with boarders from my time serving on the Agamemnon during the Dominion war..." he paused, almost for effect, and hmmed softly "Sir, I'd recommend that we use my Marines to augment the security personnel stationed around the ship..." he paused again

Glancing at the Major beside him, Cailus said cautiously, "You'd be welcome to join us, Major. We'd have to run some drills to integrate your teams, of course, but otherwise there's no reason your Marines can't reinforce us."

Temple nodded along, "Good thinking. We can coordinate our efforts to ensure we are protected from all possibilities. Unfortunately I had hoped we could do some scientific work along the way but as Mr Nash pointed out, long range scanning may make us a target and we'll probably require our shields up at all times in case of boardings or surprise attacks."

Leaning forward to put his elbows on the desk, Cailus said "I was going to suggest that, sir. Even so the Pandora is designed for exploration and survey, not combat. If hostile races try to block us in the Inconnu Corridor, we'll have a hard time reaching the Expanse without taking heavy damage."

"There is one other option," Nyx began with consternation. If he had been jovial before in prior situations, here he was deadly serious. "The Talarians have recently re-initiated diplomatic relations with the Federation after thirty years. There is a possibility that once we reach the Carnwennan Station, we could find someway of using this development in order to travel completely in Talarian Space, or even just using it as a cover should we detect danger. I know we are scientists, officers and marines, and not diplomats, but we have to consider all avenues."

"Forgive me if I'm dwelling in the past," Ensign Adaestron spoke up, "but in my experience, entering into negotiations does not mean willingness to co-operate."

"Considering that the Talarians were the ones to initiate these diplomatic talks, it does seem to suggest a willingness to cooperate," Shae countered. "However, if we were to use this as a means of navigating the Cooridor without their knowledge or consent, they may perceive our actions as an insult if we're discovered. If we could reach out to whoever is working with the Talarians and gauge their willingness to help, then we might be able to negotiate safe passage; otherwise, I suggest we save this as a last option so as not to endanger potential relations with these people or make the conditions worse for ourselves so far from reinforcements."

Owen nodded at Brennan's suggestion. "We still need to consider our own security...but any help we can get is a good thing though... However honesty is the best policy, we are out here to explore the Expanse as well as expanding our knowledge," he explained. "If negotiating with the Talarians is an option, then we should look to pursue it."

"Apart from having the Palatine for support, it would help if we could travel through some of the Expanse with the knowledge that we have local support." Being the only Federation Starship in the Expanse could cause long term worries."

Nyx leaned forward in his chair, "I concur, it's an option worth pursuing. We will need to keep an open mind to all possibilities on this journey, and be as creative as possible."

Janet as First Officer spoke up to voice her concerns. "I admit that I feel a lot better about getting into bed with the Talarians than I do say...oh the Cardassians" she said candidly. "However, even if we can be on good relations with the Talarians, they are not going to be of much help to us if we run into trouble. They are technologically inferior to the Federation and to many of the major players in the quadrant" said Janet. "The only advantage that they really have in a tactical sense are their guerrilla warfare tactics similar to those employed by the Maquis" she noted.

"I appreciate your concerns, Commander," Nyx replied with a nod, "We can only assume that they have seen the Tzenkethi's growing militarily or the Ravagers getting more aggressive and given their deficiencies in technology, decided to turn to the Federation for assistance. It's our luck that they started talking just as we need their help getting through the Corridor. Hopefully by traveling inside Talarian space will avoid conflict."

"I had certainly hope so," Shae said with some concern. "When we get to the Expanse, it would be unwise to approach while under pursuit. I would hate for us to have to rush into the storm-like phenomenon that surrounds the Expanse simply to escape from enemy ships. There's so much we don't know about the Expanse and its unusual barrier, I need ample time to study it before entering or else we risk more damage to the ship."

Katniss looked up, she glanced at Shae "I concur, we can't just rush in and we don't know if the expanse will have any long term effects on the crew, that's something I am going to be doing in depth research on."

Nyx smiled, "It's a matter of butterflies in hurricanes. Slow and steady is our intention. We won't be making any unnecessary risks."

Releasing a deep breath, Nyx leaned back again and smiled, "Now, one final piece of business. In case some of you are unaware, we have had two promotions on the Pandora since leaving the Luna Shipyards. I wanted us to take a moment to congratulate those who achieved their advancements. First, to Mr. Nash for his promotion to Lieutenant Commander," He looked to the Chief of Ops with a bow, "For his impressive service on the USS Adelaide, and for his exemplary management of the Pandora's boarding and launch operations."

"And secondly, to Mr. Griffin," Nyx turned to the Security Chief, "For his promotion to Lieutenant junior grade, thanks to his diligence and dedication on the USS Tornado, and his efficient work with the Security department onboard the Pandora. It is a privilege to serve with such a talented group of officers and you can be assured that myself and Commander Glyndar will be recognising and rewarding all of your hard work in due course."

Uncomfortable at being singled out, Cailus simply nodded stiffly.

"Alright, there's an afternoon tea on the table. Feel free to help yourselves and then get back to work," He laughed. "Dismissed."

OFF