Tactical Update

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:03am by Lieutenant Ziara Rrareth & Lieutenant John Sandoval
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:43pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Sandoval's Quarters
Timeline: Between "My Dream Girl" and "Innocents"

ON:

Ziara was dressed in the golden uniform of Tactical. While she was good at it, the gold felt strange to wear compared to the red she had worn for most of her career. As the tactical officer, she needed to know what was happening in this region of space. The Sundowner had come through this area when she was a child, but that was a long time ago and a lot could have changed in the meantime. She rang the chime to let the Chief Diplomatic Officer know she was here.

John had been leaning against the wall, working with Ensign Jari in the open area when the door to the diplomatic workspace chimed. “Come in,” he called to the person on the other side of the door. The door opened right away, revealing a short white and black Caitian. A new face aboard the ship. “Good afternoon,” John said with a wide smile. He grabbed his cane from Jari’s desk and stood up straight. “I’m Lieutenant John Sandoval, Chief Diplomatic Officer. This is Ensign Jari. What can I do for you?”

"Lieutenant Ziara Rrareth, the new chief tactical officer," Ziara said, looking up at the taller human and trying to sound more confident then she was, tactical was a new position for her. She had helped line up shots or avoid them as a flight officer, but she was never the one taking the shots herself. "I haven't been in this area of space in years, and I need to know what the current diplomatic situation is," Ziara explained, her translated voice was unaccented and clear.

“Makes sense,” John said with a nod. “I’m fairly new to this area myself, but I can share what I know.” He gestured to a small room to the left of the diplomatic unit. “Follow me into my office?” He turned and slowly walked into the room he gestured to, walking around the desk. He leaned his cane against the back wall and took his seat. “Please, sit.”

"Thank you." Ziara said, taking a seat. "One of my parents is a Ferangi, so we would visit this area from time to time. I know the big players, Cardassians, Breen, Tzenkethi, and a few more beyond them. I visited Mu Andromedae on the way back from one of our trading expeditions. However, I've been mostly deployed on the other side of the Federation for the last several years, dealing with the Sovereignty of Kahless in the Raeyan Transit corridor then near the core worlds testing some advanced prototypes." Ziara said, explaining her background in more detail.

“Well, good to have your expertise on board, though I hope you won’t be offended when I say I hope it’s unnecessary.” John leaned back in his chair and got comfortable. “The Inconnu Expanse is claimed in its own entirety by the Alrakis Pact, a union made up of the Talarians, Breen, Tzenkethi, and a coalition of thugs called the Ravagers. Starfleet has been told to leave the Expanse.”

"And we're not." Ziara said, stating the obvious.

“Not quite yet. We’ve docked temporarily here at Paradise Station to learn more about the Pact’s activities in the area,” John continued. “We’ve since learned that they’ve been strong-arming nearby planets into allying with them. We also just learned that the Breen have secretly taken over the outpost. The Pact’s next steps are unknown, but it’s clear that they’re trying to consolidate their power in this area of space, denying us any foothold or resource.”

"Is the Pact allied with or backed by the Breen?" Ziara asked.

"The Breen are one of the Pact's main members," John explained. "We're not in a state of war with them, thankfully, but things are tense. The Expanse is a powderkeg and we're doing everything we can to not light it. But if things go South, you'll need to know who you're fighting. Breen, possibly other Pact forces, and realistically the Breen might commandeer any of the civilian ships in this area."

"That's not going to be good, I'm pretty sure they have more surprises up their sleeve." Ziara commented.

“That’s always a wise thing to assume,” John said. “Still, I’m hopeful the Captain can resolve this peacefully.” He glanced over at the replicator in the corner. “I apologize; I didn’t offer you anything to drink. Would you like something?”

Ziara shook her head, "I'll be fine. I should probably be going. Thank you for the briefing."

"Any time," John said with a smile. "Always good to talk shop with a new face."

OFF