Orders

Posted on Wed Jan 8th, 2025 @ 4:21am by Admiral Gordon Francis & Commander Mindo & Admiral Audra Milne

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Starfleet Command, San Francisco, Earth
Timeline: current

ON

It had been three months since the Pandora crew returned to Earth, sans their Captain, First Officer, and ship. Mindo had used the time to reenlist and center himself. He was given a promotion to Commander upon his return, and he knew it was merely Starfleet's way of doing two things: apologizing for the ludicrous decision to court martial him for his part in the now-infamous Pithos Incident, and an actual acknowledgement that his part in said incident actually did some good.

Now adorned with a red Command shirt under the gray and black jacket of his uniform, instead of the traditional gold for Engineering, as well as three full pips on his collar, he made his way to the office of Admiral Audra Milne.

They'd only met on a few brief occasions, but this was his first official briefing with her. Mindo was eagerly anticipating her orders, hoping she would be able to shed some light on the search for the Pandora and her Captain.

On his way, tunnel vision to the turbolift to take him to the top floor of Starfleet Command, he heard a familiar loud voice yell his name. Mindo turned to look and was excited to see the face of Admiral Gordon Francis, the man who had defended Mindo at his court martial. Francis also faced a court martial after the Pithos incident, and both of them had been acquitted. Despite Mindo's issues with Starfleet, he genuinely liked Francis.

"Admiral!" Mindo said with a smile, hovering to the old man's height. "It's good to see you, sir."

"Likewise, Commander," Francis replied. "I'm glad to see you returning to service."

Mindo smiled. "Thank you, sir. It's good to see you're still here."

"Of course!" the Admiral exclaimed. "The only way they'll be rid of me is if they physically take me out behind the barn and shoot me."

"I hope it doesn't come to that, sir," Mindo said, recalling the "barnyard colloquialisms" that served as a Francis trademark.

"Me too, Commander," Francis said. "I need to skedaddle. It was good to see you again."

Francis extended a hand to Mindo. Mindo's eyes went wide. Admiral Francis was well-known for not shaking hands. The reason had never been explained, but it was well-known that a Francis handshake was a rather big honor.

Mindo smiled and took his hand, trying to match the old man's firm grip. "Thank you, sir," he said. Francis gave Mindo a curt nod and the two went their separate ways.

Mindo had been honored by that encounter, and now he went to his first briefing as a Commanding Officer. He approached the door to the office of Admiral Milne and pressed the chime.

"Come!" Milne called out in a strong vibrating sing-song voice. She had a lot more to be happy about these days than those dark times on Carnwennan Station. When the door opened and Mindo stepped in, she beamed, "Commander. I'm so glad you were able to come in today."

"Thank you, ma'am," Mindo responded as he hovered in, still smiling a bit after his encounter with Francis. "I'm glad to be here."

"Just in time, too." Milne added. She didn't sit back down in her chair, instead moved over to a large screen on the wall. "I think we've made solid progress on finding the Pandora."

"I'm curious as to what you found," Mindo said, turning to the screen. "The last I heard from my team was that the Pandora is emanating a specific form of particle; a mixture of the dark matter, chroniton, neutrino particles, and gojiric radiation. These were all elements we encountered while in the Expanse. We know there's got to be a trail, but my team didn't have the required technology to detect it."

"Ah, well the good folks in Science did." Milne nodded, "Indeed, it appears as if the Pandora's extensive journey through the Inconnu Expanse has given it a unique combination of particles, a mix of those elements you've mentioned that only the Pandora could possibly contain. Those particles were still present on the ship, even after the refurbishment and repairs being undertaken at Luna Shipyards. Personally, I believe this may be why someone has taken a special interest in the ship, but that's for another conversation. Luckily, the particle combination has created a trail for us to find."

The viewscreen changed to a map of the Alpha Quadrant, where there were a few isolated green dots.

"We've been running a background scan through our sensor network for that specific combination of elements throughout this region of space," Milne continued, pointing to the viewscreen, "A bit like a needle in a haystack, if that needle happened to be radioactive. We've found the following instances of potential Pandora appearances over the past three months. And just recently here." She said as the last dot appeared.

"Last location is the Krakau system, in the Neutral Zone," he observed. The planet's name sounded very familiar to Mindo, but now was not the time to contemplate. He checked the lower part of the screen. "The date says it was four days ago. Is there anything more recent?"

"Unfortunately not, the trail has been spread thin across both Quadrants and, as you can see, now it is beyond our borders." Milne replied gravely, "But we are confident that this is the Pandora. Your officers, Lieutenants Keith and Kaleri have been tracking the S.S. Prime, one of Pandora's shuttlecrafts that we believe is connected to the appearance of the shadowy figure who prompted you all to look for the Pandora."

With a press of the screen, a new overlay appeared on top of the map. It showed the marker of the S.S. Prime in the same location for at least four of the green dots across the map.

"The Prime has been detected sometimes during, or not long after, the detection of the Pandora's particle trail." Milne explained, "Most notably here - " She pointed to a particular dot, "On Science Station Khonsu, which was damaged significantly by an unknown force. Thankfully the crew were rescued by a, and I quote, shadowy figure, in what appeared to be an altered Starfleet shuttle. If it is the same mysterious visitor, then they are following the same trail that we are, and this could only lead to the Pandora."

"Why do I get the feeling this is becoming a race, and they already have a head start?" Mindo asked.

"Feeling one step behind is something I've grown accustomed to," Milne mused with a wry smile. "But I have been working on some ideas to help prevent that in future. But we need the Pandora back first." She turned off the screen and moved to sit behind her desk, indicating for Mindo to take the seat opposite, which he did.

"We are certain that the next appearance of the trail will likely be in the Neutral Zone, in an adjacent sector." The Admiral explained. "If we are to gain any advantage in this race, I'm going to need to send you on a completely off-the-books mission into the Neutral Zone. Undercover ship, undercover crew. You're to travel into the area as civilian merchants and try to find the Pandora's trail."

"What class of ship should we be expecting from Starfleet?" Mindo asked. "I'll need something with shields and phasers if we're going into the Neutral Zone."

Milne was not much of a poker player. She sucked in a breath through her teeth then shrugged a little. "About that. We can't risk disrupting the Neutral Zone, or tipping off our enemies that there may be a lost starship in the area. So, when I say the mission must be 'off the books', that goes for the ship as well. At best we can offer either a merchant vessel or a decommissioned ship that will look like a civilian craft. I've drawn up a list of ships that could be available on short notice." She picked up a PADD from the desktop and handed it across to the Commander.

Mindo glanced at the details of some of the ships and was not impressed. He set the PADD down in front of the Admiral. "Actually, I think my crew and I can manage something more believable. I have crew with clearance to one of our junkyards. I'm sure they can find something that looks less... 'Starfleet.'"

"Very well," Milne nodded, "That will give us some time to find a more accurate rendezvous point in the Neutral Zone as well." The Admiral leaned back in her chair, contemplating her next words. "This is a most unusual mission, Commander, but I know you and the Pandora crew are experts in the unusual. I don't send people into the Neutral Zone undercover lightly; it is highly important that you are to remain hidden and do nothing that will expose you as Starfleet officers."

"With respect Admiral, you are not sending us anywhere," Mindo said. "We're going whether you like it or not. Thanks for the help, though."

Milne smiled at that, "Understood. You will have all necessary provisions at your disposal, I can have them covertly delivered to your craft once you find it." With that, the Admiral placed her hand flat upon the corner of her desk. As she did, a drawer opened up underneath and from within the drawer she retrieved a data chip. She handed it across the desk to Mindo. The chip appeared to be a single pane of glass, no bigger than a playing card, with a symbol of a lighthouse etched upon the surface. "Use this to contact me directly from now on."

"Thank you, sir," Mindo said as he took the glass card.

"You may feel alone out there, Commander." She said softly. "But I will be with you as much as I can."

"My crew has become accustomed to being alone," Mindo said, not needing to remind her of Pandora's prior detachment from Starfleet when in the Expanse. The incident had led to the unnecessary second court martial for Mindo, but worse, the Expanse was no better a place due to the Pandora's actions.

The Iconnu Expanse had been a mess when they entered, and when Pandora left it was a bigger mess, with their successful departure happening at great cost. Since then, that part of space had been in shambles, without any further aid from the Federation. Worse yet, the Pandora's endeavors led to consequences that should never have occurred, including the destruction of an entire inhabited planet by an absolute madman.

It was because of this that Mindo had resigned. Now he reenlisted for selfish reasons, with a crew so eagerly following him into uncertain circumstances, having just as much support from their superiors as before. This time, Starfleet had washed their hands of the situation before anything even happened. They hadn't trusted Mindo with a command, nor would they ever. They just shoved him to his potential demise so they could get their ship back before anyone beat them to it. Mindo's hatred of Starfleet had only grown after reenlisting. But this wasn't for himself. It was for the people he considered family, and a ship he would always consider home.

Milne's final, empty words rang with loud irony as he exited her office and the building, tossing the glass card--no doubt a tracking device--into the nearest waste incinerator.

OFF