Way Under

Posted on Wed Feb 19th, 2025 @ 8:58pm by Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Commander Greep & Lieutenant Zo & Lieutenant Commander Caradan Eunidas & Lieutenant Daniel Keith & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant JG Olivia Keith & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson & Ensign Ian Milkovich & Ensign Aenardha Sh'vastarth & Petty Officer 3rd Class Raven Mattel

Mission: Outside the Box
Location: Caesar's Palace Barcade
Timeline: current

ON

The Pandora crew's briefing was taking place in the one location Mindo felt safe from surveillance: the back room of Caesar's Palace Arcade and Bar. The proprietor of the place, Big Sal, who was Mindo's biggest father figure, had been gracious enough to let them use it. The room stored several arcade cabinets and pinball machines in need of repair. In his Academy days, Mindo would often go there to fix the machines. At the time, his love of video games was matched only by his love of fixing things. It was a relaxing activity back in the day.

Mindo had reached level three of Donkey Kong when the first of the crew arrived. It was one of the new crew, Lieutenant Daniel Keith, a man Mindo had spoken with on their way to Earth three months ago. Mindo liked Keith, the crew's new Chief of Security. He was a dedicated officer and proud family man. Mindo had all the confidence in the world for him.

"Lieutenant," Mindo said in greeting as Mario died during his last, desperate attempt to save his beloved Pauline from the giant ape, "you're here rather early. It's good to see you again!"

"Commander Mindo!" Daniel greeted the man happily. "It is good to see you sir." Daniel returned honestly. He had met Mindo on the transport three months ago and they had a developed a quick and he hoped a close friendship. "Yes sir. Better to be early than late and have people wondering where you are and growing more annoyed with each passing second you are late."

Mindo grinned. "As an engineer, I always say I'll be about twenty minutes late, and then show up five minutes early."

Daniel grinned and nodded. "That's a good one sir. I like it. I may 'borrow' that, if you have no objections that is."

"None at all," Mindo said.

Caradan stepped in a moment later. Her face showed clear relief that this was a private meeting; no public spread about and, thus, no need to socialize of worry about anyone watching her too long or too intently. She had her fill of that as she had walked her way there as she passed by people on the street.

Caradan regarded everyone in turn with nods and slowly stepped along observing the arcade cabinets as though attempting to ascertain their exact purpose for existence.

Raven was sat pensively at the bar in the main room Caesar's, where she had been for quite some time. Her palms were layered in sweat as she held tightly onto the PADD in her hand. On screen was her acceptance letter as a Non-Com Officer, and her assignment from Admiral Milne to work for Commander Mindo - her proof that she deserved to be there. It was right there in her hand, in clear language. She deserved to be there. She kept repeating this to herself over and over again in her head, trying to will herself to believe it.

"I deserve to be here." She whispered, staring at the PADD.

A waitress came by on roller-skates, offering to get Raven a drink. Raven looked the waitress up and down with her Cindy Lauper hairstyle and puffy tulle skirt. She immediately yearned for the days when she rolled around Mindo's place on skates, taking drink orders and dancing to music. 'That's where I ought to be' a voice inside her said. The voice of doubt she had been trying to hold off. Raven smiled, "Are you guys hiring?" She blurted out.

The waitress popped her chewing gum and looked at Raven deadpan. "Girl, you've already got a job." She replied, indicated to the PADD with the Starfleet logo on top. With that, the waitress rolled away, shaking her head to the music.

Taking a deep breath, Raven slid off her stool and made her way to the backroom, holding the PADD firmly in her hand. "I deserve to be here." She said emphatically as she opened the door and walked inside.

Krysia, Aeryn, and Olivia all arrived together, Olivia had become good friends with both Krys and Aeryn in the short time she’d known them. Their friendship proved a good cover, three women just out enjoying themselves. Walking over to her husband Olivia smiled as she joined Daniel.

As Olivia drew near and came to stand next to him, Daniel put his hand around her slender waist, returned her smile and then kissed her lovingly. "Hi darling." He greeted her.

“Hi yourself” Olivia smiled warmly as she happily returned Daniel’s kiss before turning her attentiom to the rest of the room.

Zo and Warp Nine, along with Aenardha, had entered ahead of Raven, who was the final person to enter the room. Standing at attention at the inside of the door, Greep saw Raven's uniform and somewhat nodded, clicking rapidly. "Officer Mattel, humans might find you attractive in that uniform," he squawked, a strange but very Ontarion compliment.

Out of pure instinct, Raven posed a little with her right leg stretched outwards and giving a demure smile. “Well who could blame them.” She said and as soon as the words finished coming out of her mouth, she wished she hadn’t. She was struck with the piercing thought that it was entirely inappropriate to respond like that to a superior officer. She could feel the redness rising to her cheeks as she stiffened up her posture again. “But that’s not what we’re here for.” She coughed out.

Aenardha could feel the uncomfortableness emanating from Raven as easily as anyone could see her turn a shade of red. "We are here for each other, for out captain and our ship." She smiled at Raven, using her vision to look back at herself to ensure she looked Raven in the eye. "You belong here."

"Agreed," came Caradan's voice. She stepped up and addressed the newly minted Starfleet personnel that was Raven. Though Caradan was not one for socializing, she knew her position as XO meant to do what she could to enliven the mood as well as command. It would remain a difficult task if she kept herself always out of touch. Her only course was to at least try. "Being a long-time member of the Pandora's crew, whether official or not, your presence greatly increases our chances of success." She regarded Raven and took in the rank on her collar. "In whatever capacity you serve, you are meant to be here." She regarded everyone else crowded around as well. "The same goes for you all."

After carefully reviewing all the reports, about how nearly each and everyone had been visited by Mystery Man, it was Caradan who felt the odd one out, not just because she was a Changeling, but because she was not visited by Mystery Man but by White-Eyed Watcher, who had visited no one else and had also informed her to tell no one of him having visited her, lest everything fall apart.

"Do enjoy this night," she said. "Soon we fly."

"Sooner than you might think," Mindo said, taking a place at the head of the group. "Tomorrow we head out on an old ship we've refitted and renamed the 'Qaraq.' Our course will lead us to the third planet in the Krakau system, in the Neutral Zone. Starfleet Intel believes it to be the last known location of the Pandora. There is not a lot of research to be done on Krakau III. There is no actual claim on the planet, and it doesn't seem to have any indigenous intelligent life. Just an unremarkable chain of mountainous islands. Our mission is to find out, if we can, what the Pandora was doing there three days ago and where it went after that. We've been tracking the Pandora's unique radiation signature acquired by the litany of gojiric radiation, dark matter, and baragon particles, but the trail ran cold after Krakau. We leave tomorrow morning at 0400. There is no Starfleet record of this mission, and only a select few are aware of our objective."

Mindo looked around the room at the crew of the Pandora, new faces, old faces, all of them changed faces. "It's been a long time since we've all been on a mission together, and this one may be our most challenging. The last time we faced such adversity, we made it through by the skin of our teeth, and with a sacrifice not made in vain. For me, taking command is not something I'm doing naturally. I do this out of my loyalty to you, our Captain, and above all to the Pandora. Starfleet has once again washed its hands of us. Their help has been minimal, and we only stand to receive less in the coming weeks. Our fake uniforms, if you can call them that, are made of Romulan magic beans that should hide--or at least distort--our identities, and our ship is literally a schooner with no shields or weapons, warp six capability, and only a few luxuries. The good news is, it's a lot bigger than the ship we took to get back to Earth. If we are discovered to be Starfleet, we're at the mercy of whoever finds us, which is to say we probably won't get any mercy at all. Any questions?"

Daniel waited to see if anyone else would be first but when no one came forth he spoke up. 'Sir, how can we be sent out with no shields? Without shields, even the smallest micro meteors or space debris would hole our hull before we cleared the solar systems and the mission before it even got started. Add to the fact no weapons and my question is, does Command want us to fail? Because they have stacked the deck against us."

"We still have deflector capabilities," Caradan announced. "We will also be making a stop on the way to...acquire...some items of interest." She did not receive any response from her message to Lynch. Not receiving a response was oftentimes a good sign that he was working his '31 Magic' he liked to say. She could only hope that the Federation Emergency Rations Depot was there and that she would get command codes in time to access the weapons vault.

"Let's hope so" Aeryn offered a wry smile. "I don't plan on having medical full of injured people during this little...adventure."

"I've no doubt it's all been considered" Krysia offered a smile. "Besides if we need reinforcements I have a few contacts of my own that may come in handy. Though that all depends on if my people will be bothered to help us out, they're pretty busy worrying about their own affairs at present."

"Thing is," Mindo added, "we must keep our heads down. We can't afford to be recognized by anyone. The uniforms will keep us protected from ship's sensors. Anyone curious enough to scan us won't be able to tell who or in some cases what we are. If we are caught and boarded, Commander Greep will pose as our Captain, carrying supplies and VIP's to Krakau III." Mindo grinned. "Of course, our VIP will be none other than Officer Mattel, our crew's newest addition and--as a fashion model, media personality, and famous singer--is the most recognizable face out of all of us. If we're lucky, anyone curious enough to board us will be too starstruck to care about us and our cargo."

Raven noticeably gulped at the mention of her name.

Lieutenant Zo turned to his band mates. "We've got to stay scarce if that happens. It's not exactly a secret Warp Nine consists of four active Starfleet officers."

"Four active Starfleet officers who have been bending the rules as of late," said Aenardha as she called to mind Warp 9's antics over the past year. "If recognized, we could feign a rebellious attitude toward Starfleet."

"Well," Zo said with a shrug, "we are a rock band. Rebellion is kind of our thing."

"So... uh, what would I have to do?" Raven asked nervously. She hadn't expected to go from newest crewman to the center-point of their disguise.

Mindo grinned and hovered over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do what you're always doing," he said. "Be fabulous!"

"Well that I can do." Raven smiled, her confidence returning. She pouted for a moment, thinking, "I think I might be trying to expand my musical audience to outside of the Federation, really get my name out there to some new markets. So maybe I'm looking for a distribution deal elsewhere? If Warp 9 are recognized, it's because they're doing the same thing. We can be a package deal."

"As long as we get to duet on the forthcoming album!" Zo chimed in.

"And as for you guys..." Raven went around the room looking at each of the crew. She began to feel like she was in one of those old heist movies, divvying up roles. "Mindo is my manager and the money man from Risa. Caradan and Keith, personal security. Kaleri, my much, much needed personal therapist. Aeryn, nutritionist - you won't let me eat anything naughty. Aenardha does my PR. Olivia is my stylist and... " She found a familiar face standing at very rear of the group. "You? Do I know you?"

From the back of the room by the door, a hesitant Ensign Milkovich waved cautiously to the assembled crew. He had entered when the others were talking and was waiting for his moment to announce himself. Some he had seen before while on the lower decks of the Pandora, some were completely new faces. He wondered if they even remembered him. He had grown taller and broader in his years away from the Pandora. But he was still meek under the gaze of these senior officers.

"Apologies for my lateness." Ian said hesitantly, "I only just got back from DS12 today." He held out a PADD in front of him, "Admiral Milne said you might be in need of a pilot?"

Zo grinned. "It's Ensign Dairy!"

Milkovich smiled a gave a short nod to the Engineer.

Krysia offered the new arrival a warm smile. “Welcome to the crew! I’m Krysia Kaleri-Smith, Chief Counsellor and my friends here are Aeryn Jameson, ACMO and Olivia Keith, Science Officer.” Both women nodded and smiled. “At least we all will be when we have a ship!”

Mindo took the PADD. "It's Ian, right?" he asked. "Malkovich? You were a helmsman?" He looked down at the PADD. "Milkovich!" Mindo corrected himself.

“Yes, sir,” Ian replied immediately, giving that good old Starfleet snap to his tone, “I was in Operations, sir. After the Pandora returned from the Expanse, I transferred to the USS Marigold where I transitioned into Flight, sir. I have experience with multiple levels of starships and shuttles now, and was second chair on the Bridge of the Marigold. The Admiral believes I will be of use on your mission, though she was short on detail. Did you say… the Neutral Zone?”

"I'm afraid so, Ensign," Mindo said. He saw Admiral Milne's signature on the transfer order and frowned internally. Milne was definitely up to something, and Mindo wasn't sure if his crew had her best intentions. Plus, an addition this late in the game...

Mindo handed the PADD back to Milkovich and held out his hand. "Welcome back to the Pandora."

"...to the crew tasked with finding the Pandora," Caradan interjected. She stepped up to Ian and stood beside Mindo. "Lieutenant Commander Caradan Eunidas, Executive Officer," she said in introduction. She hoped she did not have to spell it out that she was a Changeling. "Our ship is not of Federation origin. Our uniforms are not Starfleet in the least. I trust you can helm such a vessel and to act as Starfleet when interaction among ourselves. If we come across outside visitors...we cannot be identified as Starfleet."

Mindo was grateful for the initiative Cara was taking. She knew more about command than he did, and while he had newfound confidence in himself as a leader, he was still new to it. It helped to remember he was more or less appointed to a role he wouldn't otherwise seek out.

"As I said before," Mindo said, addressing the whole crew again. "The Pandora has a particular warp signature that will make her easy to track... but we aren't alone. It is believed there are others who would like to get their hands on Pandora. A former Starfleet ship emitting this kind of radiation would be a great prize for a pirate, and worse for someone like the Klingons or Cardassians, who might be able to use the radiation to transform the ship into a weapon. I have done extensive research these last three months. Believe me, you don't want to know what the Pandora would be capable of in the wrong hands. I shudder to think of a fusion of dark matter and gojiric radiation. I believe that's what Admiral Thac intended to make on Hesiod Green. Unfortunately, his research is beyond my reach. So, we must find the Pandora first, and we're already behind in the race. Questions?"

Krysia shook her head. “As you said we’re already behind in the race, so right now we need to catch up.”

Mindo smiled. "Alright everyone. This is our last night on Earth. Don't party too hard. We leave at dawn."

END