In Brief

Posted on Wed Aug 16th, 2023 @ 7:15am by Captain Elena Navarra & Commander Henry Perry & Commander Shannon McKenna & Lieutenant JG Matthew Cowley

1,389 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Rescue
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 5, 0845

Captain Navarra stood from the table, picking up some of the plates that were littered with food remnants from the breakfast. As she grabbed the plates to take to her recycler, she began her mission debrief.

"Alright, Shannon, it is time to finally tell you about our...." Elena paused for a second to think of an appropriate phrase. "Our other mission."

She placed the plates in the recycler and watched them disappear with the same effect that the transporter had. She then made her way back to the table and had a seat.

"Although Samurai's mission is what we discussed, when I recruited you for the First Officer's position, we have another agenda." Navarra looked over at Henry and gave him a curt nod. He returned the nod and got up from the table and walked to a ship display panel on one of the walls. Then he pressed a combination of buttons on it. Almost instantly, an image of Warp Vessel Nomad appeared on the screen.

"This is Warp Vessel Nomad. It is a clandestine vessel operated by a crew of some former Starfleet Officers and a crew of...." Again, Elena paused and looked over to Henry for some help with the words she was looking for.

"Other operatives." Henry responded.

"Yes, other operatives." Elena stated. "Samurai will act as their hub when they need to meet in person to offload information, or people when needed."

Jumping forward with her thoughts, McKenna said, "So you're telling me we running spies out of Samurai ... or spy missions at least go through us." She mulled that over a moment, and continued. "I'm not entirely surprised, but it's also not exactly what I expected." Or what I would have chosen she didn't say aloud. It was too soon to form a concrete opinion.

"What's the role you want me to play, then? You know I don't have a lot of diplomatic experience, and I certainly don't have any intelligence experience."

Cowley laughed quietly. "You think we do?" he asked. "The captain might have the diplomat part down, but spying is something new to all of us, I think I can safely say." He glanced at Perry. "With the possible exception of Engineer Henry there. He plays poker pretty close to his heart, and could have all kinds of hidden talents we'd never know. For the rest of us, this is strictly a learn-as-you-go job, Commander. Welcome to the team!"

Elena looked at Shannon and tried to gauge where she was with all of this. She could see some discomfort in her, but she knew Shannon would be fine.

"To answer your question, Shannon, I want you to do nothing with Nomad. Your job will be running Samurai when Nomad is aboard. In all honestly, I think that one member of this command staff should actually have plausible deniability about Nomad and their actions. You may be the only thing that saves us in case something goes down."

Navarra had been thinking very hard about this ever since the Admiral came to her about taking Samurai under her command and running Nomad as a hub when needed. She could understand the importance of a covert mission force, but never felt comfortable with the idea. She had used covert means in diplomatic missions herself, but nothing this deep and so close to home.

Me? To be the thing that saves them if they get caught? Oh, boy, we're in trouble now! Shannon thought. "And how does that work exactly? How can I know something is going on and not know at the same time?"

Cowley laughed out loud. "Now that's the first question that needs to be answered!"

Henry stepped from the MSD and made his way back to the table. "If Shannon has no working knowledge of the happenings of Nomad, meaning their missions details, details of who they bring aboard and what they bring aboard, then she is in the clear if something goes wrong. It is possible to know about something, but not know the finer details of the inner workings. That is why the Captain said your duties will be to run the ship when Nomad is onboard Samurai."

Henry turned to Shannon and looked her directly in the eyes. "If you do not know, then you can not be held responsible. Therefore, you will be in the best position to help us if need be."

Elena chimed in. "Of course, this is all what-if scenarios. I try to plan the long game and be a step ahead, just in case something happens."

Shannon nodded, "I'm glad that's not my job. Okay," she took a deep breath. "That actually feels good. I'll stay on the high road, keep Samurai running, and you can all play the spy games. I am aware that this sort of thing has to go on to keep the Federation safe. I just never expected to be part of it, and I want to know as little as possible for now. I'll watch for information leaks, however, and let you know what I see, if that fits in with your plans."

Elena smiled and nodded her head. "Sounds like that is exactly what we need. Now, to go over a couple of protocols. When Nomad comes aboard Samurai, we will need to issue what we are going to call a Black Alert."

Navarra stood form the table, walked to her personal computer console and brought the Black Alert protocols up to the large MSD screen that showed Nomad's schematics.

"When Black Alert is called, all non-essential personnel will be cleared from the deck that houses whichever cargo bay Henry wants to use for Nomad. That bay will be maintained by Henry and his staff, who will not have been read in on Nomad. Henry is the only one to work on the vessel, along with worker drones."

"Makes sense," Cowley said, taking notes from the screen and the words spoken. "Less chance of a leak that way. Do we have an explanation for these alerts? Someone is going to be curious, and that can cause problems. How far back do we pull regular crew?"

Cowley asked a very good question, for which Elena did not have an answer. She, too, had thought about what to tell the crew, so that curiosity didn't get the better of anyone and get them in trouble.

"Good question, Mathew. I am still thinking on that one, and I am open to suggestions." She said, looking a those at the table.

"How much notice are we likely to have? Will it be possible to pull people back before the black alert is issued?" McKenna asked thoughtfully. "Is there a story we can circulate? Pirates always seem to get traction with Starfleet! Maybe if we let the crew think a damaged or contaminated ship has come in? It wouldn't work every time, of course ... unless we actually run across some pirates."

"I guess it would depend on the situation, Shannon," Elena responded. "I think we should play this two fold. We can tell the crew that that particular shuttle bay is off limits due to it being the hub for Commander Perry's workshop for all of our secret experimentals. The Black alerts could be used as a cover. We say that a dangerous experiment is going on in the area. We can also use Shannon's idea if we have to switch shuttle bays."

"Then it sounds as if we have a plan and are ready to proceed," McKenna said, making a note on her PADD. "Is there more to this briefing? If not, I can get on with planning for the new information you've given me, without compromising my ignorance."

Navarra gave a quick nod in acknowledgement of her First Officer. "I think we can call it for everyone," the Captain stated as she looked around the table. "Matthew, begin the protocols for the Black Alert and send them to me when completed. Henry, begin your preparations for which ever shuttle bay you will need as your main workshop."

Navarra stood from the table and dismissed her staff. She was pleased with those she had gathered. She felt that they were already beginning to gel together. She just hoped things continued to go this smoothly.

 

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