The first plague (Part 3)

Posted on Fri Dec 29th, 2017 @ 9:17am by Captain Landon Mabrade & Captain Darius Cayne & Commander Ashe Rii'Na MD & Commander Raven Adams & Lieutenant Aria Kanzaki & Lieutenant JG Terry Wu & Lieutenant JG Serena Giacomo & Khiy Tal'ehrihn
Edited on on Fri Dec 29th, 2017 @ 9:39am

1,372 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Pirating Typhon resources

OLD

Raven thought back on when the Borg had attacked Typhon and how much damage was caused before they were defeated. They'd lost one quarter of the station's personnel during the infiltration. It was not something she wanted to repeat any time soon.

NEW

“I don't think TGT is being targeted exclusively, " Khiy started, "I believe a number of other freighters have also been hit. I do agree, however, that security escorts are being singled out. We do have a large presence in the area."

Khiy quickly looked over his PADD's. "As for the kind of ships we are dealing with, it's really a mixed bag. The heaviest ships we have seen so far are a pair of Cardassian Hideki class patrol ships."

"I have a number of theories as to what could be happening but without more information I am reluctant to voice them." He finished.

"Our best option then is to utilize a small amount of our resources and do some scouting of our own. Get a 'lay of the land' and find out just who in the sector has a 'bee in the bonnet'. Once we know what we are up against the 'how to deal with them' will become much easier." Rii'Na said between sips from her mug. 

"I have some connections," Raven said. She gave a sideways glance at Khiy. "And we have some connections with the Romulans. I believe they should be utilized. As for who we need to protect, we have Typhon itself, the shipyards, and Tiberius V. There are two other planets that are being utilized. One is privately owned and protected. The other has no resources of interest. It is being used for research. I think we should look at the ships being attacked and who could benefit from it." Although she wondered if the research team on Tiberius X had any theories.

Darius looked around and said nothing. He didn't even know why he was there, nor the Arthurian. It was like they served no purpose on Typhon just to hold space or look intimidating. He was tempted to get up and walked out of the meeting, but Raven was there. All he did was remain quiet and try to contain himself from lashing out at all the BS that was flying around in this meeting.

Terry fiddled some more with his wrist-PADD. "Well, scouting sounds like a good start." He said with a nod towards Rii'na. "I'll even offer up myself and the Maquis Raider I'm restoring for a little undercover action." He said, looking at Serena and nudging her foot. "But... Well, if they're targeting TGT's escorts a little more than anyone else, how about a Trojan horse? We contact some surplus depots in Fedspace, find a big ol' colony ship that nobody's using, have it gutted, and stick a smaller ship inside it. Then we have TGT put an escort on it and guide it towards the Tiberius system. The pirates come along, try smacking them around, and find out somebody swapped out the pinata with a beehive."

Despite Khiy's mood, he allowed himself a light chuckle. "An interesting idea, your Trojan horse, but difficult to enact. It would take several weeks in order to retrofit a colony ship to carry something even as small as one of our Ju'day's."

Khiy thought for a moment. "I think we are going about this wrong. Instead of looking for an immediate solution, we should try to look at the problem. Understanding who and what we are up against it will go a long way to forming a plan of action. For now, perhaps, let's ask the right questions. Where are the pirates coming from? That's two que-ns." He held up two fingers. "They must be acting from a base of operations, where? That will give us an idea of where to start looking for them, or at least how to avoid them. The second part to that question is; did all these pirates come from the same area, or have they traveled several systems to be here? That tells us how they were recruited. Did this all start in some dive bar, in which case there will be people we can go physically talk to. If this is a multi-system operation, Starfleet intel would have been tipped off from their listening posts and we should start sifting through data." He looked pointedly at the Starfleet personnel, daring them to lie and say the posts didn't exist. "Either way, determining that will help us discover who is behind this."

Raven nodded in agreement. She hadn't received any notifications of potential problems in the area, but she would definitely look into it. Maybe Darius could help.

Darius looked around the room, listening to everyone, but remaining silent. He couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment. At this rate, a majority of them, would be at each others throats on who was right and who was wrong. All his years working in security taught him one thing about situations like this. They only get worse by those who try to do so much in so little time. That's where mistakes are made. That's where holes form, and those holes, get used by the enemy and they only get bigger and bigger until they can't be fixed. He tossed his PADD onto the table and closed his eyes, taking a moment to rub his temple with his arm while his other lay resting on top of the table.

Khiy followed the tossed PADD and frowned at the rude actions. "Your disdain for us is apparent, Captain. I apologize that you are forced to suffer our presence. You are the mission adviser, correct? Please, advise us." He folded his arms and waited. 

Serena had seen the look that her boss exchanged with Khiy and wondered just how much information they had under their noses that they were not showing with the rest of the room. She tapped Terry's foot again as he'd spoken about going under cover, her eyes sparkling in amusement. She also wondered when if ever Raven would actually trust her with some actual work. The activities of the pirates were a concern then she had a thought that had her sitting up straighter in her chair. "Isn't this week a special holiday or something in this part of space, as in bringing more traffic coming in important?" she said her voice light. 

Darius narrowed his eyes slightly before taking a short breath and replying. "I am not going to speak out of turn, nor am I going to speak and have what I say fall on deaf ears. When the Captain, and the rest of you, are willing to hear what I have to say. I'll speak. Until then, don't let me stop you." 

Khiy shook his head. "Condescension as well, then." He turned and faced Serena. "To be honest, I am unsure about that. If it is a holiday of some sort it very well could have something to do with this. It's certainly worth looking into." He agreed. Turning back to Darius. "We are clearly wasting your time otherwise you wouldn't have just thrown your PADD on the table out of exasperation. I was under the impression that this was an open table. Forgive us for speaking when you clearly have the solution all in hand. I am certainly ready to hear what you have to say. No doubt it will save us all a significant amount of time. I certainly don't want to suffer your indignation any longer than necessary."

Khiy took a moment and gathered himself. He turned to Captain Mabrade. "I apologize for escalating, Captain Mabrade. Today has been very stressful. I don't react well at the best of times to being looked down upon."

Raven was surprised by Darius' actions, and the strong negative emotions he was projecting. "You were asked to attend this meeting the same as the rest of us," she said quietly to Darius. "None of us knows why escorts are being attacked, or what the end goal might be. We're not here to fight over who's right or who's wrong, but to brainstorm. If you have an opinion, please share it."

TBC

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