EP02 Prologue Senior Staff Meeting

This is a wiki page dedicated to the Joint-Post writing of this Senior Staff meeting in Episode 02: Cosmic Imperative.

When prompted, the writers of Senior Staff members have until a set date to add short In-Character segments written out of the perspective of their characters during the meeting. There is a firm cap set on how much all writers get to write in their allotted slots, which will serve to increase the pace and alacrity at which a meeting like this can be depicted.

Rules:

• The order of the slots have been randomized in advance, but if a writer is available to post before someone else, the slot can be moved as best fit the scene.
• Nicander's answers will be added asap through the 1st to the 11th of January.
• Only a maximum of 2 paragraphs in each slot
• The cap is set at 150 words per slot
• It is allowed to add short comments through the Joint-Post in reaction to what is said by others, but these reactions has a firm cap of 50 words, dialogue included, and should be non-disruptive.
• Continual corrections and edits are encouraged to allow for a better flow.

Any continuity errors and discrepancies will be sorted out after the ending date and before the JP is posted in the Prologue of Episode 02. The GM will handle any latent formatting issues and conversion from wiki markup to forum BBC code prior to posting.

Joint-Post 01: Hobus Threat Segment of Senior Staff Meeting

[ Senior Staff Meeting | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All

When Doctor Nicander appeared on the screen next to the curved conference table, Jien turned to face it with his hands on his hips. "Doctor, can you hear us?"

[Loud and clear, Captain,] Lucan said over the intercom.

"The Senior Staff has your report on this threat, and instead of revisiting it in that level of detail here, I will let the Senior Staff ask their questions."

[Of course, sir.] The Doctor began to slowly pace his cell, likely because he was unable to look the people that would address him in the eye. The first one to speak was Alana Pierce, the new Chief Intelligence Officer.

Pierce looked onward at Dr. Nicander's report and continued to gather data on her own PADD before her. The situation was mounting a monumental situation that was quickly spiraling out of control, that is unless they managed to get there first and terminate the infested's plans. While many aboard the Theurgy didn't trust the doctor for various reasons, she herself had reason to trust him. His guidance in the brig when inquiring for additional intelligence and saving her hide along with that of Byrne's was added ammunition for her to listen to the good doctor's report.

"Doctor, what is it that we're dealing with in as far as the infested? While I find this monstrosity alarming as well, there are engineers aboard with the wherewithal to take it down...hopefully." She paused momentarily allowing the situation to settle a little. "Are there Romulans or specific individuals you can provide further data on that we might be able to apprehend that may be compromised? Or key individuals that we can send in as interference to... stall or put a wrench into the situation? Any intelligence at all that could help us attack this beast on multiple fronts would be extremely beneficial right now with our presently unknown time window."

Lucan nodded, and it seemed like he recognised Alana's voice - a small smile of recognition touching his lips. [I have already ascertained that the Praetor is an Infested, but in order to aid this endeavour further, I realise that I may have to use my connection them to identify more individuals. So far, the transphasic light has been able to bring me back when I have used my ability, and while I do not relish the prospect, given the toll it takes, I will do it once more. Whether or not I learn something useful is yet to be ascertained, but it is worth the attempt.]

Kai Akoni, the Chief of Security, sat in his chair and pondered the report, holding the PADD in his hand. The whole thing was an exercise in mental gymnastics for him. On the one hand the report had to be taken seriously and something obviously needed to be done. On the other hand, he wasn’t entirely sure that Nicander could be trusted. However, whatever was asked of him, he would do. He just needed to know the answer to one question in order to make a plan. He looked at the screen and looked into the eyes of the man and asked “Depending on how the plan unfolds, if it requires an infiltration by personnel, are you going to want to come?”. Akoni asked the question, knowing that he’d unfortunately lose some of his people regardless of the answer.

[By the winds, Commander Akoni, I am a Doctor, not a commando,] Lucan said with a wry smile, looking at one of the bulkheads in his cell. [In all seriousness, however, given the required security arrangements my presence would demand, I think I would serve best from my cell, providing intel as best as I might to ensure mission accomplishment - perhaps even in real time if that would help. Yet... I don't see how me being in an infiltration team would do ought else than encumber those better abled... and if I am hurt, the parasite may take control like it did when that Devoted shot me in the Azure Nebula.]

Chief Engineer Arnold turned his hard eyes on the Doctor on the screen. "Okay, so we need to get close enough to this monstrosity to either strike at it directly, or land strike teams to blow it apart. Do you have any information on the defences of this place and any ship's around it? Theurgy is tough, but a Savi ship is a tough proposition. Can we spoof their sensors on the approach and in battle? It's always better to not get hit and I wouldn't want test the shields against...." The Chief stopped as his eyes narrowed speculatively in thought. "How susceptible is this thing to a solar jet? If the Hobus star is doomed anyway, losing a minuscule fraction of it's mass early shouldn't hurt in the galactic scheme of things. We could drop Thea close to the star and trigger the jet with and EM Pulse. The calculation could be tricky, but it's definitely doable."

Nicander seemed to give this some thought. [While the solution proposed is outside of my forte, and I am ill versed in matters purely tactical, I think one viable method to learn if Savi shields would be susceptible would be to look at the sensor readings from Thea's encounter with the Versant? There might be indications there that could show the probability.]

Ives muted the audio from the conference room for a moment, making a quick comment. "I think we ought to speak with the Voice of the Savi rebels about this solution. They might be willing to aid against a strike against the Scion High Council." The Captain then turned on the audio feed again.

As the Chief Tactical Officer, Cross' scowl had yet to dissipate. From the moment he'd been told they were meeting with Nicander he'd been at ill ease. Then Thea had brought up the sphere and his primary thoughts had been on potential weak points, where would it be easiest to place explosives and knock this fucker out of the sky. When it came his turn to question Nicander, that was his question. He figured if Nicander knew then the Scions knew and that would be both the place of most bloodshed if they didn't execute the mission right and also the place of greatest success if they did. Cross knew he was living up to the caricature of the crew's assumption on his character when his main question to the doctor was on strategically weak points in the infrastructure and hotbeds of security activity, but someone had to ask the important questions even if they were stereotypical.

Nicander nodded on the screen while he paced his cell, seemingly appreciating the pragmatism of the question. [With the lack of detail that I have currently, not having used my Farsight ability to actively search and find specific answers, I don't have anything worthwhile beyond what's in the report. There is some kind of firing mechanism below the sphere, and if that is targeted, then it can't do what it's supposed to against the Hobus star. I hope I will be able to find more answers if I use my connection to the other Infested, internal security arrangements included.]

Vanya, the Chief Science Officer, had no great love for her people. Ironically it was their development of Trilithium that led to the attempted destruction of stars by a renegade El Aurian scientist. Nevertheless the impact on the Hobus Star was something that she would wish on her worst enemy, and could have far reaching consequences for the entire galaxy. Her mind raced with possibilities. The nearest they had come to star destroying technology was Doctor Soren’s rockets. But from what was described, this was a form of energy.

"I’ve heard of similar technologies before," she said aloud. "But this was a trilitihum reaction caused by a rocket being shot into a sun to destroy it. Do you have any inclination of the type of energy? Perhaps if we can interfere with it, we can slow down or prevent a reaction. Kind of like setting up a dampening field to prevent beaming and communication."

Nodding at the question, the Doctor spread his hands. [The schematics I have seen have only detailed some kind of firing mechanism, so without more detail gleaned, it could be that the Savi are using a ballistic option rather than an energy-emitter. As for what kind of solution the Savi are able to utilise, I think our battle with the Versant revealed some kind of graviton beam lance cannon, as well as small tri-cobalt torpedoes? Doubtful that either would destabilise a star, so perhaps there is a trilithium solution in place.]

Jaru Rel, the newly reinstated commander of the Lone Wolves, was clinching his fist under the table. Every time Nicander spoke, his muscles contracted tighter. The Captain had mentioned lingering grievances, but for the recently dethawed pilot, the rage was very fresh. They’d served together for years, and he was still reeling at the fact that the doctor he’d trusted to save his wolves was also the enemy responsible for killing so many of them. But Ives had ordered them to stow it, so he kept his anger to nails digging into the flesh of his palm. Cross had asked the obvious tactical question, and Nicander seemed iffy on details. So he decided to backtrack slightly to a broader question. “Besides the Savi ship, are there any more ships in the area that could reinforce them?”

At this question, Nicander fell silent, brow creased. He looked at the surveillance unit briefly, the voice obviously familiar to him. He seemed to debate commenting, but with the dire situation at hand, he remained on topic. [The other me, whom came from a parallel timeline, was on a Savi ship, looking at the structure through a viewport. I did not glimpse other ships beyond that at the time, but there might be more. I was given the impression that the Scion High Council is directly involved in this endeavour.]

For once Selena kept quiet, preferring to listen to the others and their ideas first. The PADD with Nicander’s intelligence report sat on the table in front of her but she left it alone, the text scrolling around in her VISOR as she ran searches for any information that would help with all of the different factors the officers around her brought up. It was pointless though, the nature of their intelligence source made for a frustratingly detail-light report. “I know you’re doing your best doctor but we need detailed intelligence, and for that we have to get closer.” Selena’s eyes focused on the view screen and she studied the man’s face while he answered, “What kind of information do you have on their assets within the Hobus system itself?” Glancing to the Captain for a brief moment, “I’m thinking Azati Prime,” was all she said as explanation for now.

Having answered the question to the best of his ability already, it seemed Nicander could but apologise. [I am sorry, Ravenholm,] he said, recognising the voice through the static of the comm-link, [yet I don't know any further details yet. One Savi ship at minimum, beyond this structure itself. Beyond that? I could but point out the obvious that with the Praetor being an Infested, she can deploy Romulan ships to the area if so needed, and at short notice, given the coordinates.]

Next, the First Officer spoke. For Natalie Stark's part, it was still difficult at times to look at Lucan Nicander and not remember all that had happened between them, the kindness, the encounters, even just the simple sounding board the Doctor had served as, while Natalie struggled with her ever increasing responsibilities in the wake of her former bosses tragic, senseless death, all the way through the horrors of Niga and The Ishtar entity. She remembered drinks shared in a darkened lounge, with another man now dead. Memories spoken, friends mourned, a sense of comfort gained on the eve of a great battle. And all of that tainted by the knowledge that the entire time, a parasite had been piloting Nicander around, taking advantage of every exposed weakness.

Not that this was fair to the man on the screen now, a fact that she had been reminding herself of, for weeks now. She had a job to do. Setting it aside, all the worry and the stress and the confusion, she focused instead on the report, the questions asked, and the task on hand. "Forgive me, as this might be a stupid question, but this device is it already encapsulating the star, or is it to be deployed at the star. Are we going to have to deal with the intense heat and radiation coming off of Hobus already when we attempt to take this out? Because there is no doubt we have to take it out."

[It's in orbit already, Commander,] Nicander clarified for her, [range seeming to be at a safe distance from what I could see on the Savi charts.]

Hathev had come aboard well after the Doctor's betrayal of the crew. As such, she held no malice towards the man beyond that of a traitor and even that had been tempered by his unique circumstances. Still, she was well aware of the sensitivity within the crew towards the disgraced doctor and even more so aware that once the proverbial rumor mill began to churn over this the likelihood it would affect crew morale, would be high. Still, that was an internal matter to be discussed with Captain Ives and the rest of her counseling staff and to bring it up in this forum would be inappropriate at best. At the heart of the matter laid two central issues; the device being constructed near Hobus and whether or not Nicander himself could be trusted.

The former was a matter of intelligence gathering, tactical analysis, and diplomatic relations, in none of which did Hathev have any experience. The latter was a different matter. While under normal circumstances, Hathev would offer to perform a mind meld in order to ascertain the Doctor's truthfulness in his assertions, Nicander's species was conveniently immune to such a test. Still, she could sit down and speak with him and attempt to judge for herself and on behalf of the crew, just how trustworthy he seemed.

Again, it would have been inappropriate to state such an idea openly and in the presence of the person in question. So Hathev remained otherwise silent as she tapped a short message on her PADD, and transmitted it to the Captain's tablet - IF YOU DOUBT HIS SINCERITY IN THIS MATTER, IT WOULD BE LOGICAL THAT I SPEAK TO HIM DIRECTLY, SIR.

Ives oaken eyes fell to his PADD, and after tapping the screen, the message was revealed. The Captain pondered this, having met with Nicander already, before typing a quick reply. SINCERE, YES. UNKNOWINGLY COMPROMISED? POSSIBLY, YET UNLIKELY GIVEN RENDERED AID SO FAR.

Enyd Madsen, the Chief Diplomatic Officer, cleared her throat as she listened to the conversation repartee between the connection to Nicander and those around the table. She'd been briefed on Nicander but had never had reason or opportunity to speak to him before this. Remembering what she'd faced down on Qo'Nos, Enyd couldn't help but feel queasy in her stomach at the thought of dealing willingly with another one. But, again, she trusted Ives. With her life. With the lives of this crew. And if he could vouch for Nicander and set up this conference without batting an eyelash, then Enyd would comply without question. As the conversation shifted to her department and the eyes of the other senior staff turned to her, Enyd shifted in her seat. Although there was probably no need for it, Enyd didn't fight against the instinct to adjust her voice and speech patterns to sound more akin to someone from Benzar. If anyone around the table thought she was mad for doing so, they kept their responses to themselves as Enyd asked her question. "Since this threat reaches out to encompass the Romulans, do you have insight from among the Romulan forces? Faces, names, ships? Anything that we can use to pinpoint a place of contact, or better yet, know to avoid, as we seek to make connections diplomatically?"

[Not presently,] the Doctor answered after a moment of thought, [at least not beyond the Praetor herself. I have seen glimpses of Romulan architecture and consoles at other times. A male Captain, judging by his position on the bridge of the ship. It was before the Battle of the Houses, but not since. There could be others, brief as the impressions have been, and I have not actively sought other Romulans since I found the Praetor. I might find more, if I make the attempt.]

Thoughtfully, Jien motioned for Thea to mute the conference room. "That may have been the Captain of the Romulan warbird that Major Situka faced, before defecting to our cause," he said quietly, before motioning for Thea to unmute the room once more. With a glance towards Lietuenant Elro Kobol and Larrant, whom had yet to speak, and getting no indication that they had any questions, Ives made the call. "Thank you, Doctor, for your insights so far, and I agree that given the threat posed, you may need to use your connection to the other Infested again so that we can learn more. If you are so willing, and because your report state that the structure is nearly finished, this may have to be done within the hour. Are you prepared to do so?"

[Aye, Captain. I will await the security preparations.]

"We will confer on how to proceed in the meantime. Ives out." When the screen went black, Jien turned his attention to the assembled officers. "Going by the experiences of facing the Versant, and because Hobus is too far away to reach with a single use of our Quantum Slipstream drive, we may have to rely on the Voice and the Erudite in order to get there in time. That being said, I also see an opportunity in this development, considering the proximity of Hobus to Romulus."

Getting on his feet, Ives continued to clarify. "The only way to end a war, is to subdue the aggressor. Since we know the Praetor is compromised, I propose we use this knowledge to our advantage. If she were to be liberated from parasitic control, then we can and end the Romulan hostilities against both the Federation and the Klingon Empire in one stroke." Thoughtfully, Jien looked between the gathered faces while he spoke. "As opposed to using anyon emissions and killing Tal'aura like we had to do with Kopek in the Klingon High Council, we have another option. See, Thea has informed me that Petty Officer Kino Jeen has been able to shrink the transphasic light cannon to something more mobile, and if Nicander is any indication of its utility... then we have the option to restore the Preator to her own body, with the inherent chance of her ordering her fleets to stand down."

What was said next, however, was the lamentable alternative. "Should the cannon not work, it may suggest that Nicander has been lying to us about everything." Jien said this with a glance in Cam's direction, knowing that she believed in the Doctor, but it had to be said as a considered contingency. With a concerned frown, Ives continued, starting to pace around the table. "In that case, since we can't separate the parasites from the hosts yet, we only have the anyon option. An option that has proven itself to work twice against them. This means the death of Praetor Tal'aura, however, for which we have to have contingency plans as well. We don't want a martyr, but some kind of guarantee that the Romulan Senate see the truth for what it is, and order the fleets to stand down."

With the proposition made, Jien came to a stop behind his chair, and put his hands on the back of it. "Speak your minds. What say you?"