Secure and Safe

Posted on Sat 11th Apr, 2020 @ 10:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Brigadier General Franklin Sinclair & 2nd Lieutenant Carlos Vasquez

929 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: MAGEG Operations/Sinclair's Office, Deck 120
Timeline: MD 14, 0800

Andrew made his way to Gen. Sinclair's office a place that was becoming routine for him to visit outside of his own office and, apparently, Orchids and Jazz. Nodding his head at the various MAGEG officers present, he approached the door and subsequently rang the door chime.

The door hissed open, revealing General Sinclair and a small crowd of pilots. "Come in, Commander," Sinclair invited him. "Let's get this show on the road."

Beck snickered softly and leaned over to her friend, Helena Nordstrom. "I suppose he doesn't realize pilots don't follow roads very well."

Helena coughed to cover her laugh, and said, "Behave, Ma'am."

Entering the room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar face of the General before shifting over to the various pilots seated adjacent. Noticing the empty seat across from them, Andrew placed his PADD on the table and adjusted his uniform as he sat down, focusing on Gen. Sinclair, "Thanks again for taking the time to meet and discuss," shifting back to the pilots, "Well, I don't want to take up more of your time than is necessary. I trust you reviewed the proposed power adjustments to your fighters in response to the current pirate situation in this area.

Gesturing back to Sinclair, "General Sinclair and I discussed the changes at length and understand that these don't come without some drawbacks and are happy to hear any feedback you may have to offer."

Brand moved restlessly in his chair, glancing at other pilots. Finally, he broke the ice. "I have a question, Sir. Are these adjustments permanent, or just until we get rid of the pirates?"

Cassidy shook her head slightly. "Fighters are not the appropriate tool for dealing with pirates," she countered. "And doing anything 'temporarily' is an illusion. If something works, it'll stick around; otherwise, it'll get people killed. And messing with quantum chromodynamic fuel is a great way to get a lot of people killed."

Rebecca hid her smile of satisfaction and asked, with respect, "What would you recommend we do, Major?"

Cassidy's eyes flicked to the Runabout pilot, and then back to the station officer. "The Commodore will be back from her meeting on Earth soon. Presupposing a lack of substantial changes to her orders, she has operational control of all starships in this spatial region. When we initially developed the fighter shuttle concept before the Dominion War, we intended them to be deployable from individual starships, not just designated carrier vessels.

"I suggest we apply that approach now. The Aerospace Wing now has three squadrons of fighters equipped with and trained to operate the Black Lightning fighter; two squadrons of Electronic Warfare birds, and one of tankers. My recommendation would be to pass them out to the fleet in penny-packets, to improve the punch of even the lightest destroyer, and extend the eyes of the fleet over their usual signals horizon."

"So you recommend temporary duty aboard whatever starships we can round up? What if a ship isn't Starfleet but an allied system ... say Klingon or Bajoran?" asked Brandt. "Do we beef them up, too?"

"One step at a time," Andrew interjected, "That's something that could be implemented somewhere down the line but I think the initial plan here is to implement any changes and deployments agreed upon here to better assist the Starbase and nearby Starfleet ships in the area. Augmenting Starfleet ships with our squadrons makes sense at this stage and I appreciate the recommendation."

Noting the suggestion on his PADD, Andrew added, "I also want to point out that the purpose of any changes to the fighters that we proposed were specific to better assisting the defenses of this Starbase based on what we know of the current pirate tactics in the area. I agree with the Major that any changes shouldn't necessarily be viewed as temporary, but I think some of these changes have merit to be implemented specifically for a situation such as what we are facing."

Beck nodded, "So, there's really no answer to the question, at this time. Fair enough."

Andrew shook his head, "Not fully, no. This situation, as you are all aware, is ever changing and we must do our best to keep up while also not overextending ourselves."

"Well, where are you suggesting we start the process, Sir, and when?" asked Lt. Brandt. "Presuming this isn't all theoretical, but something practical we are going to do."

"I suggest starting at what changes to our specific fighters Sinclair and I previously discussed. Noting any concerns, which I've already taken notes on some valid ones, you may have and getting to a point where you feel comfortable with specific changes that can be implemented as soon as possible," Eberstark replied.

"As previously mentioned, severely adjusting fuel ratio for redistributing power may not be the risk reward we are looking for but minimizing that, in conjunction with other system changes, can help boost sensor range, efficiency and other systems to better identify and monitor pirate activity. I will also certainly discuss and coordinate distributing support craft to nearby Federation vessels with the Commodore upon her return to the Starbase."

Brandt nodded, "And I guess that means the when is now. Will you be issuing a schedule? I presume we don't want to have everything changed to a new system until we know it works."

"Oh, it'll work, Lieutenant," Beck said. "You're going to see that it does."

"Yes, Ma'am," Darrell nodded. "Everything will work. But I'd still like a schedule for the changeover," he said.

 

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