The Debriefing

Posted on Wed 7th Apr, 2021 @ 5:43am by Lieutenant Commander Kiara Lena & Commander Zed & Lieutenant Elliot Jericho

1,433 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Observation Lounge, USS Thunder Child
Timeline: Back Story, About three weeks ago

Zed sat at the oblong table in the Observation Lounge as she waited for the others to arrive so she could start the debriefing of Lieutenant Elliot Jericho who had been missing but did recover the Prototype shuttle. She had contacted Admiral Burke prior to get permission for the debriefing, since it did contain classified information. There was also the issue of Lieutenant Meghan Jericho who was MIA and would be addressed during the briefing.

Zed glanced at the chronometer on the wall then took a sip of her hot tea. She preferred the taste of her tea to coffee, unlike many persons on the ship. She looked out the window at the stars streaming, by then crossed one leg over the other to get comfortable and took another sip of her tea and continued to wait.

O'Dell entered the Observation Lounge and greeted the woman sitting quietly at a table. "I guess if you have to wait for people, this is the place to do it. Mankind has always been fascinated by the stars, and I'm grateful for the view we have from here." She didn't know the woman well, but she had a feeling she would before this mission was finished.

Gemma walked in a moment later and smiled to the two. "Hello, Captain." She hesitated a moment before recalling the other woman's name. "Shanna O'Dell, yes? Hi." She replicated a glass of tomato juice and took a seat.

"That's right," O'Dell nodded. It's nice to see you again." She shuddered inwardly at the idea of drink the red juice in the small glass. Shanna would stick with water. You could see what was in it ... mostly.

"Likewise," Gemma replied with a friendly smile.

Elliot was the last one to arrive as expected. He had rested for several hours since his body needed it. He had only awakened at the request of Zed to begin the debriefing. He walked into the room still a little groggy. "Good evening everyone," he said before taking an empty seat.

"Hope you're feeling better," Gemma replied.

Elliot nodded, "I do feel better. I needed the rest after fighting an army."

Zed gave a brief smile, "Good, then I take it that you are ready to begin."

"Yes," Elliot said then input a few commands on his PADD, "I've sent each of you a written report accounting for what I can remember about the mission from start to finish. It's detailed, I had to really think about what had happened and in what order. It's more detailed than if we talked about it right now, so I'm just going to go over key points with you and let you read the mission on your PADDs in its entirety at your convenience."

O'Dell found that an interesting way to approach things. Her suspicious nature was keeping an open mind, but still wondering if there was another reason the pilot didn't want to be questioned freely. She opened her program to see what he had sent.

Zed nodded in understanding.

Gemma skimmed through the data on her PADD in case she had any questions, then sat back for the briefing.

Elliot began the debriefing as he tried to describe everything in detail from starting with the outlaw encampment where Meghan had to dress up as a slave. Elliot was beaten within an inch of his life and stabbed but then recovered his weapons and fought his way back into the small fortress and rescued Meghan. She had managed to free herself from her captor. Elliot had recovered the blueprints, but the Prototype itself had already left for its owner. Elliot paused for a moment for any questions.

"So, while you were somewhat incapacitated, you managed to rescue your wife AND locate the plans for the Prototype?" O'Dell asked, keeping her voice as neutral as possible. She couldn't resist a little snark, however. "I'm curious how you managed that when you clearly aren't a superhero."

Elliot smirked. He hated bragging or making himself look good. "I was well trained, and anyone would have done the same with the right incentive. They had my wife."

"That would definitely be incentive," Gemma said.

Zed nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.

"After I took the blueprints, we tracked the Prototype to a fortified pirate base. We took the criminal's personal shuttle to get there. It was the only ride we could find at the time, and we hoped that they wouldn't shoot it down, since it was probably someone they knew." Elliot paused, "Unfortunately, we ... I ... left him alive, and he warned them that we were coming. They set up an ambush right before we could get to the Prototype."

"Do not apologize for compassion," Gemma said. "You didn't know how he would respond. This story might still end well."

For the sake of Jericho's wife, Shanna certainly hoped so. "But you both survived, and the prototype is here with us, so how did you escape their ambush?"

"I evened the odds a little," Elliot began. "I pushed my wife away, told her to run back to the shuttle then I threw an explosive device at the fuel storage in the shuttle bay, near the pirates who were bearing down on us. I fire a few more times and ran for the Prototype. I couldn't quite close the blast door by the time the explosion happened, and I got caught in the blast, somewhat."

"Somewhat?" Gemma asked. "So you were able to get to the prototype, but you wife thought you were dead?"

"Even though I got behind the blast door and tried to close it, I ran out of time. The explosion slammed the door into me throwing me like a rag doll. I think I had a really bad concussion and internal injuries." Elliot shook his head, "I don't know about my wife, I can only hope that she made it out and is trying to get home."

"I sent word to Starbase 109. They have no one by her name on the station, but they will keep looking," Gemma replied.

"I made it aboard the Prototype and escaped the pirate base. The computer kept an eye on my life signs and when I went into shock it transported me down onto a planet to get help. That's where I was healed and became a Knight," Elliot said with a smug look on his face.

"A knight of what?" Shanna asked. She'd heard of knights in far distant history, but what did it mean now?

"Isn't there a test for that? One where you have to climb a wall in full armor and win a jousting competition?" Gemma asked. She'd heard that it was difficult and took a lot of physical stamina. He hadn't been gone long enough to train for that.

Elliot chuckled at the inquiries, "I became the Black Knight. You see, there was this prophecy about a stranger from another place. He would arrive wounded and needing healing."

Elliot pointed to himself. "Me, I was wounded and from somewhere else." He continued, "He would ride a beautiful black stallion. One such beast was found that very day. The Queen's mage would heal me with black magic potions." He held up his hand so no one would stop him.

"She did, I was nearly dead and the next thing I knew, I was in perfect health. Anyway, she took me to the Black Knight's armor, and it accepted me ... only me. For as long as they have known about the armor, it was magical and had never accepted anyone, and that's how I became the Black Knight."

Gemma had read a lot of old books and was familiar with a number of tales. "How did you get away then?"

"I defeated Lord Bolton in a fight to the death." Elliot smiled, "Well, I did let him live, I just vanquished him from the kingdom." Elliot paused, "When I told the Queen I needed to go and find my wife she let me."

"That is quite the adventure," the first officer said. "You should write it down while it's still fresh so you can tell your children one day."

Elliot glanced over to the XO, not sure if she was being facetious or not, "I hope you don't think that I can come up with that story on my own and it's something that I will never forget."

Zed had been quiet but now spoke up, "No Lieutenant, we believe you and I think that is all we need. We have the report on our PADDs as well."

 

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