What is the IBEX?

Posted on Fri 6th Dec, 2024 @ 1:24pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Captain Gordon Francis & Commander Heriah Rex & Khellian s'Siedhri MD & Commander Geraldine "Geri" Severide
Edited on on Fri 27th Dec, 2024 @ 6:01pm

2,005 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Phoenix Gamble
Location: Conference Room One

Previously... https://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/viewpost/2342

-Start-

{Senior Staff Meeting Lounge- Deck 4}

Geri was frantically trying to sort the intelligence into meaningful piles but it was all so shaky. The IBEX was set to arrive within two hours. The berth was prepared; they had followed their instructions for maximum secrecy. With the Second Star on approach, presumably towing the inky black void of information known only as the IBEX, danger was imminent. The reek of Section 31 was there, but she felt they played a deeper, more sinister game. To her eyes, this was a genuine lack of desire to interact, but necessary given their peril. One pile was all of her research on the IBEX and the institution that formed it. Another for verified intelligence, and another for unverified intelligence. Within those file groups, subgroups of names and profiles, a digital file created with hyperlinks between entries forming a detectives web.

As people filed in she barely registered them, but it was the harrumph from Captain Francis which finally alerted her to everyone settling in.

Not even thirty minutes had passed since arriving aboard the starbase as the executive officer and already Heriah was taking part in a meeting of utmost secrecy. She did not know her crew, save for her captain, did not know the starbase and did not even have her quarters sorted before having to do something official such as this. She had no information on the meaning of this meeting, but had lived similar instances such as this many times. She was confident it would all make sense soon and she would perform and respond professionally.

At the table, Dr. Dhuro, the acting CMO, looked a question at Cmdr. Graves, who replied with a silent shake of his head and a shrug.

"All right everyone. We're making this very quick for reasons we're about to disclose." Captain Francis said. "Commander Severide, please give us the skivvy."

Geri felt the pressure of uncertainty pressing doubt into her mind. She drummed her fingers on the pile of "known" facts before deciding how to approach this. She stood and walked to the display board, ready to show and tell.

"We are expecting company very soon. There is much we do not know for certain, so let me begin with what we do know for fact...." She indicated to the display on each point, "There has been a distress call made, using current Starfleet intelligence cyphers and prefixes. This call was made to a very high office in Starfleet Command, unknown but properly disseminated. We have been given a message to explain in some small part that there is a vessel, designated simply as IBEX, which operates within Starfleet Intelligence to some degree, on the way here in dire need of repair and refit. We know this vessel has commandeered another vessel remotely, the Second Star, a repurposed Excelsior class Merchant Frigate to bring them here under massive confidentiality protocols. They've skipped Starfleet vessels or other suitable repair outposts to come here."

She played a file, the same one with a goat head symbol, "Captain Francis received this message at 0300, it was loaded directly into the station computer, not sent over subspace. No clues as to who uploaded it yet."

Heriah was taking notes on her PADD after encrypting it so that only she could reopen the file. As she wrote, the word 'goat' flowed from her fingers as Rex sprung forward with 'An ibex is a goat. They really named a supersecret starship...Goat.' Heriah erased that bit and continued.

The message played from the post biometric confirmation.

Captain Gordon Francis: You are hereby given read access to file “IBEX”. MX Second Star under the command of Quinton Beck has been dispatched to coordinates for recovery of high value assets. They will arrive within five days with assets. Prepare a landing pad with configurations outlined in file “IBEX”.

SIGMA!
-Under no circumstances are the details within file “IBEX” to be disclosed to anyone per SIGMA directives.
-All preparations must be made without reference to MX Second Star or IBEX.
-Follow protocols outlined in file “IBEX” immediately upon detection of MX Second Star.

The file of text information sat waiting to be opened, but it was locked if anyone other than Captain Francis was attempting to view it. Opening it was a Sigma-level protocol and the punishment for defiance was immediate imprisonment without trial.

Geri turned to the group, "We've prepared the landing bay with a false crisis, but from there we have decided to involve senior staff, rather than risk maligning the trust we place in our fellow service-members. These orders have been verified, and I have made many calls just to be told to do as I am told and keep quiet. They are not Starfleet, but we are tasked to care for them. The text files outline extensive orders for the refit, and a 48-hour window to accomplish it."

She had almost exhausted the certain facts in play, "What's left: The Second Star has tried to contact us and seems to have been cut off. We received telemetry they captured of a Saladin class transport vessel. What's left is less than certain, and I have had trouble verifying. Suffice to say, the claim is they represent an old cell-style intelligence operation with a loose mandate and oversight. Looks to be older than the Federation, even, but I digress into uncertainty. Anyone I suspect who has knowledge of it has shut me down in attempting to acquire it. I've been told a few times now my career could be affected."

She made a face like she didn't care, but there was a part of her that really did. "That's all I know for certain, the rest is... there isn't much to go on except extrapolation of data points. We are replicating refit parts in our bays now, there are automated crew tasked to perform the repairs, they may even need new crew, but we aren't supposed to say a word, and let them leave without a trace. Even having this meeting is breach of our orders. I have no more real information to add, Captain?"

Captain Francis cleared his throat. "We need docking bay three ready in ninety minutes. None of the information Commander Severide has just disclosed will be discussed outside this room. To everyone else, the IBEX is merely another craft in need of repair. If you have a question or comment, let's hear it. Otherwise, we need to boogie."

"Do we have information about possible casualties?" Dhuro asked. "If this is a small-cell operation, I'm guessing it's a small crew, so we'll be well able to handle that. I'm also guessing any injuries won't be mortal, but we may have some bodies. If we have bodies, what are we to do with them? Cremate them, or return them to families?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we cross it," Francis replied. "If there are casualties, we'll give them their due respect."

Dhuro nodded. "I'll keep them in the morgue until I receive instructions. Thank you."

Heriah spoke up. "I will alert Security to ensure at least 2 security personnel are stationed at every possible access to the Docking Bay; turbolift, corridor, Jefferies Tube. Transport dampeners will also be positioned to keep anything from being transported in or out without prior authorization. Starfleet regulations dictate that if any vessel were on approach, Starfleet or not, and they do not make communications, we must respond with utmost caution. I recommend we inform the base that we are temporarily taking on a crew that does not know our ways, may even breathe a different atmosphere and we are taking all precautions to ensure there is not a contaminant breach nor cultural spillage. There is also a lot of traffic out there. We need to clear the sky before this" 'goat' "goat...I mean...IBEX arrives. We may not be able to scan it, but people can still see with their own eyes. We need to clear the sky or run the risk of the conspiracy theory rumor mill running at Warp 9." She looked to her captain. "Sir," she concluded her two cents.

Captain Francis nodded. "You are correct about security precautions. However, I don't think an elaborate cover story to squelch a hypothetical rumor mill is necessary. Likewise, we don't need to explain an injured ship arriving at a docking bay. It's a common occurrence on a station the size of 109. People don't question such things, and if they do we'll just say, 'Starfleet business.' Ninety-nine percent of the folks here won't question that. They know this is a Starfleet station. All they really expect us to do is keep the peace. The same goes for surrounding ships. If we say nothing about it, they're none the wiser. And my god in heaven, if there were some kind of contaminant on the IBEX, it would be quarantined far away from a starbase!"

"Understood, sir," said Heriah. She struck out a few things on her PADD and highlighted a few others.

Geri spoke up, "Thank you all for your understanding, the level of trust this is asking of us is considerable, but there is a good chance everything is as it appears to be."

'It appears to be the beginning of the end of us all,' thought Rex. 'I like it.'

She then put several files on the screen, faces familiar to some in the room, Damion Ildaran, Renato Solis, Exo comps and the Baku ensign Bikram Auden were on the display, "I also wanted to propose an idea, that we offer the IBEX a berth for more than two days."

She held up hands to hold off questions, "They're legitimately in the pocket of Starfleet Intelligence, I understand their organizational mandate for maintaining their cover but we were already looking to expand our intelligence gathering capacity for this sector. This is contingent upon meeting them and understanding better what it is they do, of course, but in the name of transparency, this is a potential future objective. There are crew here we can use in perfect cover stories of their real lives to serve on their ship, we even have on board two families of exo-comps, machines willing to work without context and erase recent memory files."

Paul looked at the images on the screen and considered them. "I can see how these particular people and exo-comps could be extremely useful assets."

Geri smiled at the memory of dealing with those feisty little robots. "Those bots actually charged a premium for that service."

Francis noticed Geri's smile. He was also grinning, remembering the near-disastrous meeting with the Exo-Comps, complete with Lieutenant Bikram's coffee spit take. The Comps were an interesting and eager pack, but Francis still remained a little skeptical. Bikram had a lot to live up to, especially after spitting coffee all over the Captain's uniform.

Geri returned the display to the incoming sensor grid indicating the rapidly approaching ship, so she ended her speech, "The Second Star is set to arrive in ten minutes, I've prepared Docking Bay 3 with a false alarm. They'll enter system, release the IBEX, and continue on as though they haven't been under lockout for four days. Docking Bay 3 is where they will land, and we will secure the Dock in the name of repairs. OPS, we will handle assignment with a ghost shift rotation out of Brown Sector. When you check your boards, just know what is the true story. And remember--unless you are asked about it by one of us, there is to be no discussion of these details in any capacity. That's all from me."

"My first day here," Heriah spoke up, "and already a top secret operation. Through symbiont memory, I can hit the ground running on this one. So, worry not."

"Good," Francis said. He stood, and the crew stood with him. "Alright folks, let's hop to it!"

END

 

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