Senior Staff Briefing

Posted on Tue 24th Jan, 2017 @ 4:08pm by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Zachary Hunt & Lieutenant Ricardo Shepard & Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Sianna Dal & Lieutenant Colonel Brooklyn Wellington & Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels

2,491 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Deck 14: Senior Officers' Briefing Room
Timeline: Pre MD-01

"Thank you all for coming" Drake was standing behind his chair at the top of the table, for some reason he never liked to sit during these briefings... although this one should be about as straight forward as they come.

"We have two very important things happening on Vanguard over the coming days and I shall be going over each of them in turn." He pressed a button on the table and the large screen on the wall changed to a presentation piece on the Caliburnites and Emorites.

"Firstly, Vanguard will be playing host to diplomatic talks between two semi-aquatic races - the Caliburnites and the Emorites." He paused and took a sip of his coffee. "Now, the Emorites live on Theta Prime in the Glastrell System." Another press of the button brought the Class L planet up on the screen.

"For generations they've shunned contact with other worlds. This all changed when they encountered the Caliburnites." The display changed once again. "They are virtually genetically identical, and it is believed that the Emorites and Caliburnites were seeded by a race that they call 'The Preservers. In fact the two races are able to make out the others language, with only a small margin of error."

Another pause and another sip. "After the Caliburnites joined the Federation, five years ago, the Emorites began to consider changing their isolationist ways. Recently they asked the Federation to host a conference that will explore the possibility of them becoming full members. Due to the proximity of their home worlds, Vanguard has been chosen to play host to these important talks."

He glanced around the room, everyone seemed to be with him so far. He found explaining a plan of ground-based tactics to a room of Marines and then fielding questions afterwards a walk in the park. In contrast, explaining the diplomatic history of two races was significantly more complex.

"However, there is a faction of Emorites who are resistant to the idea of joining the Federation, they have threatened to disrupt any negotiations.

"This faction, to justify their beliefs, use the example of a group of Emorites who, many years ago, ventured out into space in search of exploration – they were never heard from again, they picked up the nick name of the “Lost Emorites. Due to this threat we will need Security to work closely with the Diplomatic department". He looked at Lieutenant Michaels and Lieutenant Dal, respectively. The Chief Security Officer had yet to be assigned and, as it transpired, Lieutenant Michaels was the highest-ranking officer in the department.

"Before I move on, do we have any questions at this juncture?" He opened his arms, as if to welcome any.

Rico examined his PADD in front of him, looking at the Emorites and Caliburnites. "Semi-aquatic huh? Are we going to need to retrofit the delegates' living quarters?"

"There is an aquatic section of quarters," Addams said, looking up from her PADD. Mention of "preservers" had tickled her memory; there were some near-Human populations who had the same belief. "I recently visited Lieutenant Bowditch, the Cetacean navigation officer, in her quarters to check that she was getting appropriate levels of salts and metals in the water."

"I can think of a few questions, sir, but I believe I'll be better off discussing them with Lt. Dal," Kellian said. "Do you know yet how large the delegations will be and how long they will be present on Vanguard? I'll need to coordinate with their security personnel and possibly with the Vanguard's Marine complement if the delegations are large enough, given that Security here is still understaffed."

"Quite so... they'll be comprised of exactly forty five personnel per party. Inclusive within that are fifteen armed personnel, a limit imposed by the Federation." Drake replied.

"Thank you," Kellian said as he made a note of that. "I'll need to be informed when their security people arrive for the advance survey."

It was an inevitability that, when trying to do two things in parallel one would ... lag behind, so it took a moment for Sianna Dal to register the discussion around her, to look up from the PADD in front of her, lips pursed in thought as she asked, "I haven't gotten too far into the details of the relevant species," or, rather, she had, but in different areas ... psychology, culture, linguistics, history as perceived by themselves, "But the level of convergence between the two species is rather improbable. Is there a possibility that we might have another Son'a situation on our hands?"

And hadn't that been a deeply embarrassing event, one that continued to haunt the hallowed halls of Federation politics. Strange and desperate times, strange bedfellows and desperate measures, all resulting in ruined careers. Even if the incident had not been as publicized as it might have been.

"It is quite possible..." Drake replied, rather gravely... not wanting to guess too much. He scarcely knew much more than was written in front of them.

Dal's finger went up, "Alternately, could we be dealing with some form of enforced programming on the part of these Preservers, keeping the two species in parallel?" The deeper arcana of biological sciences largely eluded the diplomat, her last contact with them had been early in schooling and never in such complex issues, "Could we encounter mental triggers or traps if we put the two species in the same room?"

Kellian winced at that idea. "Let's not borrow trouble," he said. "We can worry about that if we see evidence of it."

"Indeed. As I have just reminded myself," Addams tapped a slender finger tipped with a black-lacquered nail against the PADD in front of her, "there is a similar tradition about Preservers in some Human populations. They were apparently seeded to class-M worlds from threatened populations of Terrans for reasons unknown. There doesn't seem to be any record of adverse effects from members of different populations encountering each other."

Full lips stretched into an indulgent smile as Sianna added, "I do find pessimism to be quite liberating, doctor. That way, the universe holds only pleasant surprises."

Wellington sat back in her chair as she listened to the think tanks babble on around the table. That's why she loved the acronym: KISS-- Keep It Simple Stupid. "How many ships are in each delegation traveling here and what are the classes?" Wellington finally spoke during a lull in the conversation.

Finally, the conversation had moved onto something that Drake could answer with confidence. He looked at the Fighter Operations Chief to begin with, "The delegation escorts have been agreed with Starfleet Command and, as I'm sure you would have predicted, both are bringing a very similar complement." He pressed another button and ship schematics came to the screen. "Four ships in each delegation... One lightly armed diplomatic transport... one support vessel... two cruiser class, medium defensive and offensive capabilities... full schematics will be provided to your department. The Caliburnite concession is due to arrive tomorrow at twelve hundred hours and the Emorite at thirteen hundred, so a small window for errors. Perhaps a fighter escort on approach for each delegation?"

"I was thinking the same thing, sir. I'll have Warrant Officer Moklor and his squadron fly escort," Brooklyn responded.

"Tomorrow?! Not much time to prepare," Kellian said, a gross understatement. What the hell was Starfleet thinking, dropping this in their laps with no warning? It needed at least two weeks; a month would have been better. From his PADD, he wrote a message to the security department, calling a departmental meeting within the next hour. Postpone any other meetings previously scheduled for this time, he added and sent it off. "Sir, how long are the delegations going to be here?" he repeated.

"We're not sure how long they'll be here... the Federation are predicting no longer than a week, from my understanding the diplomatic situation isn't a particularly complicated one, but it wouldn't be the first time the Federation were wrong on predicting the outcome to diplomatic proceedings!" Drake smiled as he moved on.

"I'll plan on a week, then, and play it by ear," Kellian said.

"And," Jade chimed in, "is it too early to think about meals for diplomacy? Perhaps to ... oil the wheels of discussion a bit? Though 24-hours ... not a lot of time to get the first meals ready." The frown cleared from her brow, "But we'll manage. Count on us, and I'll get some of the other restaurants involved, if they choose to be."

"A fantastic idea, Miss. Lantz... perhaps liaise with Lieutenant Dal's department in having your staff arrange some buffets throughout the days? I'll have full details of requirements sent to Orchids & Jazz." He liked Jade for a number of reasons... alleviating pressures, like this, was near the top of the list.

"That would be a matter better left to a separate meeting." Sianna Dal offered a wry smile, "No sense in bothering everyone with the minutia of seating arrangements, music selection and such."

Paul didn't say anything; he simply took out his PADD and initiated a search for information about the two races. Occasionally he opened a note-taking screen and hastily wrote on it with a stylus as others spoke.

Jasmine had been quiet through the entire discussion. She had listened intently to what was being said. She'd given her report with the specifics of both species to the Captain before the briefing so the information wasn't new to her. The question about whether this could be another Son'a incident had crossed her mind but in her research, she hadn't come across any sort of rebellion. There had been one attempt at exploration, the so called lost Emorites but she found no evidence in the planet's archives to indicate any rebellion or banishment.

By giving her report ahead of time, Jasmine was able to get through the meeting without having to speak. She was getting better about being in the room with so many others and keeping her calm. She was sure this was due to her sessions with Dr Graves. It was his suggestion that she prepare her report and submit it to the Captain early on so she would have less questions directed at her. And with the help of Adam and his wonderful Christmas gift, she was able to get back and forth to her meetings and briefings without panic setting in before even arriving. As the thought crossed her mind, she reached down and stroked the furry head of the pup that sat by her side.

"If Ms. Lantz would like," Jasmine spoke softly but directly and kept her eyes on the one person her information was directed at. "I can send a list of food items that would be acceptable to both species as well as a list of what to avoid." She looked over at Dr Addams. "After you have the opportunity to glance at it, Dr. Addams, to ensure that there are not any toxins to humans or other species that I might be missing."

Addams smiled as if relishing the idea of discovering a whole new group of toxins and their unpleasant effects, but said nothing.

"That sounds like a plan," Jade nodded, "thanks, Lieutenant. I can almost see my chef, Marin Holmes, salivating at the chance to try new recipes. I may need a day or two to acquire any unusual ingredients, but I'm sure we can come up with something right away." She made quick notes on her PADD.

Paul did a search on the Emorite and Caliburnite mutual ambassadors and obtained their names. He glanced at Col. Drake. "Sir, will you and Commander Hunt be directly involved in these negotiations on Starfleet's behalf, or will this be entirely negotiated between the two parties?"

"Commander Hunt will be overseeing the negotiations along with Lieutenant Dal and her department." Because I couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck in a room with two species who can't decide on insignificant details, he mused to himself.

"Thank you, Colonel. I'll prepare myself to assist in any way that Commander Hunt or Lt. Dal might need." Paul made a note of Hunt's assigned role with a faintly curious look and went on with his note-taking.

"If there are no further questions, shall we move on to the second order of business?" Drake perused the room in case there were any further questions.

"Plenty of issues to bring up," Sianna Dal offered nods to the relevant parties, Hunt, Lantz, before adding, "but nothing that can't be handled in separate meetings."

Hunt briefly nodded back to Dal. He had kept quiet throughout, observing the crew within the room and analyzing them. He had spent a lot of time with some of them now, but there were still a couple in the room he needed to spend more time with. He continued to listen.

Another press of the button and the screen changed once again... this time to a picture of a man who most would say was just past his prime... his black hair now heavily greying, creases and wrinkles becoming evident but his piercing blue eyes as youthful as ever.

"Quite naturally all of you know Rear-Admiral Dobbs; he is somewhat of a celebrity in the fleet. However, what most of you probably don't know is that during the Dominion War, when he held the rank of captain, he had a posting, for a short while, on Vanguard."

To cadets... and the majority of officers... Adrian Dobbs was made from the stuff of legends. Not only a brilliant medical officer, he had pushed the limits of bio-mechanical engineering. He saved lives and helped those who, without his research, would have lived miserably. When the Dominion War came about he dropped his work and requested front line postings with security details and Marines alike... naturally, after the war, he became like folk lore... a myth... everyone claimed to have, at some point, either served with him or fought with him.

"So, at oh-nine-hundred hours tomorrow, the Admiral will be paying the station a visit. He has made it clear that this is not an official visit, purely one of nostalgia and personal reasons. As such he has requested that we not follow any of the usual procedures for visiting flag officers." Another pause and another glance around the room... this had been a quick meeting, just how he liked them.

Without the military or Starfleet background of some of the others, Miss Lantz wasn't quite sure what the excitement was about the admiral, but she made a note to find out. Perhaps a dinner in his honor could be squeezed into the schedule with the diplomatic concerns. Wasn't that why Marin had assistants?

"Any questions?"

"In other words, treat him politely if we find ourselves in his company, and give him space?" Paul said. "Seems reasonable."

"Quite so, Lieutenant." Drake smiled.

 

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