Awry

Posted on 30 Jun 2020 @ 12:08am by Captain Akio Tachibana & Lieutenant Orson Beckett, Ph.D.

Mission: Ohuna - The Secret
Location: Bre'el IV
Timeline: 0009, 8 Mar 2389

ON:

A boom and rumble in the distance jolted Beckett awake.

"What?" James said stirring in his sleep, tossing, and turning as unknown to him a battle ensued a short distance away. He had spent the night before exploring the planet during his short stay on Bre'el IV before returning to the academy and was now sleeping, well trying to sleep in his one-bedroom apartment located just a few kilometers away from the Federation diplomatic embassy compound. Having only just felt like falling asleep he checked the clock to his right which rested upon a nightstand. The digital readout in a silver-blue displayed the date and time which read 0009 indicating he had been sleeping for a good four hours before the... 'what was it? A firework?' He thought, throwing back the covers and swinging his legs onto the cold granite floor his curiosity getting the better of him.

There was chatter in the corridor as explosions continued.

Padding barefoot across the floor he stifled a yawn as he drew on of the red silk curtains, they opened like a start to an old theatre production. Squinting as bright lights danced across the city and towards the embassy compound it was clear something was very wrong. In front of him looked more like a battle scene from the Dominion war.

There was a knock at Beckett's door.

Turning the light on in his room James darted across to his cupboard to throw on a pair of shirt before saying "Come in, it's open!" He moved cautiously to his side of the door and waited for whoever was on the opposite side to reveal themselves.

The door swooshed open as a voice shouted, "We're being evacuated, meet in the lobby."

Not recognizing the person who gave him the order and before he had the chance to ask or question the command they were gone and off down the corridor knocking on other doors as he did. "Right" James spoke out loud before closing his door again and setting into motion. Not bothering to pack James quickly dressed into his uniform, leaving his things wasn't something he wanted to do but this matter seemed urgent and time precious so soon after putting on his shoes he left his room locking it behind him and headed towards the lobby as instructed.

Upon arrival it was clear he wasn't the only person to be informed as a roar of voices broke the usual quiet as people speculate and rumors spread. All he knew was that for some reason the diplomatic embassy had exploded either through accident or as an aggressive attack and would withhold his speculations until he was told what was going on. Picking a spot on the fringes of the group that had gathered he leaned against the wall and waited.

A group of 7 Starfleet officers were present. Most were in transit, waiting to hitch a transport or passing vessel onto their next destination. One of the officers approached Beckett, a Lieutenant in yellow.

"The Diplomatic Mission is under attack. We're coordinating with the local authorities now," the Lieutenant informed Beckett.

He nodded "And what does that mean for us and who is attacking the compound?" Orson's mind was racing, there was no indication no reason for the embassy to be attacked at least none that he could think of. His mind then drifted to the woman he had met. She was a diplomatic ensign who he had shared the afternoon with when he first arrived strolling through the city as she gave him a tour.


"Good question, your guess is as good as mine... there's no reason Bre'el would attack us," the Lieutenant replied.

Just then, a Lieutenant Commander in red appeared. "Alright, listen up! There are distress calls out and we are securing weapons and transportation from the locals. Once we figure out more info, we will have a better plan of attack. Boyd, start thinking of tactics."

The Lieutenant who was just speaking to Beckett answered, "Aye, sir." Turning back to his counterpart in teal, he muttered, "Hopefully there's not more than 7 of 'em."

Orson confused at what was being said gained the lieutenant's attention again "Lieutenant, what is going on? You expecting scientists, and other barely qualified people to lead a counter-attack?" He didn't doubt his own ability to fire a phaser but recruiting from this small pool of individuals seemed a bit bizarre, that said lives were at risk and he'd do what was needed.

Boyd looked at Orson like the latter just grew another head. "Of course, Lieutenant. We're Starfleet officers. Helping people is what we do, even if it means danger."

"Well, I hope we have a better plan than 'just do' because otherwise, we're going to need people to come help rescue us." Orson wondered who was the lieutenant's instructor at the academy... no doubt a security officer who believed everything was fixed by violence and shooting. Leaving the officer Orson chose to sit on one of the stairs and waited for news and their next orders.

"Hopefully someone answers the distress call..." Boyd looked up to ceiling as if looking into space.

Orson listened and watched the officer from his now seated position, "Boyd was it?" He asked curiously, "Why and who has attacked the diplomatic compound? There seems to be a severe lack of information going around and I think it would help settle some nerves if we had a better idea of what is going on?"

Boyd had pulled out his PADD and was scrolling as Orson asked his questions. Looking up, "Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. No press reporting yet and I'm not seeing any intelligence reports. What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Orson Beckett, Academy Instructor" He explained before addressing the larger problem at hand. "It seems whoever is responsible has caught us all completely by surprise, it's a little worrying that they could have planned subsequent attacks on let's say a hotel filled with officers."

"What are you doing all the way out at Bre'el IV?" Boyd was surprised an Academy instructor would be out this far.

"I was attending a Science convention on Starbase 47, I decided to take the time to explore before transiting back to the Academy," Orson explained happily, willing to give the officer any information.

"Great, well, why don't we head up to the roof to see what we can find out. That will give us a better lay of the land," Boyd replied.

Orson nodded "Sure, it beats standing around here wondering what the hell is going on!" He motioned for the security officer to take the lead, "Lead on Lieutenant."

As they entered the turbolift, Boyd asked Orson, "When did you graduate the Academy?"

Standing in the turbo lift Orson was stood on the opposite side to the younger lieutenant, "I graduated in 2381, I had spent 4 years at the University of Tartu before that though so I was a little older than most of the cadets." He explained casually.

"Oh wow, I am surprised you didn't decide to go to OTS or go through ROTC," Boyd pondered as a the doors whooshed open. The breeze threw some strands of his brown hair in the wind.

It was still so dark, yet there were intermittent flashes in the distance.

"Looks like disruptor fire," Boyd commented as he drew up a pair of binoculars. Hitting some buttons to zoom in, he noted, "The gate seems to be holding..."

Boyd leaned over and held the binoculars outstretched to Orson as he walked away, tapping his comm badge to report in.

Taking the visual aid device known as Binoculars Orson put the lenses piece to his face and lined them up with his eyes, immediately he could see the flashes of disrupted fire but the color wasn't easily made out. What did stand out was the phaser fire which seemed to still be coming from the embassy showing that there were still survivors. "I am not tactical genius but if we move now we might be able to flank the enemy." He said recalling his tactical training from the academy.

"Are you expecting scientists, and other barely qualified people to lead a counter-attack, Orson?" Boyd shot back with a smirk.

"We're all trained in combat" He shrugged his earlier objections had diminished when he saw what was going up to form their rooftop advantage. "If we can't help then who?" From the distance, more shooting and explosions could be heard the fighting showing no signs of slowing down.

Boyd nodded. "Let's go brief the Commander."

OFF:

Orson Beckett, Ph.D., LT, SF
Academy Outreach Team (Science)

LT Boyd - Played by Akio/Jacob
In-Transit