Deploying Away Teams
Posted on 02 Jan 2018 @ 7:46pm by Captain Akio Tachibana & Commander Juan Zamora (Dec [CDO]-Jan 2389 - TRSNFR to Gorn Dip.) & Lieutenant Deeli Kosu (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War)
Edited on on 28 May 2019 @ 5:56pm
Mission:
He ho'omaka hou 'ana - A New Beginning
Location: Bridge - Deck 1
Timeline: 28 Dec 2388
ON:
Akio emerged from his Ready Room. Temperatures had died down since the excitement of that morning.
While technically Section 3 was on watch, many of the senior officers were present as the ship approached Bre'el IV.
"Status report, number 1?" Akio asked Marian as he saw the blue planet increasing in size.
Darren motioned to the viewscreen. "Quickly approaching the planet sir. No communications from the government as of yet. Away team requisitions are complete. We're ready to go as soon as you give the word Commander."
"Very well, I have the bridge," Akio said. "Conn, take us into standard orbit," Akio commanded.
“Aye, sir. Standard orbit.” Ren replied acknowledging the command, before entering several commands into his console to begin orbiting procedures.
Just then, there were a couple beeps on the OPS Console with messages from the CIC.
"Sir, incoming call from Bre'el IV, source identifies as coming from the Bre'el Government building." Ahressa said as she checked the message.
Akio looked at Darren and said, "On screen, Lieutenant."
"Greetings USS Hawaii, I am Koper and this is Sp'el," the male spoke, "On bahalf of the government of Bre'el IV, welcome and thank you for answering our request to speak."
Akio kept a straight face. He had never seen Bre'ella before and it was a wonder how they spoke as their lips barely moved.
"We appreciate your hospitality. I have a crew set to visit planetside and our marines would like to conduct training in your mountains, if permitted," Akio hated saying the last part as it was essentially a lie. Yet orders were orders.
"Of course," Koper said, "We are transmitting the coordinates of our capitol's space dock."
Akio found that unusual. Clearly the government wanted to speak with Starfleet if they were getting direct access to the government.
"We look forward to meeting you," Akio said as the Bre'ella agreed and closed the channel.
Akio turned to Darren, "They really want to speak with us."
Darren shook his head. "This really is a strange situation. At least from how these two are talking the Bre'ella have no idea the message we received was sent from their planet. Yet we know it definitely was." He scratched his head. "I suppose we'll know more when we get down there."
"Indeed. Ready away teams, Mr. Marian," Akio commanded. "Let's ride down together and shake hands before your team splits off, though," Akio noted.
"Aye, sir." Darren tapped his commbadge "Away team members report to the shuttlebay." He shook his head. "Still can't believe we're being forced to shuttle down. Absolutely stone age."
"Admiral's orders," Akio replied. "Get Lieutenant Thomas up here. I hope she's passed the bridge exam. Also inform Dr. Sthilg that he is acting XO," Akio noted.
Akio looked at the Tactical/Security Station and remembered the words of Fallon. Technically, the Gorn Doctor outranked LTJG Thomas by years in service, yet Akio was not about to leave the ship in the hands of a Doctor let alone a Gorn. Was he wise to leave him as the acting XO though? Akio knew Orions were tough yet was Gee, a 136-pound female Orion able to take on the Gorn by herself if needed?
Darren felt nervous at the prospect of leaving the ship in the partial control of a member of a known enemy species of the Federation, although his Starfleet training quietly chided him from the back of his mind, members of a species should not be judged as a whole for the actions of some. "Aye, sir." Darren signaled the two officers.
The turbolift door's opened as the Gorn doctor stepped onto the bridge. He knew people wouldn't trust him especially given it was his species causing the problems. Still, he had bridge officer training and he had a job to do. He nodded to the bridge crew before taking his position.
Standing silently at the rear of the bridge Zamora crossed his arms and set about analyzing everything he'd been able to observe from the communication.'hmm, very curious indeed.'
Shuttlebay - Deck 6
Ren was the first to arrive at the shuttle. He got straight to work, doing all the pre flight checks and doing a walk round of the outside for a visual inspection of the shuttle's hull. Of course it wasn’t necessary to do a walk round but it was an old habit he had gotten into during his time with the Bajoran militia. Their ships weren’t known to have good scanners so a quick walk round was needed to make sure there wasn’t any sign of corrosion.
Once all the pre-flight checks came back complete and everything working within normal parameters, Ren powered up the engines and waited for the rest of the team to arrive.
Putting her briefcase on the seat in the shuttle, Deeli swallowed her fear of this mission. One she was going to a strange planet that did not desire their presence and two she had to interact more closely with her fellow crewmates-- like depend on them; why was Starfleet so cruel to her? What did she ever do to them? Deeli let go of a deep exhale and sat down, placing the briefcase on her lap and opened it to investigate if everything she needed was there. "Join Starfleet, it's fun they said, you can be part of the biggest technological revolution they said..." She muttered and shook her head as Deeli checked her tricorder "...freaking bureaucratic propaganda."
Ahressa chuckled as she sat next to Kosu. "Relax. Focus on your job." She opened up her tricorder to check the progress of the message breakdown. Nimh expected results of her research to come at any moment.
Darren stepped onto the shuttlecraft and slung his "go-bag" into one of the cargo compartments before turning to the other two. "Lieutenants." He recognized one of the two officers to be their Chief Engineer. Darren had been meaning to head down to engineering to meet her on the way to Bre'el, but considering the eventful voyage they'd have thus far, hadn't had time. "Oh, yes. Lieutenant Kosu, correct? I don't believe we've met formally. Darren Marian." He extended a hand.
A chill wave went over her spine hearing that someone was again trying to build an 'interaction' with her. Deeli looked a bit upwards and towards Darren's face and back to his hand that was extended to her. "Eh..." She shrugged and looked at Nimh who was busy with her checking and then looked back at the Lieutenant. She finally gave with some protest a weak handshake, Darren would most likely notice that her hand was sweaty and quickly pulled her hand back. "Lieutenant Kosu...." Staring awkwardly towards her briefcase that had some lights blinking of her equipment.
Darren had heard tales of their reclusive engineer's legendary social skills so he wasn't surprised by the less than enthusiastic introduction. As someone who struggled with social norms himself he also fully understood. And besides, engineers don't need social skills, he thought to himself. LCARS was the same to outgoing and introverted alike.
He gave Kosu a slight smile and turned to their OPS officer. "Lieutenant Nimh, how are we looking on tracking the source of the communication we received? I'm hoping we can be ready to go when Lieutenant Fallon arrives."
"We have a general vicinty down, so far, sir. However, I should have a more definite location once we get closer to the ground and we have a closer location to the transmitting towers. Cutting through the interference of the planet does limit data clairty to some levels. I basically need to cut down the amount of towers I need to ping to find the right one, if that makes sense?" Ahressa replied as she nodded at Marian.
Darren felt himself once again impressed by their Chief of Operations. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. Great work Lieutenant. We'll start looking around after we get the Captain to the capital."
Juan ducked through the rear hatch and picked out a free seat, sitting down with a sigh and trying to stretch some of the stiffness out of his back. He'd brought a briefcase with a detachable shoulder strap, and now he put his head and arm though it in case of any turbulence. "No rest for the wicked I suppose," he mused aloud.
"Welcome, Lieutenant Zamora," Darren said. He hadn't had the chance to talk to the Lieutenant since his sudden arrival on the ship earlier.
Juan gave a nod in Marian's direction, lost in thought for the moment.
Minutes later, Akio made his way down to the shuttlecraft. He had been briefing Thomas on the bridge to make sure she didn't have any unanswered questions. It was also customary that the senior officer was the last one to board a craft.
"XO, are we all aboard?" Akio asked as he spotted the back of Darren's head and the fact he was the only other person wearing command red besides Ren.
Akio moved forward, sitting next to Ren in the cockpit.
Darren looked over the gathered crewmembers before moving over next to the cockpit. "All hands present and accounted for. Ready when you are."
"Mr. Ren, our lives are in your hands," Akio smirked.
“Aye sir, taking us out.” Ren said as his hand glided over the shuttles CONN system. The shuttle lifted off and headed out of Hawaii’s shuttle bay. “Setting course for the planet, full impulse.”
Jula who had arrived first and was rather quiet and withdrawn till now, gripped the edges of her seat and sucked in a deep breath. It was true, this was preferable to transporting, a hundred times over, but it was still movement of a kind she could feel with her whole body, and it felt awful.
Ahressa had to surpress a tease that was on the tip of her tongue. The usually pale Trill looked chalk white now, and like she was about to lose the contents of her stomach.
I wonder if anyone packed a Med-Kit? The bajoran wondered.
Jack had watched each crew member as they had arrived in the shuttle, keeping himself in the last seat and the least observed by the others. Like every move he made, this one had been tactical. Closest to the exit, first one out. Also closest to the weapons lockers. One hand on his shoulder harness, he pushed back his wavy white hair that had fallen haphazardly across his face, blocking his view partially from the Trill female across from him, though not directly. Thank the Prophets. She looked like whatever she had consumed for lunch may find an exit through the same entrance. Jack's eyes scanned the other passengers, listening to the tails of their conversations. His eyes landed on the Bajoran female briefly, triggering a reflex movement of his right thumb to cross the inside of bare ring finger. He said nothing to the his crewmates, made no direct eye contact and gave zero facial expression as he sat back and waited for the shuttle to complete it's flight plan.
Ahressa had caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, briefly recalling reading up on the young tactician. The rubbing of his ring finger suggested that the parting had not been amicable, and his file did not provide an explanation as to why, not that she'd had a chance to dig deeper into that. So would Ahressa's presence trigger the young man? Or would it be beneficial? She couldn't be sure yet and their prior interaction did not yield answers.
Not as unobserved as Jack had originally thought it appeared as he made notice of the Bajoran female again. Ahressa he reminded himself of her name. She had been the only one aboard the shuttle he had much if any contact with prior to boarding the shuttle for this mission. Giving her a warm smile that spread to the corner of his eyes, Jack nodded slightly. It would be, after all, rude not to acknowledge a fellow officer. Of course he had read her file and she would have his as well. Making a mental note that the Chief Operations Officer was vigilant and wondered what she had done in her career that was not mentioned.
She returned the nod gracefully, giving him a half smile in return. Oh yes, you're going to be interesting, kid.
"I hope you don't object Commander," Tyler spoke up from his seat, "given the absence of a large number of senior officers, which could give the impression of the ship being more vulnerable, I increased the state of security patrols across the ship, as well as placing two additional security personnel on the bridge. Given the unknowns of this phase of our mission and the confusing nature of the mystery communication and apparent lack of knowledge of said transmission by the government, it seemed a prudent course of action."
Akio turned his head over his left shoulder and projected, "I agree, LT Fallon. No objections here."
Akio was thankful for Fallon's caution. A lax security chief generally did not bode well for a ship or her crew.
On Approach to Bre'el IV Capital City
“Capitol Spacedock, this is shuttle craft one from USS Hawaii, request permission to approach and land.” Ren said after opening an comm channel to the spacedock.
“Hawaii shuttlecraft, we welcome you to Bre’el IV. You have been cleared to land, we are transmitting landing coordinates to you now. Capitol Spacedock out.”
“Transmission received, programming the coordinates into the CONN and setting course.” Ren reported as the shuttle banked to the left before making its descent.
The shuttle's entry was largely uneventful and traffic had thinned out tremendously near the capitol, a domed structure with columns, clearly denoting its importance.
Like many planets, Bre'el IV was a large trading hub.
Bre'el IV Capitol Spacedock
As the shuttle landed, a welcoming party had assembled. The Bre'ella all looked the same, at least in Akio's opinion, so it was hard to tell if it was Koper or not, although one would expect him to be in their number.
Akio turned from his seat, "Security out first."
Jula quickly re-checked her phaser and re-adjusted her tricorder on her strap, and stood up, ready for Fallon's instruction. Being on the ground, even in a shuttle felt so good, which immediately reflected in her brightened up stance and expression, despite still being chalky pale.
"Danz, shadow the CO as close as the situation allows when we split up. In the meantime, out and to the right flank. I'll cover left. Elliot, once we're out keep your back to the shuttle and maintain a general overwatch. Heads on a swivel." He said to his officers before turning to everyone else. "Remember everyone, this is supposed to be a friendly visit." He reminded them with a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "But nonetheless weapons on heavy stun. Standard ROE, fire only if fired upon." With that, he put action to words and ensured the proper setting on his own phaser, again wishing for a phaser rifle rather than just a sidearm, and the emergency aid pack he carried as standard equipment on his belt was situated comfortably at the small of back.
"Yes, sir." Jula nodded carefully, to keep the dizziness away as she re-checked her phaser yet again, re-adjusting the setting from stun to heavy stun.
Closest to the shuttle door as he had planned, Jack stepped slowly out, scanning everything from side to side, front to back as he did so. It was difficult to tell members of their species apart, but that was because of the unfamiliarity. Always observant and vigilant, the tactical officer watched closely for any movement within the greeting party that would suggest weapons being drawn, or body language not too honest. Even with different species worlds apart, cultural different, how one moved, how one stood, deception would always reveal itself. Not the small lies. Those were often hidden in the truth and harder to determine. But the bigger the deceit, the bigger the countermeasures were needed to repress the deceptive cues. And those cues where exactly what Jack Elliott was trained to detect and find quickly.
Juan walked down the ramp to the pavement, using one hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the tropical sun, so far, so good. Everything seemed routine enough, which was a positive sign, though that was not nearly enough to allay his concerns for now. Still they hadn't been greeted with weapons fire, so they had managed to avoid the absolute worst case scenario. Even if it was just a small plus that was still enough to glad for in his book. Of course, now the real work could begin, it was time to earn his keep.
Ahressa stepped down after the enigmatic diplomat. They hadn't exchanged many words since their meeting and she hasn't had time to look at Zamora's file, so profiling him would certainly be interesting. She could hear additional sounds from the tricorder as it started processing more information, being close to the ground now and able to filter out signals, to pinpoint the origin of their mysterious warning. Her mannerism however remained cool and open as she filed in with the others, observing, waiting.
Ren followed the rest of the away team out of the shuttle. He glanced around the unfamiliar surroundings. ‘Very impressive.’ He thought to himself as he looked at the architecture.
Deeli walked a bit lonely with her briefcase of equipment in front of her as she looked a bit around seeing the structures of the location. The location was architectural impressive, but she wondered more about the technology that was out there. Deeli took a deep breath and tried to get used towards the new surroundings.
“You ok, Lieutenant?” Ren said as he caught up with the Chief Engineer.
Getting the chill over her spine as she felt the words were directed at her, Deeli looked awkwardly at Ren and smirks a bit as her eyes roll back to the front as a mouse insulted by its predator "Do I look not okay Lieutenant?"
Akio was one of the last to exit the shuttle. The air felt muggy and incredibly warm. Almost immediately, Akio started to perspire.
"Welcome Commander and your crew to Bre'el IV," the leader of the welcome party said as everyone assembled out of the shuttle. Akio recognized the voice and mannerisms to be Koper. "Please, come inside so we can discuss in private," the Bre'ella gestured.
"Thank you for the welcome. Some of my crew has matters to attend to within your city, if you do not mind?" Akio asked.
"Of course. Do you need an escort?" Koper asked.
"I don't think that will be necessary," Akio replied before looking to Darren and nodding to him as a signal to peel off with his team.
"Here we go." Ahressa thought to herself as the sounds from her tricorder changed tone again. A message had been received, and the scans were still ongoing. She would look at it once they were far enough away so as not to look suspicious.
Juan scanned the locals for their reactions, no one was batting an eyelash over the extra personnel. That was another good sign, it at least appeared that they had the full cooperation of the local government. His list of potential scenarios was narrowing.
OFF:
Akio Tachibana, CDR, SF
Commanding Officer
Darren Marian, LT, SF
Executive Officer
Juan "JJ" Zamora, LT, SF
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Nimh Ahressa, LT, SF
Chief Operations Officer
Ren Kannu, LT, SF
Chief Flight Control Officer
Tyler Fallon, LT, SF
Chief Tactical & Security Officer
Sthilg, M.D., LTJG, SF
Chief Medical Officer
Deeli Kosu, LTJG, SF
Chief Engineering Officer
Jula Danz, LTJG, SF
Asst. Chief Tactical & Security Officer
Jack Elliott, LTJG, SF
Tactical Actions Officer
