Fear Mongered
Posted on 10 Apr 2022 @ 11:06am by Captain Corvus DeHavilland & Commander Thaddeus Zayne
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: Obsidian Command - Docking Bay
Timeline: MD02 - 1049HRS
1156 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure
Corvus had never been happier to see the inside of OC’s docking bay, and the safety it provided. For the first time in what felt like hours, she retreated from the literal edge of her seat and relaxed back in the chair. She’d been terrified that whomever had damaged the vessel that they’d found would come looking for it, and in turn attack them. That’s why she’d sent for the Theseus, but even under Captain Callum’s watchful eye beside them, she was still on pins and needles, expecting an enemy to drop in on them at any time. Being back at OC with a fully functional starbase to protect them as well as a veritable Fleet nearby finally allowed her to take a breath.
“Station control is locked onto our salvage. They’re ready to tractor it, Captain,” Ensign Wiser called back from the Conn. His tone sounded relieved. Like he too was glad to be rid of it. As if it were a ship-sized grenade just waiting to go off.
“Release the tractor beam and bring us in to dock,” DeHavilland ordered, turning now to her erstwhile First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rue. “I want all data we have on this thing transferred to Commander Quinn.”
“Yes, Captain.” Rue practically had only to address a linked missive with the appropriate security measures, which he commenced to do from his station; he’d been compiling the crew’s efforts at scans and analytics during the return trip, making the matter straightforward enough to communicate, though no less puzzling in the data itself. “For efficiency's sake, I recommend that Chief Edgerton present to him our initial findings.”
“Agreed,” DeHavilland answered.
She watched the small overlay on the forward glass, to the right side, showing the debris being tractored away while Wiser directed the ship towards its dedicated docking berth. It still felt ominous just watching it drift away.
“Ensign, let tractor control know I want top level security protocols around that debris once it’s on station,” she ordered sharply.
“Aye, Captain,” he answered solemnly.
Corvus turned her attention down to the terminal in her arm and sent a message to Lieutenant Winslow to lock down the section of deck that the debris was being assigned with armed personnel. No one was getting in or out without her express knowledge.
She waited until the Pathfinder was fully docked to the station and that the debris was settled onto its final resting place before finally allowing herself to get up out of the Captain’s chair and head for the docking access. She stopped in the Ready Room (tiny as it was on the Nova-class) and gathered her small kit of clothes and other accoutrement and headed out to the docking arm.
The crew was disembarking as she made her way down and cleared a path for her without a word. Corvus was already going over in her head what she wanted to do, who she wanted to talk with and thirty other different topics including when to tell the Admiral what she’d found. But first, she wanted to see the debris first hand. She wanted to be see and touch it. Not that it’d make the analysis any less potent, but she had to.
One of the Command Yeomen was waiting for her at the docking arm egress and she handed him her bag, “I want Senior Staff in the CIC in half an hour,” she ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” the Junior Grade nodded quickly, turning left to grab the lift up to CIC but pusing a few steps away to see Corvus going right towards the ring control tower and the access to the docking station the debris was at. He faltered for a moment and then marched on the way he had been.
Corvus moved like a woman possessed - on a mission to get to the bottom of this mystery and understand just what they were dealing with. She went right past a few of the inner ring merchants that were quietly hawking their wares, addressing her directly, without a word and went quickly through the corridors. She was pleasantly surprised to see a pair of armed Starfleet Security Officer’s standing at the entrance. They nodded curtly to her as she tapped the door access control and stepped through.
The debris had been set down on a huge landing platform generally used for larger craft bigger than a shuttle but not large enough to dock with the berthing arms. Mostly civilian craft and the like. The pad was behind a forcefield from the void so that the passengers could embark and disembark easily. But even given that size, the debris covered the entire length of the space. There weren’t too many people there yet, just a few security personnel and a pair of Engineering officers she recognized from the Pathfinder’s compliment. It would take Commander Quinn some time to get down.
As she stepped around a large section of debris three times as tall as her, she found a man in Command Red staring at a section. Her initial reaction was surprise to see him there, but quickly followed by a harumph of approval. Of course he was here. He was always on the ball.
“Commander,” Corvus greeted him, coming over to stand next to him.
“Welcome back, Captain,” Thaddeus answered solemnly.
She offered him the data PaDD in her hand that showed the anticipated configuration of the vessel. “We think the design looks something like this,” she said, holding it out.
Thad shook his head, “Forward configuration is too Starfleet. We’re not as aggressive,” he explained, pointing to the fins that had been put on the back section. “They go here. With firing points on the tips,” he explained.
“You sure that makes sense?” she asked.
He shrugged, “Nothing about their designs make sense. At least not by our standards.”
“... their designs… you’ve seen this configuration before?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “The Admiral didn’t tell you when you sent this to him?” he asked, worriedly.
“I’ve haven't’ sent this to the Admiral yet. I wanted more def-,” she started
“Captain, you need to call the Admiral right now,” Thaddeus cut her off. His normal cold, calm confidence suddenly replaced with extreme agitation and, unless she was mistaken, fear. He’d never spoken to her in this way, and certainly never cut her off, which made the statement all the more profound. She felt a chill run up her spine again. “Why? What is this? Who are they?”
He sighed, “They’re trouble, Captain. Trouble that will make the Dominion feel like a walk in the park. You need the Admiral on this. Now.”
Corvus looked to Thad and then to the ship and back again, “Alright,” she breathed in reply. “Alright.”