Operation Introduction
Posted on 09 Mar 2023 @ 6:29pm by Lieutenant Commander Limmi Ovim & Lieutenant Sibyl Danzer
Edited on on 12 Mar 2023 @ 10:11am
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: Obsidian Command
Timeline: MD08, 1000 HRS
2437 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure
"Lieutenant Danzer, please report to the Tactical Suite," Limmi spoke to her comm badge as she rounded a side of the pillar that partitioned the conference area from her personal office. She'd expected a modest space similar to the Ithaca from which she came, thinking that the Stardock type's 23rd century origins meant its space utilization would ape that of period starships in that the hardware needed to provide its strategic capabilities would comprise most of its additional size. Despite the former's miniaturization since, she figured the old bases far too vast to be refitted to capitalize.
Limmi instead found herself awed by a combination suite that rivaled staterooms aboard any ship class she'd been aboard, noteworthy in that she'd served aboard behemoths like the Galaxy and Ascencion. She guessed the suite's total area to be in the thereabouts of 60 square meters, biased toward the conference area given its need to accommodate an eight-person meeting. Its slightly offset multifunction table enabled the entrance foyer's continuation into a corridor that spanned through the office, ending at an echoic viewport overlooking a rim of the upper utility ring. Back at the threshold, an L-shaped desk matching the aforementioned pillar's width faced the outer bulkhead and was aligned to create a semi-enclosed space containing an ergonomic chair. A plush armchair sat opposite of it. Contrary to the impression lent by its bulk, it could be spun to form a conversational arrangement with the coffee table and matching sofa flanking it.
The presence of contents of the cutaway shelf behind the desk lured Limmi's eyes. She wondered whether they were general purpose or personal property, as the doors hadn't indicated that the suite was currently assigned to anyone. . .
When Lieutenant Danzer arrived, there was the gulf of empty meeting space between herself and Limmi. "Commander Ovim," she acknowledged politely, pausing inside of the door briefly, but in order to cut down on the awkwardness of distance, then made her way around the conference area to the furnished desk space, coming to present herself at an easy sort of ready stance. "Lt. Sibyl Danzer, reporting as ordered," she said both pleasantly and formally.
Limmi had taken to reading a tablet she'd pulled from the shelf when Danzer entered. The doors' distance-diluted noise aside, her senses detected a presence within the concentrated sphere of her focus. She stood before Danzer beckoned and moved to receive her at the threshold on the main throughfare side.
"Ordered?" Her face bunched in confusion. "I said 'please,' didn't I?" she ribbed.
A slight smile painted Sibyl's face, realizing that the new Department head wasn't going to be as starchy in the collar as some others in the station management. "You did, ma'am."
"Well, you know who I am," Limmi chuckled, tacitly inviting Danzer in by turning to reenter the desk nook, "and probably more about the inner workings of the station than I. So, while I've just left a strategic briefing with the senior staff, I'm wary of introducing myself to the department with orders. Apart from you, apparently," she added through a wry smile.
Sibyl followed Limmi inside, a little more relaxed in her posture but still attentive and reserved about how and where she stood, pausing before the desk Limmi had assumed and waiting for more indication as to her reason for being called on. "I've been assigned here for a couple of months, yes. You had a briefing?" Painfully aware that leadership was holding all information close to the chest, Sibyl couldn't reign in her curiosity, stopping just shy of asking to be told herself just what the meeting was about.
Limmi felt as much and didn't blame her. Sibyl was the ranking Tactical officer prior to her arrival, yet her discussions earlier this morning with the tactical operators in control led her to suspect that she was treated more like a facilitator for command oversight. It made sense; a deep space fleet command far surpassed the scope of her shipboard CTO experience. Giving her full authority would've imposed a precipitous learning curve at best, set her up for failure at worst. But it also represented a regression of purpose she was struggling to accept.
"I did," Limmi said aloud. Turning to exchange the tablet she'd brandished earlier for an empty one, she spoke again via telepathy, directing the message toward the flicker of clairsentience that reminded her that Sybil was half Betazoid. "And the attendees were ordered to keep the details in confidence, so I can't simply tell all. But rest assured, I'm going to involve you. I need your help. So have a seat and let's discuss what that looks like."
Freezing mid-inhale, Sibyl seemed startled by the clear ring of telepathy at first, before consciously relaxing. It wasn't so much unpleasant as unexpected. "Sorry." Sibyl smiled as she settled into one of the guest chairs. "I didn't really grow up with much exposure to many from Betazed," she admitted. Sibyl wondered how clear her thoughts could be read if she were intentional about it. She'd encountered a few native Betazoids in the fleet, but they had seemed more reserved with telepathy around her, preferring standard non-telepathic vocalizations and such. Sibyl had assumed that they were just not close enough friends to engage with her. "So, the details are confidential. I'm not surprised to hear it." She tried to recover the topic at hand. "Where would you like me to begin to help?" There were multiple areas where Sibyl suspected her work was already being driven by the top-secret concerns of the day, but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. The Commander had the bigger picture, and she could only assume she was needed to help fill in the details that already concerned her work in Tactical.
"Tell me what you're currently tasked with first," Limmi said, figuring it likely that Sibyl was already handling aspects of contact with the Pyrryx but hadn't been told to expect further developments. She'd have an avenue for bestowing her with more knowledge if so, as not only was it plausible for a tactical officer to project threats but expected. Limmi hadn't forgotten about unsettling her with her telepathic contact, but sensed her commitment to the situation at hand and chose to respect it.
"Everything I know," said Sibyl, "is coming from the project in Bay Alpha Nine. Security around it is being managed by station Marines and the specialists are being pulled out of multiple departments under tight security. Putting two and two together, we saw through the windows that the Pathfinder had recovered some kind of debris and there's footage of it, even among the civilians. Lots of speculation as to what it's about. The project manager over Bay A-9 is a Grazerite named Tobias-Hirsh. He's a defense systems specialist they brought on. He has been providing Commander Zayne with recommended defense systems adaptations and drilling scenarios. Zayne's office forwards the reports to the departments they affect. In tactical, I organize the drills with security, plan system modifications, or arrange engineering upgrade teams."
"So you know of the debris," Limmi said. "That's good." She input the organizational details Sibyl divulged into her tablet. "Because while I can't divulge all of the details concerning it, what I will tell you is that there's an expectation of facing something like whatever it composed, sooner rather than later."
Sensing the weight of the truth behind Limmi's statement, Sibyl got goosebumps. "Some of these scenarios coming down the pipeline are. . .outrageous. Subspace weapons, communications black outs, heavy radiation, massive blitzing attacks. I had hoped it was just over-the-top performance drills."
"Definitely not the impression I got at the briefing," Limmi replied, looking up. "How has the department responded thus far?"
"They're performing well. The heightened alert status and civilian lockdowns have made everyone more edgy, but they don't know what to expect. The longer it goes on, the more anxiety builds. Staying focused on the tasks given seems to be the only outlet for that build up. Many of our best people are eager to make better contributions, but since this seems to be so well guarded at the top, there's no way to fully play to the strengths of broader personnel resource aside from acting within the distributed task. People are trying not to let their imaginations run away with them, but as you know, tactical operates best based on the data we have to work with. We can sharpen the swords, but blindfolded, we don't know what stance to take."
Limmi nodded. Sibyl's assessment confirmed her expectations, though she was impressed with its organization. "I've been ordered to partake in scenario planning with command. But even with the restricted information, our understanding is too immature to forecast much beyond basic response and coordination. We'll be filling in a lot of blanks because our only references other than the debris in A-9 are two disparate encounters we still don't fully understand." It wasn't an impossible feat; the Pyrryx weren't so idiosyncratic as to transcend basic strategic and tactical considerations. However, as Sybil had indicated, Starfleet's limited systemic knowledge of them left ample room for surprises as to the means with which they achieved their ends.
Limmi mulled her situation. She intended to review the aforementioned encounters in detail and had no doubt she could deduct some useful takeaways. However, it also occurred to her that Sybil provided the opportunity for a unique perspective to augment her own. She was far less removed from ship service and now had station experience in her repertoire.
"Would you happen to be one of those looking to make better contributions?"
With Limmi's nod to how little information Starfleet had on the threat, Sibyl realized that all the extreme scenarios were coming from uncertainty at the top, and hence the widespread confusion. Her mind was already working. How do you defend against anything and everything from anywhere? Limmi might not be able to give her the briefs directly, but now as a dedicated department head read in by the Command Staff, Limmi could at least filter down and direct things based on what was known. Sibyl believed she could stand blindfolded as long as Limmi could call out what was on the horizon.
Her dark eyes flicked back upwards to meet Limmi's. "Yes ma'am. To the best of my ability."
Limmi smiled encouragingly at Sybil, her senses having gleaned the integrity of the younger woman's presentation. "So that means you're going to accept my offer to become assistant lead, right?" she began, letting a playful inflection slip into her voice. "Because your experience and certainly the oversight you've carried out up to now would otherwise make trying to slot someone between us rather awkward."
Already sensing a good working relationship on the horizon, Sybil didn't much hesitate. "Far be it from me to make it more awkward than necessary. I accept."
"You could have made me sweat a little," teased Limmi, batting a hand at the quick accession. "I'd have attributed it to my earlier misjudgment in communicating telepathically." Her cheeks reddened. "Sorry about that. I haven’t spent much time among other Betazoids either. I'm native, but my parents were civil consultants during the mid-century colonization boom. I spent most of my childhood with them on the fringes."
"I'm only half Betazoid. I can't initiate links like full telepaths can. So I guess I was just a little startled. It's not a big deal. My mom was the Telepath and she split and left me with my dad when I was a toddler. I grew up on his freighter, The Third Noon. There... were a lot of stars in his home system. But I wouldn't mind getting used to it, the telepathy. It's a hell of a communications advantage in a black out, for one. As it is, I rely on empathy all of the time. Smart Tacticians don't leave their inherent advantages off the table."
"True," Limmi sighed, largely out of relief for Sibyl's amenability in the face of telepathy's soft stigmatization within greater Federation society. The discovery of the Selevians' subversive use of it during the post-Dominion War years sparked suspicion of other similarly capable member species. Other geopolitical developments kept it from coming to a head, still, Federation telepaths tended to tread carefully with their abilities outside of trusted circles these days, not wanting to be the cause of rekindled tensions. And within many of their settlements, there were schisms along constituents over how to move forward.
"I'm expecting to need to use my. . .soul beam to better our bead on this adversary," she continued. "I'm glad you're receptive to it because there's always risk in casting one's mind at an unknown entity. I'll assume it alone if necessary, yet it's almost, always best done with support." The weight of what she was considering asking of Sybil incited another pause of Limmi. . .
Sibyl got the impression Limmi might be considering forcing a telepathic attack on the mysterious threat. "Unconventional," she commented, "but often unanticipated." She folded her hands to try to hide her nerves surrounding the subject.
"But let's focus on conventional preparations for now," Limmi finally resumed, shifting toward her desk terminal. Sibyl's trepidation resonated loudly despite her attempt to button it, and the older woman didn't want her focus compromised by an idea that despite not being as extreme as she thought, nonetheless needed refinement. "Commander Zayne was vague about how much time he'd give me to acclimate because he—and command by extension—lack a timetable for when to expect this trouble at our doorstep. I'm expecting him to summon me just after lunch hours."
She stopped to eye Sibyl gravely. "I've decided to sponsor your access to some of the classified information because I want a supplemental perspective. I also think it prudent for the person who supervised my department's preparations up to this point to see what they're expected to hold up against. But you're not to share or discuss what I'm going to show you with anyone else. Understood?"
It made sense, having been deputized now, to also be given a part of the picture. Sibyl matched her gravity. "Completely understood, Commander."
"Okay." After additional inputs into the terminal, Limmi's gaze rose to the screen centered on the bulkhead separating them from space, which began displaying the lead-up to the battle between Ardeshir, the Pyrryx ship, and later the Mississippi. "Here's how that jigsaw puzzle in A-9 was originally meant to appear. . ."
