Status - Part 1

Posted on 21 Nov 2016 @ 2:57am by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal & Commander Nicholas Means & Captain Ricardo (Rico) Montoya & Lieutenant Commander Alanna Wells & Lieutenant Trei Jansum & Captain Korra Wen

1,525 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: M13-D: The Alundra Host
Location: Observation Lounge

The Achilles hung in space as the work continued to repair and scavenge the one enemy ship for parts. He could have simply blown it up and been on his way, but the voyage ahead of them was filled with unknowns and the resources available could be used for future repairs or even trade with those they might encounter.

At any rate he was eager to get under way and wanted to know when they could do so. As he waited for everyone to arrive he reviewed those he was considering for XO. Most were still in stasis but others were not. He was actually surprised that some hadn’t applied for the post but that was their choice.

Turning towards the window he set the padd aside a rose from his seat and stood at the window watching the dismantling of the starship.

[Marine Detachment Offices]

Korra sat in silence as she finished up her report on the ISS Achilles incident. Her head was still numb from all that had happened, though her ribcage wasn't. Medical had done a wonderful job of patching up her three cracked ribs, courtesy of a well-placed concussion grenade, but they were still very tender. Every breath reminded her of the near-death experience. Yet she survived when her superior didn't, and somehow managed to pull a victory out of her hat.

They had lost a lot in that battle: Major Sharpe, countless Marines, several fighters...but Korra lost something she never suspected was at risk. During the chaos, she found herself face to face with her mirror self. The experience still weighed heavily on her mind. Even as she wrote the report and compiled a list of KIA, she couldn't get that encounter out of her head. It was a little odd, considering the number of simulations she ran where she fought a hologram of herself. One would almost say it was funny if it hadn't shaken her to her core.

"Captain, it's time."

Korra looked up towards the reptilian face of her First Sergeant, and nodded. With an audible groan, she forced herself out of her chair and headed towards the conference room. Captains Gruun and Shran had already left for the meeting: with Sharpe gone, Korra received a field promotion. After the dust settled, there was some question as to whether or not Korra was entitled to promotion given her service history and Shran's relative seniority over the other captains. Though her rocky career didn't seem to bother anyone when they lost Sharpe and volunteered her, she felt other matters were more important and didn't press the issue. Marine bodies needed collected, letters to family needed drafted, and the discussion could wait until the Admiral was there to give a definitive final word.

She walked on autopilot through the corridors until a high-pitched voice caught her attention. "Captain Wen! Captain Wen!"

Korra looked up and saw a platinum-blonde scientist pushing past other people in the corridor to catch up to her. "Captain Wen! I'm so glad I ran in to you!"

The scientist embraced the Marine, and Korra winced as her ribs cried out in agony. "Hello...Dr...Engels..." the Marine wheezed.

"Oh, so sorry!" Engels released her grip. "And please call me Elena."

"Glad to see you're doing well."

"Thanks to you. I never got to thank you for that."

Upon returning to the Achilles, there were some members of the Terran boarding parties desperately looking for any escape they could find. One took Dr. Engels hostage and was trying to use her to get off the ship. Security and Marine forces were in a standoff as he tried to make his way to a shuttle craft. Korra saw the spectacle upon deboarding from her returning shuttle, and was in no mood for games at that point. As she walked past, she did what seemed to be the most sensible thing: drew her side arm and put a slug in her abductor's brain without even breaking stride. There was some controversy over her solution to the problem, which would no doubt come up later, but at least the doctor was safe.

Korra shrugged. "It was nothing. Sorry about the blood."

Dr. Engels made a face, and then forced a smile. "At least it wasn't mine, eh?" She could sense something wasn't right. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Korra lied. "Just tired and a little sore." She wasn't ready to have this conversation with her First Sergeant yet, let alone some random person she just met. "Listen, I have a briefing in five..."

Dr. Engels put up her hands. "Oh, don't let me keep you. I'll see you around, maybe?"

She made her way into the conference room and found a seat next to Gruun and Shran. The three sat in patient silence as the rest of the staff arrived.

[Science]

Alanna had not been in the middle of the fray, but she had been involved in the information-gathering. She was still trying to figure out some of the data she'd acquired during their encounter with the Mirror ship, but she knew that it would take time to analyze. It was a puzzle her team would happily work on until someone found the key to putting all the pieces together.

She was also taking time to talk to each of the scientists in her department to make sure they were mentally and physically coping with recent events. It wasn't that she didn't trust the counselors on board, but she knew that many would not voluntarily seek out help. However, they might talk to her over a bottle of wine or a cup of tea. That, too, had taken up time.

She checked her chronometer and picked up her pace. She wasn't late, but she didn't want to take a risk that she would miss a turbolift. She walked into the room with minutes to spare and smiled at the others already seated. "Hello, everyone," she said cheerfully as she took a seat.

Korra gave the Lt. Commander a nod and Gruun returned her greeting. Captain Shran cleared his throat. "Lt. Commander Wells, it's good to see you. I hope your department weathered the storm well."

"Fortunately, we took little damage," Alanna said. "I have half a dozen scientists in sickbay and several labs being repaired. How is your department?"

"Bruised, but still standing," Shran replied confidently. "It'll take more than a skirmish to keep us down." He turned somber again. "Sorry to hear about your people. I hope they pull through alright. If there's anything we can do, just say the word."

"They've been through a lot." Korra added with a hollow tone. "They're a special group of people to weather an attack like they did."

"Thank you," Alanna said. "I'm glad your people came through without serious injury. They did a great job keeping us safe. So many of us survived because of the work you did."

Commanders Means and Montoya had met in the transporter room and had been talking about the tactics of the fight the whole time as they made their way to the meeting. On entering the room they took seats opposite each other and to either side of the head of the long table.

Montoya glanced behind him at their CO staring out the window. With raised brows he shrugged questioning at the other already in the room.

Alanna shrugged. She had no idea.

Lt Jansum, the new Chief Sec/Tac, entered the lounge. Tall, with a tanned complexion and curly black hair, his usual smile had been replaced by depression. He needed some space to get his head straight, but it was unlikely he'd get it. Not until things settled down. Then, he intended to go to the holodeck and meditate in his usual program. He looked forward to that, and some counseling.

Da`nal turned seeing most of his remaining senior staff had arrived, though he noted the absence of Dr. Frece and the presence of Dr. Williams to whom he gave a slight nod to. Normally he would have taken his place behind 'his' chair but today he took a seat. "Dr. Williams, what is the prognosis for Commander Stone?"

His mouth wet dry as the eyes in the room all shifted in his direction. "Well sir, due to the levels of radiation from the Terran weapon that destroyed his shuttle and the decompression damage to his body we had to place him in stasis in order to keep his neural pathways from deteriorating. He won't be returning to duty anytime soon I'm afraid."

"Thank you..." Addressing the rest of those assembled he continued. "As you are all aware we are now lacking in several key positions in addition to our Executive Officer, several department heads still need to be selected. Until that task is complete we will have to make due..."

Alanna nodded. It was sad, but also one of the down sides to being gone for so long. She didn't know the man well, but the few times she'd worked with him she'd been quite impressed.

Trei looked down. He hated times like these.


TBC

 

RSS Feed