Making A Start, Part III

Posted on Wed Jan 26th, 2022 @ 10:56am by Captain Ivan Petrov & Commander Cyrus Cain & Lieutenant Commander Troy Marshall & Lieutenant Cael Maz & Captain Fergus Williams & Lieutenant Johnathan Anderson III & Lieutenant JG Melissa Jones & Callie Marshall & Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin & Lieutenant Lionel Morrison & Petty Officer 3rd Class Eritrea Ohmsford

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Briefing Room, Deck 1
Timeline: MD 4, 0745 Hours
1499 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

The captain stood and took up position behind his chair, his gaze falling on each and everyone of his senior staff members.

“All good questions, Mr. Marshall. Let us get to the mission briefing.” He said, and then shifted his weight in preparation for the task at hand.

“Once, years ago, I was Vice Admiral and Head of Imperial Starfleet Security. Years in that role gave me the lay of the land on Terran politics and the inner workings of Starfleet as well as the Imperial Court. The Emperor came to know me by my first name and he valued my counsel on our efforts to push out past our home system and to reclaim our stolen Empire. You don’t know what happened next, but the result of that happening was that I was put in great risk of being assassinated by my rivals; those power hungry animals. So, after a lifetime of faithful service to the Empire, I was forced to flee the Homeworld in disgrace, going to the only place I could think of where those damned assassins wouldn't find me…the Alliance.”

“I went, specifically, to Cardassian space, where I quickly fell into the service of a hardened Gul named Dumrat…yes, that’s right… he made me a slave.” The Captain looked around the room again, pausing, knowing this might come as a shock to some of the crew. Terran slavery was most disgusting and unnatural. Terrans, meant to dominate the galaxy, should never be subjugated by the inferior races. “But my story did not end there. I worked to get Dumrat’s ear on military matters, and the more he listened to me, the higher in the Alliance he rose. Eventually, in 68, he freed me from my bondage and named me his military advisor.” he continued, his gaze darkening.

“I am telling you all this because it is important that you understand how my new position gave me freedom and access to the security mainframes of the Cardassian world of Rakal V” he said, pausing again. His moniker given to him by the Emperor himself upon his return was “the Butcher of Rakal V”. Details would clearly follow.

“Late last year, I was contacted by one of the Terran rebels working within the Alliance. This ragtag group of our oppressed people did not impress me at first, but after they showed their metal by taking over Terrok Nor, I was as good as recruited I took leadership of a small cell on Rakal in secret while working for the Gul during the day; we began to plan the most deadly events ever to befall the Cardassians. A biological weapon dispersed deadly poison over half the world, killing millions , including the inhabitants of one of the Alliance’s military strongholds. Now I stand before you today, restored to my homeland, and ready to go back and do it again…but this time….more deadly….much much more deadly.”

He walked around the table to the screen display and began the slated presentation. An image of a planet, bluish green with ruddy green land masses appeared on the screen. It rotated slowly.

“Quonor, a world sitting at the edge of the Badlands, is a Cardassian world rich with culture and history. Some of their best artists and thinkers come from there, but not for long.. we have been tasks to travel under cloak and cover deep into Alliance space and deploy a most deadly bio-weapon over the world, killing every single inhabitant in an instant…and showing the Alliance the terrible power of the Empire’s Vengeance!”

His voice echoed through the room before hitting the walls and dissipating. His eyes were intense in his face or clinched in leather cradled balls.

“This is a test run; if we fail, they will likely abandon the project, but if we succeed...well, the Alliance can't fight us effectively if we decimate their homeworlds. I will give out department assignments and tell you the steps we need to take to achieve this mission, and then I will answer your questions. The first element of our mission is our travel. We need to get to Quonor unseen and unheard, making use of our cloaking device as well as anomalies and other phenomena. Flight Control and Intelligence will work together to plot the best course and to form our strategy on sneaking deep into the heart of Alliance space.”

Johnathan nodded as he took mental notes of the briefing. As he never forgot anything that he was exposed to, he never needed to take physical notes. He looked at Morrison and nodded. The two of them would have an extensive meeting later that morning.

Lionel merely inclined his head "Yes Captain" He would make sure any meeting was short. He had no time for flight jocks. They would do as instructed or face consequences.

“The second aspect of our mission is the weapon itself. We will be using an experimental bio-weapon, and we will be the first to do so. Thalaron radiation is extremely destructive to biological tissue and turns a man to dust within 10 seconds of exposure. A large amount has been transported aboard in secret. Science and Engineering will work together with medical to figure out how to safely store this material in an atmospheric disbursal device, and shall work with Security to fit this disbursal device into a torpedo casing. Each of you have something we need to get this done: Jones loves to kill and knows how to do it, Maz is an expert on bio-technologies, and Marshall is an adept hand at weapon function. I want it to work, but there’s something else just as important: this is by far the most dangerous task of them all…try not to kill us all, please. A thaloron leak on this ship would give the Empire a mean taste of its own medicine.

Maz listened to the whole tale with interest. It was something he had not heard before, that was sure. But then again, being in this universe tended to bring a lot of first tales of suspense. He looked down to his PADD and began to work on the schematics based on the tri-cobalt torpedo casing which was bigger and the second deadliest weapon in the arsenal. Bio-weapons had two sides to them, effectiveness and the ability to act with a degree of kindness. Whether the Captain saw it as a kind act, wiping a population out so quickly, he did not know. But he would do his job effectively so that he could continue his private work.

"Tell me Captain... Do these Cardassians have a god?" Melissa asked.

"They once had many, now they are monotheistic," Cael said simply, not looking up from his PADD.

"I intend to make this weapon so potent, that after they surrender; the Empire will be their gods." Melissa concluded.

Troy’s part of the assignment was relatively easy. He would just need to see the warhead configuration to determine if a torpedo or one of the probes would be the best delivery system for the weapon. It was essentially do nothing until Cael and Melissa did their work.

“And finally, the third aspect of the mission is the recon operation that will follow it. A landing party consisting of a senior staff officer and the Imperial Marines will beam down after dispersal to assess the damage and, particularly, to kill anyone bunkered in the government building in the capital city. Discipline Inspection will work with Operations and the Marines to plan this assignment and then the Marines will drill and re-drill to make sure they are ready.”

Callie was horrified at the whole idea of mass extermination but it didn’t show, she had spent years learning to bury her feelings. To show feelings showed weakness, that was something she couldn’t afford to show. She looked towards Petrov. “I’ll make sure there’s detailed scans available of the government building and surrounding areas Sir.”

The marine commander let out a puff of smoke as he thought through the situation. He had no problem killing the alliance but an untested weapon was always dangerous. He hated his men being used as test subjects. " Just send us the data and it will be done, captain. Should we pull the central computer while we're at it?" he added.

Callie looked towards the marine commander, he was very well controlled his mind was practically clamped down tight. She was however sensing a deep down sense of regret. She was curious to say the least.

Now that the orders were given, the captain looked at his crew with determination in his eyes. He was focused on his mission being a success, not only so that they could cripple the alliance foe, but also that he might redeem himself truly in the eyes of Imperial Starfleet.

“That is all, soldiers. Get the job done and we shall make history. Dismissed.”