Lt Commander Taybrim - Briefing (Tag: Udas/Matthews/Kellan/Peters)

[Jamie LeBlanc]

((Conference Room - StarBase 118))

::From the short conversation with Commander Udas, Sal could intuit that the Andorian officer didn't just have an interesting sounding record - the scientist has obviously had some very interesting run ins with the Romulans, something which left a discernible echo of dark emotions that the telepath couldn't fail to notice.

Not that Sal was surprised nor judgmental of that. His own run-ins with the Romulans had run the gamut from hopeful to downright hostile with the bitter aftertaste of failure. So he understood, perhaps all too well, what sort of experiences lay behind the clouded gaze.

That didn't stop the Betazoid from thinking that Udas would be an excellent candidate to sit down, ply with alcohol and get stories from. And listening to stories from interesting officers was, perhaps, Sal's favorite pastime.

However pastimes aside, it was all business as the rest of the crew started to enter.::

Peters: Hope I'm not interrupting

Udas: ::rising from his seat:: Not at all, I am Lieutenant Commander Udas. Pleasure to meet you.

Taybrim: ::He rose and offered introductions:: Commander, this is Lieutenant Peters, one of the leads in the Engineering department. ::And a broad gesture:: Please help yourself to breakfast.

::As the door opened he moved forward to meet the officer who entered. Again Lieutenant Kellan was one he knew of rather than actually meeting. He had read Sheridan's reports, and was impressed by how much the officer had accomplished in a short time.

Perhaps the executive officer had more empathy than most as to how hard a recovery process and successive integration into Starfleet was. While he hadn't ever been trapped in some alien experiment and suffered psychological torture, he had taken a near-lethal electrical shock into his body which had fried his telepathy several years ago.

Which reminded him... he was still overdue for an appointment with Dr Pon Pon.

Later. He would have to take care of that later.

He shook that thought from his head and offered Kellan a smile::

Kellan: Lieutenant Kellan Joran reporting for duty, Commander.

Taybrim: A pleasure to welcome you to the team, Lieutenant. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know you arrived just recently...

::he had taken a longshot calling the Bajoran, but he had hoped it reached him at an available time - and it appeared everything had worked out.::

Kellan: I just got here yesterday, Sir. I think I'd been aboard for just under an hour when you called.

::His ginger brows knit just a little - he had been cutting it awfully close.::

Taybrim: I apologize on the hastiness. But I'm glad you could make it.

Kellan: I enjoy being busy, Sir. You're probably not surprised to hear that from an engineer.

Taybrim: ::A light chuckle:: No, I have to admit it seems to be a trait shared amoung engineers.

::It hadn't escaped Sal's attention that quite a few of the crew had served together on the USS Vigilant. As he stepped back Udas stepped forward and there was a wellspring of camaraderie between the two. If he remembered correctly both Matthews and Falcon also served on the Vigilant - as well as Chen. It was starting to feel like he was witnessing an unusual reunion.

All the more so when Matthews arrived, making this a suddenly full house. Sal settled himself as the officers interacted, looking up from his notes only when a empathic burst of emotion rolled off Matthews as he entered.

The Betazoid glanced up, eyes darting from Matthews, Udas, Kellan and back. Well, well, well - there appeared to be some sort of relationship between the men - or more precisely between Kellan and Matthews that went beyond what simply was on their records. Sal's guess would be romantic, or something close, ended in a bad way. He almost, but not quite settled back with his counselor's hat on (a hat he hadn't worn in a very long time, and yet seemed to serve him well ever since he donned the red collar) ::

Matthews: Hey Smurf

Udas: Hey yourself. ::looking Matthews up and down.:: You'd think just once you'd comb your bloody hair.

::Sal found himself hiding a smirk, wondering if Matthews had stayed up too late watching tribble vids or something similarly brain rotting::

Matthews: ?

Kellan: ?

Udas: ::leaning towards the Bajoran:: ::whispering:: He'll come around. I think.

::As the men settled, Sal sat up straight and looked between them::

Taybrim: We'll get started momentarily. Please help yourself to breakfast or something to drink. ::while everyone took seats he handed out PADDs with a rundown of the information they were going to go over on them::

Peters: Sorry, forgot to introduce myself when I walked in. Lieutenant JG Cadfael Peters,
engineer.

Matthews/Kellan: ?

Taybrim: All right, let's get started. Six days ago we lost all communication from the registered Federation freighter the SS Annabelle's Lament. Three days ago the science survey vessel USS Poseidon found the remains of the Annabelle's Lament within the vicinity of the neutral-zone Miranda VII Cargobase, and contacted Starfleet. To make a long story short, Starfleet wants us to find out what destroyed the Annabelle's Lament.

Peters: That's interesting...I look forward to getting a look at it. oO And doing something useful for once. Oo

Matthews/Peters: ?

Udas: What more can you tell us, sir?

::He settled back, taking in a long deep breath, deciding to start with the facts of the matter.::

Taybrim: The Annabelle's Lament was a Norkova class refit of the Antares class design. It was a registered freighter that has a long history of contract work with Starfleet. It has a full record of routine maintenance, licenses and certifications. It was carrying eighteen crewmembers, forty seven passengers and a full load of cargo - all destroyed. The Miranda VII docking control was unhelpful at best, saying the freighter has engine trouble and exploded after launch.

Udas/Matthews/Peters/Kellan: ?

Taybrim: Yes. ::He gave a short nod, looking about the room:: In short Starfleet suspects foul play. This is not in the least because the Annabelle's Lament was just in for complete maintenance less than three weeks before this incident, and all systems were checked in excellent condition. Also, the Captain of the Annabelle's Lament - one Gij Arrhimen, is the younger brother of decorated Starfleet Captain Haz Arrhimen. So, yes, there is the added layer of Starfleet politicking in the question of what happened. Which we hope won't factor in with the investigation. Either way, Gij Arrhimen was lauded as a solid captain, and questions were raised before his brother got involved.

Udas/Matthews/Peters/Kellan: ?

Taybrim: Yes, the Romulans. ::he gave a long slow nod, letting them digest everything:: Miranda VII Spaceport is in neutral territory in the trinity sector, close to the Romulan border. The Resiliency - a Romulan political group that has a terrorist branch - has been highly active in the area, and Starfleet believes there are too many coincidences to ignore.

Udas/Matthews/Peters/Kellan: ?

~*~
tags/tbc
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Lt Commander Sal Taybrim
Executive Officer
StarBase 118 Ops


"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"






~Julian Beck