Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Mobilize the Shuttles
Addison MacKenzie
(( Bridge - Deck 01 - USS Artemis-A ))
The bridge team looked at the viewscreen as the map swirled around and zoomed to focus solely on an obscure warp trail. As the computer and tracked its potential path across the screen, a growing sense of trepidation grew across the bridge crew. MacKenzie let out an audible groan when she saw where it was headed.
Jetripar: A complication, Captain?
Storm: Response
Munro: That’s Nascaik territory :: beat :: If they reach that border, we won’t be able to follow them.
MacKenzie: ::shaking her head, trying to make sense of it:: Why, though? So they think they'll be free or we'll stop pursuing them?
Jetripar: No no. We can't let them just cower behind a border.
MacKenzie could feel the tension in the room... As far as she was concerned they were all aware of the tightrope on which they were walking and it was palpable in the room. As much as she wanted to apprehend the Afalqi, allowing them to make it to Nasciak territory would certainly complicate things, but perhaps not to the degree the perpetrators hoped.
Munro: Hopefully it won't come to that, Secretary.
Jovenan: If we don’t follow the third trail, they would be able to reach the Nascaik territory before we can intercept them. Would we be allowed to keep pursuing them beyond their border?
Storm: Response
MacKenzie raised a finger.
MacKenzie: Not so fast. I did help mediate their non-aggression pact with the Thama after all. The Nasciak are a difficult people, but I think they owe me one.
Jetripar: Now that's the reason we called Starfleet! Famed for their connections, quadrant-wide.
Jovenan: Havun and the others might not know this. They might have picked the Nascaik under the impression that we won’t pursue them there.
Storm: Response
MacKenzie: So, I suppose the question is: do we follow the obvious paths, or the outlier? Which way do we think they went?
Jetripar: I can see a case being made for any one of them. Though I will admit I can't see him even thinking of visiting a foreign territory he has no relationship with. I also wouldn't expect him to hide somewhere closely aligned with the Romulans, given some of the technology aboard his stolen vessel.
Munro: Unless you know something we don't know, it's unclear who he's been in contact with :: to MacKenzie :: But I do agree we should consider the most likely options based on the evidence we have.
The only thing that was making itself blindingly clear was that the perpetrators were going to great lengths to try to deceive their pursuers. Right now, the question as to why didn't matter - that would be answered once they could apprehend them.
Jovenan: On the other hand, they might have gone to one of the other options, expecting us to fall for the likeliest one, whichever that is.
Storm: Response
Jetripar appeared to consider that carefully.
Jetripar: Yes, I would say the Klingons seem the most likely candidate to me. Though I fear that Havun may not consider how unlikely they would be to let him leave.
MacKenzie raised an eyebrow.
Munro: Not the Romulans?
Jovenan: Didn’t you also find planted Klingon technology on the site? Would they use the same bluff twice?
Storm: Response
MacKenzie: I'm not so sure I believe that...
This is why he was here, and he was happy to help. He grimaced rather than beaming at the usefulness, however, due to the nature of the information he could share on their relationship.
Jetripar: You see, we had an... arrangement with the Romulans. The Barol system, while not officially under Romulan jurisdiction obviously, still has enough of their influence that they would likely turn the Afalqi over to one of their own rather than to us. They would not be pleased to learn we had allowed their technology to slip out of our hands.
Munro: An arrangement?
Another raised eyebrow from the commanding officer.
Munro: What route do you think Havun has taken?
Jovenan: The Barol system and the ngeb Station are more obvious options, but that could only make them better bluffs. The Nascaik route seems so much more unlikely that it wouldn’t fool us on itself, so it could be where they’re actually heading, just to get us off their tail.
Storm: Response
MacKenzie looked over as Jetripar shook his head and looked down.
Jetripar: Havun was never known for his organisational skills, and I don't see him having the courage to barge into unknown space and ask for shelter. No, I still think ngeb Base seems the most likely option.
Munro: Why would Havun do this? :: to MacKenzie :: I can't help but feel we're missing ‘the why’. If Secretary Jetripar is to be believed, Havun doesn't seem like he could pull this off by himself?
Storm/Jetripar: Response
Munro: Klingons don't feel right to me. They don't go in for this level of deception. Someone has been pushing them since we got to Meranuge IV and we have no evidence of their involvement. Are we willing to risk antagonising the Klingons and getting them involved? They wouldn't mind getting their hands on an experimental ship full of Romulan technology, I suspect?
Jovenan: The Klingon Empire is still our ally. Could we ask them for help?
MacKenzie: I could reach out to Klingon High Command, but I agree with Commander Munro - this doesn't feel very Klingon to me at all...
Storm/Jetripar: Response
Munro: Captain, if we select the one trail for the Artemis to track and send out the Atlas and the Prometheus to track the other trails at maximum warp, its unlikely that they would have been able to sustain the false trail for long and we can divert course?
MacKenzie nodded.
MacKenzie: I was thinking the same thing - they have a decent head start but surely they can't be too far ahead if we're still picking up the warp trails... but any false readings will fade out pretty quickly...
Storm/Jetripar: Response
Jovenan: The Argo class transports have the maximum speed of warp 7.5. It’s a question of how that compares to the Afalqi’s smallcrafts’ and drones’ performance.
MacKenzie looked to Jetripar and waited to see if he'd be able to reveal any information that might be able to help her weigh the best path forward.
Storm/Jetripar/Munro: Response
Jovenan: The Afalqi and its decoys have considerable headstart, but with our and the Argos’ sensors, we can negate a large portion of it. With their speed, the Argos would be able to reach a negative recognition in… two hours or less. The Artemis takes significantly less. Assuming the decoys don’t have other means to manipulate their signature.
Storm/Jetripar/Munro: Response
Jovenan: There’s also the possibility that if either of the Argos find the Afalqi, the Artemis needs to turn around to come face the Afalqi and help our transport. The further we’re apart, the longer it takes for the assistance to arrive.
MacKenzie: Is there any way to calculate how far off course we'd be if we chose the wrong path, and how much longer it might take for us to regroup with either of the shuttles if they find the Afalqi first?
Storm/Jetripar/Munro/Jovenan: Response
MacKenzie rested her left arm on the armrest of the captain's chair and propped her head up with her hand while the index finger of her right hand tapped the opposite armrest slowly as she considered the decision.
MacKenzie: Commander, mobilize the shuttle pilots and have them prepare the Atlas and the Prometheus for immediate launch.
Munro: Response
MacKenzie: The Atlas should proceed to the Barol system, and the Prometheus to ngeb Station. We'll head for Nasciak territory. I can't afford anyone but the Artemis to get caught near their territory - at least I'm confident in our ability to diffuse any situations that might come up.
Storm/Jetripar/Munro/Jovenan: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A