LCDR Nolen Hobart — A Little Light Treason
Nolen Hobart
((Stellar Cartography, Deck 16, USS Khitomer, in orbit of Alpha Trionus II))
Hobart: If the system defenses go down, or offline somehow, a single, well-equipped starship would be able to destroy everything. And hiding in that cloud would make a lot more sense.
Michaels: I suspect, sir, that our guests' original plan was to destroy "everything" with their high power torpedoes or to have us destroy everything. :: Lera shook her head. :: In any case, launching the probes and analysing the data will give us a much idea of what is happening.:: beat:: There is another possibility to consider though it is well beyond my pay grade... If the Alliance taskforce was... is... will be in the Kokopelli Cloud and they had no reason to believe we know that, an attack by Khitomer would take them by surprise. Just a thought. :: Lera turned to Hobart :: By your command, sir.
Lt. Commander Hobart nodded, and folded his arms as he turned and leaned his backside against the console beside Lieutenant LG Michaels. All reasonable, and, yes, certainly the runabout could have been capable of destroying everything if they were able to sneak in. It's why Nolen was beginning to question the “overwhelming force” descriptor offered by Admiral Lacy—if the system's defenses had been compromised from without or within, the attack wouldn't need much force at all to accomplish what Lacy described.
Hobart: Record this pattern, then get to the torpedo room to launch the probes.
Michaels: Response
Hobart: Better double-check our defenses, after that. I don't want a repeat of the Lagoon Nebula. But I'd rather avoid it if we can, Lieutenant.
Michaels: Response
His head bobbed to one side as a possibility weighed on him. He was being torn between a set of mutually exclusive theories. He knew the danger in that—getting stuck. He silently reminded himself that the only thing to do was the only thing an officer could ever do: make the best decision available, and be prepared for the consequences if it turns out wrong.
Hobart: If the force is as small as I suspect, we might hold them off. If it's as large as we've been told, this will be our last stand, and it will be brief. If we can find a way out of this without firing a shot, I'll take it.
Michaels: Response
Hobart: All right. Keep me apprised.
As Lieutenant Michaels left Hobart alone with his thoughts, he turned back towards the sector map, with its probe-scanning spheres and nebula vaguely resembling the shape of a mythical flautist. If their attackers were springing from there, the most efficient course of action to avoid bloodshed would be to ensure that's where the escaped General flew off toward.
It was then that Nolen realized something profound. The plan was potentially treasonous. And he didn't care. Nothing he'd seen so far suggested that simply letting the Alliance have their one prisoner back was going to cost the Federation more than the raid itself.
Hobart: =/\= Hobart to Lieutenant Semara. =/\=
Semara / Melville-Kilpatrick: =/\= Response =/\=
Hobart: =/\= Any luck so far? =/\=
Semara / Melville-Kilpatrick: =/\= Response =/\=
TBC
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Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3