Lt. Commander Foster - BRIEFING 1 - Big Footsteps to Follow
Jamie LeBlanc
((Offices – Raskor II))
Wyn Foster had assumed, at least for a time, that Commodore Taybrim would be leading this briefing. And, as so many things in life, assumptions merely got him in trouble. In the morning before the awards ceremony, Commodore Taybrim had called Commander Foster into his office. A massive office overlooking the green fields, massive beds of flowers and deep blue oceans of Raskor. It was gorgeous, Wyn could have looked out those windows for hours.
Instead, his eyes were fixed squarely on the Commodore.
Taybrim: Did you have any questions about the mission or the Drakos Cluster?
Wyn tipped his antennae downwards slightly. He had done his homework as readily as he would have pored over the medical information of a patient who was scheduled for surgery tomorrow.
Foster: Do we have up to date stellar cartography of the area?
The Commodore nodded.
Taybrim: Yes, I’m getting them uploaded into the MTF now. But you will need to enter the area carefully as we cannot predict all of the movement of the cluster.
That was to be expected in a mission of exploration. Wyn scanned the PADD one last time and then looked up.
Foster: And will you be present at the briefing, Sir?
The commodore offered the slightest shake of his head.
Taybrim: No, I will not be there. ::There was a pause, a heavy silence. Wyn flared both his eyebrows and his antennae, but he didn’t speak. Taybrim allowed the moment to settle before continuing.:: This is your crew now, Commander. Me being present will undermine your authority. I’m not going to do that to you.
Wyn’s overthinking mind cooked up a protest and before he could stop himself the words were already out of his mouth.
Foster: What if I don’t know the answer to one of their questions?
Once again the Commodore paused. And then he smiled, that warm unreadable smile that was all at the same time comforting and concerning.
Taybrim: Commander Foster, you have one of the sharpest minds I know. I watched it in motion when Praetor Taron was shot. And you know as well as I do that beyond the information you have at your foundation, the rest of the mission is about using the information you have to make the best decisions possible and gather more information along the way. You don’t need me for that.
There was silence again and Wyn realized the Commodore got him. Well, he would also ruminate on how the Commodore was correct later on, but in that moment he respected and feared Taybrim’s cool confidence.
There was, of course, no way Wyn would argue with him – doing so he would be forced to directly admit he was stupid, and Wyn wasn’t stupid and would never admit he was stupid.
So… Checkmate. He was doing this briefing without any training wheels.
Come on, Wyn. You’ve been in dozens of briefings. You’ve been a Starfleet officer for over a dozen years. You can do this.
~*~
((Main Meeting Room – Raskor II))
This room was also big. Everything on Raskor was big. Big, open, comfortable and beautiful. The kind of place you hoped you could vacation at or retire to.
The crew data was pre-loaded on the screens and in the PADDs. There was a breakfast buffet already laid out to one side with an assortment of breakfast beverages. And Wyn was early. Very early.
Oh, and just for Lyra Voss’s edification he had brought not one, but two delectable oat milk raktajinos – one in the mug she gave him for himself and one for her to sip or share.
It was go time.
He greeted the crew as they arrived and encouraged the early comers to partake in the breakfast offerings. And as the briefing time approached, Wyn stood at one end of the comfortably large briefing table The display behind him had a picture of a planetary system – well, a star, three planets and a massive field of debris.
Foster: Thank you everyone for joining me this morning. ::he drew in a breath, letting his eyes settle on the gathered.:: Let me cut to the chase. Last mission we deactivated some alien technology that contributed to the waves of memory loss. At the core we found, well, a suspicious power core that drastically amplified the alien artifact’s emissions just before the power core failed. ::He produced one of the inert power cores that Lieutenant T’Liss and her team had been investigating and placed it on the table. The screens in front of each crewmember started showing the information and breakdown of the core.:: We did a full scan of StarBase 118 and found eighteen more of these power cores in the civilian sector.
A troubling number, considering the disastrous results of the last power core failure.
Any: ?
Foster: Lieutenant Zel and the Intel tower determined that these cores are being sold on the independent markets. They are being touted as cheap sources of nearly unlimited power. And, if they are functioning correctly they do appear to fulfill that promise. The issue is the technology is some variant of a forced quantum singularity, similar to the power core of a Romulan Warbird on a much smaller level. Engineering still hasn’t determined how it works. What we have determined is that when they fail they don’t just lose power – they fail spectacularly, causing system overloads, massive power fluctuations and widespread damage depending on what they are powering.
Any: ?
He nodded, looking at anyone asking questions and then continuing on trying to focus on the most important facts, first.
Foster: The Intel Tower determined that these power cores entered the market no more than nine months ago. Considering the amount of documented failures, unlimited is a highly suspect marketing campaign. But they have been increasing popular among the independent and civilian populations and are spreading throughout the Trinity Sector. I guess they work well enough that people are still buying them. ::he drew in another breath to reset from his opinions back to the facts at hand:: We tracked sales back to a colony of Temurians traders in the Drakos Cluster.
Now he gestured to the planetary system displayed behind him.
Any: ?
Foster: This is the Drakos system, usually called the Drakos Cluster, because of the big asteroid field that surrounds the entire system. The third planet is inhabitable, but incredibly difficult to get to. Intel tells us that the Temurians, an independent race of scavengers and traders had set up a temporary base on one of the largest asteroids in the Drakos Cluster where they barter for supplies and sell large amounts of these power cores.
Any: ?
Foster: Correct, there is no clear evidence that the Temurians are actually involved in the creating of these power cores. They appear to only be the salesmen in the exchange. We believe that the Orion Syndicate is the entity behind the power cores, and are supplying the Temurians with the cores for sale. We don’t know what the agreements between the two groups is, and that’s going to be part of our focus.
Any: ?
Wyn drew in a deep breath and gestured towards the documents on the PADDs in front of everyone.
Foster: Furthermore, Intel has determined that there has been a shift in power in the Trinity Sector Orion Syndicate over the past two years. Over the past decade the area was dominated by the Saan family, a group that I would most quickly describe as a ‘mafia family.’ However during the Frontier Day infiltration Changelings also targeted the Saan family, destroying their matriarch, Oma Saan. The rest of the Saan retreated back to their home territory and Intel had determined that a new family – the Reence – have taken up power in the area. If the Saans were the mafia, the Reence fashion themselves as mad scientists. They’ve been making technological inroads into the Trinity Sector. ::He paused and let everyone digest that:: To that end, we believe one of the lesser members of the family – Onzion Reence – has been operating in the Drakos Cluster. Another focus of our mission is identifying his role in this and detaining him if possible.
Any: ?
~*~
~tags/tbc~
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OOC – for Part 1 you do not need to add any new tags, much like awards. This is the ‘get the information out to the characters’ scene.
Part 2 will encourage everyone to break up into mission groups and start tags as normal!
~*~
Lt. Commander Shar’Wyn Foster
Acting Commanding Officer
~Julian Beck
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