[Mission Start] JP - Commodore Kells & Major Greaves: The Graveyard, Part 1
11 views
Skip to first unread message
Tony Colella
Oct 26, 2021, 10:10:19 PM10/26/21
to USS Thor – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
(( Strategic Operations Office #2, Deck 1, USS Thor ))
Aron normally would have held the initial mission briefing with Geoff in his ready room, but with Geoff officially on leave, and with Wes as his successor, and given the nature of this particular mission (which was way out from way out), Aron had decided to shift the venue slightly. Strat ops was only a dozen meters of corridor aft of the bridge, so it was only half a minute to get there, too. And Commander Rouiancet was happy to share, she told him -- though what officer would have refused the use of a secondary office when the captain came to call? Or their primary office, come to that?
So it was in the secondary strat ops office that Aron met Wes for their first mission briefing as CO and XO, with a holo of the Sorach system between them.
The system was one of the busiest Aron had ever seen, with hundreds upon hundred (upon thousands) of objects larger than a few meters in diameter present within its cosmographic boundary. That wasn’t unusual -- hell, Earth’s system was filled with asteroids and planetesimals and other bodies -- but what made Sorach so unique was that the objects weren’t naturally occurring.
No, they were ships.
Kells: Ambassador Vataix said they’ve started calling it “the Graveyard,” which isn’t at all ominous.
Wes looked up from a padd he was reading with extra system details. Across the table and through the holographic image of the solar system, he could hardly make out the Commodore’s face. Tiny specks of orange holographic representations of debris floated in the air between them.. Even being partially transparent, there were so many that it blocked his line of sight. Pausing to press a few buttons, Wes shrank the scale of the debris so they two could see one another again.
Greaves: Could be worse I guess. What’s it to the Ambassador, sir?
Aron reached into the holo and zoomed on a couple of pockets where dozens or hundreds of derelicts floated close together.
Kells: Sorach is less than a dozen light-years from Amity, so it’s practically on their doorstep for anyone with warp or slipstream capability. The ambassador and the locals she’s spoken with believes that the Graveyard is mostly full of derelicts.
The Marine put the padd down on the holo-table, causing one corner of the system’s asteroid belt to become blurry.
Greaves: Mostly? We talking scavengers here or ghost stories…. Or is that what the Ambassador wants us to figure out?
Kells: Exactly. So we’ve been asked to survey it, and also to show the flag a bit. If anyone with ill intentions is out there, hopefully they’ll think twice about seeing Amity as a plum target if they see us out there patrolling.
That aspect of the mission was the one that Aron was less enthusiastic about, if he was honest. It was using the Thor as a blunt instrument -- as a weapon, really -- when he saw it as manifest and complex.
Wes looked over the display with a fresh eye. The debris field was massive, and from what he could tell, there were still hundreds if not thousands of intact hulls amongst the destruction. It’d be the ideal place for graverobbers to scavenge from, or for pirates to set up a base.
Greaves: Makes sense. It’s a perfect place for the less savory of society to call home. Plus, I’m sure there’s some interesting tidbits to learn from there too.
Kells: Well, there is a part of it I’m especially interested in. The ambassador knows my interest in space megafauna and cosmozoans, and she mentioned that there might be life out among those derelicts. That’s what I’m hoping to learn more about, if I’m lucky.
Greaves: Really? More stories, or have there been actual sightings?
Wes looked across the hologram again, imagining several gorgamanders floating in between the wreckage. His mind had immediately jumped to pirates, but space faring life would find just as much shelter amongst the debris.
Kells: That’s an excellent question.
Unfortunately, it was one that Aron couldn’t answer, since there was no reliable data, just blurry old holos. He had a file of those, and he tossed them in among the graveyard, astrotagged to where they’d be captured.
Kells: The short answer is no. But there’s plenty to discover out there.
He hoped, but Wes had a very reasonable question in mind based on their lack of knowledge…
TBC!
Commodore Aron Kells
Commanding Officer
USS Thor
V238208LV0
he/him/his (character & player)
&
Major Wes Greaves
Acting Executive Officer
Marine Detachment Commander
USS Thor - NCC 82607
E239702WG0
Aron normally would have held the initial mission briefing with Geoff in his ready room, but with Geoff officially on leave, and with Wes as his successor, and given the nature of this particular mission (which was way out from way out), Aron had decided to shift the venue slightly. Strat ops was only a dozen meters of corridor aft of the bridge, so it was only half a minute to get there, too. And Commander Rouiancet was happy to share, she told him -- though what officer would have refused the use of a secondary office when the captain came to call? Or their primary office, come to that?
So it was in the secondary strat ops office that Aron met Wes for their first mission briefing as CO and XO, with a holo of the Sorach system between them.
The system was one of the busiest Aron had ever seen, with hundreds upon hundred (upon thousands) of objects larger than a few meters in diameter present within its cosmographic boundary. That wasn’t unusual -- hell, Earth’s system was filled with asteroids and planetesimals and other bodies -- but what made Sorach so unique was that the objects weren’t naturally occurring.
No, they were ships.
Kells: Ambassador Vataix said they’ve started calling it “the Graveyard,” which isn’t at all ominous.
Wes looked up from a padd he was reading with extra system details. Across the table and through the holographic image of the solar system, he could hardly make out the Commodore’s face. Tiny specks of orange holographic representations of debris floated in the air between them.. Even being partially transparent, there were so many that it blocked his line of sight. Pausing to press a few buttons, Wes shrank the scale of the debris so they two could see one another again.
Greaves: Could be worse I guess. What’s it to the Ambassador, sir?
Aron reached into the holo and zoomed on a couple of pockets where dozens or hundreds of derelicts floated close together.
Kells: Sorach is less than a dozen light-years from Amity, so it’s practically on their doorstep for anyone with warp or slipstream capability. The ambassador and the locals she’s spoken with believes that the Graveyard is mostly full of derelicts.
The Marine put the padd down on the holo-table, causing one corner of the system’s asteroid belt to become blurry.
Greaves: Mostly? We talking scavengers here or ghost stories…. Or is that what the Ambassador wants us to figure out?
Kells: Exactly. So we’ve been asked to survey it, and also to show the flag a bit. If anyone with ill intentions is out there, hopefully they’ll think twice about seeing Amity as a plum target if they see us out there patrolling.
That aspect of the mission was the one that Aron was less enthusiastic about, if he was honest. It was using the Thor as a blunt instrument -- as a weapon, really -- when he saw it as manifest and complex.
Wes looked over the display with a fresh eye. The debris field was massive, and from what he could tell, there were still hundreds if not thousands of intact hulls amongst the destruction. It’d be the ideal place for graverobbers to scavenge from, or for pirates to set up a base.
Greaves: Makes sense. It’s a perfect place for the less savory of society to call home. Plus, I’m sure there’s some interesting tidbits to learn from there too.
Kells: Well, there is a part of it I’m especially interested in. The ambassador knows my interest in space megafauna and cosmozoans, and she mentioned that there might be life out among those derelicts. That’s what I’m hoping to learn more about, if I’m lucky.
Greaves: Really? More stories, or have there been actual sightings?
Wes looked across the hologram again, imagining several gorgamanders floating in between the wreckage. His mind had immediately jumped to pirates, but space faring life would find just as much shelter amongst the debris.
Kells: That’s an excellent question.
Unfortunately, it was one that Aron couldn’t answer, since there was no reliable data, just blurry old holos. He had a file of those, and he tossed them in among the graveyard, astrotagged to where they’d be captured.
Kells: The short answer is no. But there’s plenty to discover out there.
He hoped, but Wes had a very reasonable question in mind based on their lack of knowledge…
TBC!
Commodore Aron Kells
Commanding Officer
USS Thor
V238208LV0
he/him/his (character & player)
&
Major Wes Greaves
Acting Executive Officer
Marine Detachment Commander
USS Thor - NCC 82607
E239702WG0
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages