Briefing

[Robert Bogdon]

[ooc]

I'm going to go ahead and jump us twice as far as I had planned.  I can double the values on your time use sheets, or you can submit new sheets if you'd like to make changes.  After I got started, I realized there wasn't really any reason to stop after two months.

[ic]

Major Foss gathers everyone in the briefing room and as soon as the last person enters the room he points to Chester Rojas.  Rojas begins speaking immediately, "As you all know, we've been picking up a signal for almost two months.  The signal is almost identical to the locator signal sent out by the Bellerophon and all of it's support craft.  We've been able to pinpoint the source as somewhere in orbit around Ceti Alpha IIa.  We have also begun receiving detailed information about Ceti Alpha II."  At this point Rojas brings up an image of the planet showing massive polar ice caps covering nearly a third of the northern and southern hemispheres.  In between the polar regions is a wide band of ocean covered in places by clouds.  "There's a single large land mass and a few islands surrounding it on the far side of the planet."

Major Foss cuts in, "Sergeant Pope, if you're feeling up to it, I want you to take a team and find out what the hell is broadcasting one of our locator signals.  We're supposed to be alone out here and I don't want to end up in the guest of honor at a damned blanket party.  Landing on Ceti Alpha II is out of the question until we have a firm grasp on our situation."  The Major leaves the room, with Stephan McCarty the Chief Steward following him.  Rojas shrugs, "I guess we're done."

--
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Robert Bogdon
Sr. Systems Engineer, DivX
http://www.blah.net

[robertbogdon]

I realized that this is sort of an abrupt intro, and I should have
provided some detail on what happened during the previous four months.

Emma's was up and walking around after the first week, minus her right
ring and pinky fingers. Gary was being medicated, and after the first
month he was allowed out with a chaperone, but is generally still
being watched by the doctor and confined to the cells near Sickbay.
At different times, different members of the crew helped trim the
vines back to just the hydroponics bays. At this point the skeletons
of the missing crew members were discovered in the compost piles Gary
had created in the hydroponics bays. He claims that he only took
people from their pods if they were already dead. The magsail was
eventually repaired and the ship is generally in good working
condition. The Chief Steward has basically become the Major's
personal assistant and earned a reputation as a suck up. After the
first two months, the ship began receiving useful data from the sensor
drone, including a relayed locator signal similar to the one sent out
by the Bellerophon and it's support craft. Two weeks later the ship
was able to detect the signal directly and using the sensor drone was
able to establish that the source was somewhere in orbit around the
moon of Ceti Alpha II. Various names started being thrown around for
Ceti Alpha II, although BFR (Big Fucking Rock) has been the leading
contender for the moon. Six weeks after that, the Bellerophon entered
orbit around Ceti Alpha II, which brings us to the briefing.

If anyone wants to flesh out any of the events that occurred during
that time with their characters actions/reactions, or if you want more
detail about anything, just let me know.

[JC Demers]

 During the breifing, Emma's forehead was crisscrossed with wrinkles. Her brow furrowed, her face stern, she looked generaly unhappy about the entire situation. I wasn't a particularly unusual look for her. She generally always looked like a mix of dead serious and ticked off. But she never said anything. She never lashed out at anyone, for anything. Every crew member had come to know her somewhat well in the past four months, as she not only guided them through different exercise routines, but also coached everyone individually; taking great care and time to push everyone to their full potential.

 

But today, in the briefing room, she didn't look happy. Not at all. Her mouth was halfway open when the Major literally stormed out, McCarty on his heels. She sighed and pushed herself out of her chair, following him out. She caught him just outside the door.

 

“Major, sir.”

It was Foss' time to sigh.

“Yes Sergeant, what is it?”

 

Emma gave a sidelong glace towards McCarty, who obviously wasn't going anywhere. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to speak her piece.

 

“Sir, I'd like to take my entire fireteam out of cryo sleep for this op, sir.”

 

It didn't take a split second for the Major to fire back.

 

"Until we know exactly what our situation is, I want as few people wandering around my ship as possible. However, if you feel like you need help, you can have the doc thaw out your friends. Hopefully they're a bit more careful than you are."

Emma felt her jaw twitch. She felt her nails dig into her palms as she balled her hands into fists. She gritted and looked straight ahead, not saying a word.

 

“Are we done here Sergeant?”

 

Emma gave the man a sharp salute, which Foss barely returned before leaving her in his dust. She stood at attention until he had turned the corner. One day, she promised herself, she punch him. She'd punch him straight in the face. But it wouldn't be today. She had a lot of work ahead of her. She had a mission to plan, gear to request, a ship to prepare and a team to pick and brief. Things.... Things weren't going to be easy.