Summoned

Posted on Tue Dec 10th, 2019 @ 10:30pm by Lieutenant Colonel William Christensen-Wright SFMC & Captain Solin Edral & Aisha [A.I.S.H.A]

1,022 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: [OS] A New Dawn
Location: Ourea Station; Captain's Office
Timeline: MD01 || 2220

"Captain, do you not have the Alpha shift tomorrow?" Aisha asked.

He stopped looking at his console and directed his eyes to her. "Aisha, you are literally part of the computer system. You know I am." He replied somewhat sarcastically.

"No need to take a tone with me, Captain, I was simply going to suggest you sleep." She chirped back.

"I'm waiting for the Rameses and Thor to reach orbit. The new StratOps got picked up by Rameses. They were due around now."

"He may already be on the station then Captain, the Rameses beamed over some officers and cargo around 7 minutes ago. Internal sensors show Colonel Christensen-Wright approaching the door to your office. Let me get out of your hair." Aisha said with a smile, before dematerialising.

Oblivious to the fact that the Captain was already aware of his presence outside the Office, William reached out and pressed the chime. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders as he waited for the Captain to usher him inside.

"Come on in Colonel." Captain Edral said allowed. The computer piping it through to the door panel and opening the door for the waiting officer. He watched as the Colonel walked in towards his desk.

William strode confidently into the office. He came to a stop before the Captain's desk. Skipping the usual formality of announcing himself, Christensen-Wright snapped crisply to attention and firmly stated, "Reporting as ordered, sir."

"Welcome aboard Colonel. I know you have been on board for less than 10 minutes, but I trust the trip back from the Colossus wasn't too bad? We needed a strategic operations officer asap, and you were the best candidate we found so far."

The Marine relaxed and stood at parade rest, his hands rest one atop the other behind his back. "It was a much quicker journey than I had originally expected. To be honest I wasn't eager to spend a day out there in a Runabout given what the Vaadwaur did today."

It had not escaped William's notice that the Captain had told him that he was the best candidate for the post 'so far'. "Can I assume that this post is to be temporary if you can find a more suitable candidate for this post, sir?"

"Yes, the Vaadwaur took us all by surprise. And I apologise if I gave that impression. If the gateway is able to be repaired, the next wave of Starfleet ships is due. The StratOps chief was meant to arrive during the May 24th opening but, as you know, that never happened. So it may be a temporary position. The officer who would have had the position was to be on the planet until the station was completed. But with the change in the dynamic of the quadrant now, we needed someone ASAP."

William had some experience in filling in for fellow officers, the difference here is that the fellow officer in question wasn't dead, but just on the other side of the galaxy. "Understood, sir." He let out an audible breath through his nostrils. "I haven't seen an intelligence report since I left the Colossus. What do we know about the Vaadwaur's current movements?"

"Unknown. After they destroyed the station and collapsed the gateway, they went back into the Underspace and haven't been seen since. There were reports some were spotted at the edge of sensor range, in SH-22, but they didn't engage and disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived."

The Marine didn't like being in the dark about Vaadwaur activity but their network of 'underspace' corridors allowed them to move undetected, only appearing on sensors when they popped into normal space for a look. "The ability to travel through the region undetected, emerge from underspace with little warning, launch an attack and retreat back, disappearing as quickly as they'd appeared. That's a hell of a tactical advantage."

Of course, the Captain didn't need to be told that and that, conversely, Starfleet forces were at a tactical disadvantage. "Have we had any luck accessing this layer of subspace? Or devising a way to detect ships using it?"

"Some of our scientists have been studying the data Voyager brought back, but that's obviously very old data now. And we didn't think they were much of a threat, which was obviously our mistake. With the sensor logs from the destroyed starbase, hopefully, we can make some headway on detecting them, at least before they form.

The Captain's hope didn't fill him with confidence. "It's been about thirteen years since they were awakened by Voyager's crew. That's plenty of time to get to grips with the modern Delta Quadrant, settle old grudges and begin to rebuild their forces." He let out a sigh. "We're already beginning to regret underestimating them. I doubt we'll make that mistake again."

"Anything you need from me right away or should I stow my gear and report for duty first thing?" The Marine was fully prepared to get down to work right away and burn the midnight oil to get up to speed.

"Stow for now, and get a good nights sleep. I don't know if you rested much on the journey here but report for duty on Beta Shift tomorrow. Then we can start fresh with everything we know. We are still receiving reports from our various assets in the region, so the intel guys and scientists will likely be up all night to give us a comprehensive report, for which Admiral Paka has scheduled a briefing for 1300 hours."

William nodded. "Aye sir." He snapped to attention and waited for the Captain to dismiss him.

"Excellent. Report to Command Ops at 1200. Dismissed Colonel. Welcome aboard, I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Without another word, the Marine Lieutenant Colonel spun on his heel and strode out of the Captain's office. He planned to spend the next hour settling into his new quarter before turning in. At 0600 he would report for duty and begin to familiarise himself with the station, his staff and review whatever work was awaiting him. By the time the 1200 meeting began, he would be fully up to speed.

 

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