Mission Briefing : Return to Arth Part #2

Posted on 20 May 2024 @ 3:06pm by Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd & Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Lieutenant Lamia ‘Mia’ Kildare & Captain Patrick Jackson & Captain Mazal Falk & Lieutenant Paul Winchester & Lieutenant Serina "Reaper" Donovan & Lieutenant JG Faith Benson & Lieutenant JG Thex sh'Zoarhi & Lieutenant JG Thyra Sh'shraaqir & Lieutenant JG Margeurite "Maggie" LeFebvre & 2nd Lieutenant Gavin Ross Dr. & Master Chief Petty Officer Alexi Michelle

3,825 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: S04 Episode 01 Captive State Part 2 (Main)
Location: SB51 Briefing Room #1 /Various
Timeline: Mission Day 01

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"Understood, Captain," Dodd replied. "Please state what you wish. I will then start the recap once you're done."

She nodded and stood up as she looked around the room there were a lot of new faces, she tucked her hair behind her right ear, she had recently gotten a haircut and styled so it was short and easier to manage in the morning. she gathered her thoughts and then began.

"Welcome all to a new mission of sorts, now before I hand you over to Commander Dodd, for him to brief you, I will warn you all the initial brief will be a recap of our last mission to Arth as the newer members here were not here when it was done, so we will need you all on the same page *pauses* okay for starters I would like to announce our new Second Officer Rifle Captain Mazal Falk *looks over at Falk* please stand Captain," She said giving her an option to say something if she so wished.

Mazal stood up, a slight flush to her cheeks. "Thank you for the opportunity of this position, I will strive to do my best, for this ship and those who are a part of this crew as a whole, marine and Star Fleet."

*she looks back to the assembled* "I have every confidence in her, she did a lot on the last mission and she has shown great organisational abilities, which our Second Officer failed at and for this Mission, she will be the Acting First Officer with Commander Dodd the Acting CO I will be here to observe their actions and will only take control if it is warranted otherwise it will be up to them" She paused as she indicated for Falk to retake her seat.

Mazal nodded and took her seat, having a worried smile, nonetheless, it was a smile, glancing over towards Dodd, then looking over towards Patrick.

"You may as well all know, that Lieutenant Commander Cahill our former Chief Medical Officer and Second Officer failed her test at command and when she was told of her loss of Second Officer duties and post she sought out a transfer off the station, and I only found out of her actions when the CinC Starfleet Medical contacted me to let me know. How she went about it dishonoured her and this crew and the disrespect she had shown me, if she had come to me asking for a transfer and given reasons I would have agreed if I had found her reasons held merit, but what she did was underhanded *sighs* I might be a little bitter apologies. So I would like to introduce our new 2nd Lieutenant Gavin Ross MD, Marine Medic, Neurosurgeon. He may be young but he knows his stuff, and he will also do the duties of CMO on this mission as the new CMO has to take some personal leave and will thus be unavailable to do this current mission with us, please welcome Doctor Ross to the crew after this briefing" Somers paused and took a sip of water.

Gavin had nodded to the rest of the good folks of the Tomcat/Sovereign Class. He didn’t say anything as ‘it was what it was.’ Ross happened to be an adequate cover doctor for them, for the crew for the time being. However, Gavin was going to have some fun with it.

“Glad to be aboard, Captain, Lt. Commander.” 2nd Lieutenant Ross offered as he sat up tallish in his conference chair, apprised of any crew comments. “Suffice to say. Now would be a good time to alert the crew in the meantime, I am ordering a full round of personnel physicals. I need a thorough update as a benchmark for the entire crew, seems that the last Doctor did not get around to doing so. “Anyways, please see me on your time, rather than me having to drag you in on both our times, shall we? Ok. All right then.” Ross gave a good, genuine, caring, heart warming smile as he set his chin to his hand.

After that, she nodded in acknowledgement at Ross and then continued "Some of you may be wondering why a Sovereign Class ship, the USS Themistocles has the same setup and kit as the Enterprise-E had during the Shinzon Incident, so the ship is well suited to this mission we are about to commence. As for the status of the Tomcat, I am told by Lieutenant Commander Paul Sharpe the Engineer assigned to the shipping update and Retrofit that the outer hull is completed as is the new look, internally the computer core and main engineering along with the corridor to an airlock is also complete and gravity in those sections, but despite being ahead of it, the ship will not be ready, he and Lieutenant Hawksley have only just began physical testing in Tomcat engineering, but the new stuff the ship will have and this is only some of it" she paused.

"By all accounts, upon completion, the Tomcat will have Type eleven Phaser strips, but the ship will retain its original number of strips, they will just be more powerful, the Tomcat now has transverse bulkheads, these are physical versions of energy barriers that drop when a damaged section is exposed to space, they are old tech, but can be a lifesaver should the need arise. Also when she is completed the Tomcat will have Bio neural circuitry throughout the ship like the Intrepid and Prometheus classes. Still, unlike the Intrepid the Tomcat will boast holo emitters on all decks so if the EMH is needed it can appear anywhere on the ship, but there will be none in personal quarters so privacy is secured" she paused again.

"The Tomcat will have a larger more complete Science Package *Looks at Thompson* crew quarters will have been changed, Ensigns will share quarters, two Ensigns to a room, same for Lt Jgs and full Lieutenants UNLESS they are Department Heads or Deputies, those positions will have their quarters. There will be a small number of married quarters too as we have some married crew, and there will also be some basic diplomatic guest quarters. All ranks from Warrant Officer down will have to bunk it, there will be four to a bunk room. The Tomcat will have Quantum torpedoes, and the Point Defence Pod she has will have the latest version of Micro Photon torpedoes" she inhaled.

"The layout will generally be the same so the levels each department has an office on will still be there, sadly we will be stuck with two holodecks still, but the number of troops and auxiliary craft will remain the same, also this came as a surprise to me, but the Tomcat when completed will be kitted out with 72 Drop Pods, are there any questions before I continue?" Somers asked.

Patrick was trying not to move in his chair, his braces did not make for chair sitting very comfortable, in part due to the metal rod going up his back. His focus changed suddenly when he heard the Fleet Captain mention drop pods. His head slowly turned from forward to the side, looking down the table at the Fleet Captain. "Drop Pods, ma'am?" A grin slowly crept into his face. He stole a glance at Mazal wondering her reaction.

Mazal's eyes rounded in awe hearing that of the drop pods.

She looked at him "Mr Jackson, while you are cleared for this mission you are on light duties, but hopefully, you will be to full strength when the time comes. As for the Drop Pods using existing escape pod tech in the underside of the saucer section, will allow for a small team or 144 Rifles quick deployment to a ground engagement, of course there will be training after our current mission as the Pods will have limited RCS capabilities so they can be piloted like a falling brick. Either way, by the time the ship is fully completed she will be lean and meaner and have a decent science package, any other questions?" Somers asked.

Mazal turned her attention back to Somer's "Drop Pods, this is astounding news, and I do like the sound of what is happening to the Tomcat."

"Captain, what about the fighters on the Tomcat is taking Valkyrie or Gryphon?" asked Paul as he looked at his wife who was taking a sip of her coffee as Paul asked the question.

She looked at Winchester "While the Themistocles will not have fighters and will have a small complement of Rifles, the Tomcat will be sticking with Gryphon class fighters, that answer your questions, Lieutenant?" Somers asked with a smile.

"So what does that mean for both Serina and I?" asked Paul as he did not want to be left behind helping Paula train new pilots as he knew she had two new squadrons arriving soon, he picked up his mug and sipped his coffee.

Looking at Winchester "You and Lieutenant Donovan will man the Helm and Navigation Stations, who does what is up to you pair" Somers answered.

Paul looked back at Serina and said " We will swap them so both of us will take turns at each station if that is alright with you?" making it fair for the both of them with one being stuck on one station.

Simply nodding "Okay as there are no more questions on the upgrades I will hand you over to Commander Dodd, Commander!" she said.

"Thank you, Captain," Dodd replied. "So I will now briefly recap our first mission to Arth."

"Our last mission to Arth was to seek out a lost observation team and if there were any survivors to bring them back to the Federation. We were expecting a civilization that was in the early stages of pre-industrialization. We arrived to find the duck-blind in ruins and the technology scavenged. A team of Humans or Humanoids that could pass as Humans was sent to the surface to investigate. The team divided into two sets and went in search of a lead. At least one surviving observation team member had corrupted the civilization and advanced the technology to a point where the largest city was in a state of Mid to late-twentieth-century development. Arth had television transmissions and a vast network of trains and shipping networks. They did not have any satellite systems as of yet but they did have firearms and electricity for all. The one survivor was the pro-counsel for the appointed Hierarchy of the planet. An unknown race seeded the planet but we think it was the Preservers. The people seeded on Arth were humans from several primitive cultures on Earth. Egyptian, Greek, Mayan, Aztec, Nordic, Slavic and Aboriginal people from Earth of the past were all seeded here. Any questions at this point regarding any details?"

Alexi listened intently. She had not been part of the crew during the previous engagement at Arth so this was important information for her to have.

Lamia shook her head to say she didn’t have any questions at this time.

Serina spoke up, "Would they now have the ability to fly at this point in time?"

"That is a curious question, when we were last there, they did not have aerospace or Aerial vehicles. However, I can only imagine the likely upgrades made since last we visited."

"We had found three survivors and the youngest two of the observation team had settled into the culture and had hidden from the rogue member of that original team. We left Lt. Lee on the planet with two comrades who were to work on observing and slowly deactivating any federation-based technology they found. They have been under a communications blackout to avoid any detection from Dr. Judith Davenport. Davenport is the rogue federation observer who gave advanced technology to the people of Arth and rapidly advanced a large portion of the planet. The more remote villages and hamlets have tech, but not as advanced as the cities. Dr. Davenport is to be considered armed and dangerous regardless of how she appears and had a large group of followers that from what we know, would die for her cause." Dodd added before pausing for any more questions or reactions.

"I can say this; myself as well as Lieutenant Kildare and Lieutenant Hawksley we were able to observe the people who we had come into contact with definitely had a communication device which was far above the sort of technology they should have had," Mazal speaking up. "It was rather disturbing seeing what looked to be like observation devices looking lik,e insect life there."

Lamia nodded. “Anyone who goes down there will need to be on their guard at all times, one slip and you’ll be spotted in no time.”

Captain Somers sat there silently listening to her First Officer give a briefing, she was proud of him so far...

"That was my next topic, Captain Falk," Dodd replied. "Yes, one thing we had observed on Arth was surveyance devices that utilized technology beyond the culture. They appeared as insects and seemed to mimic all of the insectoid mannerisms and even blended in with small swarms. But no doubt they are miniature drones that spy on the locals. Mostly resembling dragonflies from what I read in reports but may be bees and flies as well."

"I uh...I have an idea about those drones actually," Faith glanced up from the PADD she had in hand, while she wasn't looking at them, she was listening.

"I would like to hear your ideas after this briefing, Benson," Dodd replied.

Faith gave a little nod to Dodd acknowledging the comment.

"The locals all seem to act like they are part of a cult or larger organization. The farmers who do much of the labor seem to be the freer of the populous but they are monitored by the insectoid drones. It was discovered that they have some biological rituals for reproduction that involve some sort of mineral-rich waters and some sort of natural energy pulse. The family in the report were stated as having auburn hair and all had fairly standard housing based upon the old Earth styles from approximately late eighteenth century but with electricity and indoor plumbing and communication stations that appeared more modern than old Earth telephones." Dodd added.

Better replicate some drone scramblers for the away team. Thex thought to herself. " What level of tech does Davenport have access to? Did they remove or move the observation post-replicators? " Thex enquired.

"Most of the more advanced technology from the duck blind had been removed and from what was observed it was used to reverse engineer the technology on Arth. Davenport was the top engineer of the original observation team in addition to the other scientific knowledge she holds." Dodd replied.

Up until now, Thyra had been silently listening and then finally spoke up. She took a deep breath. "Lieutenant Commander, so far I keep hearing that the technology they have is beyond what they should have. And here and there some level of their technology. But from your own or maybe the marine captain's perspective, what is the overall level of their current technology, is it up to our level or would it be easy for me, or someone in my department to easily hack into their low-level technology? Just so I have an idea of what we are dealing with."

"Good point, I believe they can't get more advanced than us as they should be only to advance to the level the Federation was at when the original observation team was sent to Arth. However, if any of our tech was misplaced on our last visit and then discovered, that could affect the mix. But we should be able to hack into any tech they have as our systems would be far superior to theirs and our computer systems support staff would have means to backdoor any firewalls they may have in place. Thank you for bringing that to light. We should be developing that front as I think now we may need it." Dodd responded.

"Captain Falk, you were actually on the surface of Arth, would you care to address any observations and concerns about returning?" Dodd added and looked at his new XO for the mission.

"Yes, do not get involved in their religious/fertility ceremony. That is a doozy of an experience," she commented quietly, looking towards Dodd having a look of concern.

Alexi had taken a lot of information in and there were a few areas that concerned her, "Begging your pardon, but just how do you intend to 'sneak' onto the planet with those surveillance drones everywhere? They would see a transporter beam and I am sure they have the technology to identify a shuttle in their atmosphere by now."

"That is a very good point. After our last visit, I would suspect they have increased the drone usage and will be watching. We do have a shuttle that we can cloak with some enhancements that will shield it from the technology we were last aware of on Arth. This will allow us to set down and unload and then get the shuttle back up in orbit above any satellites they may have developed in the meantime." Dodd replied.

From her position Jasmine listened in on the briefing, she remembered their first trip to Arth, it was a starter test for her First Officer, "if I might say something, Commander Dodd?" Somers asked.

"By all means, Captain. The floor is yours." Dodd replied.

Jasmine nodded and stood as she leaned forward and rested her hands on the table "Okay, as regards the stealth tech we have some shuttles that were used by the Rifles during the Hydaransz mission and they were outfitted with a black sensor reflection coating. While onboard systems can deflect scanning the matte black non-reflective hulls will give those on the away teams a bonus thus rendering the shuttles visible to everything but the naked eye. We have four of these shuttles, two of those are the troop shuttles, so they are available" She paused.

Looking at Thex "Lieutenant Sh'Zoarhi, we have a Klingon BOP cloaking device in storage, it is capable of being fitted either on our Runabout or our Venture Class scout, whichever craft Commander Dodd deems to use you and your team will need to install it. Yes, I know of the Cloak use rules in the Treaty of Algeron, but I have lost too many crew, I will be damned if I will increase the risks of anyone here. Also just to mention the Away Teams will be led by Female crewmembers, as has likely already been mentioned Arth is Matriarchal and thus men are classed as second class, are there any questions before I hand you back over to Commander Dodd?" Somers asked.

Faith shook her head, "But that's not going to work. The Treaty of Algernon is dammed. The Venture Class won't be able to accompany the power requirements or even the structural integrity required for that cloak. We need to use one of the Runabouts instead, sir."

She looked at the El-Aurian "Oh Lieutenant Benson, you are new normally you would be correct BUT, the Cloak was used on the Venture class once before some years ago, the ship was modified to equip the device should it be needed" Somers said to Benson.

"Oh really now?" Faith tilted her head a little bit, "Good to know then I guess."

With a mysterious smile "Well if there are no further questions, I will hand you back to Commander Dodd, Commander!" Somers said sitting back down.

"Lieutenant Sh'Zoarhi, we will talk in person after this briefing," Dodd replied. "As the captain stated, this mission will consist of mainly female leads and the males that get to go on the away team need to be adhering to that chain of command as this society developed oddly and do not seem to kind to authoritative males. Think of Angel One when Picard's crew encountered them for the first time. I will be meeting with as many of those going to the surface as I can before we arrive at Arth. Captain Somers is acting as an observer on this mission but you can still approach her if you need advise or guidance and I am busy elsewhere. Any other questions or concerns?

"I understand sir. Will they need me on the surface?" Thex enquired.

"So, only human or human in appearance personnel will be permitted on the surface as we do need to blend in as perfectly as possible and not disrupt the society that has been established," Dodd replied.

"Are there any other questions to be addressed before we are dismissed?" Dodd asked of everyone.

Seeing that no one seemed to have any new questions or concerns, "Well, if you have any future questions feel free to reach out to directly or speak to Captain Falk. We are here to help you all not only with this mission but with anything you need assistance with. You are all dismissed and may the Great Bird of the Galaxy bestow his blessings upon you."

The meeting was now adjourned and everyone started to filter out of the conference room while Dodd stood at the head of the table and watched them exit.

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