Operation Cold Sabotage - Part 1

Posted on Friday October 25th, 2024 @ 7:55am by Lieutenant Commander Rachel Williams & Captain Franklin Johnson & Lieutenant Colonel Phoebe Graydon & Lieutenant Commander Michael Stevens & Lieutenant Commander T'Pri & Lieutenant Commander Steven Ryan

2,086 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: General Non-Mission Posting
Location: USS Poseidon; Bridge, Captains Ready Room
Timeline: The Grand Tour - Arrived at Andoria
Tags: 2396, Character Development, Mission Post

[ON]

Captain Franklin Johnson stood by the large viewport, gazing out at the icy blue surface of Andoria as the USS Poseidon maintained its steady orbit. The recovery of the cadet crew had gone smoothly, yet an unease lingered in his mind. The Andorian government had quietly reached out with an unusual request—one that required discretion and the utmost secrecy. Johnson tapped his communicator, his voice firm as he summoned his officers.

"Captain Johnson to Lieutenant Commander Ryan, Lieutenant Commander Williams, Lieutenant Commander Itsumi, Commander Shakura, Lieutenant Commander Stevens, Lieutenant Commander T'Pri, and Lieutenant Colonel Graydon. Please report to the ready room immediately for a mission briefing."

He turned away from the stars, his expression resolute. This mission would test his crew in ways they hadn't anticipated, and every detail had to be flawless. As the officers assembled, he mentally prepared himself to reveal the hidden threat lurking on the planet below.

Phoebe had been first to arrive, after the Captain, having already been on the bridge going through some reports she'd received from the duty bridge crew.

=/\= T'Pri acknowledges, On my way =/\=

T'Pri was there in less than 5 minutes, she was on her way to the bridge when she got the summons.

The Executive Officer looked up as T'Pri walked in, giving a smile. "Lieutenant Commander, I hope you're doing ok?" She asked.

T'Pri nodded, she was becoming much more familiar with the social vernacular.

"Good Morning, Yes. I am fine, Thank you for asking. How is your day, so far, Colonel Graydon? T'Pri replied.

T'Pri was followed shortly after that by Erika. Working with Counselor Shakura, she had gotten past the fire back at Tellar that had triggered her PTSD and was back to walking on her own, only using her wheelchair for her "party trick" to impress cadets.

And it was a good thing she did, too, for with as many officers that were going to be piling into the ready room, there would likely only be standing room.

T'Pri had become much more comfortable with human social interactions since she first reported to the Poseidon over 3 years ago. Her colleagues were some of the most impressive people she had worked with and many of them were her friends. They were all people of good character.

“It’s going well so far. Hopefully, that doesn’t change after this briefing!” She replied.

Rachel was in Engineering when the tannoy sounded she was currently on her back underneath the console adjacent to the warp core it regulated the core, and she tapped her commbadge =/\= Understood, on my way. William's out =/\= she shimmied out from her position and looked at a reflective surface, she tried to clean the grime off her face but made it a faint smudge she sighed, her engineering overcoat was not much better, but as she did not have time to change, she picked up her Padd and left engineering.

= CRR =

After a short lift ride she arrived on the bridge and entered the CRR from the bridge entrance she looked at those there "Hello Captain, Commander T'Pri" she said with a smile as she found a seat and sat down. "Please excuse my dishevelled state, if this ship was an animal I would have her put down, been working in a less than clean area in engineering," Rachel said some of her frustration of continuously using duct tape and wishful thinking to keep the old bucket together.

Having heard the call, Michel had left his office and headed straight to the CRR to find the Captain and the rest of the command staff assembled as he took his seat he started to wonder why they had been assembled. He guessed that was big as he could see the worry on Johnson's face.

T'Pri had some green tea and waited patiently for the Captain to start.

As Erika had suspected, space in the ready room was starting to become a premium. With her, she had a bottle of Calpis juice, more difficult to spill than an open tea, and more refreshing in a small room packed with this many officers, where the temperature was sure to rise.

"Thank you all for reporting promptly," the Captain greeted, already standing near his table. "I believe we're all up to speed on the current situation. This operation is delicate for one of two reasons. Right now, the USS Oceanus, an Intrepid-class starship under my command, is approaching the planet Ryloth to engage in the second half of this two-pronged offensive initiated by Commodore Paladin. We, the USS Poseidon, have been tasked with the first - and arguably the most dangerous - half of this mission. There is reason to believe that there is an illegal arms trade network being set up to support enemies of the Federation. What I am about to say is classified Top Secret, however, each and every one of you at some point has come to understand just what the Poseidon has seen and interacted with to make us a reliable choice in this matter."

Captain Johnson pressed a button on the table and the viewscreen in his Ready Room came to life. It displayed a schematic of Federation Space, specifically where the Poseidon was in relation to Andoria. Another dot was displayed in a side box on the screen displaying the location of the USS Oceanus as it neared the Planet Ryloth.

"As many of you are aware, the Poseidon emerged victorious in the Battle of the Bright Nebula a year or so ago. Then, we were confronted with the daunting challenge of defeating a mirror universe infiltration force. We are once again tasked with confronting such a force, except this time, on a more covert level. The two Andorians that Lieutenant Vladinchi's cadets found, named Zorm and Jarl, are actually two mirror universe agents who are spearheading this illegal arms trade. We found them by chance, and Starfleet Intelligence was quick to task us with finding them again. The Andorian government is already aware of our objective and will stay out of our way."

He stopped for a brief moment. "Any questions so far?"

"Was there an update on the whereabouts of the two suspects from Starfleet security?" Steven asked

Captain Johnson nodded in response to Steven's question, adjusting the display to focus on a specific region of Andoria. "Starfleet Intelligence, with cooperation from the Andorian security services, has tracked Zorm and Jarl to an area near the northern polar region. It's remote and has been used in the past for less legitimate activities."

"Our mission is to insert a small team to survey and potentially disrupt their operations," Johnson continued. "Given the location's challenges and the need for discretion, we're not going in with a large force. Instead, we're utilizing environmental suits enhanced for thermal insulation and camouflaged for snowy terrain."

He paused, then added, "This isn't about brute force. It’s about gathering intelligence and extracting these agents with minimal conflict. The Andorian government is aware of our actions and has agreed to stand back while we operate, but we need to keep our footprint as light as possible to avoid any diplomatic incidents."

Switching the display, he highlighted the tactical approach. "We’ll approach via shuttle, landing a safe distance away to avoid detection. From there, it’s on foot into the cavern system where we believe they are based. We have satellite imagery that suggests where the entrances might be, but we'll need to verify that on the ground."

A moment's pause. "Any further questions?" the Captain asked.

Raising a hand "How deep does this Terran Influence go Captain, they have to be here for more than what we have already encountered, I was not with Poseidon during the Bright Nebula incident, but if history has taught me is when an Autocracy Government such as the Terran Empire does and incursion, there is more to it than what we usually find, hence my question" Williams asked

Captain Johnson considered Lieutenant Commander Williams' question, his gaze narrowing slightly as he processed the implications. He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table, his tone measured but serious.

"You're right, Williams," Johnson began, "the Terran Empire rarely does anything without a broader agenda. Their incursions are never simple, and we know from our past encounters that they tend to leave behind more than just chaos. This illegal arms trade network is likely just one piece of a larger strategy."

He paused, adjusting the display to show known Terran Empire activity in the region. "We’ve identified several small-scale operations like this one cropping up in fringe areas near Federation space, and intelligence suggests that they're testing the waters—looking for weaknesses they can exploit. This particular operation, spearheaded by Zorm and Jarl, could be a way for them to funnel resources into groups that oppose Federation interests. It could also be a smokescreen for something larger that we haven’t uncovered yet."

Johnson met Williams' gaze. "So, to answer your question—yes, there’s more to this than we’ve seen. We need to treat this mission as an opportunity to gather as much intel as possible, not just on Zorm and Jarl, but on any broader Terran Empire influences we might encounter. They’re here for a reason, and we need to find out what that is before it escalates into something bigger."

He paused, looking around the room at the assembled officers. "This is more than just a simple extraction mission. We’re stepping into the middle of a potentially volatile situation, and we need to be prepared for anything. Any other questions before we finalize our plan?"

Steven spoke for the first time "I assume that normal intelligence oversites are in play either way this mission goes?"

Looking at Stevens "I am no Security Officer, but those two cannot be the only ones" she said and looked at Johnson "Captain if they are active here, I would assume that their insertion point is somewhere out in the Federation border regions, I know we do not have many assets out there, but we must have some!" Williams intoned.

T'Pri spoke up, "It would be logical to assume that our universe has something in it that the Terran Empire needs, what that is We do not know, but Starfleet Intelligence is working on finding those answers. Zorm and Jarl are paid smugglers. They didn't seem to have answers for the broader picture. We wouldn't even have known about this had our cadet landing party accidentally collided with them avoiding a winter storm. The fact that they were on Andoria indicates that they are operating in the region of the core worlds of the Federation." T'Pri said.

"Well, let us hope that a ship or base out in the wild of Federation space has some idea of the Insertion point," said one of the crew.

Johnson sighed, then looked about. "The USS Oceanus is presently under orders at the planet Ryloth to investigate a Romulan plot. We believe what we're conducting, and what the Oceanus is conducting, are related. That's all I can say freely."

"My only dealing with the mirror-verse was a restricted salvage mission, but the fact there's a Romulan element should be fun," Steven said with a touch of sarcasm.

*Looking at Stevens* Commander are there any plans for regular Security sweeps on the Poseidon? I will have my engineers check the systems regularly, but an increased security sweep may help against any potential sabotage on this ship!" Williams said

"Well, I would check the crew biosignatures for Mirror Universe in case of those that have come over," replied Micheal looking back at the Captain he stated " to rule out who is who," giving his idea.

The Captain was silent a moment as he looked between the two. "Leave out Lieutenant Kord," he ordered, carefully. "Gorn is known to give false positives and I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate the intrusion. Everyone else is green to be scanned."

Williams nodded to the Captain's response but said nothing.

[OFF]

Captain F Johnson
Commanding Officer
USS Poseidon

Lt Colonel P Graydon
First Officer
USS Poseidon

Commander Kanaka Shakura
Chief Counsellor
USS Poseidon

Lt Cmdr Williams
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Poseidon

Lt Cmdr Michael Stevens
Chief Operations Officer
USS Poseidon

Lt Cmdr Steven Ryan
Ass't Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Poseidon

Lt Cmdr T'Pri
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Poseidon

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