Debriefing

Posted on 24 Jul 2018 @ 2:27pm by Captain Harvey Geisler & Commander Thiago Teixeira & Commander Terry Walsh & Lieutenant Commander Arjin Djinx & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Reginald Hawthorn & Senior Chief Petty Officer Charles Stephens Jr.

3,326 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Fractured
Location: Conference Room
Timeline: MD1 || 0900 hours

It had been more than a day since the Away Teams had returned. Captain Geisler had no qualms with instantly setting a course out of the Triosian system and into a nearby nebula where they could lay low until they sorted through all of the information that had been collected.

Rather than do a full debriefing with everyone immediately, Harvey gave the crew some leeway in sorting through what they had found. Even he, however, could only wait so long. There had been many opportunities for others to scan the Black Hawk, interview and observe the crew while the Away Teams were out and about. Any element of surprise they might have had was long gone.

The leaders of each group, as well as several key senior staff members, were summoned to the Conference Room to conduct the full debriefing and determine some next steps.

Joey made her way into the Conference Room hoping that there wouldn't be any coffee present, but if there was, she'd just have to find a way to deal with it. She moved over to her usual chair and settled down, wondering what kind of information everyone gathered. Maybe once all the pieces were collected things would make more sense, which was the exact reason they were having this briefing in the first place. For now, though, she'd wait for everyone else to arrive.

Camila entered the conference room with a decidedly neutral expression on her face as if it were carved in stone. She carried only a PADD and despite her desire to have one, no coffee cup regardless of the hour. There was coffee on her breath, yes, but she was trying to respect Joey's issue with the nectar of life as she headed to the opposite side of the table and took a seat.

Terry walked in and sat down in a chair near the center of the table. He put the PADD on the table and gave it a spin. "Looks like we've all made it through the madness so far."

Charles had enjoyed the away mission. Being able to get out and away from damage control was nice. Then when he returned to the ship he had been given word that he was taking over the Operations department. He had been quick reading the bios of his staff when the meeting was called up. He made his way in the room acknowledging those present and having a seat so he could continue reading up on his staff.

"Old Montanan curse says something about living in interesting time," Reggie said from the door as he entered, nodding at Terry. "Madness so far it has been. By the by, Charles I am sure sorry to be losing you to the Op's team but the promotion was due you. You need a thing from the Deck Thumpers down in engineering, you just holler."

Charles was surprised by Reggie jovial mood. "I appreciate that. I will never forget where I came from and you know if you people or resources to fix stuff I am still your guy."

Joey offered a smile to those who were already present, but her eyes fell on Camila. She had a feeling things between them were going to be fairly tense for some time to come, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try to fix it when there was time to. Right now, making sense of the information everyone learned was a priority, and it deserved all of her attention.

Arjin was humming softly when he entered the conference room. The outing with the shuttle had done solething nice to his spirits. Noticing he was late, but not the last to arrive, he nodded to those persent and sat down in an empty seat.

The doors hadn't had a chance to close completely before they opened again and Thiago walked into the conference room. He took a seat in his usual chair, next to where Harvey normally sat.

Harvey entered the room, carrying two padds. One had each of the individual reports from the different teams, and the other contained his own notes on events so far, which he planned to update as this meeting went along. "All right, everyone," he said as he took his seat. "Let's put all of our cards on the table and see what we've got. Who wants to go first?"

After looking over the other faces present to see who wanted to go first, Joey decided she'd break the proverbial ice to start things off. "We didn't find out much," she said, still hoping others found out more than they did. "We were encouraged to seek out the Elders, and managed to come across one by chance. She wasn't exactly forthcoming on the information front, but did tell us that there was a war to end all wars. She said she was a little girl when it finally ended. She told us that they won, but it cost them everything. Their worlds, their ships, their lives. They've been exiled from the rest of the galaxy. Captain, I've had some time to think about what she told us, and I think these people are being slaughtered before they can even make it to our side of the border." Now, she waited for some of those present to argue against it.

Camila checked her PADD and waited until after Joey had finished talking and gave the Captain time to respond if he chose to, then began her report. "We managed to acquire a Starfleet probe while on the station which has been sent to Science for investigation, as well as language matrices of most of the species in the Zone," she said. "Also, several different groups of aliens attacked the away team I was leading and fought over us while another group attempted to steal our runabout. They were all very interested about learning where we came from, but very few of them seemed to have knowledge of what happened in this system."

Picing up on the info presented before, Arjin spoke up. "A war to end all wars. That would be consistent with what we found out there. The whole system is still soaked with Theta radiation. The amounts it would have taken for such cataclismic effects would have to be enormous. As to what we so far could deduce from the decay rate. It must have happened or started a few hundred years ago." Turning to Lieutenant Geisler, he asked :"Do you have any idea of the lifespan of those Elders?"

Joey shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. That wasn't something that came up in conversation since we were about to be turned over to some individuals that were hunting us down for whatever reason. Once that threat was made, we decided that was the time to get out of there as quickly as possible."

"Seems like there's a fair measure of unrest then," observed Harvey. "In the last fifteen to twenty years, only two Aketi have been able to escape the zone. Based on what we've learned about the three ships that engaged us right after entering, and the two frigates we encountered while you were all out galavanting, most of the technology around isn't just outdated. It's bordering on ancient. The Black Hawk is state of the art, and we were lucky to experience as little damage as we did just entering the zone. Judging from all of the other attempts, for those living here, leaving is equal to suicide."

"Brave of'em to keep tryin'. Then again if you've never heard back from the ships that got smeared into subatomic ash, you might assume they all made it," Reggie mused thoughtfully.

"If that were true, it's remarkable that the only known people to survive the trip haven't called back in to let them know." Harvey sighed, realizing how much they still didn't know. Looking to Lieutenant Di Pasquale, he said, "You found a Starfleet probe aboard the station?"

"Yes, Sir," Camila said. "It was sent to Science by Ensign Mackie. There were other Starfleet probes on the station, but we didn't acquire those as Ensign Mackie determined that the one we picked was the best one. He has tricorder readings of all of them."

"Captain, I believe the two Aketi that made it through to our side of the border were allowed to do so, and I think their purpose for doing that was to try to keep others from trying to get inside," Joey stated. "The welcome committee we encountered when we first arrived... the ones who boarded us... I believe would have tried to kill us outright has it not been for their curiosity. I can't be one hundred percent certain, but I am pretty sure they're the reason no one comes or goes." She paused for a moment before continuing. "There were a couple mentions of exile while we were on the station, and I believe they're the reasons why."

Harvey had been about to reply to his Chief of Security when his wife had interjected some potentially valuable information. He stewed on that nugget for a moment before looking back to Camila. "We do know that the Vasco da Gama launched countless probes into the zone. The fact that we were able to recover anything is a miracle."

Looking to Chief Stephens, he added, "I want you and Commander Djinx to work together on this one. Perhaps the probe's telemetry has more information on the zone than what we've been able to collect."

"Our systems have recovered enough that it shouldn't be much of an issue to allocate the resources to unlock some of the probes mysteries." Charles said with an air of confidence

Arjin looked at the new Ops Chief. He had not had the time to work together with the man. He nodded in acknowledgment to him. Responding to the Captain he added: "We will retrieve all there is to retrieve, Sir. Is there any chance we can collect the two other probes? Beaming them in with the Black Hawk maybe?"

Harvey shook his head. "The Alpha Trios system is a day or so behind us, I'd rather not turn back at this point."

"Then I think the one probe just will have to do. If there is anything on it, wel will process it.", Arjin replied.

Turning back to his Chief of Intelligence, Captain Geisler continued, "So, are you suggesting the barrier around the zone is artificial in origin? And, seeing its puzzling nature and how it nearly took twenty years to devise a method to breach it, why were the ships we encountered to not seem as advanced?"

"The barrier could be artificial, but I don't think there's a safe way to figure that out for sure," Joey said, giving the Captain her complete attention. She'd been prepared for the questions that would undoubtedly come forth, and planned to answer them all the best of her ability. "As for why the ships we encountered not seeming advanced, they lack the means. Their technology is well behind our own, and I think they're being kept that way on purpose. Someone is keeping the people here living in the proverbial Dark Ages. And, if I had to guess why, I would say it's in order to keep control of everything that goes on here, as well as keeping the people from learning that there's a better way of living. My team and I can try to find out more."

The Captain nodded. "Now that we've got the language matrices, perhaps that could be a key to unlocking those computer core dumps from the alien craft that escaped the zone over the last few years. Maybe there are some records in there that can help us, like logs or star charts or something."

"If there are, I can assure you my team and I will find them, Captain," Joey stated.

"Artifical? I'd like to see the power source that could make a barrier like that. Maker's own AA battery for sure," Reggie said with a grin. "Course we'd need to study the barrier some more, see if its creation was a one-time affair or something that's being fed power. We could leave a few probes behind to run a more detailed scan of the barrier, feed the data back to the ship over time."

"We are a few lightyears from the barrier," Harvey remarked. "Knowing that this side of the barrier is patrolled, and knowing that the Vasco da Gama didn't help us much by sending in countless probes, we'd need a way for the probes to hide from those patrols. If you can come up with some options, we could launch a few probes to the barrier and allow them to collect data while we continue our mission."

"I can think of a few ways to do it. Might be I owe some folks about this table favours thereafter, but I reckon I can make a probe smart enough to run and with ears enough to listen," Reggie said thoughtfully, his mind already retreating to a mental draftsman's board.

"Speaking of, does anyone have any ideas on where to go next?" Harvey asked his team. "Thanks to all of the local interference, our sensors aren't performing as well as I would like. Mister Stephens and Mister Hawthorne, I need you both to do what you can to clean that up. We can't afford to have short-sighted vision out here in the unknown. I'd like to know where we're headed, especially if we don't want to run into anyone or anything for that matter."

Charles looked up from his PADD he was reviewing some data. "I am told we are close to having most of the fired connections either replaced or rerouted so we can boost our sensors further to try and fight through the static." He said looking around the room. "I have my team working on seeing if their is some way to filter out the background noise as well. So far we have not had any luck with that."

"There was mention of a Valentina system while we were on the station," Joey said. She didn't know what that area of space would hold for them, but honestly, none of them knew what any of this area had in store for them as it was unexplored. "That sounds like as good a place as any to start."

"Assuming we knew where such a system was," Harvey observed. "Anyone else? Commander Teixeira, anything from the habitat?"

"'The Guardians' is who the people we spoke with blame for their situation here," Thiago explained. "They are the ones responsible for Alpha Trios being isolated by 'the wall' as the locals referred to it. They seemed rather, let's just say annoyed, with their predicament." He shifted in his chair, leaning forward. "We did find out, thanks to some...interesting negotiating by Lieutenant Parks, that there is a data archive in the Kalisa sector. Guarded, of course, but it sounds like a good place to head."

Harvey grimaced. Names were one thing. Knowing the locations behind those names and how to get there would be another. "At least we have options, and a description that might help us find the needle in the proverbial haystack. Chief Stephens, as soon as we clear the nebula, I want you to see if you can find a system with a high concentration of similar ships on the sensors. We can head that way while Lieutenant Geisler tries to decrypt those computer records."

Charles nodded at Harvey in understanding. "We will get some good scans, and with knowing the ship signatures we are looking for we should be able to find something"

Just as Harvey was about to dismiss the meeting, his ears detected a slight shudder in the bulkheads around them. Turbulence was nothing new in space travel, but anything that slipped past the inertial dampeners was something to worry about. Harvey's mental alarms were further raised when the padds sitting on the table clattered against the table for a brief second.

Not wanting to wait for someone to call him, Harvey tapped his combadge. "Geisler to bridge. Status report?"

The officer of the watch didn't have the chance to respond. The ship jerked violently, lurching to one side as the inertial dampeners failed. The padds flew around the room, and Harvey had to brace himself against the table as the lights went out, leaving only the eerie blue glow to illuminate the room. "Get to your--!" he shouted before the ship rocked again, this time knocking his head against the table, rendering him unconscious."

The clatter and lurch of the ship drove Camila into the edge of the table she had been sitting at, but she had her hands on it and managed to stop the worst of it. She was coming to her feet when the lights went out and then the ship rocked again. By the way the Captain's order was cut off and the meaty sounding thunk, she had to surprise he was either unconscious or dead. However, that was for Medical to determine as she steadied herself, then bolted from the room for the tactical station by feel.

Terry had been making notes of the pertinent information from the others. Well, pertinent as to what might affect his department. It sounded like it had been a rather interesting time for the away teams. He was making one last entry when the violent movement of the ship moved his chair forward, slamming his gut into the edge of the table. With a loud grunt and sudden expletive, the bald man pushed back only to find that he didn't stop. The chair rolled into the bulkhead and deposited him on the floor. The Captain had told them to get their something. He assumed department and headed for where he thought the door was. If the turbolifts were out, he was in a pickle. Jeffries Tubes didn't fit well.

Joey was grateful that she was sitting down when the lurching started, since it was likely the only thing that kept her from hitting the floor. And despite the fact that the lights were out save for the eerie glow, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that sickening thud came from the Captain given that he was the only one standing when all the commotion began, not to mention the fact they were able to see, even if only slightly, thanks to the creepy blue hue. He was definitely going to need medical attention. Maybe part of her was panicking like she was because that was her husband, but a larger part knew the ship and crew were going to need him.

Without hesitation, and while bracing herself, she moved around to where the thud come from. "Someone help me get the Captain to sickbay. He needs medical attention," the Intel Chief said with a promise to herself that she'd get to her station as soon as possible.

Charles had fallen out of his chair and rolled into a fetal position as instinct. As the ship listed back and forth her just let momentum roll him around the floor as he pulled his head under his hands and knees to his chest to cover the important stuff. He was right near Joey's voice as she called out. Charles unrolled and used his hand to find the down Captain. "I can help" he said in as calm of a voice as he can come up with considering.

As the team staggered in the dark, a strange energy rippled through the room, touching each person. While everyone would feel nothing more than a tingling sensation, their blind eyes shielded them from the disappearance of select individuals around them. When the emergency lighting would finally kick in a minute later, no one would be prepared for the deadly challenge that awaited them...

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