Traipsing Through the Minefield

Posted on 16 Mar 2019 @ 5:36pm by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commander Terry Walsh & Lieutenant Commander Gemma Alexander & Ensign Kelly Khan & Ensign Aurilia Moretti

958 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Kalisa Conundrum
Location: Briefing Room One
Timeline: MD 1 || 1800 Hours

Joey stood at the head of the table with her hands planted firmly on the back of the chair in front of her to look at the faces of those present. They needed to get through the minefield, and that's where those individuals settled at the table came into play. On a display screen behind her was a layout of the exact minefield they were going to be dealing with complete with the platforms. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been summoned here, so I'm going to cut to the chase," the Intelligence Chief stated, turning toward the display. "We need to get from here..." She pointed to their current location, then moved her finger to another that was blocked by a vast array of mines and platforms that were meant to keep people out. "To here."

She turned back to everyone and cleared her throat. "We've attempted to get a couple probes through. The first one failed relatively quickly. The second attempt fared much better, however, they were still able to take it out. Our plan at this point is to deploy multiple probes, and since we're unable to control them all, that's where you come in. Any questions before I go on?"

Ensign Khan had came in behind Joey and busied herself at a console while the Lieutenant talked and got things set up for her before she stepped back to listen.

"How are you doing it that can guarantee our success? Or even partial success?" Aurilia asked.

"Trial runs," Joey answered simply. "I'm confident in my abilities, as well as all of yours. We've been in some pretty intense situations before, and with teamwork, we've gotten out of them. This time will be no different. Piloting the probes won't be easy, and neither will jamming multiple frequencies at once, but we have to trust that everyone is doing their job."

Gemma sat taking notes, her face thoughtful as she listened. "Remote piloting of probes..." She mused. "Interesting. I may have questions later but I can wait." She was curious where this was going and who knows her questions may be answered by the rest of the briefing.

Ensign Melvaur was nodding his head so far. Using them and the fight simulators to fly probes seemed like an interesting concept. Perhaps he could even study everything afterwards and write about it. A thought then crossed the young Vulcan's mind. "Lieutenant, will we be piloting these probes on projected courses that your team has come up with or will the flight paths be at our discretion?"

"Projected courses," Joey replied. "Ensign Khan has those plotted out already, so I'm going to turn that over to her. We'll answer more questions you might have as we go through all of this."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Kelly said as she transferred the plotted courses from her PADD to a wall mounted display. Each of the probes covered roughly a quarter of the minefield in their circuit with additional paths plotted out in the even that more than four probes were used. "As you can see, the flight paths are designed to cover maximum area with the most effect. We don't want the weapons platforms firing at us, or telling the mines that we're targets. If any of you see that happening, alert us immediately."

Aurilia listened and nodded. "So as long as we stay on those courses, we should be okay?"

"That's the working theory and we tested it out before we came down," Kelly said.

"In case our probe gets destroyed for some reason are there others on stand by so we can continue on?" Gemma asked, respecting that backups were always helpful, even in the best laid plans.

"No. Our entire purpose is to increase the ship's jamming frequency using the probes so we can get the ship through the minefield," Joey replied. "We have one shot at making this work, so a probe being destroyed isn't something we want to happen." Hee was placing a lot of faith in her fellow crewmen, but they hadn't let her down yet. It was unlikely this time would be any different.

Melvaur spoke up. "So, we are attempting to provide a jamming field around the Black Hawk in order for the ship to pass through. All while keeping the probes from being destroyed. Intriguing idea."

Gemma nodded at Joey's reply making more notes with a serious expression. This would be delicate work, her fingers itched to try the challenge.

"No," Kelly said. "The purpose is to jam the entire field."

Joey was quiet for a moment before finally speaking again. "As I said, we have one shot at this, and failure is not an option. Ensign Khan will be piloting the ship, and I'll have the task of dealing with the frequencies," she said. "You all will be using the flight simulation to pilot the probes. That being said, are there anymore questions before we get to our respective places?"

"Just one if I may, are we worried about them jamming us? The connection between flight simulator and probe I mean." Gemma asked concerned over the security of that vital link.

"Not overly worried," came the Intel Chief's reply. "Is there a possibility? Sure, there is, but they're unfamiliar with our technology, which gives us a bit of an advantage."

"Does anyone else have any questions?" Kelly asked.

"How long will we need to maintain the flight paths?" Aurilia asked.

Joey cleared her throat. "Until we don't need them anymore," she stated. "Which means when we're safely through the minefield. Anyone else?"

The Vulcan shook his head as did several of the others sitting in the room.

"Then we all know what we need to do," Joey stated. "Dismissed."

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