Well it had to happen sooner or later - Recert Dean House pt1
Posted on Thu Jul 15th, 2021 @ 1:31am by Remal Kajun & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House
Mission:
Gamma Quadrant
Location: Various
Timeline: Current
Dean gave a look at the message that he got about these evals. Also his choices. So he said a message to Commander Savar and Chief Remal. That was who he was going to go with.
It was a new day and on the agenda today, a young, confident man who headed the Tactical station, Lieutenant Dean House. Well, still young by Remal's standards. Remal checked his console to find Dean had chosen him as his preferred counselor, which in turn meant Remal had some homework to do.
He stared with the man's background, his history. As he read through, he noted strengths and some devastating weaknesses. There were always flaws in one's armor. Like little missing chinks in the chain to be exploited. There were deaths in his record, possible scars that affected him both mentally and physically, and a desire to pursue the law to the point of wanting to be a JAG officer. All of this were potential tools to be used in an examination of this magnitude.
Remal made a few notes and forwarded the information on to Commander Savar for review for the physical portion of the Command recertification.
Savar read the information packet Remal had sent him outlining potential avenues to test in Lt. House's upcoming exams. By and far Savar agreed with the recommendations. He made a few notes in the margin expanding on the ideas Remal had put forth and sent back to the counselor.
Dean wasn't exactly that nervous. Simply curious of what they were going to throw at him. Just sitting around waiting for them to reply and let him know when and where.
Remal received the approval and notes in a quick turn around which was no surprise considering the efficiency of the man he was in communications with. He couldn't help but smile and he constructed his next message to Lt. Dean Stark House, "Please prepare yourself for Command Recertification at 0800 tomorrow morning in holodeck 1. Psych Eval to follow." And he signed it Counselor Remal Kajun.
There was an eyebrow raised, tomorrow? Dean had figured that they were going to throw it on him in the next twenty minutes. Okay then, that was fine with him. Replying, "Understood, Chief."
The following Day...
Commander Savar sat next to Remal Kajun in the lookout room, crafted so that they could observe the scenario in action without being seen. They had programmed this particular scenario to test Lt. House's unique physical and emotional states in order to test not only his will but his nerve as well. The moment he would arrive it would set the scenario in action.
Holodeck. That makes sense. It would be particularly risky to do a practical scenario depending on what they had planned. He'd already known they would be watching and not there. Anyone who had done this would know that. All the way back to the Academy.
Dean gave a breath a moment and stepped inside.
The bridge of the Sunfire was on full display, the Captain's seat reckoning. At tactical a JG Lt. "Captain on the bridge." He reported. And then followed it up with, "Captain we are receiving a distress call from the Mutara Nebula. A small freighter claims they were attacked and took shelter in the Nebula. Orders sir?"
Savar was watching as was Remal as Dean entered the holodeck to begin his exam.
It was probably going to be redundant but he was going to ask anyway. If it were real then it would make sense. So he was going to do it as if it was real. Dean moved over to the chair but didn't sit yet. "See if there are any closer starships in range to assist them."
There were some bleeps and blips and then, "Negative sir, we are the only vessel in range."
The real Remal turned to ask Savar, "Do you think he's ready to delegate authority in this situation or is he the type to take on every task as though it were his own responsibility?"
"Mr. House feels he can do everything Chief and better than anyone else," Savar answered bluntly.
"Well, then this should be a good opportunity for him to prove that he is adaptable and capable in more ways than one. I think this will be good for us and him." Remal turned back towards the show.
"I hope you are correct in your assessment Chief," Savar replied as he continued to watch the holo adventure play out.
"Alright. See if you can get them on comms. Let's see if there are any stations or outposts in range that might have ship routes and what ones have been in the sector in the past day. Lay in a course." Dean glanced over to Science, "What type of nebula is that?"
"Aye sir." tactical reported back.
"The nebula is comprised largely of ionized gases and high levels of static discharge. It is likely we will lose shields, navigation, and weapons targeting if we enter."
"We have to get there first, and deal with any hostiles if there are any if they refuse to talk." Sitting down, "Go to Yellow Alert and engage at Warp 7."
Savar sat and watched as House issued orders to the bridge crew, waiting to see what came next and how House confronted it.
Remal both wanted to comment, to ask questions about where things were heading. Instead he quietly watched and waited to see what would happen next.
"Sir, ETA one minute until we reach the Mutara nebula sector. All local stations report light traffic in and out of the area. There is one ship matching the description of the freighter. Looks like, Grisom class, SS Vengence, carrying a JAG envoy and an Ambassador named, Chloe... Sorry sir, I didn't get the last name. It looks as though the transmission was cut off."
"Slow to one-quarter impulse. I don't want to go in there just yet. They should be safe in the nebula for the moment." Shifting a little in the chair. "Let's get a scan of the system and surrounding area. See if we can find any ships that might seem out of place. Also, Science, check for weapons fire residue."
"Scans show no ships visible on the sensors. Of course, if they are cloaked or already in the nebula they wouldn't show up on our scans." Tactical replied.
"I'm not showing any weapons fire, residue, sir, but I do have two distinct warp field trails. One leads directly into the nebula, while the other seems to have circled around several times before dissipating. Best guess is they were debating on following them in."
"Hmm.." Dean leaned back a little bit, looking at the arm of the chair. He believed them. Just wanted to look at the visual to think about it a moment. "That's true. Either of those, we can't scan inside regardless." Musing a moment, "Can you throw out a tachyon pulse and see if there may be a cloaked ship? Once we get close enough. Helm take us towards where the other trail dissipated."
"Aye sir. Tactical view on screen now. Moving to within 1000 kilometers." Helm announced.
"Tachyon emitter online and ready. Activating dispersion field, now." the engineer reported.
"Feedback shows a densely packed neutrino surge close to the end of that trail. It could be a cloaked vessel." Tactical reported.
"So they're waiting..." said under his breath. Looking up fully again, "Idea's, theories?" Dean glanced about the Bridge to them.
TBC
