Bridge Post cont.

Posted on Sun Jan 2nd, 2022 @ 10:33am by Senior Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell & Commander Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali

Mission: Gamma Quadrant
Location: Bridge

[Previous]

"It would be an excellent place to train up, and also strategically a good jumping point to attack our quadrant from the Gamma quadrant" Finchley replied "also, I'd have imagined they'd have studied this area and planet, so if they've noted no-one coming near, it would afford them excellent cover if they took the planet over. They could also use the xenophobia of the planets inhabitants to their advantage. I'm not saying this is what's happened, but if they are there..." and he left the end of the sentence open.

"We should keep an open eye" Ronson agreed as he kept trawling through the historical database. " The shuttle has launched, ETA to the defence platform 8 minutes"

[Current]

"Concentrate on current files from within, say, the last three months Mr Mitchell" Finchley said "Try and find anything that's not in a regular pattern anymore. Have their economical pattern changed, are there downturns in crop yields, have mining orders for anything increased, have there been sudden changes in judicial policies, things like that."

"Aye Sir" Ronson turned his attention to the more recent files "Sir I'm sending the medical Data to sickbay for their analysis" with that out of the way he buried himself in the data.

Meanwhile a shuttle rose from the surface, it's trajectory that of the Weapon's platform.

"Sir, a shuttles taking off from the planet surface" Karadis reported.

"Track it, charge weapons but don't target it, yet" Finchley replied.

"Aye Sir" Karadis said, setting about tracking the shuttle.

"We are being hailed Sir, it's the Grand Chancellor" Ronson announced from his station.

"Odd that they should be hailing us rather than the shuttle, however, open a channel Mr Mitchell" Finchley answered.

"Aye Sir" Ronson replied and brought the channel onto the main viewscreen.

"This is Commander Kerr of the USS Sunfire, how can we help you?" Finchley asked.

" We need to ensure certain protocols are followed" The Chancellor started, his voice wavering in fear. "There is to be no physical contact, and your crew will be decontaminated on arrival to ensure they carry no pathogens that may harm us"

"Agreed Chancellor, I'm certain our delegates will comply with your protocol" Finchley replied "baring in mind we will be monitoring from our end all proceedings as they happen, we to must also ensure the safety of our crew" he finished.

"You have witnessed the Plague as well?" The Grand Chancellor asked as his shuttle began its approach to the platform.

"Sorry Chancellor, I haven't" Finchley replied "My world is far from here, though I have read in our history files how devastating they can be. If we can be of any further service, please let us know, I hope the meeting you all have is very productive, Sunfire out."

He looked round at Comm's so that they'd cut the link. Once done, he turned to Aurora and asked "Could you get any readings off of him, could you sense any kind of deception?"

Aurora was studying the conversation closely, “He’s obviously terrified, anything else he’s either hiding nicely or his fear is masking it.”

Ronson paused until was cut "I don't detect anything out of the ordinary Sir...by standard issue sensors that is...I'm not telepathic or anything tough."

"Actually I was asking Lieutenant Vali if she could sense anything" Finchley replied "But, speaking of sensors, check that platform Mr Mitchell, I want you to double check it is out of commission for firing."

Ronson ran a few scans and raised his eyebrows. "It looks like they've got power back, and weapons are charging, however they don't seem to be able to target, or are choosing not to. I'll send this detail to the away team as well" he pressed a few more buttons.

"Karadis, bring our weapons online but don't target anything" Finchley said "if they want to try and sppok us, they'll see we're not left wanting to defend ourselves."

"Ayr Sir, weapons online" Karadis reported.

"Sir we’re being hailed again, it's the Grand Chancellor" Ronson cut in, his tone nervous.

"Will you all stop being jittery, remember you're Starfleet Officers and crew for Gods sake" Finchley reminded everyone "Now open the channel."

Communications opened the channel and nodded to Finchley.

"Yes Chancellor, how can we help you this time?" Finchley asked.

"You have powered your weapons" The Chancellor was direct in his approach. " We are coming to this meeting in peace, there is no need for such aggression"

"Actually Chancellor, your platforms power is back online and your weapons are charging, we have the readings to show it" and he nodded to Karadis to send the information to the Chancellors shuttle.

Karadis nodded in afformation.

"Don't try and be coy with us Sir, we're simply doing exactly what you're doing" Finchley said.

" We are repairing the platform that you damaged in the first place" The Chancellor replied strongly. "Power down your weapons"

"Please don't take that tone with me Chancellor, I don't frighten easily, remember, you attacked us first and we defended ourselves. Now, powering up your platform is one thing, powering up your weapons on that platform is something entirely different, that's a hostile move, one of your making. I can assure you, if you continue on this course we will have no option but to match your actions. I would seriously consider your actions and power down your weapons before this escalates" Finchley replied, then turned to the Comm's officer and mimicked a cut throat action to cut the link. which the Comm's officer duly did.

The Grand Chancellor bristled as the communications link was cut - he wasn't good at this whole 'dealing with other races' caper. In most cases anyone who ventured too close in the ion cloud were either destroyed, or fell for the sophisticated shielding system that all by made the planet invisible. Diplomatic Relations were so rarely used it had even be dropped from the 'required reading's necessary for his position. Time to rethink his strategy.

TBC