Post Number 10 Early Morning Briefing

Posted on Sat Jun 12th, 2021 @ 8:52pm by Commodore Cyndi Song & Lieutenant Tara Herculoid PhD & Major David Hurd Senior & Lieutenant Commander Kristian Long & Lieutenant James McTavish & Lieutenant Alister McKeon & 1st Lieutenant Greg Jackson & Captain Alesha Rivers
Edited on on Sat Jun 12th, 2021 @ 9:43pm

Mission: Mission Guardian Shield
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: Ten Mnutes After The Meeting Between Alistar and the Commodore

ON:

Ten minutes later Cyndi headed for the briefing room her hair still damp from the shower. She'd pull it back later. Tapping her com-badge "Senior staff this is the commodore report to the briefing room, it's urgent, something has happened that you need to be aware of." Due to the early hour Cyndi ordered a couple coffee carafes and a couple trays of pastries as she waited for her staff to arrive.

Alister entered on the Commodore’s heels another cup of coffee in his hands, and taken the time to shave, he gave her a nod, “Ma’am,” before taking the seat at her left and plugging away at the PADD in his hands, “Numbers are still coming in but any advantage the government has in overall numbers is being offset by the surprise of the rebellion.”

"It's going from bad to worse," Cyndi said "When everyone arrives you take the lead on the briefing."

Greg stared at the ceiling as his comm badge chimed calling him to the briefing room he muttered angrily that if this was some sort of practical joke he was going to make the organizer suffer a long, slow, painful death for waking him up smack in the middle of the night. Stumbling awake he pulled on a fresh uniform and grabbed the largest mug of coffee his replicator would provide him. He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin before exiting the room if someone was calling a meeting at this hour they could forgive him for not freshly shaving. He entered the briefing room surprised to see the Commodore and CIO already arrived, “Commodore,” he said with a brief salute to the CO before taking a doughnut from the tray and grabbing a seat toward the end of the table wondering what was going on.

Lt Commander James Bird arrived as he was relieved on the bridge. A new officer to this ship James was summoned given the mission ahead

" Good morning sir." James Bird said seeing the Admiral.

"Good morning commander," Cyndi said

Tara, Kristian and Alesha entered, Alesha took a seat where she could see the door.

James was waken by his Comm going off, as he sat up on the edge of the bed, he shut it off so as not wake Heather. James stumbled into the bathroom and took a nice cold shower to get the sleep out of his body. He dressed and grabbed a coffee and started towards the briefing room. Arriving James made the usual nods to Command and took his seat wondering what was so important to get everybody out of bed, in what seemed like the middle of the night.

"Lieutenant McKeon go ahead and start, we'll catch everyone up once they arrive. Time is of importance," Cyndi said.

Alister stood up from his chair, “Roughly eight hours ago the planet Aeternae a Federation member suffered the beginning of what we’re now calling a coup attempt during the hundred year anniversary marking the end to the war that saw the Republic becoming the planetary government. The parliament was bombed killing the bulk of the planets government including the Prime Minister and the senior military staff. Including in the casualty total is the Federation Ambassador, his assistant and their top aides. Shortly after the Federation embassy was assaulted by a mob resulting in the death of two local guards, a Federation Marine, and four other Federation civilians, before the embassy security and Marines managed to restore order. One of those civilians was in actual fact the Assistant Station Chief for Starfleet Intelligence. The station chief has not made contact and is presumed missing at this time. Along with the mob we can now say with certain two of the three continents have seen military forces erupt in open revolt we’re currently estimating a third of the standing defense force has went over to the rebels. The advantage the government has in overall numbers has been off set by surprise and the current holes knocked in the chain of command leaving forces unorganized and suffering from currently low morale. We have identified two rebel mechanized brigades driving toward the capital.” Alister paused to pull up a map of the Romulan border on one side and the planet on the other. “Normally Starfleet would allow the conflict to play out but Aeternae position near the Romulan neutral zone makes it an ideal location for a potential fleet base makes it vital that a ceasefire is put into effect and a diplomatic solution is found.” He paused and looked around the room for questions before continuing.

"The neutral zone is only about ten light years from that planet" Alesha commented "I can have fighters in the air by the time we get there. If fighters are not a wise decision then we're also combat trained "Do you have any idea as to the strength of the ground forces?"

"What about casualties? Between Doctor Bjorgo and myself we'll have sick bay ready," Kristian said looking to Cyndi "Commodore I'd like to have a cargo bay readied into a makeshift triage site,"

Walking in, Hurd saluted the Commodor and said, "Ma'am, I already have two assault teams and force recon element ready, and I he rest of my men are on hot standby," he finished, catching his breath. After a few moments he added, "I have my medics and our Doctor on standby as well."

Alister pulled up a second graph, “As of last count the ground element numbers just over half a million active duty soldiers, with a similar number capable of being called from reserves. They also have roughly thirty thousand in an Air Force with about three hundred combat capable planes in addition to a large fleet of hoppers to move ground troops rapidly around. This world has a long tradition of military service and it took seven world wars for a winner to emerge they are not to be underestimated.” He glanced down at the PADD in his hands, “We only have an accurate count on the injuries at the embassy and except for the bombing most casualties appear to be military at this time, we expect that to change once fighting breaks out in or near major population centers.”

Reaching out a hand Alister took a sip of coffee, “Currently the plan involves dropping Major Hurd and this ship’s Marine complement onto the planet to secure the embassy and protect it and any Federation citizens that make it to the embassy. Meanwhile the Commodore will offer her services as a neutral mediator and attempts to hammer out a ceasefire. That most likely means hosting the meeting aboard the Amandora as a neutral site. Open intervention is not permitted as this is being viewed as an internal matter. The fighter wing will need to stay on the Amandora even trying to keep a patrol over the embassy could lead to an accidental exchange of fire as the two sides seek to gain air superiority over the battlefield. We will have to be careful with medical aid and make sure it’s not being used to get combatants back into the fight but I’m sure our assistance will be appreciated once heavier fighting begins.”

"We're already en route as we speak. Intel is still gathering information," Cyndi said turning to Alistar "Do we know yet what each side wants to broker peace?"

"Being that close to the neutral zone there could be cloaked Romulan ships just at the edge of the boarder. I can modify our sensors to scan for them," Tara spoke up.

Then James chimed in "While Lt. Herculoid is setting that up, I can setup an algorithm to operate twenty four seven just in case the scan misses something. If I remember my Academy days, Romulan ships have the habit of phasing in and out of their cloaking." he explained.

“No, we are still trying to ID the leaders of each side, once that info has been determined we can proceed to see what each side wants. Long term peace might require a long term diplomatic mission but it will need a ceasefire to even begin to have those level of diplomatic attacks. We’re not even sure why one continent hasn’t seen armed fighting break out. Local comms are a mess at the moment, and the bulk of our Intelligence presence was geared toward comm intercepts across the border,” Alister replied, “As for the Romulans we’ve seen no indication of mobilization from across the border and if this was a prelude to a surprise attack I would have expected multiple civil disturbances along the border to distract the fleet not a single planet. I’m not saying they aren’t going to poke their noses in given the opportunity but we need to stay focused on getting both sides to the table. I’ll further additional information as it becomes available does anyone have any questions?”

"I have no questions at this time" Alesha said

"None that I can think of, from what I'm understanding this is going to be pretty much marines and Intel for now," Tara said

“For now, I’m sure once the casualties start coming in and we can ID the leaders of the two sides we’ll have plenty for everyone else to do,” Alister said sitting back down. “I’ll also be taking a team down to the planet Commander Lee went missing before the bombing, I want to follow his trail and see if he was onto something or just bad timing.”

James wasn't comfortable with not scanning the space near them; just to be safe "Lieutenant McKeon if or when you need any help from the Science Department, please let Lieutenant Herculoid or myself know" he offered.

“I’ll forward our most recent data on Romulan cloaking devices to help with the scans,” Alister said making a note on his PADD, “I don’t think they’re up to their pointed ears in the matter but they’re going to take a look and I would rather them not take a shot at knocking out a Sovereign class by surprise.”

Hurd cleared his throat, and said, "I request the use of, at my discretion, the use of Danger Close fire support from the ship."

Bjorgo came into the briefing room, speaking as if to someone at his side. "Thank you, Vette, I am here." His head came up and his expression attentive, but always with his underlying sarcastic, cynical and humorous self. "Hello, everyone. I have been listening in trans. I agree, there is a need here for diplomacy first. These people have seen enough battle for now. We can do this, Commodore, by offering medical assistance to anyone who wants it. Might get them listening enough to talk."

Kahn came in nodding to all around. She put her personal PADD away, having been tied in to the room's internal sensors. "I concur. Any presence we give must be armed, to show strength. Vulcanoids are very particular about that. However, we can't dress to intimidate, either. I say we give these folks a holler."

"Major I'll take that request under advisement, when you deploy onto the surface and that is warranted then I'll grant it but for now I don't think it's a good idea," Cyndi replied "I agree with the CMO, let's see how this goes. Diplomacy first and yes the ship will be neutral and ships security will be on standby. Lieutenant McKeon is there anything else we need to be aware of?"

“Not at this time, I should have more info by the time we reach orbit,” Alister replied to the Commodore’s question.

"Anyone else have any questions for either myself or Lieutenant McKeon?" Cyndi asked .

" The Romulans will not directly show their hand. If they are behind any of this it will be through other channels," the stranger in the room Lt Commander J. Bird spoke up. " Lieutenant Commander James Bird. You may call me Jay Bird for short. I am the Admirals personal assistant," he greeted.

"The only admiral aboard is my husband Paul Sanderson," Cyndi said "If he has a personal assistant this is the first I've heard of it.

"The commander is right commodore, my people were once invaded by the Romulan Empire, dark times for us. I worked hard to get a treaty between my people and the Romulans," Tara spoke up, giving her cousin and Alesha a warning look that only they knew what she meant.

" The Admiral is aware of my arrival. In fact he insisted I join you to help you with this mission. As a mission advisor." Bird replied.

Cyndi didn't say anything as this was not the place. Paul had come aboard on a Klavorian shuttle.

Greg cleared his throat from the corner, “I take it a full detail of the equipment the planetary defense forces has will be given to use before the drop onto the embassy,” he asked steering the conversation back toward the mission that had been placed in front of the Marines.

“Local produced, not as advanced as standard issue Federation gear but makes up for ruggedness and durability,” Alister replied, “Full briefing will be provided to both Marines and Security on their ground and air components. The planet lacks space capable craft but both the capital and each Continents main star port are protected by a Federation grade surface to orbit installation. At this time they are all still in the hands of the government.”

"Is it safe for the ship to assume orbit," Cyndi asked "But lieutenant by all means your people, the marines and security if need be have my full permission. We need to stop this civil war.

“Yes,” Alister replied to the Commodore’s question, “The system is more geared toward stopping small craft from landing large amounts of troops near key targets. The Amandora can easily survive the fire from the batteries to pull to higher orbit and out of their range if they decide to open fire.”

Hurd cleared his throat and asked, "Ma'am, I need our ROE, are we cleared to use deadly force?"

"Yes as once your men are deployed to secure the embassy it will be your job to defend it," Cyndi said.

“Any other questions,” Alister asked.

"If no one has any other questions or concerns I say we're good," Cyndi said.

"This is a Federation member, so Federation Law and Starfleet Regulations have merit." Bjorgo knew this situation could get even uglier simply due to Amandora's arrival. "I would like to set up a triage area within the embassy grounds, Commodore. I am no stranger to combat and I am familiar with Romulan ways and culture. We can then aid civilians in small groups, and any troops who request it, no matter which side."

"We will have to be careful with medical aid and make sure it’s not being used to get combatants back into the fight but I’m sure our assistance will be appreciated once heavier fighting begins.”

"I know I speak for Doctor Long and Lieutenant Rivers, we're all three fluent in the Romulan language. But as the CIO has stated we don't even know if they;re here yet," Tara commented

With a deadly, Icy look on his face, Hurd cleared his throat and said, "I promise each one of you this, I will give those who have taken the emabassy exactly one chance to surrender and then me and my men, because yes I will be right at the front with them, will storm the building and eliminate all opposition within." With a wry smile on his face he added, "And if the Romulans show up, we will utterly destroy them as well".


"Lieutenant McKeon when we arrive assign the away teams," Cyndi said.

“I’ll have assignments, but setting up an on ground medical facility will have to be cleared by the Major since he will be in charge of security on the ground,” Alister said giving a nod of his head, “I might also recommend two cargo bays being converted to hold wounded combatants one for each side I don’t think we can turn them away but interning them till after the conflict would keep us a neutral in the conflict.”

"Doctors Bjorgo and Long see to it that two cargo bays are cleared and ready,' Cyndi said "Major let me know when it's safe to have ground medical."

Bjorgo gave a grin and clasped Hurd's arm in the warriors handshake, bringing out his Romulan teral'n from his lumbar region. Right now it was a mere six inches long, and fit right along his belt. Depressing the thumb switches brought the handle to full size, the blades coming out like a bladed mace head. He put that in Hurd's left hand. "Victory, Major. I expect to get that back when we meet on the surface." He gave David a grin and then released his hand, turning away and leaving his beloved teral'n in the Major's grasp.

"Call when needed, Major," added Liza. Security will back you when needed."