Mission Briefing

Posted on Wed May 29th, 2019 @ 5:05pm by Captain Andreas O'Shaunessy & Petty Officer 2nd Class Nemolera & Lieutenant Commander Anders Odegaard & Lieutenant Commander Tyron Ral & Lieutenant JG Daisy Skie-Cloud & Lieutenant JG Dave & Lieutenant JG Judah Taggart
Edited on on Wed May 29th, 2019 @ 5:31pm

Mission: A Fresh Start on a New World
Location: Observation Lounge

Andreas returned from his briefing with Fleet Captain Haught and went back to his ready room. While the TFCO gave him a lot of information to start with, he opened a secure connection to access the mission reports from the Hephaistos to learn more about their encounters with the Hirogen.

After going through the reports, he scanned through the readiness reports of the Alabama to see how close they were to being ready to depart for their mission. Seeing they were less than 6 hours away from go time, he tapped his comm badge. "O'Shaunessy to all senior staff, report to the Observation Lounge for the mission briefing in 15 minutes."

Striding across the bridge, Andreas went into the Observation Lounge and put out some carafes of coffee, tea and water to get ready for the briefing.

Since he had been nearby, Tyron Ral was the first to report to the Observation Lounge. Walking into the large room, he said, "Good morning, Captain. How are you today?"

"I'm good, thanks, Commander."

Dave walked in, jacket disheveled as always, with yet another cup of coffee in his right hand and a PaDD in his left.

"Good morning, Lieutenant," Ral said to the rough-looking lieutenant in yellow.

"Commander." Dave replied, lifting the mug in a gesture of greeting. "It is so far." he added with a grin.

Daisy walked into the lounge, wearing sandals, dark pink skirt and a light pink sleeveless blouse with combadge. She had just arrived at the ship when the summons came. Her hair was down and loose with a slight bounce with each step as she moved to take her seat at the table. "Heyas all."

"Do you realize this is a mission briefing? Who is hell are you?" Ral questioned harshly. He wondered how this 'person' had gotten past ships' security. And he was going to have a long talk with whoever ran security on this ship about this.

Andreas winced slightly before responding. "This is completely my fault, Commander. I should have spoken to you about this prior to the briefing. This is Lieutenant Skie-Cloud, our Chief Flight Operations Officer. I've given her some latitude on the uniform code."

"Oh well then, welcome to the ship, Lieutenant. I'm Lieutenant Commander Tyron Ral, Strategic Operations and Second Officer," Tyron said as he extended his hand in greeting.

Daisy was momentary taken back by the harsh words, but before she could respond, Captain spoke up. She listened to the exchange and the change of attitude. "Well met Commander Ral." She spoke as the smile returned to her. "And you as well. Welcome." She gave courteous head tilt/bob in his direction.

"Where's the Executive Officer? I find it very unseemly for the XO to be this late," Ral said by way of a question.

Before Andreas could respond, his yeoman walked in. "Excuse me, Captain, this just came in from the station." PO2 Nemorlera said timidly.

"Thank you, Yeoman." Andreas said as he read the dispatch. "To answer your question, Commander Ral, Commander Odergaard has been on temporary assignment and will be joining us just before launch."

"Since most of us are here, we should get started." Pushing a few buttons, Andreas pulled up the charts of the Hirogen sector. "Last year, the USS Hephaistos took out an asteroid base in the Hirogen sector. They found a nearby planet that would be a perfect location for a Forward Operating Base to help Task Force 37 more self sufficient. Our orders are to survey the planet, clear an area and set up the basic section of the base."

Taking a sip of coffee, he looked over the assembled crew. "Are there any questions so far?" Andreas asked.

Judah entered the Observation Lounge just as the Captain started speaking, "My apologies Captain," he said as he quickly found a seat, and began to make to make notes on his PADD. What a way to make a first impression, he thought mildly to himself. Judah's first meeting with the Leadership team and he was late.

"All is good, Lieutenant." Andreas replied.

"OK Captain, I'm probably the only person who hasn't set up this type of base before so are there any types of strategic issues that I should be aware of? That and any tactical issues that may crop up?" Ral asked trying to get a grasp on the area.

"Our reports show that there's a less than 5% chance of life on the planet, so our initial surveys will need to verify that there is no life before continuing. If there is life, we are to leave the planet untouched. If there is zero life, our next step will be to find a suitable location that is easily accessible and defensible." Andreas paused before continuing. "While the runabouts are doing their surveys of the planet, the Alabama will be on overwatch while 3 pairs of fighters are flying around the system to assist in ensuring the Hirogen don't show up unannounced to cause any issues."

"Understandable. So our job will be to ensure there are no signs of life and to keep away the Hirogen," Ral said before sighing heavily and saying, "Sounds like an easy day. What say the rest of you?"

"Captain, if I may," Judah asked before proceeding, "I will coordinate the away team to scout a defensible and accessible position. I'd like to have an engineer and science officer along. I believe there input would be essential to choosing the correct location"

Daisy listened to the others for several minutes as she read her mission brief, looking at the star coordinates and planning out the route to take. Looking up, she spoke softly, "There are a few of you that need to be recertified in shuttles. Please make arrangements to have it done while in transit. Otherwise I'll have to assign pilots to fly you guys." She looked over the assembled staff of senior officers. "If the Captain can find time to get recertified, so can you."

She looked down at her screen before her briefly and resumed looking over the assembled officers. "While in transit also. Let me know what type of shuttle you'll be needing for your payload of equipment and personnel."

Ral looked at the flight controller and wondered, out loud, much to his chagrin, "Was that comment meant for me, Lieutenant? Because, I feel the need to be recertified in shuttlecraft operations," he laughed. Ral looked over to the Chief of Security who had only moments before come into the room and said, "Lieutenant Taggart, after this mission briefing, I would like to meet with you about the security concerns for this mission and for the ship as well."

Daisy looked at Ral and gave him a nod as she transferred to his console at the table or Data PADD he carried with him; showing that arrival on a new ship, that everyone needed to be certified on auxiliary crafts of the main ship. His was sorely lacking.

She then sent the destination up to the bridge to get the on duty helms person busy plotting the course, as she listened as she got caught up on past shifts logs while she was on shore leave.

Ral giggled at the helm officer when he saw her looking at her padd which no doubt had a few things on it that were on her to-do list. He then looked down at his own padd which held a multitude of things for him to get done before they departed. He sighed and wondered when they were going to be getting underway. He was itching to get this mission started though not as eager to engage the Hirogen.

"Lieutenant Taggart, I'll make sure a Science Officer is at your disposal. As for the engineer, please coordinate with Lieutenant Dave to have either himself or whomever he chooses to go with you." Andreas replied. "As per Lieutenant Skie-Cloud's request, all senior staff who have not approached her for their recert's, please do so once we've left Iota. Commander Ral, I'd like you to coordinate any tactical issues with Lieutenant Taggart as well as the fighters with the acting Marine CO."

Taking another drink, Andreas glanced around the table. "OK, folks, that's all I have for you at this juncture. Please finish all final checks for your departments and report back to the bridge in 3 hours for our departure from Iota. Are there any final questions?"

"Understood Captain," was all Ral said as he thought it was prudent for him to keep as silent as possible at this juncture in time. But then again, he knew he would have to see the flight controller for his recertification soon as well as the Tactical Officer and MCO as well.

"Thank you for your time, everyone. I'll see you at your posts in 3 hours." Andreas said as he got up and went to his ready room.

======

Lieutenant Commander Tyron Ral

&

Lieutenant JG Daisy Skie-Cloud

&

Lieutenant JG Judah Taggart

&

Lieutenant JG Dave

&

Lieutenant Commander Anders Odegaard

&

Captain Andreas O'Shaunessy