The Strain of Command

Posted on Fri Jul 24th, 2009 @ 10:05am by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Lieutenant Commander Abigail Valera

Mission: Dark Discoveries
Location: SS Mosh'Tar
Timeline: MD10 1400hrs

As the SS Mosh'Tar dropped out of warp, the expanse of the Guarded headquarters for this operation was visible on the viewscreen instantly, and Lekrit gulped as he saw it. It was bad enough having them breathing down his neck, but to have a Starfleet spook breathing down his neck and making him fly into the middle of a compound full of the Guarded... it was suicide.

"Mr Walex," he began. "Commence identification protocols."

Acle smiled faintly. It had been a long time since anyone had called him "Mr. Walex". He did not let any of the other bridge crew see the expression. "Aye Aye Cap'n." Acle said, deliberately letting his voice take on the inflection of an old earth pirate. He knew for a fact that it annoyed the captain.

Acle also well realized his own effect on the members of the bridge crew. Upon arriving on the ship, he had been met by one of the larger members of the crew. The man had been standing in his way, blocking the route Acle needed to travel. After politely asking the man to move aside, and being refused, Acle simply laid him out on the floor, apparently exerting no more effort then normal. The crew had left him alone after they had seen the larger man being escorted to the ship's sickbay for a mild concussion and abrasions on his arm.

Acle also had made sure to let the Captain see that he was tied into every critical system on the starship. It made for an... interesting ride. Still, no incidents had occurred (other then the one involving the man being sent to sickbay anyway). Acle didn't know exactly how, but, it had also circulated throughout the ship's remaining crew that he himself was Starfleet Intelligence. With the other members of Starfleet present, this cast into doubt who exactly was who they said they were. For all the crew knew, every single member of starfleet onboard the ship at that moment could have been Intelligence. Best played safer then sorry.

Acle looked down at his controls. His years as an officer in the command tract were paying off. The training for such a position involved training in every sub-section of the bridge, so theoretically, a captain could assume any station, sometimes two of them at the same time.

Acle deftly entered commands into his console, bringing up the required hailing channel and then pushing an execute button. The ship began broadcasting its presence, informing all who had the required encryption of who they were.

"Done." Acle replied simply.

Instantly the console bleeped with an incoming message, text only, informing the Mosh'Tar the precise docking bay in which they were to dock.

"Lekrit. Bring us to docking bay, tagged Alpha 17. Proceed at cruise speed. Once we are settled in, do not do anything further until I, or Lieutenant Reynolds, gives you the go-ahead." Acle said.

He leaned back slightly and spoke into the hidden communicator that the team had come equipped with this time. The channel was heavily encrypted and for all intents and purposes, undetectable.

=/=Away Team, this is Away Team Leader. We are coming up on the target base now. Be prepared for boarding and possible hostilities. Rules of Engagement are as follows: Engage hostiles if you deem yourself in imminent harm. Maintain disguise at all other costs. Assuming the original inspection passes, away team will rendezvous at the cargo bay. Good Luck Team.==

Abigail sighed. "Here we go," she muttered. On the way here she had been really antsy and nervous and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to go through with the mission. She turned and said, "Annalyn are you as nervous as I am?"

Annalyn had all her shields at a very low level, monitoring as many of the crew as she could. All she could do in nod. She was watching one crew member in particular, who was thinking very bad thoughts about the "new Crew" meaning them.

Abigail saw Annalyn's look and knew what it meant, "Sorry to bother you... Annalyn I'm glad you came on this mission and that you joined the Iapetus. Your a good friend." Abigail smiled at the doctor and hoped that even busy a smile would brighten her face.

Annalyn smiled as she still monitored the crew member, that one might have to be taken out, if those thoughts and feelings continued.

Max nodded from behind Acle and his console. "We're ready, Sir." he said.

The SS Mosh'Tar flew towards its target, navigating through the way points that the Guarded had told them through. Small Shuttle Craft flew on either side, escorting the freighter through. At several different points in space, the ship was subjected to heavy scanning. Finally, the ship came alongside the space station. It quickly oriented itself with the docking tube and then settled.

A shudder ran through the ship, indicating that it was physically connected to the station. The crew waiting for a moment, but, only silence greeted their expectations.

Acle looked down to his communications panel and frowned. He then looked up towards the captain. "Lekrit... They wish to speak with you directly. I am putting the communication on screen."

Acle gave the pirate captain a few moments to compose himself, then transferred the feed.

"You've done well, Captain." The voice emanated from a speaker mostly covered by shadow, though the bridge crew could see clearly the sneer pasted across the man's lips. "With your latest shipment, we finally have enough of what we need."

"Thank you, Gortaal." Lekrit replied, clearly nervous to be speaking with this man. By Gortaal's expression on-screen - what could be seen of it - this was Lekrit's normal response to the Guarded official. "W-what about our deal? Will I and my crew be free to go now?"

"Soon." Gortaal replied. "I want you and your senior officers to beam over. Join me for dinner." Gortaal cut the communication then, not allowing any objections or misinterpretations of what he had said.

After a moment of sitting still, Lekrit spoke to Acle, though he still faced forward. "He'll know that something is wrong. His officers were placed among my senior staff... when he sees they aren't with me..."

Acle paused. The intelligence operative in him wanted to simply say the short answer, that they would just infiltrate the ship and then go about their mission. If only life were so simple...

"Well then Captain... We will just have to hope that you are quick with your tongue when the situation arises won't we?" Acle replied while getting to his feet. His mind frantically raced to come to grips with an answer that was so far eluding him.

=/=Away team, this is Away Team Leader. Converge on the transporter room ASAP.==

Acle finished speaking into his hidden communications badge then bent down to retrieve the disruptor rifle that he had leaned against his console earlier. Although not nearly as elegant as his phaser rifle that he would normally bear, the disruptor was far less likely to raise eyebrows. "Lieutenant, please lead the way to the transporter room. Captain... Come along."

As Lekrit scouled at the human, Reynolds turned, and lead the small entourage through the corridors of the freighter, his own disruptor rifle hanging from his shoulder, and a smaller disruptor attached at his hip. The slighly heavier armament shouldn't be too much of a concern, since he was acting as chief of security for a ship working for a terrorist organisation.

As the three of them stepped onto the PADD, they were joined by Abigail and Annalyn, and one of Lekrit's crew, before the civilian Captain gave the nod, and they were beamed away in a golden glowing dust.

-------
Captain Lekrit (NPC)
Commanding Officer, SS Mosh'Tar
Played by Vorn Krace

Lieutenant Commander Acle Walex
Chief Intelligence Officer
Acting Executive Officer

Lieutenant Maxwell Reynolds (NPC)
Acting Chief Tactical/Security Officer
Played by Vorn Krace

Lieutenant Abigail Valera
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Annalyn LaToon
Chief Medical Officer
USS Iapetus