The Hunt Begins

Posted on Sun Sep 27th, 2009 @ 11:51am by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Commander Jordan Gunning & Lieutenant Commander Abigail Valera & Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson & Lieutenant Bradley Openhouse

Mission: Into a Devil's Heart
Location: Bridge
Timeline: MD05 1000hrs

As Vorn exited his ready room, he was pleased to see all the senior staff there, even some of the ones who weren't technically bridge staff. Obviously the security guard had started the scuttlebutt going around the ship that Vorn had managed to find something, and the rumour mill had spread that they would be leaving. For once, the rumour mill was right.

Taking his place in the command chair, he called out to everyone. "Status report."

Annalyn stood, "Sickbay is restocked and ready to rumble."

"Engineering's good to go. Warp core reads peak efficiency and we've got teams down there ready to fix any issues that come up." Lucas said.

"Science is ready for any astranomical sightings or linguistic meetings," Abigail said shortly after Luc and Annalyn. She thought about Bonnie and the others in her section. They were good officers and she may need them soon.

Jordan felt slightly out of place in his own uniform, sitting at the tactical console gazing out at the interior of the docking bay. These people had come to know others in this chair and he wasn't certain that they would accept him but he realised that either way he had a job to do and he planned to do it to the best of his ability.

"Security and tactical standing by Captain. All security stations report ready."

"Counseling Department at the ready." said Bradley.

"XO reports all departments ready. Ship is secure for launch from the Starbase and has received clearance." Acle reported, adopting a formal tone.

As each department reported in, Vorn acknowledged with a nod. "Very good," he said as the last person finished. He then keyed the control on his chair's armrest that would send a ship-wide message to all crew. "All hands, this is the Captain. Prepare for departure. Set condition green, and clear the airlocks."

"Mister Jameson, release all docking clamps and umbilicals. Mister Cook, take us out, one half impulse. Bring all space-flight systems online."

"We're good to go when you are." Lucas said with a slight grin.

Tom (NPC), who had recently received his promotion through to Petty Officer 3rd Class, simply nodded at his Captain's order, and waited until the chief engineer had released all the clamps and station equipment before shunting power to the engines. They performed without the slight stutter he'd noticed on their way in, after being rather rapidly repaired by the station's crews after their battle with the Guarded.

Acle leaned back in his chair, a frown coming unbidden to his face. He looked over at the captain, then towards the main view screen before once again turning to the captain. He raised an eyebrow before consulting the small console built into the XO's chair, searching for navigational points or directions. Finding none, he again turned to look at his captain.

Vorn noticed Acle's furtive looks, and fought to keep a smile off his face at his acting first officer's confusion. If he'd have been on the ship last night, instead of wherever he'd disappeared to, Vorn would have had the chance to fill him in before-hand. As it was, he waited until Acle asked him where they were going or, failing that, the time came to give the heading to the helmsman.

Acle was the chief intelligence officer. More so, he was the acting executive officer. Why did he not know where the ship was going?

"Sir..." Acle began, studiously keeping his face impassive and his tone professional. His voice dropped so that only Vorn could hear him. "Captain... Where the hell are we going?"

"Omega IV," Vorn replied. "I found a clue last night. I want you to dig up all information you can on this character," he tapped a few controls on his console and sent the image from Peter's transmission before this all started. "I have a feeling that is where we're going to find our first lead."

"A feeling Sir?" Acle said, but, left it at that. Instead, he picked up his padd and began punching in requests. It only took a moment for his PADD to find the answer that he was looking for, but, whatever it was, it made his eyebrows raised

"Yes," Vorn replied, keeping his voice low. He wasn't going to hide the information from the rest of the bridge staff, but he'd rather be able to present it to them all in the conference lounge. "A couple of days before Peter left, he received a transmission from this man. From the transcript, he is currently involved with Peter's ex-fiancé, a woman named Sara."

"The message said that 'he' had taken her, and that she had said if anything happened to her, Peter would be the only one who could save her," he raised an eyebrow to his acting XO. "Sound like it links up with anything?" he asked, rhetorically.

"Well..." Acle said. "This is what I have on the man. My PADD matches the picture to one 'Sean Pendragon'. The interesting part is that there is not any records of his enlistment in Starfleet, however, he holds an Omega 3a clearance with a Red tag... Meaning that someone deemed that he would need to know more then your typical Starship Commander." Acle looked up from his PADD to thoughtfully stare at the image of the outside cosmos. "As far as your 'link', it certainly explains why he dashed off... Women will be the ruin of all men."

"Omega 3a?" Vorn asked, confused. "Now that is odd... and unexpected."

Acle paused for a moment, then said "Where and when did you find this anyway Sir?"

"I did another search of Peter's room. I found a picture of Peter and Sara, and it sparked a memory," Vorn explained.

Acle nodded, accepting the answer. He hadn't really gotten to know the XO as well as he should have, and he would have missed such a personal touch.

"Helm," Vorn raised his voice again, turning to address the rest of the bridge. "Set course for Omega IV colony, maximum warp."

"Course set, Captain," Tom said, as he input the coordinates and aligned the ship along the right trajectory.

"Engage."

The Luna-class starship raced ahead into a blue flash of light as it reached faster-than-light speeds, the view screen changing to a show of the streaming stars of warp travel. "What is our ETA, Mister Cook?" Vorn asked.

"ETA is seventeen hours, Captain," the Petty Officer replied from his station, after a brief look at the calculations on the right-hand side of his console.

Vorn nodded. They were making good time. "Find out what you can, Acle," Vorn said, as he made ready to push himself out of his chair. "I want to know all you can find me on this 'Sean Pendragon'. This 'Omega 3' clearance has me concerned." With Acle already filled in, he could leave him in charge of the bridge while he went to the observation lounge with the rest of the senior staff. "The rest of you; conference."

"Aye Aye Captain." Acle said, pushing himself out of his own chair when he saw the captain do the same. He took the captain's chair once the captain himself was nearly to the conference door. "XO has the conn." Acle acknowledged formally.

He looked about the bridge, making sure that the station shifts were handled smoothly before picking up his padd once again.

------------
Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Commander Acle Walex
Chief Intelligence Officer & Acting First Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Jordan Gunning
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Abigail Valera
Chief Science Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant Annalyn LaToon
Chief Medical Officer
USS Iapetus

Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Iapetus

&

Lieutenant JG Bradley Openhouse
Chief Counsellor
USS Iapetus