Bang on Cue

Posted on Sun Nov 7th, 2010 @ 1:11pm by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Commander Jordan Gunning & Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer & Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson & Lieutenant JG Christopher Rogan

Mission: Shadows Fall
Location: USS Iapetus - Transporter Room, Conference Room
Timeline: MM2 MD27 2309hrs

Vorn stood, alongside Acle, Sara and Jordan, as they awaited the arrival of Captain Kaldor on the transporter pad. It wasn't very often Vorn welcomed another captain onboard the Iapetus, but he knew the standards generally held for such occurances; the arriving captain usually expected to be introduced to a small number of the senior staff, and especially the first officer of the ship they were arriving on. It wasn't necessarily procedure, but it was something that was always considered good manners on the behalf of the welcoming captain.

Sara stood towards the back of the group. Despite being a member of the senior staff, she was not used to being a part of the welcoming committee. It was not often that ship's intelligence officer was paraded in front of visiting personnel. However, under the situation, her presence was necessary due to the sensitive nature of the situation. She just held tightly on to her PADDs and waited patiently, hoping to get the greetings out of the way and move on to business.

Chris stood at the end of the line next the Erich. His stance poker straight but his mind occupied with a thousand thoughts of what to do next. There was still another report to send. Another 15 pages to write for his dissertation and then a message to his parents to thank him for the care package. Not to mention having to send his team evaluations. But that all could take a side step for a little while. It was the best part of having a flexible position on the Iapetus.

Acle stood silently, awaiting the arrival of the visiting captain. He had briefly argued in favor of a more formal welcoming, in which in strict military fashion the arriving captain would be announced throughout the ship followed by bosun's pipes. Although it was not common to do so, there was something to be said about such traditions being kept alive and well. Or, Acle mused perhaps I have a bit of a nostalgic streak. Wouldn't that be irony in a former spy.. Acle mentally shook himself, never once displaying any outside emotion or action. He settled into the comfortable position of parade rest, displaying to those who knew him quite well, his past as a non-commissioned officer.

Of all the things that Kaldor disliked about matter transportation (and there were many), it was the whine of the internal workings that really irked him. As his atoms were fired across the void of space by the transporter of the Marconi those thoughts became somewhat fuzzy before reforming in a moment of perfect clarity as he once again took shape in his new surroundings.

He took note of the many faces in the room. Quite the welcoming committee. He thought as he stepped forward from the pad, moving towards the captain of the Iapetus. "Good to see you, Krace."

"Welcome aboard the Iapetus, Captain," Vorn responded, holding out his hand for the man to shake. "As I'm sure you can appreciate, we are en-route to an assignment of our own at present, so I trust you'll understand if we move straight to the matter at hand."

Sara quickly interrupted the discussion. "May I suggest a change of venue, Captains? The transporter room is not exactly the most secure location."

"Certainly." Kaldor answered. "I'd like to have you on your way as soon as possible."

The Chief Tactical officer piped up. "I think Conference Room Five is free. It's just down the corridor."

"Goody," Chris said aloud realizing how loud he spoke until everyone turned to face him. His face turned red, "I can't wait to discuss the Diplomatic Implications of our mission with the good...Cap...tain..." Chris just turned profile left and waited hopefully for someone else to speak up.

Pausing only slightly at the Ensign's strange behaviour, Vorn decided it would be best to prevent Kaldor from thinking any more on it. "If you'll follow Commander Archer to the conference room Captain, I'll join you shortly."

Archer nodded, gesturing for the door. "If you would follow me, Captain, we will get everything set up."

"You got it." Kaldor replied. "Ensign, signal the Marconi and have them send over the imagery we took, will you?"

"Aye sir," the young transporter chief answered dutifully.

Now that the other captain was officially welcomed onboard, Acle had no need of being away from the bridge, and so Vorn turned to him. "Head back upstairs and keep an eye on things," he told the XO. "The sensor sweeps haven't come back with anything yet, which may be a good sign, but I still don't want to get caught with our pants down if Kaldor does have a major problem here."

Leaving the XO to take care of the ship, Vorn headed in the opposite direction to the turbolift, following the route the others had just recently taken to the conference room. As he entered, he checked that those who he trusted to be there were, and then sealed the door behind him before taking a seat.

"Captain Kaldor, what has you so concerned as to ask for us to divert out here to rendezvous? I presume it would be a sensitive matter, considering the nature of this system and the fact we are meeting face-to-face."

"Without loading you up with unnecessary pre-amble, we're trusted with the care of a very sensitive project. Our scans and the information we could gather on the anomalous readings put too high a likelihood on there being some kind of cloaked ship out there. Quite frankly, if there is something out there then we can't take it on alone."

"With all due respect, Captain," Gunning piped up, "what good will the Iapetus be against a vessel that we can't see?"

"Official reports lead me to believe that the Iapetus has had a new sensor array fitted in preparation for her deployment in the Delta Quadrant. The sensitivity of said sensors could give us the upper hand in any tactical confrontation."

"I'll take a look into trying to boost resolution then shall I?" Luc said, finally breaking his silence "The new sensor array might not be up to par. Better to be upgraded too much than not be up to scratch."

Sara interjected. "The Klingons have expressed interest in your project before, Captain. However, they are rarely so indirect. Staying cloaked to observe and follow is more along the lines of something the Romulans would do. In either case, they've managed to evade our detection grids."

"Whether this is a cloaked ship or not, Commander: I know that I feel better having another ship around."

As if on cue to illustrate the Captain's point, the Iapetus rocked suddenly and violently, the windows suddenly being lit by an intense orange glow as the USS Marconi exploded. By instinct, Vorn reached up and slapped his com-badge. "Krace to bridge - shields up!"

-------------------
Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer

Commander Acle Walex
Executive Officer

Lt. Commander Jordan Gunning
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lt. Commander Sara Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson
Chief Engineering Officer

Ensign Christopher Rogan
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Iapetus