The Gravity of the Situation
Posted on Fri May 5th, 2023 @ 3:11am by Lieutenant Commander Damien Maillet & Commander Irene Vincent "Rally"
1,421 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Season 1, Episode 1: Wanted: A Few Brave Men
Location: Deep Space Station K-9
Timeline: T-Minus 7 Days to the beginning of "War, Peace, And All That Jazz"
When the travel pod from the transport ship Ibn Daud docked with one of Deep Space K-9’s external airlocks, Lieutenant Commander Damien Maillet was the first to disembark, a right afforded him by his recent promotion.
This was a mistake, of course, as the gravity plating was fluctuating and his shoulder bag promptly dropped to the deck, followed immediately by Damien himself.
“So sorry, sir!” A young woman in a red operations minidress ran to a nearby console, removed the front cover, and began adjusting something with a spanner. “We thought we had this fixed!”
A few moments later — though to Damien those moments felt like eternities as his ribs crushed under his own weight — the gravity plate was restored to normal. “Quelle bienvenue,” (what a welcome) he muttered to himself as he climbed back to his feet and tried to regain his composure in front of the young engineer and handful of junior officers and enlisted persons waiting to leave the pod. “You can come out now,” he told them. “It appears to be safe,” he added, eyeing the engineer.
The other new arrivals quickly scurried out of the travel pod and made their way to the quartermaster’s office. Damien, meanwhile, stayed where he was. “You.” He pointed to the woman who fixed the deck. “What’s your name?”
The woman looked nervously away, but answered the question. “Ensign Kaede Azusagawa, sir. Sorry about the deck plating, sir! We were fixing it but I guess it didn’t—”
“It’s fine,” he said, interrupting her. “It’s fixed. I need to see Commander Vincent. Take me to her.”
**
[Commander Vincent's Office, Deck 9]
Commander Vincent, in the meantime, was sitting back in her office, quietly skimming over a shipping order that Lieutenant Eraar had sent in about an hour ago, when her communicator started going off.
=Commander Vincent, Commander Maillet is here to speak with you,= someone on the other end reported.
Ah, the new Second Officer; Rally had heard some fairly good things about him, including a close encounter with a D6 in which he successfully decoded a Klingon transmission and subverted their plans. She could definitely use quick-thinkers like him, especially out here on the fringes on Klingon space.
=Send him up to my office,= she replied.
=...Um, he's actually here right now,= the officer on the other end replied sheepishly. =Like... he's in the waiting room to your office; I'm looking at him right now.=
Cursing under her breath, Rally got up and moved over to the heavy steel doors leading out into the waiting room.
"Just a sec!" she called out as she shunted one of the doors aside, revealing a pale-skinned blonde who probably had an inch on her as far as height went, but not much else.
"Sorry about that, Commander," she replied, dusting off her hands. "The retraction gears seized up a while back, and while Commander Hopkins should be getting to that later today, a few other things have cropped up that I've told her take priority; buy anyhow, what's say we have a seat and I'll fill you in on the state of things? God knows Starfleet's been dropping the ball on that lately..."
“Merci (Thank you), Commander,” Damien said as he quickly squeezed through the half-opened door, a bit concerned it would slam shut on him. The Commander was cute, he thought, with a stylish cut to her dark hair. Don’t let any pictures of her reach home, or I’ll get more teasing than when Eliane found the images of the Eifie.
“I’ve read some of the reports,” he said as he found a chair, suddenly afraid it would give out under him. “But I think it’s incomplete. I think they didn’t want to give me anything classified while in transit.”
"Of course they didn't; dingbats keep finding excuses to keep my crew in the dark..." Rally grumbled. "Alright then; what have they told you so far?"
“Aggressive expansion by a Klingon House, Khartan,” Damien answered. “It left out any explanations about why.. Why his House, why these systems?” He shifted his weight and heard a slight creak. “The Eifie and Rheuysians seeking Federation membership, the first being a likelier candidate than the second, but again, nothing on why, aside from the logical ‘better the Federation than the Empire’.”
"Well, the answer to that first question is two-fold," Rally explained, neatly folding her hands. "A few years ago, Khartan perished under circumstances that are classified by Starfleet Intelligence. While Khartan himself was never really a threat to us, so long as we kept on our end of the sector, his son Bra'Khis, who succeeded him, has made clear that he looks down on all non-Klingon species, especially towards humans. The details surrounding why he's this way are a bit murky, as we have very little to go off of when it comes to his formative years. But long story short, as long as he rules over his father's house, he'll be nothing but trouble for this sector."
Damien locked that bit of information away.
"As for the second part of that question," Rally continued, pulling up a chart on her PADD and handing it over to Damien to review. "While Intelligence has some suspicions that this may be a personal matter for Bra'Khis, the most logical explanation is likely the same reason that establishing a Federation presence in this sector would be so critical: Sector 813 is home to near-unprecedented levels of natural resources, including Dilithium deposits in the Laurenbac, Oneida, Jorumand, Alchedoma, Umbre, Syvel, Glae, Rheuys Prime, Roth, and Gann systems. It's as clear to anyone here that whomever gains control of those systems will inevitably hold the high ground."
"Worlds that are presently controlled by the Federation, Eifie, or Rheuysians," Damien observed. "With the Eifie and Rheuysians between the Klingons and us. If Bra'Khis decides to attack, they fall before we do. I take it this is why both are seeking Federation support and membership?"
"Bingo," Rally responded. "Both the Eifie and the Rheuysians only have about 15 years' experience working with warp technology; they know they wouldn't stand a chance against the Klingon War Machine. At least with Federation support, they have the reassurance that their assets will be protected by someone who can face Bra'Khis head-on."
“Do you think war is inevitable?” Damien asked. He hoped the answer was no, but unless there was also a Klingon diplomatic contingent it seemed like everyone was planning around a guaranteed conflict, rather than aiming to avoid one altogether.
"I'm afraid so," Rally lamented. "Of course, no telling if or when that will happen, but I guarantee you that the moment the hammer drops, Bra'Khis will seize upon the opportunity to strike."
"Then I suppose it's to the mutual benefit of the Federation, Rheuysians, and Eifie to ally together," Damien said. "Whether we can reach an understanding is the real question. I've begun learning their languages, but I need to speak with them to make much more progress."
"We expect be hosting the appointed diplomats a full week from now," Rally explained. "In the meantime, however, we should have a comprehensive- if somewhat incomplete- compendium of their languages on file somewhere. I believe Lieutenant D'Sai is looking into it right now, so it may behoove you to speak with... Him? Her? It? They? You know, I don't think I bothered to ask..."
"I'll be sure to ask," Damien replied. He had read about their science chief, and had never met a Nictai. "Anything else, Commander?"
"That should be everything..." Rally sighed. "Best leave you to it, then, Commander?"
"Oui, ma'am," Damien stood, taking the dismissal at it was. But first: "Commander, I would ask that we try to prioritize maintenance of the gravity system. It, ah, made us a bit heavier upon arrival." He subconsciously comforted a sore rib.
Rally nodded. "I'll have Commander Hopkins look into it, but thank you for bringing it to my attention. Other than that... dismissed."
Posting By (In Order Of Appearance):
Lieutenant Commander Damien Maillet
Chief Communications Officer, Deep Space Station K-9
Ensign Kaede Azusagawa
Operations Officer, Deep Space Station K-9
Commander Irene Vincent
Commanding Officer, Deep Space Station K-9
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