Senior Staff Briefing

Posted on Thu Nov 23rd, 2023 @ 4:39pm by Captain Peter Nixon & Commander Jacqueline Wallace-Shaw & Lieutenant Irril Sharvo & Lieutenant Victoria Mason & Lieutenant T’Sal & Lieutenant T'Laan & Lieutenant Halli Bann & Lieutenant Tana Marshall & Lieutenant Alinar Vasatra

1,969 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Nightingale
Location: Briefing Room, Deck 1, USS Alliance
Timeline: Mission Day 1

It had been six months in the making, but for the first time - in a long time - the senior staff of the USS Alliance were meeting for a mission briefing. Albeit, with the exception of one or two, all of the faces were brand new.

Lt T'Sal arrived two minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. As she entered, she was tapping away on a PADD - there was no reason she couldn't oversee her duties while on the go. She took a seat without so much as looking up from her work.

Lt Mason thought she had a few days to get things ready, but it looked like things were progressing quicker than she expected. It’s a good thing she stayed ready so she rarely had to get ready. Having dressed and eaten, she now made her way to her first Senior Staff meeting since being assigned to the Alliance. There was a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she stopped short of the entrance took a breath and stepped through. The only other senior staff member she had met was the XO. So this was it. Time to meet the crew.

She looked right then left. At least she got there before the Captain could get started. So now to find a seat.

Lieutenant Irril Sharvo quietly entered the Briefing Room adjacent to the Bridge of the Alliance through the side door, having not wanted to be much of an interruption for the meeting had it got started already. The Bajoran Officer was very familiar with the layout of the Intrepid Class from his previous assignment to the Bellerophon, but it was interesting to be in the room having it assigned its traditional function. On the Bellerophon the Briefing Room was used by Admiral William Ross as his personal Ready Room while the Captain had an office elsewhere on the ship. He quickly found a seat.

Jacky was running a little late to her own personal tastes, but she wasn't actually late yet. She walked in just behind the lieutenant and found her seat quickly, making notes of the faces there so far and smiling with polite greeting as she set her stack of pet PADDs on the table. (She was coming to think of them as pets by now.)

Halli was next through the door, PADD in one hand, coffee in the other. Quietly, she settled in at a far corner of the table. "Hello," she said, and placed the PADD on the table, prepared to take notes. She folded her hands, and sat quietly. She was a Counselor-she liked to watch people.

Alinar entered the briefing room with a little bit of swagger to his walk. Most of the time he didn't pay much attention to how he walked, but his gait given his size was unavoidable. He noticed the room was already quite full and decided to sit on a chair near the far end of the table where he was out of the firing line.

Tana walked in and gave the assembled group a quiet nod and hello in greeting, offered with a warm smile until her eyes settled on Alinar and she had to force a more polite smile as she took a seat at the far end of the conference table, and began reviewing her PaDD.

Although T'Laan was shorter than the average Vulcan, her presence was always known when she entered the room. He back was straight and ridged with both hands behind her back in true Vulcan fashion. She merely gave everyone in the room a slow nod before taking her seat.

The Captain entered from the briefings room door that adjoined it to the main bridge. "Good Morning Everyone."

T'Sal put her PADD down as the Captain spoke, and nodded at him.

Irril nodded politely to the Captain as he passed by him.

Jacky joined the crowd of polite nods-of-greeting, offering a small smile to the captain.

Bann smiled warmly. "Good morning, Sir," she piped up. The Trill was outgoing, and a little on the plucky side.

Mason just nodded along with the rest of the staff.

Nixon made his way round the room and walked to the head of the table. He stood with his hands rested on the back of his chair and looked at the officers gathered in front of him. "Well, isn't this a sight?"

"Definitely a mix of crew and species." Alinar thought to himself.

"But a good sight," the Bajoran Operations Officer interjected.

"A rather poetic statement, Captain. But one that is warranted", T'Sal added.

"Well, it really isn't everyday that the best Crew in the Fleet is at one table," the counselor joked. She was still sitting, though, her hand crossed, ready to listen and work. Launch days were always fun.

T'Laan merely raised an eyebrow at the comment but said nothing. She had nothing of value to add to the current conversation.

Halli took a moment to look around the room, taking in the faces around her. While Trill didn't have empathetic abilities or even eidetic memories, she WAS a counselor, and careful watching was how she learned things about people. Some were tense, most were relaxed. It seemed like a good group of folks, and she was looking forward to it.

Mason raised her hand. “If I may. Do we have a definite date for our maiden Voyage yet? As I’m short quite a few people in Security.” Said Mason

The young Bajoran added, "Great question!"

"The ship is due to depart on its first mission this evening," Commander Wallace-Shaw answered. "Most of our personnel should be aboard already, but there was one transport that was delayed. We have been assured they will be here by midday today, so any gaps in your departments should be filled by then." She nodded to Lieutenant Mason. "In the meantime, prepare for departure at approximately nineteen hundred hours." She looked around. "Any other questions before we begin?"

She nodded once and then looked at the captain. With his nod of approval, she continued. "The long and the short of our first mission is that the Alliance will be headed for Cardassia Prime. Part one of our mission is that we will be bringing Legate Tamarat and Ambassador Townsend to the planet with us." She turned to Lieutenant Mason. "We are all Starfleet here and have a mission, but I know not everyone will be happy about the Legate's presence or where we are headed, so we will want security on point for the Legate and his personnel. They both will be arriving at fourteen hundred hours, so please have a plan drafted by twelve hundred. I'll have the room arrangements for you after the meeting."

Mason wasn’t happy, but she kept it to herself. This meant she would be flying by the seat of her pants, and nobody wanted that, but when the XO said, let’s move, you moved.

Jacky moved on. "The second part of our mission will be humanitarian. Following the widespread destruction at the war, the planet is facing a massive food supply crisis, health epidemics, and rampant crime. We are going to be assisting in the recovery of La'kal City. Some setup and construction is on site and has already begun, but we will be assisting in that and the broader effort.

"Operations and engineering will focus on our primary task of building a hospital in the city's outer district while medical and counseling will be needed the treat the injured and sick who are presently lacking proper care. Security, once we've arrived, will shift it's focus to securing the city from those who would take advantage and protecting the citizens who are presently defenseless."

She looked at Lieutenant Marshall. "There will be a separate intel briefing following this meeting," she noted before turning back to the table at large. "Are there any questions at this point?"

Halli shook her head, but spoke up. "No, ma'am, but I will offer my assistance in diplomacy, as well, if needed. Otherwise, you know where to find me," the Trill said. She had been taking quiet notes, carefully marking down important bits of information to file away for later.

"Thank you, Counselor," Jacky said warmly. "I will also be working with you on settling in our distinguished guests."

Halli smiled. "Excellent. I will be glad to assist, ma'am," she said.

Tana nodded to the first officer regarding the intel briefing. "Understood, Commander. Though this situation does beg the question, who called for this mission? Did the Cardassians ask for Federation aid, or was it offered as a gesture of good faith?"

Mason was filled with thought. Then she spoke. “Sir, if Security is going to fulfil that role, might I get some assistance from the Intel department to ensure the safety of the ship?” Asked Mason with the ship always being her first concern.

The Captain, who had allowed the Executive Officer to brief the staff nodded and remained silent to this point. "First, to answer Lieutenant Marshall's question, as part of the peace treaty the Federation Council has agreed to a mass reconstruction effort for the Cardassian civilisation. We are tasked with La'kal City, however there are around 200 different projects currently underway across the former Dominion Territories to rebuild everything from power plants to orbital plantations, shipyards to schools."

He angled his chair more towards the young Lieutenant was his new Chief Tactical and Security Officer. "Lieutenant Mason, the USS Sacramento and USS Anaheim, two California Class support vessels will be on hand to assist with securing the city. I understand that they have their own assignments, but we will be able to avail of their Security teams. Our intelligence colleagues will have their own priorities."

“Understood sir. Now that I know where to find assistance if needed I’ll be fine.” Replied Mason.

Sharvo Irril had silently taken in the meeting, listening carefully to the briefing that was given. While he was Bajoran and had a lot of experience with the Cardassians, his upbringing had been different from the traditional member of his species. He was certain that to many of his own kind he was still a pariah, but his views and beliefs on the Cardassians were clouded by the arrangement that his father had kept during the Occupation of Bajor.

"Do we know the characteristic setup of the Anaheim and the Sacramento? Are they Command, Engineering, or Medical configuration?" The Operations Manager questioned, having some knowledge of the California Class and their mission profiles. He had almost chosen to serve on one in his career, but the Intrepid Class caught his fancy.

“Why don’t we work together and contact those ships to see how we can best utilise their help on this mission.” Replied Mason

"Their primary mission profiles are Engineering. I would suspect their primary purpose is to support the wider See-Oh-Eee operation. I'll leave contacting them in your capable hands Lieutenant Mason. Mr Sharvo please render any assistance Mason will need operationally." The Captain responded quickly before standing from his chair.

"Alright, if there is nothing else, we'll depart in..." he glanced at the chronometer displayed on the meeting rooms main console, "9 hours. 18:00 ship time. Dismissed."

T'Laan raised an eyebrow before raising herself from her chair. She gave a respectful nod to the Captain before placing her hands behind her back and headed for the door.

Sharvo rose from his chair, nodding politely as he approached the door to the Bridge he spoke with Mason, "I'd be happy to discuss any needs you have."

Alinar moved from his seat, the table creaking slightly under the weight of his arm he'd used to push himself up. Helm was his destination and he knew no happier place.

 

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