From: V. Rahul Chandra (vrccan_at_gmail.com)
Date: Tue Jan 29 2008 - 22:05:58 PST
===========
“Strategy and Tactics”
Con’t from Justin’s <GATEWAY> “Secrets are what stories are made of”
===========
Location: GS-2
Stardate: 2424 [2.8] 0129.2226
Scene: CO’s Ready Room
Commander Davidson had just sat back down at her desk when the door chime
got her attention. With a sigh borne from someone that’s already done too
much that day, she verbally prompted the computer to allow the chimer to
come in.
Jeff stepped into the room and immediately noticed the look on Daisy’s face.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asked tentatively.
“No more than anyone else,” she replied. “What can I do for you Jeff?”
“My departure orders,” Jeff said, walking into the ready room and handing a
PADD to his long time friend.
“I guess it’s official then,” Daisy commented, giving the PADD a nonchalant
glance before dropping it onto the stack on her desk and looking up at the
still standing doctor. “Any idea when you might have a chance to come
back?”
Jeff shrugged. “With the war on, who knows,” he said. “I might not be back
for a long time, if ever. Starfleet might assign me somewhere else once I’m
not needed on the PATRIOT anymore, or they might end up making that posting
permanent.”
Daisy sighed. “We’re going to miss you in sickbay,” she said.
Jeff nodded. “I’m going to miss being in sickbay,” he said. “But you’ve
got a great team there still.”
Daisy smiled slightly. “I’d expect so,” she said. “You trained most of
them. I’m confident that if they survived the cessation and everything that
followed, they should have no trouble handling the casualties of war.”
Jeff nodded again. “And the PATRIOT’s in need of doctors,” he said. “Some
of the marine medics are already pulling double duty. I suspect that’s part
of the reason they wanted me to be the temporary Executive Officer.”
Now it was Daisy’s turn to nod before standing up. “Well, take care of
yourself Jeff,” she said. “And don’t forget to come back and visit.”
Jeff laughed. “I plan to meet my wife and kids right back here when both of
our ships survive the war intact,” he said. “You haven’t heard the last of
me yet.”
============
Location: USS PATRIOT
Scene: Main Bridge
Lieutenant Tanith Corwin stepped onto the main bridge of the USS PATRIOT,
looking around the room with a critical eye. All around her were frayed
wires, scorched bulkheads and rough patch jobs that were designed to
maximize hold and minimize time; the fact that they also minimized the
aesthetic value of the repairs was just coincidence to the fact they
minimized time.
“What a sorry sight this is,” Corwin mumbled to herself as she took her seat
at the flight control console.
Kenta looked up from the PADD he’d been reading while seated in the
Captain’s chair, evidently having overheard the remark that Tanith had made.
“She’ll hold together Lieutenant,” he said. “And at the moment that’s all
we need her to do.”
“Let me guess,” Tanith said wryly, swinging around in her chair to look at
Captain Kenta. “Part of holding her together is my job?”
Ben smiled thinly. “You guess correctly Lieutenant,” he answered.
===============
Time Index: After Taylor’s post titled “107”
Scene: Marine Briefing Room
Daniel walked up to Josh Morris, shaking the younger man’s hand warmly.
“Congratulations Josh,” he said. “You definitely deserve it.”
Morris smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “I just hope I can live up to the
expectations.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to,” the marine executive officer replied, before
turning around and looking through the crowd for his immediate superior.
Eventually finding the man looking over the mingling of his underlings as
they filed out of the room, Daniel managed to make his way over to where Mav
was standing.
“That’s a lot of change,” Clarkson commented. “Do you think they’ll be able
to handle it?”
“Yeah,” Mav replied. “They’ve been around long enough.”
Daniel nodded his understanding and agreement. “I’m going to need to take a
couple of more extra shifts in sickbay,” he said. “The current situation
has left us more shorthanded than normal.”
“Isn’t our new exec a doctor of some kind?” Mav asked.
“Yeah,” Daniel replied. “He’s a trauma doctor with additional training in
field medicine.”
“That should come in handy at some point,” the MCO commented, before turning
to the exit. “As long as you keep your shifts on marine deck, you can take
all the extra work you want in sickbay.”
===============
Time Index: Simultaneously
Scene: Docking Bay -> Corridor -> Turbolift -> Corridor
Jeff was walking up the gangplank into the PATRIOT’s docking bay, a duffle
bag over his shoulder, when he spotted a familiar face.
“Commander Gorman,” Catherine called, when she spotted the man she was
looking for. “I’ve been instructed by Captain Kenta to show you to your
quarters.”
“He didn’t really have to do that,” Jeff said. “I’ve served on starships
before; I’m sure I would have been able to find my way around.”
“Nevertheless,” Catherine replied, waiting until Jeff was level with her and
then turning around to head towards the door. “Those are my instructions.”
“I see,” Jeff said, falling into step beside her as the two walked into the
corridor. “So why is an intel agent showing people around? Is the
astropolitical world of espionage and sabotage quiet today?”
Catherine shot a sideways glance at Jeff, before turning her eyes back to
the corridor in front of her. “You might say that,” she said.
A few moments of silence passed between the two as they boarded the
turbolift and Catherine called out a deck number.
“So,” Jeff said, somewhat bluntly. “You’re a member of the New Order.”
“*Was* a member of the New Order,” Catherine corrected him, turning to look
at him with a slightly smug expression on her face. “I guess you missed
that part in the bio.”
“I haven’t read your bio yet,” Jeff said. “It was an educated guess.”
“Based on what?” Catherine asked.
“Your genetic make-up, which I deduced from your features,” Jeff answered.
“Part of my major was alien biology at the academy.”
“I didn’t realize Starfleet Medical knew so much about the New Order,”
Catherine commented with a frown.
“We don’t,” Jeff replied. “At least not at the lower levels. The part on
the New Order was one half of one lecture in my advanced exobiology course.”
“I see,” Catherine replied, refraining from commenting further as the
turbolift came to a halt. The pair walked forward for about a minute before
coming to a stop in front of a pair of sliding doors.
“These are your quarters,” Catherine informed Jeff. “As soon as you’re
settled in, Captain Kenta requires your presence on the bridge.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Jeff promised, before pressing a button on
the console to open the doors and walking into the room.
=============
Time Index: Later that hour
Scene: Sickbay
“How are we doing?” Daniel asked Tessa Dugan, the acting head of the medical
department on the PATRIOT.
“In absolute terms, not good,” Dugan replied. “Relative to what the
sickbay’s been out to battle with before, not too bad.”
“I guess it’s always like that,” Daniel said, as the two of them poured over
the inventory that the sickbay currently possessed.
“Is there anything I can help with?” a voice asked, causing both of them to
look up and spot Tam Niala.
“I don’t suppose you have twenty doctor friends that would be willing to
transfer to the PATRIOT in the next couple of days?” Tessa asked.
Niala smiled sympathetically. “Not really,” she said.
“Then it’s just the three of us,” Daniel commented. “Plus Jeff whenever he
can get away.”
“Jeff? The new Executive Officer?” Tam asked.
“That’s the one,” Dugan replied. “I think the Captain got him on purpose
because of his medical background.”
“Probably,” Tam agreed, coming to stand next to the two of them. “Any idea
what our next mission is?”
“No clue,” Daniel said. “But with the war on, I’d guess all three of us are
going to be in here on a regular basis.”
He took a step back, walking over to pick up a PADD from a stack that had
developed. “These are the new requisition orders?” he asked to nobody in
particular, drawing Tessa’s attention away from the inventory.
“Yeah,” she said with a nod, before turning back to look at the inventory
with Tam. “We might be forced into a situation where we have to start
rationing our supplies, especially the medicines.”
“It could be worse,” Tam said.
“How, exactly?” Tessa asked.
“We could be rationing them right from the start, as I’m sure other ships
already are,” Tam replied.
Tessa smiled. “Thank The Prophets for small favours, is that it?” she
asked.
Niala returned the gesture. “You might say that,” she said. She was about
to continue before a clattering drew her attention. Seeing a PADD on the
floor and Daniel clutching his hands, she quickly exchanged glances with the
CMO.
“Are you okay Major?” Tessa asked, walking over to where Daniel was bending
down to retrieve the PADD.
“I think so,” Daniel said, putting the PADD back on the stack and rubbing
his hands together. “It was weird, for a moment there my hands started to
shake uncontrollably. That’s when I dropped the PADD.”
Dugan grabbed a tricorder and did a quick scan, shaking her head. “There
doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with you,” she said.
“Maybe you were just in shock at how many supplies we need,” Tam suggested.
Daniel laughed. “I guess so,” he said. “Well, let’s go through these and
put them in order of priority. We’re not going to have a chance to get
everything before our next assignment, so we need to be quick with what we
really need.”
============
Time Index: 2 hours later
Scene: Main Bridge
“Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Gorman, reporting as ordered sir,” Jeff said,
coming to attention in front of the Captain’s chair.
“At ease Commander,” Ben said, gesturing to the seat next to him. “Take a
seat and report on crew status.”
“Aye sir,” Jeff said, taking a seat in the ExO’s chair and bringing up the
desired screens on his console. “All hands report ready for departure.”
“Good,” Kenta said, nodding his approval. “Mr. Enders, open a channel to
GATEWAY.”
“Channel open sir,” the operations officer replied.
“PATRIOT to GATEWAY, requesting permission to disembark.”
Presently, the image of GATEWAY on the PATRIOT’s viewscreen was replaced by
the image of her Executive Officer.
{{GATEWAY here,}} came the reply from the Andorian. {{You are cleared for
departure PATRIOT. Good luck out there.}}
“Thanks GATEWAY and the same to you. PATRIOT out.”
Without missing a beat, Kenta continued. “Helm, lay in a course through the
wormhole to dry dock.”
“Course laid in sir,” came the reply from Corwin.
“Disembark and engage.”
A few moments of silence passed as all of the officers on the bridge watched
the progress of the ship as it broke off from the GATEWAY, turned around and
headed directly for the wormhole.
“We’re on course now sir,” Corwin reported.
“Good work Ms. Corwin,” Ben said, nodding his head. “Kenta to all senior
staff. Report to the observation lounge for a mission briefing
immediately.”
============
Time Index: 10 minutes later
Scene: Observation Lounge
“This,” Captain Kenta said, bringing up a planet on the display screen in
the lounge. “Is the fifth planet in the LIOUN system, which is located in
the Gamma Quadrant. The planet is currently uninhabited and so is the
system for that matter. It is however just outside of Dominion territory
and is located in an area of intense nebulae, which is what makes it very
interesting for our purposes.”
“Starfleet Command has decided that the system would make an ideal base for
forward scouting and early warning infrastructure and as such has decreed
that the PATRIOT is to oversee the construction of a land base on LIOUN V
and an orbital facility around its satellite.”
“We’re going to be doing that completely by ourselves?” Corwin asked.
“No,” Kenta replied. “We are escorting the USS CABOT, which is carrying the
supplies and the personnel necessary to create and man the base. It is
believed that the natural sensor interference from the nebulae combined with
our small footprint will allow us to sneak into the area unobserved. The
Dominion is not interested in the area and launching a fleet in that
direction would be sending them away from the front lines of the war.”
“Remember,” Kenta continued. “The goal is not to create a big base, but
rather a small base that will act as a listening post first and a point of
resupply for Starfleet scout vessels only in case of an emergency. Our job
is to escort and protect the CABOT while it carries out this task.”
“Are there any questions?” the Captain asked, looking around the room and
seeing that there were none. “Good. We will be heading back to the Alpha
Quadrant temporarily in order to secure our provisions and get additional
repairs and we will also rendezvous with the HORNET at drydock. In
forty-eight hours time we will head back through the wormhole and commence
our mission.”
“Lieutenant Corwin,” Kenta said, turning to the Flight Control Officer.
“Your job is to plot a course to LIOUN V that doesn’t take us straight
through some rough terrain. Liaise with the flight control officer on the
CABOT when we get to drydock to make sure that their ship is capable of
matching our course.”
Without missing a breath, the PATRIOT’s Commanding Officer turned to the
Bajoran Chief Counsellor. “Ensign Tam,” he said. “I want you to work with
Major Clarkson and Ensign Dugan to get sickbay as ready as possible before
we head off. Starfleet Command has been unable to detect any Dominion
presence in the LIOUN system, but the combination of long range scans and
heavy nebulae density means that we need to be ready for the worse should it
materialize.”
“Lieutenant Jade,” Kenta said, directing his focus onto the intelligence
liaison. “I want to know everything that Starfleet Intelligence knows about
the LIOUN system, if they know anything at all. You’re also in charge of
keeping an eye on the latest reports of Dominion troop movements, so that we
know exactly what the situation is once we head out.”
“Colonel Maverick,” Kenta said. “Your marines will be beaming down with the
base personnel to secure the area of the planet we will use for the
construction. While the PATRIOT guards the CABOT in construction of the
orbital listening post, your men will ensure that no harm comes to the
engineers that are constructing the facility on land. Make sure you prepare
with that in mind and assign your men accordingly.”
“For now,” Ben said, looking around at those present. “That’s it. Get to
your work and I want battle readiness updates to be sent to Commander
Gorman’s terminal at a frequency no less than every six hours. Our new
Executive Officer will also oversee the repairs and supply procurement while
we are in drydock.”
“Any questions?” Kenta asked again, nodding his satisfaction when nobody
spoke up. “Good, then you are dismissed until further notice.”
============
NRPG: And thus starts our next adventure on the USS PATRIOT!
At this point, we will be parting ways with our friends on GATEWAY and will
forge on ahead on our own. We will be returning to GATEWAY a few times
during the course of the war however, so don’t worry.
GATEWAY crew -> It has been a pleasure writing with you all over the years
and I hope I see some of you again real soon!
Kim -> Hope that scene between Daisy and Jeff worked for you! In any case,
if you could just make sure that your crew removes the PATRIOT strings from
their mailing list (keeping in mind that some of us are G observers!), that
would be excellent.
PATRIOT crew -> NRPG coming your way in just a few minutes!
===========
Rahul Chandra <vrccan_at_gmail.com>
Playing…
Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Gorman, MD
Executive Officer
USS PATRIOT
&
Major Daniel Clarkson, MD
Marine Executive Officer
USS PATRIOT
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