Briefing (Part 1)
Posted on Wed Jul 22nd, 2026 @ 9:45pm by Captain Erik Norsgaard & Lieutenant Bartholomew Hale & Lieutenant Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Daegan Baas & Lieutenant Juliette Barnes & Lieutenant Tatiana Dragos & Lieutenant Stormy Knight & Lieutenant Daltom Vesper & Lieutenant Sylar & Lieutenant Commander Areum Choi & Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae
2,738 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Friends and Traitors
Location: Conference Room | Deck 1
Timeline: MD003 - 0800
Captain's Ready Room
Trusk sent out word to the department heads; while everyone assembled Norsgaard sat in his office thinking things through. Powder keg negotiations, a crew he didn't know all that well as yet, and, if that wasn't enough, potential threats on board. Any one thing he could handle but all three together? Yeah, this was going to keep him up nights. He skipped the pleasantries this time; almost no one had eaten the food he provided and that, well ... lesson learned. So, he busied himself making a cup of strong tea in the hope that everyone would have arrived and be settled while he mentally went through what he had learned and what needed to be done.
In the Conference Room
The Chief Counselor walked into the conference room. He was certain that the Captain would love to correct him and call him "Counselor" who was underneath the medical department; however, as far as his career was concerned, Chief Counselor was correct. After all, no counselors were above him. Granted, there were none beneath him either, but there were none above and that was the key. In his hand, he held a drink in a clear glass. The top half was a blue liquid. The bottom half was a yellow liquid. When he sat, he took a small sip of the liquid. The blue and the yellow swirled together into a green color as he sipped it. When he sat the glass back down, the green split into its individual colors again, with the blue on top and the yellow on bottom.
Stormy walked in, nodded to the others in the room, and took a seat. Then she set her and her PADD on the table to take notes.
Daltom looked at Stormy and said, "Good day, Ms. Knight. Are the skies clear ahead or should there be something that should concern me?"
The counselor should be more concerned about people bumping into him. But, since this wasn't the first time someone made fun of her name, Stormy ignored the comment.
Daltom smiled back at Stormy. Well, I guess she is sensitive about her name after all. Tsk tsk. Shame on the parents.
Next through the doors came a pair of determined souls, Lieutenant Commander Areum Choi who's slender figure and piercing gaze immediately sought to take a seat closest to Captain Norsgaard as his right hand aboard the Thunderbird, Choi was First Officer. She had been fielding reports, suspicions, and concerns lately. She wanted to evidence to back the wild speculations that were being tossed around.
Behind her, arguably was the Captain's left hand. Chief Yeoman Trusk, a stouter and broad shouldered man with evident Tellarite heritage, but more human looking than hog. It was those sunken eyes that gave him away, and a face that was etched with Tellarite features. His walk was hobble, and he carried a PADD in with him. People did not come to him about their suspicions or accusations, but he heard enough scuttlebutt from the crew lounges. People were talking, and Trusk didn't like what he was hearing. He took a seat across from Choi.
Sylar quietly followed the First Officer and Yeoman. He assessed that much of the briefing would be of security, intelligence and tactical matters so deliberately sat at the opposite end of the table to Choi and Trusk. He would contribute, but only if it was logical to do so. He sat silently, elegantly.
Door opened once more, Tatiana hadn't been to far behind the XO. She took a seat whatever was opened, It didn't matter, just as long as she had a seat. Glancing around the table, Tatiana recognized others by the manifest a couple she had met personally. One of them Stormy. She gave a nod towards Stormy giving a smile.
Slipping into the Briefing Room, MacRae noticed the room was already pretty full albeit with a few missing faces. Opting for a seat beside Tatiana, Caitlyn found herself at the furthest end of the table as she offered a cheerful hello to everyone as she sat.
Hale was the next through the revolving door of officers. He was keen to know who was who in the zoo. A few he was familiar with; the XO, the Doctor, a stray face or two who'd come through the shuttlebay. Offering the room a curt nod, he assumed his seat next to Sylar. "Good day, all. Bartholomew Hale. Helmsman." He leaned toward the Doctor, lowering his voice below the din of introductions. "Bad news out of the starbase infirmary, I hear?"
"Indeed," Sylar said flatly. "A regrettable day."
"Quite so." Hale agreed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
Having been elbow deep in investigations, Julie managed to get to the conference room on time. And, glancing around, she appeared to at least not be last. She gave a grim wave to the others as she took a seat, a troubled expression on her face. The investigation was not going well and it showed.
Tyler slipped into the Conference Room and took a seat. The steaming cup of coffee never left his hand. Some people were bright eyed and bushy tailed. Tyler was bleary eyed and dragging. He wondered what the briefing was about as he sipped his coffee.
Baas finally made it, later than he had planned but here none the less. As he walking in he nodded, "Morning all." Taking his usual seat that had been left vacant.
Norsgaard entered a couple of minutes after the hour, mostly because there had one last thing he wanted to check up on, and nodded to everyone present as he took his seat and set his mug down. "Good morning everyone," he said. "Not sure if everyone is aware but here's where things stand. The Maquis have been making themselves known, not only within the Federation, but in Cardassian space as well. According to recent reports, there have been sneak attacks on their communication arrays and two days ago, a listening post on their side. On our side, we've had a series of defections, though not many at command rank, and a number of incidents aboard our ships. And if that wasn't enough, Starfleet Intelligence has ... reluctantly ... admitted to having one of their vessels stolen."
From her seat on the far side of the table, MacRae wasn’t sure she had heard that last part correctly. “Someone stole their ship?” She asked incredulously. The implications of such a feat were immense and - given the data the ship would have access to - dangerous. “Do they suspect the Maquis were responsible?”
Lieutenant Commander Choi straightened even further in her seat. "Stolen?" She was both intrigued and disappointed. Starfleet Intelligence losing control of a Federation starship was alarming to say the least. "I echo MacRae. They believe the Maquis are involved?"
"Yes, they do," Norsgaard said. "It will take them awhile to crack the encryption but probably not as long as it would take if there weren't Starfleet officers involved. More worrisome is its ability to 'hide' from sensors. They'll be difficult to find."
“I’m sure it sounded a wonderful idea at the time,” Caitlyn sighed. She could practically see the scientists and engineers enthusing over a latest technical breakthrough never imagining how that same technology could work against them.
"What class of ship?" Stormy asked. Any ship was bad enough, but if it was one of the newer ships...that would be worse.
Areum Choi looked at Stormy. Intelligent woman. She asked the right question, and one that needed to be asked. "Concealing something like an old Miranda class is a lot more difficult than something with modern design and capabilities" added the First Officer.
At some level, Daltom had to admire the Marquis. After all, they were abandoned by the Federation and ceded to the Cardassians. That was not a great move on the part of the Federation, but attacking the Federation and assisting the Cardassians was not logical and helped nobody. If they were trying to assist everyone, that would be a completely different matter. Behaving like scolded toddlers, though, was unacceptable. He spoke up, "If that is true, that would imply someone high ranked or with some sort of command authority defected. What ship was this? I would like to see the manifest and review their psychological profiles."
"Trusk, if you would see to it that they get a copy of the report," Norsgaard said. "Short version. This is a two-seater that incorporates experimental technology that Starfleet is very interested in. It's called Ghostkin and its a way of cloaking a vessel by hiding its emissions. At any rate, the prototype was stolen from a research facility that Starfleet Intelligence was very reluctant to even admit existed. At any rate, that's not our problem. We've been tasked with hosting negotiations between the Federation and the Cardassians. Ambassador Oryx and her staff should be reporting aboard shortly and as soon as they're here, we're heading toward the border to meet the Gul Zelar and the Ocett."
Chief Yeoman Trusk made note of Captain Norsgaard's instructions. He would see to it that copies of the report were distributed where appropriate, a version suitable to each with any necessary redactions in place. He took his responsibilities and duties rather seriously. Tellarite tendencies.
Areum shook her head. Lieutenant Commander Choi was not entirely surprised by what Captain Norsgaard stated, but the facts about the technological abilities that the ship possessed did not sit well with her. "Of course they were reluctant" she said.
Daltom nodded at the reports being given to him. "So, essentially, we are going to be at a powder keg where the Marquis would love to make their presence known, as well. We're everybody's target. Lovely," Daltom replied sarcastically.
"The Federation wants to deescalate the situation with the Cardassians," Norsgaard said. "And they figured that we're the ones to do the job. But essentially, you're correct. The Maquis may try to make their presence known and that presents a problem for us."
"This complicates any shuttle movement," Hale began with an uncomfortable shift in his seat. "We'll have to keep a tight leash on any orbital operations. In my experience, the Cardassians prefer to move large numbers of personnel by auxiliary craft. Our Ambassador has already made known her preference for shuttle travel as well. We'll need experienced pilots and a close eye on the sensors... for whatever they prove to be worth. I can't see Starfleet Intelligence being kind enough to provide us with a list of vulnerabilities in this Ghostkin system."
“Kindness is not a trait Starfleet Intelligence typically displays,” MacRae pointed out. “If Lieutenant Hale is correct and the Ambassador we are escorting is averse to transporters, I would be happy to support with bringing them aboard.”
"You make a good point, Lieutenant," Norsgaard said, nodding in Hale's direction, "with respect to the use of shuttles and our need for caution. Lieutenant Baas, yours will be a difficult assignment, I think. You can't be obvious or confrontational, not with the negotiations being so delicate, but at the same time, it's important that everyone stays safe. Lieutenant MacCrae, you can go with the pilot and smooth things over with the Ambassador and her team. See that she gets what she needs."
Baas nodded, it wouldn't be the first time he'd need to call upon the experience of one of his previous hosts and diplomacy was right up Saman's alley. "Understood. Clever, protective, and don't shoot first. Roger that. With that in mind I would recommend using a runabout to transporting the Ambassador anywhere outside the Thunderbird's immediate area. It's better armed than the lower class shuttles and less provocative than a fighter escort."
Daltom gave Caitlyn a knowing nod at her statement. She certainly thought a lot like him. However, the Counselor inquired of the Captain, "You do not want my assistance on a diplomatic matter?" Odd. Does he not trust me?
Stormy listened quietly as she thumbed through the reports.
"Getting to you, Counselor, be patient Once Counselor Oryx is settled aboard, we're heading straight to the rendezvous with the Ocett. Negotiations will be held aboard the Thunderbird but their Ambassador ... Tasat, I believe, will sleep aboard the Ocett. Everyone assumes this will take several days. Frankly, I'd be surprised if it took less than a month. Now, Counselor, negotiations are in the hands of the Ambassador and her team so there will be little for us to do. Since Gul Zelar insisted on being present, I'm also to attend, you'll come with me ... I'd be interested in hearing your observations afterward." He turned back toward Bass, "security will not be permitted in the room, I'm afraid."
Did I embarrass the Captain into taking me? Daltom wondered. Ultimately, he was uncertain. The Captain played things tightly to his chest and gave little away. However, in the end, he would rather be in the room and know what's going on rather than not. Indirect influence might be possible while there. It certainly would not be from the outside learning things third hand. "Understood."
Baas cocked his head not liking the idea at all, but diplomats needed to keep things low key and having officers in the room gave an 'under the gun' feel. However as the negotiations were to be on the the Thunderbird they could monitor things by other means. "Understood. Though I would recommend at least a detail outside the conference area as well as posting guards in the sensitive areas of the ship. Will the Cardassian Ambassador and Gul be bringing an escort?"
"Not a military one," Norsgaard said, "but they are permitted to bring an 'aide' with them. Knowing the Cardassians, their choice of an aide will be someone who can handle themselves under fire. I agree that it would be wise to post guards in the sensitive areas. I think we can sell a security detail outside of the conference room as a means of ensuring the safety of both Ambassadors though that might end up with their being a matching detail from the Cardassians as well."
"Understood." Baas nodded as he considered who he would assign to the meeting detail. He considered himself but given the situation it would probably be best if he stayed at the ready, with the Captain or on the bridge.
The stealing of a shuttle, to Tatiana, it seemed like it could be an inside job. Her lips thinned to a grim line as she further listened to what went on.
A glance towards McRae, Tatinana giving a nod, then looked at the other, well others who will be going on this little venture. The counselor, who had mentioned being part of the meet with the ambassadors, did have a point but, hopefully said person will be useful.
"And now," Norsgaard said, settling back into his seat, "tell me what happened with the explosion in the Shuttle Bay."
The change of topic was so abrupt, Julie didn’t realize she had most of the information on the new topic for several seconds. She shook herself and said, “oh, right. Well, it doesn’t look good. That is to say, it’s rather suspicious. It appears that the problem started with a catastrophic failure of the phase coil shield. Which is possible to be accidental, but not likely.”
"Commander Bobbins, chief of Starbase 310's flight operations department has unfortunately advised," Hale paused for a moment, glancing sympathetically toward Doctor Sylar. "Ensign Orfil Dara, the shuttle pilot, succumbed to his injuries early this morning." He looked expectantly to Baas, hoping the security officer had uncovered something in his enquiries.
None of this was new to Daltom, as he already met with the Lieutenant who gave him this information. He just grimly nodded his understanding of the situation.
Continued in Part 2
Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lt. Commander Areum Choi
First Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacCrae
Second Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Daegan Baas
Chief of Security
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Bartholomew Hale
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Tyler Malbrooke
Chief of Operations
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Stormy Knight
Chief Science Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Daltom Vesper
Chief Counselor
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Sylar
Chief Medical Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Tatiana Dragos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Thunderbird
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