Coffee and a Donut

Posted on Fri Aug 8th, 2014 @ 3:49pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Commander Charon Edomar

Mission: Something Amiss
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD1 - 0800

The Commanding Officer was in her ready room, looking over some last minute assignment paperwork as she munched on some breakfast. This initial mission needed a lot of specialists and yet she was given very few if any of them. She couldn't even pull strings since she wasn't even supposed to be launching yet. That might give things away. Taking a bite of her pastry, she wondered if she would even get anyone that knew anything about infiltrating a prison.

She didn't get far though - the door chime sounded, interrupting her from her pondering. Clearing her mouth, she called to whomever was on the other side of the door to enter.

Charon was in a happy mood. He had not expected to be granted the position of first officer right after his year long absence from Starfleet. He had been cleared for duty months ago but had felt the need to spend more time with his brother, to work out the after effects of the rough and troubling captivity he had lived through. Now he felt more like himself than he had in a very long time. He was ready for this.

His new captain seemed to be a capable woman from what he could take from her personnel file. The fact that she was already a commander and captain of a starship impressed him. She was a young Trill and he was hoping the age difference would not be too big of a problem. The mere fact that she was joined did put him somewhat at ease. They would see how the first few days and weeks would work out and go on from there.

For now he was on his way to the captains ready room and a bit nervous. This wasn't just any new assignment. He was to be the first officer, that was a big chunk of responsibility he was entrusted with. It would be very interesting to see how this new assignment turned out. He was a bit anxious when he reached the captains ready room but after a brief moment he activated the door chime and was called in only a short moment later. He stepped through the door after the two halves of it had vanished sideways into the bulkhead. Standing in front of his new superior he straightened himself and introduced himself.

“Lieutenant Commander Edomar reporting for Duty, Sir!”

Charon said with a slight smile on his face. His posture was confident and open. It was easy to see that he was full of pleasant anticipation.

For a moment, Enalia almost balked at the man due to his formality. She recovered quickly though, standing and motioning to the chair on the other side of her desk. "Please, at ease, sit... I prefer Ma'am if you need something. Welcome aboard and congrats on your assignment." Sitting back down, she looked her new XO over. She had run across his records by pure accident and she was glad she had. He wasn't part of the normal XO selection process, so she had had to make a few promises to get him. She just wondered if he was up to their first mission. "Your first task is coordinating the plans for breaking into a Romulan prison camp. Our goal is only a single operative. I hope that won't be an issue."

Charon gave the captain a nod. “Yes, Ma'am, and thank you.” He said and sat down in the offered chair. While he had thought they would engage in some chitchat she went straight down to business. He was a bit taken aback when he heard the word Romulan prison camp. His smile faded rather quickly.

He cleared his throat and looked her in the eyes with a very serious expression on his face. “Well I wouldn't go as far as to say that is going to be an easy mission.” He began. “Romulan prison camps are not known for being easily broken into.” To be honest he didn't like the idea at all. And all this for a single operative? Charon could not help but feel a sense of resentfulness. So some people were worth endangering the lives of a crew measuring in the six hundreds. He just didn't count as one of those people. He was going to remember that for future reference.

“I guess we are not going for a full frontal attack.” Charon surmised and scratched the side of his head where a humans temple would be. Doing so helped him think and their orders would require some creative thinking. “How much are we allowed to tell the crew?” he asked, trying to steer clear of to much talk about Romulan prison camps.

"Sorry for the scare. I'm sure you'd rather have nothing to do with any of this, but your unique background should come in quite handy." Sighing heavily, Enalia almost looked to have aged quite a bit in the span of a few seconds as she slumped into her chair. She had obviously lost some sleep over this mission, though she did her best to hide it. "This mission doesn't officially exist, so most of the crew don't need to know much if anything about it. The senior staff will be apprised of the situation later today, but for now..."

Picking up a PaDD with the operative's info and what little she had on this mission, she looked over it for a few moments before handing it across the desk. "We only need the one operative so as long as she's alive, I don't officially care whom else you rescue. She has information about a new bio-weapon that could potentially kill hundreds of millions so she has to take priority. Unofficially, try to get as many people out as you can without risking the mission."

Upon her last statement Charon managed to smile a little but it didn't last too long. Still, the fact that she had thought to give him this order had just earned her a bunch of respect with her new XO. His face now all serious again, he looked down at the PaDD she had handed him and skimmed over the information that it contained. “I won't lie.” he said after looking up from his PaDD. He had to pause for a second and gather himself. “This does not sound like the kind of mission where everything goes to plan. We can certainly count on loosing crew members in this undertaking. And that is something I really don't like.” He was more anxious about his new assignment now. While his bridge officer examination was a few years back that did not change the fact that he was a physician first. The loss of life, any life, was a affront to him. Lets try and bring as many of these fine people home again, he thought to himself.

“So are there any plans yet as on how to approach this? Or are we starting from scratch?” He said, returning to the topic at hand. It wouldn't be easy to do this all by themselves. So any help they could get was highly appreciated. And he seriously hoped that Starfleet had supplied them with some kind of information that would make their job a bit easier.

Enalia shook her head no at the question. "We're understaffed, undergeared, and undertrained. We have the coordinates for the prison, but in essence that's it. So far, I'm planning on heading there at warp 9, stop near a pulsar just out of their known sensor range, and use our enhanced scanners to assess the situation. The actual team will likely have to take a runabout the rest of the way."

With a grin, Enalia continued. "I'd like to lead the team, but I'm a diplomat and a pilot. I wouldn't be too handy on the ground."

Charon was delighted. They were supposed to carry out a mission without being properly equipped for it. The plan Captain Telvan had come up with seemed like a good place to start at. But the way things were looking everything they did was the best they possibly could. “I guess well have to fill out the missing parts of the plan on our way to Romulan territory.” He mused. It would not be so easy as to simply take a runabout to their destination. He had not gone through the extensive training that a tactical officer had for situations like this but common sense and his knowledge told him that they would need everything they apparently did not have. He could feel a headache building. “Well as your first officer and because it makes sense due to my ...” - he paused - “... intimate knowledge about Romulan prison facilities it seems I just volunteered to go on this mission.” It wasn't something he was looking forward to. His last time using a phaser had been a while back. He would have to visit the firing range to brush up on his skills. Charon already knew that he was going to be a liability on this mission but he was not going to rub that in the Captain's face.

"I can't ask you to do that." Enalia said, shaking her head. "Your intimate knowledge of such facilities, especially this one, make you perfectly suited to planning the rescue but I can't in good conscience allow you to go on the mission without good reason."

Pausing a moment, Enalia switched the conversation to lighter subjects. "Sorry for dumping all that on you before anything else. I've had nothing but that on my mind for days. Would you like a drink? How was your trip out here?"

Charon did not object to what Telvan said. There was no point in arguing about it not but keeping him safe was not what this decision was resting on. As a Starfleet officer he knew the risks and dangers of serving on a starship. In time it would work itself out. The circumstances would dictate weather he would join in on the prison raid or not and leave them little choice in the end.
For now it seemed Captain Telvan was through with the whole topic of their clandestine mission. It was fine with Charon for he had had enough for now. The time he had spent recovering from his ordeal had been long and it had been a rocky road back to his old self. He was alright now but the past was gnawing at him. The headache he was beginning to sport now was a sign of that.
“It is alright Captain. I understand pretty well how the mind can be held captive by something.”
He shifted in his chair and looked at the captain with a somewhat lightened mood. “Nothing for me, thank you.” He said regarding the Captains offer of a drink. He fell silent for a moment and continued after taking a deep breath. “I arrived just about half an hour ago. I didn't want to waste any time and came straight to your office. There isn't anything to tell really. As far as shuttle flights go it was smooth as Tholian silk.”

"Excellent." Enalia said somewhat happily. "I haven't been on a shuttle in years, but I'd like to think the Hera has as good of a ride, if not better. What do you think of her so far? She tops out at warp 9.68 in the trials and the sensor pod can see halfway back to Earth if the reports are to be believed." It seemed she had made the right choice for her first officer so far. Hopefully he'd be able to handle the stress well enough as they got closer to the prison.

“I do hope so Captain, I would hate be thrown out of my bed in the middle of the night due to a malfunctioning internal compensator or wake up floating due to faulty grav-plating.” Charon said in an attempt to make a joke and lighten the mood. Sadly enough he had lived through both situations shortly before the Tikuman had been destroyed. He distinctly remembered waking up and floating in his cabin before the bulkhead had closed in at high speed and the force of the impact had knocked him out cold. He had woken some time later to the not so tender ministrations of Romulan prison guards.

“The Nebula class is a very fulfilling design I think, capable of being adapted to suit almost any mission parameter if I recall correctly. I don't think we will have a boring time, Captain.” Charon wasn't an engineer so his appreciation for details like raw speed or warp reactor power output were lacking. But there were other things he could appreciate. “I do however plan to pay Sickbay an extended visit later. In case there is ever an emergency I want to at least know my way around the place.”

"A good idea. Try to keep an eye on our new Chief Medical Officer too. He's fresh from prison himself and though I do trust him, I still worry." Sipping at her almost forgotten coffee, Enalia remembered something else. "I almost forgot... You're Ullian, right? Is there any chance you're one of the telepathic ones?" She wasn't sure she hoped he was or wasn't, but she knew he was likely very resistant to other telepaths, either way. That was something she may have to count on in the future.

Charon froze. He knew that the fact that he was a telepath was not only in his file but there were numerous scientific articles about Ullian telepathy in the Starfleet database. Some of them had even been put there by him way back during his time in the academy to ease the access to documents about Ullian telepathic conduct and the related laws his species did abide by. Still the mere mention of his telepathic abilities had him feeling dizzy every time it had come up since he had been freed from captivity.

With his eyes fixed on the Captain's he slowly got up. His steady and controlled movements were those of a person carrying something very dangerous. His face mirroring the strain that this topic put him under.

“I am.” he forced out. His voice was calm but cold. While the temperature in the room had not changed Charon was freezing all of a sudden. “And that is the extend to which I am willing - and or obliged - to discuss that matter, Captain Telvan.” He spoke with a businesslike tone that made it clear he had switched from a simple private chat to an on duty conversation. “If there is nothing else.” He said. It was hard to miss that he was asking for permission to leave.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up, then. Dismissed." Making a mental note of his reaction, Enalia nodded and leaned forward, turning her desk computer back on.

When the captain dismissed him Charon's nod was so slight it was hard to tell he even did nod. He turned around with some urgency and only stopped when he was in the turbolift. There he had to keep himself steady with one hand against the interior wall of the personnel cab and the other firmly placed against his temple. Murmuring meditative phrases he and his brother had developed he fought to regain his composure.