Crumblin’ Down

Posted on Sat Apr 29th, 2023 @ 11:06pm by Captain Aven LaCroix & Lieutenant Commander Aria Winters & Lieutenant Ikuyo Kita & Lieutenant JG Hank Solomon & Lieutenant JG Adrianna Baciami & Lieutenant JG Karri

944 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: House of The Dying Sun
Location: USS Eclipse | Deck 01 | Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 1

A chubby ellipses shaped table sat in a quiet room, sparsely decorated with a colour pallet of grey, blue, and beige with some bronze decorative pieces strewn about. It was almost certainly not given Captain Aven LaCroix's personal touch yet, but it was a serviceable room for mission briefings or debriefings. The table sat three individuals on either side, with plenty of space across from one another, but not much more than elbow room to the individual next to you. The Captain had a seat at the 'head of the table' and at the foot, an empty space without a seat, but an additional seat could be added as needed.

Captain LaCroix had asked all his senior staff to assemble before his arrival, and to get settled in. He was the last to arrive, entering the room and making a brief detour to the replicator unit. His order was a simple one - a hot liquorice flavoured steamed milk. He took the mug from the unit after it finished completing his order and proceeded to take his seat at the head of the table.

"I wish I could say we were meeting under better conditions," Aven prefaced. "Though I suppose there is no time like the aftermath of an explosive device to bring a crew together" he added shaking his head and setting his beverage down. "How is everyone doing?" he asked, the question was genuine.

A nervous smile emerged on Kitas face. She had recovered from the incident, although the physical bombing had shook her; it was the sight of blood and injuries that had awoken her phobias.

She looked over at the older Captain and quietly stated "Better; sir"

The engineer glanced towards the redhead officer as she expressed her though. A warm smile appeared on his face to then nod towards the captain “All is ok, Captain, at least in the Engineering Deptarment. I was not directly harmed and, as far as I’ve been told, no one in engineering had any scratch, just an initial shock. Being attacked while moored at a Starbase isn’t an everyday situation” Hank explained “quite a messy first day in the job” his usual asymmetric half-smile showed up on his face.

“Quite,” Lt Commander Winters agreed as she nursed her hot chocolate, not yet having taken so much as a sip of the beverage. “Like engineering the science department was unscathed and we had no injuries amongst the few who were aboard.”


"Fur was singed, but Ive been through it before" Karri said. "Triage was a mess starion side, but nothing too serious. Station CMO tells me people are recovering nicely"

Captain LaCroix picked up a PADD while getting settled in his seat at the head of the table. "Fortunately, the list of fatalities is low. This appears to be a very precise and targeted attack. The explosive yield was deliberately low, enough to do its job, but not much more."

He looked at Adrianna Baciami, their Security Chief whom he had given liberty to pursue her own leads on an independent investigation. "Anything to narrow down the intended target?"

"The man's name was K'vlar," Adrianna replied, grabbing a PaDD to remind herself of a few details, "a few sources claim he's of the House of Martok. I've managed to get that verified." She looked to the captain, "an understandable target, I suppose."

Aven absorbed the information before sharing his own. "That would line up with what I received from the Federation Ambassador to the Klingons" he stated. "We've been requested to go to Q'onoS" added Captain LaCroix.

"Does Starfleet expect more attacks on Martok's House?" Winters asked curiously. Those Klingons she had met would, she suspected, much prefer to deal with those responsible for today's atrocity personally without Starfleet interference. Yet by committing this act on a Federation base, whoever was responsible had all but guaranteed the Federation would be involved. Perhaps, unfortunately, that was the entire reason for choosing this target.

"Yes," Aven replied with a nod. "There is a strong possibility that incidents in recent years have come about. This may be unfinished business. It is not the first time that individuals have gone after the House of Martok."

“I see” Hank murmured nodding slowly. “But why attacking Starbase 84? were they looking for a specific target?” the Engineer asked the other officers.

"Maybe this was some sort of test. Probe starfleet security to see what they can get away with?" The doctor said.

Aven listened to what his new crew had to say. "It seems the Klingon was the target, but we shouldn't rule out why in the Starbase? It was oftly brazen for them to assassinate him in a Federation starbase. They very well may have done so to measure Starfleet's response"

The Captain scratched at his chin. "A response has certainly been given. We will have to make haste as the Klingons are impatiently awaiting our arrival. I had better relations with a Chancellor, but Martok is an improvement over his immediate predecessor."

Kita remained quiet as she listened to what the others had to say. She wasn't too well versed on Klingon politics, but she only really knew the basics. The Duras house were seen as 'The bad guys' in the Empire, at least thats the impression she got from this.

Hank nodded slowly acknowledging the captain's explanation.

"Right," said the Captain. "Let's get a move on then. If we are early enough, we might just surprise the Klingons and bring about a grin on the Chancellor's face. Dismissed." Aven was looking forward to dealing with the Klingons again as odd as that may have been.

 

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