Beg, Steal or Borrow – The Marine Connection - Part 1
by Colonel James Darson
Post Details
ON:
Darson returned from the Senior Staff meeting and strode into the darkened room in a quiet and introspective mood. That meeting, while productive in its own way, had served to underline exactly how deep the discord on this station was running.
Mr. Gabriel was at odds with Commander Monteros, and just about the entire rest of the senior staff, the departments were in disarray, with people doubling up on tasks instead of focusing on what was more important. There were traitors and spies traipsing around in plain sight, and the Station’s internal security had been breached repeatedly. His soldier’s instinct was telling him that the majority of the senior staff wouldn’t last the course, and might end up being more than just mere liabilities.
And of course, that left him to pick up the slack.
Fortunately, Commander Davies seemed to have at least some of the right ideas, and had called the station to arms. That was a good start. But he had to keep it up.
From his intelligence gathering, he could safely say that there were around three cloaked ships sitting off the station, just waiting to attack. He ran the odds in his head and no matter which way he sliced it, there was no way that any three Romulan ships could hope to take on a fully armed and alert Federation Military Installation without massive casualties, unless they were something on the order of three Scimitar class warships.
The Romulans were a crafty people. They wouldn't fling themselves at a superior force in hopes of a victory like some Klingons would. No, they would keep their cool…have some sort of trump card up their sleeves. Something that would debilitate the station severely and even the odds, maybe even put it in their favor.
Unfortunately, unlike a starship, this station was a stationary, open target. With thousands of civilians and Starfleet personnel, anybody could have disabled or otherwise affect a crucial system, and it wouldn’t be discovered until it was too late.
These suspicions ate at his the edges of his mind, annoying the hell out of him. The intelligence department was in place to prevent such treachery from occurring, yet all the gray department had accomplished was a series of humiliating failures. In fact, the only thing that Mr. Gabriel had indeed done was wage his own private war against Isha, Commander Monteros, and the Romulans in general.
Ordinarily, Darson would have been thrilled to have one of his rivals be so engrossed in a meaningless vendetta like that. However, these were far from ordinary circumstances. He needed every hand he could get, and though he was loathe to admit it Dorian was a quite competent agent. If he could only throw aside the many grudges that he held onto like a dog on his favorite bone, then he could be a much more effective officer.
That thought made his mind turn to Isha. A bold woman, she refused to be cowed by anything he threw at her. Impressive in her own right, it was abundantly clear that she was hiding something. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually knows the people on the invading ships, and why they’re doing what they’re doing” Darson thought calmly.
He hoped fervently that something in the incoming attack would force her hand, even just a little bit. He already had personnel inside the embassy for her own protection (which was a genuine reason) and they were doing just a little bit of unsanctioned surveillance, just in case.
His own department hadn’t exactly been the most efficient one thus far…not in the least. The Baoran attack was still a sore spot for a lot of the Marines on the station, and Lt. Flynn’s defining moment of failure.
Thankfully, he now had at least some of the tools necessary to combat all the rising threats on this station. The MTAC. The pinnacle of intelligence gathering and analysis, it had supplanted his icy office as the place where he spent most of his time. And considering the amount this room had to offer, it wasn’t really that surprising.
This one room would be instrumental in helping with the combat effort. For the past 2 days, they had been operating it in a test capacity. Only external sensor nets, communications systems and general data banks were linked to the system. That made sense, considering that it had been thrown together in record time. Things were bound to go wrong, so it was best to bring it up to full capacity piece by piece, which would take almost a month.
Darson had thought that that would be enough to get them through the day, but he had been proven wrong. With all the crap that was happening right now, it was time to take a risk, up the ante, and bring the full force of the Marines to bear.
He turned to Lt. Chau’saura, who had appeared out of the shadows with a grace only a Vulcan could achieve. She stood silently and obediently, waiting for the orders she knew were coming.
Darson stared silently at the screen for a moment and then said, “Lieutenant?”
“Yes sir?”
“Bring all MTAC systems online. We’re going to full combat readiness, and I’m going to need all the help I can get. I want everything up and running now.”
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
by Colonel James Darson
Post Details
| Title | The Marine Connection - Part 1 | |
| Mission | Beg, Steal or Borrow | |
| Author(s) | Colonel James Darson | |
| Posted | Thu Apr 02, 2009 @ 1:02am | |
| Location | Deck 72 - Marine Complex - MTAC | |
| Timeline | SD8 - 1345 |
Darson returned from the Senior Staff meeting and strode into the darkened room in a quiet and introspective mood. That meeting, while productive in its own way, had served to underline exactly how deep the discord on this station was running.
Mr. Gabriel was at odds with Commander Monteros, and just about the entire rest of the senior staff, the departments were in disarray, with people doubling up on tasks instead of focusing on what was more important. There were traitors and spies traipsing around in plain sight, and the Station’s internal security had been breached repeatedly. His soldier’s instinct was telling him that the majority of the senior staff wouldn’t last the course, and might end up being more than just mere liabilities.
And of course, that left him to pick up the slack.
Fortunately, Commander Davies seemed to have at least some of the right ideas, and had called the station to arms. That was a good start. But he had to keep it up.
From his intelligence gathering, he could safely say that there were around three cloaked ships sitting off the station, just waiting to attack. He ran the odds in his head and no matter which way he sliced it, there was no way that any three Romulan ships could hope to take on a fully armed and alert Federation Military Installation without massive casualties, unless they were something on the order of three Scimitar class warships.
The Romulans were a crafty people. They wouldn't fling themselves at a superior force in hopes of a victory like some Klingons would. No, they would keep their cool…have some sort of trump card up their sleeves. Something that would debilitate the station severely and even the odds, maybe even put it in their favor.
Unfortunately, unlike a starship, this station was a stationary, open target. With thousands of civilians and Starfleet personnel, anybody could have disabled or otherwise affect a crucial system, and it wouldn’t be discovered until it was too late.
These suspicions ate at his the edges of his mind, annoying the hell out of him. The intelligence department was in place to prevent such treachery from occurring, yet all the gray department had accomplished was a series of humiliating failures. In fact, the only thing that Mr. Gabriel had indeed done was wage his own private war against Isha, Commander Monteros, and the Romulans in general.
Ordinarily, Darson would have been thrilled to have one of his rivals be so engrossed in a meaningless vendetta like that. However, these were far from ordinary circumstances. He needed every hand he could get, and though he was loathe to admit it Dorian was a quite competent agent. If he could only throw aside the many grudges that he held onto like a dog on his favorite bone, then he could be a much more effective officer.
That thought made his mind turn to Isha. A bold woman, she refused to be cowed by anything he threw at her. Impressive in her own right, it was abundantly clear that she was hiding something. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually knows the people on the invading ships, and why they’re doing what they’re doing” Darson thought calmly.
He hoped fervently that something in the incoming attack would force her hand, even just a little bit. He already had personnel inside the embassy for her own protection (which was a genuine reason) and they were doing just a little bit of unsanctioned surveillance, just in case.
His own department hadn’t exactly been the most efficient one thus far…not in the least. The Baoran attack was still a sore spot for a lot of the Marines on the station, and Lt. Flynn’s defining moment of failure.
Thankfully, he now had at least some of the tools necessary to combat all the rising threats on this station. The MTAC. The pinnacle of intelligence gathering and analysis, it had supplanted his icy office as the place where he spent most of his time. And considering the amount this room had to offer, it wasn’t really that surprising.
This one room would be instrumental in helping with the combat effort. For the past 2 days, they had been operating it in a test capacity. Only external sensor nets, communications systems and general data banks were linked to the system. That made sense, considering that it had been thrown together in record time. Things were bound to go wrong, so it was best to bring it up to full capacity piece by piece, which would take almost a month.
Darson had thought that that would be enough to get them through the day, but he had been proven wrong. With all the crap that was happening right now, it was time to take a risk, up the ante, and bring the full force of the Marines to bear.
He turned to Lt. Chau’saura, who had appeared out of the shadows with a grace only a Vulcan could achieve. She stood silently and obediently, waiting for the orders she knew were coming.
Darson stared silently at the screen for a moment and then said, “Lieutenant?”
“Yes sir?”
“Bring all MTAC systems online. We’re going to full combat readiness, and I’m going to need all the help I can get. I want everything up and running now.”
OFF:
Major James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer