Senior Staff Briefing Log || "A New Direction"

Posted on 05 Feb 2020 @ 10:03am by Captain Mallory Thorne & Lieutenant Colonel Tage Gillis & Lieutenant Talrian Bran & Lieutenant Madalene Sabine & Lieutenant Yam Prat & Lieutenant Alexandra Dering & Lieutenant Quinle Rahl & Lieutenant Cole Dering M.D., M.S.

3,522 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Changing Faces
Timeline: MD 01: 0800 Hours

=/\= Begin Log =/\=

Mallory sat at the head of the table, nursing a cup of coffee that was already starting to go cold. She wondered if she should talk to engineering about the environmental controls or maybe the doctor to see if she was losing time... Everything seemed to happen so quickly and yet so slowly all at once, which was a concept she never could really get her mind around. She understand everything about time and perception at an intellectual level, but on an instinctual one, it never made sense.

She took a sip as she flickered her eyes to the door, waiting for the arrival of her senior staff.

Quinle was the first to arrive. The counselor still looked tired, but the circles around her eyes seemed to be fading out of the raccoon stage she had been in since before the jump to this place. Her smile was warm and supportive to the Captian, “Ma’am.” She acknowledged and moved to the seat she had taken before, there was probably a place she should sit but no one had told her so not wanting to step on anyone else’s toes it was the easiest choice.

"Captain," Talrian said as he entered the room, heading directly for what he already considered to be his seat. "Counselor," he intoned, not as warm or friendly since she was...well...her. He sat, his PaDD before him. Aside from his normal duties and writing up his report of his time on Solaris Station, he'd been researching the historical archives. The only thing he could say for certain, at this point, was he had a general idea of the Big Event that changed history but...not what led up to the BE. More research needed to be done before he was even prepared to make a guess.

Madalene was the next to arrive gripping her usual tablet size PaDD which had several screens opened. While in staff meeting she liked to keep up with what was going on within the ship especially with the optical data-network seeing as that network was what helped warn them of incoming doom. "Captain. Lieutenants." She said simply as she set her tablet down and headed for the replicator to get some Bajoran Spring tea.

Rahl offered a nod to Talrian as he entered then turned to Madeleine when she followed suit, offering a nod and a smile in acknowledgment of her greeting. Settling her PaDD before her she focused on her notes Until the others arrived.

Nodding to folks as they came in, Mal noted inwardly that she still didn't have anyone manning the science department. It was such a small on one the Odin, and had lost half its people. She just hadn't been able to decide who to take over. But that wasn't what this meeting was about, so she turned back to the people already at the table.

Then, as if from her words to the universe's ears...

Tavrus had beamed aboard the USS Odin only minutes before arriving at the briefing room, where he'd been informed he would find not only the captain but the rest of the senior staff as well. In his left hand, he carried a PADD with his transfer orders. As he approached the doors smoothly slid aside, and permitted him entry. His face, its usual blank, stoic mask, surveyed the inside of the room, and he picked out the woman he'd been advised to report to. Approaching this seated woman, back ramrod straight, he stopped a discrete distance away and extended the PADD. "Tavrus Saral, reporting to Captain Mallory Thorne," he said, "Captain Thorne I have been assigned to this ship as Science Officer."

Just then Cole walked in, and with a raised eyebrow, stopped and stared at the man wearing a very different uniform. In the moment, he didn’t feel like sitting down.

Lieutenant Prat had received word of the briefing a few hours ago and his mind had been working frenetically since.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be the first to greet the captain or select his seating was irksome, but as he flowed through the necessary paths leading toward his destination no expression touched his features. Tugging primly at his uniform’s sleeves Yam waited momentarily as the dual doors parted allowing him entrance into the briefing room.

Upon entering and greeting the Captain candidly, Yam paused at the sight of the non-Odin member; a clear oddity amongst the Odin seniority. After a meaningful instant studying the man, a curt nod was directed to—Dering the name tag indicated—before Yam slipped past the man and seated himself next to the Trill woman without any preamble. Calmly settling in, he set to work identifying the mood permeating the room. It wouldn’t have been a mistake to assume the slight curl of his lip to be the beginnings of a grin.

And this was why he claimed the seat he had. Talrian stood at the entrance of the intruder, a hand slipping to disengage the retention on his sidearm and then resting there. At the same time he was moving a step back and to the side, ready to insert himself between the intruder and Thorne. He was about to confront this...person...when he was cut off by the Captain's bark.

Mallory didn't even have a chance to acknowledge the doctor or her tactical chief because she was staring at this new person and wondering how in the fuck he'd even gotten on board. "You're my new what?" she asked, taking the PADD from him and noting that it looked different than the ones she had here on the Odin, but she figured it out and read quickly. "You're...but you're not even Union. This says you're a civilian?" Her hazel eyes snapped back up to him. "Why are they putting you on my ship?"

Tavrus stood before the angry woman, his face an utterly impassive mask, and replied, "I believe you will find the answers to all of your questions in those transfer orders. However, to answer the last one most succinctly, you did not have a science officer, I am a trained scientist, it seems the reasoning would be fairly simple."

The captain's eyes narrowed slightly. "General Stanton has a miserable sense of humor and do feel to tell her that in one of your reports," she said, tossing the tablet on the table. "Have a seat." She waved him away. They'd sort this out later.

With a slight nod of his head, Tavrus turned and walked to one of the open seats near the middle of the table and took a seat.

Quinle nodded to those that arrived her warm, calm demeanor did not shift as the new transfer entered, her dark eyes appraised him and the interaction with the Captian. Trying to catch the Captian’s eyes for a moment as her chest rose in a deep inhale and a soft exhale. “Welcome to the Odin,” she offered to the new science officer, then turned in her chair, catching the almost grin of Yam and winking in response to it.

Turning slightly to face the woman who had spoken to him Tavrus inclined his head slightly in response to her greeting, and then returned his attention to the woman at the head of the table.

Tage Gillis marched through the door, and gave a small nod to the Captain as he found a seat. "You may begin your briefing, Captain," he said.

"And you will show proper respect to your CO," Talrian snapped, unsettled that an intruder was allowed to get aboard his ship and then all the way to the conference room. That was a failing of his department and, therefore, his failing. "You're a senior member of this crew and you will set an example as such." He was definitely in the mood to shoot someone. Even if it was on the stun setting. To that end, his glance flicked to the...Alliance spy. Yet another spy aboard his ship.

Tavrus looked directly at the man and simply stared amusedly at the man's blustering. "I would suggest you contain your anger Lieutenant. It is neither needed nor appropriate. If someone has a problem with the level of respect I am showing them they can speak to me directly," he replied once he'd stopped speaking. Turning his attention back to the captain of the vessel he added, "And if any disrespect was perceived on your part I would like to disabuse you of the misunderstanding. I was simply answering your question. There was no ill-will intended."

"Oh, shut the hell up, spy, I was talking to the other non-member of the crew," he said, turning on Tage. "Whoever the hell you are."

Madalene just sat back and watched the chief of security yet again getting into a dick measuring contest. Guess the question as when was he not in one. Madalene just shook her head and sighed the man as gonna get everyone on the Odin killed with his actions and he doesn't even realizes it.

“Am I going to need a medical kit?” Cole had interjected, clearly unimpressed.

Mallory resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Tensions were still running...rather high. "Would everyone be quiet before I have to install a daycare facility on this ship for you?" Her hazel eyes were deadly serious as they swung around to everyone in turn. "We are still waiting for two members of senior staff and will observe quiet time until they arrive. Is that understood?"

Talrian merely nodded as he made his way back to his seat, still glaring at Gillis. What galled him even more as he realized the man wore a uniform similar to that of Captain Mulgrave and the enlisted who were their guides on Solaris Station. Those exhibited perfect military courtesies and respect. They were almost Corps in their conduct. But to have someone from their same service walk in assuming he was in charge of this ship and the crew of it, to show such blatant disregard and rudeness to the ship's captain. It didn't sit well with him. Partly because, despite some disturbing parts of this timeline, his time spent on the station was the first time he really felt comfortable since he arrived on the Odin.

He checked his sigh, eyes flicking around the room and dismayed at finding a lack of outrage over their placid acceptance of the insult to their captain.

There was a moment where Quinle wanted to joke about not wanting to be the teacher of the day care,but she held it back, her amusement was not hidden from her expression as she looked to Madalene, hoping to catch her eyes, before offering that same amused look to their beleaguered Captain.

Deciding it might now be safe to sit down, Cole took one of the empty seats on either side of Mal. "Captain," he acknowledged her respectively and then glanced towards the doors as he wondered about what was keeping his better half.

Mallory returned the nod.

Lexi was in a rush -- she seemed to be in a perpetual state of rush lately -- and hated that she was so behind. She paused for a moment outside the briefing room to ensure that her hair and uniform were straight before entering. As she did, she realized that she was damned near the last one here and felt ashamed of herself. She cast an apologetic look to the captain as she took her seat beside Cole. "Captain. Sorry I'm so late."

"Lieutenant," Mal greeted. There was still one missing. "Does anyone know where Colonel Raynor is?"

"Colonel Raynor?" Talrian asked. He knew there wasn't another Marine on board. "Another spy?" he asked. Did the captain send him off the ship as the ship was filled with useless Alliance personnel whose entire existence was to interfere with them? He had to get to those archives and find the point in history that lead to this timeline. But...maybe he needed to spend some more time on the Station.

"In theory, he's our CAG," the captain murmured before saying louder, "Thorne to Raynor," the captain said. No reply. She frowned. "Computer, please locate Colonel Raynor."

"Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Raynor is no longer on the ship."

"He's--" She choked back her words and her anger. "I'll sort that out later and get on with this briefing," she said, somehow managing to make every word sound like a curse.

Mallory blew out a breath and rubbed her hands together. "Well, folks. We have a mission. Our friends in the Union have asked for our assistance." She kept most of the sarcasm out of that one, but a little slipped through. "We are apparently as neutral as you can get in this timeline considering we've been here all of five minutes, so we've been asked to play host to a diplomatic meeting between the Terran Union and the a group called the Seelie Coalition.

"General Stanton told me that our Union...guess, Colonel Gillis, will fill us in on the coalition." She smiled tightly at him and waved for him to speak his part.

Lieutenant Colonel Gillis stood up, and nodded to the Captain. "Thank you, Captain. The Seelie Coalition has been one of the toughest enemies the Alliance has known.All of the races in the Seelie Coalition are shapeshifters. They seem to feel this trait makes them closer to each other than to us, and we are inclined to agree. As you know, you cannot trust a shapeshifter. Several decades ago, we were involved in conflicts ranging from skirmishes and police actions on up to full-scale war with the individual races which now are Seelie, and after a couple decades of getting pushed back they decided to form a coalition. This tactic was greatly beneficial to their cause, and we began having far fewer sound victories, and many more draws.

"Over the next few decades the conflicts between us have slowed and diminished. Now, there are talks of peace between us. The Seelie are currently lead by Secretary Camilla Rau. I've sent data to your data tablets which show briefs on the member races, the wide area they inhabit, current interactions and on Rau," Tage finished and sat down.

"Thank you, Colonel," Mal said with a nod. "We will soon be receiving Ambassador Elynda McConnell and a small staff, who will be traveling with us to a location near the coalition's space where they will meet us and board. We will provide them meeting space and security." Her eyes drifted to Lieutenant Bran, who she could only pray wouldn't offend every delegate that came on board and get the Odin into a war with the Coalition or the Union. "Lieutenant Bran, read up all you can on the Seelie Coalition before they come aboard. Remember they are all shapeshifters."

"Aye, Captain." He spoke as he was making notes. "I believe Starfleet had created a stasis field that inhibited certain shapeshifting processes. Am I authorized to look into that eventuality in case it may become needed?"

Mal considered it for a moment. "You are authorized to look into it, but let's keep it quiet. I want failsafes if this goes wrong, but not to be the ones who start a problem."

Talrian looked at her for several moments while working to check the sigh. It wouldn't do to chastise others for allowing their captain to face such monumental disrespect then to do so himself. "Understood, Captain," he said with a nod, finishing his notes.

"Doctor," she said to Cole, "we can but hope that everything we know from our timeline remains the same here, so study up on all shapeshifting species we know and be prepared for any sort of medical issue. As well as the brief profiles we're getting on the union delegation." Her eyes jumped to Rahl. "As our chief counselor, you will be a liaison between the Odin and our guests. So, be ready for that fun job."

At the Captain’s order, between the Alliance crew members present and their mission, Cole had been barely able to keep a neutral expression but somehow managed to. "I don’t suppose the Alliance would be willing to share their own xenobiology database?” he questioned, looking between them.

Mallory looked at their union 'guests' but turned back to the doctor to answer. "We have access to their non-classified information, which should at least give us something to start with."

Quinle had been watching everyone through the meeting but her eyes returned to the Captain every time she spoke. She politely waited from the CMO to speak before she lowered her head to the Captain. "I look forward to seeing this delegation, it should be interesting to see the structure of how these groups evolved in this time."

Mallory looked at their newest addition: Tavrus Saral, was it? "You and I should have a chat after the briefing, but if you are here to be my chief of science, I imagine you'll be able to offer some insight regarding these two groups?"

Tavrus nodded serenely, "That is correct. I can have a detailed report prepared for you by end of shift today," he replied.

"I'll look forward to that," the captain said, a touch dryly, but she was still just smarting from his unorthodox arrival, and she was going to have a few words for the general about that. "Moving on, for now, engineering and ops--" She looked at Dering and Sabine. "--we just need to keep the ship getting back to full form, but read over the briefings and the database to see if we need to make any special accommodations for our new guests."

"All the optical data-network has been looked over, we have been re-supplied and we'll get right on it to get everything ready for our guests." Madalene said looking around the room at all the new faces.

Lexi had listened to everything, but had been more studying the people than the words. She was recording the briefing on her PADD for later study in detail, so she was not too worried about missing anything. When the captain called out Engineering and Ops, she tuned fully into the words. The Operations chief was faster, and that was fine with Lexi. She wasn't a talker; she was a doer. But she knew she needed to say something. "I will coordinate with Operations on what still needs doing, Captain." Simple, straightforward, and likely unnecessary, but whatever!

Mal's head swung to the lone Cardassian at the table. "Hopefully, your department won't be needed and we won't be in any shootouts, so for the time being, continue to learn about this timeline we're in as well as research whatever tactical information is available to us about the ships the Seelie Coalition uses, their weapons and defenses."

Prat inclined his head affirmatively at the task detailed to him with steepled hands resting on the table. “Understood Captain,” he replied airily though no sign of mirth touched his face.

While Tactical had been given the duty of continued research on this timeline, he’d also devoted resources to specifically identifying the current military powers in the present; unfortunately, little progress had been made toward finding an advantage for the Odin and her crew. His current assignment if anything allowed him at least more latitude to continue seeking advantages wherever they could be found.

"Before I close this meeting, does anyone have any questions?" Mallory asked finally, swinging her gaze around to everyone at the table.

"Numerous, Captain," Talrian said without looking up, "But in the interest of getting to work, I will table them for another time."

Something to look forward to then, Mal thought wryly but she just nodded once. "We will cover that soon, Lieutenant," she said. "For now, we all have a lot of reading and research to do. The ambassador will be joining us late tomorrow. Let's get ready. Dismissed."

As the briefing ended, Yam’s eyes swung a considering gaze towards the CSO. At least he didn’t placidly accept being kept under heel by the Terran Union.

Perhaps a joint effort would prove beneficial. A concern for another time.

Rising in time with the rest of the senior staff, Yam gave a gracious smile to the counselor--Rahl was her name he remembered. "Kiba'avzayn Lieutenant, good tidings to you." With that he left the briefing room and was amidst the sea of the ship's operations with preparations already in mind.

Mallory sighed quietly as she watched her staff file out. She had more than enough to figure out from here on, but even if it rankled to do anything for General Stanton, part of her was at least glad to have a direction to go in. At least until she figured out the one she wanted to take herself.

=/\= End Log =/\=

 

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