"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." – Sun Tzu, the Art of War
[USS Charon]
"Ensign Clipper." Shiarrael looked at the young man at science "with Lieutenant Doyle on the planet you are now in charge of science. I know engineering and operations have improved the Charon's communication and sensor capabilities to deal with surveying the nebula- we will now use this to our advantage if our foes decide to follow us." She had been branded a traitor for a long time by her people- she would now make their words true "I will provide you with specific energy signatures relative to the pursuing vessel classes. I want you to modify the sensor pod to track and different such signatures from the nebula's interference."
As his name was called Thomas looked towards his Captain. Listening to her words he swallowed as the gravity of the words laid the situation out for him to absorb, it all made his stomach turn,. He could deal with that feeling later. For now he nodded. The temporary elevation in the science department was what he needed to get her request done, the clearance he had just received now allowed him to make those exact sorts of modifications to the pod.
"I'll make clearing up those adjustments a priority for the department Captain." He responded as went to work on his console to ready himself for the data he was going to receive. All while hoping he didn't look as outwardly ill as he currently felt within himself.
"Good." Shiarrael forced herself to smile. She needed to inspire confidence in the crew- no doubt having a large portion of the ship's senior staff missing would make things increasingly difficult. She prayed to the elements that they would find some way to reach the Charon. "Ch'Tan, are you familiar with Starfleet combat history?"
"Of course Captain, which bit of combat history are you thinking of?" the young Klingon growled as he set about checking the phasers and shield generators and trying to bring them to maximum strength.
"If you remember there was a very infamous battle between the famous- or also quite infamous depending on one's allegiance Captain Kiuurk and a cloaked Klingon bird of prey in orbit of camp Khitomer." Shiarrael's inflection on the Captain's name was noticeable but it was how she heard it pronounced during her years in the Romulan War College. "They were besieged but were able to locate the Klingon bird of prey by tracking the vessels energy byproducts" she smirked and it looked quite sinister "perhaps our more modern weaponry can be modified to track certain energy signatures?"
"Aye, its standard tactical course material, although most cloaking devices have gotten to the point where they produce almost zero emissions, we could certainly try though," Ch'tan replied slowly as he thought back to his academy training.
"Ah, but it is not so easy to remain cloaked in such a place." She pointed at the clouds of gas being displaced by the Charon as she cruised deeper into the nebula. "It is also quite useful that you have a former Riov aboard this ship." Shiarrael smirked "I will help you make any necessary adjustments commander."
"If they enter the nebula under cloak, we will also be able to fire manually should the targeting sensors go down," Ch'tan replied as he set about making the necessary modifications to the tracking routines.
"They would certainly be foolish-" but there plenty of fools in the Galae. Shiarrael used to curse that sad fact but now, in true irony, she hoped the collection of Riovs after the Charon were indeed the fools she so hated. Turning them to ash and sending their souls to areinnye would bring her a great deal of pleasure- with a slight smirk she nodded to Ch'Tan "do what you feel is best."
Lamont sensed trouble in the air, beyond the obvious. With so many of the senior staff missing the captain was doing double duty attempting to both digest incoming data, make logical decisions, and issue commands all while attempting to inspire and motivate the bridge crew who were unaccustomed to the rigors of combat. Swallowing, Lamont couldn't help but feel for his fellow comrades stuck in harm's way on the planet with the Charon unable to assist. No doubt the captain was feeling the same pangs of emotion. Despite their differences, he had a duty to the ship, its crew, and indeed even to the captain to help where he could. Given the gravity of the situation, he was honor and duty bound to assist wherever he could.
His younger days had been spent as the USS Lexington's second officer in the heat of the Second Dominion War. Lamont was no stranger to combat, though he utterly detested it. The use of force in some situations was in his mind a failure of communication and a missed opportunity for a peaceful outcome. However he was not so naïve to completely abhor the use of force. There were times such in the case of war and other situations where defending oneself or others was needed to indeed keep the peace or achieve peace despite the high costs. Conflict was an inevitability. Unlike some of his contemporaries which saw all conflict as unjust, wrong, or reprehensible, Lamont could acknowledge it was a reality that did occur and would continue to occur. Indeed, if it were not for conflict, his job as a negotiator or peacemaker would be quite dull. Like the Roman god Janus, every situation had two faces – one evil, one good, one right, one wrong – it was a good commander that could recognize the difference and react accordingly.
He hated admitting he knew far more about ship operations, tactics, combat, and command than he let on. His naval rank of commander was evident of his knowledge, though the captain would be one of the few who would know that. Indeed acting the part of a know-nothing diplomat spared him duties and expectations such knowledge brought with itself. But now was not the time to play that role. If he could help the ship, the crew, and the captain he had to do so. Duty and honor demanded nothing less of him.
"I see the natives are restless", Lamont said approaching the captain referring to the engagement with the Romulans. Before she could respond he continued. "Captain, we don't have to like one another, but we are both officers with strong convictions and obligations to duty. We seem to be in a serious situation and you appear to need some additional help with many of the crew planetside in this crisis. I am here to offer my help. I have some wartime bridge experience and while I do not claim to be an expert I believe I can be of assistance. In light of the current situation, I believe it would be prudent if not expeditious to put aside our mutual issues and work together. The crew on the planet deserves no less. Would you not agree?
For example, I believe that the Romulan D'Jhimn cruiser, if I identified the vessel in my quarters correctly, is an older vessel with obsolete engines and shields. In addition, this ship, if memory serves, was subject to a minor, and quietly concealed defect in its cloaking system similar to difficulties Klingon ships of the same era experienced with certain coil systems. Such a defect could be exploited if required in battle should the need arise.
I stand ready to serve captain, if you will permit me."
Revealing his tactical knowledge was a necessary evil given the circumstances. His knowledge was dated and probably quite stale, but in this situation he knew one or two things about the older Romulan ship designs they appeared to be up against. No doubt Rehu was also keenly aware of such facts, but he had to demonstrate he could be of some use to her. Sitting this one out with lives on the line was not an option he was prepared to accept.
He waited for Rehu's response. She would either accept his offer or eject him from the bridge. She didn't have the time to argue with him and he had neither the motivation nor inclination at the moment to incur her wrath as doing so would only hinder their efforts at survival in a hostile and potentially deadly situation. Too many lives were at stake to risk on mere personal grievances. He was here to help and serve even if that meant following her orders to the letter for the foreseeable future.
'Ian Lamont', Shiarrael cursed the name repeatedly in her thoughts. A few of the telepathic bridge crew tossed her curious glances wondering how she could smile brightly while littering her mind with such words. Her bright smile, as vibrant as the glow of Eisn, was directed solely on Lamont. 'Perhaps if I smile hard enough I will not be so angry', she thought, waited, and then decided it wasn't working. Although she knew it wasn't Lamont that caused her ire- those Romulans were the source. Lamont, as usual, just had the most utterly ridiculous and awful timing. She paused and studied him for a moment. 'Tal'Shiar?' She wondered with slight amusement. 'Certainly an agent would be so irritating and stupid'- she held in the laugh that wanted to bubble up at the thought. Instead she calmly reminded herself that she needed to find a way to keep Lamont in check and this was her first opportunity to do it. "Since you are the most senior member of the crew at present I am appointing you as acting executive officer." There was an old Terran saying that Shiarrael once heard: 'so quiet you could even hear a pin drop' and the bridge certainly sounded that way immediately after her announcement. In fact even the machinery seemed stunned into silence- of course any reasonable observer would have noted the obscure technician in the back corner of the bridge messing with the EPS systems.
[To be continued…]
Captain Shiarrael Rehu
Commanding Officer
USS Charon
Commander Ian Lamont
Ambassador
USS Charon
Lieutenant Commander Ch'Tan Foster
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Charon
Lieutenant Commander Quentin Calhoun
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Charon
EnArrain Rhiana t'Khellian
Chief Communications Officer
USS Charon
Lieutenant D'Vana Xavier
Assistant Engineering Officer
USS Charon
Ensign Thomas J Clipper
Assistant Science Officer
USS Charon
Ensign M'Riarr
Assistant Helmsman (NPC)
USS Charon
