Mission 1: Seeds of Deception

Day 1, 1145 Hours, Star Fleet HQ, San Francisco, Earth.

Arron pushed the PADD back across the desk to Admiral Williams. "Your kidding right?" Arron said with a smile.

Admiral Williams frowned. "Is something wrong Captain?"

Arron stood up from the chair he was seated in. Daylight shone into the window, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the blue water of the San Francisco Bay made a scenic view from the office of Fleet Admiral Williams office. "I'm sorry Admiral, I just figured that with the capabilities of this ship, and its role as an Intelligence gathering vessel we would be deployed on some vital mission-"

"Captain, delivering supplies to the Colonists on Theta Sol IS vital. Without this new equipment, the colony won't be viable for long, and with a Romulan outpost on the other side of the planet, we would be giving up a strategic presence in the area. We MUST support this colony. Think of this as an extended shake down cruise."

Arron walked behind the chair he had been seated in, and rested his hands on the back of it. "That's all we need to do then? Just drop of this equipment?"

Admiral Williams now stood. "Captain, I promise that by the time this supply run is over, I will have a task to assign your crew that is much more suited to their talents. I know this is your first Command, but you need to tamper your expectations on just what it is your ship will be doing week in and week out."

Arron laughed, "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't mean to sound unappreciative of the assignment. I will make preparations for launch later this evening."

"Glad to hear it Captain." Williams said, extending his hand. Arron shook it, and turned to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing Captain." said the Admiral. "The equipment you guys are picking up has been calibrated specifically for the colonists needs, so there won't be any need for your crew to do anything with it. In fact, might I suggest placing Lieutenant Commander Zane Cross in charge of making sure the equipment stays untouched. I know your intelligence department will be just as bored with this assignment as you are"

Arron grinned. "Thanks for the tip Admiral, misery loves company" Arron saluted the Admiral and left the office. He smiled to the Admirals secretary as he walked into the hall. He was already imagining hearing groans around the briefing table later this afternoon once he assembled his Senior Staff.

He checked the time. He had a few hours to kill. He pulled his PADD out and fired a quick message to his old friend Lieutenant JG Ryan Stone.

Ryan,

Just got done with the Admiral. I'm headed to that old Asian place we used to visit when we were at the Academy; the Pu Ahn Yu Cafe. If you're free we should meet up in 10 minutes and chat. Would be fun to catch up before this thing really gets official.

Arron

Arron send the message. He smiled inwardly at the reference to Pu Ahn Yu Cafe. Of course, that wasn't really the name of the restaurant, it was actually called the "Payuc", but back when they were students at the academy they decided that "Payuc" had to stand for something. The had decided Pu Ahn Yu Cafe, and the nickname had stuck.

Satisfied that he would soon be having lunch with his good friend, he left Star Fleet HQ and into the warm summer day that was upon San Francisco.

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 0935 hours, Transporter Room, USS Maelstrom

Lindsey shivered as her body rematerialized on the transporter pad. It happened to her every time. She ran a hand through her long straight her upon seeing the cute transporter chief. And then stopped. Sudden realization that the 'cute' man in front of her was now under her command. Being the Chief Engineer would certainly take some adjustment. She couldn't behave the way she could as a junior officer, and now had to be the responsible one. She shook her mind from the thoughts. She stepped off the pad and briskly walked out of the room.

Being the Chief Engineer, she wanted to make sure the ship was up and running smoothly in time to make the evenings launch. There was a small skeleton crew aboard, mostly were station maintenance workers, though some were engineering crew that Lindsey had specifically asked to meet her in Engineering. A meeting she was running a few minutes late for.

As the ship was fairly small by Star Fleet standards, in didn't take long to locate a turbo-lift and take the short ride to Engineering. Upon her arrival she noticed a small group of people clustered near the warp core, making introductions to each other, and other idle small talk.

"Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for coming." Lindsey said with a bright smile as she walked up the group. "I am Lindsey Davis, AKA your boss. You may not address me as Chief, or Sir. Please call me Lieutenant, or Ma'am. Failure to do this will get you on my shit list, and unless you want to be scrubbing plasma coils or cleaning the inside of the torpedo launcher, I expect you to do as I say, when I say. Are we clear?"

Their was a brief moment of silence where Lindsey was sure they were all trying to process what she had just said. And then in unison, they all piped up, "Yes Ma'am"

"Then I think we will get a long just fine" Lindsey said, still beaming at her department. Lindsey focused on the green skinned male in the group. He was obviously Lieutenant Junior Grade Gulsan Fusek. The Orion who would he the Assistant Chief Engineer. "Lieutenant Fusek, my goal is to make sure this ship launches without a hitch. It would be highly embarrassing for our entire department if Captain Drexel gives the order for us to leave space-dock, and nothing happens. Please take crewman Nelson and go over both the Impulse Engines, Warp Engines, and maneuvering thrusters. Run them through a power cycle, test the energy output, and make sure they are within acceptable parameters."

"Yes Ma'am"

Lindsey turned to the other individual present. Crewman Olafsson, your assignment is to go deck by deck testing out all of the ships replicators. Also be sure to check out the cargo bay transporter. I received word that our first mission will involve some sort of cargo transfer, so that needs to run smoothly. If anyone needs me, I will be looking over the ships environmental systems. If anything looks funny, report it. If it doesn't feel right, report it. You were all trained for this job, so trust your instincts. Now get to work! Clocks ticking people."

The three engineers in front of her scrambled to get to work. Lindsey had accomplished her goal. She had established herself as a strong willed, but capable leader. Now she only hoped that through time, she would earn their respect and trust.

Lieutenant Lindsey Davis
Chief Engineer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1102 Hours, Sunset Cafe, San Francisco, Earth.

Orrin sat at a small, two-seat table at the west end of the cafe. The view from the window wasn't too impressive, although one could see the ocean rise to the horizon from this point. He stared into the distant ocean, seeing white caps of the waves wiggle along the beach front. Periodically, he would take a sip from his vanilla Rooibos tea, waiting for it to be the perfect temperature.

"Sleep well?" a voice asked. Orrin turned to see an old colleague, Wang Jun-Soon, smiling happily, taking a seat across from him.

"Not really," Orrin muttered, returning a weak smile. "You know those dreams you get before you start a new job, and everything goes wrong? It was one of those."

"Do tell," Wang urged all too eagerly.

"I dreamed that for some reason we were on the ship, traveling backwards in time, however, only a few of us were aware. And the first day for us, or the last day chronologically, the ship blew up."

"I see. Probably means you have anxiety about changing to a new ship so suddenly."

"Perhaps," nodded Orrin. "I didn't get to visit anybody back home. So much to do, not enough time, you know?"

Wang raised his eyebrow. He obviously didn't believe it.

Orrin broke in. "Okay, I confess. I spent the whole day yesterday playing in the holoarcade."

"Ah, the truth always rises. When do you head out?"

"In a couple hours." Orrin took another sip of his tea. It now was too cold. "I might even leave early to check the place out."

"Well, good departure, then." Wang rose. "I've got to go. Nice seeing you, though?"

"Yes. Goodbye, then."

"Oh," he mentioned, making his exit, "your sister says 'hi,' by the way."

Orrin sat, staring at the ocean. Finally the last sentence set in. "Wang? What did you do to my sister?!"

Lt. Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 0845 Hours, San Francisco, Earth

Cross could see the Star Fleet Headquarters building in the distance. It was an impressive structure that spanned nearly 80 floors high and housed some of the most important Federation officials in the Galaxy. Today was a big day in for Cross. He was scheduled to meet with Admiral Williams about an assignment the Admiral hand picked him for. It wasn't every day that an Intelligence Officer had the opportunity to meet with an Admiral of Starfleet.

The taxi slowed to a stop near the front steps of the entrance to Star Fleet HQ. Cross stepped out and made his way to the front doors. A large full body scanner spun around him as he walked through the entrance. Cross approached the security desk.

"Credentials please" said a rather large and grumpy male Bajoran.

Cross pulled out his ID and Starfleet Credentials. The Bajoran read over his information and looked up at Cross.

"47th floor, Admiral Williams is expecting you."

"Thank you" replied Cross as he made his way over to the elevators. As he entered the elevator he was greeted by an attendant.

"47th floor please" asked Cross.

It only took a few seconds to ascend to the 47th floor. As the doors opened Cross was met by two heavily armed security officers. They did a quick search of Cross and led him around the corner to the doors of Admiral Williams office. One of the officers opened the door and Cross made his way in. Admiral Williams was standing at the window located right behind his desk. Noticing that Cross had entered the room he made his way around the desk to greet him.

"Officer Cross, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person" the Admiral said walking over to shake Zane's hand.

"It's an honor to meet with you sir" said Cross smiling from ear to ear.

"Please sit down, make yourself your comfortable" said the Admiral as he sat down in his chair.

Cross sat down directly across from him. There was a moment of awkward silence before the Admiral began to speak.

"I'm sure your wondering why you’re here Cross, and why I have hand picked you for this assignment"

"During my time serving the Federation, I've learned not to question the reasons and just do what I'm asked to do sir"

"Ha, ha, ha. Good answer Cross, that's exactly why I've selected you for this assignment. Your bio suggests that you are a highly skilled intelligence officer, specializing in the ability to perform extremely sensitive covert operations in the field"

"Are you referring to the 18 months I spent on Vulcan sir?"

"Right, that's exactly what I'm referring to" the Admiral said pointing directly back at Cross. "I need someone who specializes in completing a mission without anyone even knowing there was a mission. You understand what I'm saying son?"

"Yes sir, that sounds like something right up my alley"

The Admiral got up from his chair, "come take a look at this" he said walking over to the holographic terminal near the corner of his office. The holographic image of a planet popped up from the terminal. The Admiral used his hands to spin the image around, then zoomed into one of the territories near the southwestern hemisphere of the planet.

"This is your mission. What you’re looking at is the Potomac region of Theta Sol. This region is currently under the control of the Federation, and we want to keep it that way for a long time. The land surrounding this region is of the utmost importance to the Federation, but right now we are in real danger of losing control of this region."

Admiral Williams spun the image around again and zoomed in on an area near the Northeast hemisphere on the other side of the planet. "This is the location of a Romulan Outpost near Del Tibek. For the past several weeks we have been receiving reports from the ground that Romulan soldiers at this location have been making preparations to launch an attack on the Potomac region in an attempt to seize control of the planet. Three days ago we sent a team of undercover intelligence officers down to Del Tibek led by our top Encryption Specialist Omar Leezak. Omar was able to hack into the Romulan forces mainframe and decipher the details of their plans. Today Leezak has confirmed our biggest fears. The Romulan Soldiers on Theta Sol are planning a full scale offensive attack on the Potomac region within the next 5 days. We've also learned they are heavily armed with some very advanced weaponry."

"So you’re planning to counter the Romulans before they begin their attack?" asked Cross.

"We don't have the money or resources to start a war with the Romulans on Theta Sol, but the land the Potomac region sits on is extremely valuable to the Federation and must be protected."

"What's makes the land so valuable sir?" asked Cross.

"What's under the ground is not your concern, but assisting with the protection of the land is. Am I clear on that?"

"Yes sir"

"Your mission is to deliver a number of high priority assets to the colonists and Federation forces near the Potomac region."

"High priority assets sir?"

"Weapons Cross. More specifically the types of weaponry that is so advanced, it's never been used in a real combat situation."

Admiral Williams used his hand to bring up an additional image from the terminal. It was the image of what looked to be common disruptor.

"Pistols sir? Our plan is to equip our personnel down there with pistols?"

"These aren't just pistols Cross, and trust me when I tell you they are more than enough to fend off a Romulan Star Empire attack." The Admiral shut off the terminal and walked back over to his desk. Cross turned around to address the Admiral with a confused look on his face.

"Why do you need an IO to deliver the weapons sir? Wouldn't it be easier to send a delivery transport vessel?"

"A delivery transport will not work. We can't afford to let the Romulans know that we are delivering any type of equipment to the colonists, let alone weapons. If they knew about our plans they could launch a preemptive strike against us and we could lose the planet."

"Cross" the Admiral said staring directly at the Officer. "The secrecy of this mission is very high level; even the Captain of the ship doesn't know the contents of this shipment. You cannot, under any circumstances discuss this information with anyone, at any time. Is that clear Cross?"

"Crystal clear sir"

"I've arranged a transport vessel that will take you to Space dock where you will board the USS Maelstrom. You will report to Captain Arron Drexel. <Drexel, hmmmm the name sounded very familiar Cross thought to himself> I will be briefing him later this morning on the details of this mission. I will also suggest that he puts you in charge of making sure the contents of the shipment are delivered untouched. But as far as he is concerned we are delivering vital equipment to the colonists, nothing more."

"Understood sir. I will see to it that this mission is carried out" Cross said reaching out for the Admirals hand.

The Admiral reached out and shook Cross's hand. "That was some pretty impressive work you did on Vulcan son, the Federation is damn proud of you, and the Vulcan's will forever be in your debt."

"Thank you sir, I was just doing my job"

"Completing a mission of that magnitude never goes unnoticed Cross" said Admiral Williams walking over to his desk. "That is why I am promoting you to Chief Intelligence Officer of the USS Maelstrom"

Admiral Williams pulled out a small case from his desk and handed it to a stunned Cross.

"Thank you sir. I.. don't know what to say. I won't let you down" Cross said staring back at the Admiral.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make more of this momentous occasion Cross, but considering the time sensitive nature of your current mission, this will have to do for now. I promise to give you a proper celebration upon the successful completion of this mission."

Cross opened up the small case. Inside were the new insignia he would be wearing as CIO of the USS Maelstrom.

"Thank you again sir" Cross said raising his hand to salute the Admiral before heading for the door.

"Oh, and Cross?"

"Yes sir?" Cross replied turning around to face the Admiral.

"Welcome to Section 31" said the Admiral smiling back at Cross.


Lt. Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1345 hours, Los Angeles Public Transport Hub, Earth

David wiped sweat from his forehead. He looked around nervously to see if anyone was watching him. His heart was pounding, as he scanned the people passing by. People seemed to be ignoring him completely. David enjoyed looking at pornography in public. There was no better place for him to enjoy this perverted habit than right in the middle of the Los Angeles public transport hub. A bustling center of people coming and going, beaming across the world, or up to ships waiting in orbit. An alarm popped up on his screen covering up the place the Orion slave girl was sticking her fingers into. David groaned. Not from pleasure, but from knowing that the time had come for him to zip up, and get to his station aboard his new assignment: The USS Maelstrom. He tucked his PADD into a pocket on the duffel bag that laid at his feet. His entire life was packed in the bag. A few changes of clothes, some personal effects, and other items he didn't feel he could live without on board a Star Ship. As he got up a Deltan Male sitting across from him caught his attention. The Deltan winked and blew a kiss at him. Alarmed, David did the only thing that came to mind, and flipped him the bird. "Fuck off faggot" he said as he picked up his duffel and began walking.

He got in line for one of the transporters and risked a glance back at the Deltan. The man was still sitting in his seat, but was now making a stroking gesture with his hand over his lap, and licking his lips as he watched David. Relieved that it was his turn on the transporter, David pulled his PADD back out and showed it to the transporter attendant.

"I don't think that's really appropriate" said the man behind the console.

At first confused, and then realizing that the PADD he showed the man did not show his Star Fleet ID and orders, but an Orion Slave girl enjoying herself, Mayne quickly blushed. "Shit, damn kids pranking me" David muttered, hoping the transporter attendant would accept it. David flipped the PADD back over, cleared the image off, and pulled up his ID and orders, and then held them back up to the attendant.

"USS Maelstrom" the man read. "Please step onto the Transporter Pad while your bio signs are scanned and verified."

Mayne slipped the PADD back into his duffle. "Sure thing" he said before climbing up the few steps to the pad.

"All clear" said the attendant. "Prepare to Energize"

David nodded and took one last look back to the Deltan, who was still starring at David, and was now making the weird stroking gesture in front of his face. "FUCK YOU!" David shouted, as he felt the transporter sequence begin. Everyone in the vicinity turned toward the outburst.

Seconds later he was standing aboard the USS Maelstrom promising himself he was going to never look at porn again.

He stepped down from the pad and headed towards his quarters, following the computer panels that lit the way for him.

After arriving he was disappointed to see that because he was a junior officer he would be bunking up with another junior officer. Such was life aboard these small warships like the Defiant Class USS Maelstrom. "Computer, who else is assigned to these quarters?" he asked.

"Lieutenant junior grade Ryan Stone" said the computer

"Is he a hard ass?"

"Please restate the question" the computer replied defiantly.

"Never mind." <Stone> he thought. "Sounds like a hard ass"

David tossed his duffel onto one of the beds. Claiming his territory. He once again retrieved his PADD, and looked up the name of his department head. Zane Cross. <Zane!?! What the hell kind of name is that?> He thought. He pictured a short weaselly man with glasses and a turned up nose, and a high pitch voice. Maybe even old fashioned braces. He laughed at the mental image he created, and then typed up a message to Lieutenant Commander Zane, informing him that he had just boarded and was awaiting orders. He hit the send button and then went looking for the restroom. He had been holding back the need to shit for the last 3 hours.

Ensign David Mayne
Infiltration Specialist
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1443 Hours, Captains Ready Room, USS Maelstrom

Arron had just finished going over the last of his crew roster. There were several names on the list that he had heard of, but never really met before, but only one person whom he had ever served with. His best friend Ryan Stone. Arron stood up from his desk and straightened out his uniform. It felt good to stretch his legs. He walked over to the fish tank that was installed in the wall of the office. He peered inside. The water was a brilliant color of blue, and there were several exotic looking plants in the tank. However as his eyes scanned it, he was unable to detect any fish within the glass case. He frowned, wondering if Star Fleet really would put a fish tank in the office with all the trimmings, but leave out the fish.

Deciding his thoughts would be better spent else where, he walked over to the view port and considered their upcoming mission. There was no denying he was disappointed that their first mission would be nothing more than being glorified delivery men, but it helped to consider the colonists that were anxiously awaiting these important supplies. They would surely be looking forward to their arrival in the next 48 hours.

Anxious to get this mission over with and behind them, he thought it best to contact his new CIO, whom Admiral Williams had requested to handle the assignment, so that they might be on the same page.

"Computer, when is Lieutenant Commander Cross scheduled to arrive on board the Maelstrom?" he asked, still staring out the view port and in to space.

"Lieutenant Commander Cross is already on board the Maelstrom" the computer replied stiffly.

Arron raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Eager to get started. Good. A man after my own heart" he said to himself.

He tapped the comm badge on his chest. =/\=Mr. Cross, this is Captain Drexel, please report to my office=/\=

=/\= On my way Captain =/\=

=/\=Excellent, I will see you shortly. Drexel out.=/\=

Arron walked over to the replicator that was perpendicular to his fish tank...or just "tank" if it really was void of fish, and ordered a drink."Ice Water" he said dryly. The machine whirred to life and a tall clear glass filled with cold water and ice materialized in the compartment of the replicator. Arron picked the glass up and took a sip, smacking his lips as the cool liquid drenched his throat. He walked back to his desk and set the glass down on the oak desk. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of
his mother chastising him for leaving the glass, which was sure to condense, on the unprotected desk. He reactivated the computer and pulled up Zane Cross' Star Fleet records while he waited for the Chief Intelligence Officer to arrive.

Day 1 , 1447 hours, Cross's Quarters, USS Maelstrom

<Drexel, where do I know that name from?> Cross thought to himself. Cross pulled out his PADD and did a brief career bio on the Captain.

<Hmm... Impressive resume> Cross thought. Drexel was a former Intelligence Officer who became well known after a successful covert operation where he infiltrated the Cardassian Union by undergoing a facial reconstruction surgical procedure. The success of that mission led to numerous changes in the identity verification process for all enemies of the Federation.

Cross wasted no time making his way to the turbo lift, now more anxious to meet the Captain. As he reached the Captain's office he located the com button.

=/\= It's Cross sir =/\= he said into the com

Arron looked up from his computer display. "Please come in"

Cross walked through the door. As he entered he noticed a fairly large fish tank near the sitting area of the office. There was also a large port window that gave the Captain a panoramic view of the galaxy. Cross turned to the Captain and raised his hand to salute his superior.

Arron returned the formality, and gestured to a chair in front of his desk."Please, have a seat Mr. Cross"

"It's a pleasure serving with you sir. I read up on your bio earlier. That number you pulled on the Cardassian Union was very impressive sir."

Arron smiled, "Thank you, Commander. I notice you too have a distinguished career brewing. A word of advice...Don't ever let them talk you out of leaving Intel to take a Command." Arron motioned to the desk in between them. "It's not all it's cracked up to be. Regardless...what do you know about our first assignment?"

"I'm not aware of any formal details regarding our mission. I was hoping you can shed some light on what your plans are for us once we leave Space dock."

Arron noted Zane's use of the word "formal", meaning he likely did know something about what their task was, but was keeping those details to himself. Intel types could always sense this sort of thing from each other. Arron nodded at the man, "We have a...formal...briefing at 1645, where we will finally meet the rest of the senior officers, but I called you hear because Rear Admiral Williams has asked your department to head up the delivery of some badly needed supplies to a new Federation colony, Theta Sol. Now...I realize that this type of work isn't normal for your department, and honestly I think it's being assigned to your staff as...well busy work, for lack of a better term. Can I count on your best efforts in this trivial task?"

Cross sat up straight in his chair. "No matter how trivial the mission appears to be, I can assure you the
supplies will make it to Theta Sol intact, and delivered to the colonists as requested sir."

Cross could sense that the Captain thought he knew more about the mission then he said, but he did his best to play it off none the less.

"The mission will not take more than 48 hours in transit time, we will simply be beaming cargo down to the surface, and as I understand, there is not much prep work needed as the equipment is already calibrated to the needs of the Colonists. Just make sure it stays that way, and no one goes in the cargo bay to make any modifications. I want to get this mission over with so we can get to the real intelligence work this ship was designed for." Arron said

"You can count on me to get it done. I do have one request sir" Cross said.

Arron raised his eyes, "Oh?" he said curiously.

"I would like to add an Encryption Specialist to the crew roster. I will have them assist me with adding security process codes to all of the containers as to ensure they will not be tampered with prior to delivery."

Arron chuckled, "Commander, i highly doubt that anyone on this vessel will have the need to tamper with those containers, but this is your Op, if you feel it's necessary to strengthen the security protocols than I will have one brought on board prior to launch."

"Might I recommend ES Omar Leezak? He's one of the best we have in Star Fleet."

Arron punched the name in to his computer terminal to call up the personnel file for Leezak. Arron cocked his head to one side. "Interesting" Arron said. He felt Zane's eyes on him. "It would appear Mr. Leezak is already posted to Theta Sol, serving at a forward Intel base at the colony. No doubt the proximity to the Romulan's explains the need for Intel officers at the colony." Arron punched a few commands into his console. "I will submit the proper paper work to get him transferred aboard once we arrive, but seeing as he is on a current Intel assignment, there are no guarantees that this request will be approved. In the mean time, why don't you assign Ensign David Mayne to assist you with this task. His is fresh out of the academy and I want to see how green he is. You should be able to procure whatever equipment you need from the Security Department. Lieutenant Stone will be the man to ask for that." Arron stood up signaling the time had come to end the meeting. "I appreciate your enthusiasm for your job Cross. Welcome aboard the Maelstrom."

"Thank you sir. I look forward to working with you"

Cross took a moment to salute the Captain open more time before heading for the door.

OFF -

This has been a Joint Post by:

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Commander Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1,1213 Hours, Payuc Cafe, San Francisco, Earth

Ryan sat in a chair facing the door. After the acadamy it didn't feel right to have his back facing the door. It was against his religion or his moral code. The waitress walked to the table.

"What can I get you to drink?"
"Large Saki, two cups please" Ryan grinned at the waitress.

The waitress headed to the back while Ryan kept watching the door. He couldn't keep thinking about meeting with his friend - now a captain - just before they launched. He trusted Arron and wouldn't think twice to help his friend.

Arron walk through the door and started talking to the greeter in the front. Ryan stood up out of his chair to wave Arron over.

"I dont know to salute or shake your hand"

Arron smiled at his long time friend, grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a hug. "God am I glad to see you buddy"

"Good to you see you too, friend"

"I was so thrilled when Star Fleet approved your transfer to the Maelstrom. It's always hard when you have so many new faces around. Just having you at my back will make it a thousand times easier for me."

Arron took a seat at the table as the waitress appeared with Saki and two cups. "Ah, now this brings back some memories!" Arron said gesturing to the Saki. "What was the name of that Vulcan who we always brought here and tried to get him liquored up?" Drexel said scratching his head, distraught that the memories were getting harder to recall with age.

" Oh my hell, ummm it was something like Sukler or something"

"Ah! That's right. I wonder what ever happened to him?." Arron said solemnly.

"I'm sure he is living long and prospering somewhere" Ryan replied chuckling

"Well thanks for meeting me here buddy" Arron said, he took the lid off the Saki container and poured a cup for himself, and another to Stone. He handed the cup over to his old friend. "I have to be honest though. This is somewhat business related."

"Yeah i figured it might be."

"You know me" Arron said, always mixing business and pleasure. Arron pulled a small box out from a pocket and set it on the table. He noticed Stone's eyebrows raise questioningly. Arron let out a loud hearty laugh, "Relax man, I'm not about to propose to you"

"I figured I was about to roll into some money" Ryan started laughing.

"Something has come up. The woman who was assigned to be our Chief Security and Tactical Officer was just court marshaled for some offense on a prior assignment. Star Fleet still wants her to transfer to this vessel, but she is being demoted. That leaves me with a vacancy in an important position. I figure your the best man for the job." Arron pushed the box over to Stone. "This is your promotion to full grade Lieutenant."

"Wow, that is surprising. I dont know what to say." Ryan began to scatch his head.

"Trust me, you want to accept. As of right now the computer has you assigned to junior officers quarters, which would mean you would have to share a room with some guy, probably fresh right out of the Academy. At least this way you get your own quarters" Arron said with a smile.

"Well when you put it that way you have a deal." Ryan laughed out loud.

Arron downed the cup in front of him. "Glad to hear it Ryan. I will go over the mission details further at the senior officer briefing prior to launch, but this first mission shouldn't keep you overly busy. It will give you a chance to get your department running the way you want."

Ryan flipped open the box and looked at the rank insignia nestled within. It all felt surreal. "Okay, that works for me" he said closing the box and pocketing it.

Arron heard an audible beep emit from his PADD. He looked down and read a message that popped up on screen. "Well, it looks like my time on Earth is over. I need to head on up to the ship and give it a walk through. I suggest getting your things together and heading up soon to meet your team.

"Yeah, good idea. I wont be late for the briefing. Don't want to leave a bad impression with the boss" Ryan said with a grin.

"Sounds good man." Arron reached over to shake his friends hand. "I will see you up there soon"

OFF:

This has been a Joint Post by:

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Ryan Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1416 Hours, Orrin's Quarters, USS Maelstrom


Orrin's eyes sprung open. Something to this room had a strange "vibe" it seemed, or so he told himself as he jumped off the bed. Maybe he should request a quarters reassignment, he considered, but then realized most quarters here looked the same.

Except the Klingon bobble head placed on the bedstand. He wondered why that never gave him nightmares before...

He left his quarters, in search of the lab, only to find them immediately. That took out all the fun out of it. No snooping.

Already, there were a few scientists at work. He, himself, had a list of things that he was assigned to work on, most of it not of his choice, but nonetheless it was something to do. A new ship, however, was much too exciting to worry about that now. Instead, he walked around the lab, seeing what projects these officers were working on. At the first station, he paused, curious to know what on earth he was reading. "Excuse me, er, Ensign?"

"Ensign Bodily, sir. I suppose you are Commander Jelo?"

"Yes, I am. I noticed that you've been running this simulation--am I reading this right--fifteen hours?"

"That is correct sir. I transfered it over from my previous station at Starfleet command."

"I see. Exactly what would take fifteen hours to compute?" he questioned.

The ensign grinned. "Are you familiar with cluster expansions?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "What I've been working on are temporal cluster expansions, to predict possible anomalous behaviors before they happen."

"Interesting. Sounds very... rigorous."

"Of course, there is a slight possibility that itself would spring off billions of possible universes where those anomalies happen..."

"Yes, uh, yes," Orrin muttered, wanting to stay away from the whole metaphysical realm. "Keep up the good work, I guess."

After poking his nose in another two projects, he decided that maybe it would be advantageous to snoop other parts of the ship, since the formal officer briefing wasn't for another couple hours.

Lt. Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1641 hours, Conference Room, USS Maelstrom

Arron had barely set his hot mug of coffee on the table in front of him when the doors to the Conference Room opened. Two individuals walked in. One was carrying an armful of stacked PADDS. She was a young attractive woman. She wore the enlisted ranking of a petty officer.

"Sorry I'm late Captain. Still learning my way around the ship." said Petty Officer Saunders (NPC), the ships Materials Officer.

Arron nodded understandingly. "You're fine, please pass out one of these PADDS in front of every chair here, and then you are dismissed."

"Aye Captain" said the woman.

Arron focused his attention on the other person who had come in with Saunders.

"Ah, Lieutenant Suval" Arron rose to shake the Vulcan's hand. "Good to finally meet you" Arron said to the Chief Communications Officer.

"Greetings Captain" The Vulcan, Suval (NPC) replied stoically, shaking his hand.

"Please take a seat, anywhere you like" Arron said waving his arm to the table.

The Vulcan pulled a seat out from under the table on Arron's immediate left, and sat down. He interlaced his fingers and starred straight ahead. By this time Saunders had finished laying out the PADDS in front of all the seats,and stepped out of the room quietly. As she left another figure entered. Arron recalled the face from the crew roster as Commander Gilead (NPC), the Trill Chief Medical Officer.

"Doctor, welcome" Arron said shaking his hand.

"Thank you Captain" The Doctor had a deep voice, with white hair and a heavily lined face and looked to be a couple decades Arron's senior.

The Doctor took a seat on the far side of the conference table, picking up the PADD and giving it a thorough examination.

The doors parted and Orrin glanced around the room to see who was already seated. The person he wanted to speak to hadn't arrived yet, and he wondered even if they were coming. The past two hours gave him some ideas of pet projects he'd like to work on, but he'd need to make sure it was fine with everyone else.

Just before he was about to seat himself, however, he realized he had entered and not acknowledged anybody else's presence. He had been too busy thinking about the plans and past couple hours to actually show some common courtesy of greeting the others when he entered. "Good evening everyone," he began, then corrected it as he seated, "ah, afternoon, I mean."

Commander Tycho (NPC) and Lieutenant Vela (NPC) entered rather noisily as they were in the middle of a heated discussion. They both paused when they realized the room was occupied. Vela blushed slightly. "Sorry" she said as she took a seat quickly. Drexel and Tycho shook hands and Tycho took a seat on the Captain's right.

Cross made his way through the conference room doors. There were already several officers situated around the table.

"Good evening everyone. I'm Lt. Zane Cross, Chief Intelligence Officer. I'm honored to be with all of you here on the Maiden voyage of the Maelstrom." Everyone looked back at Cross and nodded.

Lindsey strode into the conference room surprised to see it almost full. "Oh! Hello!" She said greeting the room. " She found an empty seat next to a Vulcan she hadn't met yet. "Im Lindsey Davis" she said shaking the Vulcan's hand.

"Suval" he said. Lindsey waived to the others.

Lieutenant Borlat (NPC) strolled into the conference room and gave a hearty chuckle. "I hope you all didn't start without me" he said with a wide grin.

"Not at all" said Drexel to the blue skinned Bolian.

Ryan rushed through the door knowing he was running late. Scanning the room and seeing there was only one chair open he knew he was the last one there. "Sorry I'm late everyone, I lost track of time running through my crew list." Ryan took his seat as quickly as he could. "Sorry Captain, won't happen again."

Arron laughed quietly. "It's okay old buddy, I will save the court-marshal for a more pressing offense."

Now that everyone was settled, and all eyes were on him, Arron spoke, "Ladies and Gentleman. I appreciate you all coming this evening. Most of you here don't know me, and likely don't know each other. But what you all have in common is that you are all Star Fleet Officers. You are sitting at this very table because at one point in your career you decided that you wanted to make the most of your career. So here you are, ready to make a difference. That is precisely what our first mission is about. Making a difference." Arron hit a button on the conference table and the lights dimmed. A holo-image of an earth like planet appeared in the middle of a table.

"Theta Sol" Arron said pointing at the projection. "Likely, most of you have never heard about it. There is a brand new Federation colony located on the planet. Due to recent heavy rain storms, much of the farming and industrial equipment has been rendered inoperable. They are just weeks away from the hemisphere's cold season, and without the proper hydroponics equipment and replicators, they will die from starvation or exposure. In just over an hour we will be beaming up the necessary equipment into our cargo bay. In an effort to speed up the deployment time of this equipment it has already been calibrated to the colonists needs, making our job simple, we just plot a course to the planet, and beam the cargo to the surface upon arrival." Arron pushed another button and the lights came back on and the holo-image disappeared. "Now, just to make sure none of our people do something incredibly stupid , Commander Cross and his team will have the task of ensuring the safety of the equipment."

"Curious" said the Vulcan, Suval. "One would assume that task would fall under the jurisdiction of the Security Department."

Arron appreciated the Vulcan's logic. "Normally yes, however we have just had an unexpected shake up in Security, and with our new Chief Security Officer I will need him coordinating and implementing security protocols for the ship. I'm simply just trying to keep everyone busy." Arron said.

"Speaking of which, and I should have brought this up sooner - I'm still learning the ropes here too - Theta Sol is unique in that it shares a colony with the Romulans." Now that got everyone's attention.

"How is that even possible?" asked Doctor Gilead.

Arron picked up the PADD in front of him. "You all have a PADD in front of you, I have downloaded the mission info for you to get any additional information you may require, but suffice to say, quite by happenstance both the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire created settlements on the same planet as it was in unclaimed territory. Neither government was aware of the others presence for a full 30 days after settlement. Both sides have a legitimate claim to the planet and have agreed to each stay on their respective continents."

"Captain, if I may?" asked Cross. Drexel nodded.

"Earlier today we put a request in with Starfleet HQ and are trying to add Encryption Specialist Omar Leezak to our team. Leezak is currently stationed down on Theta Sol. I am currently awaiting word from him to give me an updated status of the conditions on the ground. Once I have been briefed I will upload those details to your PADD. We expect this mission to go very smoothly and having an asset on the ground will help ensure that. As of this moment I have no information related to the Romulan presence on the planet." Cross finished.

"I don't expect the Romulan's to be any trouble during this mission, but it is always good to be wary when the Romulan's are a factor." Drexel said

Arron shifted in his seat, and took a sip from his coffee. "Alright, the plan is to depart here as soon as the equipment is on board and accounted for. Cross we will await your word that everything is aboard and matches the cargo manifest."

"Aye Captain, you'll be the first to know"

"Once Commander Cross has given us the go ahead, we will launch from Space Dock, and set a course for Theta Sol at Warp 7. Travel time will be just under 46 hours. Upon arrival, Cross and his team will coordinate with the colonists and beam the cargo down. All in all a very simple job."

Arron turned and faced Lieutenant Davis. "I trust your team has gone through the pre launch check?"

Lindsey straightened up keenly aware that the eyes of the room were now upon her. She cleared her throat, "Uh, yes Captain, I took my teams through the ships major and secondary systems to make sure everything is up to code, and everything checks out. There are some projects that we could do to boost the efficiency of certain systems, but nothing major."

"Excellent. What about Science?" Arron said turning to Lieutenant Commander Jelo. "What project will you be working on during this mission?"

Orrin cleared his throat. "I have a few projects assigned to me from HQ, sir, but as I was....ah, conversing with one of the engineers, I came aware that some of the ship's sensors weren't quite up to date...that is, there are improvements that we could make to the processing algorithms and the mechanical interfaces that will help me on my other projects. It should also have potential diplomacy and security applications, although I won't bore you with the details right now. I will make a write-up and queue for it, but I was hoping to run the idea by Lieutenant Davis and see if she approves." He glanced in the chief engineer's direction.

"That would be excellent Commander, we can make it happen as soon as your ready. I will lend my personal assistance to the project. Let's chat right after the meeting." Lindsey said eager to be able to start modifying the ship so soon.

"Good, then, I suppose that may be among the first of my priorities on this ship." said Orrin

Arron nodded. "Understood. What kind of time frame are we looking at?"

"Paper work, calculations, all the preliminary work should just a couple hours," Orrin assured. "The actual implementation would be...I don't know...maybe just short of 24 hours? Once I've had time to discuss it with Lieutenant Davis, I'll have a better idea of the time frame."

"Keep me informed" Arron said. And then finally focused on his friend Ryan Stone. "How about you guys in Security and Tactical. Do you expect to have your new security procedures in place in the next 48 hours?"

"Yes Captain. We will probly have everything done ahead of schedule. We just have to pin down the brig schedule and we have to make sure the weapons locker is in order. Tactically I believe we are sound, we just have some security situations to work out. I dont see any delay though, we will get it right." Stone said confidently.

Arron then gestured towards the Doctor. "As all of you have done with every new assignment, I expect you all to check in and see the Doctor for your physical. I want everyone in this room to stop by Sickbay in the next 24 hours to get checked out. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, that should just about do it. Does anyone else have anything that needs to be brought up?" Arron glanced around the room, locking eyes with all of his senior officers. He felt a certain bit of pride swell up within him. "Alright, if there is nothing else then, I suggest we all get to work. I am very excited to begin this journey with each of you. You are all dismissed."

OFF:

This has been a Joint Post by:

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

Lieutenant Commander Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Lieutenant Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Lieutenant Lindsey Davis
Chief Engineer
USS Maelstrom

Lieutenant Ryan Stone
Chief Tac/Sec Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1723 hours, Communications Array Maintenance room, USS Maelstrom

After double checking that there were no life signs in the area, Suval closed his tricorder and sealed the door to the room. Before him was a large console with many monitors. The room was small, with the console taking up just under half of it. Suval moved quickly. He stepped up to the console activating it with a quick push with his finger. He entered his authorization code, which was immediately accepted; one of the perks of being the ships Chief Communications Officer. He went through the computers subroutines, and created a feedback loop that would make the communications dish appear to be functioning normally. He then realigned the communications antennae to a new set of coordinates he had memorized long ago. He quickly sent out a sub space ping to make sure everything was working as he knew it should. Within seconds the ping had traveled light years away to the cloaked Tal'Shiar satellite and the pulse was sent back to towards the direction it came. Once Suval had received the return signal, he set up his encryption algorithms to scramble the signal as he opened a channel that was sent to the satellite and then redirected deep into Romulan Space.

Suval waited for his communication to get answered. The monitor in front of him flashed for a second, and then a logo appeared for a Ferengi Freight Company. This logo was a ruse, and was designed to keep people who accidentally stumbled across the signal from knowing its true purpose.

"Authorization?" said a distorted Ferengi sounding voice.

Suval took another look around, even though there was no way anyone could have entered the room. "Echo Five Alpha Three Three Charlie One One Zero One Nine" Suval said quickly but distinctly to the monitor.

There was a brief delay before the voice responded, "One moment please"

Suval stared at the screen which was now blank again. He could hear himself breathing, and found himself starting to sweat. He was nervous. He hadn't expected to need to call any information in for some time, but this was too urgent. He tapped the console with his fingers. <Why is this taking so long?> The likely hood of anyone stumbling in on him was extraordinarily low, but the longer this took, the more he left that up to chance.

Finally the screen flashed a couple of times, and a grainy image appeared, there was a lot of static on the feed, likely intentional.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon" said the voice. Suval couldnt make out the mans face talking, as it was in shadow, but he recognized the sound of his voice.

"There has been a change" Suval said succinctly. "Someone at Star Fleet HQ has given this ship different orders than the ones we were believed it would take."

"And what exactly are the new orders."

"Delivering equipment to Theta Sol" Suval said apprehensively.

There was a long pause. At first Suval thought the connection had been severed, but finally the voice spoke. "We will make some arrangements on our end. No more communications from here on out, your orders are to carry on as normal. You will know when we have further instructions for you. Stay alert." And then the transmission suddenly cut out. Suval quickly realigned the COMM antennae and shut off the feed back loop. He pulled out his tricorder, did a brief scan of the area, and detected no one in the area that would discover him. He quickly pocketed the tricorder, unsealed the room and left heading to his duty station on the bridge where he would await the ships launch.

OFF:

Lieutenant Suval (NPC)
Chief Communications Officer
USS Maelstrom

played by

David Mayne

Day 1, 1717 hours, Outside Conference Room, USS Maelstrom

Lindsey was outside the conference room scanning over the mission notes on the PADDS they had all received in the meeting. She absently watched each of the officers file out of the room until she saw the one she was looking for.

"Lieutenant Commander Jelo!" she said as he was stepping out of the room. "Sorry to ambush you like that but I figure we have some work to do."

"Yes, indeed," Orrin nodded, looking up from his PADD full of figures. It seemed like something extra was transferred from the lab that was not relevant to the data he recently requested.

"I guess I should formally introduce myself. I am Lindsey Davis, Chief Engineer." she said switching the PADD from her right hand to left, and reaching to shake Orrin's hand.

For some reason, the whole introduction seemed awkward to Orrin. Who's idea was it in the first place to wrap each other's hands around each other in a greeting? Why not wrap each other's bodies or just let things be? Hesitantly, he extended his hand and shook Lindsey's hand. "Yes, Lindsey. I've heard already much about you. I'm Orrin Jelo, but you already knew that."

"So where do you want to go to talk this over... my office? Yours?"

"I seem to be having trouble transferring some of my data over," Orrin noted. Actually, he didn't want to run into someone down in engineering bay again, but this was a good way to avoid that. "So, it might be best if we head to my office so I can fix that."

"Sounds good to me, we can chat about the project as we walk." Lindsey turned to follow Orrin down the corridor. "So is this your first assignment as Chief Science Officer?" she asked as they walked.

"Officially, yes. I was CSO on another ship for a short time, only because the previous one passed away and I was the assistant. That time was short lived. How about you?"

"This is actually only my second vessel I have served on" Lindsey said thinking back to the USS Fairchild. "I started my career on my last ship, the Fairchild. Worked my way up to Assistant Chief, and was very surprised when I received transfer orders to the Maelstrom as the Chief."

"I see. That is impressive." Not really, Orrin realized, but this was small talk. Small talk never very appealing to Orrin. Trying to change the topic, he asked, "So, are you familiar with the Class III Orion-grade sensors?"

Lindsey raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of subject. Had she said something wrong?. "Uh, I remember their was a priority message sent out about them about 18 months ago. Something about traveling at high warp causing the sensors fits. Took them a good year to come up with a permanent fix." Lindsey said recalling the work she had done on them on the Fairchild. "I know some ships reported a new bug popping up with internal sensors after that, but it was so sporadic I don't think any official solution was found."

By this time they had arrived at the Chief Science Officers office. "Why do you ask?" she said waiting for Orrin to step in first.

"Well," he began, entering the office and gesturing to the other chair, "I have done some work in sensor research and I was a consultant for those specific sensors. It wasn't a large priority then, but seeing the current outcome of the sensors, I wish I had invested more time in the project. They have a huge potential, but--well, you know the whole bureaucratic process in manufacturing these sorts of things. Things get overlooked, or cut, or dropped just because its the more "efficient" thing to do." He began quickly working at his console trying to piece the prior work together. "I figure, since we are only doing the modifications to our ship only, we should be able to get the bugs worked out easily and quickly." He passed a PADD over to Lindsey. "This is what I have collected on my end. It might get a bit science-y in some parts, but hopefully, we can piece together what we are able to do."

Lindsey scanned over the PADD scrolling through the data on the screen. "Hmmm" she mumbled as her brain was making calculations, conversions, projections, and throwing away random theories that were popping up. "Wow". Lindsey exclaimed. "You seriously think you can modify the ships interior sensors to the point they would rival that of a medical tricorder?!"

"The theory's been there for quite a while. I don't see why not. Of course, that's where you come in, ruling out what is technologically impossible for the time being. From my standpoint, if we can just narrow the beam like so," he pointed to a diagram on Lindsey's PADD, "the algorithms should do the rest, which is the easy part."

"For the sensors to be calibrated to have that tight of a beam, it would require an inordinate amount of power being supplied to them. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Defiant Class star ships, but these things are over charged to begin with. Now...and I'm just thinking out loud here, what if we built a separate power source dedicated to the sensors. Perhaps we could convert an empty room somewhere to house this supply, it would be ugly, but as long as we can upload the feed to the Science teams work stations...I don't think your guys would notice any performance drop from what they are already used to. This would be real time telemetry being uploaded to the main computer from a separate all in one sensor station...What do you think? Am I crazy?"

"Crazy? Yes. But then only the crazy people have had any influence on this universe." He grinned at Lindsey, proud of his combo compliment and tease. "So, are you all for this?"

Lindsey laughed at the comment the Science Chief made. She hadn't really known any scientists to be funny. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Alright, lets get this going right after we launch. I will prep a team, and start gathering our equipment. Why don't you acquisition a room we can use from the Captain. Surely he will know some place we can stick this thing."

"No problem. I've already sent him a message about meeting up with him," Orrin assured.

"Just let me know where we are setting up, and I will get my team there 30 minutes after launch." Lindsey said smiling. "Perhaps we can discuss progress over dinner tonight?" Lindsey suggested without thinking. <Oh God!>

Orrin rose from his seat, trying not to let his surprise show. How did it come to this so easily? He wasn't even trying! However, it did seem like he and Lindsey seemed to work well together. The dinner suggestion was probably nothing anyways. "That is a great idea. A done deal."

Lindsey smiled. "Okay then, I will catch up with you later."

Off:

This has been a joint post by

Lieutenant Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Lindsey Davis
Chief Engineer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1 , 1435 hours, Cross's Quarters, USS Maelstrom


Cross pulled out his PADD to review his schedule for the day. He was set to meet up with Captain Drexel within the next hour. He decided to try and reach out to Leezak to see if he could get an update from planet side before he met with the Capatain. Cross made his way over to his computer.

"Computer, locate Specialist Omar Leezak"

"Specialist Leezak is currently located on Theta Sol, neat the Potomac region. Would you like me to contact him Lt. Cross?"

"Affirmative"

"Proceed with transmission Lt. Cross"

"Specialist Leezak, this is Lt. Zane Cross of the USS Maelstrom."

"This is Leezak, go ahead Lieutenant."

"Leezak, it’s Cross. Remember, from the Star Fleet Academy?"

"Cross is that you? How in the hell are you doing Zanerd? It's been a long time since I've heard your voice, well not since that mission on Vulcan anyway."

"I'm well old friend. I understand your stationed down on Theta Sol"

"Affirmative. This is my 4th day here planet side."

"I have been briefed by Admiral Williams regarding the Romulan opposition down there. Has he briefed you on the mission being carried out by the USS Maelstrom."

"Yes sir. He said you were sending some supplies down to the colonists. Something about specialized equipment that is calibrated for the locals."

"Is that the only information that was provided to you?"

"Yes sir. Is there something else Zane?"

Cross thought to himself for a minute. It made sense the Admiral would not have filled him in on any of the specific details of the mission.

"Negative. That is all. I will contact you within the next 24 hours to give you an update on the status of the mission."

"Understood. It was good to hear from you again Cross."

"The feeling is mutual is old friend. Be safe down there. Cross out."

Cross pulled out his PADD and searched through the photo database from when he was in the Academy. He browsed through several pictures of him and Leezak. <Crazy son of bitch> Cross thought to himself looking at a picture of him and Omar. They were the best of friends when they were in the Academy, but Zane's success following graduation always seemed to make Omar jealous. They both finished at the top of their class, but Zane seemed to receive the majority of commendations over Omar. The distance between them seemed to grow the longer they were out of the Academy which saddened Zane because Omar was one of the only friends he had.

They did team up a few years later during Cross's mission on Vulcan where they began to rebuild their friendship but that quickly faded shortly after the mission was completed. Once again Leezak's efforts were overlooked and Cross was given every accolade for the mission's success. That only added to the distance between them. Cross wished things had ended up differently but he never felt like he should have apologized for his success.

A reminder started flahing on his PADD Screen reminding him of the meeting with the Captain. Zane closed out the photo file so had time to clean up and get ready before his meeting with Drexel.

<Once more into the fray> Zane said to himself.


Lieutenant Commander Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1721 hours, Intel Labs, USS Maelstrom

David was sitting in the Intel Labs pouring over some reference manuals on the ships systems. His time at the academy hadn't prepared him for the user interface that was in front of of him. It was completely foreign, but he was looking forward to the challenge of understanding it. David looked up at the sound of the doors to the labs opening. He wasn't expecting anyone else to be down here prior to the ships launch. He was unfamiliar with the man who walked in, but judging by the rank on his uniform, and the color of his collar, this had to be his direct supervisor.

"Sir!" David said standing to attention. "I am Ensign Mayne, reporting for duty"

"At ease Mayne. I'm Lt. Zane Cross, the Chief Intelligence Officer." Cross pulled out his PADD and ran a quick check on the Officer. "Looks like the Maelstrom is your first assignment. I'm hoping to make your skills useful on this mission. What do you specialize in?" asked Cross.

Mayne watched Cross study the PADD, then answered "Infiltration, Sir. I scored some of the highest marks the academy has ever seen in that area. I have been a handful of field missions in the academy, nothing crazy in depth mind you, but I have been told I show excellent promise in the Intel field. It sure beats the shit out of regular security grunt work. Sir." Mayne said, trying to remember to relax and not be so rigid.

"Infiltration huh?" <That could be useful> Cross thought to himself. "Mayne, focus!" said Cross noticing that the Jr. Officer would not stop looking at his PADD.

Mayne snapped his eyes up to the Lieutenant Commanders, not realizing his eyes had been drifting for too long.

"I want you to find out everything you can about the territory surrounding the area where the Romulan Star Empire is stationed at on Theta Sol. I need to ensure this equipment is delivered without their knowledge of our presence on the planet. Your analysis should include specific time frames for how long it would take the Romulans to infiltrate the Potomac region from where they are currently stationed. In short, I need to know how long of a window we have for getting this equipment planet side. Is that clear Mayne?"

"Absolutely Commander," Mayne said grateful for some real work to do. "I will begin right away." Mayne returned his attention to his console and then called back to Cross, "I will send the report to your PADD as soon as I am done."

"Sounds good. I will be eagerly awaiting word from you" said Cross as he made his way out of the lab.

OFF:

This has been a Joint Post by

Ensign David Mayne
Infiltration Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Commander Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Mission 1, 1740 hours, Bridge, USS Maelstrom

The Captains chair felt a little stiff. Arron squirmed in it briefly hoping it wouldn't take long to break in the leather. "Message coming from Star Fleet Command, Captain" came a voice off to his left. Arron glanced in that direction to acknowledge the Vulcan Communications Officer. "They are reporting the cargo is packed and ready for transport, and have given us clearance to depart." The Vulcan continued.

Arron nodded and pushed a button on the arm of his chair. "Bridge to Transporter Room, begin beaming up the cargo" Arron said.

"Helm, unlock docking moors." he ordered to Lieutenant Vela, the helmsman.

"Docking moors unlocked captain, we are now separated from the station." said the Betazoid.

"Fire aft thrusters" Arron said.

"Aye, Captain. Firing thrusters."

The image on the view screen began to creep forward ever so slowly as the ship began to move away from the station. The Bridge was quiet, everyone was watching the screen eagerly in anticipation of their mission.

After a few minutes had passed Vela reported, "We are now clear of the structure Captain."

"Hold position here Lieutenant. Set a course for Theta Sol, but do not engage warp drive, we are awaiting word from Commander Cross that the cargo is secure."

"Aye sir, full stop."

Arron relaxed his knuckles. He realized he had been gripping the arms on his chair with an extraordinary firmness.

So there they sat, and waited.

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1801 hours, Intel Labs, USS Maelstrom

David had been hard at work since Cross had given him his assignment. He was unaware that the ship had even left space dock. He was pouring over all the data he could find about Theta Sol. He had learned about its climate, ecosystems, lunar calendar, and read up on all the legal proceedings that took place to ensure the Romulan's and Federation could both claim Theta Sol for their own. He was making notes of facts that felt relevant to their mission at hand. However he couldn't see why Commander Cross was concerned about the Romulans acting aggressively about a Federation ship dropping off badly needed supplies to their own colonists. Romulans were known for being naturally suspicious, however it was well documented that the Federation colony had experienced extraordinarily heavy rain fall that had washed out their previous farming equipment. If it wasn't for these supplies they were delivering, their was a good chance the colonists would have to abandon the colony when winter arrived. Previous geological studies indicated that the winters were particularly harsh. He added all of this to his report for Cross, and then determined that if the Romulans did choose to intercept the supply shipment - again, unlikely in Mayne's opinion - They could have shuttles reach the Federation settlement in 2 hours. Their was no evidence to suggest the Romulans had any space faring vessels in the vicinity, and that their own supplies seemed to come twice monthly, and based on previous patterns wouldn't arrive for 9 days.

If the Maelstrom was to unload their supplies undetected they should come out of warp on the far side of the third moon. The moon was known for having a heavy electromagnetic field that should disguise their warp signature long enough for the Maelstrom to cloak and then approach the planet. The real trick would be transporting equipment to the surface while cloaked. The power output of the Maelstrom was massive and hard enough to cloak when running normally. If the Romulans, cautious as they were, figured out a cloaked vessel was beaming supplies to the surface, they would probably think the Federation was up to something shady. So Mayne ended his report to Cross stating that there was no tactical advantage in hiding a Federation ship beaming badly needed supplies to the surface of a Federation colony. If they weren't doing anything suspicious, why act like it?

With that he ended his report satisfied with his work, and sent it to Cross. Seeing as it was now almost 1830 hours, he realized he better get some food in his system and set off for the Mess Hall.

OFF:

Ensign David Mayne
Infiltration Officer
USS Maelstrom

Mission 1, 1810 hours, Sick Bay, USS Maelstrom


Cross was just leaving Sick Bay making his way down to the Cargo Bay area when he received a message on his PADD. It was from Mayne. Cross stopped for a moment to read through the report. He could see the quality in the detail of Mayne's work. He nailed down every detail; he even knew when the next supply shipment was being delivered to the Romulans.

<This kid really knows his shit> Cross thought to himself.

Even though Mayne's report didn't suggest any unusual activity, Cross didn't plan to take any chances.

Anxious to get a look at the containers Cross once again made his way down to Cargo Bay. As he entered through the doors of the Cargo Bay area he noticed a female Betazoid officer standing near the containers. Though she was in officer clothing, Cross did not recognize her.

"Excuse me, what are you doing here? Remove yourself from this area at once!" Cross said to the female Betazoid.

She turned around and immediately saluted Cross, then took several steps backwards as he got closer to her.

"Intelligence Officer Alexis Jameson sir. I was just standing post until you arrived sir."

Cross pulled out his PADD and did a quick bio check on the young Betazoid. She was on the crew roster, most likely a late addition to the team. It seemed strange he wouldn't have been advised she was on board.

"Why was I unaware of your presence on the ship?" asked Cross.

"My apologies sir. Admiral Williams commissioned me to the ship not more than 4 hours ago. He said that you would be able to use my particular set of skills on this mission"

"Skills? What kind of skills?"

"I'm a calibration specialist sir. I can calibrate the containers to a sensor implanted in your arm. The containers cannot be opened unless you are within a certain frequency of them. This means that even if someone commandeers these containers they will be unable to access the contents unless you are within range of them."

"That seems like a pretty high security measure to take with containers full of cooking supplies and clothing Jameson."

"In my experience I've learned there's no such thing as a high security measure when you’re dealing with Romulans... sir"

Cross turned around to take a look at the containers. There were a total of 7 of them, each one about the size and shape of a coffin. They were a shiny silverish color, and each one of them bore the insignia of the Federation on them. Cross turned back around to Jameson.

"Say I wanted to you put that sensor in my arm, how would that work?"

Jameson walked over to Cross. She gently grabbed his arm and turned his palm over. She softly licked her finger and touched his wrist.

"I would insert the sensor here. I would then calibrate the containers to the sensor in your arm directly from my PADD... sir"

It had been a long time since Cross had been touched by a female. He temporarily lost his composure as he attempted to respond.

"Y...ya, let.... let's give that a try."

Still holding on to Cross's arm, Alexis reached into her pocket and pulled out a small case. She took out what looked to be a sub-dermal scalpel. She made a small incision in Cross's arm and placed a tiny sensor into it. Then she grabbed a protoplaser and ran it over the incision to heal the skin. She ran her finger over the incision to make sure it was completely healed.

"Was that ok sir?" Alexis said looking up at Cross.

"Yes, yes it was fine. Thank you Jameson"

Alexis grabbed her PADD and began running the calibration program. She scanned each container and then programmed them to the sensor in Cross's arm.

"Ok sir, your good to go. The containers cannot be opened unless you are within range of them"

"Excellent work Jameson. Admiral Williams was right. You have been most useful."

"Glad I could help. With your permission I would like report to my quarters and prepare for departure."

"Of course, of course. Your dismissed."

"Thank you sir" Jameson said walking away. Before she made it to the Cargo Bay doors she turned around to Cross "Oh, and Cross?" she said with a smile on her face.

"Yes?"

"You can call me Alexis"

Cross smiled briefly, then reached for his communicator.

=/\= Captain Drexel, its Cross. I have confirmed and secured the containers. We are locked down and ready for departure sir =/\=



Lt. Zane Cross
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1322 hours, Med Bay, USS Maelstrom

Mark slowly sauntered down the narrow second deck hallway towards the engine room. He had already figured out that being in a hurry gave him a sense of purpose that he was intentionally avoiding. Aside from that, the USS Maelstrom was only an escort ship and distances to any location on the three decks was trivial- at least once you manage to slide past the crew members who are all scurrying down hallways like they are on the verge of saving mankind. Ultimately, Mark was biding his time and had found himself in a permanent state of transit walking between the med bay, the lavatory, the inadequately small science lab, and his bunk. When he boarded the ship this morning he was assigned a hot bunk, a temporary fix, due to some discrepancies in equipment storage that had been daftly handled by some higher-up moron. He was intended to take shifts sleeping on a bed with an ensign who had already secured a picture of his obese wildebeest of a mother to the bunk wall. He had quickly sent a message to him by tearing the picture to pieces and throwing them onto the corridor floor. If the officers could get off of their incompetent asses maybe the hot bunk problem would go away before he had to climb into a moist used bed following his shift. The thoughts of even touching the wall next to the bed or weird body odors coming out of the mattress made him slightly sick to his stomach. “Oh God help me”, Mark quietly muttered to himself as he passed the entrance to med bay for the third time. “How may I assist you?” perked up the med bay computer, seemingly eager to solve all of Marks anxieties. “Don’t!” he hurriedly replied as if he was capable of offending the invading voice.

Mark cut through the hallway intersection that wound around the three story warp drive slightly ducking his head as he passed the man he already recognized as the Chief Science Officer. After being aboard only four hours his hope of being dismissed, or reassigned back to solid ground were dashed as he found out departure was scheduled within the next 24 to 36 hours. He silently committed to himself to not introduce himself to anyone. If they needed him, they would have to look him up first. He was secretly hoping that as a science officer nobody would inquire after him until they were far into their deployment and by then he would be ideally phased out of anything burdensome.

On his fourth pass Mark ducked into the now empty med bay. On the far counter was a collection of equipment waiting to be securely stored. Most of it was complicated equipment that probably needed to be interfaced with the computer, or at least assembled before it was stowed for service. Scanning the room Mark noted the secured dispensary on the far wall where medications, anesthesia, and such were obviously kept. Glancing again towards the empty doorway he quietly opened the closest cabinet and started to rummage through its contents.

Mark’s father, an ambitious career politician from the smallest town in the world, was probably happier today than he has been in the last 20 years. His awkward embarrassment of a son has finally made something of himself, a bonified ensign on a real star ship. Seemingly his entire lifelong purpose has been to squeeze every private luxury, and every comfort out of his son to “make him a man worthy of his heritage”. Mark slowly considered the sickening irony of the despair his father would feel if he could see the object of Mark’s desire, a small pistol shaped instrument he had just pulled of its charging station in the back of the cabinet.

Mark Wright
Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1800 hours, Science Lab, USS Maelstrom

Mark sat in a tall chair staring at the wall behind the lab bench which dominated the portside of the Science Lab. He had spent much time behind similar benches not only in the academy, but in his youth as well. Thoughtfully he considered his relationship with chemistry-a relationship that was becoming more real than those he shared with his shipmates, or even his father. It was a sad affair really. There was a time, long ago, when the science of chemistry was the creator and destroyer of all things. Chemists harnessed the power in carbon fuels; they crafted materials, plastics, alloys-all of which had physical properties unique to any of those found in nature. Chemists cured diseases and saved lives, resolved mental illnesses, and extended man’s life with pharmaceuticals. In their laboratories they mixed, concocted, and tested the fuels that ultimately took man into a new realm- and that is where it ended. It turns out that chemistry is finite. Physics is the new frontier. Chemistry, when studied in detail, is a tedious exercise in physics, and chemical interactions are basically modeled by computers with little error. Innovation in chemistry was dead, and that made Mark feel a bit dead inside as well, for he loved chemistry. It was after all physics that allowed faster than light travel, physics that powers the USS Maelstrom, and physics that provided the technology behind the trans-dermal injector that Mark hid discretely in his pants.

Mark knew the trans-dermal injector would be missed in Med Bay. However, it was too inconsequential to be missed too long, and he figured that with all the hustle of putting all the ships services into order it would be simply scratched from the inventory as if it had never existed at all. Regardless, he needed it to survive. The transfer to an active ship had come unexpectedly. Never did he think he would serve on a ship. He thought the academy should know better. Being confined into several hundred yards of hallway was a version of hell more grand than any others. Thank God that he was smarter than all the rest of the dullards on the ship, and thank God for his sweet reassuring relationship with Chemistry.

Mark reached up and removed a 500 ml vial of Hoyer’s mounting medium from the chemistry stock cupboard. Giddily he pressed it against his cheek to feel the cool temperature of the glass. Hoyer’s mounting medium is used for microscopic observation of tiny organisms such as bryophytes, seeds, and small arthropods. While such observation may occur on a science investigation, most likely samples would be brought to a more sophisticated lab, and as such this 500 ml vial is likely all the Hoyer’s mounting medium in the lab. He would have to be cautious. Once again, heart pounding with anticipation, Mark reassured himself, “You are brilliant!” After all, he had only been on the ship for four hours and already secured his fix. Hoyer’s solution is 60% chloral Hydrate, one of his favorite laboratory hypnotic drugs. As he transferred a small amount of it to the transdermal injector which he pressed to the thin his skin on his wrist, he thought about how much chemistry must love him to give him a fix to all the pressures from his father, the USS Maelstrom, and that stupid fuck who is going to sleep in his bunk.

Mark Wright
Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1815 hours, Bridge, USS Maelstrom

Arron smiled at hearing the announcement from Cross. Everything was ready for them to leave the system. He turned his attention towards the Helmsman. "Lieutenant Vela,
take us out of here."

"Aye Captain."

Arron watched the view screen as the pin prick lights of stars hundreds and thousands of light years away stretched before him as the ship entered warp. He could feel the vibration of the ships warp core from his feet. The ship was now cruising at warp 7. In 46 hours they would arrive at Theta Sol to unload their much needed supplies.

Drexel looked over to his first officer and smiled. "Commander Tycho, why don't you take the Bridge for a bit. I need to stop by the Science Lab and meet with our Chief Science Officer."

"Of course Captain" said Tycho (NPC).

"And Commander" Arron said with a raised eyebrow. "Try not to scratch the paint...she is brand new"

"I will do my best sir" Tycho said returning the smile.

Arron got up from his Captains chair and headed off the bridge.

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1820, Science Labs, USS Maelstrom

Arron strode into the Science Labs to see several of the people hard at work at their stations. He headed over to the Chief Science Office and walked in.

"Lieutenant Commander Jelo," Arron said, "What can I do for you?"

"Sir!" Orrin jumped slightly, "I...I suppose you got my message? I didn't expect you to pay me a personal visit."

"Not to worry, the ship just entered warp, things are quiet on the bridge, and a little excercise is good for me now that I have that big comfy chair to sit on"

"I see, Captain. Well, I've met with Lieutenant Davis, and she agrees that the sensor 'upgrade' is feasible. We will begin the project shortly. However, as I requested, we would need a spare room to set up a 'power reservoir,' if you will. Just something that will give the sensors an extra boost so we don't become too dependent on the ship's power grid."

"An extra room..." Arron said thinking, "Why don't you guys section off a portion of shuttlebay 3. Its empty, and we can convert any excess room into something else later on down the road. It's directly above the lower sensor array, so that could be to your advantage."

"Thank you, sir. I will let Lieutenant Davis know. By the way," Orrin changed topic, "You wouldn't happen to know whether Ensign Mark Wright managed to board the ship? I have him listed on the roster as a last minute officer transfer as one of my science officers, but I don't think I've seen him yet."

Arron's forhead wrinkled, the name hadnt wrung a bell, but he had yet to look over all the last minute crew transfers that were common right before departure. Since it usually did not involve high ranking officers or those with significant security clearance, it was typical for that report to go ignored for several days. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about that Commander. Lucky for you this is not a big ship, if he is here, I am confident you can find him."

"I see. Well, I'm sure I'll eventually find him. He's probably just excited to be on the ship and is in an observation room."

"I will get out of your hair Commander, please keep me updated on your progress, I am looking forward to seeing the test results from your modifications." Arron nodded to his Chief Science Officer and left the room.

Off:

This has been a joint post by

Captain Arron Drexel
Commanding Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 2, 0047 hours, Air Handler #2, USS Maelstrom

Mark could feel it coming again. This one was going to be even more agony than the first two. He tried to take a breath but only managed to sharply inhale spit and mucus into his already burning lungs. As he wretched a third time, squirming for the air, he begged his body to stop, to give him reprieve from the consequences of his actions. He had been sobbing uncontrollably between dry heaves, a phenomenon he had experienced before, but never from chloral hydrate, and especially in such a low dose. Then again, the way he felt now wasn’t entirely due to the injection he had given himself earlier this evening. How did this happen? How did he let this happen? Mark was cold and shivering uncontrollably, yet it still felt relieving to place his wet hot face and mouth against the cool of the vibrating sheet metal. He lay and let the overwhelming machine noise and nearly tactile air currents sooth his brain-a crazy shit-storm of chlorinated ethanol and adrenaline. His life was over now-this was the end. There was no coming back from this. An officer had found him only minutes ago, slumped over on the floor of the laboratory, drooling on himself as his came down from his drug induced reprieve.

Following the brief verbal confrontation Mark had run from the room hoping the officer would not be able to recognize him again. After he rounded the first corner he ditched into the first available room, a maintenance area of some sort. The space room was large, but almost entirely consumed by a large sheet metal box which hummed with mechanical energy-an air handler. It had a series of three narrow doors, of which he picked the first and crashed onto the floor with the door still wide. And there he lay now, face and lips already chapped from the tempered air. At least he hadn’t actually vomited; the pungent odor would have been delivered to the entire second floor.

Mark calmly raised his hand into the strong wind passing over him; cupping his fingers he let the velocity pressure push it back down again. Inevitably, the Officer had already reported the incident to security. Security would have gone to the lab, found the mounting medium and the injector. Even if the officer couldn’t recognize him, security merely had to query the computer to identify him. They would find him, they would tie him up, and they would leave him in the brig like a criminal until port-and then his father would find out. Mark felt sick to his stomach again as he reviewed this scenario again and again in his mind. There was no logical scenario where these steps did not take place. His father would probably never talk to him again. Right now he was probably sitting in some gentleman’s establishment, smoking a cigar and telling his politician buddies how his son is an important star fleet officer on a science vessel. In the brief recorded message left at home Mark had lied to his father, he had told him that he was an officer on a deep space science vessel. I didn’t matter now-nothing mattered. He lay in the bottom of the air handler, pressed up against the filter until he became too cold and too dehydrated to bear it any longer. Slowly he pulled himself out of the air handler and latched the maintenance panel he had entered it through. As he prepared to open the door to the ship corridor his stomach knotted and he momentarily rested his head against the wall. Slowly he stepped out, half expecting security to be waiting. The corridor was quiet.

He slowly turned and walked towards his newly assigned room. Why hadn’t anybody contacted him over his com device? Perhaps there is no rush-it’s not like he was able to go anywhere. He crept into his bunk area relieved to find the other set of luggage had been removed. As he sat down on the bed in the dark, a small item slid over and touched his hip. It was the transdermal injector he had lifted from Med Bay. Adjacent, in a small opaque bag, was the 500 ml vial of Hoyer’s mounting medium and a small note. “No one needs to know”.

“Computer?”, mark queried, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. “List all crew in the science lab between 0001 hours and 0020 hours”. “Two USS Maelstrom crew members accessed the Science Laboratory. Science Officer, Ensign Mark Wright. Chief Communications Officer, Lieutenant Suval (NPC)”. “That is all” Mark replied, not really relieved-in his despair he hadn’t even noticed the officer was the Vulcan; what an odd detail to miss. He quickly relocated his paraphernalia to his clothing trunk and rolled onto his stomach, arms tucked beneath him. This was going to be a long night.

Mark Wright
Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 2, 0055 hours, Suval's quarters, USS Maelstrom.

Suval took a deep breath to try and slow his heart rate. He could feel himself perspire, despite the fact that Humans keep their ships almost 8 degrees cooler than that of a Romulan vessel. Suval was letting his mind play out the events of the last 15 minutes again.

Suval, needing to know the extent of the new sensor upgrades had sneaked into the science lab after hours in order to determine what he could about about the recently upgraded sensor array. The room had been dark, the only light was from various consoles. He had poked around some data files, but could not find the actual terminal for the sensors. It appeared as if they were receiving telemetry from a new location, separate from the lab. The computers had shown a diagnostic was running, likely running through test scenarios before the sensors were officially brought online. He had to locate the primary sensor console.

When he decided that what he needed was not located in the science lab, he was leaving when he tripped over something, that turned out to be someone laying down in the room. After a brief shouting exchange, whoever was on the floor had run out of the lab. Suval, had stood there for a minute stunned and confused, then hurried back to his own quarters.

Suval hadn't recognized the man in the labs, yet it was dark so his own identify may not have been revealed. However...if it had, was it possible Suval's cover had been blown? He could feel his skin prickle at the thought of being discovered, his mission blown. He had to know. The suspense was killing him. Kill. Would he need to kill that man to hide his own identity? What explanation could he give for sneaking into the science labs in the middle of the night, when he was a Communications Officer. There was no way around this. He would have to terminate the life of the other man. Suval had killed plenty of times on his assignments, but never on a vessel this small. The victim would surely not go unnoticed once he didn't report for his next duty shift. Perhaps he should get authorization from above first. A missing crewman would just open up more questions. Suval looked up from his thoughts. "Computer, which crew members accessed the Science Lab in the last 30 minutes?"

"Lieutenant Suval, and Ensign Mark Wright."

"Mark Wright...." Suval said aloud, his voice trailing. The name was not familiar, meaning the reason Suval had not recognized him was because he had never met him. However there were only a handful of Vulcan crew members on board which means if Wright reported his presence, the list of suspects would be small. Suval quickly moved over to his computer terminal and pulled up the crew roster. Wright was a science officer fresh out of the Academy. That explains his presence there, though not why he was sulking around on the floor in the shadows. Had he been spying on Suval? The Ensign was likely only too eager to please his superiors and was at this moment reporting the incident.

"Computer, locate Ensign Mark Wright." Suval said now wincing for the inevitable answer.

"Ensign Wright is in his quarters on Deck 2."

Suval raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The man had not gone directly to report the incident. Why was that? Suval couldn't supply an answer, but he suddenly realized what he needed to do. First was to alter the computer records to show that it was a different Vulcan in the science lab that night. Still at his computer terminal, he pulled up the computers record database, and entered his access code. It was a fake, supplied by the Tal Shiar, but very effective at getting into restricted access areas. He wiped the computers recognition of his comm badge, and now showed himself as being in his quarters all night. He then placed Lieutenant junior grade L'del at the science lab. He was the ships brig officer, and also a Vulcan.

With that task completed, Suval got up. He paced around the room, his arms clasped behind his back. Was it really necessary to contact the Tal Shiar to get authorization to kill Wright? As an operative he was given the autonomy to perform his mission as he saw fit, and if his mission was to be compromised because of one stupid Star Fleet Ensign, surely that Ensign would need to die. Suval continued to wrestle with this decision. One misstep and everything could unravel. Suval was explicitly told not to contact his supervisor during their last communication. But for the first time in years, he did not know how to proceed. Perhaps if he were to have more important information worth making contact with, he could then communicate the dilemma he struggled with and be advised on how to move forward. He would need to do this tonight however. Satisfied that he now at least had a course of action he headed into his closet to retrieve a sack that contained tools and accessories for breaking into the Cargo Bay. One way or another, this was going to be an interesting start to the next 24 hours.

Lieutenant Suval (NPC)
Chief Communications Officer
USS Maelstrom

played by

David Mayne

Day 1, 2004 hours, Mess Hall, USS Maelstrom

Orrin wished there were windows here. Sitting and waiting for people was rather boring when you didn't have an ocean to look at. But, maybe, he reasoned, Looking and staring at the wall is better than watching the cancerous pattern of space... He hadn't grabbed any food yet, but instead sat at the furthest table with a very hot cup of fruit tea, waiting for Lindsey to arrive. Already, he had something to report to her, something that got overlooked in the algorithms. This might well be a long night for him if they were planning on finishing the changes by tomorrow.

Lindsey entered the Mess Hall and scanned the room looking for Orrin. She at last spotted him on the other side of the room. She made her way over to him. "There you are!" she said with a smile.

"Lt. Davis!" Orrin greeted, standing up. "Nice to know you survived the first few hours on board!"

"Yeah, well I almost got knocked out by a bunch of security guys running drills earlier, but other than that, I've been with my team converting part of shuttlebay 3 for our project." Lindsey looked at the table then back at the replicators. "Mind if we get some food before we sit back down?"

"Of course, I don't mind. That's kind of what dinner is, isn't it?" He grinned.

Lindsey made the brief walk to the replicator, her mind still on her work rather than what she was going to order. "I assume your team has been working out the new sensor console. Everything in order?" she asked casually.

"Generally, yes. But I've run into some problems in the some of the algorithms, seeing they were not optimized for a Defiant class ship. I will show you the details when we are back at the table." Orrin gestured at the replicator. "After you," he offered.

"Oh hell, I really don't even know what to eat. What are you going for?" Lindsey asked curiously.

"I'm thinking of some plain Earth-style seafood chowder, honestly."

"Not really a chowder girl myself" Lindsey admitted. "But sea food...I think I will go for something from back home on Bajor." She focused on the replicator and made her order. "Bajoran Krell Shrimp Salad, with a light citrus dressing, and a glass of water." Lindsey took the tray of replicated food and waited for Orrin to make his order.

"Just a bowl of seafood chowder," he ordered, took the bowl and gestured again for Lindsey to head back first in the cramped mess hall.

She returned to Orrin's table, and took a seat opposite of him. "So" Lindsey said after giving her food a once-over, "What about this vessel is causing you guys a headache with your algorithms?"

"It all goes back to the prototype Defiant model," he began, taking a sip of his now-cooled tea. "The algorithms assumed that all ship designs would use an independent sensor array, and it was this way in the prototype. However, changes were made and in modern Defiant class ships, it seems that there is a software coupling between the shields, sensors, and arrays. Patching the algorithms of one will not go unnoticed by the others."

Lindsey nodded listening to Orrin explain the trouble. She took a bite of her shrimp salad, and chewed slowly. "Alright then," Lindsey said taking a quick sip of water. "Where do we go from here then? It seems like we gave the Captain a quick turn around time on this project."

"And I expect that we can finish it in a timely manner," Orrin assured. "In fact, we should both be able to get a good night's sleep if we wanted to. Of course, I guess I can't speak for you, since I have no idea what other projects you're involved in. But anyways, we might just have to disable one of the three until we can get each portion of the software sectioned off. How are things on your end?"

"I would get the shields done first. We are still deep in Federation space, and are less likely to need them at the moment." Lindsey said mulling over Orrin's explanation, before finally realizing he had asked her a question. "Oh! Well my team has the power source up and running, they are just cycling through various voltage draws to ensure that we aren't going to over tax it when we give full control of the sensors to this new grid. I would wager they are probably done with that as we speak." Lindsey took another bite of her salad, relishing the delicious blend of shrimp and citrus dressing on her taste buds. "If you can get the software patched, we can put the system through diagnostics tests over night, and we should wake up with a positive report to give Captain Drexel."

"That would be ideal, wouldn't it?" Apparently, he was eating his soup very slowly, but spending more of his focus on the tea. "It shouldn't take more than a couple hours, then."

"So, Orrin, may I call you Orrin off duty?"

"You may call me whatever you like, off-duty," he grinned. "But Orrin will suffice."

"Tell me a bit about yourself." Lindsey said before resuming her meal.

I hate when I get in these situations, Orrin noted, when others start asking questions before I do. I always seem like the less-interested party, when that is not actually the case. Lowering his tea, he began, confessing, "My career really is a boring one. I've shuffled between both the research stations and exploration vessels. However, I did spend my last few years at the Zenith outpost working on a classified project. That was definitely fun."

Lindsey laughed lightly, "Classified project huh? I would ask for me details, but I wouldn't want you to have to shoot me." She smiled, and watched him as she took another sip of her water. "Well I guess that would explain how you got assigned to an Intelligence vessel," she said knowingly, though somewhat surprised Orrin didn't seem much in the mood for conversation. It's too bad, he struck Lindsey as an interesting person, unique from what she was accustomed to. But if he wasn't up for talking much, she wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable.

"Well Orrin, I don't want to keep you away from your team. Thank you for joining me for dinner tonight, but I must step away to finish up a few things. Perhaps we can do this again?" she asked hopefully.

Great, I scared her off, Orrin worried. But, at least she's seems still open to something. "Yes, I'd like that," he replied, smiling politely. "Excuse me if I have been a bit distant. It's a new environment, a new position and all."

"Just send me a message when you are done with the software and I will have one of my people start up the diagnostic." Lindsey said referring to their earlier conversation.

"Of course," Orrin said, finishing the last bit of his tea-turned-cold. "I'm really excited for this, and I hope it will turn out."

Off:

This has been a joint post by

Lieutenant Commander Orrin Jelo
Chief Science Officer
USS Maelstrom

and

Lieutenant Lindsey Davis
Chief Engineer
USS Maelstrom

Day 1, 1814 hours, Deck 2, USS Maelstrom


"And so I just kind of blurted it out!" Lindsey said laughing.


"You didn't!" replied crewman Rachel Saunders (NPC), her new found friend.


"I swear to God, I just asked the man out to dinner 30 minutes after meeting him in that senior officer briefing." both girls laughed.


The two woman were walking down the hallway en route to the procurement office. Lindsey had made a list of all the things that were needed for project with Chief Science Officer Jelo and had sought out Crewman Saunders as she was the ships materials officer.


"So when are you going to dinner with the Lieutenant Commander Jelo?" said Saunders with a giggle.


"Tonight after we get our crews working on the project. I don't know if he is really my type though, and I am still not sure I'm ready to get back into the dating scene after my husband Jeff died." Lindsey said solemnly.


"Oh my...I'm sorry, I had no idea you were once married" Rachel said with a hand over her mouth.


"Most people don't" Lindsey said truthfully. "He was killed years ago, and I have done my best to get over it. He actually served with Captain Drexel...well he wasn't a Captain back then, but I don't know if Drexel even knows their is a link between us."


"You should as him!" Rachel encouraged.


Lindsey shook her head, "I think that would be a pretty awkward conversation...'Hi Captain, did you happen to know my Husband who was kille din action while serving on your first assignment?' I mean, I don't want to put him or myself in that position."


"Yeah" Rachel admitted, "I guess you have a point"


The girls had just approached the procurement office, when several men with phasor rifles came sprint around the corner. One of them slammed right into Lindsey who crashed hard on the carpeted floor.


"Omph!" she grunted as she hit. "What the hell?!?! Watch where the fuck your going!" Lindsey said angrily as she scrambled to regain her composure.

"Oh my god im so sorry here let me help you." Ryan reached down to lend a helping hand.


Lindsey glared up at the man but her expression quickly softened when she saw the genuine concern in his eyes. "Thanks"Lindsey said leveraging herself against his hand and pulling herself up.

"Here I believe this is yours as well." Ryan reachd down and grabed he PADD. "Why dont you guys go put those away and return to you post I think we got we needed from this exercise." Ryan relieved his men and watched the hall thin out.

"This is a horrible way to meet." Ryan chuckled to himself. "I dont think we have officially met I'm Ryan." Ryan reached out his hand.

"Lindsey Davis, Chief Engineer." Lindsey said giving Stone's hand a shake. "I saw you at the briefing earlier, though we didnt get to chat."

"Sorry again about that I've been Chief security Officer for all of a day so I'm getting use to all of this new responsibility. I hope I can make it up to you some way.Let me buy a drink or something"

By this time all of Lindsey's anger form the incident had subsided, perhaps it was Stone's charm, or perhaps it was the prospect of unwinding at the end of her first shift with some drinks, but whatever the reason, she decided to accept. "Meet me in the mess hall at 9 tonight" Lindsey said with a smile. "We can try this again then" Lindsey said now smiling again.

"Hopefully next time we meet I wont be trying to knock you over. Again I'm sorry about the whole running into you. I hope your ok." Ryan smiled and reached his hand out to shake her hand,

Lindsey shook his head again. "Well Lieutenant if you excuse me, we have a project to finish." Lindsey turned to face Rachel who was a bright shade of pink. "Shall we?" and they stepped into the procurement office.

Ryan turned down the hall way making his way back to his crew. Ryan turned to his PADD making sure he wasnt late.

OFF:

This has been a joint post by:

Lieutenant Lindsey Davis
Chief Engineer
USS Maelstrom


Lieutenant Ryan Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Maelstrom

Day 2, 0116 hours, Deck 3, USS Maelstrom.

The Maelstrom was very quiet at this hour. With a crew compliment of around 50, and the small size of the vessel itself, Suval was not surprised that he had not run into anyone along the corridors of the ship. Most of the crew would be a sleep, with a very small skeleton crew running the ship over night. That wasn't the case in front of Cargo Bay 1 however.

As Suval neared the corner of the corridor, he could hear voices in the vicinity. He pressed himself up against the wall and dared a quick peak around to locate the source of the voices. Two men were standing next to the entrance to the cargo bay conversing loudly about the latest hoverball game. One had the gold collar of a Security Officer, the other, the Intelligence white collar. Both carried phasors, holstered in their belts. Suval quickly ducked back to avoid detection.

It was odd that there would be guards stationed outside of the cargo bay, and that it wasn't just sealed with an access code. Suval recalled that Commander Zane Cross had been placed in charge of security for the equipment. Obviously the Commander had some idea of what was concealed in the shipment, or he never would have implemented armed guards stationed at the entrance. Cross was a potential threat now, one he would have to deal with later. If he was involved with Section 31, he was dangerous.

Suval's mind was racing with what to do next. The answer became obvious, the Cargo Bays were next to the Shuttle Bays. There was likely a maintenance crawl space linking the cargo bays with the shuttle bays. Suval figured this would be his best option.

He turned back the way he came, bypassing shuttle bay 1, feeling it was too close to the cargo bay. He went to shuttle bay 2 but found it sealed, which was not unusual in and of itself, it was Star Fleet policy to keep shuttle bays sealed when there were shuttles inside to prevent unauthorized use of the small warp capable craft. Suval considered the possibility of breaking through the security seal, but thought he should at least check shuttle bay 3 first.

Much to his surprise, when Suval approached the doors, they parted to allow him in. Slowly, cautiously Suval stepped in. The room was large and had low level lights emitting from the ceiling. It was empty...except for a newly erected partition along the far wall. Suval raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the sight of it. He approached it apprehensively, not sure of what to expect. He pulled a tricorder out from his belt and began scanning whatever was on the other side of the partition. His readings indicated it was a power source. He puzzled over what he was looking at. <Why would a power source be operating independently in a shuttle bay?>

Something in his head urged him to turn around and focus on finding the maintenance shaft he could use to get into the Cargo Bay, but yet, he really wanted to know why someone on the crew had set up a power station here, of all places. Suval pocketed the tricorder and walked around the partition, to find a large power generator, hooked up to a console station that had recently been set up, and ODN cables going through the deck plating to whatever lay on the other side of the hull.

He approached the console, and studied the screen. Slowly his lips curled into a half smile, half sneer. The ships internal sensors. He had found them. For whatever reason they had been moved to this location and were now running power independent from the rest of the ship. Suval was less concerned with why that was necessary than he was with if the sensors were working correctly. The display showed that the systems were responsible for the diagnostic he had noticed earlier when he was in the science lab. This was the point of origin, and the crew had rigged the console to feed telemetry to the science labs on Deck 2.

Suval entered a few commands, and found that despite the diagnostic, he still had rudimentary access to the ships internal sensors. He found a few more commands than he remembered being present on a standard Federation sensor package. Someone had made some impressive upgrades to the array. He directed the sensors to scan Cargo Bay 1. The sensors quickly displayed what looked like 7 small crates. Each one was about a meter and a half long, and a half meter wide, and a half meter tall. He directed the scan to the contents of the cases, but an error message displayed on screen. That portion of the sensor package was undergoing the diagnostic and would not be available for another 3 hours. Suval cursed in Romulan. He could not just sit there for 3 hours.

He exited out of the program, and hurried across the shuttle bay. He climbed a metal ladder that led to a catwalk above the shuttlebay. He HAD to determine exactly what was in that shipment. He pulled himself up to the catwalk, and easily located the maintenance hatch, he popped it off an looked in the chamber, or 'Jefferies Tube' as they were called in Star Fleet. On Starfleet vessels, Jefferies tubes are internal maintenance conduits that are used to provide crew access to various ship's systems.

Suval clambered inside the tube and headed into the direction of the Cargo Bay's. He crawled along the claustrophobic chamber counting the doors as he passed each hatch, leading first to Shuttle Bay's 2 and 1, then Cargo Bay's 3, 2, and finally he reached 1. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, then slowly, every so quietly, he lifted the hatch off the panel door to the shuttle bay. He laid the hatch on the ground of the catwalk, and climbed out and up to his feet.

The room was pitch black. Not a light, or console panel provided any type of illumination. Suval fumbled for his flash light, and activated it. He creeped to the edge of the catwalk, and shone the light down below him. He counted each container as his light traveled over each one. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7" he whispered. Each container glinted in the light, it was a silver brushed metallic surface. The seal of the Federation was clearly visible under the light from Suvals tool.

Suval climbed onto the ladder next to the catwalk, and slid down it, with both feet stradling the outside of the bars. A short screech sounded from the friction of his skin on the metal ladder. Suval pulled out his tricorder when he reached the first container. He scanned the object eager to discover its contents. "Vre'kil!" Suval cursed rather loudly, slamming his fist against the container. There was a polaric radiation field in the lining of the container, his tricorder wouldn't be able to penetrate it.

Suval was about to attempt to pry the container open when he felt a vibration on his utility belt. His eyes widened in anticipation. It was the signal he had been waiting for. He was being contacted by his organization. Suval scrambled back up the ladder, and into the jefferies tube, replacing the hatch in its proper place. As he crawled he considered the reasons his employer was now needing to talk to him. It was just hours earlier that they had spoken. What had changed in that time? Would they be upset that he had not yet determined exactly what was in the shipment? Would they authorize the extermination of Mark Wright? Would he soon be able to go home?

Lieutenant Suval (NPC)
Chief Communications Officer
USS Maelstrom

played by

David Mayne