A Golden Opportunity

Posted on Sun Mar 10th, 2024 @ 4:16am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Marikit "Kit" Urso & Lottie & Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken & Lieutenant JG Jonathan Forrest & Lieutenant JG Orion Wolff & Ren

Mission: S1 Episode 7: Prime Factors
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: Date 2371-09-16 at 1200
3597 words - 7.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

If what was discovered was all that it seemed to be, this could be their first real chance at getting home. This fact was not lost on Ren as he placed the crystal pitchers on the conference table. The rumor mill had circulated quickly, and even though the facts of the matter were hardly known, everyone had heard that the Sikarians had a technology which could potentially take them thousands of lightyears in an instant. He looked at the 2XO who was supervising the setup in lieu of her lover and superior officer.

"Commander, Cassiel, is there anything else you require?" he asked, attempting to keep his mind out of hers and to hold her feelings at arms length. It was a constant exercise with humans, but he actually tried with her. In truth, she scared him, and he knew she didn't like who he was; not that he could help it.

“No, Ren. Thank you.” Lyra replied, seeming distracted then all at once turning her dark, unreadable gaze toward the Betazoid. Like all Terran officers of the fleet, Lyra had undergone the mental training to stave off would be prying telepaths. Some were more successful at it than others, some failed completely, but living the life she had lived made Lyra equipped to deal with such a… nuisance. Of course she wasn’t impervious - no human was - but there would need to be considerable effort exerted on Ren’s behalf. She had wondered in private if Yana was frustrated by that fact. Elevating the Betazoid to a position to where he interacted with the senior officers near constantly had been quite a play; Lyra didn’t feel that she had been specifically targeted, but the tangential benefit was still clearly there.

When Ren was near her, she made quite sure that she projected her dislike of his kind. Loudly. She had never given the impression she would harm him for simply existing, but the he had the distinct impression that he shouldn’t do anything to upset her or it would end very poorly for him.

Lottie finished spreading out the PADDs in front of each chair. She had been more herself lately after her meeting with Immy, though the feelings she had about the whole thing were obviously complex. She straightened one of the chairs that had been bumped in the organization and then absently straightened her uniform.

“You may both go.” Lyra’s attention shifted to the larger display at the side of the room and the information there. This had to be too good to be true.

"Mistress." Ren said with a slight bow at the neck, before waiting for Lottie and walking obediently out of the room, leaving Lyra alone.

The first Senior Staff member to arrive was the Chief of Boat, Master Chief Petty Officer Alan Whitepaw. The man was tall and tan-skinned with long black hair, dotted with strings of gray, and gathered into a loose ponytail. He typically didn't attend these meetings, but the short notice indicated to him that something interesting must be happening. He nodded at Lyra as he made his way to a chair which would be out-of-the-way.

"Commander Cassiel. Good morning." he said in a somewhat musical baritone, his eyes moving to the clock on the nearby display, "At least for the next few minutes."

"Oh come now, Chief, it can't be all bad." Lyra said and gave him an easy, charismatic smile that radiated her natural charm and appeal. "We're orbiting a planet with a hedonistic society that rivals that of our own in what they do. Surely you've found something fun for yourself?"

Her voice was a symphony of contrasts, the lower register imbued with a dusky allure, yet retaining obvious femininity and grace. The words were spoken with a hint of flirtatiousness, but nothing blatant.

"We have a habit of being the last visitors at certain planets lately, Commander." he said, sitting down, his voice tired but still positive. "Whenever we get somewhere nice, I get nervous the other shoe is going to drop."

“Well, last time we visited a pleasure planet it went perfectly fine outside the food was terrible.” She leaned on the table near him but not right next to him. “Try and take the chance to enjoy yourself while you can.”

Chief Medical Officer Brasken made his way through the softly hissing doors and scanned the room. He was a bit earlier than he normally liked to be so it was quiet but, even he was not immune to the allure of this technology and what it could mean for the fleet. "Commander. Chief." He greeted the others as he made his way to his seat and sat a PADD down in front of it without occupying the chair itself and turned to face the others more openly.

"Everyone getting in some r and r while we are in orbit?" His eyes moved between them both but hesitated slightly longer on Lyra as he knew she was willing but guarded to partake of more exotic opportunities depending on the situation.

Sovas followed on the heels of the doctor, his expression stern and unreadable as he paused to take stock of the room, noting who was there even as his eyes settled on Lyra to briefly admire the beautiful Terran woman, but kept himself content with merely a glance since he knew she would never sully her Terran purity with a halfbreed such as himself. "Doctor. Commander. Chief." He greeted while moving towards the table but remained standing behind his chair

The next to join them was Orion, striding into the room with easy confidence as he let his gaze move around to the faces of those present, though let his gaze settle on Lyra. He took a moment or two to admire her beauty and perfection, his thoughts again turning towards how Andrei had managed to land her, given his typically hedonistic and oafish behavior. The Terran noble silently reminded himself that some found charm in that kind of boorish behavior, or perhaps he had been underestimating the other man this entire time, which could certainly be deadly in its own right.

"Commander," Orion greeted Lyra and gave the others a nod of his head as way of acknowledging them as he moved to take a seat.

Lyra had looked up when the door opened and watched with mild amusement as the three men walked in one after another without even a moment to respond to the last. She also noticed - with great enjoyment - the way each of the men had looked at her, even Sovas. She slid off the table and then stretched, causing her pristinely tailored uniform to shift with the movements of her curves.

“Gentlemen.” She all but purred while taking her seat. “I hope everyone has been having fun and staying out of any real trouble.”

Orion's gaze followed the movements of Lyra's svelte figure, keeping his expression neutral but more than curious how the exquisite pleasure could be had peeling away the succulent layers until reaching treats hidden beneath. His eyes followed her as she slipped down into her seat with grace as reached out to pour himself a glass of water. "Seems trouble isn't easy to find on the planet down below, though I'm sure there is always an opportunity to be had, like a diamond in the rough."

Lyra most certainly caught the way Orion was looking at her but didn't react in the slightest, instead looking at the door when it opened again.

Marikit was the next to enter. Her eyes were glued to the PADD in one hand while she sucked on a straw coming out of the cup she was holding in the other. She didn’t even acknowledge anyone else until she found her seat and put everything down.

“Hey.” She lifted her hand.

“Kit.” Lyra nodded to the other woman.

Next, Andrei walked through the door, his confident stride bringing a feeling of forward energy to the room. He looked slowed as he entered the space, and his eyes moved from one person to another quickly.

“Good morning, everyone.” He said, moving to his seat directly next to the Captain’s Chair and sitting down. His visible eye went to Lyra, acknowledged her with familiar interest, and then looked for a moment at Kit, and then Orion, a man he had yet to truly acknowledge. Then he leaned back, reading the information invisibly presented in his eye patch.

Lyra moved to take her seat across from Andrei and picked up the PADD in front of her. Under the table, she extended her leg and brushed the top of her boot lightly up his calf in a much more intimate, hidden greeting. She gave no indication she was doing anything but reading the PADD to the others.

Orion hadn't missed Andrei's swaggering entrance or the look he'd been given; he felt the familiar feeling settling between them. What it would amount to, he'd have to wait to see, though Lyra complicated matters and would be something he'd have to play with extreme care.

Ivan was the last one to enter, and stepped immediately to his seat. Sitting, he started the meeting.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, everyone." Ivan said as soon as the clock struck the noon hour. "It seems Doctor Brasken found something that could possibly change everything for us. I don't want any of you to be too optimistic, though. We are only just now understanding the potential of what has been discovered. Doctor, please describe what happened, please."

"Of course, sir." Daniel gave Ivan a nod as he pushed his chair back and stood. A couple of touches to the PADD and the main display in the room filled with a view of a two-star sunrise of the planet he had visited.

"What you see here is the planet Alastria. I was taken by one of the Sikarians to view the sunrise and its unique effects. The planet is only really interesting in one real way, though." The doctor turned to look at those seated. "We were teleported from a platform no larger than this table, and it is, if the numbers are accurate, nearly forty thousand light-years away."

Sovas' expression turned to one of fascination as he listened to what he might have considered either a fantastical tale or the result of a drunken bender. Even traveling at maximum warp, they wouldn't have been able to clear even a tenth of that. He remained quiet, wanting to hear more as his attention was drawn to Orion as the other man's attention was pulled away from his PADD

"Forty thousand?" This news certainly piqued Orion's attention as Brasken relayed this piece of earth-shattering information, and his mind started to consider the implications of this technology and what it could mean for their journey home. Maybe they wouldn't be left to live their lives in this purgatory. "That's incredible; something such as that would be a boon to the fleet and our journey; were you able to find how the technology behind this works?"

“I need to go scan it.” Kit interjected, jumping about eight steps ahead in doing so probably. She didn’t seem to care at all.

“There will be time for that, I’m sure.” Andrei said with a quick glance at Orion before he looked back to Brasken. The two of them had had their trouble, but he was still a professional and wasn’t holding any grudges. “Where did you find this technology?”

"The transport pad was in the center of one of their shopping districts. I did not check to see if that was the whole of the technology or just a working console, as it were. Not my area of expertise, as it were." Daniel tapped on the PADD again and brought up a map side by side with a picture of the pad in question. "They seem to treat it no more important that we would our transporters in the Alpha Quadrant."

"Obviously, our first objective is to find out as much about this technology as we can." Ivan said, looking around the room one face at a time. "We can start by asking for information, but I don't want to put all our eggs in that basket. With our luck lately, the Sikarians won't want to sell. How should we go about learning about these transporters?"

"Well, like I said, it would be really helpful if I could go down there and scan the platform." Kit spoke up again, spinning her PADD on the table in front of her. "If we feel like they might be weird about it I can go alone and do it sneaky-like."

This was far from Lyra's area of expertise, so she sat quietly, observed, and listened to the others as they spoke about what to do. If she had anything of value to input, she had no problem speaking up, but right now she was far more interested in watching dynamics.

"If Kit doesn't mind, I'd love to go with her to gather scans of the device in use if possible, though I'm familiar enough with how she works not to press." Orion chimed in as he looked at Kit and slightly nodded before returning to Ivan. His mind examined what this technology could mean if they could acquire it. Legally or otherwise.

"Couldn't hurt." Kit agreed for her part.

“Alright then.” Ivan said, looking between Kit and Orion. “Get down there and take some scans of the device. If you can, gather some information from the Sikarian database as well, or ask someone who might know details about it. Get in touch with the Gladius and take Revana with you too.”

“Aye aye, Captain.” Kit said and brought her hand up to her forehead to give a playful salute.

"Copy that, Captain." He stood and gave Ivan a respectful nod, he knew what Kit was going to do but her flippant attitude did amuse him.

“Whether our fact-finding mission is successful or not, we are going to need to start a conversation with the Sikarian Government about this device.” Ivan said, looking at his son in a quick flash before turning his attention back to the table. He was bound to the ship as punishment, so he wouldn’t be able to take part. “Lyra, work with Sovas and Dr. Brasken to design a diplomatic approach. I want to go in as prepared as possible.”

Lyra hadn’t really been expecting to take part much in the early stages of whatever this would be, so when she watched Ivan look briefly at Andrei and turn instead to her, her brows lifted just slightly. Andrei was under house arrest when off duty yes, but this could have been something that would have fallen under the “duty” part of the punishment. It seemed the father was sticking very closely to the punishment he had enforced on his son. There was a split second glance over to Andrei and then she looked at Ivan once more and nodded. “Of course, sir.”

Daniel was uncertain why he had been included in this side of things. Certainly medical officers were viewed as a softer face of the Empire but that did not mean he had the skills for manipulating the Sikarians. He had experience the technology first hand and theoretically had a handle on a contact, but she was nothing more than a server and likely not a good connection for this. Still though, it was an order and so he simply gave a nod and responded with an, "Aye, captain."

Sovas listened to the conversation and quirked an eyebrow when Ivan assigned Brasken to what was essentially a diplomatic mission and one that they would be making a cold call about in an attempt to obtain a piece of technology that might be an everyday piece of tech for their alien hosts or it could be something they held intimately close to their hearts. With the way their luck had been running as of late, he expected this to be a thorough sanguine situation.

The half-Vulcan turned his attention back to Ivan and gave a nod. "I'll do everything I can to assist Commander Cassiel with this task,"

He then looked to Lyra as he pulled out his PADD to start making some notes. "With your permission, I'll start reviewing anything that is Sikarian public record regarding trade deals as it relates to this or other technology to see if there is past precedent for what we are looking to do, along with seeing if there might be a gray or black market channel to obtain the tech if the official course proves untenable."

Lyra nodded toward Sovas. "Good. I'll assist you with that as well." She looked to Daniel then, "The individual you learned of this tech from, do you feel she might be of more help?"

"Not particularly. They were a server at a local dining establishment. I think we have a better avenue through the governmental contacts used when we arrived." Daniel shrugged slightly. She was attractive enough and an adequate distraction for the day but he did not get any sense that there was a scientific mind or a higher level of social status that might connect her to someone useful.

"I'm confident you'll find a way. This crew is resourceful." Ivan said, looking around at every face for a silent moment. "I don't need to impress upon you the potential importance of this discovery. It could get us home. Do your best, and I'm certain we'll get to the bottom of it. Now, is there anything else that needs to be said before you begin?"

Silence followed Ivan’s inquiry as well as a few shakes of heads. They all had their duties.

"Alright, if that's all, you're dismissed." Ivan said, before standing from his seat.

Lyra stood and immediately looked to Sovas and Daniel as the rest began to file out. “Nyseth, Brasken. Come here please.”

"Commander?" Sovas questioned as he stepped over to join her and find out what his specific task might be on this endeavor.

Daniel stepped around the conference table to join Lyra and Sovas, giving a gentle inclination of his head to indicate his attentiveness but without saying anything.

“Sovas, go ahead and start compiling the information you can find regarding trade and negotiation practices of the Sikarians and if they’ve ever traded the technology to anyone.” She looked at Daniel in turn, “Doctor, you will accompany me to my office and we will reach out to the woman who showed you this technology. Even if she is just a server, she may have had contact with people who could be useful in this endeavor.”

It was a common occurrence on Terra that waiters and servers tended to have surprisingly decent connections if they were at a popular establishment, so perhaps it would work here too. Either way there was little reason to leave any stone unturned for something this important.

"Absolutely, Commander. Allow me to assure you that I will conduct a meticulous and comprehensive search to gather every possible detail on the Sikarians and their trade practices," Sovas replied with utmost confidence, his eyes fixed on the Commander's face. He stood patiently, waiting to be dismissed, knowing that the Commander might want to provide him with further instructions or insights. His mind was already racing with the possibilities and implications of the information he would uncover, and he was determined to deliver a thorough and accurate report.

Daniel thought this was a waste of time but kept his features neutral as his superior officer gave her orders. This wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time he felt like those above him were wasting time. Once Sovas was done speaking he gave a nod and added, "As ordered, Commander."

“Let’s get to it then, gentlemen.” Lyra nodded and indicated for them to exit in front of her.

As they walked out of the door, Kit looked over her shoulder to Orion. “Alright, O, you go and get all your fancy science crap and I’ll call up Revana. We’ll head down in about an hour.”

"Kit, your words are as eloquent as ever. There never was a grander wordsmith than you," he teased the woman, his tone playful and light-hearted. He seemed to have found some level of comfort, finally able to relax a bit and enjoy the moment. As he followed after the Engineer, he prepared himself to head for his lab to gather his "fancy" science equipment, eager to get started on his latest project.

Andrei frowned as the teams departed the room to get to work. He had been excluded from these projects on grounds of his bad behavior, and while had certainly not learned his lesson, he regretted he now had to take a backseat role in this mission. His father could have, at least, given him an assignment he could do from the ship. He sighed and stood, leaving the briefing room himself to get back to his mundane duties.

Lyra's dark eyes watched Andrei go. They'd been together long enough that she understood that frown that had been on his face. She gave a parting glance and nod to Ivan and then left the room herself, her arms crossed over her chest.

They had a lot of work to do.

END