Puzzle Pieces

Posted on Sun Jun 12th, 2016 @ 4:58am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Captain Patrick O'Connor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Taking Chances
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck One, the Bridge
Timeline: 2265

The debris field was considerable, and though most of the components were very small, hull compositions, energy fields, even corpses left floating in space all supplied pieces to the puzzle... and that checked out against missing ship registries, lost ship cargo manifests, reported commerce thefts in the area and missing persons reports. The Captain had been correct- this was a popular ambush location.

At this point Charybdis didn't feel that she had a complete picture of just what had occurred out here... but she had a very good idea.

She would prefer to have more answers, and it chafed her to be forced to give an incomplete report. But there were millions of objects floating out there, and she could study it for months to catalogue them all, but they didn't have that kind of time. She had to take her best guesses, estimate and present her report. She was probably being harder on herself than anyone else would, but she was accustomed to people expecting perfection from the Vulcan Science Officer... and they tended to expect her to be lesser somehow because of her nature, thus she worked harder to prove them wrong.

Someday she hoped to meet Spock, the very model of the Vulcan Science Officer, so that she could give him a swift kick in the crotch for inadvertently setting a standard by which she would be judged.

Her Captain would most likely not notice any discrepancy, and even if he did he would most likely accept it without argument or incident. He seemed pleased with her work on the Bridge so far, but she still felt the need to prove herself above and beyond... perhaps in no small part because of their personal relationship, and the fact that others would expect him to be less demanding of her. Which of course drove her to work harder.

The unanswered questions still chafed her as she prepared to deliver her report... three steps away from her station.

"Seven freighters, three privateers, at least a dozen Nausicaan raiders and one long-range Starfleet probe, oddly enough. In addition to at least seven vessels of unidentified origin which I am assuming are native to the Orion system of previously unknown configuration, sir." She sincerely hoped that he was not going to ask about those unknowns...

The captain shifted a bit in his seat. "Seems we found the right location. Between the crew aboard the freighter, the survivors you found, and our captured Nausicans, we ought to get the rest of the picture." He looked over to communication, "Keep an ear open for Nausican or Orion transmissions. I'd like to know if anyone is talking about us, and where it originates and ends."

"Aye, sir," came back from the Comm station.

Looking back at Charybdis he smiled. "Any thoughts on those unknowns?"

Internally she groaned, wondering if somehow he instinctively knew exactly where the weak spot in her presentation was and if he had poked it deliberately.

"Small craft, likely crews of two to four, short range fighter craft designed for maneuverability and speed, but incapable of warp. Potentially launched from a carrier of some sort, or a base nearby. I am currently conducting long range scans on an asteroid belt within 7 AU of our current location that shows some promise. Ion drives as well as impulse, so there may be a concentration of particles that will give me a general if not specific location if they are based within that field."

"However I am not ruling out the possibility of a carrier of some sort, as there are some debris masses that are unexplainable for any of the accounted vessels, sir." Damn the man for knowing exactly the question to ask her, but hopefully her hypothesis would prove to be correct. She stood on his starboard side doing her best to look dispassionate and professional, and trying not to smile at the merry crinkle she could see in the corners of his eyes. He WAS enjoying this, the lout!

"Sounds good. Coordinate with Velth to determine if this is in fact Orion related. I have a hunch that the Syndicate may be at play here." He was being professional, but he was indeed torturing her just a bit. But she had left the opening, and he knew he'd pay for taking it later.

She cleared her throat gently and spoke in a low tone. "Actually it's Lieutenant Junior Grade Andurean, sir. Turns out Velth is actually his clan name, and not considered a proper form of address. Sir." She raised her left eyebrow and grinned on the left side of her face, flashing him her cockeyed grin for just a second before returning to her professional look, gently paying him back right off with a correction. "But of course sir, I will coordinate and see if he has any specialized knowledge that could come into play in this particular mission."

A small black datacard came off her pdd, and she handed it to him somberly. "This is the list of missing vessels reported to the Federation in this area sir... I have positively identified five of these vessels amongst this debris field. I cannot verify that all of them have been destroyed, but at least three of them have too much debris and dead bodies out here to not have been likely destroyed. I've also positively identified a number of the dead."

"Understood." He looked distant in thought as he considered the information she had provided him. Things were going as he had envisioned they might, but the Orions hadn't made an appearance just yet, and that was still something he wanted to be ready for.

A moment passed in silent contemplation in which she grew uncomfortable, feeling as though she should have more to report, but aside from specific identities of body identification, which she had included on the disc of the missing as best she could approximate, she had nothing left to report. "Any further orders, sir?"

"Nothing. Coordinate, and let me know of any new information." He was still obviously considering the information and formulating things. Something was bothering him, but he wasn't tipping his hand just yet.

"Aye aye, sir," she replied, turned on her heel and returned to her station to prepare a report specifically to brief the Chief Communications Officer on her findings, and to follow up on her hypothesis for the relatively nearby base.

Peering back over her shoulder, she could see the Captain looking after her, stroking his chin. Something told her it would be an eventful evening in his quarters tonight...

 

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