Need-to-Know

Posted on Mon Apr 8th, 2013 @ 8:25pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii

Mission: Klingons on the Starboard Bow
Location: Planet Surface

It didn't take the three officers long to make the trek across the dirt until they were situated just outside of the makeshift camp, with a small rise between them and the rest of the Tomahawk survivors. The three of them all stopped almost automatically; each of them knowing that they had come far enough.

"OK, first of all I need to reiterate the sensitivity of this information," Nikiri said, turning towards the two officers from the Endeavour. "Not even all of the Tomahawk's crew knew about our mission, and only myself, the captain and a few select members of the senior staff were briefed. If there were any leaks, then our mission would have come to moot; our target would have simply moved and gone underground."

"What was your mission, Commander?" Benjamin prompted, not wanting to get mired in all of the typical details which came as a proviso for any covert operation.

Nikiri sighed before starting. "Starfleet Intelligence has become concerned with the speed at which this conflict between the Klingons and the Gorn has escalated, and at how little effect our own diplomatic attempts at intervention have had other than to stop short of an all-out war. The Gorn moved their forces along their border far too soon after the end of the Dominion War for it to make any sense, and since then both sides have seemed to almost be rattling each other's sabres constantly just for the sake of belligerence. Starfleet sent us out here to investigate suspicions that there was another force at work here, inciting both sides from the shadows."

Gaius had a few ideas in mind, but based upon previous predjucies. The Romulans came to the forefront of his mind. "What force are you citing as the cause of this?" He said, feeling like he had to speak at a lower register to avoid eavesdroppers.

We've entertained a few possibilities," Nikiri replied. "Though we are fairly certain that the Romulan government isn't directly involved; they're still too busy sorting themselves out to mass the sort of long-term effort we've seen here, and the effects can be seen from just after the end of the Dominion War, when the Gorn moved their fleets to the border. Historically, program's like this tend to get dropped by each new Praetor, and the Star Empire has had at least two since this plan was devised. That doesn't rule out the involvement of a sector of the Romulan faction though, but also considered as possibilities are the Tholians, Rhitorians, the Orion Syndicate, and even factions within the Klingon Empire and the Gorn governments themselves operating independently. The power signature we picked up doesn't help either; it's not uniformly one race's technology, which means it is hard to pinpoint."

"Power signature?" Byrne asked, looking between the two officers. "You found something?"

"Yes. We picked up a power reading as well as signs that both Gorn and Klingons had visited the Firaxa Gamma system frequently over the past few months, but yet there has not been any conflict there at all."

"Where was the power signature eminating from?" Gaius asked, more curious to find out what, but conversational logic dictated a step by step process. He looked to the Commander, who didn't seem confident about a positive answer.

"We don't know," Nikiri responded. "While en route to check the system out. A Klingon BoP attacked and destroyed the ship. It was carrying far more firepower than a standard BoP should, too."

Gaius noted that his follow up question was rendered moot, he fished for another, "Any ID on the BoP? Markings or identifiers that could help us track it?"

Nikiri shook his head. "No. The hull bore no markings - which isn't too surprising for a Klingon vessel out here - and it's signature didn't match anything in our databanks."

"It belongs to the House of Kutar," Byrne said, stepping in for the lack of information. "Or at least, it does now, whatever it's original ownership. If they're the ones who provoked you and caused such damage to your own ship, then we need to get your people off the planet as quickly as possible. They've already shown up once, and they're most likely still here - under cloak." Given the sense of urgency and the risk at which they were placing themselves, he decided to cut their first conversation on the issue short.

"Commander, get our people working on evacuation. I want the entire Tomahawk crew on ship by tomorrow."

"Shouldnt be a problem sir, Ill send shuttles to recover their supplies and pilots to bring up the shuttles that made it out. May be a bit of a squeeze but we will make do."

"Nikiri, I need you to compile all of the information you have so far on your mission. Use the ship's computers, and I want the full detail ready for the XO and I by tonight. Commander Ra-Xialli will look after your people for now; that information is your priority."

Though the commander didn't seem best pleased at being told to leave his crew and go up to the ship without them, he accepted the captain's authority. "Yes captain."

"Let's get to work then." With a brief nod to Gaius, Byrne tapped his com-badge. "Byrne to Endeavour. Two to beam up."