Season 1, Mission 04: Lurking Beneath

[OctalLord]

Tobias decided this was his priority now. "Masters to Chief Petty Officer Mirwald, belay my last message. We can deal with that later. Pleas meat me on Deck Four, I'll say at the bulk head, the one I am sure has no need to be labeled, even if it proves temporary, please take my olive branch, I want the ship safe as much as you do. Masters out"

Octavius turned to Tobias, then shook his fist at the ceiling letting and mouthed "Why oh gods?" and smiled at him.

=/\=Octavius to Masters, Aye sir. I'll be right down. He responded quickly. "Good luck on the bridge, you can tell them how much I hate the new guy now." he joked. Albeit his face showed that even though his tone was light to a friend he really meant what he said.

He decided in allowing several rounds of the turbolift to take him all over the ship, if for no other reason than to avoid another contact with Masters. Arriving he saw Masters talking to Krol. "Oh boy here we go. Masters sir, are you going to be cracking down on everyone aboard this ship?" he said jogging the last of the distance and placing himself beside Krol. For moral support more than anything else.  "Also I swear if you started an investigation now of all times, I must inform you that we need to get launched soon and everyone needs to be in the right place. Someone to man weapons station on the bridge and someone to keep our engines running especially."

He looked to Krol, giving him a pleading look. Hoping that he'd get what Octavius was trying to infer, before turning back to Masters. "Masters sir I understand your choice to look into this on more detail then even I would require. But with all due respect there's such a thing as time and a place." He was attempting a different tact with his superior, obviously this man prepared himself for some backlash at being appointed to this position. So perhaps a firmer, gentler, hand would be better suited to appeal his judgement.

[ThomasRiker]

Octavius turned to Tobias, then shook his fist at the ceiling letting and mouthed "Why oh gods?" and smiled at him.

=/\=Octavius to Masters, Aye sir. I'll be right down. He responded quickly. "Good luck on the bridge, you can tell them how much I hate the new guy now." he joked. Albeit his face showed that even though his tone was light to a friend he really meant what he said.

He decided in allowing several rounds of the turbolift to take him all over the ship, if for no other reason than to avoid another contact with Masters. Arriving he saw Masters talking to Krol. "Oh boy here we go. Masters sir, are you going to be cracking down on everyone aboard this ship?" he said jogging the last of the distance and placing himself beside Krol. For moral support more than anything else.  "Also I swear if you started an investigation now of all times, I must inform you that we need to get launched soon and everyone needs to be in the right place. Someone to man weapons station on the bridge and someone to keep our engines running especially."

He looked to Krol, giving him a pleading look. Hoping that he'd get what Octavius was trying to infer, before turning back to Masters. "Masters sir I understand your choice to look into this on more detail then even I would require. But with all due respect there's such a thing as time and a place." He was attempting a different tact with his superior, obviously this man prepared himself for some backlash at being appointed to this position. So perhaps a firmer, gentler, hand would be better suited to appeal his judgement.

Masters could easily read both Mirwald and Krol, and it was obvious he had blundered somewhere. He had just taken position on board the Churchill, and already he was making people nervous and to dislike him. Tobias made a mental note to try and do something about that later, but for the moment he had bigger fish to fry. He turned his attention to Chief Petty Officer Mirwald, almost smirking at the fact the man purposely took so long to get here... A tactic he often did when he was in the academy and wanted to avoid his theoretical physics professor.

Tobias listened to what the Chief had to say, appreciating that he was at least acting in a calmer manner now, and while the argument had merit... so did the protection of the ship. "I agree that we need to keep to our stations, but I have a bad feeling about the recent events that have occurred. I am taking the two of you into my confidence... Lt. Krol because you are the one who found and stopped the virus.... and you Chief because while you are proving to be a pain in my backside I don't get the vibe that you would betray the ship." Tobias told the two men standing with him. Before continuing he briefly glanced at the screen on his tricorder which had been set onto a passive scan indicating no other crew members were near by.

"I am indeed opening an investigation into this matter, one that the two of you are the only ones that know about. Chief Mirwald, if you wish to advise the Captain, that is your prerogative, and while I do not like to do it this way, it is an order that you speak only to me, Lt. Krol and if you like the Captain. Lt. Krol... you are my superior, I can not order you to do anything, but I can ask you to follow security protocal and speak only to those here and the Captain should you see fit." Tobias said to them, at the same time telepathically sending a calming vibe to Chief Mirwald, wanting for him to accept the order from understanding, not as a pissant officer barking orders.

"We all have our duties, and it is clear we are short handed, so I understand the strain of an investigation, but this investigation will not impact our launch, I will continue it during upcomming missions if neccessary. Lt. Krol, I have made a couple requests of you, I would greatly appreciate it if you would humor me and assist. Chief Mirwald, while your active assistance would greatly be appreciated I will leave your level of involvement up to you, the only thing I may require is your input on anyone that I may have questions about, you know the ships crew better than I do. I am officially dismissing you right now, so no hard feelings if you wish to leave, but unofficially, I hope you will stay and aid in this investigation." Tobias said, using a tone that he hoped convey it was a sincere request.

"Gentlemen, I will gibe you this last bit of information. I am going on a hunch and one small amount of evidence. While reading over some reports I found a couple discrepancies and did a little bit of digging. A short series of masked transmissions with deleted signatures were made prior to the Ambassador and his aides coming aboard. I have not yet learned if I will be able to recover them, but it is disturbing to me that they are there."

[cortez]

"Acting Captain's log, stardate 65791.7. After rendezvousing with Federation Supply Convoy Sierra Five, we are now heading out. Starfleet's prescribed course should take us close to the Kiert Belt, a densely packed region of nebulae and asteriod belts. I don't think I'll rest until this mission is complete."

The Churchill had proudly taken its place in a convoy consisting of four other ships. Standard freighters, they had simple shielding and little in the way of offensive power. Defending them would be a difficult task, one that Cortez was incredibly anxious about.

All of the senior officers were on the bridge. Cortez had wanted everyone at their stations for the duration of convoy duty, set to last four days. It would be a hard four days but he wanted to be ready for anything.

"Mr. Cadenza, lay in a course for navigation marker two, warp five."   he ordered, turning his head face to Ensign Masters, who was at the security console.   "Ensign, standard procedure. Send to all ships and confirm."

[ThomasRiker]

"Acting Captain's log, stardate 65791.7. After rendezvousing with Federation Supply Convoy Sierra Five, we are now heading out. Starfleet's prescribed course should take us close to the Kiert Belt, a densely packed region of nebulae and asteriod belts. I don't think I'll rest until this mission is complete."

The Churchill had proudly taken its place in a convoy consisting of four other ships. Standard freighters, they had simple shielding and little in the way of offensive power. Defending them would be a difficult task, one that Cortez was incredibly anxious about.

All of the senior officers were on the bridge. Cortez had wanted everyone at their stations for the duration of convoy duty, set to last four days. It would be a hard four days but he wanted to be ready for anything.

"Mr. Cadenza, lay in a course for navigation marker two, warp five."   he ordered, turning his head face to Ensign Masters, who was at the security console.   "Ensign, standard procedure. Send to all ships and confirm."

Supplemental Acting Chief of Security log, Stardate 65792.0. We have left the the supply colony and are continuing on our assignment. Against my better judgment, I have decided to put the investigation on hold, at least for the time being, Hopefully Captain Cortez will allow it at a latter time. I have since moved on to other things. We are currently conducting humanitarian aid, but the crew is still on edge about Starfleets lack of concern for missing Captain. It is only a matter of time before something happens so I have scheduled a series of Weapon systems drills and tests. I want to make sure that the systems and the crew are ready for action when the time arrives. While I have agreed to lay off the investigation, I am still going to watch the sensors like a hawk. I cant shake this bad feeling.   Computer, end log.

[Kale Bridges]

The Turbolift doors opened and Reece stepped out, quickly adjusting the top of his uniform.

"Apologies Captain. I was called to one of the freighters." He stepped further in and stood behind the barrier. "Reporting for duty now though."

Reece looked around and saw a young ensign standing at Tactical. That must've been Mr Masters. He made a quick note to talk to him when he had time. He looked back at Cortez, waiting for an instruction. However, sitting down wouldn't be too bad either.

[ThomasRiker]

"Acting Captain's log, stardate 65791.7. After rendezvousing with Federation Supply Convoy Sierra Five, we are now heading out. Starfleet's prescribed course should take us close to the Kiert Belt, a densely packed region of nebulae and asteriod belts. I don't think I'll rest until this mission is complete."

The Churchill had proudly taken its place in a convoy consisting of four other ships. Standard freighters, they had simple shielding and little in the way of offensive power. Defending them would be a difficult task, one that Cortez was incredibly anxious about.

All of the senior officers were on the bridge. Cortez had wanted everyone at their stations for the duration of convoy duty, set to last four days. It would be a hard four days but he wanted to be ready for anything.

"Mr. Cadenza, lay in a course for navigation marker two, warp five."   he ordered, turning his head face to Ensign Masters, who was at the security console.   "Ensign, standard procedure. Send to all ships and confirm."

Tobias nearly gasped as he realized that the Captain had given him and order while he was so focused on making sure his log was worded right, but it only took him a quick moment to collect himself. He pushed a few buttons transmitting the requested message and received the necessary confirmations. "All ships have confirmed sir, one is having a small problems with the navigational system but are correcting now"

The Turbolift doors opened and Reece stepped out, quickly adjusting the top of his uniform.

"Apologies Captain. I was called to one of the freighters." He stepped further in and stood behind the barrier. "Reporting for duty now though."

Reece looked around and saw a young ensign standing at Tactical. That must've been Mr Masters. He made a quick note to talk to him when he had time. He looked back at Cortez, waiting for an instruction. However, sitting down wouldn't be too bad either.

While he was notifying the Captain he noticed the turbo lift doors open, revealing Lt. Thompson, he has seen his image when studying the mission reports and crew manifests. Tobias could barely contain his joy at the prospect of having someone else to deal with the Chief Petty Officer, though he couldn't help feeling disappointed that he had lost just as quickly as he had gained the Chief of Security role.

"Would you like to take your post sir?" Tobias asked the Lt. sensing his indecision.

[Taras Cadenza]

The Turbolift doors opened and Reece stepped out, quickly adjusting the top of his uniform.

"Apologies Captain. I was called to one of the freighters." He stepped further in and stood behind the barrier. "Reporting for duty now though."

Reece looked around and saw a young ensign standing at Tactical. That must've been Mr Masters. He made a quick note to talk to him when he had time. He looked back at Cortez, waiting for an instruction. However, sitting down wouldn't be too bad either.

"Aye, sir. Course primed and ready to engage." Taras stated, as he heard the commander loud and clear.

He was now wearing his normal, and ever-so-slightly-required-by-protocol, grey, black and red uniform, having found five minutes to thankfully change before Cortez caught a glinpse of him in the outdated uniform, and could even consider revoking his holodeck previleges for a week, or some other indeterminate amount of time.

Taras heard the swish of the turbolift doors, and looked back. He saw the unmistakable figure of Lieutenant Reece Thompson.

The junior lieutenant smiled to himself. Now, if only they could find the captain...

[OctalLord]

Like many others Octavius saw Reece enter the room. But unlike them he wasn't going to hold his enthusiam "Welcome back to the stage of destiny sir!" He said perhaps a bit too loudly across the bridge. "I can certainly say we missed you." He joked.

Leaning over he elbowed Masters in the side. "Perhaps now you'll be able to see a real security officer in action eh?" He said quietly to him.

[cortez]

The Turbolift doors opened and Reece stepped out, quickly adjusting the top of his uniform.

"Apologies Captain. I was called to one of the freighters." He stepped further in and stood behind the barrier. "Reporting for duty now though."

Reece looked around and saw a young ensign standing at Tactical. That must've been Mr Masters. He made a quick note to talk to him when he had time. He looked back at Cortez, waiting for an instruction. However, sitting down wouldn't be too bad either.

Cortez nodded in acknowledgment to Ensign Masters before spotting Thompson enter the bridge. Standing, he turned and smiled.

"Good to have you back, Lieutenant. Take your station"

Spinning on his feet with his hands clasped behind his back, Cortez took one deep breath and decided it was time to get on with their mission. Taking a seat in his chair, he crossed his legs.

"Lieutenant Cadenza, you may engage warp engines when ready"

[Kale Bridges]

Cortez nodded in acknowledgment to Ensign Masters before spotting Thompson enter the bridge. Standing, he turned and smiled.

"Good to have you back, Lieutenant. Take your station"

Spinning on his feet with his hands clasped behind his back, Cortez took one deep breath and decided it was time to get on with their mission. Taking a seat in his chair, he crossed his legs.

"Lieutenant Cadenza, you may engage warp engines when ready"

Reece smiled. "Aye sir."

He walked over and stood in front of the Tactical station. "You boy's better have taken care of my ship."

He figured he wouldn't take over just yet. For the time being, he had two stations. He'd let Mr Masters taste authority a little while longer.

[Taras Cadenza]

Cortez nodded in acknowledgment to Ensign Masters before spotting Thompson enter the bridge. Standing, he turned and smiled.

"Good to have you back, Lieutenant. Take your station"

Spinning on his feet with his hands clasped behind his back, Cortez took one deep breath and decided it was time to get on with their mission. Taking a seat in his chair, he crossed his legs.

"Lieutenant Cadenza, you may engage warp engines when ready"

"Aye, sir. Engaging warp engines now." smiled Taras, as the adrenaline rush he got from Warp Speed began to charge.

With a touch of a few buttons on the LCARS interface, the Churchill's warp nacelles slowly arched up with a low hum. Then as quick as a slingshot, the Churchill launched herself into space, along by the convoy, leaving nothing behind but several dimming warp trails, and several bright flashes.

[OctalLord]

Octavius turned back to his console as there was work to be done. Making sure that the systems were in line and that the rest of the ships in the convoy were reading correctly. His fingers flew along his console sending messages out to everyone while they were in transit. "Good news everyone, for once things seem to be going off without a hitch. In the grand scheme of things anyway."

Examining the formation of the convoy. Everything was almost picture perfect, which threw up a red flag for Octavius. He couldn't remember why though. He leaned over to Masters and spoke quietly to him. "Hey, you've asked me to and now I'm going to share the situation as I see it. Somethings off with this picture. We're perfectly aligned. Which for all rights and reasons should be fine but it's  not and I can't figure it out."

He pointed to his screen showing a outline of the per-ordained formation the convoy was intended to have. A Octagon shape spearheaded by the churchill. With ships flanking all around both above and below. Which every ship followed exactly. "It must be something you mentioned earlier but It slipped my mind when Reece came in. You know how little I want to ask for your help but you're security too so I need to confirm this before we bring it up with the others."

[ThomasRiker]

Octavius turned back to his console as there was work to be done. Making sure that the systems were in line and that the rest of the ships in the convoy were reading correctly. His fingers flew along his console sending messages out to everyone while they were in transit. "Good news everyone, for once things seem to be going off without a hitch. In the grand scheme of things anyway."

Examining the formation of the convoy. Everything was almost picture perfect, which threw up a red flag for Octavius. He couldn't remember why though. He leaned over to Masters and spoke quietly to him. "Hey, you've asked me to and now I'm going to share the situation as I see it. Somethings off with this picture. We're perfectly aligned. Which for all rights and reasons should be fine but it's  not and I can't figure it out."

He pointed to his screen showing a outline of the per-ordained formation the convoy was intended to have. A Octagon shape spearheaded by the churchill. With ships flanking all around both above and below. Which every ship followed exactly. "It must be something you mentioned earlier but It slipped my mind when Reece came in. You know how little I want to ask for your help but you're security too so I need to confirm this before we bring it up with the others."

Masters was still skeptical of the Chief Petty Officer, but was glad that he was being included in this thought process. Tobias looked at the screens, going over the data that the Chief was looking at. Everything looked right to him as well, and if someone that had the experience that the Chief had wasn't next to him telling him otherwise, he would think nothing of it. He began punching buttons, sending a masked sensor sweep out confirming that all ships were properly in place as the computer indicated. He further did a brief check of transponder codes. Lastly he did an intense short range scan with a boosted power output to increase normal scanning range looking for any anomalies. He would let the Chief look over the information that came back to their console. "Far be it from me to make any findings" he thought to himself.

"Chief, I have done a couple sweeps and have pulled up transponder signals, all Data is displayed for our review." Tobias said aloud." He then began to read the data. Now he too was getting a feeling something was off, but he couldn't see it yet.

[Kale Bridges]

Masters was still skeptical of the Chief Petty Officer, but was glad that he was being included in this thought process. Tobias looked at the screens, going over the data that the Chief was looking at. Everything looked right to him as well, and if someone that had the experience that the Chief had wasn't next to him telling him otherwise, he would think nothing of it. He began punching buttons, sending a masked sensor sweep out confirming that all ships were properly in place as the computer indicated. He further did a brief check of transponder codes. Lastly he did an intense short range scan with a boosted power output to increase normal scanning range looking for any anomalies. He would let the Chief look over the information that came back to their console. "Far be it from me to make any findings" he thought to himself.

"Chief, I have done a couple sweeps and have pulled up transponder signals, all Data is displayed for our review." Tobias said aloud." He then began to read the data. Now he too was getting a feeling something was off, but he couldn't see it yet.

Reece leaned over the station and glanced at the picture. They were right, everyone was exactly where they should be.

"That's a first." He said looking up at Masters. "Did you threaten them if they got out of line."

He looked closely at the display, something was off with it. He reached his fingers over the console, swatting Master's and Mirwalds away, "If we just..."

He began muttering to himself as he tapped away. Using the console upside down was a pain.

He diverted some power to the resolution settings and widened the search parameters.

"Damnit...." He whispered. "Mirwald, can you head down to Engineering, work with Mr Krol to enhance the sensors. Or just run a diagnostic on them. Something is up."

[OctalLord]

Reece leaned over the station and glanced at the picture. They were right, everyone was exactly where they should be.

"That's a first." He said looking up at Masters. "Did you threaten them if they got out of line."

He looked closely at the display, something was off with it. He reached his fingers over the console, swatting Master's and Mirwalds away, "If we just..."

He began muttering to himself as he tapped away. Using the console upside down was a pain.

He diverted some power to the resolution settings and widened the search parameters.

"Damnit...." He whispered. "Mirwald, can you head down to Engineering, work with Mr Krol to enhance the sensors. Or just run a diagnostic on them. Something is up."

"Aye sir." Octavius responded. He quickly made his way to the turbolift, he leaned out as a thought occured to him. "Masters sir, check the transmission logs if I remembering he problem from earlier it might be put to recrod in there. Without waiting for a response he stepped back and the doors slid shut. "Engineering." "Alright! Time to show Masters what a real security officer can do." he thought to himself excitedly.

=/\=Octavius to Krol, I know you're busy but it seems that everything is appearing just too perfectly. I'm coming down to check on the sensor array. Mind giving me a hand?