S1 - M2: Delta Gateway

[Kirok]

[Shran Conference Room]

Kirok stood beside the monitor in the conference room.  People had already filed in and were seated.  They were waiting for him to start the meeting.

Their first mission together had almost been their last.  The ship had almost been torn apart.  And it was all due to one man, who image was currently displayed on the screen.

"Thank you all for joining me today.  This is an image of Luther Sloan.  A man who is known to have ties to Section 31" Kirok said.

"This man visited Dr. McConnell and Ms. Jones before they were assigned here and possibly several others among you.  His supposed goal was to stop us from delivering our prisoner to Earth for trial.  In that he succeeded" the half Vulcan admitted and then pulled down on the shirt of his uniform - an outward indication of his frustration.

"From this point forward, Luther Sloan is public enemy number one.  Should any of you see him, report him immediately to the proper authorities.  Detain him is you can, but expect him to be armed and dangerous" Kirok added.

He looked around the room at the various officers who had gathered.  Some of them relatively new, some of them veterans.  "Questions thus far?" he asked pointedly.

[Ser Conley]

[Shran Conference Room]

He had barely been on the ship for more then a day.  When Kirok called this meeting.  It was a good chance to see the other senior staff, but now we was thinking he'd got himself into something nasty.  Ser raised a hand to get Kirok's attention.

"Admiral, do you believe this man will try to infiltrate the ship? Interfere in more of our missions?"

[James A. Hawke]

[James's Quarters]

He stood up from the his bed and walked up to the mirror.  He started at the mirror long enough to observe some of his facial hair.  He then looked at his eyes and noticed a slight dark circle around them.  The Acting Commander was still getting used with all the administrative task including shift changes and organizing a crew that was bigger than his former ship.
He splashed water in his face and began wondering on everything that recently happened.  To call the maiden voyage of the ship anything less than eventful would be a understatement.  He looked around his quarters and wondered " How did I end up here "

As he finished splashing water in his face he grabbed a small tower to his  right and began drying his face.  He could hear her words over and over again.

Promise me ...Promise me James

He looked up the mirror after his daily routine and said to himself "I'm sorry...I could not keep my promise"

With that he left his quarters.

[Shran Conference Room]
After a couple of minutes he felt the doors swish behind him.  He noticed that the room was already filling up and people where there.  James walked into his assigned chair which was right to the Admiral's Conference room were usually a good way to hear about the crew observation.

James  greeted most of the officers and personnel in the meeting.  "Good Morning Everyone,  I wanted to take a short moment to welcome our new crew and congratulate the recent promotions,  and thank everyone for an incredibly smooth maiden voyage"  As he finished he smiled as his attempt to make light of the situation.

He remained seated in his chair and se saw the image of the man.  James looked at the picture and wondered to himself.  This man and name looks familiar...but why   James thought to himself.

He then remembered.

"Congratulation" Sloan said a he tapped his glass to Hawke's and then sipped his drink.  "XO is a fine position.  But you would make a better Captain and I can help to make that happen" he added as he leaned back in into his seat.

He then realized he was trying to access him, but at the time James thought it was a joke.  He was used to people playing pranks of him like William or someone from this Engineering Staff.  He was being measured for something.  He did not figure out why.  What was he offering?

I need to inform the Admiral of this...maybe we can use this to our advantage into the future James thought to himself.

He heard the report and listed to Ser's Question.

"Admiral, do you believe this man will try to infiltrate the ship? Interfere in more of our missions?"

James touched his chin and then began thinking.

"Ser,  I don't think he's the type to just give up.  If a person is willing to destroy a state of the art vessel to achieve his goals, he's not going to stop because of a setback.   He should be considered determined and ruthless...quite frankly the fact that we are not under crisis scares me...I think he is either waiting...or planning.  We need everyone in this room to stay alert. If something is out of the ordinary is ok to question it and report it to the Senior Officers, now we don't need a witch hunt on our ship, but we need to be vigilant until he is  arrested and delivered to justice "  James added to the briefing.

[Ser Conley]

He heard the report and listed to Ser's Question.

James touched his chin and then began thinking.

"Ser,  I don't think he's the type to just give up.  If a person is willing to destroy a state of the art vessel to achieve his goals, he's not going to stop because of a setback.   He should be considered determined and ruthless...quite frankly the fact that we are not under crisis scares me...I think he is either waiting...or planning.  We need everyone in this room to stay alert. If something is out of the ordinary is ok to question it and report it to the Senior Officers, now we don't need a witch hunt on our ship, but we need to be vigilant until he is  arrested and delivered to justice "  James added to the briefing.

[Conference room]

Ser turned to the Commander, and listen to him.

"I completely agree with commander.  But it does answer my question."  Ser pause for a heart beat.  He wasn't trying to come off argumentative.  He just wanted to be sure of the situation they were in.

"This man Sloan is gunning for the federation.  We just one ship. An important ship of course, Admiral."  Ser said to Kirok.  "But according to the reports he was after a prisoner the ship was transporting.  If we don't have anything he wants why would he bother with us. And don't mistake me.  I'm not saying we should let our guard down.  Just what is the likely hood, Sloan will actively seek to destroy us."  He said.

[Revek Tre'el]

[Conference room]

Ser turned to the Commander, and listen to him.

"I completely agree with commander.  But it does answer my question."  Ser pause for a heart beat.  He wasn't trying to come off argumentative.  He just wanted to be sure of the situation they were in.

"This man Sloan is gunning for the federation.  We just one ship. An important ship of course, Admiral."  Ser said to Kirok.  "But according to the reports he was after a prisoner the ship was transporting.  If we don't have anything he wants why would he bother with us. And don't mistake me.  I'm not saying we should let our guard down.  Just what is the likely hood, Sloan will actively seek to destroy us."  He said.

[Conference Room]

Revek sat forward and offered to his XO, "If I may?" before turning to face Ser. "I think you will be best served by assuming that we are an active target of Mr. Sloan's. I have not, unfortunately, had time to finish reading the mission reports but he strikes me as a man that does not like loose ends. I would say this ship and everyone on it is very much a loose end."

Finished speaking, the Cardassian sat back and scanned the table. There were a great many faces he did not recognize, which wasn't surprising considering his absence from standard fleet operations for the past few years. Still, a great many of the faces at the table seemed so young. Did we all really start out that young? Revek had seen and done a lot during his tenure in Starfleet; he had served with some of the great names of this generation, and he could not ever imagine looking this young. Still, we must all start somewhere. The Cardassian imagined that if Sloan really was after this ship and crew he would see them grow rapidly. Or not at all.

[Kirok]

[James's Quarters]

He stood up from the his bed and walked up to the mirror.  He started at the mirror long enough to observe some of his facial hair.  He then looked at his eyes and noticed a slight dark circle around them.  The Acting Commander was still getting used with all the administrative task including shift changes and organizing a crew that was bigger than his former ship.
He splashed water in his face and began wondering on everything that recently happened.  To call the maiden voyage of the ship anything less than eventful would be a understatement.  He looked around his quarters and wondered Á,"œ How did I end up here Á,"

As he finished splashing water in his face he grabbed a small tower to his  right and began drying his face.  He could hear her words over and over again.

Promise me Á,"¦Promise me James

He looked up the mirror after his daily routine and said to himself Á,"œI'm sorryÁ,"¦I could not keep my promiseÁ,"

With that he left his quarters.

[Shran Conference Room]
After a couple of minutes he felt the doors swish behind him.  He noticed that the room was already filling up and people where there.  James walked into his assigned chair which was right to the Admiral's Conference room were usually a good way to hear about the crew observation.

James  greeted most of the officers and personnel in the meeting.  Á,"œGood Morning Everyone,  I wanted to take a short moment to welcome our new crew and congratulate the recent promotions,  and thank everyone for an incredibly smooth maiden voyageÁ,"  As he finished he smiled as his attempt to make light of the situation.

[Conference Room]

EQ had arrived in the room just minutes before everyone else.  He had been tasked with making sure the monitor still worked.  Having done that, he stood in the back of the room with his back pressed to the wall.  "Morning" the Crewman relied somewhat quietly.

[Ariste Stark]

[Conference Room]

Ariste had to admit, she was a little giddy being in the Conference room. She knew she was supposed to be a full-grown woman, who didn't start giggling over little things like this, but it made her proud that she had made enough of an impact that she deserved to be in the room. Obviously not everyone on the ship could be here, and of all the people she was chosen. It made her twiddle her thumbs under the table in mild nervousness. Flamboyant and cocky as she came off, sitting in the conference room with all the higher-ranked officers felt like finally being able to sit with your parents while they drank fancy wine and chatted about adult things, and you had to be on your best behavior. A daunting task in her books, considering she didn't have a 'best' behavior.

As the others spoke, she felt tongue-tied, quietly letting herself go unspoken for a bit, quietly keeping to her own space. When the matter of taking him as a serious threat came up, though, her eyes snapped to the person who had spoken up - a flight officer, presumably.
As the new officer, Revek spoke, she asked to speak her own part, and turned back to Ser.

"If he's part of the Section 31, then we're automatically a target. We may not have the person in question anymore, but we have something else of valuable - information. Information on him. And not only that, but he knows we're still building now. If one of the best ships in the fleet, and the most likely one to butt heads with his plans, were to be out of commission, it would only be a happy day for him." Sitting back, a light, almost angry blush colored her cheeks as she realized just how long she had spoken for, and perhaps out of turn. But she wasn't done yet. "As of yet, we don't have a way to escape, if he shows up the only thing we can do is use brute force and hope we win. And he can't have gotten far, if our ship is five lightyears away, and the next nearest ship is one hundred lightyears away, I'm willing to bed this one is the one he'll gun for." With that she lapsed into mildly petulant silence, but didn't show it. She dared the older officer to chastise her for speaking out, but she had only spoken logic. So he could dock her a mark of he wanted, she didn't care.

[Ser Conley]

[Conference Room]

Revek sat forward and offered to his XO, "If I may?" before turning to face Ser. "I think you will be best served by assuming that we are an active target of Mr. Sloan's. I have not, unfortunately, had time to finish reading the mission reports but he strikes me as a man that does not like loose ends. I would say this ship and everyone on it is very much a loose end."

Finished speaking, the Cardassian sat back and scanned the table. There were a great many faces he did not recognize, which wasn't surprising considering his absence from standard fleet operations for the past few years. Still, a great many of the faces at the table seemed so young. Did we all really start out that young? Revek had seen and done a lot during his tenure in Starfleet; he had served with some of the great names of this generation, and he could not ever imagine looking this young. Still, we must all start somewhere. The Cardassian imagined that if Sloan really was after this ship and crew he would see them grow rapidly. Or not at all.

Ser nodded to Revek in thanks.  The man had a way of cutting through the fat, that Ser found refreshing.  Or maybe it was just  something familiar.  He knew how the man work.   He was glad to work with him again.

[Conference Room]

Ariste had to admit, she was a little giddy being in the Conference room. She knew she was supposed to be a full-grown woman, who didn't start giggling over little things like this, but it made her proud that she had made enough of an impact that she deserved to be in the room. Obviously not everyone on the ship could be here, and of all the people she was chosen. It made her twiddle her thumbs under the table in mild nervousness. Flamboyant and cocky as she came off, sitting in the conference room with all the higher-ranked officers felt like finally being able to sit with your parents while they drank fancy wine and chatted about adult things, and you had to be on your best behavior. A daunting task in her books, considering she didn't have a 'best' behavior.

As the others spoke, she felt tongue-tied, quietly letting herself go unspoken for a bit, quietly keeping to her own space. When the matter of taking him as a serious threat came up, though, her eyes snapped to the person who had spoken up - a flight officer, presumably.
As the new officer, Revek spoke, she asked to speak her own part, and turned back to Ser.

"If he's part of the Section 31, then we're automatically a target. We may not have the person in question anymore, but we have something else of valuable - information. Information on him. And not only that, but he knows we're still building now. If one of the best ships in the fleet, and the most likely one to butt heads with his plans, were to be out of commission, it would only be a happy day for him." Sitting back, a light, almost angry blush colored her cheeks as she realized just how long she had spoken for, and perhaps out of turn. But she wasn't done yet. "As of yet, we don't have a way to escape, if he shows up the only thing we can do is use brute force and hope we win. And he can't have gotten far, if our ship is five lightyears away, and the next nearest ship is one hundred lightyears away, I'm willing to bed this one is the one he'll gun for." With that she lapsed into mildly petulant silence, but didn't show it. She dared the older officer to chastise her for speaking out, but she had only spoken logic. So he could dock her a mark of he wanted, she didn't care.

Ser looked at Stark and smiled.

"Thank you Lieutenant."  He said giving her a wink.  Then turned towards the Admiral.  He felt the Stark want to my her mark within the crew.   He known the feeling.  But he wasn't going to answer her challenge.

Even though he found a few flaws in her statement.  He was sure, Kirok did want or need an argument at this point in the meeting.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Deck 7]

It had become their custom to spend the mornings together roaming through the decks before departing to their respective departments. T'Ra and Evan walked side by side, his hand occasionally brushing against hers, at which she would usually arch a brow. But as she looked up, she found is gaze wandering, passive yet inquisitive. It was not too difficult to ascertain what was currently on his mind.

"I agree," she told him. "Much has happened for a ship so young."

He bobbed his head in agreement, still pensive. "When I look at these walls, I find myself wondering how much of it was originally there. I still find it remarkable to walk into sickbay and have everything look so refreshed and sparkling, after having the sky just about dropped down on us."

They continued to amble along at an easy pace. "But that it was so quickly repaired is surely a testament to the crew," T'Ra replied. "And also a sign that we will endure, come what may."

"Though what was it that Pike had said once," Evan asked, a crooked grin beginning to stretch across his face. "'Careful with the ship, Spock, she's new'?" T'Ra cocked her head, regarding him with a brow raised before finally affording him a small, wry grin. They paused, having reached the end of a corridor. He took her hand momentarily, bringing it to his lips. "Bis spÁƒ¤ter denn, Schatz."

[Conference Room]

T'Ra sat quietly in the conference room, listening to the others as they spoke, preferring to wait first before joining in. Perhaps it was just the scientist in her, who deemed it prudent to first gather information before formulating an hypothesis.

"I would say that we have relatively little information on the man we know as Luther Sloan," T'Ra ventured. "I myself have only had enough dealings with him to speculate as to the full extent of his cunning. We know that he is dangerous, and he has already infiltrated the ship once. It would not be illogical to expect him to do so again."

[LK Reede]

[Conference Room]

Lt(jg) Reede had had time to refresh her skills in self defense by utilitizing the holodeck. Time for a sound nine hours of sleep -more than she needed. Then again, it was fun lollygagging in bed for a few minutes. Then had come the call to report to the conference room for a mission briefing.

Now, she was looking around at the crew. Most she knew and she nodded a hello to each of them in turn. But there were a few new faces. It seemed her new chief was a Cardassian. She didn't mind that. Her last one was a Tholian. She'd been kinda creeped out reporting to someone with a lot of legs.

As she listened to speculation about Luther Sloan, the S31 agent, she had a couple of questions. Leaning forward, she linked her fingers together over the table before speaking.

Addressing the XO, Cmdr. Hawke, LK said, "Sir, we know who he is, we know how he works and we know -uh, suspect- he will come after us. I agree with Cmdr. Jones. Isn't it safe to say that he won't bother with us right away? He knows we'll be on alert for him. Also, do we have anything he wants at this point?"

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Conference room]

Ardyn looked around the room, nodding along with what the Admiral was saying.  She had only just recently been caught up on who this Sloan fellow was, but from the extensive damage and repairs she was assisting the engineers with, it was certainly obvious that he meant business. "We know Sloan is up to something. And we also know that he knows that the ship is still in heavy need of repairs. He'll be back, we just don't know when.

[Kirok]

[Conference Room]

Lt(jg) Reede had had time to refresh her skills in self defense by utilitizing the holodeck. Time for a sound nine hours of sleep -more than she needed. Then again, it was fun lollygagging in bed for a few minutes. Then had come the call to report to the conference room for a mission briefing.

Now, she was looking around at the crew. Most she knew and she nodded a hello to each of them in turn. But there were a few new faces. It seemed her new chief was a Cardassian. She didn't mind that. Her last one was a Tholian. She'd been kinda creeped out reporting to someone with a lot of legs.

As she listened to speculation about Luther Sloan, the S31 agent, she had a couple of questions. Leaning forward, she linked her fingers together over the table before speaking.

Addressing the XO, Cmdr. Hawke, LK said, "Sir, we know who he is, we know how he works and we know -uh, suspect- he will come after us. I agree with Cmdr. Jones. Isn't it safe to say that he won't bother with us right away? He knows we'll be on alert for him. Also, do we have anything he wants at this point?"

[Conference Room]

"You all make fine points, but when I revealed the truth as to what really happen at Tarna I became a target for Section 31.  And thus, by association, this ship now shares this target.  It is unfortunate, but that is how it is" Kirok said.

"We do, I believe, have something Mr. Sloan still wants.  The location or more precisely knowledge of how to locate the prisoner he was trying to free.  Apparently this man is important to Sloan.  So that makes him important to us" the half Vulcan added.

"In fact, we will be traveling to an undisclosed location to pick up said prisoner and get the repairs we need.  And then finish what we started.  See that he stands trial and is brought to justice" Kirok announced.

"I want you all to be aware of this.  So that you will be prepared when he attacks again.  And so that transfers off ship can be approved if any of you choose to submit a request" he added.

[Kira Wyman]

[Conference Room]

"You all make fine points, but when I revealed the truth as to what really happen at Tarna I became a target for Section 31.  And thus, by association, this ship now shares this target.  It is unfortunate, but that is how it is" Kirok said.

"We do, I believe, have something Mr. Sloan still wants.  The location or more precisely knowledge of how to locate the prisoner he was trying to free.  Apparently this man is important to Sloan.  So that makes him important to us" the half Vulcan added.

"In fact, we will be traveling to an undisclosed location to pick up said prisoner and get the repairs we need.  And then finish what we started.  See that he stands trial and is brought to justice" Kirok announced.

"I want you all to be aware of this.  So that you will be prepared when he attacks again.  And so that transfers off ship can be approved if any of you choose to submit a request" he added.

Conference Room

Miriam sat and quietly listened to the chatter between all of the other officers. Every person added a new element to the conversation. The XO adding that the man won't be the type to give up and the chief CIC agreeing, then the new chief of tactical adding that they'd likely all be targets.

When Kirok added that transfers would be acceptable to those requesting it, Miriam couldn't help but feel that moving anyone was a bad idea. "Admiral." Miriam paused for a moment, waiting for the admirals attention, then continued. "If we move people to different ship, even if we don't know the location of this person, it gives him the option of going to several ships to try and get what he wants and there's a possibility it would put the other ships at risk." Miriam paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then finished. "Even if it is unlikely he'd go for the other ships it still makes them a target." Miriam finished.

[Revek Tre'el]

[Conference Room]

Addressing the XO, Cmdr. Hawke, LK said, "Sir, we know who he is, we know how he works and we know -uh, suspect- he will come after us. I agree with Cmdr. Jones. Isn't it safe to say that he won't bother with us right away? He knows we'll be on alert for him. Also, do we have anything he wants at this point?"

[Conference Room]

After addressing Ser, Revek had chosen to see how the conversation played out. Though he had read up on all the senior staff and his own department, reading and watching people were two very different things. He was pleasantly surprised to see that one of his own officers could reason out the situation on her own, though the Cardassian did make a mental note to dig into the pause in her speech even if it was most likely nothing.

[Conference Room]

"You all make fine points, but when I revealed the truth as to what really happen at Tarna I became a target for Section 31.  And thus, by association, this ship now shares this target.  It is unfortunate, but that is how it is" Kirok said.

"We do, I believe, have something Mr. Sloan still wants.  The location or more precisely knowledge of how to locate the prisoner he was trying to free.  Apparently this man is important to Sloan.  So that makes him important to us" the half Vulcan added.

"In fact, we will be traveling to an undisclosed location to pick up said prisoner and get the repairs we need.  And then finish what we started.  See that he stands trial and is brought to justice" Kirok announced.

"I want you all to be aware of this.  So that you will be prepared when he attacks again.  And so that transfers off ship can be approved if any of you choose to submit a request" he added.

Contrary to his previous statement, Revek was fully aware of what had happened on the Shran's maiden voyage. Still, actually hearing Kirok admit that he had made himself a target of Section 31 produced a rare physical reaction from Revek. I need to talk to him as soon as possible, the Cardassian thought to himself.

As for the rest of the Captain's little speech, the Chief of Security more or less disregarded it. Though a public trial would likely result in a great many changes throughout the fleet and the Federation itself, Revek doubted it would ever happen. Even if we get the asset into custody the likelihood of him making it to trial is a fools hope.

Conference Room

When Kirok added that transfers would be acceptable to those requesting it, Miriam couldn't help but feel that moving anyone was a bad idea. "Admiral." Miriam paused for a moment, waiting for the admirals attention, then continued. "If we move people to different ship, even if we don't know the location of this person, it gives him the option of going to several ships to try and get what he wants and there's a possibility it would put the other ships at risk." Miriam paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then finished. "Even if it is unlikely he'd go for the other ships it still makes them a target." Miriam finished.

Again, Revek was pleasantly surprised by the mental agility of the crew, even if they didn't reach, what he felt, were the right conclusions. Turning to the Ops officer, he said, "You are correct in assuming everyone on this ship is a target simply by association. However, though I don't speak for the Sir," he said motioning towards Kirok, "Sloan likely wants the prisoner, the Admiral, and any one else involved, in that order. By staying with the ship, the 'anyone else' would be putting themselves in harms way sooner than leaving. People like him are, at their core, about efficiency. He'll only go after anyone who leaves if it makes completing the rest of his task easier or faster. Taking the time to track them down, get his hands on them and then leveraging that information against us isn't a likely course of action." Revek finished by offering a mild shrug as if to say, "But you never know."

[Ariste Stark]

[Conference Room]

"You all make fine points, but when I revealed the truth as to what really happen at Tarna I became a target for Section 31.  And thus, by association, this ship now shares this target.  It is unfortunate, but that is how it is" Kirok said.

"We do, I believe, have something Mr. Sloan still wants.  The location or more precisely knowledge of how to locate the prisoner he was trying to free.  Apparently this man is important to Sloan.  So that makes him important to us" the half Vulcan added.

"In fact, we will be traveling to an undisclosed location to pick up said prisoner and get the repairs we need.  And then finish what we started.  See that he stands trial and is brought to justice" Kirok announced.

"I want you all to be aware of this.  So that you will be prepared when he attacks again.  And so that transfers off ship can be approved if any of you choose to submit a request" he added.

Conference Room

Miriam sat and quietly listened to the chatter between all of the other officers. Every person added a new element to the conversation. The XO adding that the man won't be the type to give up and the chief CIC agreeing, then the new chief of tactical adding that they'd likely all be targets.

When Kirok added that transfers would be acceptable to those requesting it, Miriam couldn't help but feel that moving anyone was a bad idea. "Admiral." Miriam paused for a moment, waiting for the admirals attention, then continued. "If we move people to different ship, even if we don't know the location of this person, it gives him the option of going to several ships to try and get what he wants and there's a possibility it would put the other ships at risk." Miriam paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then finished. "Even if it is unlikely he'd go for the other ships it still makes them a target." Miriam finished.

[Conference Room]

Ariste nearly froze at Conley's reaction to her rant. Head cocking to the side and narrowing her eyes, she paused like that for a moment, before recovering and listening to the rest of the arguments. Well, maybe he wasn't going to prove to be what she had first assumed with his reluctance to believe that Sloan would be going after them. But then again, he might.

As the conversation shifted over to rational and coolheaded arguments about whether people should be allowed to request a transfer, she paused, wondering if she should bother speaking up. But hey, might as well go neck deep, and live up to her stereotype of being someone who always needs to input their own reasoning. It wasn't that far off from the truth anyway.

"I don't disagree with allowing the transfer of some crewmembers. But we can't consider the possibility that he might take hostages. Or, the possibility that there might be something bigger at play here. Obviously right now the prisoner is his first priority, but he won't be forever. And I imagine anyone who knows the ship inside out, anyone who has level six and up clearance, anyone who may have also been approached by Sloan ahead of time..." She ticked the reasons off on her fingers, glancing between Miriam and Revek, and finally to Kirok, "Is a possible target. Not necessarily, but they each have their own reasons to be one."