Strategy Session

Posted on Wed Jul 14th, 2010 @ 8:03am by Commander Fala Awen & Commander Earlond

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: USS Pandora, XO's Office
Timeline: Day 15, 1700

ON:
[[USS Pandora, XO's Office, Day 15, 1700]]

Following the staff briefing, Awen had returned to her office to gather the information she had on a PADD before heading to Earlond's office. She wasn't sure if he would be expecting her already, but considering what they had...or perhaps more importantly had not figured out during the briefing, Awen wanted to discuss strategy sooner rather than later. As the Bajoran arrived at the office door, she rang the chime and waited for a reply.

Earlond looked up from his desk. "Enter," he called.

Awen entered the room and stood in front of his desk, "Good evening, sir. I hope you don't mind, but I thought it might be best to start talking about our preparations."

"Not at all," Earlond said, setting aside a PADD. "Please, have a seat. What basic preparations do you currently have?" He was glad, actually, that Awen had been able to stop by - it never did to put off to tomorrow what one could do today, especially something this important.

Taking a seat, Awen replied, "I've already had Security teams running drills - mostly concentrating on the possibility of intruders or having to do a retrieval from the colony. I was also going to review tactical offensive and defensive strategies in the event we have to engage the Romulan vessel."

"Have you addressed the possibility two or more of those events happening together?" Earlond asked. "It might prove difficult to do a retrieval from the colony if we ourselves are being boarded, particularly given the issues our systems seem to be having with the planet."

"I had considered the possibility, but haven't had the chance yet to work out the coordination efforts involved. I thought it best to first have the officers ready to perform the tasks," the Bajoran said. She hated to admit that she didn't have a solution yet as she usually prided herself on being able to figure out a solution to any situation. Awen would have preferred to come up with her own idea, but even in her Resistance Cell ideas would be bounced off of other members. "Do you have any suggestions, sir?"

"It is quite a difficult task," Earlond agreed. "The main issue stems from transportation - we can't rely on transporters, thanks to whatever is in that planet. Our best bet would be to use one of the Type 11 shuttles, though if we are engaging the Romulans, anything leaving our shuttlebay is going to be a ripe target."

Awen nodded, "It may be that transporters will be fixed by then, but we certainly can't count on that. With the right pilot and some cover fire, a shuttle might make it though... It would take some coordination from Tactical - if we targetted the Romulan vessel's shields and weapons, it would give those on the shuttle a better chance."

"We'd have to guard its return, too," Earlond said musingly. "Though of course that could be an eventuality we could deal with separately. However, I think I have just the pilot in mind - Lieutenant Drake Lexon(NPC). He's a former starfighter pilot who also has some background in the marines. You could probably include him in your drills if you run any scenarios like that. Have you looked into dealing with an opponent who knows inside information about our defenses?" It was unlikely the Romulans would have an agent hidden aboard the Pandora, but there had been two previous incidents involving imposters within the crew.

"Alright, perhaps I'll speak to him about it," the Bajoran replied. "That scenario would be rather difficult to prepare for. If someone did have inside information, the worst case scenario would be that they would be able to get into all our systems - Weapons, Shielding, Transporters, Self Destruct...everything. If that were the case, there would be little we could do until we found whoever was responsible. I could talk to Operations or Engineering about developing a program to help us trace it if that were to happen though."

"If they are able to develop such a program, I would make sure it doesn't hinder our own efforts," Earlond pointed out. "The chances of a spy are relatively low, and therefore do not warrant preparation that detracts from primary preparation. Now, we've mostly discussed personnel security and tactical so far - what are your thoughts about our chances in a battle against the Romulan ship, if it came to that?"

Although slightly offended that Earlond would think that she would fail to take that into account, Awen did not say anything. Instead, she moved on to his next question, "I think that we'd have a good shot. At the very least we should be able to hold our own. While the Luna class' initial goal was exploration, they were later outfitted with some of StarFleet's most advanced defensive technology, which will be quite the asset. The Pandora may not have a huge arsenal at its disposal, but we can ensure that our shots do the most damage."

Earlond nodded. "It would have been nice to have the Tethys," he said, "but I suppose we can't have everything. I assume the members of your department are up to par?" Though Earlond had found it hard not to be in direct control of the Pandora's security teams, he had come to respect and trust Awen's leadership in the department; rather than directing this question at Awen's ability, he was questioning whether she felt the people on her teams were ready to perform as she had trained them.

"Of course," Awen replied. "Some are still getting used to their roles, but they've been doing well overall. I put them on a training schedule and most have been performing above par. Those who haven't are attending additional training sessions." For the most part, she'd kept them on the same teams the whole time so they could develop good rapport and instincts within their team. Sometimes she would switch things up though, to see how they would adapt to a change in their team.

"Have any of the non-security personnel asked for training of their own?" Earlond asked. When he had been department head, he had mandated continuation of certain basic training for most of the higher officers, especially those that would be working in higher-threat areas, but some had come to him on their own with requests for additional training.

Pausing to consider the question before answering, Awen said, "Some have, but not many. Although I have noted that some personnel have been making use of the training programs on their own. I started a review of who has and who hasn't on our way here, but haven't had the chance to finish it yet. Right now I feel it's more important to have Security/Tactical prepared."

"Of course," Earlond agreed. "Though once you finish that review, it will probably be easier to allocate your teams where they're needed most. Do you have anything else you think we're missing, or anything you need from me?"

Awen nodded, "I'll see to it once the review is complete. The only other thing I can think of, sir, is the possibility that we get into an altercation with more than one Romulan vessel. Thus far, it's just been the D'Kar...and I suppose we may be far enough out that we won't encounter any others, especially considering what our mission supposedly is. But, I prefer to be prepared."

"True," Earlond said, frowning slightly. "It wouldn't do to be unprepared, even for something that seems unlikely. With another Romulan ship, though, we bring in a whole new range of problems."

"Unfortunately, yes. Depending on what class of ship or ships we're dealing with, we still might have a chance at beating them. However, we would likely have to consider the possibility that we defend ourselves to some extent and then leave the system," Awen said. "I don't like that idea, but if it's the difference between getting blown to bits or surviving, I'd prefer to live."

"So would I," Earlond agreed. "Though we must also face the possibility, however slim, of the Pandora not being able to retreat from a fight."

Awen nodded, "If that's the case, and we're up against more than one Romulan vessel...." She hesitated, not wanting to say it, "I'm not sure how good our chances are. However...we could look into spatial phenomena in the area and see if there's anything that might aid us."

"See what you can find, then," Earlond said with a nod of his own. "Hopefully, that situation won't ever come up, but you and I both know it's better to be ready for something that doesn't happen than not ready for something that does. Whatever happens, I'm sure you and your teams will be ready to deal with it; just let me know whenever you need anything else from me."

"Indeed," the Bajoran replied. "I'll look into it further and see what I can come up with. And I'll be sure to let you know if there's anything else we require." With a nod, she stood and headed for the door.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

and

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora