Unexpected Invitation

Posted on Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 @ 3:31pm by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Christopher McNeil & Commander Fala Awen & Commander Michael Evans M.D. & Lieutenant Samuel Bishop & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Observation Lounge, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD01, 0800

ON: [[Observation Lounge, USS Pandora, MD01, 0800]]

The observation lounge of the USS Pandora, situated forward of the ship’s bridge, was larger than the briefing room aboard the Tethys had been. Large viewports made up one wall of the room, providing a wide forward view.

Standing near one of these viewports, Iluvar watched a nearby drydock where the Artemis was undergoing minor repairs. It reminded him of the Tethys, also docked nearby, getting ready to undergo her first major refit. Iluvar had learned from his own experience that it did not do to dwell on the past. Perhaps it was fitting that the view from the room where the senior staff would meet was a forward one, reminding them to consider the future when making decisions.

Earlier that morning, Iluvar had received the first official orders for the Pandora. The PADD that he held in his right hand contained the first glimpse of their mission, one that could prove of vital importance in the very near future. He was beginning to see why Admiral Meyer (NPC) had been so interested in getting the Pandora into the field. Personally, Iluvar was honored to be commanding such a versatile vessel, especially with such a strong focus in diplomacy and exploration. If there was any chance to avoid a war with the Elyshans, it would be through better understanding.

Bishop entered the briefing room, still tapping things into his PADD. So engrossed was he in his work that he failed to see Iluvar standing near the large windows. Sighing heavily at the list of work still to do, he sat heavily in his chair.

Awen walked into the Observation Lounge quietly but with purpose. A PADD was clutched in her hand and her face gave nothing away. Though there was a lot she still needed to accomplish, it would make it easier to prepare if she had all the details. As usual, she was one of the first to arrive. Other than Iluvar, there was a man in services gold who she hadn't met before. Most likely he had wanted to make a good impression and arrived early.

Entering the briefing room, Earlond took a seat near where Iluvar would be sitting and glanced briefly at his PADD. After ensuring everything was in order, he looked up at Iluvar. The man seemed deep in thought, but there was something in his features that indicated he was rather pleased. Perhaps they would be doing a non-tactical mission - Earlond knew how long Iluvar had been waiting for one of those. The Pandora's wider array of abilities promised more non-tactical missions than the Tethys, and though Earlond much preferred the tactical side of things, he understood Iluvar's desire for more peaceful missions.

Evans arrived looking a little tired. More noticeable was that he was sans coffee, and it showed. He nodded pleasantly but quietly to those already present and took his seat, previewing the meeting's agenda at his seat's individual display panel.

Trailing immediately behind Evans, Jesse entered the briefing room looking a little disappointed. He spotted the admiral standing near one of the viewports and a man he assumed was the first officer seated near the head of the table. The only other individual who seemed to have arrived already was another man in services gold. Figuring that he wouldn't be allowed to sit at the table, Jesse crossed over to the corner of the room and let out a small sigh. Maybe, if he was really lucky, he might pick up something interesting.

The counselor entered only moments later, glancing around at the senior staff before turning her attention to the view. It was impressive and she slowed, watching the other docked ships before dropping into a seat beside the Doctor.

"Morning, Counselor," Evans greeted.

Jenni arrived next, a smile on her face as she took her seat around the table. She'd been enjoying the new systems on the ship so far - the whole craft seemed to have a different... feel to it than the Tethys. The whole design ethos was different.

McNeil entered the Observation Lounge to find most of the senior officers already present. Without comment he took an empty seat and set his PADD on the table. With a few quick taps at the PADD's screen he pulled up the information he'd downloaded earlier. Another few taps and the PADD was synched with the display screens in the lounge, which would allow him to give visual aids if needed.

Tyreel walked in from the bridge, he had been playing with the settings on the Conn, trying to get them to something he was more used to. He nodded at the captain and moved down the row of chairs to one at the end.

Turning from the viewport, Iluvar approached the chair at the head of the conference table. He placed one hand on the head of the chair and glanced around at the faces of his senior staff. Most of them had chosen to accompany him in the transfer from the Tethys, but Lieutenant Bishop was a newcomer to the team. All of them seemed in good spirits, which was the way Iluvar preferred to begin a mission. Taking a seat, he placed the PADD on the table directly in front of himself. "Well...here we are," he began with a slight smile, "A new ship and a new adventure. How are we all settling in?"

Bishop looked up at the Admiral. "Engineering is ready for launch sir. However, there's still a lot of tests I'd like to run on these engines. I've got mounds of reports from the shipyards telling me how wonderful they are, but I'll bet there were mounds of reports saying how unsinkable the Titanic was as well."

Doctor Evans waited for the brief chuckling to stop before giving his report. "Sickbays are ready. We're well-stocked and we've got a good staff. Of note: we still have the Mark X on board. She's on sort of a probationary basis, primarily sticking to the Auxilliary Sickbay under our Chief Surgeon. If any of you," he looked around at the rest of the senior staff, "interact with her or are treated by her, I'd like to know how things went. On a personal note," he smiled at the table, "I'm looking forward to using the expanded medical facilities of the Pandora. But don't go out of your way on my account," he grinned. Motioning to the figure in the corner he said, "Also, this is Cadet Eckles. He's here to learn and will be shadowing me for a while."

The counselor nodded to the young man before taking up the report. "The crew seems to be settling in very well, sir. Everyone is enjoying the new amenities, the arboretum and the lounge seem particularly popular so for the most part the crew is in excellent spirits. Although they're definitely excited to get started." She smiled to indicate her own agreement with these sentiments.

Restraining herself from raising an eyebrow, Awen remained silent. Iluvar hadn't asked about the status of each department, and he had already touched base with her, so she didn't feel the need to bore everyone else with what she was doing. The weapons systems, while not as expansive as the Tethys', would do the job and shielding was adequate. The Bajoran's department was regularly training together and, in her estimation, was doing well.

McNeil cleared his throat. He didn't bother going into details about his department. He merely said, "My people are happy to be in an area larger than a broom closet."

"The systems here are impressive," Jenni told them. "The sensor net especially has enormous range when compared with the Tethys." She was clearly excited about the new ship, and the new opportunities it presented.

"Anything on the ship that flies, is in great shape." Tyreel said, looking at his CO. "Sure, we haven't found any glitches yet, but we will, and we will get them worked out."

"I am pleased to hear that everyone is taking this transition well," Iluvar said with a smile, "because we've just received our first orders." He tapped a command into the interface on the table and the viewscreen to one side of the room came to life with a display focused on the border of Romulan space. "Ladies and gentlemen, our first assignment," Iluvar continued, drawing their attention to the display, "Mr. McNeil, what can you tell us about the situation in this region?"

"In a word, unstable," McNeil started. "The Romulan Empire, as most of you know, is currently split into three factions. There's the Romulan Star Empire that we all know and love, the Romulan Imperial State, and the Reman Representation movement. Of course, the Reman group is also rather split between groups that merely want equal representation in the Romulan government and those that want complete independence."

Awen frowned. Romulans. This was likely not going to be pleasant. Technically though, they'd already had the joy of playing with the Romulans...to an extent anyway. She wondered what their mission would end up being.

"The Romulan Star Empire controls a region of space near the Elyshans," Earlond pointed out. "Despite the fact that the Romulan Imperial State has most of the loyalty of the fleet, meaning that we have a vested interest in making sure the Romulan presence in the region is as stable as possible."

Iluvar glanced around again at the faces of his senior staff, observing their reactions to the information. First the Battle of Altorus and then a standoff at Starbase 386 during the Taevon Summit...things with the Elyshans were heating up and they all knew it. "Starfleet Command has expressed concern regarding the stability of the region in question," Iluvar explained, "Some analysts are worried that if things get too hectic, one of the Elyshan factions or maybe even the Elyshan Guard will take advantage of the situation and move into the region by force."

He paused for a moment, looking around to see how his senior staff would react to what he was saying. From the looks of things, they seemed to be taking the information in without judgment at the moment.

"Surprisingly, the Romulan Senate has invited us to survey the region and its defenses," Iluvar continued, "Considering the situation, Starfleet felt that the Pandora was the best ship for this assignment. We have been ordered to set course for the Neutral Zone, where we are to rendezvous with a representative of the Romulan Senate for our tour through the region."

The more she heard, the more Awen grew uncomfortable. The Bajoran was suspicious of the Romulans, especially since they were seemingly not only allowing but inviting the Federation to their area of space. It didn't sit right with her. Then again, perhaps it was legitimate...the Elyshans had caused an awful lot of trouble lately and with the Romulan Empire fractured as it was, they could use some help.

Evans glanced around quickly and shifted in his seat before speaking up. "Begging pardon, sir, I'm a quart low on coffee right now and want to make sure my under-stimulated brain is hearing what I think it thinks it's hearing." He paused and made sure he said what he thought he meant to say before continuing, "The Romulans... have invited us..." Brief silence to make sure he got his noun and pronoun correct and understood. "...to survey their space and analyze their defenses?" Michael looked like he thought he might have shifted into another reality, and was just making sure so that he could be on the same page as the rest of the galaxy he happened to be visiting at the moment.

"That doesn't sound very Romulan to me; at least not the ones I know and love," Evans said with a wry half-smile. "Things must be a little more than 'unstable' if they're inviting their Federation neighbors over to have a look around," he looked at Earlond questioningly. A half-moment passed before he looked around and asked, "Am I making sense here?"

"Yeah, you are." Tyreel said, "Sir, with past experiences in another life, this doesn't sit right with me. Something fishy is going on."

As the discussion turned to the Romulans, Jesse couldn't help but perk up a little. It sounded like they were going to be heading out soon and, if he had heard correctly, be actually entering Romulan space. He didn't know all that much about the politics behind the current Romulan situation that they were talking about, but it sounded as if they were going to be encountering some possibility for excitement. Trying not to appear too interested, Jesse glanced over to the doctor to see whether his "mentor" would respond further to the statement.

Evans looked at McNeil. "Commander, you're our resident expert on all-things-that're-good-to-know-before-you-walk-into-a-bad-situation... Is there something we should know?" Evans watched him carefully as he responded.

"Well," McNeil said with a smile, "as you all know, the Federation does not involve itself in other races' internal squabbles, but will step in to keep other outsiders from involving themselves when that involvement would threaten us. I believe that the Romulans are a bit antsy about the Elyshans and aren't positive they can properly defend themselves if they do take an interest in Romulan territory. So all three factions within the empire are trying to make nice with the Federation... all in the interest of saving themselves."

"The question is," Bishop interjected, "are the various factions going to play nice with each other? I'm no diplomat, but even I know that making nice with us won't mean a tinker's damn if they're still shouting at each other." He pondered for a moment. "I can easily build a device made up of different parts, but if those parts aren't working toward the same goal, it'll just fall apart. The Engineer sat back, frowning. Every bit of this felt wrong.

McNeil nodded. "That's a good analogy. Of course, at the moment the Federation is trying to get the Romulans to allow us to help arbitrate their dispute... but we can't step in unless they ask. And despite our differences with the Romulans in the past, if the Empire collapses, it would could potentially be very bad for the Federation. So, whether they want to talk to each other or not, it IS in our best interests to help them where we're able."

Awen considered what Christopher said. He certainly had a point. What road the Romulans would take remained to be seen, of course. Most likely it wouldn't be an overly pleasant one.

"Starfleet Command would agree with you, Mr. McNeil," Iluvar said, indicating the PADD containing their mission orders, "I want all departments to submit launch readiness reports to Mr. Earlond by eleven hundred hours. Departure is set for twelve hundred hours. It's time we get back into the field. Dismissed."

OFF

A JP by

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora

Commander McNeil
Mission Advisor/Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Michael Evans
Second Officer/Chief Medical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Samuel Bishop
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Jennifer Lockheart
Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora

Ensign Tyreel Keloas
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Pandora

And

Cadet Jesse Eckles (NPC)
Command Cadet
USS Pandora
Played by: RAdm Iluvar