The Waiting Game

Posted on Thu Apr 1st, 2010 @ 4:33am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Fala Awen

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Main Bridge, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD14, 1420

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Pandora, MD14, 1420]]

The Pandora streaked through space at warp speeds toward the invisible boundary that marked the centuries old border between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. She continued onward, as she had for nearly fourteen days, rapidly approaching her destination with each passing moment.

"Sir, we are approaching the Neutral Zone." Tyreel said as he turned from one side of his console to the other, "Estimate 4 minutes till arrival."

"Drop us to full impulse," Earlond ordered. "Bridge to Admiral Iluvar: we're approaching the Neutral Zone."

Awen remained calm - something that would likely have been odd for someone else. Her time with the Resistance had taught her that while adrenaline and remaining alert were good, panicking or being overly nervous would do more harm than good. True, they were close to - at best - unfriendly territory, but theoretically the Romulans wanted them there. Of course, that was something the Bajoran would believe after they had safely returned to Federation space once their mission was completed.

"Aye sir." Tyreel answered as he dropped the ship out of warp. He then brought the ship to full impulse and adjusted the viewscreen to show the vast emptiness of space ahead of them.

A moment later, the doors to the turbolift hissed open and Iluvar emerged onto the bridge. His attention fixed immediately on the main viewscreen as he made his way toward the center chair. Pausing just to the left of the chair, Iluvar waited for Earlond to move over to his usual position before taking a seat. Somewhere in that open space was the invisible border to the Romulan Neutral Zone that they would not be able to cross without the consent of their Romulan escort.

"Alright," Earlond said. "Let's take a look around. Ops, what do we have in the area?"

"I have some odd fluctuations on sensors," Jenni reported, tapping at a few different options on her console. "But they're faint; it may simply the Pandora's advanced sensors picking up something unknown past the Neutral Zone."

"Anything that might be threatening?" Earlond asked Fala. "Or a sign of our escort?" Earlond almost hoped for the former, just to see how the Pandora could handle an attack, but he knew they were not here to fight.

Awen's eyes scanned her tactical readout once more, just in case anything new had shown up. "We appear to be the only ones out here right now. It seems a vessel may have been in the area in the last two hours, but simply passed through the area. Most likely a patrol vessel. No Romulan vessels at present."

"They could be cloaked," Earlond pointed out. He wouldn't put it past the Romulans to make them sit for a while before finally showing themselves.

At Earlond's words, Iluvar turned his attention from the main viewscreen and fixed it on the man seated next to him. It was possible that they had arrived earlier than the Romulans had been expecting, or their escort could very well have been waiting under cloak. Either way, they would not be able to enter the Neutral Zone without the approval of their Romulan escort. "It is possible," Iluvar agreed, "In such turbulent times, I would not be surprised if the Romulan commander wished to be certain of our intent before revealing himself. It would be a prudent course of action."

"But one we can't also follow, unfortunately," Earlond said, not quite happy with the fact. It left them at a severe disadvantage. Still, Earlond kept that opinion to himself.

"Any sign of our own ships, commander," Iluvar asked, turning his attention the opposite direction toward where Fala sat at tactical. He was still getting used to the different bridge layout and had almost directed the inquiry over his shoulder.

Hearing Iluvar address her, Awen did a quick sweep of the area, "The closest vessel is the USS Intrepid, sir. A few others, including a freighter, are in the area, but are a good bit further than the Intrepid."

Iluvar thought for a moment, slowly turning so that he was facing toward the viewscreen again. They had no reason to cross into the Neutral Zone without their escort. Such an action would undoubtedly not help their standing with the Romulans. If they were supposed to wait for an escort, then they would wait.

"We'll hold position here," he said after a moment, "wait for them to make the first move."

There was no telling how long they would be waiting for the Romulans. If their escort hadn't arrived yet, then they could simply have arrived early. On the other hand, if there was a Romulan vessel waiting under cloak, they would have little way of knowing until the Romulans decided to reveal themselves. Despite having been invited, Iluvar could understand hesitation on the part of the Romulan Star Empire. There was sufficient turmoil within their borders that they were undoubtedly more suspicious of anyone and anything. For now, the waiting game had begun.

OFF

A JP by:

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Jennifer Lockheart
Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Tyreel Keloas
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Pandora