Mission Briefing

Posted on Sun Oct 19th, 2025 @ 8:44am by Captain Lukas Fredricks & Commander Naois Mercy MD & Lieutenant Commander Reruk & Lieutenant Faith Hawkins & Lieutenant Amelia Fox & Lieutenant Alvy Vithu
Edited on on Sun Oct 19th, 2025 @ 8:48am

3,230 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: R&R
Location: Conference Room

Lukas sat at the head of the Conference table nursing his second coffee of the morning. Britannic had been docked at Deep Space Nine for two weeks for some well earned rest and relaxation for her crew and some essential maintenance and upgrades for the ship. Fredricks couldn't fault the stations hospitality, but now it was time to get back out into space with new orders coming in.

Entering from the side door, Lieutenant Commander Reruk grabbed a glass of Altair Water from the Replicator slot. Carrying a datapad in his hand, the Hekaran turned toward the table and took a seat on the side closest to the windows so that he could better see the monitors. Glancing at the Captain, he nodded respectfully and started reading his PADD.

Amelia was the next to enter. She was still a bit distracted. The events on Bajor were still fresh in her mind. She got a Raktajino from the replicator and sat down, studying her PADD. There was a lot to go through, navigation charts as well as a dozen or so systems that had been overhauled during their time at DS9 that needed testing.

Alvy walked into the room, holding a steaming mug of coffee. She nodded a greeting to those present, and took her seat.

Faith Hawkins arrived next. She walked up to the replicator, ordered a tea, then sat in her usual seat at the table. Morning briefing in Engineering had been a much simpler affair today. Today would be focused on making preparations before the first test of Faith's warp drive modifications. Genie bolstering the ranks had made a real difference. As she thought of Genie, Faith looked at the ring on her finger. It filled her with optimism, hope, joy for the future. A future of her, Genie raising their daughters together.

Naois was last to enter. "I apologise for being late, my daughter was not feeling well this morning, I had to see to her first." He grabbed a mug of tea and found his seat.

"Thank you all for coming. I hope you're all feeling refreshed after the break." Lukas started as he glanced around the gathered officers. "Firstly, I wanted to inform you all that Britannic has been officially withdrawn from frontline service. We are now an auxiliary vessel assigned to Starfleet Medical. Our missions probably won't change really but getting any frontline missions won't be happening.

"I understand that this might be frustrating for you. As you might of noticed Doctor Darqa has voted with their feet and already left, sadly. If anyone wants to put in a transfer request, I'll gladly accept it but after the upcoming mission. We're already short handed so would need to be after."

The Science Officer did not comment, but was somewhat surprised by what all had transpired. With the ship going to focus on assignments for Starfleet Medical he would have assumed that would be a desired assignment for a Starfleet Doctor. Odd that she would leave. He wished her well though.

Amelia remained quiet. She knew all too well that just because they were not on the frontlines, it didn't mean that it was going to be a quiet time.

"I will take up the role of chief medical officer until we are assigned a new one," Naois announced, "unless there are other suggestions." It was going to be tight between being XO and chief counselor and a single father but he would if needed.

"Thank you, Commander, but that won't be necessary. I can't have my first officer burning out with all the work he is doing. The EMH is more than capable but we do have 24 hours before departure so there could be time to get a replacement." Fredricks explained.

Reruk remained quiet, contented to have the EMH serving as the Medical Officer for the time being. It may be a short-term supplement to the medical team, but it was an expert in its field.

Alvy remained quiet. She had hoped for a frontline assignment, not to be posted to yet another support role. Still, she was curious to see where this would be going.

The departure of her friend Toareth had been sudden, saddening. But Faith knew this was part and parcel of being in Starfleet. People came. People went. She hoped they could stay in touch. As for Britannic's change of role, Faith was unsure. Especially as Genie's assignment to Britannic was only for the short term. Once it came to an end, she'd be returning to Matthew's team. Faith began to feel more and more attracted to the idea of doing the same.

Lukas glanced around the room, everyone else remaining quiet made him question if he'd have a senior staff when they finished this mission.

"Alright, let's move on to the reason we're here. Our next mission." Fredricks said breaking the silence as he lifted his coffee cup with his right and and took a sip while the left one pressed a couple of a buttons on his control panel. A moment later a holograpic map of Cardassian space appeared above the conference table. A section was selected and enlarged.

"This is Adarak system on the far edge of Cardassian space. Two weeks ago a Klingon transport bringing much needed supplies to Adarak Prime brought something else along for the ride.

"The transports chief engineer was suffering from the Klingon flu. Nothing abnormal about that, except Klingon flu is deadly to Cardassians. Its swept across the entire planet very quickly and the planet's governor has declared a pandemic. The Britannic will be heading there to help get them over this. Medical teams will go down and treat those affected. Those that are in a critical state will be transferred to the medical pod."

Faith continued to remain silent. It wasn't because she didn't have anything to say. It was her lack of confidence it would make a difference. The engine modifications would give her team something to get their teeth into for a few days, but after that? Faith looked into her cup of tea, then raised it, took a sip. Then a longer one. A moment of reflection made Faith accept she had an imminent battle ahead. A battle to convince her most experienced team members to stick around. It was not one she was confident of winning.

Alvy nodded, trying to hide her disdain. After the posting on Earth, she had hoped to return to frontline service. Being on a hospital ship far behind the lines certainly was not the path she had imagined her career going.

Amelia shook her head. After the Dominion War, the Cardassian Empire was left in ruins. What was left of the Cardassian fleet was still struggling to keep the very tenuous grip on what territory they had left after most of Cardassia Prime had been reduced to rubble. Most of the colony worlds had become little more than lawless refugee camps, like the wild west of Ancient Earth. Disease and famine were common, despite assistance from the Federation. Greedy Guls and Legates fought for power while pirate factions such as Orions and Gorn raided in and out of the outlying systems with impunity.
After their abrupt change of side at the end of the war, many Klingons did not trust the Cardassians, saying they were without honour.

Despite not being on the front lines, this was far from a safe space.

She finally spoke up "Captain, i'd recommend caution in that area of space. There have been reports of raiding parties, mostly Orion and Gorn. The governmental situation is also highly volatile."

"Indeed. That was going to be my next point. Starfleet has highlighted that the area is a bit like the wildwest. Adarak prime has had its problems with pirates and looters." Fredricks explained. "Lieutenant Vithu, you might want to place security on every deck or at least in sensitive places incase the Britannic is a target."

"Captain, with all the medical supplies we have onboard, we might as well have a target painted on our hull." Amelia added. "The demand is far more than the resupply at the moment. Starfleet couldn't provide an escort for us?"

Alvy shook her head. With Britannic being, for all intents and purposes, unarmed, sending her into such a sensitive area might not be the best idea. "Lieutenant Fox, unfortunately, has a point. While a Nebula-class would normally be perfectly fine to handle a crisis situation, this ship is not. And while I understand that the war is over, I am sure I'm not the only one on board not particularly thrilled about the prospect of risking our lives to help the Cardassians."

Faith was not enamored about helping Cardassians either. She despised them. She would until the day she died. "I can offer two suggestions in this scenario. The first, we stay at maximum warp indefinitely and I make sure the engines don't blow up." a pause. "Or the second, reconfigure our warp signature so we appear as a Galaxy class on sensors."

"Easier said than done though. You would have to have knowledge of an opponent's security override to be able to convince their sensors that a Galaxy Class ship would be coming. Shield harmonics could work in a pinch, but it's a gamble," Reruk added as he took a drink of water from his glass. The Britannic wasn't heavily armed though. Her weapons were defensive in nature with the Phasers aboard the Britannic having been hardwired for low intensity mode to disable an opponent. Britannic didn't have torpedoes either, instead Starfleet Command authorized the installation of a Probe Launcher where several probes had been converted into makeshift Photon Torpedoes. At least they had regenerative shields aboard.

Amelia thought for a moment. "Reconfiguring the warp field so we appear to be a Galaxy class ship is possible, but it would only fool their long-range sensors. If they got close enough to us, they'd see what we really are, and the game would be up. It could also affect warp field stability. I wouldn't want to push the engines too hard, I'd say limit our top speed to warp 6. Pushing the warp engines to their limit also raises problems. We'd gain a few 10th in warp factor and could possibly outrun any pirate ship, but potentially we'd run the risk of overloading other key systems, We'd also need extra power for the structural integrity field, or we could end up flying the ship apart. And repairs to the warp drive would most likely be required. We're going to have to take a gamble either way.
Would it be possible to create a sensor echo? So it appeared there was more than one ship? Or, could we upgrade the weapons and shields on a couple of shuttlecraft to provide our own escort?"

"I understand your concerns, but this bucket of bolts can take more punishment than it's given credit for." a pause. "At the very least, we should be prepared to go to Warp 9.6 at the first sign of trouble. It's risky for extended periods, but it's been done before. I can boost structural integrity from reserve power and non-critical ancillary systems." another pause. "Our speed is our biggest ready-made advantage. We have to be prepared to use it." countered Faith, taking another sip of her tea.

Amelia smiled and turned slightly to Faith. "I can handle the speed, you just make sure we don't come apart at the seams."

"Safety first," Naois commented dryly, "but yes prepare for the possibility. I would rather have an opportunity or suggestion on hand and ready to implement, than having to scramble to get it done. As for the medical supplies, I recommend we keep them guarded once we get closer."

He glanced around the room. "I just want to have it clear that in the event we do have Cardassian patients, we treat them with the same respect as any other species. We may not be friends, but they are no longer the enemy. Animosity against any of them should not be tolerated."

The Captain listened to his crew converse. He was almost tempted to smile at how animated they had become. "I agree with all of you really. Starfleet has taken away our ability to defend ourselves. We are, in essence, a hospital with warp nacelles. We go where there is a need for our services.

"Making us look like a Galaxy Class could make us look like a bigger target worth scalping. Perhaps we need to look at this from another prospective. What if we are invisible to sensors. Silent running. No comms in or out. Once in orbit we hang above the northern pole making us look like spacial interference."

Alvy thought about what had been said for a moment, and shook her head. "No comms might work while we are getting into position, sure. But once we are there, we will need to coordinate with any ground teams, use transporters, and so on. And sure, we'd be hard to detect on scanners maybe, but," she gesticulated to the window. "All they need to do is look out the window to spot us. Besides, if they are experienced raiders, they'd know what to look for, and immediately see through the ruse. Now if we had a cloaking device, that would be a different matter entirely."

Amelia then offered "If we wait until the very last moment before we drop out of warp and go directly into a polar orbit, no one will know we're there. The timing will be critical though. A millisecond out, and we run the risk of brushing the atmosphere, which I would not recommend at those speeds.... But it is possible.

"Of course, looking out the window will blow our cover." Lukas smiled. "But long range scanners won't pick us up so it's like we won't be there."

"I don't agree disguising ourselves as a Galaxy-class makes us a more attractive target. Raiders are arrogant, but they're not stupid." began Faith. "However, we can leave them guessing." a pause. "We can use some of our probes to emit false warp signatures and set them off on random trajectories en route. I can have some prepared before departure."

"That would only work if we knew they were tracking us. We can't be second guessing that we're being tracked or not. We'll proceed with caution but won't show our hand. We'll stick to silent running but have these ideas as contingency plans. Wouldn't you agree, number one?"

Alvy shook her head. She was beginning to doubt the point in this meeting - why did the Captain ask for opinions if he was going to disregard them anyway? "Sir," she cut in, "if there are raiders in the system, they will notice us as we enter the system. Whether we run silent or not. As tactical officer, it would be a grave error of me not to state that. We should use the chief engineer's plan. Yes, run silent, and at the same time send out the probes to distract the raiders, so that they'll have a harder time locating us. Because, once they do, and they will, we're in trouble."

The support was appreciated, even if it was from a colleague Faith hadn't got off to a good start with. However, the engineer opted to offer nothing further. As she finished her tea, she resumed reading from her PADD.

Reruk had remained quietly listening to the discourse between the crewmembers, considering carefully all of the suggestions and comments that had been made. Britannic was, in the end, a medical ship on a mission of mercy. If attacked it was an automatic war crime punishable by every allied government of the Federation. Then again these were raiders who weren't exactly known to be the smartest people in the galaxy.

"Captain," the Hekaran interrupted before the First Officer could speak, "if I may. The recommendation to take the Britannic directly into polar orbit is an effective plan to get us there but does require precise timing. The magnetic north pole of the world would successfully block out the Britannic from a potential opponent's sensors. Silent running is effective; however, our medical transceiver isn't something to discount either as an option as it transmits that we're on a mission of mercy. Perhaps the answer is one of further subterfuge. We could simulate a quarantine procedure aboard if we are attacked, perhaps making an opponent believe that the ship is quarantined due to the presence of an incurable ailment. That may give further pause. If we make the ship appear as a Galaxy Class vessel prior, however, the chances of this subterfuge being successful are slim as no Galaxy Class ships are assigned as a medical vessel."

While he strongly believed in showing a united front with his captain, Naois had the admit that plenty of suggestions had merit. "I agree with Commander Reruk," he finally spoke up, "feigning a quarantine situation while on the way to offer medical support is a very good idea, at least until we can disappear in the polar regions of the planet." He paused. "In cases like this a cloaking device would have been extremely useful," he added, "but as we have none I believe we have to use what options our surroundings and our own ship provide us. And we definitely should use our medical status to our advantage."

Alvy sighed. "And what if the raiders find us before we get there? They'll likely watch the system for any incoming ships. That's the most basic of ambush techniques. And I highly doubt they'd be impressed by a medical IFF signature. Medical supplies sell high on the black market. And if we run into the wrong kind of raider, well, so do medical personnel. I still think the probes with fake warp signatures are our best chance to get into a position where we can hide."

Lukas stroked his stubbly chin as he listened to his senior staff. "What are the chances any potential raiders already know about the medical situation on the planet?"

"Raiders would be likely to be acquainted with this system," Reruk relented, "but we also have limited supplies outside of the medical side of things. During his brief tenure, Captain Qa'ada had many of the probes converted into makeshift torpedoes that we could use should we enter into combat. While I wasn't happy about that then, if we go into combat, we may be in need of them."

Lukas nodded, he was thankful for Captain Qa'ada diligence towards the safety of the ship and its crew. "Alright, let's start moving forward with all of these ideas. Work with whoever you need to make these operational. I think it'll be prudent to have numerous ideas and tricks up our sleeves to use if the need arises.

"We depart in 24 hours, make sure your departments are well stocked with everything you need. Beg, borrow and steal if you have too. I feel like this mission is going to need it. Any questions?"

Reruk said nothing, opting instead to listen to the others for comments.

With nothing to add, Faith stood up and excused herself from the meeting. Her department's to-do list was long, yet time was in short supply. Every minute would count.

Fredricks also stood, "Dismissed."

 

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