Flight of the Curmudgeoneers

Posted on Sun Jun 19th, 2011 @ 2:00am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant Commander Aral Aix & Lieutenant Xylia Lischka & Lieutenant Xishaal Idrani & Petty Officer 2nd Class Eldon Solus

Mission: Too Close for Comfort...
Location: Runabout Phoenix
Timeline: Shortly following 'Saddle Up'

Lieutenant Xishaal Idrani sat at Flight Control sat down at Flight Control and began her pre-flight checklist. Behind her she could hear the others settling in as the engines quickly came to life. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly happy as she sat in the number 1 bird waiting to depart the shuttle bay. "Shuttle Control, this Phoenix, requesting permission to depart..." even as she spoke the words, she knew that her request for permission was a forgone conclusion, still maintaining protocol and procedure was important, especially with the CO on board. "Phoenix... permission granted, good luck... Shuttle control out," was the immediate reply.

slowly the runabout lifted vertically off of the deck and Xishaal eased the throttle forward, the view outside began to blur as the craft picked up speed. Within moments the Phoenix had cleared the Arizona the view of Starbase 900 quickly began to grow smaller and smaller behind them, with each passing moment. "Course laid in for the Archadian system Commodore, proceeding at full impulse, ETA... One hour 11 minutes," Xishaal announced.

Commodore Nathan Cowell, occupying the right seat at the forward console, swiveled around to regard his team, who were positioned at the various consoles and seats around the somewhat spacious runabout cockpit. His team had worked out to be the larger of the two, which was fine... gave him more to work with. And as he found himself on the subject of working with them, he figured the trip of less than an hour or so would be the perfect time to discuss their assignments.

"Ok people, ears open, mouths closed. We need to get the game plans out on the table so we all know what we're doing when we get there. First off, when we touch down, we need to make a good first impression. I want smiles and hand shakes from everyone. Make them feel at ease and let them know that we're here out of concern for their well-being and all that nonsense. It would be nice if we had a diplomat or a counselor around but we'll have to make due... Any questions so far?"

"Yes, Sir. Exactly how friendly at the Archadians with the Federation?" Marc asked the Commodore. He held his PADD, reviewing the current data. "If they decide that we are hostiles, what level of force do you authorize?"

"Well, until about a week ago, they were a Federation protectorate, so I don't imagine them being too quick to pull a gun on us. But, if it comes down to an all out assault, then you use equal force. Not rocket surgery or brain science, son. I love me some me a little more than I love other people, so if it comes down to me or them, them lose out every time," Nathan responded.

"Sir. Earlier you mentioned creating a diversion while you snooped about, what are we looking for?"

"Well, first we need to feel them up and see where their heads are at. We might not get the chance to do much sniffin' around first run. We'll have to play it by ear, see what happens. Any other concerns?" the old man asked.

Aral smiled to himself as the Commodore prevaricated, he politely repeated his question. "And what are we looking for sir?"

"Clues, hints, slips of the tongue; something that will tell us why they've suddenly cut us out of their business. You don't just quit the Federation cold turkey like that, even protectorates. Something's gone down, some shady shit is afoot, and we need to line out the who and why," Doc Cowell elaborated.

Aix nodded as the Commodore spoke. All along he had assumed that the Commodore had suspicions, if not knowledge of what had happened and why. As Cowell finished his enunciation it became clear to Aix that they were flying by the seat of their pants. Aix just hoped he'd still be wearing his by the end of mission.

"Commodore, do you think the Archadians will fire upon us if we show up unannounced?" Xishaal interjected, "Better question; do you have information that would believe that they have in fact abandoned their treaties with the Federation?"

"I don't think they'll fire on us, kiddo... But hell, I've been wrong before. as far as information goes, you know as much as I do, not much to go on given the abrupt cut off of information..." the old man shrugged.

"You don't think they will welcome us with open arms either do you." Xishaal replied more as a statement than a question

"How much latitude has Command given you in this operation?"

The conversation had turned to speculation as far as Aral was concerned. However the Andorian's question recaptured his attention. He suspected that the latitude command had given the Commodore had no bearing on the latitude the Commodore would indeed be taking.

Xylia sat back and listened as the others pummeled the Commodore with their questions. So far, she had none, but she was learning as much as the next guy. Nothing. They were going into the situation blind. It wasn't the first time the crew of the Arizona was doing something like this, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. All any of them had to do at this point was be on top of their game and follow their COs lead. If he felt something was up, she would be the first to have his back. Kick some ass first... ask some questions later.

"Well..." Nathan thought about the question for a minute before responding, "Whatever it takes to make them see the light, smell the coffee, and come 'round to the right side of the fence again... I suppose that's all the latitude I need, don't you?"

Looking up, Ensign Schenk took a moment to orient himself. "Estimated time until arrival?" Inwardly he smirked, remembering all the "Are we there yet?" questions he used to ask his parents as a kid. He couldn't help himself.

"We'll be there when we get there..." Nathan grumbled.

"Commodore... perhaps we should keep a look out for suspicious persons. Given the fact that they've basically 'quit the Federation', that means it's possible they're being threatened by someone or something big. There's a great deal of the Delta Quadrant that has yet to be explored, so the possibility is definitely there," Lieutenant Lischka stated, her attention still diverted from those around her.

"Ensign..." Xishaal began to reply until something else drew her attention away, "Starbase 900 still has us on short range sensors..." She finally commented. "Ensign, take the ops console and contact the other runabout, reconfirm our landing coordinates..."

"Stay put," the Commodore said abruptly, "I've run an OPS console a time or two."

The old man surgically stabbed at the console interface, bringing up all the myriad commands that would accomplish the tasks required. A moment of silence and a series of beeps later, the Commodore leaned back with a smirk.

"Everything's hunky dory. Less than ten minutes and we'll have boots on the ground. Alright people, grab your shit, time to get serious!"