Plans and Portents

Posted on Mon Jan 23rd, 2012 @ 2:40pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries & Lieutenant Commander Duncan Gofton JD & Lieutenant JG Paul Akron & Lieutenant Jasad Broca
Edited on on Mon Jan 23rd, 2012 @ 2:45pm

Mission: Crises and Consequences
Location: Various
Timeline: Upon arrival to Romulus

[Bridge, USS Arizona]

Admiral Nathan Cowell sat perched on his chair, leaning forward expectantly as the ship edged ever closer to her destination. Forward of Nathan's position, Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Akron busied himself with the preparations to drop out of warp. Generally speaking, most ships tended not to enter a solar system at high warp velocities given the somewhat unpredictable nature of space within the confines of a star's gravitational influence. This situation, however, demanded the minimal amount of time expended on travel, which also meant it demanded every skill Akron had to get the ship in orbit without a hitch.

When the screen at the forward most part of the bridge shifted from the streaking white lines indicative to warp travel to a planetary system that was relatively indistinguishable from most other planets Nathan had visited in his lengthy span of life, it was clear that they had reached their destinations. The old man pushed himself out of his chair and stepped forward a few paces, just to exhibit an 'in charge' image.

"Mister Broca, hail our contacts on the surface and put them on screen when you find them," Nathan ordered.

Jasad nodded, "Aye Sir," and got to work with his console. He never thought his life would take him to a place where he'd be hailing Romulus from orbit. But then, life had a way of taking you to places you never expected to go. After exchanging text messages, he got the final signal that the committee below was ready to go live. He swiveled in his chair slightly to give the Admiral a nod, lest the ship's CO be caught unawares while scratching an itch or some other indignity. Then he put the representative through to the main viewscreen.

"Greetings, Admiral. We've been expecting you. I am Senator Valak, representative of the committee that has asked for Federation aid in this matter. Your ship being the first to arrive for the rescue operation, I believe it only prudent that we share with you our plans so that you may pass it along to your ships as they arrive," the Romulan who appeared on the screen said after the connection had been made.

Nathan studied the man for a moment before replying, "What did you have in mind, son?"

The Romulan was taken aback for a moment at the rather brisk and familiar response from the Admiral, but was able to recover rather quickly, "I would like to invite you and a small number of your crew down to the surface for a meeting. With this crisis looming before us, the capitol is rather vacant, the perfect setting to discuss business with few disturbances. What do you say, Admiral?"

"Beam down to the surface? Yeah, sure... why not. Can't let Picard have all the fun, now can I?" the old man said with a shrug, "I'll have a few people come with me then. Oh, before I forget, you won't be too upset if we come down armed, would you?"

"We would prefer that you were not, Admiral. We have no desire to harm your people in the slightest, we simply wish to pass along our plans for action in person. I do hope you understand," the Senator responded, not seeming overly offended by the question.

"Alright, that helps me decide who I'm taking with me. I'll see you in about ten minutes, Mister Valak... Cowell out."

On cue, the screen went blank and Nathan turned to regard his First Officer, "Looks like you're coming with me. Since I can't bring phasers, I might as well bring someone that doesn't need one to kill people."

"One might take that in hindsight as permission to kill freely," Stace interjected with a thoughtful look on her face. "However, it would be nice to see the planet once again... yanno... before the big bang."

"Well don't forget your camera then, might be the last time you get to see Romulus in your lifetime... maybe even in mine," Nathan chuckled.

Adm. Cowell then turned to regard the ship's Diplomat, who had joined them just prior to the ship leaving dry-dock. While the two hadn't officially met before, Nathan had done enough skimming of his service record to know that he was probably a better 'mouthpiece' than Nathan could be at times.

"Golfer, unass that chair and hit the transporter room, you're comin' too," the Admiral said, butchering the man's name.

The Diplomatic Officer's think caterpillar eyebrows at his newly acquired nickname after obliging to his order to accompany the away team, "Ack, I may be Scot but I no golfer sir."

After designating his small team, Nathan turned to Lieutenant Broca, "Bronco, the ship is yours until I get back. Don't screw it up."

Jasad's eyebrows arched in surprise. The old man had never given him the center seat before. Though, technically, he wouldn't be sitting in that particular chair. That was the old man's chair, and the only rear-end that would be indenting its cushions would be the old man's. He could do the job from another position.

"I'll try to have her in as few pieces as possible when you get back, Sir," Jasad said with a straight face. Then a thought occurred to him. "Admiral... there are doubtless people on Romulus who aren't delighted with us being here. The last time the Federation intervened in a major power's ecological disaster, certain factions used the event to foment interstellar war. Perhaps the landing party should wear transporter signal enhancers... in case we need to track you unconventionally through some kind of interference?"

"Son, if you can't find me, just start shooting at buildings until you do. I don't have time for newfangled equipment I don't rightly understand in the first place. Just keep the old girl in the air, you let me worry about the surface details, eh? There's a good man, knew you were the right one for the job... and stay out of my chair..." Nathan muttered as he headed for the turbolift.

[Transporter Room One, Deck Three, USS Arizona]

As the small away team entered the transporter room, Nathan made it a point to cast an eye over toward Chief Petty Officer Ascott Merriweather, who was manning the console at the moment. Chief Merriweather returned the Admiral's look with a nod of understanding before he began the preparations needed to send the group to the surface.

"Alright, let's get on the same sheet of music. We're going down there to talk... which means mainly, Golfer, you're going to do a good deal of the schmoozing and I'll try not to get us in a war while we're down there. Sound good?" Nathan addressed the Diplomat.

"Aye Cap'n Admiral," Gofton replied.

Nathan gave the odd man a look before he turned to Col. DeVries, "If I can't manage to keep from dragging us into a war, I'm going to need you to make sure we get out of there alive. Otherwise, do that thing you did back in your Section 31 days and get us as much incidental information as you can. Any little thing helps in this day and age. We may never again get to set foot down there and I won't want to kick myself in the ass because we didn't get something we had a chance to get."

"You were Section 31?! Cool!" Gofton interjected. The Diplomat had served with the Colonel previously aboard the USS Lancelot.

Stace turned her head towards her old friend and colleague. It certainly had been some time since she had last served with him. "I know right? Fortunately it was long before our glorious days on the Lance... nevertheless, those skills are still rather handy. Have no fear that we'll get everything we need to... and probably more."

"Good deal, then let's get this party started," Nathan said, stepping up on the platform. When he turned back around, he gave Chief Merriweather a curt nod and the Transporter technician began the transporter sequence. A second later, the world turned white...

[Senatorial Chambers, Romulan Senate Complex, Romulus]

The trio materialized in the center of the Senate chambers where, under normal circumstances, the ruling body of the Romulan Empire would conduct their business and administer their holdings. The current situation brewing around them, however, rendered the building rather empty. This gave the small band a unique view of the place, one that most of the Federation would never be privy to.

"Admiral Cowell, so good to finally see you in the flesh," the voice that belonged to Senator Valak called out from behind the away team. The group turned around and found themselves facing four Senators, Valak the only male among them. Nathan gave each of the four a quick once over before nodding politely to each of the females gathered.

"Mister Valak, I'd say the same if I knew you better but I can't say as I've ever even heard your name. I don't keep up with politics, I'm afraid. Not really my bag, if you get my drift," Nathan remarked candidly.

Senator Valak cocked his head to one side slightly, "I don't follow..."

"Don't worry about it, it isn't important. So who are your lovely companions? I'm assuming they're Senators as well," Nathan said, trying to be charming, though not putting much in the way of effort into it.

"Yes, this is Senator Elara, Rosal, and Timara. Together we form the Scientific Oversight Committee for the Empire. Together with Ambassador Spock, we have been tracking the Hobus star very closely, and our findings tell us the star will not simply die quietly," Valak began.

"I knew I should have brought that damn troll..." Nathan muttered.

"Troll?" Senator Timara, who was closer to Adm. Cowell than the other three asked.

"Yeah, that little four foot orange troll that lives in my Science labs. He was bitching about that star before you guys called us out here. Kept yapping about protomatter or something..." the old man said in a fragmented manner. At the mention of the word protomatter, the four Senators exchanged dubious looks before Senator Elara spoke up.

"I would very much like to meet this... troll... of yours," the woman said cautiously, not sure if she was saying the word right.

"Maybe later, sweetheart. First you need to tell us why we're here and what we need to do. I have something like three dozen ships on their way and I'd like to have something to tell them when they start showing up beyond just sitting tight until something happens," the Admiral cut her off.

"I can certainly appreciate your position, Admiral. I myself commanded for several decades in the Imperial Navy before I made the transition to the Senate. Having definitive orders and a clear purpose is paramount to keeping one's troops in line. If you would follow me to the briefing chambers, we will explain everything in detail to you," Valak motioned toward an ornate gateway that had two Romulan guards posted at either side.

Nathan motioned for his two companions to follow before taking up the rear. The ornate gates led almost directly into the small antechamber where a long table and several chairs were situated in front of a large display screen. The old man took up a place at the head of the table, which earned him a momentary glower from one of the female Senators. Valak gave her a look of his own, and walked over to the display, activating the device to reveal a tactical map of the planet.

"We've designated sections of each major city as evacuation areas. We would like each of your ships to pick an area and beam as many people up from these locations as you can. The vast majority of the people you will be taking on will be civilians, most of the military personnel have already been moved off world. Even if you do manage to pick up some of our military officers, they've all been instructed that they are to cooperate with you, and that they will be severely punished should they give you trouble," Valak pointed out several population centers to include the capital city.

Valak took a seat and turned the briefing over to Senator Rosal, who had yet to speak since the group was introduced. She approached the screen and changed the image to a scientific display of the Hobus system, "The Hobus star has been showing signs of rapid, almost unnatural decay in the last week. We are predicting that the star will go nova in the next week, maybe less but certainly not more. We've already recalled a good number of our own ships to help with evacuation measures, however we haven't a large number of ships to call upon, and those we can recall have a very limited number of people they can evacuate. To be blunt, we are far from prepared to handle a situation like this. This is why we requested Federation aid... Most of your vessels are equipped to take on passengers in much greater numbers than our own, and while we are not politically the strongest of allies, it was the general consensus of the Senate that you would not turn us down if we requested your help. It is good to see we were not wrong."

"Yes, thank you Senator Rosal... we all know how much you like the Federation," Senator Elara snapped, letting leak that she wasn't one of the ones that supported the move to request aid.

Admiral Cowell has been dozing off until Elara made her little outburst, which jarred the old man awake and had the added effect of jolting him into slamming is fist down on the table. All eyes drifted to him, and for a split second he wasn't sure what was going on. The fragments of the conversation he hadn't slept through came rushing to the forefront of his mind and prompted him to speak.

"Look here, it ain't about who you like and who you don't like. We're here to try and save lives. If you think this star giving out is going to be a big deal, then you don't need to be fighting over who likes what party in the deal. Now, am I right in assuming that you people need a ride as well?" Nathan said as he gave each person a look.

"I have a ship waiting for me in orbit," Elara was the first to remark, "I will not be here for the evacuation. I was simply asked to stay to help brief you."

"Fine, that's one down, how about you three?"

Senator Timara looked at her companions before speaking up, "I haven't been able to arrange transport off the surface yet." This statement spurred Valak to give her a puzzled look. Nathan could tell the news was very much new to him. He didn't reply to the comment, however, favoring a reply to Nathan instead.

"I also have a ship waiting for me to return me to my home," Valak said, leaning back in his chair.

Senator Rosal turned to Adm. Cowell, "I would be grateful if you would allow me safe passage as well."

"Alright, two going, two already taken care of. What about the rest of this compound? Most of them getting military transport?" the old man inquired.

"Yes, once we leave, most of them will be leaving as well," Valak nodded.

"Well then, I think that does it for this briefing. We know what you need and we'll be keeping two of you as our guests so if we have questions, you're right there to answer them," Nathan said, pushing himself up, "Shall we adjourn?"

"Ah..." Valak stumbled on his words for a moment, "Yes, I suppose that would be acceptable. Thank you for your help, Admiral. And please pass along our thanks to your government..."

"Sure," Cowell brushed off the sentiment as he slapped his commbadge, "Cowell to the Arizona."

"Go ahead, sir," the voice of Mr. Merriweather called out.

"Five to beam up," the old man said as he motioned for the two passengers to get on the away team's side of the room.

"Acknowledged, stand by..."

A few breaths and a few more heartbeats later, the world turned white again...