Breifing
Posted on 2025, Mon Apr 14th, @ 9:18am by Admiral Christopher Townsend & Commander Kate Townsend & Major JB Dersch & Commodore Paul Sleeford & Commander MOO Richardson IX & Commander Ardon Devasia
1,760 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
E1 "Shadows of the Empire"
Location: CO Ready Room - Deck 1 - Vector 1
Timeline: After ISS Harlow Meet
Tags: Halo Crew, E1 "Shadows of the Empire", E1 Shadow of the Past, Season 2 Missions
Townsend sat at the head of the table ready to get this over with. "Alright, We are not in the best possible choice of outcomes, But we are gonna need to blend in till we can get home, So as of now, the USS Halo will be undergoing small fixes on the outside and major ones on the inside, We will need to show no signs of Star Fleet, Everything, from the simple LCARS seal on the panels to our Uniforms, Nothing must be seen as Star Fleet, As of Now, We must become the ISS Halo, I will have Our Temporal Observation Officers gather Intel and reports on our Alternate Self's, Any questions?"
"I have nothing but questions. How did we get here? Do we have access to the history of this region and our orders from the empire?" Ardon asked.
Commander Richardson said, "I have my personnel in 12-hour watch rotations, all security stations are in full combat gear, with extra armor. I think some of the crew are liking this change, others not so much. Marines are in heavy armor, Just so no one is surprised. I assume some people will get their feelings hurt, but such is life. Any scans of us will find our security up to snuff, as it were! We will be ready just in case someone decides that today is a good day to die! I must say their idea's of how security should be behandled, are a vast improvement to Starfleet's normal operations, but not everyone is Klingon and can handle it."
"Security is always high on the Terran Vessels, Now Doctor" Townsend sighed and opened the tables center Hologram controls and showed a map of Their course. "We were traveling at normal warp speeds, Shortly before we dropped out of warp, Our Internal Scanners picked up a portable self-sustaining warp drive leaving the shuttlebay, Meaning....Someone intentionally sent us here, The reason why is still unknown, I want security checkin every crack and nook in this ship, we cant risk anything else happening, we are already in one hellva fuck up, lets keep the fuck up as is, and not add to it." Townsend replied to Ardon and ordered Moo.
Moo looked up at the hologram, then at his tablet. There should have been a notification, to me as well as Tlight Deck control, of an unauthorized launch. I will work with Engineering to determine how this was done without notifying anyone."
Sleeford followed the senior staff into the conference room, being the last in he knew that no one was missing. Taking his place next to the Admiral he waited for the briefing or discussion to begin, not that there was much to discuss. They where in the mirror universe, where one miss step could send them to their deaths, if they where lucky.
"The uniforms wont be a problem, replicators should do a decent enough job, unless someone gets too close. Hull markings are going to be a bigger issue. Too much of a delay getting to our destination will have questions asked and answers we don't yet have. Our biggest problem is the marines. If my memory of Mirror universe history recalls correctly, their not too keen on a large military force that can be used by one captain or admiral. Paranoia is a career option the higher you go. If we have 'visitors' then the green machine are going to either be fleet for a few hours or hide away in their barracks, either option their going to hate. Best if we don't have visitors. Second point is attitude. On the USS Halo, most of us are friendly to each other, the ISS Halo on the other hand is a different matter, everyone is looking to dispose of the person above him or her, Deadman's shoes and all. I know for most of us its going to be hard but..... Lastly, our counterparts,"; Looking across to where the TLO sat; "Anything your department can dig up would be useful."
Sleeford looked around the the table at the faces he'd came to know over the past few months and wondered who if any would creak and panic.
Townsend nodded. "I agree with Paul, So, In the next few hours, You all and all the crew will be getting alternate version reports on Their selfs, Read them, And try your best to play that role. Any questions?"
Yes Sir, We will need to find out what our orders are in this sector, then decide whether to carry them out. Also i know my role in this universe, what is your role? Ardon said.
Moo said, "I have an idea. We label the Marines Fire Control Technicians, aka gunners. If the Captain does not trust the Computer to hit automatically it's targets. Then he would need more gunners aka the Fire Control Technicians. Then if you are constantly running drills for them... They learn the control systems for weapons, get cross-trained, and are not just sitting around looking for ways to cause trouble. This would make you seem like you are brutally efficient. and that you do not trust automation, since systems could be hacked, thereby removing you from command. It would make you seem more paranoid and that is what you need to be seen as..."
Moo looked around and then said, "Humans put great stock in vacationing at Risa Seven. We could play a game of "Catch the Qret'Zottol!" We use this game to teach young Klingons when and where it is appropriate to question the higher-ups and decide whether it is a good day to die. It also gives junior officers and enlisted a chance to sit in the gunner chair on the mid-watch. The prize may only be an hour-long victory, but it is a victory nonetheless.
So here is what I am thinking. We let our new Fire Control Technicians overhear a bet between some junior officers. This bet is that we have a spy in our midst, and the captain said whoever catches, them, gets a week of vacation at Risa-Seven. the junior officers will be organizing their worker bee's for maximum intelligence gathering and the ground rules, will be...
[Que the mission impossible music!]
1. Do not draw attention to yourself. You could earn time in the punishment booth for that.
2. Be subtle, try to gather intel without looking like your gathering Intel.
3. If you get caught, We will disavow any knowledge of you working for us.
Of course, we let slip to rumor control centeral, that the admiralty thinks that we are not up to snuff, and therefore they are placing several spy's in the ships crew. This spy or spies could be anyone but the top officers. This will have the crew constantly looking at each other with suspicion, and magnify any flaws. This would keep the crew focused and not worrying about the alternate versions of themselves. That and humans love a good mystery. The crew will be looking at each other and everybody. Since this crew is less than 90 days old, no one is above suspicion.
The fact that the top officers may have done something to anger some imaginary admiral, will just make the crew think that their chain of command is on there side and not the brass. It could back fire and totally fragment our crew and therefore morale could hit the dumps. If someone actually thinks that Starfleet Command is actually looking for excuses to relieve the top officers. I think that this will bring the crew together, but to someone who slips aboard, it will look like everyone is acting paranoid, and is trying to avoid the punishment stations. Which by the way, I will work with Engineering to have half of our holodecks programmed to be punishment stations and have a master-at-arm who is slightly twisted in charge of Punishment.
Now for another detail, since the ship's master-at-arms work for the XO, and security works for me, we need to play them off against each other, in a non-life-threatening way. I am still working on that angle. After all both me and the XO want the Captain's chair. In this universe. Me personally.... I am biding my time waiting for the Xo to cross some Imaginary line, so I can remove him. After all Klingon's are known to be... Rather Imaginative when it comes to getting Promotions."
Commander Richardson looked over at the Executive Officer with a Wide Grin. "No insult intended on your job performance to date.... Sir..." That grin looked more like a shark, than humorous.
"Funny, Moo and Ardon," Townsend began, a wry smile touching his lips. "Somehow, I've ended up as the Commander-in-Chief of the Terran Starfleet. Don't ask me how—I couldn't tell you myself. But it seems my counterpart has joined the Halo on its patrol mission, so at least that part plays to our advantage.
"Now, listen carefully and make sure this is communicated clearly to your departments: no one is to kill anyone. I understand we need to maintain the pretense of being Terrans, but at the end of the day, we are still Starfleet. We will uphold our principles, even in this universe. Am I understood?" Townsend's gaze swept across the room, firm and unyielding.
"Understood Clearly, Admiral," Ardon replied.
Commander Richardson smiled, then said, "I have issued a modified dart pistol that does no damage but announces the target identified, and is tied to the main computer to keep score. A fancy game of tag. Since the computer is tied into everything, security will also use the computer surveillance system to ensure no one goes too far. I have also set the sensor system to monitor for aggression pheromones. This will help to keep accidents to a minimum."
"Understood Commander, Thanks, Are there any other questions?" Townsend asked
"What is our Terran mission currently?" Ardon sked.
"We're headed to Earth... and that's not good for us. We're not exactly the crew we're supposed to be," Townsend replied to Ardon.
"What are we supposed to do when we get there?" Ardon asked.
"Act like we belong, I'm gonna have Theo track us and make sure we don't get snatched up or murdered...I fucking hate the Terran empire" Chris stated.
"We have a lot of work to do then," Ardon said.
"Lets get to it, we meet back here in 8 Hours, once all Minor a Major Remakes have been made, All Dismissed" Townsend stated
RSS Feed