Part of USS Valkyrie: The Real Episode 1 – Lighting the Fire and USS Valkyrie: The New Season 1

The Dangerous Unknown

USS Mackenzie
8.1.2401
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Fontana charged out of the transporter room, having ordered his XO to action.  He tapped his badge again, “Fontana to t’Rehu and Kazansky – meet me on the bridge.  We’ve got a situation that’s developed planetside.  Put your department teams on alert – we will be sending down plenty of teams to support.”

Lieutenant Taylor Kazansky glanced at her team in the Security Office. She had already briefed them with as much information as she knew at the time. Once she had given the staff the heads up, she left for the bridge and took the turbolift there.

Hilea had her team ready to go. It was different as operations teams were usually always on the go. It allowed her to coordinate all the efforts from her office or the bridge. Anything priority 1 went straight to her to deal with if she needed to source the issue locally. Grabbing her tool kit and accessories, she headed to the bridge from her office. 

He jogged to a turbolift and rode it silently to the bridge, his mind whirling with every element that was now in play.  They needed to move, and they needed to move quickly.  He stepped out onto the bridge, accepting the CONN from a junior officer, “Have our diplomatic officer report to the bridge. Get me a threat report and the status of all ships in the area.” The officers went to work.  He turned as the doors opened, revealing his Security and Operations department heads.

“Teams are assembling as ordered,” Kazansky said, “We also have teams back aboard the ship stepping up patrols around the ship, just in case.”

Arriving on the bridge, Hilea relieved the crew manning the operations console. Running her hands over the console in an efficient, practiced manner, she updated status levels for the Valkryie and nearby assets. “Green lights across the board, Captain.”

Lieutenant Kazansky added, “Give the word, and security teams will deploy to the station.”

Fontana took a moment to say, “Focus our teams on the planet. You’re going to be going in blind. I was a doctor before I was a captain, so I’ll ask you to make the best decisions with the unknown. We don’t know if the attackers are still in play or if more is coming.  Secure, protect, and investigate – and in that order as much as possible.”

Nodding Kazansky knew the quick calls to make to reallocate the security teams along those lines. The fact that the attackers may still be present, or somewhere nearby heightened the stakes a bit, but she had confidence that the teams could handle that. She said briskly, “Yes sir.”

Hilea t’Rehu’s team had the arguably harder task. Yes, securing and protecting was paramount, but she found that typically, things needed to be repaired or upgraded to function effectively in a crisis like this. She wasn’t anxious. A long-time combat veteran, she liked the challenge of figuring things, but it far easier if no one shoots at you.