Part of USS Mariner: M1: Into The Gamma Quadrant and Bravo Fleet: The Lost Fleet

10) The Bowling Room

USS Mariner - Conference Room
March 2401
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The sudden request towards the Dominion to help out Starfleet has begun to rub off on the crew. People didn’t know what to think of this sudden change of attitude or behavior from their command team. But Silina knew from the start that this was the thin line they would walk, and keeping it down in the hallways was difficult. Now she was being looked at as someone that is not to be trusted. She walked into the conference room and noticed a tension in the air already. The faces of her fellow officers were easy to read. They are frustrated with the outcome of what just happened. “Please be seated. Captain Kobahl is on her way” She saw Rami talking to Cailra their new Chief Operations Officer as he gave her that same distrust look and walked back to his chair.

Within a few minutes, Sazra did indeed take her entrée into the conference room. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice after what has just happened” She made her way to her chair, placing a PADD down. “I believe you have questions for me which are rightfully so to ask….so shoot away” Leaning backward as Sazra wanted to give her senior staff the room to vent.

The room however was quiet for a few seconds as everyone looked at each other unknown how to express their concerns, frustrations, or emotions in general. “I think the foremost question that pops up for everyone is why?” Rami finally broke the silence and looked directly at Sazra. “Why were we not informed of the true intention of the mission and excluded in such an important choice?” 

Taking a deep breath as Sazra looked back at him “Because the mission was classified by Fourth Fleet command. Thus, I could only give the details to my command team regarding this mission and our goals. But to clarify, the situation in the Deneb region is escalating with the Dominion’s so-called lost fleet advancing from world to world. Fourth Fleet is barely holding itself together of what is thrown at them.” Sazra sighs a bit. “I honestly would rather be at their side now than be here. But I understand crystal clear the importance of this mission that could end that battle”  

“Why not send a warship to do this mission? We cannot protect ourselves from the might of the Dominion?”  Cailra spoke out her concern.

Adrian shrugs. “Would you talk to someone at the door holding a gun at their side?” He gave a simple example, but the point was strong enough to understand their position “It is by itself a miracle that the Dominion even open communication with us. Seeing how we both uphold the Treaty of Bajor. So we still stand a chance to complete our mission and who knows…end the battle at Deneb” 

Shaking her head “Deneb is not even proven. Starfleet Command made that clear in the transmissions sent day-by-day updates. If there was truly a battle in Deneb, why would their reports be about preparing for Frontier Day?” Keeyiro awkwardly avoided eye contact with Adrian. “Plus FNN has not stated anything about the topic itself, Yes about some minor Breen skirmishes?” 

Her eyes looked at Keeyiro with a glare of pity “Ensign you might be the Intelligence Officer on this ship, but it doesn’t mean that your clearance is any different to others of your rank. But, I understand clearly that you were not present at the previous debriefing where I gave a …different explanation of the mission at hand and explained the situation in Deneb.”  Sazra grabs the PADD “But for your information, the Dominion fleet that was suppose to be the reinforcement back in the Dominion War, was ….relocated in time and space so to speak. We don’t know how, when or why. But it happened” 

Sazra leans forward and continues not giving a chance for a reply “A few reports from the Fourth Fleet Command that recently got published. Which makes it even more difficult for me to be in this space by itself” Sazra took another deep breath to calm herself down and began. “Contact is lost with the USS Higgs while en route towards Galadkail Manor. The last report from the USS Constellation got the Kholara Observatory up and running, but also reported six Jem’Hadar battleships changed their course to them” Shrugging at the given information she continues. “USS Valiant arrived at the last known locations of Battle Group Alpha Twenty-One finding ships in damaged condition. USS Alita and Resolute are preparing to retake or defend a planet…I can continue this for hours if that helps you to sketch the image Ensign” Sazra’s eyes diverted to Keeyiro who went quiet.

“So what is expected of us to do herrre?” K’Nala spoke with worry in her eyes.

It was the intentional question that was never asked. “Our purpose is to convince, with the help of Lieutenant Palema, the Dominion to let their comrades stand down on their actions at Deneb” Silina calmly looked at K’Nala. “We need to get proof from the Dominion to stop the Dominion so to speak” 

Rami looked at Palema. “So you knew also?” 

The ship’s diplomat looked back to Rami and gave a nod “I was informed of this mission after the previous briefing. In my opinion, it was a good move from the Captain as I needed time to know how to deal with the Dominion without disrespecting them.” Palema was not going to defend the standpoint of the command but more her involvement in her work.

“Lieutenant Palema is an essential key in the dealings with the Dominion. We lost many colonies, outposts, and ships to the lost fleet already. This needs to be done right in the first go” Sazra looked at Rami who was sitting there annoyed.

“So do I prepare the staff for potential injuries?” Kossaal spoke up. Finally, the Andorian looked at his Captain. “We might not be in a hostile position, but it doesn’t mean that the Dominion won’t act hostile if they need to” He spoke out of experience that much was sure. 

Shaking her head “No, I don’t believe it is needed to such an extent. But you can prepare the basics as you always would, ” Silina replied to Sazra seeing her agree with her. 

Kossaal nodded to that “I will get things prepared then” 

“So the question is, how long will we wait” Rami spoke up again with his arms crossed over each other.

“As long as needed, we will not push the Dominion to ask for their attention. We wait until they give us a proper reply” Sazra stood up. “Alright, dismiss we got work to do” She spoke and gave a nod towards her command team and then the rest of the senior staff before leaving the room. 

Comments

  • This xrew has been lied to and sent into the lion's den with steaks tied around their necks. They have every right to be angry. It will be interesting s To see how this plays out moving forward.

    May 23, 2023
  • Daaaaaamn, poor Keeyiro Cho. I felt a lot of sympathy for the poor intelligence officer parroting the propaganda. She sounds like a conspiracy truther from Lower Decks saying Wolf 359 was an inside job. Oh no! Ultimately, I appreciate Sazra's humility in admitting her secrets to the crew but, at the same time, reminding them of the necessities of Starfleet's chain of command. (Awww, and thank you for the Constellation shout-out; if they're not digging up the truth of the Deneb Sector, then I don't know who is.) I have to wonder how long the Dominion really will make them wait for an answer.

    May 28, 2023
  • The crew are annoyed, and rightly so… their reactions are totally understandable but I liked how Sazra dealt with this, she’s as much caught by orders as she is giving them. It’s a bit of an impossible and uncomfortable situation there! And that’s before you remember they’re sat on the Dominion’s doorstep waiting an answer!

    May 30, 2023
  • It’s a nice touch to have Palema defend her own actions rather than the whole mission; must be a tough job to be a lone Romulan amongst a Federation contingent, especially if people remember the Romulan’s pathway through the first Dominion conflict. It’s good to see the crew getting the opportunity to vent and hesitating, you can imagine they’ve all had a rant in the sonic showers that they are now a little reluctant to express out loud. Nice chapter that levels the playing field again a bit whilst maintaining the tension of the stakes.

    May 31, 2023