Lunch Time

Posted on Wed Jan 18th, 2023 @ 11:59pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Lieutenant Braun Bernhardt
Edited on on Fri Jan 20th, 2023 @ 10:21pm

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Fool’s Errand
Location: Deck 5: Officer's Mess
Timeline: M1 MD09 (2268.24.05) 1300

1200 hours pinged on the chronometer and it signalled the beginning of lunch for Alpha shift. The Captain had been sitting in his cabin, tying up loose ends and most likely opening up a can of worms. He picked up his tray containing a cobb salad and coffee. Dr. Kitchner was always on him about eating healthier. The officer's mess was fairly full and although he had the Captain's mess at his disposal he generally preferred eating among his officers and crew, keeping the private dining space for more formal functions. He noticed his chief navigator sitting at an empty table and walked over, "Long time no see Mr. Bernhardt, mind if I join you?" he asked. The burly lieutenant was the member of his senior he knew least about.

Braun glanced up at the captain and instinctively said, "Not at all, sir."

One didn't say no to a senior officer, especially not on his own ship. He set aside the book he had been reading and took a sip of his coffee, trying to compose his thoughts, wondering what his boss was up to...

"Sorry I interrupted your book," Tristan responded, sitting down. "I've managed to chat one on one with everyone else on the senior staff except you. My apologies for taking so long. This emergency threw all of my plans out the window."

"Quite all right, sir," Braun replied, "Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No, just a chat," Tristan responded, "No set agenda. Basically what are your interests, what's your favorite color, that sort of thing."

"I see," Braun replied as he settled back in his chair and absently scratched his bearded chin, "Well, I like to cook. Not saying I'm a great cook but I haven't poisoned anyone yet. I like history."

He held up the book: Kingdom of The Blind, a history of the Earth/Romulan War.

Braun continued, "I like games of chance," he smiled wryly, "My performance at the other night's poker game to the contrary. My favorite color?"

He sighed, "Well, it used to be green..."

"Ironically enough I also enjoy cooking and history," Tristan responded and looked over the title of the book, "Currently I am battling to get through A Brief History of the Andorian Clans but I've had nothing but interruptions." The raised an eyebrow, "It used to be green?" He asked.

"I...am not sure what you were told about my earlier posting," Braun replied, "But you do have clearance. I spent several years under cover in the Triangle as a smuggler, an enforcer," he hesitated, "And I did a little pirating. If I learned anything it's there is no one better at the game than the Orions."

The Captain nodded, "I read the summary your classified service record since I didn't have a need to know in regards to specific dealings," he said, "You are certainly an asset to our operations out here and I hope you will be more vocal. The Orions are giving us a run for our money... I can understand why you hate the color green. I am beginning to feel the same."

Braun nodded soberly, "Well, in that case, sir, I imagine the colonists are going to be broken up into lots. Attractive females will be in one, males with strong backs would be second. Children would be third. Outside of that if the Orions think there's little value-such as elderly colonists or men who can't pull their weight, well..."

He sighed, "They won't last long. It probably depends on what intellectual value they might bring but a warm body costs money to support. As for the Starfleet personnel my guess there is they'll be sold to Klingon or Romulan agents. In that case it will probably depend on whether or not they're already on planet."

Braun leaned forward, "Sir, I recommend punitive action. Punish the Orions for doing this. I'm not talking wholesale murder but if we can find something this particular group values and destroy it then it could send a message to the other pirates, that touching Federation colonists and personnel is simply too costly to even consider. Bloody their noses."

"I'm not sure if you have seen the report from the Orion first officer," Tristan said, "But we have their heading and their overall plan. We will need to act quickly to get our people back. Apparently this female is the favorite of the Orion captain and us having her no doubt is discomforting the Orion Captain... So there's a start." He paused, "Maybe a few torpedoes fired at the station as a parting gift will show them what we think of slavery in the 23rd century," he said.

Braun nodded, "Well, it's a start."

He sighed, "This whole region of space is a sewer. I think we need to either annex it or give it up to the Klingons and Romulans, force our people to leave then. This current situation is a horrid mess. It's the ancient West this is the Indian territory and there's just not enough Marshals."

"Well that is the reason for our presence here," Tristan responded, "To be another Marshal or at least a big stick. The Federation has struggled with question of whether to authorize a Constitution class to operate in this area or not. The Klingons may be a concern but Starfleet is more worried about the Orions, any number of privateers and of course the Romulans. The Organian Peace Treaty has limited what the Klingons can get away with, of course they will most likely try something... They always do."

"Like using Orions and Romulans as proxies," Braun replied. He shrugged, and smiled a touch wryly, "Well, if we can succeed in rescuing our own people and the colonists then maybe that will send a message that there's a new sheriff in town. Who knows? Maybe some of the smaller Orion clans will figure there'd be less risk in going legitimate? That alone would be worth the headache."

"Or just set the whole sector on fire and piss everyone off," Tristan responded, "D'Tal, the Orion Pirate Captain is no doubt incredibly pissed that we not only prevented her from getting a bigger prize but also taking her number one as a hostage. We will find out soon enough when we make it to Station Exar."

Braun nodded, "If you don't mind, sir, I would like to go over the local charts one more time to see if there is anything I can add to them," he paused, then added, "It just occurred to me that we have another problem: the new weapon the Orions are sporting. Has our guest given up any information on it?"

"Of course," he responded. He thought for a moment, "Nothing of much use, the first mate isn't a technical sort and the other pirates we captured were mainly thugs... We know it sends an Electro-Magnetic Pulse which overloads the ships circuitry enough to shatter the ship's dilithium crystals. Commander Stoneking, Commander Heartfilia and Ensign Dienstag think they have it figured out enough to protect the ship from another attack... Unfortunately we will not know until we are attacked again."

"I see," Braun replied as he stood, "Thank you, sir. If you think it would help I could give talking to the first mate a try. Anyway, with your leave I'm off to the chart room."

"Of course," Tristan responded, "I look forward to reading your report. Good chat."

 

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