A Tense Briefing

Posted on Tue Jan 31st, 2023 @ 12:07am by Commander N'Garzi Zora & Lieutenant Xavier Leiko & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Lieutenant Commander Michael Ki & Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Lieutenant Sturgis O'Connell & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: MD04: Morning
1281 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Zora looked around the room at the officers gathered there who were all looking back at her on tenterhooks. She stood at the front of the room and placed a hand on the headrest of the chair that sat at the head of the table; the Captain's chair. She had held many briefings in this room and had no issues sitting in this seat before, but this time it felt different, wrong, so instead she chose to remain standing.

"Thank you for joining me," Zora said sombrely, "and I'm sorry you had to cut your activities on Earth short. As I'm sure you're all aware, there was an incident last night at the commencement ceremony. A bomb went off, at least five people died and dozens more were injured. The captain was not one of the casualties thankfully, however, he has been arrested and blamed for the whole thing. As of right now, that's all I know. Starfleet Command has requested that all of the crew remain on board and wait for further instructions.

"I know the next few days will be trying and full of uncertainty," she continued as she looked at each of them in turn, "however, you have all proven yourselves to be the best in the fleet and I know you'll all do your duties to the best of your abilities." She let that hang in the air for a moment before clearing her throat and moving on. "Before I open up to questions I wanted to mention a few changes to the senior staff. Lieutenant P'rel is currently... on an assignment," she said, struggling to find the right words to describe the Vulcan's absence, "and so Ensign Wrea will be in charge until she returns. We also have a new CEO, Lieutenant Sturgis O'Connell, please all make him feel welcome. Any questions?

Sturgis lifted a hand and tilted his head in a nod to acknowledge the introduction, but kept his voice silent. He hadn't yet met the rest of the crew and really had no idea where to stand on the Captain Kane issue. He felt sorry for the man, but didn't know him personally nor did he have any data to surmise his innocence or guilt. Besides that, he had no idea where the rest of the crew stood on their loyalty to the previous Captain. No, for now, it would be best to sit and observe. He would save his energy for reining in engineering under new leadership.

Xavier eyed the new engineering chief, his only acknowledgement a slight nod of his head in the man's direction. He obviously had nothing against him, but he was sitting in Finn's chair, running her department. He knew that changing personnel was part and parcel of life in Starfleet, but he hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye, sorry, or anything really. And now he wouldn't get the chance, and to top it off, the Captain was locked up for something he clearly didn't do and they weren't even allowed to help.

Michael hated situations like this, he had felt good, well better than good for a change. Visiting home had done him a world of good. However, coming back to news like this was just wrong on multiple levels. "Do they need any medical assistance?" He already knew the answer but had to ask anyway. There were more than enough medical facilities on Earth. "As the Captain's personal physician perhaps I should go down there and examine him." It was a longshot but it was a chance to get down there and see what is going on. There was no way that the Captain was responsible for this.

"Thank you for the offer Michael," Zora said with a faint smile, "but I believe they have all the assistance they need right now, more than we can offer at least. I have been told that the Captain is in good health, he was a little battered and bruised after the explosion, but that's all they will say."

"How is the captain under all of this?" Savin asked quietly, "surely this is as traumatic for him as anyone present, including you? You were there too, were you not? Has counseling been offered to those that were present? Is there anything I can do, in that regard?"

Zora grinned internally, she could have predicted these questions word-for-word. Of course these two men were concerned about the well-being of everyone involved; one physically, the other mentally. "I was indeed Counsellor," she replied with a slight nod. "The standard protocol will be to tend to the physical injuries before the psychological ones, but I'm sure everyone is getting the help they need."

Nayisa blinked at the announcement. No wonder she was the only junior officer summoned to this meeting. It made her a little nervous to be there, and P'Rel's noticeable absence only increased the intensity of her nerves. Knowing the Vulcan just "disappeared" for an assignment, right after the Captain was arrested, raised flags in her mind. She could take some lucky guesses as to what she was doing, but it wasn't worth going off of guesses this time. But even if it were the right time to ask her questions, she suspected that the officers present likely wouldn't know the answers anyways. So instead, she stayed quiet and listened.

Whilst the others spoke, Ryan sat back in her chair and fought against the urge to tune out. Since news of the attack had broken, and Kane's subsequent incarceration had been announced, she'd been battling with a preoccupation that had no tangible explanation. On a logical, surface level, she was obviously concerned. She was several rotations away from having to deal directly with terrorism but her life had been steeped in it to an extent and there was no comfort to its presence now. On a purely illogical level, however, was an agitated compulsion to act. To intervene. To testify. Stronger than any déjà vu she'd ever experienced before. A deep frown knitted her brow and the Science Chief, sat with fingers steepled against her lips, made eye contact only with the tabletop as the conversation continued.

"I know we won't be able to stop the rumour mill," Zora continued, "but we all have a job to do and I expect you all to run your departments in a way that will make Captain Kane proud."

A small fidget came from Zade. She didn't like the news in the slightest, but what could they do? What could she do? She knew the trial process to some degree, any interference from the crew would not only mark themselves as potential accomplices, but it would also only make things worse for Kane. On the plus, trials like this usually took a while, so there was time to find evidence. But being told to just sit and wait, while pretending to care about one's duties with the recent news? "Should we expect to be contacted by investigators for interview at some point?" She asked.

"I think that's highly probable," Zora said, squinting her eyes slightly as she felt the beginnings of a stress headache coming on. "But we will give them as much help as we can, we know the Captain is innocent, whatever we can do to help his case, then we should."

"Anything else?" Zora asked as she surveyed the room. Nothing. "Good. Dismissed!" She ordered. She watched as they all filed out of the room and took a deep breath. Wherever P'rel was, she hoped that she would find the evidence that would bring the real guilty party to light, and soon.