A Brief Briefing
Posted on Wed Feb 26th, 2025 @ 10:12am by Captain Min Seong
1,286 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Terrorpin
Location: Security Offices, Command Center
Timeline: Pre-Mission, MD -25
It was a sunny afternoon on the colony. On the advice of those around her, Min had made a point of touring the whole colony area on her own. No one seemed to notice her, or if they did, no one wanted to say hello. She was sure she received weird, wary looks from people who had no clue who she was. Aside from the stand that sold various street foods, she made a point of not talking to anyone else either.
But it was with a bag of various street foods she had never tried before that she returned to the Command Center. She was quick to unwrap a treat she was eager to try; a bibimbap croquette made by a Klingon chef, filled with gladst and kimchi to make it extra potent. But she did not take the first bite of the crusted treat until she was alone in the turbo lift, and she was glad she did. She was not sure who else would really want to try such an intensely smelling snack.
She was so enveloped in the flavors and aromas, she had not noticed someone else getting into the lift midway through her adventure back to the office. Not until she had finished the croquette off, at least. Blinking curiously, she offered a smile. "I don't believe we've met yet." The hand that was also offered was immediately rescinded when she realized she had yet to wipe the grease off with a napkin. "Which is my own doing. I've seen a lot of action already in my couple short weeks here - Min Seong, Captain."
Smiling, Lieutenant Nia Tavik acknowledged the speaker, “Captain Seong.” The young lieutenant reached out her hand to shake Captain Min’s hand.
“In the assignment briefing report, it stated that things had gotten interesting around here,” she said.
Nia wanted to ask if they had any new leads on finding Captain Mahone and, more importantly, why his escort failed their mission. She tried to gently read the captain’s emotional state, expecting the normal emotions from command—confidence, determination, stress, and probably a bit of hunger from the meal she was eating.
Nia’s hair was neat but hid a small data jack, a remnant of her past that she had not yet gotten removed. It was unorthodox but useful for reading sensors. Her uniform was crisp and her shoes polished almost to the point of a reflective shine. On her belt were the standard tools of her profession: a snap baton and, though antiquated, handcuffs. Each of them was shiny and in good repair, a testament to the influence of her Vulcan and Klingon instructors. Her holster was empty but ready for her sidearm to be issued.
"Apparently, this is just another Tuesday for this place," Min stated plainly, hand in the bag for a napkin, which she found quickly, to wipe off the grease. With a clean hand, she shook Nia's. "The only real concern is the disappearance of Captain Mahone."
The more that would be pried into Min's head, the more nothing would have been found. Nothing more than a few residual emotions and a little appeasement at the snack she had consumed. Stress? Nowhere. Confidence? Most definitely. Hunger? That one was nothing to hide. "You'll have access to all the reports. Lieutenant Issacks is quite thorough with them. My concern is what state we may end up finding him in."
A touch of worry may have peeked through, but it was gone as soon as it was there. "However, I believe for the moment you should focus on getting settled in and making sure no one comes to find you about cats in trees or land ownership squabbles. We have the local marshals for that."
She offered a smile, which was short lived as the turbolift lurched to an unsuspecting halt. One that almost made her lose her bag of goodies. Almost. "... That's odd," she muttered, looking up and about at the flickering lights. "You'd think being powered by a whole warp core, they wouldn't have issues like this..."
Nia immediately registered the unexpected halt of the turbolift, her instincts kicking in as she quickly analyzed the situation. However, she maintained a calm exterior, offering a reassuring smile to Captain Seong.
“These systems are generally reliable, but it's always good to be cautious. They will get to the bottom of this,” Nia said, her tone steady and composed.
Nia subtly shifted her stance, ready to take action if necessary, but her demeanor remained calm. As she waited for the lift to resume, Nia kept a close eye on her surroundings, mentally preparing for any contingencies. Looking at the control panel she looked to see if there was something she could do to restore control.
In the meantime, she prepared to activated her communicator, ready to call in a report or request assistance if the lift didn’t start moving again within the next few moments. Then remembered that she had not been given full access to the security systems and sensors yet.
"I also don't believe the 'building' we're in is meant to be stuck in the ground," Min pointed out, eyes still on the ceiling as if it was going to answer her questions. "Which is a shame, I believe I was supposed to have a meeting with the Security Chief soon. I'll have to tell her why I was late." She already had a thought to contact the operations staff on duty, but patience was key in situations like this. "I hope you weren't in the middle of something dire."
Nia smiled and laughed. She pulled a PADD from her small bag.
“I think she is in the same situation you are! I was suppose to present my orders and assume my new appointment as a new Security Officer for the colony,” The new officer said trying to hand over her PADD with her orders on it.
Looking at the situation, Nai pointed to the door then the ceiling.
“We could pry the door open or climb out if we have to?” She said with some humor.
“I once had to chase a Ferengi smuggler through an air duct system. Twenty minutes in the man popped out an air hatch and fell on a Vulcan Ambassador’s dining table. The Captain grabbed him by the lobes and just about twisted his ear off,” Nia said trying to keep the tone light.
As she took the PaDD, Min kept silent and watched Nia work. While the moment was short, Min seemed pleased with whatever she had just gleaned from the moment. "I feel like I need the full story on that one," she stated. "Ambassadorial stress tends to hit Starfleet Captains much harder than it should. I'm quite surprised your smuggler ended up with ears intact."
A buzz shot through the conversation as a frantic voice could be heard over Min's comm. "M-ma'am? I ah.... You wouldn't happen to be in the turbolift, would you?"
Min let out a soft snort of a laugh, tapping the badge. "I am, with an experienced hand at getting out of odd situations. Why do you ask?"
"... I'm so sorry, I accidentally cut the power to the lift and now we're going to be spending at least half an hour re-routing it. Just a little issue with some of those tiny little Daucin things."
"Oh, if we get bored here, we'll shimmy ourselves out. Just give me a warning if you intend to turn the power on early." Min turned to Nai with a small smirk. "I think we should go with your plan. It sounds... Fun."
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