Pulling it all Together

Posted on Tue Apr 7th, 2015 @ 10:47pm by Commodore Kathleen O'Shea & Lieutenant Commander Ethan Mackenzie

Mission: Paradise Lost
Location: CO's Office: USS Bettina

"Commander Mackenzie...please, have a seat." Kathleen had summoned Ethan immediately after concluding her meeting with Andrew. The look on her face told a story...and not a good one. "Well, it looks as if it may have officially hit the fan."

Kathleen spent the next few minutes going over what they knew and suspected to date, including the details of their visit by this new 'Council Protectorate'. As he listened, the conclusions were obvious. The foundation was crumbling, and fast.

"...so with everything that we have been able to ascertain, the only conclusion we can come to is that the Council is planning on dissolving our forces and the Marines, and bringing all military control under this new 'Protectorate'. And as they have essentially told us that they are planning to abandon this entire region, I've had no choice but to enact Nightshade. All ties will be cut from outside our zone of influence, in order to protect our operations and...well, to be honest, our safety."

Ethan stood up from the chair he was sitting in. He walked slowly over to the other side of the room without saying anything. This was all sudden. He was slightly shocked by the news. There were so many questions running through his head. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Is this a dream…? He stood there for a few more seconds then turned around looking over at her. “What do you need me to do…?”

Kathleen breathed a sigh of relief. "I need you to take one of the shuttles and get back to 80. I need somebody that can coordinate everything that is about to happen. I know this is a bit out of your ordinary zone of operations, but we need to start thinking about anything and everything we can get our hands on across the region to stockpile. Additionally, every cache base, every supply base, every boneyard and shipyard...we need it under our control. That means you get to change the access codes. Especially those on 80." Kathleen handed him a PADD. "Here is what you will need for that. This includes my command codes, so please be careful with it. It's coded to yourself, me, and the XO only. Anybody else tries to access it and it will wipe."

She walked over to Ethan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know this is all sudden. I am truly sorry...none of us saw this coming, although in retrospect the signs were there. We all have personnel concerns with all of this, but remember...this entire region is about to be cut off. Everybody will be looking to somebody for organization, and for help with everything that the Federation provided. And there are those that will try to take advantage of the situation. I am not going to let these people down...not as long as I am still breathing."

Ethan accepted the PADD from her. He looked down to it as it sat in his hand. It was a standard Starfleet PADD. He had handled god only knows how many before but this one felt heavier than the rest. It was the weight of this situation that made it seem heavier. He took a deep breath then looked at her. “I promise I will make sure to be careful with it.” He smiled and it didn’t seemed force. He wanted to reassure her that she didn’t make a mistake by trusting him with this task. He wasn’t sure why she picked him. There were probably others that have been here longer. Others that she’s known for a longer time but regardless she picked him and he wouldn’t let her down. His smile faded. His eyes shifting to the side. “What do I tell the crew…?” He asked. His eyes once again focused on her.

When his eyes met hers, it was almost hypnotic. Her eyes seemed to sparkle. Then he noticed it...the hand on his should suddenly seemed...well, warm. Much warmer than it should have. She slid her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, where it felt...felt like...

The contact was suddenly broken, and Kathleen spun around and retreated back to her desk. 'Geez, Kathy. You are getting as bad as Rosaleen.' She turn back to Ethan, her eyes once again appearing normal. "I apologize, Commander. The stress of the last several days seems to have affected my control abilities."

Ethan stood in front of her almost frozen as she gently moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek. His mind was racing a million miles a second. He was completely lost to what was happening. Why was she so friendly with him all of a sudden? He didn’t have an answer and even if he wanted to pull away he seemed to be unable to. Her touch from her hand had him frozen even if her hand seemed to be very warm. The sparkle from her eyes was simply mesmerizing. It wasn’t until she pulled away that he seemed to get a hold of himself. He watched as she wondered behind her desk. Something she said caught his attention. “Control your abilities…?” His eye brow was ever so slightly raised as she looked at her.

A soft smile "Well, that's as accurate as anything. With the lack of sleep and stress that comes with everything going on here, my mind has a tendency to wander a bit. In turn, this has the effect of allowing my...well, trait's to come out and play. That is not something I would normally do. I apologize if I offended you in any way."

He gently shook his head in response to her comment. "You didn't offend me at all. I was simply caught by surprise. That's all." He chuckled as he admitted that. His eyes caught glimpse of the PADD that he was holding and once again he felt the weight of it. "I should get going. We have a lot to get done." He looked back to her with a reassuring smile.

"I have a few more things I need to go over first." She took a seat behind her desk, deciding to keep her distance this time. "First...once you return to 80, I also need you to initiate a complete update to our computer cores of all latest updates, and pull a full data dump. Do it discretely, like a routine procedure. Once completed, do a complete dump to our Intel facility on the planet, then isolate the entire system. We have enough local data to serve our need on the ships here. Do the same with all...I mean all ships and craft at 80, and on the surface. Once they realize what we have started to do, they will attempt to wipe everything. Again...all the data is there that you need. You have the authority to use anybody that you need."

Ethan nodded as he listened to her additional instructions. He was once again mainly focused on the task at hand but there was a small part that wondered back to what had just happened between the two of them and this subject of her abilities. “Understood.” Ethan said as she paused. “That is going to take some time to complete and it will be difficult to complete it without alerting a lot of people. However if we mask what we are doing...” A grin light up his face as he thought on the idea.

Kathleen studied him for the briefest of moments. "Go on..."

Ethan laughed nervously. He was afraid she might ask for details of this great scheme of his. “Honestly, I don’t know how yet.” He looked at her his face very serious. “All I know is that with how much time this is going to take we have to find a way to mask it otherwise we will be caught with our hand in the cookie jar.”

An impish smile spread across Kathleen's face. "Your planning something quite naughty, aren't you?"

"I might be." Ethan smirked as he answered. "I don't expect them to play fairly so why should we?" He asked, but not really looking for an answer.

"Oh there is most definitely no fun in that. When one chooses a conquest, one should be prepared to do whatever it takes to acquire the object of ones desire." The smile spread to her eyes. "Sorry...you are new under my command, so you are not familiar with me. My species has a tendency to be a bit playful and flirtatious. And as I said, when I am stressed or under-rested, it comes out quite a bit more than normal." The mischief in her eyes was unmistakable. "Just don't reciprocate, or you might bite off more than you can chew."

“Duly noted.” Ethan responded with a nod of his head. A smile smirk still on his face. He was intrigued by her words. In an irrational way he was curious to find out just how far it would go if he did reciprocate however she was still his superior officer so he held back from saying anything. At least for the time being. He smiled one more time at the idea but then refocused. “What species might that be?”

"I am Ka'Bu." She saw the look of confusion in his eyes. "That is correct...not Ba'Ku. They are decedents of our species. Not quite as gifted as far as abilities go, but their mastery of the arts is amazing. They also do not carry most of our traits. I guess they have been out of the fold too long."

It was as if she knew what his next question would be once she told him what race she was. All this time he had assumed that she was simply a human but that was not the case. He nodded. "I see. I would have never guessed but I have a feeling that you might get that a lot."

"Intentionally. I try to keep myself as low key as possible. My father is Human. However, the visual traits of my species are so similar to human that we are virtually indistinguishable from them. And I am a full blood...that's a long story for another day though." The impish smile returned once again. "My close friends refer to me as 'the witch'." She added with a laugh.

"Hmmm....that doesn't seem like the nicest nickname." Ethan stated. His thoughts wondered back home to Earth. He looked away for a second a hint of sadness could have been seen in his eyes. "Do you think with all that is going on...we will be able to go to Earth...ever again?" He asked not really looking at her.

"I certainly hope so. Who knows, maybe this will all blow over. But if not...one would assume that they will not hold people against their will. In that case, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of familiar faces show up out here. We will need to be thinking about that as well...a new home for folks if it becomes necessary." Kathleen responded, unable to keep the thoughts of her family and their safety out of her thoughts. The room chilled a bit as she contemplated this.

Ethan looked back at her nodding ever so slightly. "Yeah, I suppose you are right." He let out a sigh. "So, do you suppose they will brand us as traitors...? Maybe, look at us as the enemy?"

When Kathleen looked up, there was a ferocity in her eyes like Ethan had never seen before. "What they choose to 'label' us means nothing. They have taken everything that was good about the Federation and perverted it for their own damned self-serving interests. But I promise you this. Not one family member...one friend...one citizen who chooses to look for a better way of life other than the one this new Council offers up shall be denied. Even if I have to take the fight to them...right up to their doorstep."

Her fiery words put a smile on his face. They made him feel at ease even if it was for a moment. "Thank you for that." He smiled brightly at her. "It's exactly what I needed." He looked down to the PADD then back at her. "I guess I should get to work..."

"I'll inform Commander Brezibluxz of your tasks to be completed, but have him keep it under wraps until you have everything taken care of. Only then do we initiate Nightshade. Only tell those who need to know to assist you what they need to know to accomplish their tasks...nothing more." She got up and walked around the desk, placing a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Contact me as soon as you get back to 80. We need to get this done fast."

Ethan nodded. He watched as she made her way around the desk and next to him. Once her hand touched his shoulder he smiled gently placing his hand on top of her's. "Will do." He gently pulled away heading towards the door. He stopped before stepping outside and turned to face her. "Don't worry, I will take care of everything on 80...you stay safe, and don't stress too much."

Kathleen watched as Ethan exited the room, then returned to her seat and activated the comm panel. Her call only took a minute to reach it's destination.

"Utopia Admin Center, this is Lieutenant Harrison. How may I help you?"

"Commodore Callaghan please. Tell him that Kathy from Galway is a callin."

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Commodore Kathleen O'Shea
Commanding Officer
New Frontier Alliance Station

Lt. Commander Ethan Mackenzie
Chief Operations Officer
Starbase 80