JDL | Ens Barnes & Cmdr Archer

Posted on Sun Mar 1st, 2015 @ 6:35am by Commander James Archer & Ensign

951 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill
Location: Suites

After parting ways with Caine, Rocky settled down and began to activate her gear. The Intel tricorder synced up with the tracking surveillance drones and she sent them to several areas about the palatial grounds with orders to camouflage themselves with the surroundings. Putting the anti-sensor belt under her loose sleeveless shirt and pulling her baggy black pants up over them a bit, she debated on using the personal cloaking device and transporter to get to Commander Archer, but decided against it for the moment. It would do no good to show all of her ace cards at once.

Pulling her hair back into a ponytail and making sure her combadge was prominently displayed on her left breast, she made her way to the suites where the Vindicator's away team had been sequestered. A few Atlanteans had attempted to make inquiries of her, but she simply pointed at her combadge and said she was there to see the 'Queen' on official business and that a delay would make her very unhappy. Finally arriving, she knocked on the door where Commander Archer would be staying.

James sat staring at the portable computer terminal he had beamed down earlier that morning debating to make another call. Hearing the knock on the door, he reached for his phaser, "ENTER!"

Entering, Rocky inclined her head to the Commander. "Sir," she said, waiting for his stance to relax before she made any further moves.

James sets the phaser back on the seat next to him and continues staring at the screen, "Ensign Barnes. We have 2 very high profile dignitaries that are headed this way. You will work with Ensign Black and ensure that their visit here is safe." James pushes a few keys on the console, "I know that normally this is a security job, but this needs some very special handling. I'm giving you quicquid capit on this, Catalina. The Commodore doesn't even know who's coming yet."

"Understood, Sir," Rocky said. "I brought some tools with me that should facilitate that to an exponential degree." She lifted her shirt just enough to reveal the anti-sensor belt, the personal cloaking device and the personal transporter.

James doesn't give her a second glance, "I don't care how you do it. Just get it done."

"Sir, permission to ask a candid question," Rocky said, lowering her shirt.

"Of course."

"Why don't we simply take the Commodore and make it simple?" she asked, cocking her head. "With the personal cloak and the transporter I have on me, I could do it with ease and they would never detect me. The anti-sensor belt assures that."

"I wish it were that easy," James replied. "Ivanova is the sovereign ruler of these backwoods hickabillies, and taking her would start another intergalactic situation." James smirks as he reminisced of the stories his father told him as a child. "So we have to play it out the harder way."

"If they're that backwards, whatever a hickabilly is, Sir, then how could they possibly be a match for Vindicator?" Rocky asked, looking a bit confused to his use of terminology. "And if she's the sovereign ruler, isn't her very word law?"

James made a mental note to debrief Barnes on the Federation/Civonian/Atlantian war of 2401, "Just trust me on this one, Ensign. I've already thought all of this through."

"If they don't know who kidnapped the Commodore, who would they target?" Rocky asked.

"As backwoods as the Atlantians are, they're quite advanced in their tech. They have ships that can rival the Vindicator." James eyed the young Ensign, "Didn't you do your homework before you came down?"

"I've been rather occupied since I came aboard, Commander," Rocky said, thinking of Lieutenant Jay Gee Black and the stuff she had been doing for her. "Still, we have our own technology." She pulled out her Intel tricorder and brought up the images the tracking surveillance drones were already sending back from various locations.

James' ears perk up at Barnes' comment, "Occupied you say? With what," James asked as he closed the screen on the computer and look rather now attentively in her direction.

"Lieutenant Jay Gee Black had me doing some things for her, Sir," Rocky responded in a neutral one of voice as if it were no big deal.

"Oh," James retorted rather intrigued. "Please, do go on."

Rocky sighed inwardly, but the man outranked her. "She had me removing records and traces of an individual, Sir, then ordered me to forget that it happened."

"And then?"

"I've been researching a shadow packet that was brought to my attention, Sir." Rocky said. "It came from a independent trader freighter on an old trade route between the Zakdorn system and Starbase Five One Four near the Elorg Bloc border using old Starfleet communication codes. It was downloaded to a PADD by Lieutenant Jay Gee Black."

Archer didn't reply with words, just a simple, "Hmmm." He reopened his computer and returned to what he was previously doing before Ensign Barnes arrived.

When there was no yelling, no stripping of her meager rank, or anything other than the Hmmm, Rocky stood there not making a sound. It was clear that he was either considering what to do with her and Black, or he was completely unconcerned with her report. Still, he hadn't dismissed her and she remained where she was.

Realizing Barnes was still hanging around, James finally looked back at Catalina, "We'll talk more about your 'assignment' from Black later. In the mean time, you have other work to do."

"Yes, Sir," she said before turning and leaving.

Ensign Catalina "Rocky" Barnes
Encryption Specialist
USS Vindicator

and

Commander James Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS VINDICATOR

 

RSS Feed