241805.16 | PLOT - JDL | Cmdr Archer, LtCmdr Stacker, Lt Shran | "Into the Black"

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 6:52pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander James Archer & Lieutenant Commander James Stacker & Lieutenant Anaxar Shran

1,302 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Lacuna
Timeline: BACKLOG

It was oddly silent around the table, no one wanting to say a word or go first when it came to breaking the ice. The only noise came from the (I fucking forget the ship's spelling so you fix it and insert it here -JA It's named for a ship that blew up a drydock. Jeeze. You'd think the guy with Tony Stark as his character would appreciate loud explosions and flying chunks of concrete -JS) Campbeltown's engines thrumming as she screamed towards some Godforsaken asteroid in some Godforsaken system. Archer's nose twitched as he looked up from his dinner to try and kill the hush and fog that had fallen over them.

"So... I hear the weather is nice this time of year on Risa." Smooth. Remind everyone of the fucking pleasure planet when the blue guy's girl was about to be sold as a sex slave. Real smooth. He cleared his throat, setting his fork down, dinner abandoned. "Listen... For what it's worth, I'm pretty damn sure that we're going to get them all back, and I do mean all of them." The question was what condition they'd be in when they loaded them up to scream for home... And then there was Rochelle's request. The station wouldn't remain standing, the players neutralized with rare exception meant to stand trial and become a trophy. Where the redhead had suddenly found the stomach to make such an order remained a mystery, but Archer would be a liar if he tried to say it didn't both worry and excite him. "We just have to get in there and work our magic, right Other James?" If he could have ribbed the other Spook, he would have. Anaxar's spirits hadn't exactly been high to begin with.

"Right." The singular word came out slightly choked; a product not of emotion, though, but how dry the meat on his plate was. Last time I order the meat 'well-done' from the replicators on this ship Stacker thought as he reached for his water. It proved up to par. "Magic will definitely happen," he amplified as the glass came back down. "Or at least I'm sure they'll consider it close to magic, by the time we're done with them."

The tall, lanky Andorian lifted his head, his antennae twitching towards the Intelligence officers as if to make up for the eyes he no longer had. "So what is the plan?" he asked in his gravelly voice. He wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. Nor in the mood for eating, but he had ordered some Andorian fast food from the replicator and ate it automatically, without really tasting any of it. His body required fuel, so he gave it what it needed, but he didn't derive any pleasure from it.

"Well..." Archer began, truly pushing his plate away and settled in for the nitty gritty conversation that needed to take place, "We're working with civilians that cannot be exposed. They're..." He paused, searching for the word. What the hell were Dani Atarah and Kalina Zett exactly? They weren't his friends, exactly, but they were under Rochelle's wings for certain, "Friends of friends, we'll put it that way. They can be trusted at any rate." There was that. He'd grant them that, "Dai'xun and Valeese will be bought, don't get me wrong, but they'll be bought by that entity and, all goes according to plan, will be out of sight before we more or less stomp the shit out them and leave a pile of rubble and bodies behind as per orders."

Anaxar gave a slight nod. He was very much in the mood for tearing the place down once Si'a and Valeese were safe. "How good are you at blindfighting?" he asked, shoving the still half-filled plate away.

One of Archer's eyebrows lifted, "Blind fighting... As in fighting in the dark?" He asked in hope of clarification, "I think we're all well versed in fighting in less than ideal situations... Why?"

The Andorian smiled grimly. The tender smiles were reserved for Si'a. The rest of his smiles were grim, cynical or both. "For close combat, that's my specialty. I'm a good shot in the dark, too." He turned his head to face Stacker – a gesture of politeness, for if the visual implants were active, he had 360 vision, and when they weren't, it didn't matter for him either. "I was a Tactical officer before this," he clarified.

"Duly noted," came the dry reply. The Andorian wasn't the only one with tricks up his sleeves, though... The man from Theta put his utensils down on the table. "My team brought a dozen comm badges with us. We can set them up as jamming devices - hell, we've already made the modifications. Depending on the number of signals..." His head rocked slightly back-and-forth as he thought. "Fifteen minutes to an hour, per device. So long as we communicate in Federation basic we'll be fine. Any Universal Translator devices on the station will be useless, though. When we add in the MACOs, it'll be a regular party. Such a shame." There was a notable lack of humor in his voice.

"I'm good with Standard, what about you, Blue?" Archer grinned, tossing a glance back towards the pensive Andorian, "Think you'll live just being able to chit chat in one language?" It did dawn on him that Anaxar, like so many other alien species, may not have held as firm a grasp on Standard as the Humans did. The little Stenellis they'd set off to rescue certainly didn't, she was apt to substitute grenade for grenadine and sauce for sass at any moment. That had made understanding her a touch difficult, but he'd be remiss if he didn't admit it was part of the sea critter's charm. "I think we'll fare better than the MACOs at any rate. They're just there to blow shit up. For us..." He paused, his lips thinning, "Well... It's more than just a little personal. I don't know about how you feel about Commander Valeese, Other James, but we rather like Lieutenant Dai'xun and definitely want her back. The Commodore... Pretty sure you can gather her sentiments on it as well." His hands came apart, miming an explosion as he spoke.

The Andorian gave a slight nod, twitching his antennae in acknowledgement of Archer's words. More than a little personal, indeed. Given the chance, he'd gladly tear the rock apart with his bare hands. "I spent five years on a Starfleet vessel when I grew up, languages were part of the school curriculum. Standard is no problem. I can get by in Vulcan and I can curse in Romulan and Klingon. Languages aren't going to be an issue."

Archer nodded, wildly amused and impressed. Both emotions were dampened by the darkness of the situation, but they remained lit all the same, "Then I'd say we're pretty much set. We've got a few hours until we storm the castle, I'm thinking trying to sleep would be the best option we fucking have. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?"

Sleep would be lovely, but even under the best of circumstances it was hard to come by for Anaxar, and these were far from the best of circumstances. Tension thrummed through each fibre of his being, ready to whip him into action to defend and avenge the person he loved. Rationally he knew he needed rest, something more than artificially induced sleep could provide, but he also knew that wasn't going to happen. He wondered if Stacker felt the same way. "We can always hope," he muttered.

Maybe meditating would work.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Commander James Archer
2XO/Chief Intelligence Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Lieutenant Commander James Stacker
2XO/Chief Intelligence Officer
Cold Station Theta, SB-1170

Lieutenant Anaxar Shran
Chief Science Officer
USS Vindicator

 

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