New Orders (Part 2)

Posted on Tue Aug 1st, 2023 @ 3:50am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Rea & Commander Thomas Johnson & Lieutenant Commander Febin & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Major Chiyo Shimada & Lieutenant Commander Moklor ‘Shell Squid’ & Lieutenant Trennek Zakrin & Lieutenant Kylynn Adams & Lieutenant Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant JG Nezuko & Lieutenant JG Amari
Edited on on Tue Aug 1st, 2023 @ 3:52am

1,467 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Starship Graveyard
Location: Conference Room, Deck 1

Previously on Star Trek Tokyo:

Taiga paused for a second. "We have therefore been ordered to investigate this nebula. Chart it if possible and drop navigational beacons for traffic to pass through." She looked around at them all. "There's also a chance we could recover the lost ships that the nebula has claimed over the years, if we encounter them."

She motioned with her hand in a sweeping fashion, indicating that the 'floor' was open for discussion and questions.

And now the continuation...

"If I may, Captain;" Chiyo spoke up. "I'd like to take a moment to quickly introduce everyone to the previous vessel tasked with charting the nebula, whose footsteps we'll be following in:"

"Erm... sure..." Taiga shrugged. She wasn't aware of the major knowing anything regarding the nebula.

Nodding in acknowledgement that the floor was hers, Chiyo clicked a button near her seat, and the holographic image changed to that of a Nova class starship.

"This is the Starship Redemption, NCC-10134." Chiyo introduced. "She was a Nova class starship launched in 2378 under the command of Captain Hisako Reizei; a Starfleet veteran who had fought in both the Cardassian and Dominion Wars. She witnessed the return of Voyager when she was brand new, and in 2382, Starfleet had the bright idea to send off a retiring Captain Reizei in style when they assigned the Redemption to chart the Karlax Nebula."

Chiyo clicked to the next slide. This one was going to be tough for her:

"Among the Redemption's crew compliment was this man: Lieutenant Tatsuo Yoshida Shimada." She began. "He wasn't anyone special; he wasn't even the Chief of Security; he was just a regular security grunt who had recently been promoted within the previous year. So, why this man in particular? Well, even the lowest of lower decks officers can be important to someone... Someone like me:"

Tears began to brim in Chiyo's eyes.

"Tatsuo means the universe to me, and I... I..." Chiyo trailed off as she suddenly hallucinated all the women sitting at the table wearing wedding dresses, and the image of Chiyo the faceless bride flashed before her eyes.

"I can't fucking do it..." Chiyo collapsed back into her seat crying. "Everyone on this damn ship is happy but me..."

This was an unexpected turn of events, especially for a Marine CO. These were gruff, battle-hardened individuals, rigorously trained to be afraid of nothing; and yet, here was the Tokyo's own Marine CO, reduced to a blubbering mess.

Chisato, for one, seemed especially concerned for Chiyo's emotional state; she certainly wasn't a counselor, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this wasn't a normal situation. Cautiously, she reached out and laid a hand on Chiyo's shoulder, half-expecting her to swat it away. When she made no move to do so, Chisato proceeded to run it up and down the Marine CO's upper back in a gentle, soothing motion.

Taiga leaned forward, holding her hands together. "Perhaps it's better for you to go and take some time off duty major..." she said softly. It wasn't quite an order, but also more than a suggestion. She made a mental note to check in with the major later.

"She's right, Major," Chisato agreed. "You don't have to push yourself if this is going to be too tough on you."

Several more uncomfortable seconds of Chiyo crying passed before she pulled herself together enough to speak:

"I'll be okay to make it through this meeting." She muttered, her face now red from the sudden outburst. "After that, if you'll forward the briefing notes to Captain Beurling so she knows what's going on, she can take over for me..."

Taiga simply nodded.

Nezuko could only lower her head, saddened by her colleague’s sadness.

Moklor looked over from his seat, a slight unease washing across his face. He was not sure how to respond and seemed to freeze in his seat.

Lieutenant Yuvek paused briefly before speaking aloud. He recognized the obvious discomfort the senior officer was experiencing. However, he still feel the need to speak up.

Lieutenant Yuvek chimed in, "Ma'am, wouldn't an exploration vessel or team be better suited for such a. . .mundane task?" He asked. "We just survived yet another engagement with Elachi, clearly there are greater threats for the Tokyo to address rather than us spend time and resources serving as a glorified lighthouse." The Helmsman said.

'A glorified lighthouse' Amari thought, she discreetly activated her computer implant and had it search for what a lighthouse was keeping the glowing projection close to her skin.

"The fact that we lost so many in that area of space, if it is hostiles, then that's where we are going to be needed. If its scientific issues, then we can make sure we have cleared the way for those to follow. Think of the songs they will sing when we are the first ship to return, when all else failed."

Moklor could be heard grunting in response. A mission to potentially rescue lost comrades was an honorable one.

Nezuko cleared her head of the sadness and nodded emphatically. She stood and signed “The fact that so many ships have been lost means it must be a front line ship with a competent crew like us.”

"I know its more of a job for a science vessel. However the Nebula blocks long range sensors when you're inside. We have forty highly resilient, fast and capable starfighters on board to help us overcome that." Taiga said.

"We'll be doing this 'old school'," she continued. "When Humans first started using aircraft at sea from an aircraft carrier; their planes could scout and chart further than the ship's itself. Those pilots could detect the enemy from a safe height, scout landmarks and relay them back over hundreds of miles. Essentially we can do the same." The Captain explained. She looked over to Moklor. "Flying I'm a nebula can be dangerous, it's not like flying in space. Anything can happen out there. All starfighters will need to drop communication boosters to stay in contact with us, as well as their own navigational beacons."

"Aye Captain", Moklor said while leaning back slightly in his seat. "Taking it one step further, I would like to configure fighter sensors to gradually emit Tachyon particles.
This is an old trick we learned on the Hiryu. These particles will broaden into a field we can track while also boosting communications."

The highly reactive particles interacted with the composition of most nebulae. This would not be the first time the old Klingon flew through a nebula, yet he knew it would be the first time for some of the younger pilots.

Taiga nodded. "The nebula is two days away at cruising speed. That should give you time to modify the starfighters," she replied to the Klingon.

Moklor bowed his head into a curt nod, looking down to type notes about the preparation in his PADD.

"As for everyone else, this ship needs to be ready for when we arrive. We don't know what effect this nebula will have on our systems or the crew. So we should orepare for every eventuality," Taiga said as she looked around the room. "Questions?"

"Do you think we're going to find the Redemption-" Chiyo began before realizing her question was sounding selfish. "Or, for that matter, any of the ships that the nebula has claimed over the years?"

Taiga looked down at the table for a brief moment. "I was told that there is a possibility we might encounter lost ships in the nebula. However the probability of the crew having survived this long is minimal," she explained.

Chiyo hung her head and sighed. She didn't say anymore, as she would have to prepare for the possibility that perhaps the regs had been right for the past 14 years, and she had been living a delusional fantasy where Tatsuo might have still been alive.

"Right, if there's no more questions we have two days to prepare this ship for the nebula," Taiga said as she stood up slowly. "I want you all to submit departmental readiness reports within the next two hours, dismissed."

Posting by

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant jg Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer

Major Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander
Second Officer

Lieutenant Rea
Chief Engineer

Commander Thomas Johnson
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Febin
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant Commander Moklor ‘Shell Squid’
Commander Air Group

Lieutenant Trennek Zakrin
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant Kylynn Adams
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Talia Johnson
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant JG Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant JG Amari
Engineering Officer

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