A Major Problem

Posted on Tue May 17th, 2022 @ 10:00pm by Captain Natalya Markova

Mission: Pirates! (Or Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Yum)
Location: The Oracle

ON

Nat slid out of Bex's bed, leaving a kiss on the woman's cheek as she did so. While her times with Bex were fun, being cooped up for too long was getting to her. She was becoming restless. She needed a proper stretch. A run. To vent all of her mounting anxiety into the deckplates, and blow off some of her tension.

The Replicators in Bex's quarters gave her what she needed. Sweats, sneaks, a hairband to tie her mess of hair into a ponytail. Once she was set, her clothes from the day before neatly piled, Nat stepped to the door. As expected, there was a guard there, as there was outside every room she was in. More than sometimes inside the door as well. The man gave her a look, and raised an eyebrow.

"Just gonna take a run." She said. "You wanna follow?"

"Commodore's orders." The guard replied. "You don't wanna run on the Holodeck?"

Nat shook her head. "I need a proper run. A real deck under my feet. A Holodeck isn't the same."

The guard sighed heavily, and gestured for her to move off.

Nat set off at a warm-up pace, she could hear the man staying a dozen feet behind her. After the first five minutes of running the deck, Nat picked up the pace, her feet pounding the deck, the impact feeling good as she let herself get lost in it. Lost in the moment. She could almost - *almost* - pretend she was back on a Starfleet ship.

Rounding a corner, she saw a figured up ahead. Older, grizzled, receding hair. She hadn't been introduced to the man yet, but the look in his eyes could come from only one thing. A life of combat. Nat slowed to a walking pace as she approached, a curious expression as she finally got a half dozen feet away. "You must be Major Glaswan." She said with a smile.

The Major looked this woman up and down, surveying her. There was only one possible person this could be. "You must be Markova. The one who changed my assault plan "

Nat wasn't sure how to read that comment. His face was almost stone blank. Except the eyes. She could see a calculating mind, already planning. Who are you? She wondered to herself. "I thought you might appreciate avoiding a squad of Marines defending the ship." She replied airily. Or, as airily as she could muster.

"Indeeed." The Major was trying to read her. She was good at blanking him. "Tell me, Lieutenant. Would you join me for a drink in the mess? I have some questions that would aid in my operation."

Two pairs of eyes met, each trying to weigh the other. Nat shrugged lightly. "Nothing alcoholic, not after a run."

Glaswan turned, I dictating the way. "After you."

~~~

The ship's Mess was exactly as it had been under Starfleet ownership. Perhaps the bar was better stocked, but otherwise standard furnishings.

The pair of former Marines sat at a table, a glass of Auburn liquid Infront of the Major, and water for Markova. "Allow me to properly introduce myself." He said, with a gravious air. "Major Vincent Glaswan. Formerly of the Starfleet Marine Corps. Now the assault commander here on Oracle."

"Lieutenant Natalya Markova." Since the man was attached to his rank, Nat saw no reason to shy away from hers, even if using it did bring a small pang to her heart.

"So, tell me, Lieutenant," Glaswan leaned back in his chair, the guard close enough to react if Nat made a move, but otherwise not intruding on the conversation. "Has our dear Commodore filled you in on the details of our plan?"

The intensity of his stare was starting to make Nat feel uncomfortable. She felt, for the first time, that there could in fact be someone who could see in her mind. "He did, yes. Capture the Ch9imera, rig it with explosives, and use it to detonate Starbase 614."

The Major picked up his glass, sipping at the drink, surveying her. "And you have no issues with this plan? We will be assaulting your former home, after all."

Nat set her elbows on the table, resting her chin on interlocked fingers. "Major, Captain Skyie made it 'abundantly' clear that the Chimera was no longer my home. She humiliated me, in from of Fleet Officers. I want her, to humiliate her, in far more painful ways."

"That is part of how our plan changed." Glaswan gave her a nod. "Our objective had been initially to execute the command level - Captain, First Officer, and Second Officer. Render the ship leaderless, and use overwhelming, organised force to take the ship."

Nat had to blink at that. She hadn't heard any details of 'how' they were going to take the ship. Just that it included three objectives: the Bridge, Engineering, and Security. "Kill?" Her voice tightened just a fraction.

Glaswan fell silent, staring at her. "Yes, Lieutenant. You don't leave your targets senior people alive. You remove them, so they are unable to rally the crew. However, per the Commodore's seeming wish to indulge you, we are to merely capture Skyie - alive. The other two... this brings me to my questions. Our information is seemingly lacking in key areas. You have first-hand knowledge that will be of use."

Nat's mind was racing. Did this man really intend to kill the Commander? She hadn't met the man, at all, yet she had heard of him. "What do you need?" Her voice stayed this time. She had let her emotions slip for just a fraction, and the stare she had recieved was a reminder. A single slip could mean her immediate, and violent death.

"Firstly, our sources are quiet on the identity of the ship's Second Officer. I am in need of a name."

The matter-of-fact tone was almost creepy. Nat desperately wished they were discussing almost anything else. "We didn't have one." She saw his sneer and rushed forward with her words. "No, really. When I left, the ship was without a Second Officer. It was a point of contention on our last mission. The Captain had been injured, and was undergoing surgery, our XO was unavailable, and the command structure onboard broke down during a crisis."

Glaswan thought a moment. "No Second Officer? Interesting. If you had to guess, Lieutenant... who would be the most sensible person to assume command, should the First Officer be eliminated, and the Captain taken captive?"

The hypothetical raced through Nat's mind, and she found herself genuinely analyzing each department. Both the Medical and Intelligence heads had transferred off after the Dexic mission. The ship didn't really have a department head in any official capacity, except for Security and Sciences. Of the two... "Lieutenant Valleroy. Chief of Security. In the event of a crisis such as that, Security would seek to take the lead, both in leading any sort of counter-offensive, and ensuring unity among the crew in the defence."

"All right, XO and Security Chief." Glaswan nodded. "The next issue I wanted to discuss was the Marine unit onboard. You changed one of our routes to avoid them. In the possible absence of a replacement officer, who is the chief NCO?"

This was prickled Nat's sense of honour. She was a Marine. Even if she was kicked out, she still held to the code. Semper Fi was - the words came back to her. She had spoken those to Cally. Had she not called her Captain a true Marine? She she now discussing the possible torture - if things went to shit - of the woman? Nat had already, without even thinking, violated her oath. It was a harsh truth, and Natalya Markova, formerly a First Lieutenant in the Starfleet Marine Corps looked into the eyes of his Major. She had to stop him. She 'had' to.

Not now, though. Not with Penwhether's guards watching her every move. She had to do it on the Chimera. She had to - somehow - get her ass on that ship at the same time as his assault team and take him the fuck out. It was her only option. Correction, it was her only option that didn't result in her immediate death. She had to play along. She had to keep her cover. That meant she had to betray her people.

"Gunnery Sergeant Reishi Hijani. In the possible absence of an officer, she will be in command. Headstrong, willful, and sometimes leaps before she looks. Depending on how many you have, you might want to consider sending some right at her. Get her bogged down in a fire-fight at the Cargobays, that will limit their ability to redeploy.

Glaswan nodded, his eyes seeing the map of the Luna-class vessel in his mind. "Keep them pinned down, and they can't move to intercept us." He said slowly. "I could see that working. Allows us to hit the Armoury, Engineering, and Bridge. Take out the XO and Valleroy, capture the Captain, and use Engineering to disable their own systems." His vision snapped back to focus on Nat, sitting across from him. "Thank you, Lieutenant. If this pans out, I can see the two of us working well together in the future."

Without warning, the man stood. "If you will excuse me, I need to brief my people." He didn't wait for an answer before departing.

Nat watched him leave, panic truly setting in now. Shew couldn't simply disable the ship, and let Chimera handle the rest. If their plan was to breach, board, and lead an assault, she 'needed' to be on the Chimera, to let Cally - hell, let the whole crew now what was happening. How... how... how... the one word circled around her mind as Nat remained sitting at the table, her mind running in circles. How...

OFF