Security Review

Posted on Sun Nov 16th, 2025 @ 4:26pm by Lieutenant Mark Valleroy & Lieutenant JG T'Pinga & Cass'e'Indira

Mission: A Princess Of Tial
Location: Tial

Mark headed towards one of the shuttles, which had been prepared for him to head down to Tial for an overview of the planet's security systems and procedures. Noticing someone out of the corner of his eye coming towards him, he turned to see Lt. T'Pinga headed towards him.

"Lieutenant," he said in way of acknowledgement as she came up to him. "What can I do for you?"

"Lieutenant, I understand you are headed to the surface to observe some of their security systems?" T'Pinga said.

"That is correct," Mark replied.

"I would...wish to request permission to accompany you," T'Pinga said somewhat hesitantly.

"I'll admit that I could use an extra set of eyes down there, and was debating who to take with me," Mark said. "Though if I may ask, why the sudden interest in Tialian security?"

"I admit that I would not consider it a 'sudden' interest," T'Pinga said. "During the course of our Tialian guests' stay, I have had several opportunities to associate with them, and with Cass'e'Indira in particular. During those times, we have exchanged a certain amount of information on our respective species. I must confess to having found a certain amount of fascination with their culture, including some of their approaches to security-related issues."

"Very well, welcome to the mission, Lieutenant," Mark said, gesturing towards the shuttle.

The trip down was relatively uneventful, aside from the severe power drain that began shortly after the shuttle entered atmosphere and only got worse the further down they got and when they arrived they were directed to land on a certain landing spot. When the door opened, Mark and T'Pinga stepped out of the shuttle.

Cass'e'Indira was waiting for them as the shuttle landed, unfazed as it touched down gently without the blast of dirt and grit which would have come from one of the native shuttlecraft. "Lord Valleroy, Lady T'Pinga, welcome to Tial and to Light's End." She inclined her head deeply as she greeted them, resplendent in full armor and weaponry. Around the landing area were several other Tialans, likewise armed and armored, but clearly not there as part of any 'greeting party.'

"Lady Cass'e'Indria," Mark said with a nod, noting the Tialian security standing quietly around the area (not that he could blame them - he'd have done very much the same had the roles been reversed). "I thank you for your invitation to come and examine your security infrastructure."

T'Pinga nodded, hands clasped behind her back. "Cass'e'Indria," she said. "It is agreeable to see you again."

"It's always good to get the opinion of a fellow security expert. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can see the flaws in someone else's setup." Cass made a gesture towards the castle behind them, "Would you like a tour of the outskirts of the bastion? While our forces would initially defend away from the city proper, there's plenty of room within the walls to temporarily fit the people and so we wouldn't actually make it an urban conflict."

"I would like that," Mark said. "In an urban area with a civilian population, it makes sense to have an area for some sort of evacuation shelter in case of hostile forces attempting to engage.in a populated area."

T'Pinga nodded. "Prior to the time of Surak, there were several settlements on Vulcan that were designed in not too dissimilar fashion."

"And I'll be the first to admit that the need for such a curtain wall is not a critical need in this day and age." Cass agreed, "We would see any force large enough to pose a threat from far enough out to have our response ready to intercept them beyond the city. But old habits die hard." She gestured ahead of them and fell into step just ahead while the other escorts followed behind, ready to intercept anyone that argued with the presence of the foreigners.

"I'm sure this must feel antiquated to the both of you, the swords, spears, bows, but as I was saying on the journey here, your weapons would not have any effect here." She pointed at the torches that were unlit in the sunlight, "Fire is our primary light sources on the surface, but it's something we're used to."

"There can be something to be said for not relying too much on technology," Mark said. "History is full of examples of a civilization with more advance weapons who lost out to a 'less' technologically advance civilization because they relied too much on the idea of their own superiority and were unable to adapt to changing situations when they needed to most. Even without such a viewpoint, one side could be caught off-guard by something unexpected. Whether offense or defense, sometimes the best of either one is the specific measures your opponent never sees coming."

"Which is one of the benefits of being on the defensive." Cass gave a shrug, "But it gives the offense the opportunity to take the advantage of the initiative." She took them up the staircase to the battlements to look out over the city, the sentries spaced out so that there were only two across one expanse of the wall, "We don't have to worry too much about predators, they steer well clear of civilization and our Bey'a'Dandians are always on their guard out in the wild. Civilians tend not to go out by themselves and we only have reports of a handful of attacks in any given year."

"We do have predators on Earth as well," Mark said as a breeze ruffled his hair a bit, "though we've also taken measures to make sure that they are encouraged to stay away from population centers, and that people who do travel out into the wilds are educated on how to deal with wild animals."

"It is also similar on Vulcan," T'Pinga noted. "Most wild animal attacks occur during such events as the kahs-wan ritual, the Vulcan test of maturity where an adolescent must survive in Vulcan's Forge for 10 days without food, water, or weapons. Many injuries and even deaths do stem from encounters with local predators, particularly the le-matya."

"That actually sounds like something I could use for a training cycle." Cass remarked, "Though without the water would be the most difficult of the factors, especially if it's in a hot and dry location. I must presume that Vulcans are more efficient in maintaining hydration than other species?" It was a question of intrigue, "Perhaps I'll have to show you the Vitrayan Expanse in the Northern Reach, it's the largest desert system on planet, gets up to fifty-two degrees in the height of the dry season."

"There is a certain amount of anatomical differences between Vulcans and Tialians, of course," T'Pinga said, "though I will leave a more extensive description of said differences to Dr. Kellerman or one of her staff, as they are more familiar with such things. With our own training, there is also a certain amount of prior preparation and education on how to survive such trials, including such things as how to dress, find safe shelter, and not over-exert yourself, especially during the worst heat of the day."

"Good training, My Lady." Cass agreed, "One of the areas in which I'm sure we agree. I would say that the biggest security factor we have is watching the distance. Certainly we have outposts near the borders and further in, signal fires ready to go as needed, but some intruders are specialists to sneak in without being seen or to assassinate the sentries. Whether it's happened recently or not, our goal is always to be ready for anything."

"And I imagine that the planet's unusual properties when it comes to machines that run on the kinds of energy that most space-faring species use do dictate your own technological development and planning - and in general, not just with security-related areas - as well as other species' approach if they have hostile intent," Mark said. "We came here in peace and it was a bit of an adventure just getting down here to the planet's surface."

"And that has been the case so far in both of our experiences with other peoples' coming to our world" Cass agreed, "And why we have to be very careful with our ground technology centers. If we accidentally let our atmosphere into them, we lose whatever has been being worked on. The potential to be devastating. We are trying to bore into Valanis, the fourth world, to set up a research station there to take over what we have going on in Tial orbit, but it's going very slowly and it has to be fully hidden for us to make practical."

"Concealing planet-based facilities can be difficult," Mark said, "particularly large ones. We do have some experience with that, though a lot of it is actually duck blind missions, which our anthropologists and other similar scientists use to discreetly observe and study pre-warp civilizations, where we use a certain amount of holographic technology to conceal a small outpost built into hillsides."

"That would be a very useful trick to be able to do, but would there be any outward sign of the installation?" Cass'e'Indira asked him, "We are very concerned about security of the location as well as an active self-destruct mechanism. We do not allow ourselves to be captured." She stated solidly, "What you happened upon with myself and Her Grace was an aberration."

"I'd have to check on the specifics of how they're built," Mark said, "as I've never actually been involved in such construction myself. I could check in the Chimera's computer systems for more details. Usually the Starfleet Corp of Engineers handles such construction. I would certainly think, though, that there shouldn't be any signs of installation unless you knew what to look for, since any signs would be rather counterproductive when you're trying to hide a facility."

"Would it be possible to have a Priest of Skull make contact to potentially make arrangements? They would be much more capable of understanding the details than I am, truthfully." Cass gave a slight smile at it, "But it would certainly be a very useful addition to the outpost."

Mark nodded. "I'd probably want to bring in someone from Engineering myself to handle some of the more technical questions." he said, "but I don't see why arrangements of some sort couldn't be made."

"That would be wonderful." Cass smiled, "Now, from what you've seen of our security arrangements so far? Any weaknesses that you think need to be addressed given our technology?"

"Not at the moment," Mark said, "though knowing the way my brain works I may have an idea or two pop into my head tonight when I'm in bed about to fall asleep. You've developed a very interesting setup, especially considering the local planetary environment. I don't think I'd want to try to come in and take over the planet, even after learning about your secrets."

"A planetary bombardment would be the most effective way, but would only serve to destroy us rather than capture." Cass smiled, "Which is why we're working on developing our space-borne forces. Still, anything you can come up with, we'd be more than happy to listen to. Now, if you'll just follow me..."