Drastic Action

Posted on Fri May 15th, 2026 @ 5:15am by Commander Eila Juutilainen 'Illu' & Lieutenant Commander Lurath, Son of Grogori & Captain Mikoto Misaka & Lieutenant S'ress & Lieutenant JG Kenneth Hunt & Lieutenant JG Erskin Mon & Lieutenant JG Feeva Drylo

2,378 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Preparations
Location: Observation Lounge

The doors of the observation lounge opened and in walked Misaka. The senior staff were already gathered and awaiting her around the slightly curved table.

"I just finished speaking with Starfleet Command." She started simply as she lowered herself down into the end chair. "I reported that the weapons meant for Deep Space Nine have been taken by a Cardassian Vessel and that we believe that there was some sort of sabotage that dropped our shields at the right moment at the right time."

Misaka paused as she looked around at her staff. "As you can all imagine. Starfleet Command is not happy at all. In fact, that was be a rather large understatement how they feel about this." she explained to them. "However, after some... negotiation. I have managed to come to an agreement with Starfleet Command."

"We have twenty four hours to track down the Cardassian Ship and to retrieve the weapons that were stolen. If we do not find them within twenty four hours, we will be pulled away from this assignment and facing a full investigation. We could all possibly be facing consequences." Misaka explained. "I don't need to tell you all, that this is extremely embarrassing for us all."

"Embarrassing? Try 'career-ending', Captain." Eila replied. "If this investigation finds us guilty, we'll be demoted and assigned to jobs so remote they're still using 23rd century technology."

Lurath said nothing. His head was hurting slightly and it was difficult to look at any illumination without making it worse. In his mind, the only thing he could think of was how much he was right, before all this happened. He told them they should have done more to secure the route. Ensured that there was, at the very least, two more ships to help protect the weapons cargo since it was as important as they were claiming it was. Now, it was in the hands of the Cardassians. Or someone wanting them to think it was them. Lurath found it odd, for a race that enjoyed talking, the ship didn't open a line of communications. It didn't state its intentions. It just attacked and, some how, grabbed the weapons out from under them.

Erskin sat with his back perfectly straight, his expression an impenetrable mask. While the others reacted with visible agitation, his mind was already cataloging the probability of the sabotage. The mention of a security breach didn't surprise him; it merely confirmed the data.

"Career trajectories are secondary to tactical reality," Erskin stated, his voice a calm, resonant anchor. "A shield failure of this precision requires localized administrative access. Someone knew our frequency rotations."

"That's absurd!" Lurath shouted, placing his Raktajino on the table, letting out a slight cringe. "Those frequencies rotate at a rate only I know and never repeat. I made sure of it myself. There has to be another reason why this happened."

"Sit down, Commander; and don't make me repeat myself." Eila said sternly before turning towards Misaka. "Sorry, Captain- please continue."

"However, in light of this. Starfleet Command is going to grant us the full use of the Argus Array." she tapped a button on the control panel of the table. An image of the Argus Array came up on the screen set into the wall. "If you didn't know already, the Argus Array is a highly advanced deep space long range telescope and sensor array. Its located three lightyears on our side of the Cardassian Border." She explained as the image showed the technical specifications of the array.

"At maximum warp, we can be at the array in about three hours." Misaka explained. "Once we arrive, we have authorisation to use the array to search for the Cardassian Ship.

"Are any nearby ships aware of Cardassian activity?" Eila asked. "As this is now a matter of Federation security, two ships looking for those stolen weapons would be a lot better than one."

Misaka shook her head. "No. Starfleet wants us to deal with this quickly and quietly." she explained. "If more ships are brought into the equation, we could uptip the delicate peace between the Federation and Cardassian Union." she told them all.

"Twenty-four hours is an extremely short amount of time," Hunt replied with his arms folded, leaning up against the wall. "It's almost as if they're eager to punish us." Unfolding his arms, he walked in closer to where the staff was sitting. "Been doing some research, if its the Maquis then we can bet they are heading to the demilitarized zone. If these really are Cardassians, then they're likely on a path to their side of the border. So, are we authorized to cross into Cardassian space if necessary?"

"How the hell with the Maquis get their hands on a Cardassian ship?!" Lurath countered.

S'ress wanting to be in bed right now, she was fantasizing the Cardassians she envied, but they were weak, envious, lacked direction. 'Pew Pew' she thought. She remember while on Earth at Starfleet academy there were these cartoon's that would pop up now and than, with domicile cats just dancing...

"We find the ship first. If its inside of Cardassian space then I will make that decision." Misaka stated. She turned her gaze to the Caitian looking science officer. "Lieutenant, you're the ranking science officer on board correct?"

"Meow? I mean Captain? I mean there is Lt. Kamijou, they have been here longer." S'ress was taken off guard.

"Yes, Lieutenant Kamijou has been here longer. However I requested you over him to be here today." Misaka said. "As much as I lov... I mean appreciate his skills. You are the more qualified officer for this assignment. And to fill the role as Chief Science Officer. Which, I'm making you from now." She paused. "So, with that said. Your opinions on using the Argus array to find our Cardassian Get-away ship?"

S'ress put her arms behind her back and raised her eyebrow, she looked the Captain dead pan in the eye. "To answer your question directly - yes. Tactically it is unwise. The Argos array would be putting a larger target on us, and allow our prey to know the Federation is onto them. It would require a multi-layered deception. We have to Blend it into expected chaos." She paused... and began thinking and calculating in her head. "I will run predictive algorhythms with the Astrometrics Lab and come up with something."

"That shouldn't matter." Lurath added with a irritated grunt. Some of it was because he was still fighting a headache. The other was over the idea that there was caution because they didn't want whoever took the weapons to know the Federation is onto them. Of course the Federation would be onto them. There is no excuse NOT to be on the hunt for whoever took those weapons. If you take something from the Federation, you better believe, the Federation would come looking for it.

"Once we arrive, we'll send over a team to access the array and scan for our Cardassian ship. Hopefully, it won't be too far away." Misaka explained. "Lieutenant S'ress and Mon. That'll be your job. The stations control center is tiny, after all its an unmanned sensor array. So, there will only be room for you two."

"The array’s resolution is unparalleled, but its data throughput can be overwhelming," Erskin noted, his voice maintaining its steady, resonant tone as he processed the logistics with a slight, rhythmic tap of a finger against the table. The Argus Array was a powerful asset, but its sensitivity made it as temperamental as the current political climate. "To find a single ship across the border in under twenty hours, we’ll need to bypass the standard buffering protocols. I'll begin prepping a high-speed downlink between the array's processor and the ship’s main computer now."

Being paired with the newly promoted S'ress added an unpredictable variable to an already tight schedule, but he didn't let the thought cloud his professional mask. He turned his gaze toward S'ress, his expression neutral yet expectant, "Lieutenant, once we board, I'll handle the subspace handshake and power distribution. I’ll need you to calibrate the long-range tachyon filters to compensate for the nebula interference in that sector. If we're off by even a fraction, we'll be looking at ghosts." He stood, smoothing his tunic. "I’ll have the transport coordinates locked by the time we drop out of warp."

"Should be fun. I promise not to bite." S'ress winked.

"As for everyone else. We have eliminated the possibility of sabotage. But have all departments standing by. Once we find that ship, I doubt they'll surrender those stolen weapons without a fight." Misaka stated. "Any questions?"

Feeva shook her head; the earlier parts of missions usually never involved her. She'd get the aftermath-the blood and guts and the duty to put someone back together again. She preferred that than to face death head on, actually.

"No, ma'am," she murmured.

"Yes..." Lurath said firmly, gripping the handle of his Raktajino, as he brought it to his lips to finish it. He looked around the table, before locking his eyes on the Captain. "Where is our Chief of Intelligence who, just so happens, to have a Cardassian friend on board?" He let out a groan and leaned back in his chair. "It's no coincidence that it's a Cardassian ship who comes to take our weapons while a Cardassian Spy, who claims to work solely for the Federation, happens to he on board? No one else finds that a coincidence?"

"I already checked that." Misaka said. "According to the internal sensors, he was in his quarters at the time. There was no computer activity from his quarters at all."

Lurath let out a irritable groan. "He was in his quarters according to the computer, which we all know can be altered given the right set of computer skills. If the Cardassians background is to be believed, and he was trained by Starfleet Intelligence, he would certainly knew his way around Starfleet sensors and computers." He raised his glass mug to drink, but quickly stopped, lowering it again. "I've never like his presence onboard and, now that the weapons have been stolen out from under our noses, I don't like him now. He was easily in the best position to help them. At the very least, we should utilize any contacts he has in this area to learn more about that Cardassian ship."

"I will take that under advisement. I will be going through all the sensor data and computer logs once we are under way." Misaka said. "Our priority is to get those weapons back. That amount of weaponry should not be allowed to be in possession of a potential hostile government or military."

"Agreed." Eila nodded. "If the Cardassians figure out how to reverse engineer the weapons, or worse still, come up with counters for them... Let's just say this could potentially spark an arms race that would put us on the war path once again."

Lurath scoffed slightly. "Those weapons should have never been placed on a ship without a proper plan and escort. I've said from the beginning that something like this could happen and now, here we are." He took another sip from his glass mug, before lowering it to add. "The primary concern is retrieving the weapons, but Starfleets other concern is saving face for a poorly executed plan. Let this be a slap to our humility in thinking one ship, regardless of position or status, is not capable of doing something alone without an ally to prevent unseen dangers."

"And that Starfleet expects us to be the Enterprise and clean up this mess ourselves?" Eila agreed. "I'd dare say that's just as bad if not worse than the poorly executed plan to begin with."

"Enough." Misaka said sternly. "I understand you're all frustrated, but we're in this situation and there's nothing we can do to change that. You are all Starfleet Officers, so lets quit tje complaining, comparing ourselves to others and sort this shit show out." She told them all.

"Commander." Misaka said looking over to Eila. "Set a course for the Argus Array and engage at maximum warp." She stated simply. "I'm going to be going over all of our sensor data from this morning in my ready room."

"Understood." Eila nodded.

"Dismissed." Misaka said simply as she rose from her chair. She wasted no time in striding out of the observation lounge en route to her ready room. They had less than twenty four hours and every minute counted. The clock was now ticking down, working against them.

"Helm, set immediate course for the Argus Array." Eila ordered as she emerged from the conference room and strode out onto the bridge. "Maximum Warp."

Erskin rose from the table in a single, fluid motion, his expression remaining an impenetrable mask as he followed the Captain out of the Observation Lounge and onto the Bridge. While others might have allowed the weight of the twenty-four-hour deadline to manifest in hurried steps or anxious glances, Erskin’s stride remained measured as he moved directly to his station without a word. He immediately got to work.

Walking out into the Bridge, S'ress looked over to the Science Station, she stood there and looked down at it. It was not to her settings. She sat and the board and began programming it meticolously, and fast as well. The beeps surrounded the bridge.

Once the Ermiana was at warp, Eila stood from her seat on the bridge.

"If anybody needs me, I'll be in my office." She declared as she began making her way to the turbolift. "Better to have two sets of eyes going over that sensor data in case something gets missed..."

A Mission Post by

Captain Mikoto Misaka
Commanding Officer
USS Ermiana

Commander Eila Juutilainen
Executive Officer
USS Ermiana

Lieutenant Commander Lurath, Son of Grogori
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Ermiana

Lieutenant S'ress
Chief Science Officer
USS Ermiana

Lieutenant JG Erakin Mon
Chief Operations Officer
USS Ermiana

Lieutenant JG Feeva Drylo
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ermiana

Lieutenant JG Kenneth Hunt
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Ermiana

RSS Feed