Facing the Music

Posted on Sat Sep 29th, 2018 @ 1:13pm by Major Sam Braddock & Captain Paulenna Sallem

1,071 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: The Return to Faltan
Location: Colonel Haversford’s Office
Timeline: MD05 - 1935 Hours

ON:

Sam walked across the flight line towards the MEU headquarters with Paulenna in tow, his face absolutely blank. The transmission they received during the engagement with the Faltan Air Force was troubling to say the least and combined with their restrictions on their Rules of Engagement, it was going to cause frustration across the board. Marines needed objectives and could get antsy if they weren’t given them.

The Captain was in step half pace behind the Major as the pair moved silently towards what was likely going to be an uncomfortable dressing down to say the least.

Stepping past the guards and through the double doors, he made his way through another set of doors and up a set of stars. Hanging a quick left, he followed the signs through the hallway until he reached the end and faced a single wooden door. Giving it two quick raps, Sam waited.

“Yes!” Called Havesford, as he glanced up from the padd he was reading to see who was bothering him.

Sam was the first to enter, centering himself in front of the chair on the right and coming to attention. “Sir, Major Braddock and Captain Sallem reporting as ordered.” He said forcefully, his gaze fixed upon the wall in front of him.

“Ah yes, my two Faltan attackers. Care to explain to me why you fired upon there craft when I told you not to!” Haversford said angrily.

Sam fought the urge to sigh and gritted his teeth. “Sir, the Faltans had a missile lock on me and the Captain had been fired upon after multiple verbal warnings, all while staying within our boundary line. What did you expect us to do? Get shot down?” He asked, a hint of sarcasm entering his voice.

“So, the Faltan’s crossed the border and shot at you causing you to retaliate?” The Colonel asked, wanting clarification.

Sam nodded. “Yes, sir. With your permission, I’ll transfer our gun cams and logs to you and Intel to review. If I may speak candidly, they mentioned political games. Do we need to worry about rogue pilots?” He asked.

“If I’m honest, they’re probably pissed at Starfleet as the Government have pointed a large finger at us over the death of their Governor. They’ve also probably flooded their news service with anti Starfleet propaganda as well. It will make them be trigger happy. I personally think the whole government is rogue but unfortunately it’s not my concern.” Haversford replied.

Sam raised his hand. “Sir, this could mean something even worse, I’d like to request a rotation of recon and signal monitoring flights to keep an eye on their communications. We might also want a Combat Air Patrol flown at all times. If these guys decide to get froggy, I don’t want us to get caught unawares.” he said quickly.

“A sensible precaution, I’ll agree to it as long as you keep from starting a Diplomatic problem. I’d rather not have Captain Refelain or his senior staff breathing down our necks.” The Colonel replied.

"Sirs, Our assets in orbit have also been monitoring the Faltan's public comms, and providing updates to us. If we're going to have all of this coming in as well as the intelligence assets that are operating inside Faltan we might need to set up a Threat Intelligence Integration Centre. The last thing we need is to be caught with our proverbial pants down because we missed the tree through the forest." Sallem said.

Haversford nodded, “The public comms are probably full of propaganda bullshit, but it still might be worth us listening on them. We can’t take anything for granted. If I’d been in command I’d already have sent the Marines in and started levelling cities to find the people responsible for all this.”

"Somehow I doubt the Federation Council would appreciate that." Sallem remarked, "With your permission sir, our auxiliary flight control centre could be reconfigured pretty easily into a TIIC. If the squids want to be tied in on that's fine but at least it would ensure that the MEU has the best intel available moving forward."

Sam shook his head. “Respectfully Colonel, Captain, this is something we need to coordinate with Fleet InOps. If we don’t, it’ll result in a cock measuring contest and a lot of bruised egos on both sides. I’d suggest appointing an Marine Intel liaison team that can act as a bridge between the MEU and the Fleet and get us relevant information as required.” Sam said.

The Colonel thought for a few moments, the Captains suggestion was good for the here and now but the Major’s suggestion also had merit, however would take time to put into place due to higher ups and there dithering. “Major, I want you to work with the Captain to get his idea working immediately. I’ll need to get confirmation from the Marine General’s for your idea, Major, which will unfortunately take time.”

"We could start by meeting with Command here and see what they have, bring the intel we collected on our flight and try to get them on board with a intel fusion centre. Then if brass green-lights an increase we're ready to go. If they don't we'll at least have put the squids in better position moving forward." The Captain remarked.

Haversford nodded in agreement, “We’ll have to wait until Captain Refelian is back on his feet. Commander Prescott and I don’t see eye to eye and we need command to be objective.”

Sam stood silent, his face not betraying the fact that he was quite impressed- this Captain was [i]good[/i]. She concentrated on getting things done with a minimum of pomp. Thinking for a moment, he spoke up. “Maybe she just needs a new face to bring this to the table. With your permission, I’d like to bring this to her and our Intel Chief. Captain Sallem might be able to speak with the Battalion Commander to get some support from our ground units.”

“Do it. Get everything in place, while I confirm things with the higher ups.” The Colonel said, impressed by his people’s dedication to their job.

"Yes Sir." Paulenna replied curtly.

“Aye aye, sir.” Sam said finally, his mind combining the various possibilities in his head.

 

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