Aut Consilio Aut Ense

Posted on Thu Jun 30, 2022 @ 1:24am by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Commander Caleb Ryan

1,446 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Dyson Yards
Timeline: Day 9

Once the Cardassians had allowed for the evacuation of the prisoners, Annora and the others found themselves on ships headed for the Dyson ship yards. Upon arrival, they were checked out by Medical before the brass wanted a debriefing on what happened. As expected, due to being the security chief, Annora’s was more in depth. There were a lot of questions about her department’s response to the attacks and how the station’s defensive systems seemingly failed so quickly. The first question was easily answered; the security teams responded to the internal threats as they were supposed to, and were gearing up to fight off Cardassian boarding teams when Commander Ryan gave the order to stand down. Many security personnel chose to fade away into the depths of the station to carry out guerilla strikes on the Cardassians, while the others split their focus between covering their comrades and acting as escorts for the others who surrendered. As for why shields and weapons systems were easily negated, Annora didn’t have much of an answer. There was no time to carry out an investigation, but many felt the Cardassians must have had some inside help. Whether it was sympathizers among the station’s residents or sleeper agents was anybody’s guess.

Once released from the debriefings, Annora headed to the common room where many of the security staff and others from DS5 were. It had become a place for them to gather until Starfleet made a decision about what happened next. She stopped at a table where a group was working on a complex jigsaw puzzle. “You have room for one more?” she inquired.

Jessica placed a piece and looked up. “Sure, Chief,” she told her boss. “Pull up a chair.” Since they were all placed off duty after being debriefed, the blonde security officer, and many others, were just dressed in Starfleet athletic sweats, more comfortable than a uniform, and none of them had any other personal clothes available since being forced off the station. Most had gone for at least a week since being allowed to even bathe under the Cardassians while being held at the DS5 shipyards.

Greeting the others as she sat down, Annora took a look at the box to get an idea of the picture.
"How are you holding up, Ensign? Hope they didn't grill you too hard?"

“Not too badly,” Jessica said. “I wasn’t really in the thick of things like others were. Being benched is the worst part.” She sighed with annoyed boredom as she popped another piece into the puzzle. “I wouldn’t want to be Commander Ryan, though – if we ever get lucky and get him back from the Cardassians.”

"I'm sure the Commander can hold his own against the Cardassians."

She didn't know for sure what kind of SERE training the man had received, but considering his service record was confident he had a decent knowledge of how to resist an interrogation. Annora sorted the pieces closest to her while considering the rest of Jessica's statement. From her conversation with Petty Officer Carew, who served as an intermediary between the Enlisted and Commissioned security staff, Annora knew many were upset with the XO's choice to surrender the station.

"We'll let an official inquiry board judge his actions."

Knowing many were also unhappy with being benched, Annora made sure to address that issue to the staff as a whole.

"I agree that being benched can be frustrating. The good thing is, we're not benched due to medical issues. We need to be ready for whatever decision is made by the brass, be it to retake DS5 or reassign us throughout the fleet. In the morning I'll look into finding what passes for a fitness center around here. At least we can put that nervous energy to good use."

“That would be nice,” Jessica admitted. “Getting a bit flabby, just sitting around here. I’ve done some corridor runs, but the other Fleeters kind of stare and judge.”

From the next table came a response from Sgt. Khava, one of the few Marines in the room.
"Let 'em stare. No shame in staying fit. If they're in the way, just tell them to make a hole. I find that usually works to get them to move."

Annora chuckled a bit at his statement. "He's got a point, but I still recommend finding a space that's not too busy. If they still bug you, just say you're staying in shape so you can whip the Cardassians."

“It isn’t about working out,” Jessica said. “It just feels like we’re…tainted, you know?” she said, messing with the food still left on her plate.

"Because we were captured." Annora had received a few looks herself but shrugged them off. "It's never an ideal situation, especially for those in our line of work. Remember though, they weren't there, so any judgment is based on incomplete facts."

Her response was cut off by Crewman Graneet entering the room. "Ma'am, the Federation President is about to hold a press conference about recent events."

Turning on the computer monitor at the front of the room, Annora waited with the others for an official response about the attack on DS5.

Jessica turned her chair to take in the monitor.

As the collective group focused their attention on the pending press conference, a voice from the back asked the question many were wondering. "Do you think they'll announce diplomatic sanctions against Cardassia or something stronger?"

If it was just the station, that was one thing, but the addition of the portals added another layer of complexity. However, Annora wasn't sure the Federation was prepared for another armed conflict with Cardassia. "I'm not sure, but I'm sure we'll soon find out."

The FNN logo was replaced with a live video feed from the office of the Federation President.

"Good evening to all the citizens of our Federation. Last week, forces of the Cardassian Union launched a surprise attack on a Federation outpost.

There were a few boos, directed at the mentioned Cardassians, but quickly quieted as President Trel continued her speech.

As of this moment, the Federation is now at war with Cardassia.

Cheers and whistles filled the room with the announcement of war. While Annora herself felt some vindication with the decision, she knew retaking the station wouldn't be an easy feat. The group settled down to listen to the rest of Trel's speech, but exploded into a standing ovation once the video feed switched from the President's office to a reporter talking, analyzing the speech.

Jessica felt the corporate thrill of excitement as well. She hadn’t been in a war, but there had been some rather dangerous situations on the station. Of course, it was likely the Marines would be tasked with the initial station boarding and she with Security would take over after the deed was done to secure the station. That assumed that Starfleet would reinstate them and not keep them benched.

Someone finally turned off the monitor as things sort of returned to normal. While there was still an air of excitement, the room had calmed down enough for a conversation. Chief Petersen was the first to speak up.

"Never thought I'd see yet another conflict with Cardassia. I joined Starfleet right at the end of the original border conflict with them, and of course there was the Dominion War a few years later. Hopefully the threat of facing off against the Federation and Klingons will tamper their response."

Annora nodded in agreement.
"Let's hope so Chief."

Realizing the others in the room were looking for her reaction, Annora took a moment to compose her thoughts before addressing everyone present.
"While I'm sure Starfleet has a contingency plan for retaking a station, it's too early to know any specifics. However, I will do everything in my power to ensure that everyone who wishes to take an active role in retaking DS5 can do so. Until such a time as we have details, I expect everyone to start making preparations. Aside from keeping up with your fitness and weapons training, we should start drawing up our own liberation plans. No one knows the station better than we do. Even those of you not in security can contribute to possible strategic points we can exploit. To borrow an old saying, we may have lost the battle, but the war is far from lost. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm to find someplace we can commandeer as a training space."

Off:

Ensign Jessica Mayhew (NPC)
Security Officer DS5

&

Lt Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer DS5

 

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