STF

Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go...

Posted Feb. 25, 2021, 8:07 a.m. by Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn (RTF Commander) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Surda (Chief of Security / RTF) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…

Posted by Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn (RTF Commander) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…

Posted by Commander Ryder Raauhl (Executive Officer) in Shuttlebay - You Want An Anomaly? Here You Go…
Posted by… suppressed (19) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The bridge of the Leviathan was quiet in the early morning hours. The ship had dropped out of warp in order to allow for the arrival of the new RTF Commander. The name had been attached to the order, but the personnel file wasn’t. Instead, it simply said “Will be hand delivered.” So, as the ship drifted in space in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t much going on.

It was several hours later that the comms system indicated an incoming hail. =/\= Leviathan, this is shuttle Dreamcatcher. Request permission to dock. =/\= While formal and professional, the voice of the shuttle pilot was… off… uneasy and nervous, to say the least. The comms officer noted the oddity with a slight furrowing of his brow. =/\= Dreamcatcher, this is Leviathan. Is everything okay? There is an… odd reverberation… in your signal. =/\= =/\= No, no, Leviathan, everything is fine. Just… been a long trip to meet you. Our passenger is… um… ready to disembark, is all. Are we cleared Leviathan? =/\= The comms officer looked at the Science station and gave them a quick nod. The Science officer began scanning the now visible shuttle… nothing appeared out of the norm. There were three life signs, as expected, and all systems appeared normal. The Scientist looked back and shrugged. The Comms officer gave them a look that said ‘Oh well, guess it’s nothing.’ and then said to the shuttle =/\= We have transponder lock, Dreamcatcher. You are cleared for arrival in Main Shuttle Bay. =/\= There was notable relief in the pilot’s voice when he said =/\= Understood. ETA two minutes. =/\=

Doing her daily bridge requirement Casela was sitting in her chair in the CIC not quite tapping impatiently. Finally, =^=Synthi-er to Black Devils, report to the shuttle bay. The new RCO has arrived.=^= She got up from her chair, signaling Fenrir to follow. The KAI9 AARM got up from his spot and followed her to the turbolift.

Just under two minutes later the shuttle came through the force field seperating the bay from the vacuum of space and it settled gracefully to the deck. After shutting down it’s engines and post-flight checks were done, the hatch opened and a human male came out wearing the gold uniform of Engineering and Operations. He looked around to see if anyone was there and, spying the on-duty Security officer, waved frantically for them to come over and then went back inside. A moment later, another figure appeared… but it most certainly was not human… or any Federation species.

It stood almost seven feet tall and was encased head to toe in an intimidating and highly customized suit of armored material. Large metal bracers covered the forearms and lower legs; and a thick metal belt with a myriad of pouches encircled the waist. All of this was topped with a helmet that showed no indication of the face behind it, but the design was more than distinctive:

The figure was a Breen. And this Breen wore a red sash across it’s chest and left shoulder where the rank pin for a Starfleet Chief Warrant Officer was attached in plain view.

Irida, Niven, Lehiw, and Uj’aw were all present when she and Fenrir arrived, in uniform and armed with their Mark VII batons and rail guns. And full armor. Casela, as ships counselor was concerned that no personnel file had been sent ahead of time. That usually boded ill for Leviathan. The formed up, ready to greet the new RCO, and why the Black Devils? Because they were the best RTF team on board, Commendant Manhattan had made sure of that. She heard the very subtle intake of mental air as each of the team took in a BREEN on board. She shook her head slightly, as team reagent their actions were her responsbility and they all stayed where they were.

Mentally, oh the benefits of being Betazoid, she reached out Surda and Quinn Hey Angels, get to Cobb on the double. We have a Breen on board. And we all know how he feels about them. It will be a blood bath! If the abanonded Breen ship they’d found was any indication, Cobb was going to tear this ship apart bolt by bolt to kill the man or woman? standing before her.

A long rifle was slung over one shoulder and a sidearm was holstered at the left hip. The rifle was unique, but to anyone with experience fighting the enemies of the Federation the sidearm was almost trademark for the species: a Type-3 Disrupter pistol, highly prized and utilized by such races as the Borg, Breen, Cardassians, Dominion, Ferengi, Gorn, Hirogen, Klingons, Remans, and of course Romulans. It was also highly illegal in Federation space.

Well Cmdr Raauhl would have a field day with that. An illegal side arm, and he thought with her knives she was over armed. Good luck with this one, cmdr.

As the individual stepped out, it carried two large black bags, on in each hand. The Security officer, who had halted mid-stride in his approach to the shuttle and whose hand had dropped unconsciously to his phaser, took in the sight and then just hit his commbadge and said =/\= Security to Shuttlebay. Backup requested immediately. =/\=

At the sound of the voice, the helmet whipped to look at him, and the figure began approaching.

Vonn, RTF

Casela stepped forward, between the Breen officer and security, far enough away to not be threatening, but in the way. “Welcome to Leviathan. I’m Lt Synthi-er, ships counselor, and Team Reagent of RTF team Black Devils. And you are Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn.”
Lt Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/KAI9 Handler/Cobb’s Angel

The helmet turned slightly to focus (maybe?) on the new voice and the figure adjusted it’s direction slightly to come to a stop about ten feet from the Lieutenant. It didn’t stand at attention or at ease. It just seemed to be… ready. A robotic, emotionless, and whole synthesized voice issued forth.

“I have orders to meet with Commander Raauhl and Captain Cobb.” was all it said.

Vonn, RTF

Casela nodded, “Do you require anyone to transfer any cargo for you?” The only thing she had on him at the moment was rank, and Casela couldn’t stand rank, but it meant she didn’t have to bow and scrap before him. And just incase they didn’t get the message =^=Yoeman Kindle our new arrival is here please meet with Lt Surda and report to RTF Ready Room 2 on Deck 13.=^= Head of security and the Yoeman, two logical choices. And this is why Cobb had chosen them.

“I have everything I require.” came the electronic voice.

=^=Synthi-er to Cobb and Raauhl. Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn has arrived. We are escorting him to RTF Ready Room 2 on Deck 13. I have already notified Kindle and Surda.=^= The mention of the other Angels should be enough of a warning for Cobb. That man was going to be in her office and confined to her deck for days. The Ready rooms, unlike the briefing room was actually outside the containment areas and accessible without access levels. She led the way out of the shuttle bay and to the turbolift. Only she and Fenrir accompanied him on board. The others took a different life, heading back to RTF barracks on deck 11. “Deck 13”

When the lift stopped she waited for him to exit and then led him down a short right hand corriodr and to a room marked “RTF Ready Room 2.”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/KAI9 Handler/Cobb’s Angel

Vonn didn’t pause and simply stepped off the lift and made their way to the room, oddly without any pause or noticable glances at signage. Once there, Vonn stepped to the side and the helmet swiveled to look at her. The door wouldn’t open for the figure until they were put into the ship’s computer, so Vonn allowed Synthi-er to open the door and then wordlessly entered.

Vonn, RTF

At that moment, Zachariah Cobb was not in the CIC. He was not in his ready room or his personal quarters. At that moment, Zachariah Cobb was on his knees, on a left-side pew, three rows from the altar. Eyes closed, hands clasped before him, head bent in silent and reverent prayer. It was a ritual repeated at the annual mirror of the same moment in time, irrespective of location or situation. On Earth, in the tiny, historical chapel on his beloved Nantucket. And now here, in a digital recreation, exact to the wood grain on the hand-carved congregation benches or the marbling on the singular, white altar. The fading sun of dusk spilled delicately through windows cast from coloured glass, the air around him thick with the scent of burning candles, of incense, of confession and shame and guilt. Guilt for remaining. For surviving.

Zachariah Cobb was not a religious man and, to his knowledge, nor had been the man he now honoured. And yet somehow, by tradition or culture or merely a lack of inspiration for alternative gesture, this place and these actions seemed wholly fitting. And so, with external comms blocked and his commbadge re-routed to Raauhl for emergencies, the captain of the Leviathan spent his morning in mental invocation of the man he once knew as William Stubb. The man who had served by his side as his First Officer. The man he had lost, along with so many others, to the Breen.

-*-

It was a sombre and unsteady Cobb who emerged from the holodeck that morn, his immediate desire set on returning to his ready room, sinking an entire bottle of whiskey and now honouring William Stubb in a more personal way. But as he re-routed his commbadge, his soliloquy was shattered by the familiar voice of his counselor:

=^=Synthi-er to Cobb and Raauhl. Chief Warrant Officer Kodek Vonn has arrived. We are escorting him to RTF Ready Room 2 on Deck 13. I have already notified Kindle and Surda.=^=

“Gods be damned,” he murmured, one hand moving immediately to his breast pocket and testing the weight of the flask stored within. It had been a difficult morning and his supply was almost run dry. But it would suffice for now. It would have to. After all, how taxing could meeting this Kodek Vonn be?

=^= Cobb here. On my way =^= he replied flatly, feet settling into a now-familiar path and transporting their owner to deck 13 without thought. At the door to the RTF ready room, he paused, allowed a moment for the consideration of waiting for Surda and Kindle while he drained the remnants of his flask, then on a colossal and steadying breath, he stepped inside the room.

“Greetings. I am Captain Cobb and it is my delight to welcome you to…”

Halt. Retreat. Ground zero.

His eyes darted to Synthi-er. She was not laughing.
“Is this your idea of a joke, Lieutenant?” he snapped. “I should throw you in the brig on the best of days for such disrespect. But on this day above all others? I’m of a mind to throw both you and this…” he glanced at the figure before him. Whoever was beneath the costume, he almost had to marvel at the level of detail. Although it was no less nauseating up close for being mere recreation. “…this thing!” he spat out at last, before turning his head to the viewport, refusing to offer it any further visual attention.

  • Captain Zachariah Cobb

She knew what today was. She’d warned him over comms that she’d summoned the Angels. Why did he come in alone? He’d probably send her to the Brig anyway, but this was NOT a joke and she was at a total loss as to how this man was transferred here. Casela, to what normally would surprise Cobb, stood at perfect attention, an indication of how serious the situation was. She’d chosen the RTF room for a reason…the ease of lock down. She stood between the two, her body slightly turned towards Cobb, waiting. Her expression clearly stating this was NOT a joke. Raauhl, Surda, and Quinn better get there quick before things exploded.

The Breen didn’t move, didn’t twitch,didn’t even seem to breathe. It just… was. And then the synthetic voice spoke. Without emotion or inflection.

“You are Captain Zachariah Cobb, Commanding Officer of the USS Leviathan. Former Commanding Officer of the USS Albatross, destroyed by the Breen Confederacy during the Second Battle of Chin’toka. Captain Grant Marshall sends his regards… and this.” The Breen lifted their right arm and tapped the bracers on that arm. It slid open revealing a wrist mounted computer. They tapped a few commands and a small chip ejected from the device. Vonn pulled it free with their left hand and held it out to Cobb.

“Captain. My file.”

Vonn, RTF

He ignored the offered chip, as surely as if it had never existed at all. Instead, arctic-blue eyes remained locked on the hideous mask, the vomit-green visor a cowardly barrier to shield this monster’s weak, traitorous own.
“You have not earned the right for my name to cross your lips,” Cobb spat. “Nor that of the vessel your kind destroyed.”

Uncertain if Cobb would reach for the chip, refuse it, or take the man’s actions as hostile she picked up a PaDD, that by luck, had been left in the room. She took the chip, plugged it into the PaDD and then, without looking, handed it to the Captain. Acting much as Cobb’s Yoeman for the moment. She’d be glad when Quinn arrived to help. She knew the captain better than anyone on the ship. And who in the blazes was Cpt Grant Marshall and what kind of joke did he think he was playing. By the gods this was going to blow up in their faces. She honestly didn’t think she could be as calm as Cobb if she was in his place.
Lt Synthi-er, CNS/RTF/KAI9 Handler/Cobb’s Angel

The Breen still didn’t move, but the voice resonated again.

“The chip will not work in your device without acknowledgment of receipt by the Captain here.” and the left hand tapped the wrist computer. Then the helmet shifted to face the Counselor.

“And never again take something that isn’t offered to you first, Lieutenant. Some things are not meant for idle hands.” and the helmet shifted back to to the Captain.

Vonn, RTF Commander

“I suggest, Chief you don’t presume to tell me my job, and I won’t tell you yours. And I suggest you remember how to address someone of superior rank.” She didn’t even give him the decency to look at him. If he had something unsafe to touch it was her job to intercept it before it got to the captain. If he didn’t like that, he could step out an air lock. Of course Casela didn’t care for rank. She’d rather remove the trappings and meet him in a sparing ring, but in this case, it worked.

“Chief Warrant Officer, then, if protocols are to be adhered to.” came the toneless and inflection-less voice with no shift in the helmet’s gaze.

Raauhl, a little slow to the party had been taking care of some Engineering issues. Well he wasn’t taking care of them the engineers were but he was overseeing it while it was done. None-the-less he finally entered the room and stopped dead. Breen? he thought to himself and then quickly remembered the communication from RFT Command. “Chief Kodek Vonn” Raauhl assessed the situation in the room as a little hostile. “Captain, This is our new RTF Commander. He as you’ve seen is Breen.” Raauhl gulped, Duh.

  • Cmdr Raauhl, XO

Zachariah’s focus shifted briefly to Raauhl. Smile, you son of a Gorn! Laugh! Reveal the joke! But it never came. And he could not risk leaving that Thing unwatched for another second…

The helmet, nor the Breen inside the suit attached to it, had moved from where it was, its visor locked on Cobb. But the mechanized voice sounded. “You are the Executive Officer Ryder Raauhl, once Ryder Cozane.” The tone and emotion-less delivery made it sound almost as if the Breen was confirming the man’s existence for him.

Slowly, the helmet turned to look at Raauhl. “You are authorized to approve receipt of the file.” The Breen’s right arm extended towards the XO, a single Starfleet icon on the wrist computer’s display slowly rotating; inviting him to touch it.

Vonn, RTF Commander

Surda had begun her trek to Deck 13 as soon as possible, hoping to reach them before there was a confrontation, but having been deep in the containment decks she’d had to wait through all the clearance procedures before she could run to meet the group. She pushed a thought to Casela as she came down the hallway to the door, Did we know about this before? What in all of Uto were they thinking?

We only knew that a new RCO was coming and his name and rank. Nothing else. This is a night mare! And if Cobb doesn’t kill him, I might. Her thoughts were tight and controlled and would not be able to be over heard by telepath or machine.

She paused outside the door, taking a moment to make it appear that she hadn’t been running, but she couldn’t do anything about the curls of hair that had escaped from her braid. She entered quietly, taking up a post alongside the door. Surda didn’t have any of the personal vendettas against the Breen that most Starfleet officers did, but she was also one of the few onboard with a history of friendly dealings with Breen mercenaries. In fact, if he had ever partnered with an Orion… She projected to Casela as best she could, mentally waving to get her attention. He may know Orion sign, so if there’s something you really don’t want him to know, mental communication is your best bet.
-Surda, CoS

Still keeping her thoughts very locked down, Good to know. Personally I’ve never met a Breen or worked with them. But I know the history and this is going to explode in our faces if we don’t tread carefully.
Lt Synthi-er, I’m not afraid of you or your threats

Relations with Breen are often volatile enough without personal opinions, Surda offered, shifting slightly. I’ve had dealings with a few, both good and bad. Breen had shot at her several times, but so had individuals from most species, Federation or otherwise, and she’d been partnered with Breen mercenaries on jobs before.
-Surda, CoS

It was odd for anyone used to dealing with most species to look at the Breen standing there. There was no movement, not even a small bounce one would expect from a individual standing upright and holding an arm extended. It was completely motionless, as if encased in an invisible stasis field. But there was no such field. Just Vonn. Standing… waiting.

Vonn, RTF Commander

OOC: Pasting in split

Quinn nearly ran into Sir Da as she entered the room. She had been setting up a breakfast tray in Cobb’s ready room when Cas had sent out the mental call. She ducked back to her quarters to change than ran the rest of the way. Her hair was coiled into a braided bun on the back of her head. She was wearing her R T F uniform, with her Yeoman rank on her collar. Her eyes widened as she spotted the Breen, she hissed out a word that the universal translator beeped over before she wrinkled her nose, glanced at Cas, before she moved further into the room, until she was standing beside Cobb’s left side. Without saying anything, she just stared at the Breen.

Quinn Kindle, Yeoman, R T F, Cobb’s Angel

No. Not her. To have the woman he cared for, he was beginning to grow so close to, within touching distance of the Monstrosity. It was in that moment that Zachariah Cobb almost broke down. To think of Quinn Kindle, so sullied, so defiled, by being forced to breathe its poisoned air. He could look on her no longer. So with a heaving breath, Cobb turned his head to once more face the Breen.

Having hesitated enough and a small crowd forming Raauhl took the invitation and touched where he assumed his thumb would go, it was odd to have been identified by his previous name and the name was… odd to him. At first Raauhl wondered if he had done something wrong because nothing happened but after what felt like an eternity something began to happen.

  • Cmdr Raauhl, XO

The first thing that happened is the PaDD in Lt Synthi-er’s hand beeped. The second thing that happened is Vonn’s voice spoke again while lowering their arm slowly. “My file. For Commanding Officer and Executive Officer review.” And the last thing to happen was the PaDD issued a strange static noise and then the Leviathan’s computer said through the PaDD =/\= Encrypted file. Private correspondence. For Captain Cobb only. =/\=

Vonn, RTF Commander

And finally, with the theatre and the distractions of this gathered crowd dealt with, it came full circle back to him. To Cobb. With no single word, he extended a hand to Rauuhl and motioned for him to hand over the PADD, his eyes not for one microsecond leaving the faceplate of the Breen.

The Trill Exec was more than happy to oblige, he handed over the PaDD and nodded once to the Breen officer. Boy was this going to be a long day. Turning to the crowd that had gathered he shouted, “Haven’t you got work to be getting on with, Security stand down there’s nothing here.” He shot them all an authoritative glance before looking over his shoulder, Cobb seemed to have this handled for now.

Once received, he retreated a step from the others, the gravity of the moment no excuse for a breach of security protocol, then once satisfied that he alone could see the screen, Zachariah activated the message. And read on…

  • Captain Zachariah Cobb

  • Cmdr Raauhl, XO

The personnel file was complete, intact, and as dry as others. What set it apart was the list of qualifications. Weapons: well, it would have been easier to say what he didn’t know how to use. Demolitions, check. Survival, check. Escape and evasion, check. Hand to hand combat, sabotage, piloting… check check check and on and on and on. Vonn was, at least according to his file, more than qualified for the job assignment.

And then there was the other file. Opened by a retinal scan and the input of his full security code, a text-based message appeared.

“Captain Cobb,

I am aware of the difficulties surrounding your most recent personnel assignment. And I am sure this goes without saying, but…

Watch your back.

Capt. Grant Marshall”

Vonn, RTF Commander

Surda turned to Rahuul, tilting her head as though she didn’t understand. “Very well, sir. I simply wished to meet my new colleague. Commander Vonn, I hope you’d be amenable to a meeting after this. We’ll be working together closely.” She didn’t offer her name, rank, or position, but she had few doubts he knew who she was anyway.
-Surda, CoS

The Breen didn’t move or give any physical indication they heard the Security Chief’s words, or was even aware of their presence. But Vonn’s voice spoke, artificial and emotionless. “Protocol suggests a correction. Not Commander. Chief Warrant Officer. I will meet you in your office when the Captain and Executive Officer have finished their review.” they said, although the helmet didn’t move from its fixed lock on the Captain.

Vonn, RTF Commander


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