Anna sang it best...

Posted on Thursday May 26th, 2022 @ 2:34pm by Lieutenant Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Curzon Bennett

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Bridge/Captain's Ready Room.
Timeline: MD05 0945

Finchley arrived on the bridge and asked an Ensign at a Science station if they knew where he could find the Captain.

"He's in his Ready Room, Sir, just over the bridge, there" she said, pointing.

"Thank you Ensign " Finchley replied, nodding his head gratefully. Making his way over to the Ready Room, he pressed the buzzer on the wall and awaited a reply.

'Enter,' Bennett called. This was one of their last stops before crossing into Klingon space, and he was eager to meet his newly-transferred Executive Officer. It was a shame that the previous holder had been recalled to Earth, but there we go. Can't help if someone's tried to lie on their service record, he mused.

The doors opened and Finchley entered and walked over to the Captains desk. Stopping a couple of feet away, he produced the PADD he was carrying and held it out saying, "sorry to interrupt you Captain, I'm Lieutenant Commander Finchley Kerr, your new Executive Officer. I thought I'd better check in with you as soon as I could, let you know I've arrived and present my transfer orders to you Sir."

Getting to his feet, Bennett leaned over his clutter-free desk, and took the PADD from the Lieutenant Commander. 'Commander Finchley, yes, we've been expecting you,' he replied with a smile, and motioned for him to be sat in the chair opposite, 'quite an unusual transfer - I'm sure you weren't quite expecting this assignment.'

"Thank you, Sir," Finchley replied, taking the offered seat, then carried on. "Yes, it is an unusual transfer, and to be honest, there wasn't a hint of it till very recently, about seventy two hours ago roughly in fact. Can I ask if you asked for me Captain, or was this Starfleet HQ's call?"

'My previous Executive Officer was transferred out under a cloud. I simply asked Starfleet to provide me with the most capable Executive Officer available at such short notice. They gave me three choices, and I picked you Commander,' Bennett smiled, 'so you can say it's a little bit of both.' He steepled his fingers, 'I apologise that it was so abrupt.'

"I don't mind Sir," Finchley replied, "the situation has occurred before, but thank you for considering me as your first choice. May I ask you to get me up to speed on current affairs please."

Bennett nodded as he returned to his seat, 'of course.' He thought a moment then began. 'I'm sure you're aware of the disappearance of Deep Space Three last year - vanished without a trace. The USS Oberon has been tasked with solving the riddle of her disappearance. Most of the senior crew, with the exception of both of us, are former members of Deep Space Three. They were pursuing an assimilated ship, or on a clandestine mission when the station disappeared.

'The disappearance of DS3 has severely destabilised the power balance in the area, and has significantly eroded our ability to project power in the further reaches of the Beta Quadrant. The Klingons have taken solid advantage of this, and have begun pursuing both the remainder of the Romuland Empire, and the Romulan Republic with abandon. They cross our space freely using the Khitomer Accords, and there have been close calls between Starfleet and the ships of the Great and Minor Houses. The Imperial Navy is so far neutral, but the Klingon High Chancellor claims not to be able to rein in the Houses.

He took a breath, 'that brings us to the second strand of our mission. Out on the frontiers the Oberon will be Starfleet's most cutting-edge and powerful vessel, so we will be expected to keep the peace. Starfleet Intelligence also have concerns that the Romulan factions and the Klingon Empire will race to claim the Shackleton Expanse and its resources, fuelling further clashes. So we will be charting the Expanse as we go, in the hopes of setting up a conference to stabilise claims in the area.' Bennett cleared his throat. 'Any questions, Commander?'

"Yes Sir" Finchley replied "I'm not one for standing back, watching. I've had my fair share of 'incidents' with the Klingons, as no doubt you have yourself, and one thing I know that gets their attention is giving them a bloody nose. I don't understand why Starfleet allow them, the Klingons that is, to use the Khitomer Accords to willy nilly so they can cross our space freely. There are certain situations that can be used used within the Accords to stop and search vessels we believe are carrying 'contraband' out with the Accords, so why don't we use that to stop and search their ships, cause them to have second thoughts about using our space. It may seem a futile thing, but it does give us cause to disrupt their...usage of our space if they think they'll get stopped. Should we find something, then let's use it to show them we mean business, show them we're not push overs, because quite frankly, right now, with what you've just said, I think that's exactly what I think they see us as. Unfortunately I have duties to attend to Sir, so I best get to them" he finishing.

Standing up he bowed slightly from the hip and said "Thanks for your time Captain", then left the room.


Lieutenant Commander Curzon Bennett
Commanding Officer
USS Oberon

&

Lieutenant Commander Finchley Kerr
Executive Officer
USS Oberon