To stop a war

[tomcat]

Again the senior staff of the Columbia were circled around the conference table looking towards their captain - each was beginning to feel, if not show the stress caused by their situation. They all knew what needed to be done and what Darkan would most likely order - all of them were glad that the decision did not rest on their own shoulders.

[Edrahil / Tam]

Dr Tam quickly gathered readiness notes from his department supervisors, and headed up to the meeting room. He felt his pulse quicken as he walked... although he hadn't been on the bridge recently, he knew that something big was happening. He could feel it in the air, and although he knew it didn't directly affect him, he wanted to make sure that his department was ready to perform to whatever the need.

Lt Townsend had quite the different emotions, however. She was fully aware of what was going on, and didn't like it one bit. She hoped that the captain had a plan in mind, because from everything she could see, things were going in a bad direction right now and would likely get worse before they got better.

Both arrived in the conference room at about the same time, sitting in their usual chairs and waiting for the captain to enter and start the briefing.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Darkan enters the room, looking more haggard than he did on the bridge, or maybe it was a trick of the light.  Taking a seat, he begins, "Thank you for being prompt; the preamble will be short.  First, we discovered a mock Federation ship in a Romulan dry dock.  Second, we come across tranmissions that hint at some covert intentions.  Now, we've discovered a command to set in motion what seems to be a plot to bring the Federation and Klingon Empire back to war and, even though we'd be disavowed by our government, any overt action we do could lead us down the same path.  We are at best 10 days from intercepting the mock ship and really no reliable way to hide it.  We need to disrupt this plot before any shots are fired upon innocents.  I am seeking options to accomplish this mission, so let's hear them."

[tomcat]

Mr. Grahm looked to his left and right - seeing no other officers speak up, he cleared his throat and offered his thoughts to the group. "Captain... I have been a student of tactics for many years and I have always been most intrigued by those of the late-20th Century mariners. During the period known as the Cold War, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic sparred in both technological development and war posture, although it never went further than a battle of words. Needless to say, the submariners of the time used to see how closely they could get to the other side to be in the best position to launch a devastating strike. To do this, they built stealthy, fast attack ships - but they also practiced in the art of using their environment as well. In the ocean it is called the thermocline and it can re-direct noise radiation and there is also ambient noise that the mariners would hide in to confuse their opponents' sensors."

Grahm could see impatience grow on his captain's face, for the man was also well-schooled in old Earth tactics. He decided to get to his point... "Err... anyway captain, my point is... we make a fast run to the end of the Wedge at warp 8 and close the distance between us and the Connie quickly. Then, we disappear with the Prairie Masker and attempt to engage the faux Fed vessel within the Neutral Zone itself. That way, we are not technically violating either space. WIth the masker and the noise of a potential civil war in Klingon space, we may be completely unnoticed."

Grahm stopped speaking, leaving his idea for all of his comrades to evaluate. He was no politician. He was trained to make the U.S.S. Columbia the most deadly ship she could be... and that is what he intended to do to make sure his government did not have to enter a war that would certainly kill so many.

[Edrahil / Tam]

Dr Tam looked around the table to see what kind of response Grahm got, and then spoke up with his own idea. "Well sir, when we started this mission I read up on some of the old mission reports from other important encounters with both the Klingons and Romulans, and one tactic employeed previously against the Romulans has given me a possible idea. In one of Dr McCoy's medical logs, he tells of a mission where he had to disguise his captain as a Romulan, using prosthetics. I believe that I'd be able to perform the same operation on a few members of our crew if needed. Having a "Romulan" face on the screen might allow us to talk our way into close proximity of the other Federation ship, to get a jump on them that way. Maybe if we explain that we're another Romulan crew working a similar operation, and here to escort them, or something like that? From what I've heard, the Romulans have so many intelligence operations on the go, that I would be surprised if anybody had the proper authority to know about all of them... so they might easily believe that they just weren't told about us until now?"

[sdrotar]

Dr Tam looked around the table to see what kind of response Grahm got, and then spoke up with his own idea. "Well sir, when we started this mission I read up on some of the old mission reports from other important encounters with both the Klingons and Romulans, and one tactic employeed previously against the Romulans has given me a possible idea. In one of Dr McCoy's medical logs, he tells of a mission where he had to disguise his captain as a Romulan, using prosthetics. I believe that I'd be able to perform the same operation on a few members of our crew if needed. Having a "Romulan" face on the screen might allow us to talk our way into close proximity of the other Federation ship, to get a jump on them that way. Maybe if we explain that we're another Romulan crew working a similar operation, and here to escort them, or something like that? From what I've heard, the Romulans have so many intelligence operations on the go, that I would be surprised if anybody had the proper authority to know about all of them... so they might easily believe that they just weren't told about us until now?"

"Such a ruse would entail a great deal of risk, but it does have merit, as does Mr. Grahm's plan," said Stonn. "However, Doctor, if we were to only appear on-screen, we may not have need of your services." He said the last while staring at the doctor with a look that might have been bemusement... had the look not come from a Vulcan, of course.

"There seems to be no way to avoid an engagement, Captain," said Stonn with a bit of resignation apparent in his voice. "But I find it unlikely that the Star Empire would allow a vessel of such strategic importance to travel unescorted. It seems likely that one or more cloaked vessels will be traveling with it; I would suggest we prepare accordingly. We should also... consider ...finding a reasonably safe space to broadcast a brief, encoded warning to Starfleet, despite our stated orders, and then continue on as planned without waiting for a response. Most certainly, Starfleet Command has not anticipated a situation such as this when originally assigning the Columbia this mission, and alerting them of the impending risk of deception and possible war may be of the utmost importance."

[tomcat]

"Well if we do use the Neutral Zone as our lane of ingress, we will still need to be careful of spill-over," said the Russian-accented helmsman. "We can certainly make our course down the Neutral Zone, but if we engage, I cannot promise that my maneuvers will not take us into Klingon or Romulan space."

"Agreed," replied Grahm. "Captain, if we do this, we must make it a fast and devastating attack. There unfortunately can be no allowance for prisoners and the ship must be utterly destroyed. The potential political ramifications that could result if even a piece of this mock up were displayed as evidence of a Federation intrusion... it could set diplomatic relations back years."

"Why not try and blow the ship in the drydock?" The question came again from Pushkin, "We have no knowledge that this ship has or ever will be able to leave its harborage. Maybe we could sneak in and beam over demo teams to destroy it from within... or even attempt to capture it?"

The last proposal was certainly the most far fetched that had been voiced, but it did need to be discussed and eliminated as an option. At least that is what Pushkin told himself as he looked at the incredulous faces looking back at him.

"What?" asked the Russian - always the comedian, he wasn't sure if he was being taken seriously.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Darkan sat a moment thinking about the options given him -- this looked more and more like Kobiyashi Maru: damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Then a thought unbidden and almost dismissed out of hand, but another pie-in-the-sky thought.  "Stonn, what do you think are the chances of the Klingons working together with us?  What if we took our case to the local governor and showed him our intelligence?  It might tip our hand to the Romulans and traitors, but it could at least put them on alert or at best give us a hand in destroying the imposter ship."  Darkan's history with the Klingons has not been good in the slightest, but he'd rather take his chances with the devil you know instead of the devil you don't.  The captain kinda squirms in his seat, showing his displeasure at his own idea.

[tomcat]

OOC: Cool Matt! I never thought that might be an option you would play.

[GandalfOfBorg]

OOC: Doing what's best for the Federation above his own personal beliefs... for now

[sdrotar]

Darkan sat a moment thinking about the options given him -- this looked more and more like Kobiyashi Maru: damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Then a thought unbidden and almost dismissed out of hand, but another pie-in-the-sky thought.  "Stonn, what do you think are the chances of the Klingons working together with us?  What if we took our case to the local governor and showed him our intelligence?  It might tip our hand to the Romulans and traitors, but it could at least put them on alert or at best give us a hand in destroying the imposter ship."  Darkan's history with the Klingons has not been good in the slightest, but he'd rather take his chances with the devil you know instead of the devil you don't.  The captain kinda squirms in his seat, showing his displeasure at his own idea.

Stonn raised his eyebrows in surprise. The captain was discussing ending the stealth mission on his own - but Stonn also thought that the risk was probably worth it.
If the Klingons ignored them, they'd be no worse off - still in the neutral Wedge, facing the same situation. But if the Klingons chose to listen...
"It would provide a rare opportunity to foster positive relations with the Klingons," he said, " and it seems unlikely that our situation would worsen substantially, with the exception that our presence here would no longer be secret. Nevertheless, it would seem to be a worthwhile strategy, Captain."

[GandalfOfBorg]

Darkan looks about the table to gauge the reactions of the others.  "Other opinions?"

[tomcat]

"The only challenge I can present to this course of action captain is the uncertainty of whom we may talk to," answered Grahm. "Sir, if we accidentally reveal ourselves to one of the factions involved in this potential coup... well, we could be led into a trap and destroyed. The problem is that we do not know who is on whose side over there - only that the Chak-ruth have commenced with a plan that involves the Romulans."

[GandalfOfBorg]

"Agreed."  Taking a deep breath to look around the table once more, his mind, contrary to his heart, was made up.  "The orders will be as follows..."

"1. We shall take the Columbia to a spot on the other side of Acamar where it'd be as blind to the Klingon and Romulan space as possible and make a burst transmission, encoded of course, back to Starfleet with the data we've collected, a report of the current situation, and our course of action."

"2. We shall do as Mr. Pushkin suggests and make a dash to the Wedge as fast as the ship can sustain."

"3. During this time, we shall monitor transmissions from both sides of the border, noting on the Klingon side anything that would hint at the regional politics so we can contact a general or governor who would most likely listen to us."

"4. In the event that we don't get help either by the Klingons declining or at the point of their disruptors, we shall proceed to the dry dock to destroy the imposter ship.  I like the idea of the destroying the installation and ship without guns ablazing so I'd like a mission briefing put together on how our team will pull that off, but everyone should be ready for ship-to-ship combat."

"Mr. Grahm, you will put together the briefing on the demo team insertion on the installation and the usual for starship combat.  Work with Mr. Ramos to make your best assumptions on the imposter ship for placement of the charges."

"Mr. Ramos, you are in charge of keeping the ship from flying apart getting us through The Wedge.  When we reach the intersection of the borders, we will slow the ship, go to silent, and engage the Prairie Masker, so make sure those systems are in top condition."

"Ms. Townshend, you will be monitoring comm traffic for intelligence purposes, but, as I said, keep an eye to the Klingon traffic.  Mr. Stonn, go through our databases to see what we already and coordinate with Ms. Townshend."

"Finally Doctor, you keep doing what you do best.  I am aware that our situation is causing a lot of stress on the crew, so please report any drastic increase in crew medical issues and everyone monitor the ship's efficiency."

"Any questions?"

[tomcat]

OOC: Matt, please post the content of the message that will be sent to Starfleet. Once it is posted, I will set up the next scene.