Post by Captain_Quintus on Apr 4, 2016 7:03:14 GMT
Postby FSF Eris » Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:05 pm
Julia hadn't slept in two days. She was fairly sure she looked just as ragged as she had when, once upon a time, her then-executive officer threw her off of her own Bridge. This time, however, she didn't have a concussion -- just a lack of energy, too much time spent looking at urban maps, and a decided lack of cosmetics. There were days that she wished she could have just one of her slaves onboard so that she actually could look decent and have someone else make her look tolerable in spite of her having to do things like plan invasions of Tzenkethi-ridden planets.
Rubbing at her eyes, she compulsively stacked and restacked the padds again for the meeting, looking over them a second, a third, a fourth time before the crew arrived. She'd spent hours working on their plan of attack. Hours alone, hours with the rest of the fleet, hours on mass-comm calls with the however-many tactical specialists had come in with their fleet. If she had to think of any more permutations on how many ways someone could not-so-subtly put the proverbial sword through the not-so-proverbial planet, she would likely go insane.
And now here they were, just a few hours out from Tau Beta. The Fleet's leading tacticians and strategsts had put their minds together to come with every scenario, updating it with all of the latest intelligence and latest movements and latest wild guesses that they had for what exactly they would find once they arrived at Tau Beta. They even had some informants planetside, colonists who hadn't been shot (yet), but Julia was hesitant to really trust reports from sources like that, even when half of the other officers at the table were all too quick to jump on the chance that they had "inside" agents and freedom fighters working on their side.
Oh well. At least one thing was certain. Twenty-four hours from then, one of three things would be happening. They would be drinking Victory Scotch in central New Melbourne Plaza, they would be still in the middle of a protracted battle that would be never-ending and the result of all of their plans going horribly wrong, or she would be enjoying some quality time in the "Julian" part of Elysium.
That was such a comforting thought.
As the little crowd of senior officers minus a couple filtered in, Julia felt her nerves starting to rise again. Too bad that she hadn't had the chance for that nap.
"Now that we're all here," she said, clearing her throat. "In front of you, you will find packets with the department-specific information that you will need for this mission. As you might expect, the objectives and grander-scale points of this meeting are for your eyes and ears only. The packets' material ought to be shared with your departments on a need-to-know basis to complete the mission objectives.
"We are at a point where I can share with you the specifics of what we are doing here, though based on our destination, and the ground-combat troops we have been maintaining aboard... and the Tzenkethi attack a few hours ago, I have no doubts that you have your suspicions as to our mission here."
She flipped a slide, showing a readout of a list of Tzenkethi vessels of all sizes and specializations. "Our goal, gentlemen, is to reestablish Starfleet and Federation control of the Tau Beta system, including both Tau Beta V, the site of an enemy-held Federation colony, and the solar system.
"Tau Beta, as one of the first to fall in the war, is heavily protected by Tzenkethi soldiers, both in the system and on the ground. We, however, also have Federation citizens on the planet.
"The solar system is the singular system currently held by the Tzenkethi in the area. Although one of the first systems to fall to the Tzenkethi incursions, it is not in a line of outposts. If forced to relinquish Tau Beta, they will have no nearby foothold with which they can easily reconquer it.
"As all of you are aware, this tactical unit which we are a part of is fleet is a composite fleet. This means that it was assembled with both aspects of the mission objectives in mind. There are both warships designed for tactical strikes on larger Tzenkethi craft to remove them from being threats immediately upon entry into the systems. Several larger, well-shielded vessels exist to serve primarily as troop transports. There also are ships, like the Aquarius, which serve as troop ferries as well as carriers for the space-land heavy armored shuttles, which Aquarius has recreated from prototype."
Julia smirked as she reached for her ice water, nodding towards two vacant chairs. "And which is why our colleagues were unable to join us. Anyway. These shuttles will be the primary modes of transportation from ship-to-shore. The chances of transporter use are scarce to none, much less in the quantities needed for the movement of several thousand ground forces on each troop transport. These heavily armored vessels have small fighting capabilities, but their primary upgrade is their ability to shield against high weapons discharge.
"Once on the planet, ground forces will be centered around two key population centers: New Melbourne, the capital of the occupied colony, and a Tzenkethi troop base, on the other side of the planet. Once some of the heavy Tzenkethi targets in the system have been eliminated, a concentration of firepower will be redirected at this site.
"Ground forces in New Melbourne will be working in collaboration with leaders of the Federation resistance cell that has formed on the planet as well."
Taking a deep breath, she left the final slide in place, showing the last images that the Federation had received of Tau Beta: swarming with Tzenkethi vessels. "You all have your separate objectives. Are there any questions now, or should I expect a glut of them later?" she asked, injecting a weak dose of humor.
She glanced around, nodding at the thoughtful quiet that took over the room. "Very well. I will be on the Bridge or in my office when you do have your comments. Good luck, gentlemen. We will be arriving at Tau Beta in just under three hours. Dismissed."
Julia hadn't slept in two days. She was fairly sure she looked just as ragged as she had when, once upon a time, her then-executive officer threw her off of her own Bridge. This time, however, she didn't have a concussion -- just a lack of energy, too much time spent looking at urban maps, and a decided lack of cosmetics. There were days that she wished she could have just one of her slaves onboard so that she actually could look decent and have someone else make her look tolerable in spite of her having to do things like plan invasions of Tzenkethi-ridden planets.
Rubbing at her eyes, she compulsively stacked and restacked the padds again for the meeting, looking over them a second, a third, a fourth time before the crew arrived. She'd spent hours working on their plan of attack. Hours alone, hours with the rest of the fleet, hours on mass-comm calls with the however-many tactical specialists had come in with their fleet. If she had to think of any more permutations on how many ways someone could not-so-subtly put the proverbial sword through the not-so-proverbial planet, she would likely go insane.
And now here they were, just a few hours out from Tau Beta. The Fleet's leading tacticians and strategsts had put their minds together to come with every scenario, updating it with all of the latest intelligence and latest movements and latest wild guesses that they had for what exactly they would find once they arrived at Tau Beta. They even had some informants planetside, colonists who hadn't been shot (yet), but Julia was hesitant to really trust reports from sources like that, even when half of the other officers at the table were all too quick to jump on the chance that they had "inside" agents and freedom fighters working on their side.
Oh well. At least one thing was certain. Twenty-four hours from then, one of three things would be happening. They would be drinking Victory Scotch in central New Melbourne Plaza, they would be still in the middle of a protracted battle that would be never-ending and the result of all of their plans going horribly wrong, or she would be enjoying some quality time in the "Julian" part of Elysium.
That was such a comforting thought.
As the little crowd of senior officers minus a couple filtered in, Julia felt her nerves starting to rise again. Too bad that she hadn't had the chance for that nap.
"Now that we're all here," she said, clearing her throat. "In front of you, you will find packets with the department-specific information that you will need for this mission. As you might expect, the objectives and grander-scale points of this meeting are for your eyes and ears only. The packets' material ought to be shared with your departments on a need-to-know basis to complete the mission objectives.
"We are at a point where I can share with you the specifics of what we are doing here, though based on our destination, and the ground-combat troops we have been maintaining aboard... and the Tzenkethi attack a few hours ago, I have no doubts that you have your suspicions as to our mission here."
She flipped a slide, showing a readout of a list of Tzenkethi vessels of all sizes and specializations. "Our goal, gentlemen, is to reestablish Starfleet and Federation control of the Tau Beta system, including both Tau Beta V, the site of an enemy-held Federation colony, and the solar system.
"Tau Beta, as one of the first to fall in the war, is heavily protected by Tzenkethi soldiers, both in the system and on the ground. We, however, also have Federation citizens on the planet.
"The solar system is the singular system currently held by the Tzenkethi in the area. Although one of the first systems to fall to the Tzenkethi incursions, it is not in a line of outposts. If forced to relinquish Tau Beta, they will have no nearby foothold with which they can easily reconquer it.
"As all of you are aware, this tactical unit which we are a part of is fleet is a composite fleet. This means that it was assembled with both aspects of the mission objectives in mind. There are both warships designed for tactical strikes on larger Tzenkethi craft to remove them from being threats immediately upon entry into the systems. Several larger, well-shielded vessels exist to serve primarily as troop transports. There also are ships, like the Aquarius, which serve as troop ferries as well as carriers for the space-land heavy armored shuttles, which Aquarius has recreated from prototype."
Julia smirked as she reached for her ice water, nodding towards two vacant chairs. "And which is why our colleagues were unable to join us. Anyway. These shuttles will be the primary modes of transportation from ship-to-shore. The chances of transporter use are scarce to none, much less in the quantities needed for the movement of several thousand ground forces on each troop transport. These heavily armored vessels have small fighting capabilities, but their primary upgrade is their ability to shield against high weapons discharge.
"Once on the planet, ground forces will be centered around two key population centers: New Melbourne, the capital of the occupied colony, and a Tzenkethi troop base, on the other side of the planet. Once some of the heavy Tzenkethi targets in the system have been eliminated, a concentration of firepower will be redirected at this site.
"Ground forces in New Melbourne will be working in collaboration with leaders of the Federation resistance cell that has formed on the planet as well."
Taking a deep breath, she left the final slide in place, showing the last images that the Federation had received of Tau Beta: swarming with Tzenkethi vessels. "You all have your separate objectives. Are there any questions now, or should I expect a glut of them later?" she asked, injecting a weak dose of humor.
She glanced around, nodding at the thoughtful quiet that took over the room. "Very well. I will be on the Bridge or in my office when you do have your comments. Good luck, gentlemen. We will be arriving at Tau Beta in just under three hours. Dismissed."