A Cold Olive Branch

Posted on Fri May 18th, 2018 @ 1:16pm by Colonel Jason "Jack" Frost

974 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Emerald Road
Location: Observation Lounge

The Dreadnought was not far from where it was reported that a Klingon ship was in 'trouble', Will took that description loosely considering where they were. Will's plan was to offer assistance for a price, help, for information. While it was not strictly the Starfleet way he needed information and he was told these Klingons might be able to help point him in the right direction. he called in his staff to discuss the options as they were now an hour out from the Klingons.

"Take a seat everyone." Will spoke bringing the room to order. "Acting on new information I obtained from Orion Sector Command we are currently just over an hour out from a D-12 Klingon Bird of Prey which is reportedly having issues with its plasma coils."

Smelt like a trap to Will but his options were limited.

"My aim is to offer our assistance in repairing the ship in exchange for information, since it was apparently one of the many ships heading at haste into Orion space." Will had laid out the why, the how and the where but he suspected his Staff had other questions, especially when he mentioned assistance for a price.....very un-starfleet like.

BJ sat with a PADD in one hand and a mug of Raktajino in the other and gave her attention to the Commodore. "What's our objective once we arrive, Commodore?" she asked.

Ayla sat next to Mark, a bit closer than usual, and kept sending him coy seductive looks when she thought none were looking. Her ears showed that she was paying attention to what was being said. One of her hand was below the table resting on Mark's thigh since her tail was wrapped around her waist like a belt. Her other hand rested near a an activated pad for notes.

Beckett sat quietly, wishing that she didn't have great peripheral vision. She looked over at BJ when she asked her question, then over to Hood for his reply, being careful to not let her eyes wander.

"Exchange of services, assistance with troubles for information. The information I have indicates a large number of vessel tracked heading from many none federation zones, the exact destination however is unknown. My hope is that these Klingons will exchange the information for parts to repair the ship." Will explained.

"Sir, with all due respect I think we are skirting the lines pretty fine here, we are Starfleet, if they are in trouble we should help." I spoke up.

"Normally I would agree with you, however they have something we need, we have something they need and sadly we need them more. The information they have could lead us to our destination, we simply do not have the leads to follow after this if it goes south." Will answered.

"Still, pretty fine hair thats being split there." I replied.

"What if they don't agree, who is to say the information they give us is accurate?" Xavier spoke up having sat in silence since he sat down.

"It's a risk true, but right now its all we have." Will had to think, to hope that there was an angle, a doorway, a chip he could use to help his odds. "Commander Reign, I understand you speak Klingon, do you think you would be able to barter the exchange?" Will was hoping that speaking Klingon would sweeten the deal if spoken in the native language.

"I do," BJ responded. "Whether they'll talk to me is another story."

"Sir, since we are skirting the lines already, and I'm just saying this to throw it on the table. The D-12 is what, a handful of crew at most. If this mission is as important as it seems, why not board the ship?" Jack spoke up knowing he'd just thrown a gauntlet down that he may well be beaten with. "I know thats unstarfleet like but we just buzzsawed through someones turf at speed that I'm sure the locals wont be too pleased about."

"Ideally we'd like their cooperation" Anika said with amusement that showed only in her shining eyes. "We dont need to start another war in our haste."

"Agreed." Will replied as he chipped in. "The Commander will try and talk with them, we can hold off supplies initially use it as a bargaining chip to get the information."

"Considering where we are and whats at stake I'd suggest yellow alert at most, I don't see why we should start a fight but at the very least be prepared for one." I replied as I listened to the other office chime in. Both avenues in my mind held merit and considering what we'd done so far, sometimes taking was the quickest and assured answer to get results.

"If on the off chance that Commander Reign can't convince the Klingons to part with the information, then what?" Jack asked after Mark had finished speaking.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's worth considering. Time is not on our side and our orders are clear. That means Command must have considered several options and in turn develops back up options to handle any fallout." Xavier spoke as he leaned back in his chair. "If it comes down to it, a fight might be the answer. Klingons live for honour, they fight for it. They may not accept our help but the chance of a fight.....death in combat..."

"I'll handle the Klingons," BJ said. "They need our help and won't be in a position to do more than bluff and bluster. We can easily outmatch a D-12 Bird of Prey."

"Science will be ready with scans both aggressive and passive as needed." Ayla spoke up in her soft professional voice. "I'll be looking for bio-reading of our crewmember, also."

"Very well. Unless there is anything else, everyone is dismissed."

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