This Is The Plan...

Posted on Wed Sep 8th, 2021 @ 9:15am by Leiddem Kea (*) & Micheal Robertson & Angel Ramirez
Edited on on Wed Sep 8th, 2021 @ 3:38pm

Mission: Mission 13: Stowaway
Location: SS Mary Rose, Armory
Timeline: TBD
1630 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

After speaking with Reuben and Jake, Micheal did as he said, he got cleaned up and now he was sitting in his office, waiting for his two senior officers to arrive.

Leiddem had been in his own little world and had been surprised by the summons through the computer panel. He had on his medical hat that day, but soon arrived as quickly as his medical duties of checking first aid kits allowed him that day. He stood near the door, arms crossed as he waited for whoever else was being summoned for whatever this was. Him and Michael since the incident with the choice over what to do for the best for Dixoho had barely been in the same room alone without someone else there, so it was certainly awkward now to be there.

Micheal saw Leiddem enter the Armory and then wait out in the front office. It was clear that he was uncomfortable being in any room alone with him since the whole issue of putting Di into stasis occurred. The big man couldn't blame him. He and Di had known each other a lot longer than Micheal did. The two men had been friends once. He just hoped they could be again one day. "Lei," Micheal said in a calm voice. "Please come in here. I need to talk to you before Angel gets here." He stood and indicated one of the two empty chairs that faced the front of his desk.

Angel walked into the armory and saw the boss in conversation with Leiddem, so he waited in the outer office until the pair were finished.

Leiddem sighed, but nodded. He really did not want to be doing that, but he accepted the chain of command even if he thought it was a pile of crap. He pushed from the wall and sat down opposite the older man, who last time they had been together had called him boy.

“Angel is here, so I guess this should be quick, as I am sure that is not what you really want to talk to us about,” he said, looking at the man intently. Any lesser Betazoid would have gone in and found out what this was all about to prepare.

Looking through his open door, Micheal indeed saw the other part of his team. "Angel! Come on in! There aren't going to be any secrets in this office."

“I didn’t want to intrude, jefe,” Angel said, but entered on Michael’s permission. He took the other chair and looked at the chief expectantly.

Once both of his deputies were seated in front of him, Micheal took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Okay. First off, Lei, I owe you an apology. I had no right to speak to you the way that I did. It doesn't matter what was going on in my head and heart. You didn't deserve it. I'm sorry. We were friends once, before I left. I hope one day we can be again."

The Betazoid looked the man over and shook his head with a shrug as Angel sat next to him. “You had no right to do that, yeah, but let’s move on to why you called us here, because I am guessing it was not to apologize for something that happened in the heat of a moment,” he said with a shrug. He wanted to just move on. He could hold a grudge, but this one was just not worth it. They were both broken by losing Dixoho for however long it took for them to find a cure or learn to let her go.

Micheal got the feeling that he had seriously damaged the bridge between himself and Leiddem. Well, he would just have to put in the work to repair it. Leiddem was one of the few people on Rosie that he trusted.

Taking in another quick breath, the Armory Chief began to discuss why he had called them in. "As you both are painfully aware, the Rosie, while a damn good ship, is all alone out here. Sure, we see an occasional friendly freighter here and there, but, at the end of the day, we are alone. Alone and on the fringes of civilized space. Which, of course, means, when an incident like we had with those pirates occurs, even though we are Federation citizens, Starfleet is spread too wide to send help."

"However," he said with a slight bit of emphasis, "we don't need to be alone out here in the boonies. There is a group out here that stands firm to those like us, to keep an eye on the space lanes when Starfleet is elsewhere. I'm, of course, talking about the Fenris Rangers." He let that sit for a few beats, to soak in, before continuing.

"Now, I want you to answer honestly. Given a choice, which you are, would you be interested in joining the Rangers?"

Leiddem stayed perfectly still. If this question was being raised, it was being raised from Gregnol, which meant his sister was already fully aware and involved. "I am the captain's brother-in-law. I am already there. Not like either of them can escape me. He married my sister so that means he is stuck with me," he said with a shrug, almost wondering for a moment if his sister or Gregnol doubted him, but he was pretty sure they would have kicked him off years ago if they thought that.

Angel shrugged as well. “They seem legit,” he said. “They do good work. What do they pay?” he asked.

Micheal chuckled. "Angel, this isn't necessarily about the money. It's more about digging in and shouting to the void, you aren't welcome here! We would be in a position to aid the Rangers' cause. The Rosie is a big ship out here, even if her teeth and claws are nubs. With the Rangers, we could give the girl her fight back. Probably not enough to go mano a mano with a Marauder class vessel alone, but, we could give them one hell of a surprise! Then there's the fact that we could be a listening post for the Rangers, even a dedicated transport too. There are many ways, with our unique collection of skill sets, that the Rosie could be a big help." He stopped talking to give his speech a chance to sink in.

Then, he asked, "So, you gonna stick around and help us keep Rosie safe?"

"Come on dude. This place was boring without someone else young," Leiddem teased just a little.

Angel smiled. “Well, jefe, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” he said. “I’m in. Especially if we get some more teeth.” He was still smarting from the Ferengi boarding the ship.

“Will have to wait and see what teeth we get.” Leiddem was pretty sure the money was not about to change, but the excitement was going to, which would be nice. Something different in their lives other than the monotone of first aid kit checking and armoury checks that the Betazoid had been doing over and over recently. He was not being asked; it was a given that he was not going anywhere.

“So what’s the plan then?” Angel asked.

Micheal sat forward. "Leiddem, you've been here longer than Angel and myself. I want you to look through the personnel files of the junior crew, see who might be a security risk. While I'm hopeful there aren't any, we still need to be sure."

That would be easy enough to do for the man. It was not like the files would be long with most of the crew having been onboard since after the other universe trip and then losing two years in the travel. “Easy enough.” Leiddem assured quickly. It would take him a day or two maximum in his opinion, but he would say two just in case.

Micheal nodded, then looked over at Angel. "As for you, Mister Suave," he grinned at his joke. "I want you to actually go amongst the junior crew, get a feel for who we have here, then compare your findings with Lei. Now, during your discussions, don't tell them that our joining the Rangers is definite. Keep it as a hypothetical."

He then addressed both men. "Under no circumstances are the passengers to catch wind of any of this. Also, don't worry about the senior staff. I'll talk to them." He then paused for a beat. "Any questions?"

“Not for you, but many for Gregnol and J,” Leiddem commented on thinking family dinners were going to be very awkward when it was brought up.

“What kind of security risks are you thinking?” Angel asked. “Out here in the black, a lot of people don’t have the squeakiest of records. We aren’t Starfleet,” he pointed out.

Micheal had considered this question himself. "Basically, anyone who has a problem with the Fenris Rangers and what they're trying to do out here would be a security risk."

Leiddem said quietly. He was sure that they would not know the risks right now, but it would be a future consideration seeing where they were now just testing the water.

Angel nodded. “Copy that,” he said. He considered the approach he would have to make to the other junior crew.

"Okay," Micheal stated with a nod of his head. "Let's get to work. Now, don't rush anything. Be thorough, but be subtle as well. We will meet back here at the end of the week so you can tell me what you've discovered, alright?" Seeing both men nod at him again, he concluded, "Get to it." He then turned his attention to some reports that were on his desk.