Last Minute Shopping
Posted on Mon Feb 24th, 2025 @ 7:29pm by Captain M'Raz & Lieutenant Commander Jason Reeves & Lieutenant Elias McEntyre & Lieutenant Micheal Taggart & Lieutenant H'iri & Lieutenant Richard Pierce MD
Edited on on Fri Mar 14th, 2025 @ 6:07pm
3,001 words; about a 15 minute read
Mission:
Resistance is Necessary
Location: Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Mars
Timeline: MD002 - 0500
Bryce MacKenzie, back at Helm after about four hours sleep, kept watch. The Jane Addams had finished its approach to the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and now, under the captain's orders, was busy doing assessment -- which mean scans and followup analysis. The data, as it was compiled, was funneled to the captain who would make his final decisions on what happened next.
Raz, who had worked most of the night, and managed to catch an hour's nap returned to the Bridge, showered and in a clean uniform. Rather than call for the department heads, specific individuals were requested to meet in the Conference Room on the Bridge. Three were already known to both Raz and his First Officer, Commander Reeves -- Dr. Pierce, of the irreverent tongue, was a capable physician even if he sometimes forgot who was actually in charge, and Lieutenant Kilz, the Chief Engineer, who had kept the ship going through a year on the border. The others were new and unknown. Not department heads, just bodies that could fill in while things were sorted out -- H'iri for Operations, McEntyre for Security, and Praavor for Diplomacy. Promotion to Chief, becoming part of his inner circle, so to speak, was not a decision he took lightly regardless of the circumstances. They needed to be the right fit.
Raz had never been one for long briefings but in the case, with the situation precarious, fluid, he felt it best to get them all together if only for a few minutes. They were notified to come prepared to brief him but rather than coming in at the last moment, as some did, Raz was already there with a spread of reports in front of him and his right paw wrapped around a mug of coffee.
Dr. Pierce strolled into the conference room with the air of a man who had spent far too long in the trenches and far too little time giving a damn about protocol. His uniform was wrinkled, his sleeves pushed up, and sure enough, there were still faint traces of blood on his hands—likely from the last poor soul he’d been elbow-deep in before getting summoned here. If someone was going to be offended by that, they were welcome to file a complaint. He was a doctor, not a damn showpiece.
"Well, isn’t this cozy?" he quipped, rubbing the back of his neck as he took a seat. "Didn’t realize we were doing impromptu social calls now. If I'd known, I would've freshened up." He gestured vaguely to his sleeves, as if to acknowledge the lingering evidence of his recent work. "But, y’know, triage waits for no one."
His eyes flicked toward Raz and the reports spread out in front of him. He might've been irreverent, but he wasn’t blind to the weight in the room. A lot had gone to hell recently, and if this meeting was happening, it meant they weren’t out of the woods yet. So, despite his casual tone, he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table. "So, what fresh disaster are we staring down today?"
The call from Raz was both expected and unexpected. She knew that his Chief Operations Officer was dead. She was most likely the most qualified. So, logically, she would be best suited for the job. However, given their prior relationship twenty years ago, she was uncertain whether she would be allowed into his inner circle. Last night must have helped. He recognized that I can help the ship and that tension between us would be bad for morale, despite it being bad enough. It is good to be needed. The small Caitian walked into the room, a small hint of a smile on her face and said, "Good morning everyone."
Raz nodded a greeting and gestured for her to take a seat. "Doctor," he said, "if you could give me an update on your situation?"
Politely and obediently, H'iri sat in the seat that Raz directed, saying nothing further, simply observing people as they arrived.
Reeves walked in carrying a PADD under his left arm. After spending quite some time running around in the uniform that was torn to hell in the recent battle, he finally took a quick shower and managed to get in an hour and a half nap. Now he looked professional and somewhat rested. Looking over at the Doctor, the Commander caught the remnants of dried blood on his hands. "Assuming that you didn't manage to get any rest this morning?"
Pierce smirked, stretching out his fingers as he inspected the faint traces of dried blood on his hands like an artist appraising his latest masterpiece. "Oh, you know me, Commander—beauty sleep isn’t really in my schedule. Figured I'd leave the napping to the professionals." He flicked his gaze to Reeves, then to Raz, before leaning back in his chair with a tired sigh.
"Situation's as expected—chaotic, but under control, for now. I've got a medbay full of people who are alive thanks to our efforts, and a few who are still touch-and-go. Lost two overnight. One of them was already too far gone, the other... well, let's just say luck wasn’t on their side. My staff is running on fumes, but no one's collapsed yet. Give it another shift or two, and we'll see how long that holds."
He crossed his arms, glancing at the others before fixing his gaze on Raz. "I assume this isn’t just a casual wellness check. What’s on your mind, Captain?"
Elias enters the briefing room looking like death warmed over. Clearly haven’t slept at all in some time, bags under his eyes. His uniform was clean and his fur brushed and presentable but the rest, the sunken eyes, the thousand yard stare, betrayed his current status. He sat down near the middle of the conference table, the chair softly groaning underneath him.
"Sol system is lost," Raz said into the silence. "We've been ordered to leave but before we go, there's one stop we need to make first and that's Utopia Planitia. We've been on the border for the past year and we're running low in some areas. I want each of you to make a quick inventory of what you have and what you need -- prioritize by essential and like to have. We'll get as much raw stock as we can for the replicators but beyond that, I want you to consider stocking us so that we will manage on our own if we need to."
Elias raised a paw, not wanting to speak out of turn with a crew who had been together a long time with him as an outsider.
"Yes," Raz said. "We haven't been introduced as yet ... you are?"
“McEntyre, Captain. Sir, with regards to our situation, there are several decommissioned MACO armories and stockpiles on Mars that could yield valuable materials and equipment that these…Borg may not anticipate. If The Utopia Planitia is our destination, I would like permission to raid these stockpiles” Elias introduced himself,
Jason decided to join in. "Every little advantage would work in our favor. Hopefully no one else has a similar idea and raids these stockpiles first in some failed attempt to defend their home from these Borg."
"I see," Raz said. "And how did you come by this information? About these decommissioned armories and stockpiles. That's classified information."
“The Armories were in journals left by my ancestor, A MACO. They were built for the Romulan War and was decommissioned shortly after the Federation was founded,” Elias Elaborated. “My ancestor was human, the McEntyre have only been of Caitian descent for the last century or so. A lot of old tech out there from when the Federation decided to abandon the MACOs.”
"And this ancestor left you location data," Raz asked.
“Yes sir, He was the one who decommissioned them. The information was never classified though, just lost due to data degradation from the old style Optical Data Drives used in the old NX model ships lines.” Elias explained further.
Dr. Pierce listened to the exchange with a slightly raised brow, his weary eyes scanning the room. His arms were crossed as he leaned back in his chair, still working through the exhaustion from the night shift.
When Elias mentioned his ancestor and the lost data, Pierce couldn’t help but chuckle, his voice laced with dry humor. “Old tech, huh? Sounds like we’re going back to the days of floppy disks and tube monitors. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a soft spot for ancient tech, but I’d rather we find something a little more... current to work with.”
He straightened up, giving Raz a pointed look. "I mean, if this guy's got a line on something useful, we should consider it. We need every advantage we can get, especially against the Borg. But if we're raiding old armories, we're not exactly going to find anything we can just plug into a power socket, right?"
Pierce's tone softened a little as he addressed Elias directly. “Still, if it’s going to help us out, then maybe it's worth a shot. But just remember—those old stockpiles might come with some... surprises. Who knows what kind of ancient security protocols or tech might be lying around in there?”
He gave a slow, tired nod, as though acknowledging the gravity of the situation. "At this point, we can’t afford to be picky. If you've got leads, let's take them. Just be ready for the unknown."
"We'll just add that to the unknown that were currently dealing with," Jason chimed in. "There are already a few other ships at Utopia and on their way. Starfleet and civilian. Likely with the same idea in mind. Hopefully this doesn't become ugly. So far, the shipyard is somewhat manned, but most are probably preparing to get the hell of the system."
H'iri interjected, "If the shipyard is manned, then there should be someone that might be willing to help us. Also, they may be able to tell us where to locate the most needed items for repair, as well as future needs of the ship. We should create a list, prioritizing our needs for now and in the future. Worse, we have limited space given all of the survivors that we took on. That will increase not only our strain on what we can obtain but on our current resources."
"Which brings us back to what I stated before," Raz said. "Get your lists together, prioritize by what's essential and what you like to have, and we'll do what we can. The Borg have already been here, the space frames have been destroyed, so I don't know how much help we can expect from personnel on the ground. However, we already know the general layout of the Fleet Yard and can pinpoint the areas we should try first."
"As to the MACO depot, we'll try the traditional route first and, if there's time, if there's no Borg activity, we'll try for the MACO facility as well though that will be the lowest priority. Now, back to your reports. I've heard from Medical. Lieutenant H'iri, as your representing Operations, you're next."
H'iri's voice was soft but confident as she spoke. "Ship repairs are underway, but it is going to be several days before they are completed. Right now, power allocation is being prioritized for life support, warp drive, and shields. Replicators are operable on decks one through four, seven, and eight. All the other ones are unreliable at this time and have been shut down pending priority repairs. Luckily, communications seem to be operating normally. More concerning is the logistics of all of the people we beamed aboard. We do not have quarters for everyone, nor has everyone been sorted to see if they can contribute to the well-being of the ship and fill in all the roles of those who died in the attack. With so many replicators being down, feeding everyone timely will be an issue, as well. At this time, I recommend that we turn the holodecks on deck 6 into temporary living quarters for as many refugees as we can. I can give the holodecks a bit more power to afford the refugees beds and some privacy. I also recommend that those who have room in their quarters double or potentially triple bunk once they are security cleared, so they are not crammed in the cargo bay."
"Keep in mind," Raz said as he thought back over what he knew of the ship versus the reports held seen, "that this is a short-term situation. We have about 350 evacuees at present and the intention is to drop them off on one of the Federation worlds who have agreed to provide for them. Between the cargo bays and the flight deck, we have enough room to house 4800. At this point, I'm unwilling to spread them throughout the ship since we'll likely not have them on board for longer than twenty-four hours, forty-eight at the most."
"Is it short term?" H'iri questioned. Her voice expressed concern, as she continued, "You saw what the Borg did to Earth. What's to say they won't do that on another Federation world?"
"Truth is," Raz said as gently as one could when breaking this sort of news, "our job is to figure out who these Borg are and how we can defeat them. That won't be safe for evacuees either. For now, we're going to put them on a safe world and, if becomes necessary, all of the surviving ships will take on survivors that will stay on board. But that's down the line. For now, we rescue and drop off those we find."
"I already gathered a list of everyone who can be of assistance to fill in gaps of Starfleet Officers, Enlisted and a few Cadets," the First Officer spoke. "Instructed them to report to their respective departments if their well enough to do so. The power in the holodeck would best serve for another possible run in with the Borg in case, they finish up on Earth sooner than expected."
The doors slid open again, and Micheal hurried inside. "Apologies for my lateness, Captain. I'm still getting used to the size of your ship." He moved to an empty seat and sat down, nodding a quiet greeting to everyone present.
H'iri gave a sidelong glance at Michael. Being tardy to a briefing was nearly inexcusable. The size of the ship was the size of the ship. Did he not know that early was on time and on time was late. Late was laziness. She wondered what Raz' reaction to Michael's tardiness would be, as her gaze promptly shifted back to Raz, her eyes having narrowed.
"Please, join us," Raz said as he gestured toward an empty seat. "And you are?"
Micheal spoke up. "Lieutenant Micheal Taggart. I was the helmsman on the Ajax, before she was retired, Sir. I was on Utopia, assisting with the decommissioning when...." he grew silent as he remembered the incredibly sharp stabbing of pain he felt when his family was murdered by the Borg.
"Understood," Raz said. "Since you're a pilot, you'll be part of the away team as well. Take a shuttle down and load it up." He looked at the group around the table and finally at his First Officer. "We won't have a lot of time. Number One, assemble your team. It's time to go shopping."
Reeves nodded. "Aye Sir. McEntyre, H'iri, Kiiz and Praavor you're with me. Doc do you feel the need to come along or are you good with just providing us with a list?"
Pierce leaned back in his chair with a sigh, wiping a hand across his face as he thought for a moment. The exhaustion was wearing on him, but the thought of getting off the ship for a bit, even for a quick run, had its appeal. Still, he wasn’t about to leave his post at this crucial juncture without good reason.
He looked up, giving Reeves a wry smirk. "Oh, don't tempt me, Commander. I'd love to get off this floating disaster for a while. But, as much as I'd enjoy playing 'space explorer' and digging through ancient stockpiles, I think I’ll be better served here. You’ll need me and the rest of the med team in case things go south. And we both know things are always going south, right?"
Pierce's tone was dry, but there was an edge of truth behind it. He knew better than anyone that the real work often came after the mission, when the casualties rolled in.
"I’ll stay here and keep the lights on. You just make sure you don’t get yourselves in any kind of trouble. The last thing we need right now is a shuttle full of injured folks.” He raised an eyebrow knowingly, tapping a finger to his temple. “But don’t worry, if anything catastrophic happens, I’ll be right here, keeping the medbay in one piece."
He flashed a tired, but genuine smile before adding, "Just don't be too quick to get yourselves shot up, yeah?"
He exhaled, rolling his shoulders to shake off the exhaustion creeping in. “That being said, I’ll get you a full medical supply list ASAP. Anything else you need from me before I head back to the madhouse?”
"We'll do our best not to get shot up," Jason joked. "Everyone has an hour to get those lists together, then meet me in shuttle bay one."
Captain M'Raz
Commanding Officer
USS Jane Addams
Lt. Commander Jason Reeves
Executive Officer
USS Jane Addams
Lieutenant H'iri
Operations Officer
USS Jane Addams
Lieutenant Micheal Taggart
Flight Operations Officer
USS Jane Addams
Lieutenant Richard Pierce, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
USS Jane Addams
Lieutenant Elias McEntyre
Security Officer
USS Jane Addams
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