Mission Briefing - Ready Room

Rai glanced around the table at his senior crew, most of whom were noticeably more hung over than he. "Glad to see we're all in tact this morning," he said, clearing his throat. "In about nine hours we'll be departing to the Badlands to a prison planet under Cardassian control." He gestured to the planet behind him on the view screen. "Intelligence provided to us has indicated that there are nearly one thousand prisoners, one third of which are believed to be Federation citizens. The Hippolyta is going to be at capacity. While we have been encouraged to negotiate for prisoner release, we have been authorized to use force if necessary. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"What happens to the prisoners when they have been recovered? Are they going to stay on the station?" Tal'Ara asked, with concern.

"Non Federation citizens will be returned to their respective governments, but the Federation has a refugee program for prisoners of war. Most of them will be moved to nearby colonies if they have no family to turn to."

"It is likely that a portion of the prisoners are Romulan. I assume they will be returned to Romulan space, as well?"

T'Pren was one of those noticeably hungover members of Rai's staff. She hadn't meant to be, but it had been a particularly rough night. She said nothing, but listened diligently. Well. She did a good job of looking like she was listening diligently. But the Captain would be able to tell that she was spending a good portion of her energy on carefully regulating her feelings to keep the ever-increasing anxiety and terror surrounding the fates of her fathers at bay. When he mentioned the prisoners who might have family, she looked hard at the table and tried not to throw up.

Yes, this is the girl who would be flying the ship.

"Yes, naturally Commander, I'll be leaving the Romulan prisoners for you to handle," Rai said. He was earnestly relieved that Tal'Ara would interface with the Romulan government instead of himself. "For our maiden voyage, Tal'Ara will accompany us into the Badlands. In my absence, Lieutenant Commander Akhil will be in command of the station."

Tal'Ara knew the Captain's reasoning behind this. He didn't want her in charge of the station. But all the better. Being on the ship would prove to be more valuable. Besides, if there were, in fact, Romulan prisoners, it was her duty to help them.

"In unrelated matters, I've been informed that the Orb of Serenity has gone missing. The ship transporting the Orb back to Bajor was destroyed, and the energy signature was tracked back to Ferengi space. Of course, no one claims to know anything about it on Ferenginar," he said, sighing.

The android Zíma sat calmly with his paper white hands folded on the table, waiting for the organics to sort out their differences. He was not hung over. His yellow eyes flickered from one being to the next, examining their attitudes and demeanors as they spoke.

That definitely got the young half-Vulcan's attention. Her head snapped up in surprise, and though her expression stayed neutral, her alarm was matched only by her confusion. "Sir?" she blurted before she really thought about what she was about to say. It was only a few moments later that her thoughts actually caught up with her mouth. "I have detailed scans of the Orb during its volatile period and in its dormant states. I also have scans from the tricorder I took with me into the rift." She tilted her head and admitted, "Not from the tricorder but from scans of the tricorder after it stopped working. We might be able to use those very particular energy signatures to sweep for the Orb."

"I've already had Ops doing these very sweeps. No luck so far," he said. "Does anyone have any questions in regards to the mission? This is expected to take at least the next four days. Please make arrangements accordingly."

T'Pren had other ideas to suggest to help find the Orb, including using the other Orbs, but Rai was obviously focusing on the mission, so she closed her mouth and sat back. Apparently she'd need to write a report before the mission began full of all the myriad suggestions she was now collating.

Which is when she realized she did, in fact, have a question about the mission. "What can we expect in terms of resistance?"

"You've read the same intelligence report that I have, Lieutenant. We can expect some resistance, this prison is still owned and run by a skeleton crew of Cardassian military officers."

The ripple of anxiety that went through T'Pren at the mention of the intelligent report was a clear affirmation that, oh, yes, she had read it.

And just like that there was nothing left to ask. No ways left to delay it. Just a horrific wait on the way to the truth. The half-Vulcan went back to staring at the table.

"I seriously doubt that the Ferengi have any use for the orb. It is likely that they procured it to turn a profit. Or were hired as mercenaries," she said, firmly.

When the conversation shifted back to the mission at hand, Tal'Ara said, "The ship, with it's new modifications, should be more than a match for anything the Cardassians throw at us. My concern is our ground force. We have a surplus of untested ensigns, that have seen no combat action. If we should be forced to deploy troops... we could find ourselves out classed."

"It's going to be a little difficult to sneak that many people out, Commander. Do you have any alternatives in mind?"