Briefing: Apsloe Revisited - Part 1/2

Posted on Sat Jul 11th, 2026 @ 11:00pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon & Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans & Lieutenant Commander Daniel Masters & Lieutenant Azree Kar & Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell & Lieutenant B'Lakkam Slichez & Lieutenant JG Riaothren (Ren) ch'Shaorhs

1,699 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Behind the Curtain
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: MD -01, 08:55

ON:

The briefing room had been decked out for the mission briefing, with carafes of water, pots of coffee and tea, and enough mugs and glasses for people to help themselves. Lt. Commander Kit Hanlon had made sure of it, that the room looked ready even before the Captain arrived. They were one day away from their destination.

During the transit, the crew had fallen into rhythm, the daily duties and social interactions unfolding organically. Kit had observed it. Enjoyed it. The atmosphere in Valhalla as people relaxed after their shifts, the clubs that Verity Thorne had started to set up, and the holodecks booked by people and departments. It felt good.

It felt like a ship in motion.

Kit turned to the door when Blake entered, giving her a nod. "Captain," he said, taking the PADD. "I've prepped the computer ready to show us all the information on Apsloe and the original First Contact reports, for the briefing." He, too, had read through what Vice-Admiral Takahaya had sent through for them. Catching up and realising...he wasn't a diplomat. But hopefully, he could find enough common ground in this to make it a successful mission under Captain Blake.

Blake gave a brisk nod as she moved to pour herself a cup of black coffee. In truth, the amount of information they had on the planet they were approaching was less than impressive. While she did not doubt that the Admiral had been honest about the lack of data being the result of a limited First Contact with the Apsloens, she couldn't help but be critical.

How did a crew return from First Contact with so little to go on? A crew led by a Vulcan captain at that. Had they thought they were on a pleasure cruise? "Let's hope we come back with a more impressive dossier after Second Contact," she met his eyes with an arched eyebrow as she took her seat. In truth, there was no hoping about it. As their first mission together as a crew on the Fenrir, she fully intended to make sure it went without a hitch. "Let's call them in."

Kit nodded and tapped his combadge. "Commander Hanlon to senior staff, please report to the briefing room," he said before he gave her a small smile. "Anyone late will enjoy a long shower before their shifts." It was said lightly, a touch of humour breaking through as he poured himself a coffee as well and took a seat.

Ren stepped into the briefing room. His uniform was crisp and clean, as if it had just come out of the replicator, which indeed it had. He didn't like coffee, never had, even though it had been a necessity when he was at the Academy. This wasn't the Academy, though, and as of late, he had no problem staying alert and awake. Just the opposite was true if he were being honest. Sleep had become a rare commodity of late.

He rarely even drank something hot. Perhaps it was his Andorian heritage, perhaps it was just a personal choice. This morning, though, he was carrying a cup of spiced cider, the steam rising above the cup.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning, Lieutenant," Kit said with a nod, watching him with a small smile. He could smell the spiced cider...warming, reminding him of winters on Earth. It relaxed some of the tension in his shoulders.

Ren found a place to sit, taking a sip of his drink. "I'm assuming this isn't a casual get-together." It was a question, but not one he was certain he'd get an answer to."

"We finally have some answers about our first mission," Blake leant back in her chair as she crossed her legs, wrapping her hand around her coffee mug as she reconsidered the turn of phrase. "Or more, we have the questions that need answering."

Just then, Azree entered the room soon after. She had a few PADDs in her arms. Mainly flight control reports, but other mundane things that might be beneficial to the staff meeting. She quietly nodded to those assembled as she took the nearest empty seat. "Captain, Commander, Lieutenant," she greeted.

"Lieutenant," Kit smiled as he looked at her, giving her a small nod, raising his eyebrows at the PADD. She looked far more prepared for a meeting than he was.

Next to come through the doors was Daniel, he was eager to find out just what was in store for the first assignment. "Boss," he said by way of greeting to Blake and gave a short nod to Aria and then the assembled Lieutenants as he found a seat before deciding to pour himself some coffee.

Chris Evans entered with a smile on his face. He greeted the Captain with a polite "Good morning, Captain." he gave a nod as he glanced to the First Officer and pointed at the refreshments, and grabbed himself a cup of black coffee before he took a seat at the conference table.

Rosaleen entered soon after Evans, taking a seat next to him. Sitting her PADD and tea cup onto the table, Rosaleen turned to look at Chris, and impish smile on her face. "Good morning, Commander." she said with a quick wink, the air warming a bit around them.

It had been a whirlwind, suddenly having been summoned from Alaska to the Fenrir. B'Lakkam had met a great deal of people since arriving, and he was still trying to set up his office in a way that made sense to him. He also needed to figure out how to thwart some of his office computer's processes and subroutines so that he could keep his privacy, especially when it concerned Lucy. So, while he recognized several of the faces in this room, he was not certain that he remembered which name belonged to whom. Therefore, he figured that he was mostly going to be a silent figure at this briefing.

As the Blue Orion entered, he looked around, spotted the Captain, and said, "Good morning, Captain." He then looked at everyone else and said, "And good morning to all of you." B'Lakkam then found an open seat and sat himself in it.

"Morning," Kit gave a nod, smiling quickly to the Chief Counsellor, watching the gathering officers. Good. He liked it when meetings started on time, it somehow made the rest of the shift move smoother.

Blake glanced around her assembled senior staff, taking the team in for a moment. This was it, this was the group of highly trained personnel who would determine how much of a difference the Fenrir would make to the universe...whether it would change lives...or even save lives. She finally looked across to Hanlon as she sat ready in her chair, her posture as rigid as ever, and features giving away nothing as she nodded to Kit to start the briefing. She'd decided to let him take the lead, wanting the crew to get used to Hanlon being their point of contact...and to wean herself away from the XO position. "Number One."

Hanlon gave a small nod, watching them all for a moment. It was one of those things where he knew what to say, but how best to start eluded him. So he decided to go honest. "We're on a second contact mission," he said as he motioned to the PADDs. Not that there was much information on them. "Apsloe is a warp-capable civilisation, the USS Brahma initiated the first contact. However, despite this, information is scarce. So we've been sent to learn about them and see if they'd be...a good fit for the Federation. They're humanoid, and based on what we have, they seem...quite approachable."

"They're cultured, intelligent, hold both science and art on equal footing," Blake chimed in, nodding to what he had disclosed so far. "Welcoming, polite...but we know little more," she motioned to the PADDs on the table that held copies of the very brief report made after First Contact. "That's all that was submitted in the official report. Which...is puzzling in its own right. There's...a suggestion that they might have got distracted by the beauty of the world. We won't be making the same mistake."

Daniel took one of the Padd's and had a quick glance through it, 'brief report' was an understatement. "Sometimes beautiful things can make excellent camouflage for what is really going on." He remarked.

Kit gave a small smile at that, watching Daniel for a moment. Right person in the right place. "It is still a second contact mission. We're representing not just Starfleet but the Federation. So..." he sat back, slowly, looking at the other senior officers. "We put our best foot forward. Be good guests, but also do our jobs. And not getting distracted by shiny things, beautiful technology, or the scenery."

Blake nodded firmly in complete agreement, sitting forward to rest clasped hands on the table, looking to each of the gathered crew in turn. "It will be a fine balance...representing Starfleet in the best light while finding out as much as we can about their people...and why the last team came away with so little last time. With that in mind, I should point out that the first contact report mentions the Apsloens are a people of youthful appearance but long lifespans, but there's no further detail..." she managed to hold back her sigh at the recurring theme of the entire report, "...but considering the captain who submitted the report is Vulcan, we can assume the observation is relative. And I'm confident you will show due respect to the representatives of their people even if they look like cadets."

TO BE CONTINUED...


Lieutenant B'Lakkam Slichez
Chief Counselor
USS Fenrir

Lt. Commander Daniel Masters
Chief Security Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant JG Ren ch' Shahors
Asst. Operations Chief
USS Fenrir

Commander Kit Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

Commander Scarlet Blake
Commanding Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Azree Kar
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Fenrir

Lt. Commander Christopher Evans
Chief Operations Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Fenrir

 

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