The Plan

[Tabor Nansk 0]

The Plan

 

 

Tired of arguing with Tabor, Angel spread out the tactical displays of the neutral zone and said simply, "show me".

 

 

Taking a deep breath, Tabor laid out his plan: "The first objective of this mission is 'intel'. Is the missing ship even in Romulan space? If Starfleet knew that for certain, there would be a dozen ships going in to get her, with no attempt at subterfuge. But they don't. That's why we're alone. So planning for a crossing with guns blazing is counterproductive. It may come to that, but we don't want that as our first line of attack."

 

 

Angel looked irritated, so Tabor quickly continued on. "Second, we have to anticipate that no attempt at crossing undetected is going to work. If the Romulan border was that porous, they'd have been overrun by the Ferengi. Their patrol ships are never going to buy any kind of systems failure as legitimate. They'll eventually open fire, just as we would on an incursion into our space. That would lead us into an all out firefight in which we may or may not prevail. Either way, the truce between us is broken and the Federation is in a war."

 

 

Angel's irritation was now giving way to frustration. "So how do we get to our ship?" he asked. Tabor's face brightened with hope. "In my opinion, sir, we have to make the Romulans think we're bumblers. Of course we're going to TRY to sneak across. Actually, they'd be suspicious if we didn't try. If they've got the superiority complex you describe, they're probably hoping we do try so they can catch us. So…let's let them catch us."

 

 

Frustration was turning into apoplexy as Angel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sensing that he was losing his audience, Tabor rushed through the rest of the plan. "Rather than risk the Reaent in the impossible task of sneaking in, we send the largest thing we've got instead: a transport, a couple of shuttles ganged together, tack on spare parts, anything, just so it's big enough to create a sizable debris field. We pilot it on remote, with artificial life signs aboard. Communications from this decoy say all the expected things: navigational error, systems failure, propulsion issues. One far-fetched excuse after another, all the while slowly drifting deeper into Romulan space. They're not going to buy it, and eventually will fire on it or try to board it." Smiling now, "that's when we blow it ourselves!"

 

 

Angel looked incredulous. "What?!" Tabor responded, "Yes, sir, we blow it up ourselves. That way we can control the damage and make sure the debris continues on the right trajectory – deeper into Romulan space. Because hidden in that debris is going to be two of our fighters, powered down, the pilots on minimum suit support. The Romulans will thump their chests, broadcast boasts about their superiority and give us dire warnings of the consequences if the Federation ever crosses the line again. All the while, the debris drifts past their patrol line. If our missing ship is in as close proximity as we hope, the pilots will be able to make a visual confirmation. From there, the captain and the Federation can decide what to do next. We may need your split wing tactics after all."

 

 

Angel was silent, digesting this wild scheme. In light of all the battle preparations going on around the ship, was it worth bringing to the Captain's attention?