"Vulcan Deposition"

[Kansas_Jones 0]

08.03.08

USS Agincourt NCC-81762

“Vulcan Deposition”

Lieutenant Commander Kansas “Will” JoNs made her way with her three traveling companions through the open air business concourse, enjoying the air and the gentle bustle of the area. But, the feline was also mindful that the group of them needed to be in council chambers shortly in order to register with the security force and then make their scheduled appointment in the deposition chambers. The government building where the meetings were taking place loomed in the distance and was modeled in the classic Vulcan design: nine floors, terracotta coloring, permacrete structure, and glass windows.

 

The Secretary of State had formally requested that Colonel Harper herself along with a few of her Agincourt officers attend the session to offer testimony regarding the Soltan. In essence, the entire officer and crew complement of the Agincourt could be considered walking intelligence; they were the only ship within the Starfleet squadrons that had dealt up close and personal with the Soltan due to their de facto Perseus Arm mission. And, they were the only ship to literally be on the front lines of the attack on Earth due to riding in the subspace transport wake of the Soltan ships when the enemy ships traveled into the Alpha Quadrant. And so, the colonel had handpicked (also known as volunteered) some of her senior officers to accompany her down to the surface of Vulcan to inform the surviving council session at large just how dangerous the Soltan could be.

 

Kansas pulled herself out of her mental reverie and again focused her full attention on the surrounding district. The walking path was wide enough that JoNs, Colonel C.E. “Medusa” Harper, Major Hanna-Beth “Hair” Rieve and Lieutenant Commander Odile “Sin” Condacin could walk four abreast across the juncture. The feline officer had to admit that with Harper and Rieve in marine grays, Condacin in sciences blue, and the feline herself in the security gold uniform tunic … no one was exactly impeding their progress through the business district. Not that the four women looked particularly dangerous, but Kansas was sure that the seriousness of their scheduled upcoming intelligence testimony showed on all their faces. Therefore? No one messed with the four chicks walking through the district.

 

A smile also leapt unbidden to Kansas’s muzzle because she swore she caught a scent of Shadow; at times, the cat’s keen smell could pick up an ozone like smell emanating from the energy being, usually when they first materialized into an area. Her fur was also a telltale sign when it flared a bit from Shadows static electricity. So, she assumed the group had a, well, a Shadow following them. The presence was comforting.

 

The surrounding business district boasted about twenty three buildings, ranging from office buildings to shops to eateries. Native Vulcans, wearing traditional day robes, hassocks or modern business attire or suits, strolled about the area on their own private business. Other races - - a few Bolian, Human, Klingons or El Aurians - - strolled about as well.

 

For about the tenth time since the three women had started out that morning, the feline second officer spared a glance behind them to make sure they were not being followed. Kansas wasn’t so much worried about an attack from the front, but could not shake the feeling that any attack would come from the rear. The stars new that Medusa, Hair and Sin were all more then capable of taking care of themselves. And this was Vulcan after all, but the possibility of a random attack could still be an occurrence.

 

And it was just as equally possible that Kansas herself was still concerned over her encounter with the mercenaries during the helter skelter days following the attack on Earth, and that the same thing could happen again.

 

The feline felt that her concern was justified. The same things had always been said of an Earth attack. An attack? On Earth? With the headquarters of the Starfleet, the Federation council, and the Fleet academy all located on the planet? Of course an attack would never happen. And now look at the planet – the surface structures slagged almost beyond recognition, the Fleet academy gone, thousands of people dead, thousands of cadets dead. And, most of the surviving fleet ships and officers were on general alert deployment within the alpha quadrant to resort some sort of order to the fractured quadrant. No, there was not mass chaos, at least not yet, but there could be that potential within the quadrant.

 

Therefore, no matter how unlikely, Kansas expected an attack from behind and occasionally lagged behind the other two for a combination sightseeing and rear recon deployment act, and then she would dart ahead of the walking group and re-check their forward path.

 

The feline carried her “Sunday go to meeting” briefcase strapped across her back, and the satchel was usually broken out for special occasions such as a council meeting where testimony from the crew was needed. The bag was real leather (let’s have a moment of silence for the cow that donated the leather goods), with a unisex design. Her initials were engraved in gold plating and inset on the flap, and the gold coloring of the letters almost matched her own fur tone. The Caitian’s parents had presented the bag to her shortly after her graduation from the academy, and she had used the briefcase more then a few times over the years for occasions such as this, or a meeting where everyone had to look their best. Keeping up appearances, indeed.

 

The bag contained exactly three data padds and four medium sized black flimsy printouts. One data padd contained all of the relevant data on Crewman Carter Burne, the young security grunt who had fallen prey to the medical condition that turned other species into Soltan. The second padd contained the security tactical information gleaned from the few ship to ship encounters they had had with the Soltan and the ground engagement against the Soltan factory, as well as the specifications that the armory had corroborated from the Soltan weapons they had in storage. The third padd contained the report slash speech that Kansas planned to give to the assembled politicians regarding the other two padds. The data flimsy contained various chart graphs and data statistics that were relevant to the data entries.

 

A sharp whistle and a “kitty!” from Sin snapped her out of her back end recon and tactical thoughts or musings; Kansas’s gaze swiveled around to lock onto the tall Xenexian lieutenant commander in the distance and saw that she was beckoning the feline to catch up with her and the others.

 

Will JoNs took one last look around the plaza area, looking for invisible attackers, and then moved forward to rejoin Harper, Condacin and Rieve as the women all made their way into the plaza area of the structure where the council meeting was to be convened.