Just Another Day at the Office

[Chirakis 1]

Just Another Day at the Office

Chirakis Kirel, Captain, SI-5
Kelly DeVoll, Captain, USS Calgary

At 2330 Aegis local, most personnel on station were resting in their quarters.  Since USS Calgary seldom patrolled this area of the border, Kirel and Captain Kelly DeVoll had been spending a few hours of relaxation in her office to catch up while enjoying a vintage ale.  

Until all hell broke loose.

Just before midnight Red Alert klaxons cut through the relative silence of Command and Control.  Chirakis bolted out of her office, calling for a SITREP from Lt Sykowski, Officer of the Watch. “Red Alert went off, Captain,” Sykowski explained, stymied, as the rest of the watch scrambled to rectify the situation.  “No idea why. Can't get it to stop.” 

While CnC operators struggled to solve the problem, Kirel drew her blade, flung it toward the klaxon, and shattered it.  “Problem solved,” she said, turning toward Sykowski.  “Carry on, Lieutenant,” she snapped as she and DeVoll searched for other problems… and there were quite a few.

Eventually Aegis’s engineers along with those from Calgary collaborated to restore the station’s alarm system.  By 0236 the captains retreated to Kirel’s office, refreshed their drinks, and contacted Rendezvous October.

 

“I hear you have an interesting method of silencing a klaxon."  SI-6 Director Jin Raza grinned as his image filled the office viewscreen. 

Kirel shrugged as she relaxed in her chair. "Everyone, including our engineers, were on lockdown. The least I could do is muffle the noise."

Kelly gave a snort as he put his empty glass aside.  "It was target practice, Kirel. And you know it."

"One must practice skills every now and then," she retorted, refilling their glasses, "and tossing a dagger is no easy task."

 A somewhat grumbling Admiral Solokov, Commanding Officer of Rendezvous October, appeared next to Raza.  His thinning gray hair was somewhat ruffled.  The collar of a robe replaced his usually impeccable uniform. "You are tossing daggers and you imbibe at this hour, Captain?" 

"And a good morning to you, Admiral." Kirel smirked. "I would share, but you are not quite close enough. Perhaps next time?"

That elicited a grunt as the admiral adjusted his chair several times, muttering something about the last occupant's lack of protocol.  Captain Raza did his best to ignore him knowing that the admiral would rather do it himself than be "treated like an old man". But it's hard to ignore a grumbling admiral, especialloy at 0300.

"There.  Finally," he said, settling in then accepting strong coffee from his yeoman. "So… Kirel, Kelly.  What's going on that brings us together at this hour? And what time is it anyway?"

"0300, Admiral," Kirel replied.

The more coffee he drank, the more the admiral took on a contemplative, relaxed expression.  "And when did your situation begin?"

"At 2347, Admiral."

He gave another grunt and thought a while as the yeoman refilled his mug.  “Very well.  Tell me what happened and how it might affect October.”

“We experienced a sudden outburst of Red Alert when there was none.  The system broadcast it throughout the station, which, as you know, is not general protocol. Every room on station, including CnC, went to lockdown. No one could enter, nor could they leave. They were essentially trapped. Internal and external communications became dysfunctional for a period, then a few became functional, then dysfunctional.  Most of all, our tactical scanning system went down.”      

“Your tactical scanning system….” Solokov mused.  He considered that for a moment, frowned, waved off his yeoman, then turned to Raza.  “Does all that sound familiar, Jin?”

“Indeed it does, Admiral.   Kirel.  Kelly.” Raza turned to face them. “Send us information on all ships that were in the vicinity at that time.  If this happens again, scan all ships in the vicinity and send us that information.  In the meantime, be vigilant.”