Background Log | Tempest

Posted on 241509.09 @ 7:48am by President Jolias Enor

Mission: Reconciliation & Reconstruction [Fleet Plot]
Location: Earth

[Earth, San Francisco]

Dawning sunlight filtered through the windswept leaves in patches of wavering vermillion. Shielding his eyes from the brightness of the rising sun Bargash made his way to a bench that rested beneath the shade of an old cypress tree. He looked out towards the bay where cool salty air gusted in causing the tan straps of the Tellarite’s trench coat to whip around his legs. He grunted and set himself onto the bench. A moment later another person sat next him.

He felt them jerk slightly as they rested against the benchback next to him and watched their amber silhouette lean forward pressing against their knees “the weather is nice today and the gulls are crooning.” The figure lifted a hand slowly and reached into his pocket pulling out a brown paper bag. Upturning the thing he swept it in front of them causing a waved of bread crumbs to splatter across the pavement in front of them. A moment later a cacophony of gulls rained down.

“I don’t like this secrecy.” Bargash grumbled deeply as he slapped at a bird that had perched itself atop the bench’s armrest “I’ve exposed myself covering up your stupidity.” His face flushed crimson behind a peppered beard “it’s only a matter of time before they realize what has happened. I’ve been using the Admiral’s authority to delay an investigation and give you a window to finish your work.”

“And we appreciate that-”

“No. I sincerely don’t think you do but that matters very little now. We’re in the same boat as the humans would say. There cannot be any further mistakes here. I don’t have any more leeway to repress further bumbling.” The tellarite stated heavily as his eyes focused on the figure sitting next to him “If your men screw up one more time your little operation will come crashing down before it has had a chance to begin.”

Looking away the figure scratched his chin “there won’t be any more mistakes. Everyone is in place. All we have to do now is wait out the Romulans if you can keep Starfleet at bay. Just one more day Commander.”

“Even an hour is asking a lot now!” Bargash almost hissed but he relaxed and shook his head “I will do my best but the hourglass is running out of sand.”

“This is our moment Commander. Our time to make a statement. Nothing else matters.” The figure stood causing a wave gulls to cascade into the sky “do your job and I’ll make sure we finish ours.”

Bargash grimaced but nodded head “I’ve already requisitioned a ship from the reserve fleet. When you finish your mission it’ll be ready, Captain.”

[Earth, London]

The golden glow of streetlight illuminated the nighttime darkness as the Ghost sauntered his way through the crowd of protestors. His eyes focused on the buildings. Each window and useful crevice that he could see was noted in his head. Slightly down the road surrounding the main convention building were dozens of Starfleet Marines. The security was tight but not impenetrable. He could see avenues and blind spots that were being overlooked. It wasn’t much- Starfleet Marines were efficient and probably why they were being used instead of Starfleet security but there were more than enough avenues to allow him to accomplish his task.

Reaching the front of the crowd he slid gloved fingers across the metallic barricade and called to one of the guards. The young Starfleet Marine approached the opposite side of the barricade wearing that green collared uniform that seemed to bleed brown under the glow of the street lamp above “First Lieutenant.” He said eyeing the glimmering metal pinned to the young man’s neck “I am here to conduct a walkthrough of the facility prior to the Romulans’ arrival.”

The marine stiffened and his head swiveled slightly as his eyes seemed to focus “this is a restricted area. I will need to see your authorization and credentials and confirm them before I allow you to pass.”

“Of course. I understand.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a PADD handing it to the young man.

Keen eyes looked over the digital document before the young Marine walked over to a portable kiosk and seemed to input some information. After a few minutes the Marine returned and handed the PADD back to him “credentials and authorization verified Adam Connolly of the Federation Diplomatic Corps.” He held up a badge “this will ensure that you are not asked for further identification. Please return it before you leave.” He pulled the barrier back and the ghost walked through pinning the badge against his shirt.

Easy. A little easier then he expected but he wouldn’t complain. Making his way down the road towards the convention center he continued to assess the area. It would be harder to do anything within this periphery- there would be too many eyes here.

“Are you inside?” His ear suddenly lit up with sound and he nodded his head at the question. ”Good. I’ve placed your toy into an empty food crate with a small dampening field. They haven’t noticed anything yet. It was delivered at the south entrance of the building with a catering group. I would hurry.” He nodded again and increased his pace.

After passing several patrol groups he carefully made his way to the rear entrance where crates were being offloaded from a small hover carrier. One of the young men helping to offload the crates looked at him and he pointed to the badge at his chest. The man nodded at him and he nodded back. “I am here to make sure everything is in line with the diplomatic corps’ specifications for the event- an impromptu inspection if you will. Give me a moment to look over everything.”

“But we need to get this into the kitchen-”

“If this doesn’t meet our expectation it’ll have to be tossed out. So probably better to save yourself the energy and let me inspect everything, don’t you think?” He snapped and the young man seemed startled “go offload the silverware while I looked through the produce.” The young worker nodded hesitantly and then ordered the other workers to follow him. When they disappeared into the building the Ghost scanned all the food crates with his eyes wondering which one she had used. Grabbing on the edge of the hover carrier he pulled himself onto it and continued to look everything over methodically. Finally he noticed one crate with a small but visible symbol drawn onto it and smiled. Pulling another crate off of it he immediately peeled back the lid and found what he was looking for. Looking up he scanned the area to make sure no Marines were within eyesight and then pulled a dark bag out of the crate along with the tiny dampening device attached to the inside wall.

With his toy in hand he leapt off the hover carrier and made his way into the building. He could see the workers busying themselves in the kitchen and continued down the hallway unnoticed. Ahead he head a collection of voices and discerned that it was a Marine patrol. He looked around, found a door, and opened it stepping inside what seemed to be a closet. Closing the door he let darkness envelope him and waited quietly for the voices to pass. When they were only faint whispers in the distance he let himself out and continued. In his mind he visualized the blue prints he had studied. Found the staircase he remembered and headed towards the third floor.

Darkness filled the halls as the floor was unlit and he immediately felt at home. Pushing open the staircase door he made his way into the adjacent hall and slowly searched the darkness until he finally found what he was looking for. It was a small side room- inconspicuous and likely little used considering its size. However, it was position perfectly next to one of the building’s primary support beams. Setting the bag on the floor he opened it and smiled at the sleek device that melted into the blackness. If there was one thing the Cardassians were good at it was creating efficient weapons. These little ‘boxes’ as the Obsidian order called them were useful toys. An explosive that could be scaled to ones need- even if that need meant to simply vaporize itself disposing of any evidence. It wasn’t something he liked to use. He preferred direct methods like a disruptor beam straight through the heart but these things were good for insurance. Pulling a table away from the wall he set the box on it and then stepped onto the table. Reaching up he pushed open one of the ceiling panels and set the dampening device against the back of a lighting fixture before grabbing the box and pressing it against the concrete of the support beam adjacent to the fixture. When he finished he set the ceiling panel back into place and hopped down.

Now, he just had to wait.

[To be continued]