No Plan Survives First Contact with The Enemy
Posted on Thu Jan 5th, 2023 @ 7:40pm by Subcommander Kaiae t'Lien & Major Ashley Rogers & Captain Freya Mannerheim & Lieutenant Hatham tr'Krotash & Lieutenant T'Ango & Colonel Sehan t'Varis
3,713 words; about a 19 minute read
Mission:
Chapter VII: Into the Storm
Location: Drozana Station
Timeline: 238704.24
A vessel warped into the space around Drozana Station, its presence evident by more than a gravity signature as the cloak flickered in and out though a stream of particles from a damaged engine would have given it away to any watching just as well.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is Cat Dancing," T'Abgo called urgently. "Ourainavassa, Mnaae Dhael, please come in!"
++ Cat Dancing, this is Mnaae Dhael. ++
"Divash! Thank the gods! We have multiple wounded, in need of emergency evac."
++ We're coming about to intercept. Send Gunnar's comm code and we'll beam over everyone near him. ++
Of course she assumes he's with the wounded. He should be. If only... T'Ango swallowed. Hard. "He's... he's not...."
Instead of a reply, a transporter beam appeared that quickly resolved into an Orion doctor, emergency medkit slung over one shoulder. "Chastity, T'Ango, how bad is he?"
The felinoid's ears and whiskers drooped. "I don't know. He's not here. There were Tal'Shiar and he made the call to lead them away, give us a chance to get out under cloak."
"Chastity," Divash swore. "Do you know if they caught him?"
T'Ango shook her head. "I waited as long as I could - he's lost them and doubled back before - but," her head ears fell further, "they were getting too close and we had so many kits..."
"It's what he'd want you to do," Divash assured, putting a comforting hand on the Dosadi's shoulder. "And the other thing he'd want is the wounded tended. I'm going to go back there and start." She held the shoulder, preventing T'Ango from moving to join her. "I need you to send an encrypted summary to Kali and to Kaiae on the 'Vassa. They'll need to start making plans immediately."
A short time later T'Ango paced the conference room, waiting for the attendees in the hastily called meeting.
Reading T'Ango's summary had brought Kaiae about as close to sheer panic as adult Romulans tended to get; and when she entered the conference room she didn't waste time with much of anything else before posing her first inquiry.
"You know him better than we do." Kaiae gave T'Ango a brisk nod of greeting to go along with the statement and continued on; near as she could tell humans didn't tend to take the rather more sensible attitude she knew she and Hatham shared, when it came to what to do with themselves if taken by the Tal'Shiar. So. That meant the Dosadi's partner would live long enough in their hands to be a serious operational security risk; one with an inevitable conclusion if it went on long enough. "How long, if you had to guess?" How long until they would break him, and in doing so then doom the rest of them, the entire plan, and everyone depending on it.
T'Ango's tail poofed as she spun to face the Romulan. Despite the Dosadi's diminutive size there was something in her reaction that made Hatham move closer to Kaiae, just in case.
Before T'Ango could reply, Captain Mannerheim burst into the conference room. Instead of her usual immaculate uniform, however, she was wearing a simple mechanic's overall covered in dirt, with a large tear in the leg revealing a corresponding scratch in her prosthetic leg. "Right, I hear there's trouble? Something about someone being caught by the Tal'Shiar? Sorry, the Subcommander's message was very, very brief." She tapped her badge to activate the holographic PADD, displaying Kaiae's message: "One of our people captured by TS. Emergency meeting now." "So, anyone want to briefly fill me in, or should I just go away again and wait for you guys to let me know what the plan is?"
"We don't know he's been caught yet!" T'Ango snapped, fur bristling. "He was leading the Tal'Shiar away so we could escape. He's managed to go to ground before, but even if they caught him, he won't betray us." Her chin lifted, ears orienting on Kaiae. "He's a man of high honor."
Plenty of others they've taken have been, too, Kaiae thought wearily, but when someone lives long enough in their hands, that changes little, when it comes to how it ends. It was possibly a sign of how exhausted she was lately that she wasn’t more offended with the seeming implication that everyone who’d ever broken in Tal’Shiar hands lacked such: The only choice you tended to get that could influence whether you eventually betrayed your secrets or not if they considered you a prisoner guilty or likely guilty of something, not just a subject to interview in a wider investigation of something or someone else, was the choice to be taken alive or not (and sometimes - if you were taken by surprise, or weren’t quick enough, or a situation changed too rapidly - you didn’t even get that).
"T'Ango," Divash cut in gently. "No one is questioning that." Her eyes moved along those present with an expression that implied they better not be. "Gunnar has withstood torture before, but everyone breaks eventually. It's no insult to ask his limit." Seeing T'Ango's head dip in acknowledgment, and shame at jumping to insult, Divash turned to Kaiae, answering for her. "The last time he faked suicide convincingly enough to escape. So, the answer is, I don't know. But I do know him, and if he talks at all what they'll get is discourse on the danger Hobus poses to their people and how mnhei'sahe should require anyone with a shred of decency to try to rescue those in its path."
Hathams brows shot up at that last. "His strategy is to provoke them to kill him before he breaks? Novel. But with an experienced agent all it will get him is more pain."
Freya held up her hands. "Slow down, slow down. This isn't going to get us anywhere, now, is it. I'm with Hatham on this one. That is, if he was captured, which does seem likely given the information you have provided. I reckon the first thing we need to do is to determine Mr Arnason's current whereabouts, be it on the run or in Tal Shiar captivity. The second step would then be to retrieve him from wherever he is. I am sure you can all agree with me on that?"
"I'll explain the flaws with assuming everyone agrees with the feasibility of the second part of that statement in a moment." Kaiae said tightly. "But as to the first part, if they have him, they'll be looking for any local accomplices. That could go one of two ways: They could keep it quiet in hopes of drawing anyone out - or drawing anyone back - or, they could publish his likeness and any known names and such in hopes of getting anyone who might have seen him with anyone else to report on them. If they go with the latter, we'll be able to find the evidence we need to answer the first question that way. The risk being of course that they'll attempt to trace anyone making that exact search, too, so we'll have to make sure to bounce it off enough stuff to try to scramble the location. And while if we find something, we'll know they have him, if we find nothing, it won't be a definitive answer because it could just mean they decided to keep it quiet."
"They'll have a hard time with likeness," Divash said. "He had one of my personal holoemitters to look Romulan, so he could change the face, at least for as long as the power cell lasts. After that..." she puffed a breath. "A blonde human is likely to stand out even if the Tal'Shiar aren't explicitly looking for one."
"Not that much - he dyed his hair and put points on his ears, just in case the holo glitched," T'Ango corrected. "Even so, he wouldn't endanger anyone by sheltering with them. Which is as well, since we made the whole trip under Mila's cloak, so if the Tal'Shiar were alerted, someone may have informed on us. Though I suspect it was just too broadly known. We had twice the number show up that we expected - not uncommon, people decide they can't leave dear friend or some cousin not on the list."
Hatham frowned. "Either way, the Tal'Shiar will be looking not only for him but for information on how this was organized and arranged. When they capture him, that will be the focus of their questions. Hence the question of how long he can resist." He pursed his lips a moment. "Though I suppose we should also ask whether he's gotten better at suicide if he reaches his limit."
That drew a short hiss from T'Ango. "We will liberate him before either become an issue. And if you won't, I'll do it my own!"
It was the second time in as many minutes Kaiae had heard someone suggest 'springing a Tal'Shiar prisoner' as if it was an even remotely workable idea, and one eyebrow shot up like it was rocket-propelled, glancing between T'Ango, who'd made the most recent statement, and Freya, who'd made the initial one, as if to make it clear she felt both had taken leave of their sanity. "And what, exactly, would be either of your plans for that?"
Freya couldn't help but start laughing. "Overestimating your enemy is just as dangerous as underestimating him, Subcommander. If you truly believe it to be impossible to get one man out of the clutches of the Tal Shiar, how can you possibly believe we'd succeed with hundreds? Of course, we can't possibly take Ourainavassa or any of the other vessels we plan on using for the evacuation in against the Tal Shiar, or they'll be actively looking for that ship."
She smirked and pointed out of the window at I.S.S. Amelia. "So why don't we take that one, while we've still got it?"
"There is a significant difference between spiriting away a few hundred people not actively in their 'clutches' as you put it, and even one man who is.” Kaiae sighed. “If they've since moved him offworld to a ship, for example, they are unlikely to advertise which one or its position, and probably would be running under cloak. And if instead they hopefully have not and he is still on the planet, we would still need to somehow locate the exact facility there holding him, then breach advanced and unpredictable security in terms both personnel and technology, and then get back out again. And the Amelia is by your own admission mostly a den of unreliable snakes.”
And one which you earlier today expressed the need to move quickly to subvert and destroy; along with that damnable double of Rogers’, Kaiae thought.
“So what is the rest of suggested plan, then?” Kaiae threw her gaze around the room again briefly, at Freya, at T’Ango, and then at Divash too for good measure because anyone who could basically steal a warbird - even a mothballed one in foreign hands - without getting caught at it was possibly the sort to have valuable input on the achievement of ridiculously impossible things like were being contemplated.
Freya's smirk grew wider. "My point exactly. Yes, it would be rather difficult to locate a ship under cloak, and Amelia is about to turn into a problem. So, why don't we deal with those two issues at once, use Amelia to lure out the Tal Shiar, use one of her shuttles to infiltrate whatever ship they have Mr Arnason on, and, with a little luck, get Amelia blown up in the process?"
Hatham had watched the exchange, quietly calculating the merits of the various points and counterpoints. He was very much in favor of sacrificing the Amelia, but the plan Mannerheim had just suggested did not consider all the variables. "You're assuming he'd be moved to a ship. That's a big assumption. First, once they know he's human, putting him on public display might induce more to informing against him and any collaborators." Out of consideration for the Dosadi and the hackles he could literally see raised, he didn't voice that public display might well mean breaking him publicly as an object lesson in human weakness and therefore unreliabiliy. "Second, it assumes he's already been captured. I'd place odds that he will have been by the time we can respond, but if he has experience with SERE it's far from a certainty."
Kaiae listened as Hatham picked both Freya and her own assumptions and suggestions apart for their merits and flaws, reminding her for a moment of one of her old war college instructors. But a man who would fail to point out potential weaknesses or variables in your ideas was useless as an advisor; and those who would not tolerate such analysis risked having not advisors but simply the living equivalent of mirrored echo chambers, with which they first and foremost deceived themselves rather than others. It was part of the problem with the Senate these days, in fact.
"He's evaded Klingons, so don't underestimate him. That will be the Tal'Shiar's mistake if they think they can display a human begging for mercy," T'Ango cut in with a level look at the Hatham that was nearly an unvoiced hiss. "But the Terran makes a good point about not over estimating enemies. You think I'm foolish to say I'd go after him, but" she lifted her chin, tail lashing, "I've freed a captive from an Obsidian Order prison with just three other Raiders. Give me our Rogers and two other operators and we can get Gunnar too."
The Obsidian Order weren’t nearly as well organized contingencies wise as the Tal’Shiar, considering one agency collapsed and one did not, Kaiae considered silently. Though even she had to admit that the Order had had a fearsome reputation where it’s prisons were concerned.
Major Ash Rogers walked into the room just as her name was mentioned, "Sorry, I'm late to the party guys... I had a few things to take care of." Seeing the looks on her old friends' faces, "No no... nothing like that. I was making things right with my sister. Although, it sounds like we do need my... unique skillset...."
"Hey, Rogers," T'Ango said, ears perking in her direction. "Feel like joining another challenging exfil? We're talking about getting Gunnar back. Preferably before the Tal'Shiar find him, but if after it's a prison raid and you can kill as many Tal'Shiar as you like."
Freya raised a hand in greeting to the Major, before turning to Hatham. "You make an excellent point, Lieutenant. The question is, however, do we have the time to wait for the Tal Shiar to tell us they have him, if they do? Because time is something we do not have much of, if I may remind you." Suddenly, she shook her head. "Time... well, we do have one option that we haven't considered yet. A temporal extraction. It's risky, very risky even, but it is an option worth considering. T'Ango, what exactly was the situation when you last saw Mr Arnason?"
"The last I saw him was when he left for the meeting point. I stay behind to watch the ship and be ready in case we need a hot getaway," T'Ango explained. "Last contact was an encrypted comm burst telling me he had tail and..." she looked down a moment, lips twitching at some private joke, "...well, the essence of the message was our passengers would be arriving without him and 'Don't wait for me'."
"Temporal or not, count me in to get Gunnar back," Ash smirked. "I'd be more than willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen."
T'Ango dipped her head toward Ash. "Thank you, my friend. I knew I could count on you."
"I'll come as well," Hatham said. He had an obligation after all, Arnason had been trying to rescue family members of his crew. Besides, he and Rogers had taken Ourainavassa and Vulture's ship, the last had been mostly Perez. "If Perez can control her battle rage and join us, I'd say even the Tal'Shiar should be afraid. Honestly, I'd prefer that to mucking with time."
"I would prefer most things over 'mucking with time', as well." Kaiae said, but did not volunteer; those same obligations when filtered through her own specifics leading her to a conclusion rather the opposite where her placement was concerned: She had no business going along and instead was duty bound to stay with the rest of this mess she had inherited, and those looking to her in it.
Divash nodded. "How exactly would a temporal extraction work in any case? Go in ahead of when he headed out? And what? Warn him?" She puffed a small breath. "Forewarned might help, but he'll go anyway, especially if he knows they will get out if he does."
Freya shook her head. "No, that would not work. We need to pinpoint the perfect moment after he leaves your group to go and distract the Tal Shiar, but before they capture him and take him away, if that is indeed what has happened. Unfortunately, the Tal Shiar archive from around this time is not accessible, even from the future, so we don't have that particular advantage. If we try a temporal extraction, we also won't be able to bring Amelia in, it would draw too much attention."
She scratched her chin in thought. "There is one shuttlecraft, a 29th-century Starfleet design, that has been modified to be compatible with the Stamets Device. It is cloaked as well, however neither its shields nor its weaponry would give us much of a chance in a direct firefight. And it can perform only two jumps before the Stamets Device needs to be refuelled, and it does not have the facilities needed to carry additional spores to refuel on the move. It can only be refuelled on board Amelia. If we are all in agreement, I will need some time to get everything organised, have the shuttlecraft prepared, and plot out our best entry point."
The Captain activated the holo-PADD in her badge and opened an empty file. "First of all, I'm going to need to know who would be coming along." Immediately, she added her own name. "I, of course, will need to pilot, and I should probably stick with the shuttlecraft during the mission just in case. I reckon Perez would be more than happy to come along, if we ask them and tell them what this is about. Who else, then?"
"I will be going," T'Ango stated with a look that brooked no objections.
Hatham contained a frown, but did not voice an objection, at least not directly. "We should have a Romulan or two along - people who won't stand out and can interact with the inhabitants if need be." He did not say he was volunteering, though he would if no others were identified.
"I'll ask Kali." Divash held up a hand. "I know she doesn't completely fit it in, but that may be an advantage. No Tal'Shiar could impersonate her well enough to fool Gunnar, who knows her well. And if he suspects he's been made, he'll be operating at near Romulan levels of paranoia." She offered a quick smile to the Romulans present. "No offense."
"None taken," Hatham replied. "We could hardly be offended by the implication we have a good sense of self-preservation."
Freya nodded as she noted down the names. "Lieutenant Hatham, will you yourself be joining us as a second Romulan? From what I hear, your skillset is exactly what we might need to pull this off. That would leave us with two spare seats on the shuttle."
She turned to T'Ango. "In order to calculate the best time and place for us to perform the extraction, I'll need an exact mission report from you, with the times as precisely noted as possible. Like I said, we only get one chance at pulling this off without causing too much damage to the timeline."
"I have the time he left the ship and the exact time of his last comm right here," T'Ango said, placing a PaDD on the table. "The refugees arrived roughly 10 minutes later. I say roughly because they came in four groups from different directions. Some had been wounded, as the group encountered the Tal'Shiar and split up in such a way as to give the ones with children the best chance to make the ship. In fact, a granny in the last group was spitting mad Gunnar insisted she join her grandkids instead of trying to ambush pursuers." A brief fanged smile crossed her face at something so like what she'd expect of her own people. "That's our window, I'd think, but if we have only one shot, I assume Plan B is to hit them in the present. If so, Rogers, I hope you're taking one of those spare seats."
Freya picked up the PADD and skimmed its content. "Perfect. Now we have the time and the place were we will need to be. I will make all the necessary preparations. Everyone who's coming along, assemble in Ourainavassa's main shuttle bay at 1100 tomorrow, armed and ready. If all goes to plan, we should be back, with Mr Arnason, only a few moments after departure. Make sure you carry one of Lieutenant Lynn's badges on you for communication and as an emergency transport beacon, in case things go sideways."
She turned to T'Ango. "I will contact you in a few hours to go over the plan in detail. Let's get our man out of there, ideally before the Tal Shiar even have a chance to capture him."
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