The Plan

Posted on Sun Jul 31st, 2022 @ 7:04pm by Commander Sara Archer & Lieutenant Commander Vyssia zh'Azonan & Lieutenant JG Mina Altair & Lieutenant Commander Felicie Rivero & Ensign Calliope Bradshaw
Edited on on Wed Aug 3rd, 2022 @ 10:43pm

Mission: The Archan Job
Location: Holodeck Two

The 'team' had been chosen. The list had been compiled. A craft was being prepared for departure, courtesy of Commander Archer's staff. All that was left was to actually tell the team of their involvement. Given the sensitive nature of the discussions that would be taking place, it was not something that could be done in the promenade over cups of coffee, even if the coffee shop sold the best coffee and cupcakes in the quadrant.

Instead, Commander Archer had had holodeck two swept for bugs and every one on the list had been requested to join them there.

That was where they were now. In the holodeck. Surrounded by trees. Each of them sitting on the ground, having just finished listen to Commander Archer explain the entirety of the situation to them. Silence had fallen over the group as each person contemplated on the situation at hand and their potential involvement.

Felicie looked around the group. She didn't need to be an empath to sense the tension and uncertainty.

"There is a craft being prepared for departure," the Chief of Security said calmly. "Time is of the essence, so if you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to speak up."

Sara Archer could tell that there was some apprehension among the potential members of the team. Unlike her, most of these individuals had never worked undercover, much less in what could be called an "illegal" operation. Federation law made targeting a Federation citizen a tricky proposition for Starfleet Intelligence. And if things went south down there on the surface, there would be no one from Starfleet to protect them. They were essentially on their own. She knew espionage was not their specialty, but their specialties still played into the operation at hand.

Calliope looked around. Her eyebrow raised. "What exactly do you need me for?" She asked plainly. She was surprised no one else had spoken up before her.

"Oh much like me, I suppose." Mina said conversationally from where she'd sat 'messily' in one of the chairs. She was in civilian clothes, hair a darker blonde than was natural for her, eyes shining in a cornflower blue, but there was little evidence of the makeup she'd used to slightly alter her appearance, nor the subtle changes to her face. For all the others, this could truly be her normal appearance, "You and I don't make a splash where we're going." Her voice had more of an English tilt to it rather than her native Australian, too. She made a show of laboriously pushing herself to her feet in a casual manner, "Which is the point in something like this, not to be noticed. Isn't that right, Commander?" She asked the question aimed somewhere between both Rivero and Archer, whom she recognized but didn't specifically want to call out.

Felicie's eyes narrowed slightly before she glanced at Sara. "The point of this is for everyone to keep their heads down and do what needs to be done without causing a scene. This mission is not exactly what you would call sanctioned through the usual channels, but it's also likely our best bet to get the information we need to help us locate Breloc Tejar." She paused as she turned her attention to Calliope. "Everyone here has been hand selected because you specialise in something that helps to make this mission successful. Yours, specifically, would be your systems access skills."

With a raise of her eyebrow, Calliope nodded. She exhaled audibly. "Can I bring my own equipment or are you going to get what I need?" she asked her voice laced with angst.

"Bring whatever you think you'll need," Archer replied, hardly giving Bradshaw any more than an aside glance. "But be aware that we will be limited on how much we can carry. Artrex will be holding an art gala at his compound to show off his latest collection. And to wine and dine current and prospective clients. We'll be using the gala as cover. Security will be tight, but distracted. We may be able to arrange to have some items smuggled in ahead of the operation, but what we can carry in will be limited to what we can reasonable conceal on our person."

Felicie caught the angst in Calliope's voice and offered a reassuring smile. "Time is of the essence, we want to be underway as soon as possible, but I do want to steal you for a few minutes once we're done here, I want to get your help with something before we leave."

“What is it?” Calliope asked. She was suspicious of the Commanders motives for wanting her aside.

"Just a little background information," Felicie replied with a smile. "Nothing sinister, don't worry."

"What's the cover?" Mina asked a question she knew others were probably wondering, at least those that were wondering how they were going to get onto the landing pad, "I'm presuming that our cargo on the shuttle is our way past security and all?"

"Paintings. Rare ones. Or at least the best facsimiles we could prepare on short notice," Archer replied. "They will unlikely pass scrutiny if any experts were to examine them, but they should do well enough to get past any security inspections. I've obtained invites for us as dealers. Buyers and sellers. How much do you know about art, Lieutenant?"

"Darling, what don't I know about art?" There was a slight alteration of Mina's English lilt, one that indicated the answer to Archer was 'I know a bit, but give me a couple hours and I can carry the tune.' "A little bit of fabric, a bit of paint arranged just so and you have the insight of the painter. Interpreting that insight is what we need to fabricate, but shouldn't be much of a challenge."

Sara wasn't a Vulcan, but being called 'darling' by the lieutenant earned her a raised eyebrow. Archer was good at infiltrating, but Altair had her beat when it came to impersonation. Sara knew her skills would be invaluable on this mission.

It was a bit unusual that one of them was supposed to be perhaps the exemplar of doing the right thing, an irony not lost at all to Vyssia. But often times, as history had proven, the right thing didn't always mean following the rules to a T...it had to bend once in a while.

"I assume that I'm going to be the...what was the term...getaway driver?" A smile crossed the Andorian's stern features, "All I'd need is at least a little time to know what we're flying in on. The rest I leave to you all and I'll make sure we're ready to make either a smooth getaway or a quick one. Depending how things go."

Archer picked up a PADD from the holographic ground and handed it to zh'Azonan. "We need to pass as civilians, but we would also like to have something fast to make a quick getaway if necessary. We've prepared a Kaplan F17 speed freighter for us."

"Well well. This would work." Vyssia said looking over the PADD, "Yes. This will work just fine. Just bear in mind that the F17 is many things - but armed isn't one. If you kick the ice needler's hive, I won't be blasting my way in."

"I think we're trying to avoid kicking the ice needler's hive," Felicie responded. "We want to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Once we're in, we'll want a plan in place that is flexible enough to work with most any situation. We won't be one hundred percent sure what we'll find until we're there, and even then it's likely to change. Getting into the location won't be difficult, we have our invites. Getting into secure areas may be a little more complicated and require a little more finesse. Then we'll need to get the information we need and get out without being caught, all the while wearing heels and gowns. Really, what could possibly go wrong?" Felicie grinned.

"Heels?!" Calliope asked, incredulously. "You probably should've led with that."

"Harder to run in heels." Mina shrugged, "But if you ever have to, run on your toes, it's much easier." She spoke from experience, "Actually, if I may suggest, if we're posing as high art connoisseurs, it wouldn't hurt to draw some initial attention. After all, if we're wealthy enough to be buying and selling fine art at the highest levels, we wouldn't be dressed as paupers or just anyone. I could easily glam up and look the part, maybe draw the eye enough that the rest of you are overlooked as relatively uninteresting."

"Or we could all dress up and all blend in with the crowd without drawing any overt attention to ourselves. There's going to be a lot of people there, there's no reason that any of us should stand out more than anyone else," Felicie added softly. "But, that said, Commander Archer may have other thoughts on the matter."

Archer nodded. "Actually, I do. I think you are both right. Most of us will be doing our best not to draw attention to ourselves. But having someone who can look and speak the part, and do it well, may be able to cause enough of a distraction to keep attention away from the rest of us. Besides, while I have full confidence in Ensign Bradshaw's abilities, sometimes the best way to get past security is some good old fashioned social engineering."

"That said," Sara continued, "We will need both of you to get the rest of the team in place. We can get one or two of us in as guests on another invite. This will be done through Samanthia Akiashiro, who has already been invited to the gala. But to get the rest of us added to the guest list will take more work. We'll need Ensign Bradshaw to build IDs for us that can be uploaded into Artrex's security system. We won't be able to deploy the IDs remotely. Someone will need to be onsite. My suggestion would be for Lieutenant Altair and one other member of the team, perhaps Ensign Bradshaw, to join the party as guests of the Akiashiros, gain access to the security systems, and upload the other IDs before the rest of us reach the entrance."

"That sounds risky." Said Calliope, still thinking about the heels. "The IDs are not a problem, but uploading them from inside the party... it's high pressure. And should there be failsafes... We could be caught before we even know it" She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'll need to find out whatever I can about the kind of system they're running."

Mina glanced at Sara and wondered for a moment if she should mention it... Then decided that yes, "If you can get the IDs ready and a self-delivering program that just needs to be connected to the network, I can get it in position to do it's job." She withdrew a coin from her belt pouch and twirled it through her fingers, then like a magician, brought it into the palm of her hand and closed it, opening the now-empty palm to view, "A magnetic disc that can be attached under a console out of view, program automatically uploads the IDs and then erases itself. Can you do that?"

Sara looked to Bradshaw. "What do you think, Ensign? Is that something you might be able to do?"

Calliope nodded slowly. "I can get started once we're done here. The ID's shouldn't be too hard to put together. An automated delivery system will take longer, but it's definitely doable."

"Good," Sara replied, nodding. "Use whatever resources you need, but remember that discussion of this operation does not leave this room."

Calliope nodded her understanding.

"Are there any other questions?" Archer asked the room.

“Nothing from me,” Calliope said, standing from her spot.

Seeing no other responses, Sara clapped her hands together. "Right. We all have work to do, so let's get to it."

---

Commander Sara Archer [P: Von]
Special Agent
Starfleet Intelligence

Lt. Commander Felicie Rivero
Chief of Security
Starbase 332

Lt. Commander Vyssia zh'Azonan
Instructor in Command
Starfleet Academy
USS Wainwright

Lieutenant JG Mina Altair
Independent Investigator
Starfleet Internal Affairs

Ensign Calliope Bradshaw [P: Decan]
Computer Systems Specialist
Starbase 332