TASK FORCE 38 – OPERATIONAL REPORT JULY 2019

FICTION SEGMENT

Location: Starbase 38 (Kartelan Station)

Time: 1030 Hours, Galactic Standard Time

Major General Christopher Mitchell sat back in his office chair, fuming over his recent hail from the Victory. Missing ships and missing Captains, it was all too much to handle. On top of that, based on the readiness reports he was receiving, less than half of his ships were at an acceptable maintenance state and couldn’t even deploy within 24 hours. Flipping through the reports on the PADD, he angrily poked and skipped through them, barely able to stomach the information he was receiving. He tossed the PADD aside with a hint of annoyance and stood up and walked over to his personal replicator. 

“Colombian Dark Roast. Black.” he ordered. A moment later, the replicator glowed and dispensed a cup of what could be considered coffee. Picking up the metal cup, the acrid scent of what was once coffee assaulted his nose. Looking down, he swirled the thick sludge in the cup, watching it cling to the sides. Christopher gingerly sat the cup down and pressed the console to dispose of it. Making a note to make a work order for that repair, he walked over to the massive viewport and stared out of the window that overlooked the barren surface of Kartelan II. The darkness of space made the clouds of lunar sands glitter incandescently in the distance. It was truly something to behold

“I need a sign. Send me someone who can whip these people back into shape.” he said with a slight sigh. 

A few moments later, he was pulled from his reverie by the ringing of the communications. 

“General Mitchell, your presence is requested in the CIC” the voice of his watch officer, Lieutenant Commander Leopold ‘Leo’ Connolly announced. Walking out of his office and into the bustling Combat Information Center. Walking over to the ‘Pool Table’, a massive operational workstation, he saw a pulsing red Starfleet chevron. Connolly pointed to the chevron and brought it up on the screen. 

“Sir, we’ve received a distress call- Priority Two Delta…” Leo paused for a moment as he stopped to listen through his headset. “Sir – It’s from the Hammersley.” 

 

Christopher’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wasn’t the Hammersley lost on a mission with all hands over a year ago?” 

Raines nodded. “Yes, sir. The distress signal broadcasted for six months but we deemed it too high risk due to nearby Borg presence and the high levels of background radiation. The signal stopped approximately 5 months ago – probably due to interference or power loss but it just reactivated itself.” 

 

Christopher nodded and leaned against the table. “What’s our probability of a successful rescue, given current tactical conditions in that area?” 

Raines tapped at his console like a man possessed. “Well sir, probability sits at 100:1 if my math is right. Based on our latest sensor scans,  there are plenty of fried ships out including a Malon scavenging vessel, which prevented further readings.” 

“Life signs?” Christopher asked. 

Leo shook his head. “None at last scan, sir but we can’t confirm for sure unless we send someone in.” 

Christopher sighed slightly. “I feel like we’re having this conversation too many times- what ships are available, Commander?” 

Connolly responded almost immediately. “Well, sir. The Coulson is docked and is just finishing up a resupply but she’s only got a skeleton crew and no Commanding Officer. They can sail in less than 8 hour if you decide to go for it.” 

Christopher thought for a moment. “Very well, bring in Captain Raines and brief him-” 

Raising his hand for a moment, Leo spoke up. “Sir, with all due respect. Captain Raines is too valuable to be risked- ”

Christopher’s face reddened and he raised his hand in a knifelike motion. “Commander, you seem to be under the impression that I’m making a polite request and that I’m open to placing you into a command. Let me be outstandingly clear- I am definitely not. Now bring Captain Raines here now or so help me, I’ll have you cleaning the external plating of lunar dust for the rest of your career” he threatened. Christopher was extremely familiar with Commander Connolly- he had been on a meteoric rise through Starfleet prior to the Dominion War when he had been court-martialed for his participation in Admiral Leyton’s ill-fated coup. In his own defense, he had only been following orders. Since then, he had been bounced from menial assignment to menial assignment, never promoting above Lieutenant Commander and silently accepting his fate each time but it seemed he was finally bucking up to make something of himself again. 

Leo squared his shoulders and his eyes narrowed. “Sir, I know that what I did aboard the Lakota isn’t easily forgiven but I’ll be damned if I allow you to keep me here. If I go, you lose nothing but a ship. If you send Raines and something happens to him, you lose far too much operational knowledge.” he said indignantly. 

Christopher thought for what seemed like an eternity. As much as he hated to admit it, Connolly was right. 

“Very well, Commander. You leave me no choice – I’m ordering you to take command of the Coulson and bring back the Hammersley. If not, prevent it from falling into non-Federation hands. Dismissed.” 

 

:OFF 

NEWS FROM TF38 GAMES

After passing through the Epatha Gateway into the Delta Quadrant, the Diligent receives a distress call from an unknown source near the remains of the transwarp gateway previously employed by Starfleet. There, they find two ships trapped within a temporal rift, frozen in time. Vidiians from the future, working with Starfleet years down the line to re-ignite the collapsed Mordred gateway.

 

 

 

UPDATES FROM BRAVO FLEET AND TASK FORCE 38

We have a few updates from Bravo Fleet :

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

 

I’d like to congratulate Ansel AKA Commodore Elgor Rae on his appointment as the Task Force Executive Officer. In just a few short weeks, he has performed excellently. 

As I write the final words of this report, I cannot express how proud I am of every single player and Commanding Officer in our Task Force. Through the trials and tribulations that we have experienced over the past two months, you have all performed admirably and I look forward to writing the next great adventure alongside each and every one of you.