A Mission Post by Captain Taverain Ramius
Mission: Coil of Darkness
Location: Venus, Sol System - USS Corsair
Timeline: Backlog
Starship USS Corsair - Venus
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"Coffee, black."
A dark mug appeared in a swirl of vanishing blue particles. A head of steam gently rose from the cup spreading out along the upper edge of the replicator alcove.
He yawned rubbing his eyes sweeping away traces of sleep before reaching for the cup and making his way to the windows. Below shined a planet that was named after an ancient god of beauty. Venus. It was a misnomer in every sense. The yellowish planet was a hellish locale wrapped in dense noxious clouds of various caustic gasses. The solar wind contributed to the formation of sulfuric acid as it interacted with the atmosphere. The result was a planet ravaged by acid rains and acidic clouds. Heat from the sun was trapped by the dense atmosphere making surface conditions inhospitable to life. The dark basalt surface was a cracked, dark, landscape constantly assaulted by intense pressure, heat, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
Outside his window spun a planet that in many ways was a twin of the Earth; an evil, lethal twin with a violent temperament. His starship had been ordered to remain in orbit during the Romulan visit to Earth maintaining a low profile and staying off sensors. Intelligence command wanted a highly capable and clandestine starship on standby, removed from the vicinity of Earth as a wild card to be used if and when needed. The orders had not set well with the ship's captain.
He sipped his coffee gazing out at Venus spinning slowly outside the windows of his quarters. It was if he had been ordered into a penalty box for some indeterminate amount of time. Running a hand through his matted hair, Captain Taverain Ramius grimaced slightly as he contemplated his current situation. He was unhappy being sidelined far from interesting, exciting, and possibly historic events. While he could appreciate his superior's desires to keep certain assets on standby for contingency purposes he didn't have to like such desires.
As the steam on his coffee dissipated he contemplated his feelings on current events. He found himself grappling with the motives of the Romulans and whether or not this envoy to Earth was genuine. Some part of him wanted to believe that by some extraordinary stretch that this meeting would plant the seeds of peace between humanity and the Romulan empire. Despite his hopefulness his experience told him that this meeting was not completely above desk. There was something odd about rumblings of peace from the Romulans. He suspected it had to do with their current Klingon problems, but any such thoughts were nothing more than speculation.
Speculation, doubt, uncertainty - there were far too many unknowns for his particular liking. While he welcomed any opportunity for peace the cynical side of him wondered if the coming days would truly bring meaningful and lasting change given the long, difficult relationship with the Romulan Empire.
= A Few Minutes later =
Ramius toweled off from a shower and pulled on his uniform pants his hair still damp. He grabbed his coffee from the sink which had gone cold when his first officer's voice suddenly interrupted his morning routine.
"Captain, sorry to disturb you, but could you come to the bridge?"
There was a measure of concern in the executive officer's voice which differed from her usual tone and cadence.
"I'll be there shortly", he replied taking a sip of his cold coffee while running a towel through his damp hair. "What's the situation?"
"We've been monitoring communications and news broadcasts regarding the Romulan visit. From what we can tell it appears the delegation has just been attacked. There are scattered reports of an explosion at the initial Romlulan landing site."
Ramius's stomach tightened at the sudden and unexpected news.
"Survivors? What else do we know", he asked dropping his coffee into the sink and racing into his living space to grab a uniform jacket.
"Unknown sir. Information is sporadic. Comm channels are overloaded. No one at intelligence is responding to hails. News services are currently off air."
"Break orbit and set course for Earth, full impulse", Ramius shouted pulling on his jacket brushing wet hair from his face.
"Get us there quickly commander."
"Sir, what of our orders to maintain silent running?"
"I'll take the responsibility. I'm not going to sit idle and quiet during a crisis situation Romulans or no Romulans. Get us to Earth commander. I'm on my way to the bridge now."
"Yes sir", came the reply.
Ramius adjusted his jacket running a hand through tussled, damp hair. He glanced out his windows a final time at the Venusian atmosphere and the inhospitable surface below its dense clouds. The planet exuded an aura of foreboding. What had happened on Earth? Who was responsible? Who had been injured or worse killed? His intelligence training made him suspect this was nothing more than some twisted Romulan plot. Something like this was within their capabilities. No. It was too early to begin forming opinions. He needed to remain objective and level headed. Jumping to conclusions would only make a bad situation worse. He hoped they could get there soon enough to ascertain what had happened. There were far too many hawks at Starfleet who would jump at this incident in an attempt to start a fight for right or wrong. The last thing the Federation needed was another prolonged conflict with a major quadrant power. Too many lives had been lost already in recent conflicts. Nothing would be gained by a fight with the Romulans other than death and destruction.
He silently cursed exiting his quarters. "Ramius to Engineering. Transfer emergency power to the engines. Chief I want maximum speed. Push them right to the limit!"
"I'll give you everything we have sir", came the reply.
Ramius made his way to the bridge his head flooded with ideas, thoughts, and action plans. He hoped he wasn't at war by the time he made it back to Earth.
~ To Be Continued ~
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