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<TITLE>[Forrest Outpost] [FO] 25 Sep 2161 :: Briefing Room :: Drs Antonini and Cassidy :: "Speculation"</TITLE>
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// Briefing Room // <BR>
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Jia frowned at Thompson’s back. While she tried to appreciate the confidence he seemed to be showing by assuming everyone would be competent to determine what to do within his or her own department and position, it rankled her that he also assumed no one would want him to repeat or further clarify anything. She looked down at the PADD he’d left on the table. Everyone seemed to be avoiding it. She leaned forward and pulled it over to her, set up the download sequence between it and her own, and waited for the few moments it took to complete the transfer. Then she passed it to the Gina on her right. <BR>
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Quick-scanning the information scrolling down the datapad's small screen, Gina was relieved again to read that the shipyards' crew had already been moved to safety on Njord. She looked at the rough sphere of Klingon ships, forming a circle that had Njord at its center. The mines filled in the holes. <BR>
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As Jia read the report on the PADD, she wondered why Thompson even showed up for his briefings, as the information was absolutely, precisely what he included in the report. Twenty minutes ago --what 30 now--, Klingon ships had entered the system. What had she been doing 30 minutes ago? Enjoying a cuppa tea and reviewing a patient’s chart …as Klingon warships mounted an assault on her home. Damn bloody Klingons. Bloody damn war. <BR>
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This appeared to be a siege, not an outright attack, and she had to reckon the reason for not bearing down on them with canons firing was because they felt they could wait it out without having to risk their ships and personnel. How long would that last? Okay. Infirmary to red alert readiness, notify all medical personnel, notify all secondary relief medics in other departments, hurry up…get ready…and wait. “Marty, get the coffee ready,” she whispered. She pulled her hair back with both hands. Humidity was high in the station today; it was particularly curly. <BR>
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As Gina passed the PADD to her right, she turned to look over at Jia, who was for some inexplicable reason was admiring Gina’s hair, probably because it was not nearly as unruly as her own. <BR>
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“Why can’t people just live peacefully? Isn’t the entire universe big enough?” she said rhetorically.<BR>
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Gina shrugged. People had been asking that question since the beginning of time, and Gina didn't have an answer for it. "I can't help but think that this is more than a standard blockade. We won't run out of food or water -- we have Njord, where we can get both. This is isolation; keep us here, keep the rest of our ships out. /That/ means, there's something going on out there that we don't know about. A reason why we must be kept isolated." She was frowning. <BR>
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That little bit of anti-encouragement sat heavy on Jia’s shoulders. It was very good logic, as far as it went. “True enough, but what good does it do to keep /us/ in the dark? We’re not a huge threat, by ourselves, to the outcome of the war. There must be more reason to keep us isolated.”<BR>
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"Well ... it would appear, if you think about logistics, that it's our status as a stopover, a resupply post, that marked us for a blockade." Gina was thoughtful. "What are they up to?"<BR>
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“Playin’ the devil’s advocate here, but could the Klingons be doing this independently of the Romulans?” asked Jia.<BR>
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"Hmm ... the /Klingons/? Alone? How likely is that?" Gina turned to face Jia. "I thought the most recent tactical analysis Headquarters sent to us said that they reckoned the Klingons for remote, isolated actions. This certainly doesn't seem to fit ... blockading the only viable space station in the quadrant -- that will service and supply all Coalition vessels, I mean -- it's going to cause an uproar."<BR>
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“Maybe they want this outpost if the war falls in favor o’ the Romulans. They’re hedgin’ their bets by bein’ here before that’s fact,” Jia said. A chill of anxiety threaded its way down her spine and back up to end in a shiver.<BR>
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"Well, that's why I said that before -- I don't think I'm being paranoid when I say something's going on, this can only be a piece of it."<BR>
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"Or ... perhaps the Romulans found out about our little excursion to rescue those POWs and are going to exact some revenge. /Or/ they have another use in mind for us, like replacing those people they were using as lab rats." Gina chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, there could be all kinds of things going on, all kinds of reasons."<BR>
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“I am NOT gonna be some Romulan guinea pig. This woman is going out fighting before that happens,” Jia proclaimed. <BR>
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The datapad had made its way around the table and had come back to Jia and Gina. Gina picked it up and scanned it again. "Ten to one the Captain knows more than he's telling us. Do you think Star Fleet is doing something? Maybe /we/ have done something, and this is in response to that."<BR>
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“Y’ mean this station could really be more strategic than we, the mere Senior Staff, know about? Intell has /used/ us before. With the fate of Earth hangin’ in the balance, I’d put nothin’ past ‘em t’ do it again.” Jia felt she could speak her mind to Gina, but she spoke barely above a whisper. “Do y’ think they’re after /people/ ...not just a mass of metal and a pretty planet?”<BR>
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~Yikes~ Gina thought. "I think we all need to be very observant and very careful. Their grand objective might just be to isolate us and then take us out. Forrest Outpost is a plum on Star Fleet's plate ... a huge, fully-functional, multi-racial space station way out here in the far reaches of the galaxy ... we're like the twin towers of the 22nd Century. Remember your history?"<BR>
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“Aye. They didn’t have to take out the Country’s Capitol, just a huge visible hub. I guess I don’t think of us as being that special out here. T’ me, we are so small in comparison to all around us. But in terms of man made, Human-made culture, we are a marquis diamond, aren’t we now?”<BR>
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"Yes," agreed Gina.<BR>
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“How can we help? /We/ being Medical. Other than being ready to treat people, surely our combined creative little brains can be of some help beyond that. With Yuri gone, and Trev ... Engineering is short a Chief.” Jia’s eyes blurred momentarily, and she blinked them clear again. “I feel sort of useless until the worst happens.”<BR>
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"I know what you mean," Gina said, feeling a pang of guilt as she considered Yuri's most recent absence from the table. "We are down a few players on the team. But I'm certainly no engineer. I could maybe help out more in Operations ... in my off time, of course." She turned to face Jia more fully. "What do you think? What else can we do?"<BR>
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“Our speculatin’ is probably not as accurate as what Thompson already knows. I guess, for the time bein’, we do our job, trust the process of command t’ redirect us if needed. If we have any ideas pop into our heads, even if they’re outside the box, we share them with each other and pass them up the chain if they seem viable. First off, we get our own house in order and then worry about what else we can do. Maybe by then, there will be a few more pieces in the puzzle and we’ll see where we be fittin’. That works for me.”<BR>
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"Me, too." Gina gathered her gear and stood up. "All right, then, shall we head back to the Infirmary and brief the staff?"<BR>
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“Aye.” <BR>
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~~~<BR>
LtCmdr (Dr) Regina Antonini <BR>
Counselor <BR>
Forrest Outpost <BR>
& <BR>
Cmdr (Dr) Jia Cassidy <BR>
Chief Medical Officer <BR>
Outpost Maxwell Forrest <BR>
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