Mobilising the Expert
Posted on Thu May 14th, 2015 @ 12:36pm by Captain Julius Whitlam & Lieutenant Commander Anders Odegaard
Mission:
Prelude to War
Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Manoora
Timeline: MD01: 1605hrs
Anders had arrived on the Manoora at the request of Starfleet Intelligence and of Command. Clearly the news of the Non-Aggression Pact must have spooked somebody in the Brass for his Shuttle to be diverted here. The Lieutenant did not argue he just followed the orders he had been given.
He waited in the Ready Room of the Akira Class Starship. Her Captain was not here yet and the Officer on the Bridge told him to wait around for Captain Whitlam.
The doors to the ready room slid open and Captain Whitlam strode through, his eyes locked on the PADD in his hand reading the latest readiness report from engineering. Time was rapidly ticking away before they had to depart for Starbase 310 and the headaches just kept piling up.
Without noticing the man waiting, he rounded the desk and dropped into his chair. He finished reading the report, tossed the PADD onto the desk and saw the stranger waiting patiently in one of the chairs facing him. He was too tired to be startled, so he stared blankly at him for a moment before then said, "Can I help you with something, Lieutenant?"
Anders looked at the Captain, extending his hand at the tired Officer Anders smiled. "Lieutenant Anders Odegaard, Starfleet Intelligence." His Norwegian accent prominent but not too thick, he stared at the man opposite him and waited.
Whitlam took the offered hand, "Captain Julius Whitlam, captain of this ship." He sat back, this fellow had already seen that he was exhausted so there was no sense hiding it. "Why are you here, Mister Odegaard?"
Anders offered the Captain another PADD. "My orders Captain." The Officer then sat back in his Chair. "I was on my way to a Conference on Andoria then my Shuttle was diverted here."
"Yes, there's a bit of that going around," Whitlam remarked as he took the PADD then sat back to quickly read it, stroking his chin as he did. The orders were simple enough, but the precis on Odegaard's background was what really interested him. "Hmm," he said after a moment. "You'll be useful, there's no doubt about that."
He tossed the PADD back to the intelligence officer and leaned forward in his chair. "So, as my chief intelligence officer - I'll be calling you 'spook' by the way - and our resident expert on the Dominion, what do you make of today's news? What's the Dominion up to?"
Anders chuckled. "It came as no surprise to me really, I've been into the Gamma Quadrant and worked on our new Enemies." The Intel officer said. "The Romulans were hardly going to jump into bed with us and the Klingons after we uncovered the Duras Plot in 68 and they were much more obliged to see us and the Cardassians lose to the Klingons recently."
"True enough," Whitlam agreed. "One could hope that they could see their interest lies in having the Dominion out of the Alpha Quadrant, but they might just as easily see the Dominion as a way to take out their two greatest rivals. It's foolish. What do you expect the Dominion will do next? Keep us hemmed in with non-aggression pacts, or are they going to start shooting?"
"They have a Wormhole and a Fleet." Anders said to the Captain. "It is not a case of if but when, they need a place to launch attacks from and with DS9 standing between them and us I suspect very soon we will see." The Officer commented, he had an inkling as to what they would do after all it was common practice in War.
Whitlam raised an eyebrow and said, "Indeed we will," in a knowing way. He pushed back from his desk and stood up suddenly. "Well, Spook, I'd love to chat all afternoon, but I have about fifty different matters requiring my attention."
Anders nodded. "I understand, I will find myself some quarters and an Office whilst I wait for my small Staff to show up." He nodded and looked to the Captain. "I also speak several Languages and have knowledge of Energy and Disruptor Tech if you were wondering."
The captain gestured to the PADD that held the lieutenant's orders. "I saw," he said with a smile and a nod. "Like I said, you'll be very useful." He patted Anders on the shoulder then headed for the door. "Make sure your staff knows we set sail at twenty-one hundred hours. If they're not aboard, they stay behind. Welcome aboard, Mister Odegaard."
"Thank you for having me Aboard Captain." Anders said with a smile, he was looking forward to justifying the faith Captain Whitlam had now placed in him. "Good day to you Sir," He said before exiting the Ready Room.
Captain Julius Whitlam
Commanding Officer
Lieutenant Anders Odegaard
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Manoora
