"Origins: Day One"
The following events take place one week ago on 'Day One' between 0600 hours and 2300 hours…
0600 Hours: Undisclosed Location, Earth
He listened intently to the noises around him, footsteps on small stones, gravel possibly? Rubble? He continued to listen, the footsteps were heavy so he assumed a well-set man was pacing the room; air was limited so perhaps underground? His head was covered by a black sack causing the sweat to trickle down his own muscular frame and his hands were securely tied the old fashioned way behind the chair he had been placed on. More footsteps, another man, slightly lighter, perhaps ringleader? Thoughts raced through his highly trained mind and he wondered just how he had been caught off-guard like this; he was a leading Starfleet Special Forces operator with over a decade of service history and more combat, special operations and military training and experience than most. He tried to move his hands and felt the cord cut into his wrists, whoever had tied this had done a damned good job. Suddenly he was falling backwards and with an almighty crash he landed on the floor with a loud thud. Grunting on the impact he breathed heavily wondering what was to happen next. The lighter man pulled the sack of his head and the light was blinding at first with the two shadowy figures standing above him. He squinted, his dark brown eyes trying to adjust to situation and work out who these people were. "Mr. Angel… welcome to hell" the man on the left said slowly. "Who… are… you" he croaked his throat dry from the evaporation of moisture from being under the sack. He knew the tactics these men were using well. Intimidation and sensory deprivation so as to confuse and weaken the hostage. "It's ok Mr. Angel; we're on the same side" the man continued. "You're Starfleet?" he asked. "Yes" the man replied slowly...
0200 Hours: Stateroom 1140 – Starbase Bragg, Omega System
Sitting in his stateroom onboard Starbase Bragg where he was currently stationed as an Operational Detachment Alpha Commanding Officer, despite his chosen Non-Commissioned Officer rank, Nicholas "The Maverick" Angel was sat in his easy chair with a pleasant scotch he had procured from a small shop on Earth as opposed to the nasty Synthehol that the replicators produced. He was off-duty so it was acceptable to enjoy a real drink. He was a well built, clean cut man with a muscular frame and neatly trimmed dark hair and dark eyes. His face was weathered from combat and he looked older than his age of forty-nine but still looked menacing enough to be taken seriously. He was a highly trained officer with an extensive career and despite his low rank was on first name terms with most of the Admiralty. The reason for his low rank was personal choice; by now he could have been brass but several years ago he turned down further officer promotions and begged the former SSF Commander Lieutenant General Paul Conway for an NCO rate to get back into the field and there he had stayed refusing to become desk-bound. It wasn't him, and his services were in the field. He wasn't a complex man, his life was his duty to Starfleet and the Special Forces and anything else was simply an annoyance. To that effect his room was basic, almost empty and contained no real personal belongings. He was a faceless, unmemorable operative and that suited him down to the ground as he hated large scenes of public pomp and ceremony and preferred to blend in. He had been plucked from obscurity as a maladjusted young man with a chip on his shoulder; his parents' reputation and everyone assuming he'd follow the same line and command a starship. He hasn't spoken to his father since the day he refused commission and enlisted into the SFMC; perhaps it was because of that he gave little to know thought about sacrificing others for the Federation. Nicholas had always played operations close to the line obscuring necessity and regulations that earned him his Maverick nickname and had got him into trouble on more than one occasion. But now he was older, wiser and better trained… he knew how to blur the lines better.
Sipping his drink he started to feel strange. A sense of floating crept upon him and he rocked in the chair. He looked around and saw nothing and without realising dropped the glass to the floor; the echo of the glass shattering ringing in his ears. What was happening? He thought to himself as he collapsed unconscious in the chair. "Tipper to the Incursion; two to beam up" came a silky voice from the shadows. With that the man and Nicholas disappeared.
0600 Hours: Undisclosed Location, Earth
..."Why am I here?" Nicholas asked slowly and calmly still assessing the situation, he looked around and realised he was in some abandoned empty building. He knew exactly what it was. A safe house. "Master Sergeant, please forgive the somewhat unorthodox approach to this meeting, it is just we couldn't take any risks being discovered and we needed to run several tests on you to ensure security. My name is Major Black, I am an operative within Starfleet Special Forces Intelligence Command and it has been decided that we need your services." He said slowly. "You kidnap me, keep me like a hostage and you want to offer me a job?!" Nicholas exclaimed perplexed. "Again I do apologise but like I said… we had to run tests" "what did you do?" he asked quickly. "Truth tests regarding your allegiances and political opinions as well as your operational style. We also tested DNA and blood to ensure you were who you appeared to be" the Major dressed in a black combat suit explained. "Get me out of this damned chair!" Nicholas said aggressively. "All in due course… I need an answer first" Major Black responded. "You know I'm going to say yes already" Nicholas retorted and with a nod the larger bulkier man picked him up and untied him allowing Nicholas to stand for the first time in a while. His head was still throbbing but it was a pain he could overlook. "Now, what have I just agreed to?" he asked.
"Special Forces Intelligence Command has decided that a black ops unit is required in the 1st Task Force; a covert unit designed to undertake mission objectives set by the Intelligence Advisor behind enemy lines and often these objectives will be things where Starfleet can't be seen to be involved. This could be anything from direct action to political pressuring. You will report directly to the Intelligence Advisor for the 1st Task Force and your team will have two cover stories. Firstly you and two others will be officially posted as an Intelligence Training Division and you'll need to be creative in where to place the other three" he explained. "Black-Ops… I can do that" Nicholas said slowly. "There is one more thing… your equipment will all be unmarked and any failures leading to capture will result in Starfleet disavowing any information about your units existence. You can pick your team and train them as you see fit; the unit's success is entirely down to how well you can perform on operational level. I must stress however that rules are meant to be followed however we are all grown up enough to realise that sometimes there's a blurry distinction between right and necessity".
Nicholas paused slowly and took a deep breath. "If we're caught we're abandoned… does the Advisor know about the team?" "Yes, as does the Task Force Commander" Major Black replied. "Pick your team and head out in groups of three, you have one week before you're due on the station." He replied handing Nicholas a PADD with all the details regarding the unit and what they were being asked to do. "Division Delta… SSFI's latest training division… interesting cover" he said reading the PADD. "Where am I going?" he asked. "Starbase Unity… good luck Master Sergeant."
1200 Hours: Starfleet Headquarters, Earth
With the task of recruiting a team in hand Nicholas sat in one of the campus cafés sipping on a strong black coffee. He had managed to find some civilian clothes and changed out of the night-ware he had been wearing and was now waiting to have a chat with an old friend. He was an El-Aurian Sergeant by the name of Janus Valkor and was currently a psychological profiler for the Academy's counselling team and as far as Nichols was concerned; the best in the business. "Sergeant" Nicholas called out as he saw his old friend walk towards him. "Nick" Janus replied as he took a seat and smiled, it had been a while since he had seen an old friend. "I'm guessing you aren't here asking me for a job… so how can I help you?" he said getting straight to business while the café was empty. Nicholas smiled and passed him a PADD with a simple message on it 'Would you like to go back into the field?' Janus smiled to himself and nodded slowly. "Sounds good" he replied to the unasked question. Pressing a button on a device sitting next to him the PADDs information changed to reveal the full details. "I need you" Nicholas said his eyes meeting the dark blue ones of Janus Valkor. "I'm in" he replied simply and passed the PADD back. Smiling Nicholas finished his coffee and stood up grabbing his jacket and slinging it on. "You'll be leaving for Unity on the civilian transport in six days – don't be late" he said as he turned and headed out of the Academy into the sunshine of San Francisco.
1700 Hours: Federation Embassy, Vulcan
"Excuse me, I need to speak to Doctor Chu'lak" Nicholas said to the receptionist at the Federation Embassy on Vulcan. "He's in the infirmary" came the reply of the women behind the desk. "Thank you" he said as he headed off towards to the floor-plan. He knew the area was highly monitored so discretion would be required here. He walked into the infirmary and spotted the Vulcan doctor and scientist from his records. "Doctor, I'm Master Sergeant Nicholas Angel; I've been told you're the man to talk to about plastic reconstructive surgery and the pioneering development of biological face mask removers?" he asked smiling slightly. "Interesting question Sergeant; please follow me" he said leading Nicholas into a small office to one side. "I am indeed someone to speak to about this development and I can only assume you are Special Forces and this is why you require such details. Pressing a device in his pocket to ensure they couldn't be listened in to he spoke quickly. "There's a civilian transport to Starbase Unity in six days, you need to be on it. I am forming a team and the type of work requires someone of your stature" he said passing him a PADD with the same question he had asked Valkor. "This is most illogical for me to leave my work here… but if I am needed I accept." Chu'lak responded in a typical Vulcan way. Pressing the same device again the PADD changed to reveal the basics and he watched as the Vulcan read it over. Taking the PADD back he picked up a research paper written by Chu'lak on the topic they had discussed in the open and switching off the listening device they headed back into open space. "Thank you for the file Corporal" he said nodding to the man and making to leave. Two down, three to go.
2200 Hours: Starfleet Corps of Engineers, Earth
After the hours back on the transport ship from Vulcan and a quick meal Nicholas was heading to find his next recruit. A leading Engineering specialist, a Bolian named Brix. Brix was an exceptional Engineer, but similarly to his counterparts from the Academy and Vulcan Embassy he was relatively unheard of and slipped under the radar. This made him a perfect candidate. Exceptional but unknown. He stood on the outskirts of the main complex and tapped his combadge; a specially constructed one that was masked from any tracing technology. For all intents and purposes the communication he was about to make, would never exist. "Corporal Brix, please report to the shuttle hanger; your department's craft has been vandalised" he said in a more authoritative tone than normal. With the ruse in place he entered the facility using a 'borrowed' ID swipe card and has conveniently caused a power-outage for dealing with the cameras. Arriving in the shuttle bay he waited patiently. "Hello?" Brix called out to the empty bay. "Good evening Corporal" Nicholas said slowly. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in here? Who are you?" he called out. "Please, let me explain before you call security. I am Master Sergeant Nicholas Angel, from Special Forces" he said as Brix moved closer and could just about make out the shadowy figure in front of him. "What do you want?" he asked as he moved closer. "Do you want to make a difference?" Nicholas asked slowly. "Always but…" Brix started as Nicholas handed him a PADD with the information on regarding Delta. "In six days there is a civilian transport to Starbase Unity, be on it" he said slowly before sinking back into the shadows and out of the complex the way he had entered. Once outside he restored all power and returned the ID card to the drunken engineer in some local bar.
2300 Hours: Apartment 432, San Francisco
Heading back into his rented apartment Nicholas collapsed in the armchair and sighed to himself. He still needed a pilot and a tactician. He would have to leave them for tomorrow, there was still a lot to do before this unit would be operationally ready and with the tense situation between the Federation and the Romulans mounting he wanted to be ready ASAP. As he leaned back and thought about the next two candidates for this black ops team he couldn't help but wonder what Unity would offer; his next leap into the unknown.
Master Sergeant Nicholas "The Maverick" Angel
Division Delta Unit Commander
Starfleet Special Forces Intelligence
1st Task Force, Starbase Unity
Sergeant Janus Valkor (NPC APB rik)
Division Delta Unit Profiler
Starfleet Special Forces Intelligence
1st Task Force, Starbase Unity
Corporal Chu'lak (NPC APB rik)
Division Delta Unit Medical & Science Specialist
Starfleet Special Forces Intelligence
1st Task Force, Starbase Unity
Corporal Brix (NPC APB rik)
Division Delta Systems Specialist
Starfleet Special Forces Intelligence
1st Task Force, Starbase Unity
