[ Ready Room - Deck One - USS Chimera NCC 96899-C ]
The first reports from Padassa Station began streaming in from Quorom Space just over an hour ago. Cropa found himself glued to every one.
His Yeoman, Specialist Bio, notified him of the incoming transmissions over dinner with Rayna. He told her to finish without him, and signaled the Bolian waiter to place the bill on his account. Then he made his way to Docking pylon C, passed the security checkpoint, and to his officer on Deck One of the battleship.
The first report he read detailed Captain Vishas' report on his arrival to to Padassa Station aboard the MacArthur. His flotilla was able to subdue all Romulan forces with the aide of the Klingons who were already present. His team focused fire on the Romulan's shield generators, leaving the hulls for the Klingon's disruptor cannons. The battle lasted little over half an hour.
The station itself, according to reports, had already been freed. Major Kinn's infiltration team - dropped off by the Detector - had successfully freed all Federation, Klingon, and Erassian prisoners aboard the station. They had subdued all occupying forces just before Vishas' flotilla arrived, but weren't able to participate in the battle due to damage to the station's defenses. There was no word as of yet on the whereabouts of the Detector.
But the most interesting reports were not the ones detailing the assault in Quorom space. The most interesting reports were coming in from the agents long held captive there. Cropa still held his SFI clearance from when he served as XO and Acting CO on the Dark Horizon project a few years back; with that clearance he was able to read the reports as they came in, bypassing the heavily censored versions that would be forwarded to SSF captain's later in the day.
Having just escaping long bouts of solitary confinement and harsh interrogations techniques, many of the report came across as crazed, over the top, and loopy. It was understandable due to the harsh conditions these servants of Starfleet had to endure. But there were several stark similarities in many of the reports. Many mentioned seeing aliens who closely resembled the mysterious Muhareem in their descriptions just before their capture. Many were captured in their small freighters as they traveled deep into Romulan and Quorom territory - but not before noting the locations of several Romulan bases and supply depots.
In Padassa, Starfleet had stumbled across and Intelligence jackpot. Not only did they now have the locations of key bases and staging areas for Romulan actions against Federation, Klingon, and Erassian territories - but they also had key intelligence detailing Romulan Wartime strategies. With this information, the Federation and her allies could take the battle to the Romulans; and Rojac was more than willing to lead the charge.
After several hours of reading, Cropa finally left the soft cushions of his chair and approached the full length viewport alongside the bulkhead of his Ready Room wall. He looked out past the gleaming hull of Starbase 234 to the swirling white clouds in the atmosphere of Aeran III beyond.
The chime sounded.
"Come." Cropa said, allowing the door to whisk aside and the visitor to enter. Cropa didn't need to turn to see who it was, he could see Rayna's reflection in the transparent duranium of his viewport.
"How long do we have?" She asked. She crossed the room to the pair of chairs in front of the Captain's desk and took a seat.
"Not long." Cropa replied, not turning to face her. "Starfleet won't sit on it's hands for long with information this valuable. I expect to be moving within a week."
Rayna took a deep breath and nodded. She crossed her arms and leaned forward in her chair. "This time I get the feeling we won't be skirting the boundaries of enemy lines, but diving right past them."
Cropa allowed himself to smirk at that. He turned to face his Chief Helm officer, "And it's about damned time too."
[ End Log ]
Captain Cropa Rojac
Commanding Officer
USS Chimera NCC 96899-C
