Investigation Update

Posted on Sun Jan 26th, 2025 @ 3:26am by Captain Tyler Driskill & Lieutenant Nixie Wilde & Lieutenant Commander Gulati

1,406 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 3 - Discord of the Mind
Location: Deck 1 | Conference room | USS Concord
Timeline: After the changeling attack on Kor

ON:

Still standing and leaning back against a chair, Nixie's hands gripped the top of it so tightly her knuckles had turned white. She watched her feet as she waited silently in the Conference Room, having been promised an explanation for the chaos that had just swept through the ship.

Her anger was palpable. A changeling, on the ship? And they'd known and kept her out of the loop? Was that why science had held onto the first victim's body for so long yet shared no results of value with her? Why it had been so hard to gain traction on updates regarding the second victim?

Nixie forced the questions away, letting out a long, tight breath to calm herself, determined to keep her cool to try and figure out what the hell had been going on.

Lieutenant Commander Gulati, recently promoted and fueled by a bitter appetite for justice walked into the room for the conference. She was in her own way frustrated about the lack of transparency between Driskill, Sledge, and the Security Chief. She did however understand why Driskill and Sledge had done what they did.

"You deserve more answers about this than I can even provide, Lieutenant. By now you know we have a changeling aboard and the body count is rising" stated Gulati. "You were kept in the dark by Captain Driskill and Lieutenant Commander Sledge, not by me."

Gulati took out a tricorder and scanned a carafe of water that sat on the table. One could not be sure these days if water was water. "They felt with your level of knowledge and clearance that until you were cleared..." Gulati shook her head. "None of that matters now. I need you brought up to speed" added Gulati waiting for Driskill to arrive.

The doors to the conference room swooshed open to reveal Captain Driskill. He entered the room with his usual confidence and posture "afternoon" the tall human man said before taking his seat at the head of the table.

The Benzite took a sip of water and let the Captain get settled in. She dis not waste time on pleasantries. "As I was saying," she prefaced. "You were under the scope of suspicion, but we know now the culprit is a changeling. They can take anyone's form including you, me, anyone aboard. It is counterproductive to withold information."

"Our experimental drive was sabotaged. Our Chief Operations Officer and Chief Science were murdered. I'm starting to suspect our Chief Engineer did not heroically die an idiot either, that her being transported to the alien ship was at the hands of this changeling. Additionally, the helmsman draped over the crossbeam of the shuttlebay and your missing security personnel."

"All of which should have been being investigated fully by your Chief of Security," Wilde's tone was sharp with anger as she looked between them, her green eyes glinting with it. "The security of this ship and crew is on *my* shoulders. Keeping me in the dark has done nothing but hinder my ability to do my job in keeping this crew safe! Look at how many more people have died since the first body was discovered! Maybe I could have prevented their deaths if I was allowed to do my job properly...maybe not...but now we'll never know. *I'll* never know."

"Well the Captain of the ship is ultimately responsible for the people on the ship." Tyler wasn't real happy with the tone his officer was taking with the two highest ranking people on the ship "and quite frankly, Lieutenant I don't appreciate the tone you are taking. We asked for certain precautions to be set in place and of course no one in the room wants to lose any of our people and I believe that with all of my being."

Nixie let out a long, measured breath to help curb her anger as she looked to her feet to calm down, her hands still clasping the top of the chair behind her. "Of course not..." she finally replied, the heat having drained from her tone now she'd gotten some of it out of her system. Because he was right. She didn't believe for one moment that either of them were any less angry than she was over the deaths of their colleagues. "I just don't like feeling like I have one arm tied behind my back in a fight, Sir," she added the last with a heavier tone, to add weight to the purposeful use of the title, so he knew what he'd said about showing respect had gotten through to her.

"I understand your anger and frustration Nixie" Captain Driskill replied softly. "Perhaps we should have included you in everything from the start but now you are in the loop. We need to work on catching this thing before it hurts anyone else."

"And I was in the dark for the longest time that you were not being included," noted Gulati "Though I have to take responsibility for my part in all of this. I suspected sabotage from the beginning, and I kept Captain Driskill and Sledge out of it until I found evidence to support my hypothesis."

Gulati looked at Nixie. "Your involvement earlier would have been an asset, but I don't believe we could have prevented the losses we've endured. Lieutenant Rehman and I have been working endlessly and relentlessly on capturing the shapeshifter. We've managed to obtain part of it, wounded it, but quite frankly in doing so I believe we've as you Humans say 'pissed it off' more than anything."

Nixie looked between the Captain and First Officer, as if taking in where they were at...and trying to figure out where she was at too. There was no doubt she'd cooled off some now, her mind turning to the problem at hand. "We're saying 'it'. Are we sure there's just one?"

"Part of the problem is we don't have many answers" the Captain knew the crew worked best with the most information. He looked to Gulati "the First Officer is leading the chase."

"Call me an optimist" Gulati prefaced with a hint of sarcasm. She was generally far from optimistic. "I don't think we are dealing with more than one of them. Why just one I'm not sure. Maybe because that was all they felt was needed to handle us. Regardless, if there were multiple of them, I suspect they'd have the ship by now."

"That isn't going to happen" the Captain said firmly. "Whatever you have to do... I want it locked up or off this ship" he was standing at the head of the table at this point and looking between the two women.

"Of course, Captain. I am sure Lieutenant Wilde and I can take care of our problem. We won't get it overnight, but it's time is numbered. I would just prefer if we can, to take it alive. If we can find a way back home, whatever information we can learn from it may help the war efforts."

Nixie was nodding slowly, raking over what she did know, leaning forward to rest her clasped hands on the back of a seat. The only real point of interest they could have for a changeling was their engine technology. She'd have to give it more thought as to whether they could weave some kind of a trap with that. "Well, what we do know is that they're as susceptible to forcefields as we are. We're capable of sealing off fairly small portions of the ship at any one time. I can have them rigged ready to raise at a moment's notice."

“Work with Gulati’s team and come up with a plan and a back up plan” Driskill sighed. “Get this damn thing off of this ship.”

"Understood," Nix nodded firmly to him, the grim expression on her features and the hardness of her eyes betraying she shared the same need and want to bring an end to the savage murder spree.

“Is there anything else” the Captain looked at Nixie and then Gulati.

Nixie shook her head, frowning as she tired to fit the pieces together. "I'll give some thought as to how we might exploit its weaknesses. Nothing until then," she replied quietly.

“Well we all have plenty to do so you are dismissed” the three of them exited onto the bridge where Captain Driskill took his seat.

 

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