Preliminary Findings, Part III
Posted on Sun Mar 29th, 2026 @ 10:29pm by Captain Philippe Auvray & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Keel & Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Commander Xalanth & Commander Maxun Spello
2,580 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 09, 1600 Hours
Auvray resumed his seat and folded his chubby fingers in front of him, fixing a gaze on Nash Winters. His expression turned serious and all performance was halted. The Starfleet officer behind the pompousness had now revealed himself.
"If there does exist a Romulan vessel nearby," he lowered his eyes, looking down at his thumbnails, "then I believe Astrea is in a far better position to find it than anyone else here. And, it behooves us to make every effort." He lifted his eyes, sharp and challenging, to Remy. "Would you agree, capitaine?"
Nash thought Auvray was a weasel and a condescending prick. The French Captain’s eyes almost burned through him like phaser fire to tissue paper. But he could also sense the change in attitude, more level headed and serious. He listened intently and looked to observe Captain Johansen’s response.
Fighting down rising frustration, Keel took a big swallow of air and just about avoided blowing it on his out-breath. Auvray was maddening and seemed to know exactly which buttons to push in order to bring out the worst in people. But he was right, Keel conceded reluctantly, Astrea was best placed to flush out the Romulan vessel shadowing the system.
"Absolutely," Remy replied firmly. "Have you had time to review our Mission Briefing from earlier today. You and the Commander should have sufficient clearance. More details will be forthcoming, my team is still putting together the full report, but there was something out there, and we intend to investigate further."
Auvray allowed the corners of his mouth to curve into the faintest of smirks, though his eyes remained sharp and surgical. He leaned back slightly in his chair.
As Captain Johansen's officers parlayed with Captain Auvray, Commander Seya remained neutral. She showed no expression or reaction, finding both sides to be illogically jockeying for power when they should have been working together.
"Ah, oui. Très bien. I see your determination, Captain Johansen," Auvray preened verbally, "Admirable, indeed. Most... most would prefer to wait for the bureaucratic echo before venturing a step into the unknown. Mais vous, you are not most."
He tapped the tip of his middle finger against the rim of his espresso cup. "It pleases me to see that Astrea's crew is neither timid"--he shot a glance at Winters and then to Clay"--nor distracted by the endless parade of memorandums and logs that threaten to drown the spirit of initiative."
“You know, there’s enough hot air in here to combust neutronium. Captain Auvray, can we cut to the chase and dispense with all the pleasantries and small talk nonsense? This group of officers are as professional as you get.” The glances and looks from Auvray was getting on Nash’s last nerve.
“We certainly don’t need a pep talk from you. Please just get to the point,” Nash added.
Auvray's face was simply beaming. To anyone in the room, it was joyous.
"I always know an engineer when I hear one," he said, fixing Nash with an affectionate gaze.
Nash shook his head and buried his face in his hands. It was a gesture of a combination of disgust and frustration. He addressed his next comments to the crew around the table. “Can someone help me out here? I feel like I’m in a causality time loop. What can we do to help, Phil?”
The Frenchman's smile widened and there was absolutely no cruelness--or even sharpness--to it. It was as though his effort to finally have the wood in the hearth catch fire had succeeded after tireless attempts at working with damp kindling.
"Ah, Monsieur Winters," he said almost fondly. "You believe we are trapped in a loop."
He lifted the espresso cup again and swirled the remaining liquid around, staring down into it. "But that is the trouble with loops, n'est pas??" One does not always notice where they begin."
Auvray took a sip, finishing the espresso with a universally abhorrent smack of his thin lips. He set the cup back down into the saucer and placed the set on the conference table.
"You ask what you can do to help," he repeated, his hands folded over the bulge in his stomach. "This is an admirable instinct. Engineers, after all, spend their lives correcting the universe, no?" He paused for emphasis, staring vacantly at the Chief Engineer. "Gravity pulls the wrong direction? You compensate. Plasma decides to behave like an angry god? You build better conduits."
“I was speaking figuratively about the loop, Captain. But, please continue,” Nash said. He couldn’t wait to hear what Auvray had to say.
He delicately pushed his chair away from the table and came to his feet, his gaze toward the viewport again.
"But sometimes," he said softly, almost to himself, "the universe is not broken. Sometimes it simple is."
Letting the words drift off for a long moment, he was almost certain Remy might interject and tell him to shut up and leave, but she didn't.
"Allow me a small historical indulgence," he said. "You are all Starfleet officers. Surely history does not frighten you." His eyes searched every face seated around the table, even noting Rethel doing her best impression of someone developing a migraine.
"In the Earth year 1914," he went on, "a minor nobleman of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated while riding in an open-air automobile through the city of Sarajevo." He lifted an index finger. "One man with a pistol."
He unfurled his middle finger, tallying two.
"One dead aristocrat."
A chubby ring finger came to attention, joining the others.
"And within five weeks, half of Earth was at war." He closed his fingers again. "Empire collapsed," Auvray continued, advancing ahead as though the details weren't important. "Millions died. Borders dissolved. Entire generations vanished into trenches filled with bouette and vermin."
Auvray seated himself once more, pulling the chair close enough to the table so that a fold of fat from his stomach was featured prominently. He shrugged.
"All from one bullet."
A few moments of silence were enough before he looked directly at Lieutenant Commander Winters again.
"So you see," he said almost kindly, "your discomfort with my pacing is understandable." He smiled grimly. "But we are not discussing a single interrogation. Nor--" he looked over at Rethel who was, by now, ready to stab the Parisian captain--"merely the death of a Vulcan diplomat."
He locked eyes with Remy.
"Nor even the potential presence of a cloaked Romulan vessel." He tapped the table once with a knuckle and his face became gravely serious. "We are discussing the possibility that someone has fired the pistol shot in this new reality between the Federation and the Romulans. And that, is why I am taking my time."
He leaned back again, perfectly comfortable and his expression brightened.
"But do not despair, Monsieur Winters," he added. "You asked how you might help."
Gesturing toward Barisa Prime outside the window, he continued. "You may help by ensuring that this ship--this rather magnificent instrument of Federation engineering--remains capable of hunting a ghost."
Auvray looked to Keel and Spello. "Et peut-être survivre au moment où le fantôme décide de sortir de l'ombre." ("And perhaps surviving the moment when the ghost decides to emerge from the shadow.")
"Because," he continued, his gaze meeting Remy's, "if our Romulan friend out there possesses the device that produced these deadly neurological effects..."
His smile returned briefly, fading into a curled lip--a mixture of disgust and fear.
"... then whoever fired that first shot in Sarajevo may already be waiting for the next."
Nash was relieved to finally get a nibble of information from the Frenchman. “If there’s anything myself and this crew is good at, it’s finding things and solving mysteries. You can count on that, Captain.”
“My team can put together a modified sensor pallet to detect radiation spikes, energy signatures, and comm frequencies not usually employed during routine operations,” Nash continued.
Keeping his poker face on as best as he could, Keel couldn't quite fathom Earthlings' obsession with their ancient past and their desire to draw lessons from it. He mentally shrugged, it didn't really matter, and if it helped Auvray frame his duties, it was none of his business. 'So ... we need to run down why there was a cloaked Warbird in orbit of Barisa Prime it seems. The answers should lie in that direction,' he drawled speculatively.
“The ‘how’ may be the easy part, Captains,” Nash said looking to Auvray and Remy. “The ‘why’? That’s hard.”
"Right," Remy agreed, punctuating her senior officers' comments with an affirmative nod.
"Before we adjourn, does your office have any other special requests for us?" Remy asked, her tone uncharacteristically syrupy sweet, cloying. A sharp contrast to Nash's blunt indignation. "As you can see, my crew is happy to oblige."
Philippe smiled warmly at her inflection.
"If you would be so kind," he said gently, "I wish to remain aboard Astrea while we continue to coordinate this investigation."
Remy turned to her right, catching her First Officer's gaze as she drew in a steady breath. This was the last thing any of them needed, or wanted.
"Remain aboard?" Remy asked, repeating his request. "You aren't needed here, at your post?" She asked, hopeful.
A number of choice Andorian and Orion oaths flew through Keel's mind as his jaw clenched. He could think of nothing worse for the crew than having Auvray ballooning about the place on his inexhaustible supply of hot air. Hopefully he could stick to a disused office or, preferably, janitorial closet rather than crater the crew's morale.
The French captain looked at Remy in the same manner a house cat would examine a finch perched just outside of the window--curious and faintly entertained.
He smiled. "Ah, you are asking whether I might be needed elsewhere."
"I suppose we will never be too far away, should the need arise to bring you back to post," Remy replied, not breaking face. "Mr. Spello will put you in touch with our quartermaster to see to your accommodations."
Maxun nodded to his Captain, then looked over at the Frenchman. "It would be my pleasure to ensure you are securely billeted, Captain." Though he was completely professional and respectful in his wording and demeanor, the meaning behind his words were obvious. He didn't trust Auvray to not interfere with the natural flow of things aboard the Astrea. Remy had an excellent ship, and an even better crew. The last thing they needed was an interloper messing with ship morale.
Auvray offered a half bow to the Executive Officer.
"You are too kind, Commander."
"I'll get Fulvia and our intel team on the warbird issue." Xalanth added. Romulans were Romulans after all and they wouldn't have a warbird hanging around the pole for nothing.
At that moment, the PADD in front of Spello dinged quietly,indicating he had just received a status report from one of the ship's department heads. As most of them were already in the meeting, he took a mental stab at whom it might be.
Looking at the screen, he quickly read the message, then he showed it to Remy. It was short and concise:
[To: Commander Maxun Spello, XO, USS Astrea
From: Lieutenant (jg) Jason Williams III, CAG, USS Astrea
Sir, forgive the interruption, but I feel you should be informed of something. During my flight to escort the rescue shuttles to the freighter, i thought I picked up something on the lower Theta bands of the ultraviolet spectrum. It could have been large enough to be a cloaked warbird, but I only saw it for a second. While I could not verify any concrete evidence that there is a warbird out here, my training and experience tells me otherwise. Suggest we increase our patrol flights, scour the area surrounding the ship with sensor scans. Someone is bound to see something.
Thank you, Sir. ]
Remy nodded at Spello. "If you'll pardon Commander Spello and Commander Xalanth, they are needed on the Bridge immediately," she stated as she stood from her seat, excusing both officers.
"If there isn't anything else, I'll have Commander Keel see you and your company to the Transporter Room," she added.
Maxun nodded to Remy, then stood, signalling to Xalanth to follow him to the bridge.
Which the red lizard did standing and following Maxun to the bridge.
Forcing his jaw to relax, Keel flashed a smile at Auvray and his group. 'If you would kindly follow me, we'll have you to the transporters in the beat of an Altarian beetl's wings.' He unfolded himself from his chair next to the table and waited politely for the group to begin moving. This torture would be prolonged for a while yet it seemed.
Auvray offered a collective nod toward Spello and Xalanth as they left. Turning to Remy, he whispered, "I'm certain your quartermaster is adept at finding me some quarters."
"Indeed, Ensign Quinn L'khet will greet you on your return," Remy pronounced the Caitian consonants with more ease than she had mastered the French vowels. Not an intentional snide, but she'd found less use for French in diplomacy than she had for some other languages.
"You can communicate your needs with him directly," she added. "But if you are travelling with family, or staff we can communicate that with him now so that he can begin preparing the appropriate accommodations. We all are needed back at our stations though - you understand."
Remy cast a look toward Clay, his tall figure towering over the others.
Auvray motioned to Lieutenant Commander Torab. "My adjutant will require accommodations as well," he said. "Aside from that, I require very little space, Captain. A desk and a terminal. I am a minimally intrusive person." He said the last with a proud smile.
We'll see about that.
Remy held back her true thoughts as she dismissed herself from Captain Auvray. "Let's not waste any time then," she replied curtly.
"As I mentioned, I'm needed elsewhere. Everyone, back to work."
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Captain Philippe Auvray
Senior Starfleet Security Liaison
Starfleet Security
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Commander Maxun Spello
First Officer
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Nash Winters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Ryan Keel
Chief of Diplomatic Intelligence
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Xalanth
Chief Security Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant JG Jason Williams III
Squadron Leader
USS Astrea
(NPC of Maxun Spello)
RSS Feed