New Orders - Part 2
Posted on Wed Jul 15th, 2026 @ 10:04am by Commander Elias Mercer & Lieutenant Commander Elysia Theron & Lieutenant Commander Sevek
2,800 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Silence at Ulysses
Location: C.O's Ready Room
Timeline: Mission 1, Day 1, 0500
Mercer walked out of his quarters and into the narrow corridor of Deck 1. He headed towards his ready room, which was down the corridor from his quarters. One of the perks of having a smaller ship was that everything was much easier and quicker to get to, Mercer thought to himself as he reached the door to his personal office.
The door sensors detected that Mercer was nearby, and the door automatically slid open, granting him entry to the workspace. Elias's ready room, like most things on the Ithaca, wasn't a grand space, but he had made it his own. It was neat and decorated modestly; there were a few models of ships that Mercer had served on before, as well as a few family photos and a small German Shepherd toy that his sister had given him many years ago.
Upon walking inside, the interior lights slowly rose to half-strength: since it was still shipboard 'night', they didn't come up to full 'daytime' brightness. "Computer, lights three-quarters", Mercer said, and the lights grew in brightness a little more. He wasn't ready for full brightness, but he also didn't want to work in the complete dark either.
Before getting started on the work that needed to be done to prepare the Ithaca for her new mission, Mercer had one more important task to complete. Coffee.
He stepped close to the replicator unit that was sunken into the wall. "Large coffee, latte, smooth roast, double sweet", Mercer spoke into the alcove. The replicator unit whirred into life with little specks of light dancing around. A few seconds later, a large cup appeared in the centre of the replicator platform, filling the room with a strong, earthy and slightly bitter smell. Mercer reached in and grabbed the hot beverage.
Taking a sip, Elias stood there for a moment, enjoying the complex flavours and letting the warmth of the drink absorb into his body, and possibly his soul. Unfortunately, the moment had to end as he walked to his desk and sat down.
Mercer tapped a few controls on his desktop and opened a comm channel to Ithaca's two other senior officers. "Commander Sevek and Commander Theron, please report to my ready room immediately", he said into the room, knowing the other two officers would hear the message.
While he waited for their responses and arrivals, Mercer slowly sipped his coffee and enjoyed a few moments of peace.
Opening his eyes from his morning meditations, he heard the summons to the Captain's ready room. Standing to his feet, he donned his uniform jacket and left for the ready room.
The comm rang in her spartan quarters. Elysia closed it, to quieten the chime. Crossing her arms, she raised her finger to her chin and looked at the LCARS terminal on her small desk. A picture of a man sat on her screen with a bunch of pseudo-Cyrillic words across the screen. Her sharp eyes translated the encoded alien text into her brain as she mouthed slowly, "Kaelen Theron. Where are you? What did you do?"
Her brother's picture stayed stationary as the text translated. Doctor Kaelen Thorne. Wanted in thirty-five systems for crimes against the Hegemony. Kill order on sight to be issued. ~signed the Hegemony. Forwarded under directive by Commander Roxyn - Director of Starfleet Rangers to Field Agent Ranger Elyria Hunter
The rest of the signature appeared blank as well as a few omitted spaces. Ely could only assume the direct order came from the Gorn and it didn't appeared to be a forgery. The rangers gave her the missive, but she couldn't even catch her brother. Exhaling a heavy breath, she pressed the terminal off as the Starfleet logo appeared on the screen. Bouncing against the corners in the dark.
The door opened as Ely exited into the narrow corridor. Her dirty blonde hair pulled back in braids and tied into a bun. Not seeing much traffic, she stretched her arms across and stretched her back. Her fingers grazed the side of the corridor as she made her way towards the CO's ready room. Seeing Sevek waiting outside, she nodded, folding her arms behind her back and sitting up straight, "Commander."
Arriving shortly before Theron, Sevek nodded, "Commander." He said in reply. They didn't have to wait long until the doors opened.
The sensors surrounding Mercer's office door detected the two officers standing outside and played a soft chime to signal their presence. Elias looked towards the door "Come in, please", he said. The doors parted, allowing the two waiting officers entry into his ready room.
Entering the room, Ely searched the room, scanning with her steel gray eyes. She noted the tight corners of the CO's ready room. Small. Spartan. Some spaces for movement. Tactically Insufficient, she thought to herself, preferring to not air her thoughts aloud in front of her superior unless they could read minds. Being only half Betazoid, she read the room. A little. She turned sharply as Mercer spoke.
"Apologies for the early start, Commanders, but we have received new orders, and we need to get moving as soon as possible", Mercer said with a polite smile and genuine apology in his eyes. After all, not everyone was a morning person. Pointing over to the replicator unit, he continued, "Help yourself to the replicator. I think we'll all need some caffeine for this one." Elias raised his half-drunk cup of coffee to reinforce the point.
Raising an eyebrow to the captain, he wondered why he would need caffeine for a briefing. He had gotten a full four hours of sleep before his morning workout and meditations. It was a human tradition though to have a beverage during a meeting. So he ordered himself a hot tea. It was not caffeinated, but there was no need for the stimulant.
After waiting, Ely moved for the replicator with a cold, efficient maneuver and replied, "Coffee. Black."
As it appeared, she picked it by the top and moved the warm mug to her other hand. Turning, she took a sip and approached the spartan space.
Noticing that both Sevek and Theron had grabbed their drinks, "Please, take a seat", Mercer said, gesturing to the two seats in front of his desk. "Again, apologies for disrupting your mornings, but as I said, we have received new orders from Admiral T'Lara."
Mercer began keying in a series of commands into his desktop control panel, and the holographic computer display lit up before him. Another few commands later, he inverted the projection so that Sevek and Theron could clearly see the screen. Finally, he tapped in one last command, and the message that Admiral T'Lara sent him began playing for the other officers.
"Greetings, Commander,
Time is short, so I will be brief.
We have lost contact with Ulysses Station; the last recorded check-in was two weeks ago.
Considering the importance and location of the station, we need to restore contact with the station as soon as possible.
While this is not something that would be assigned to the USS Ithaca, you are the closest vessel that we have available."
T'Lara paused, as if she were gathering her thoughts and preparing for the next part of her message.
As such, the USS Ithaca is hereby ordered to break from its current mission and immediately head to the Ulysses system. You are to investigate the current status of the station and re-establish communications.
A full mission brief has been attached to this message, which includes our latest intelligence on the station.
This mission is of high importance to sector security and maintaining Starfleet's presence in the area.
Good luck, Commander.
T'Lara out.
Once the message had finished, Mercer deactivated the holographic display so that he could see the other officers once again.
"I have studied the mission brief that Admiral T'Lara has sent us, but it doesn't contain many details about the situation or Ulysses Station itself", Mercer said, with perhaps a little frustration colouring his voice. As an engineer, he really didn't appreciate not knowing the entire picture, but sometimes you have to discover the problem as you go. "What I can tell you is that the Station is one of Starfleet's listening and monitoring outposts in the region, and given its location, I can understand why Admiral T'Lara has placed a priority on this mission," Mercer said, as he began drumming his fingers against the side of his desk, a habit he usually fell into while thinking or frustrated.
"Commander Theron, what can you tell us about the Ulysses sector?" Mercer asked, turning to face the Strategic Operations officer
Ely nodded, taking a brief sip of her coffee and placing it on the counter. Folding her arms behind her back, she straightened up with a response, thinking back on her reading of the brief, "Ulysses sector sits on the western edge of the Vesper March. Ulysses Station monitors the sector, sending data packets to Starbase 74, who monitors comm traffic from the station and coordinates traffic. Civilian traffic through the system is light. The Ulysses is a border-watch system, which monitors shipping. It's also a waypoint for survey and light patrol for frontier vessels. It serves as an early warning coverage along the border, though the patrols are very light."
Mercer nodded as Theron finished her briefing on the Ulysses sector. “That is correct, Commander. But there is more to it than that,” he said. Sitting a bit straighter in his chair, his gaze moved from Theron to Sevek, holding each of them in turn. "What I am about to tell you is classified and does not leave this room under any circumstances," Elias added, his voice sterner than usual. "Is that understood?"
Before either Sevek or Theron could reply, Mercer reactivated the holographic display and pulled up details on Ulysses station. The display flashed a deep warning red. A single line appeared at the centre of the projection: ' Classified. Captain's eyes only.'
Mercer entered a sequence of commands. The warning slid to the top of the display, shrinking into a narrow red banner. Beneath it, a rotating image of Ulysses Station scrolled into view. It was mostly an unremarkable thing, a small grey cylinder with a central docking ring. The one unique feature that it did have was a dense crown of communications masts, antennae, and transceiver spines, jutting out at the top of the station, like a hat made of thorns. The image hung there for a few moments, allowing everyone to get a good view of the station, and then text began scrolling past in place of the image.
"Ulysses station is more than just a passive monitoring station. Its main purpose is to keep a close eye on Tholian activity along the border," Mercer said, letting it settle for a moment.
Gesturing towards the scrolling text now displayed on the holographic projection, Mercer continued, "With Pact tensions running high, Starfleet doesn't exactly want this information leaking, nor do they want the station to be inactive for too long. That is why we have been sent to investigate," He concluded, looking to both Sevek and Theron for a reaction.
Ely raised her eyebrow at the mention of the Tholians and Starfleet monitoring the situation. They are a highly xenophobic race, territorial and prone to aggression if approached. You throw a stick in their pond and they'll retaliate. They don't chase the stick. Their threat is clear. Ely silently agreed.
She paused, watching the station on the holo slowly revolving. Thinking for a few moments, she inquired, “Are we assuming the Tholians are involved with the station’s silence? How long have we been monitoring them?”
"Starfleet has been monitoring the Tholians for some time now," Mercer replied. Draining the rest of his coffee in one long drink, Elias rose and crossed to the replicator. Placing the empty coffee mug inside, he keyed in the recycle command and watched as the cup dissolved into a brief swirl of light.
"We have kept an eye on the Tholians long before returning to the March", Elias continued. "Before the pact. Before the Borg..." his voice trailing off.
For a moment, Mercer simply stood there, staring into the replicator alcove as the last motes of light faded. Something old and unwelcome passed behind his eyes. Then he seemed to remember he was not alone. He straightened, drew himself back into the room, and turned to the others.
"The station itself was only constructed a few years ago," Mercer said, his voice returning to normal again. "When Starfleet began moving back into this area of space, they wanted to keep a better eye on the neighbourhood."
Mercer returned to his desk and lowered himself into the chair.
“As for whether the Tholians are involved in the station’s silence…” Mercer folded his hands on the desktop. “It’s certainly possible. But at this stage, we don’t have enough to say anything for certain.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I suppose that’s what we’re here to find out.”
"Commander Sevek", Mercer said, looking over to the Vulcan X.O "What is the current status of the crew and the ship?" he asked, returning fully to the business at hand.
“I know we’re running a little light on personnel,” he continued. “Some departments are leaner than I’d like. Until Starfleet can send us the extra hands we need, we may have to double up on duties in a few key areas.”
Sevek set his tea in his lap, "As you said, departments are missing key crew. Several departments are lacking department heads. It would be logical to appoint the officer with the most experience in that department to be acting departmnet head. If the Captain requires, I am fully capable of leading the science division if needed as well as keep up my executive officer duties." He paused for a moment, "I have personally checked in with all departments and they report operation status."
Mercer nodded at Sevek's assessment, as always, Sevek's logic was solid and well-grounded "I agree", Mercer said. "Effective immediately, you’ll assume the duties of Chief Science Officer until we can take on a permanent replacement." His fingers moved across the console built into the desk as he adjusted the ship's roster so that Sevek was also covering the science department.
"I'd like you both to submit promotion and transfer recommendations for our current crew. I'll review them and make further adjustments to the ship's roster accordingly", Elias continued, looking from Sevek to Theron.
“We still know very little about the situation surrounding Ulysses Station,” Mercer said. “So I want us prepared for anything that we find.” His gaze shifted to Theron. "Please prepare a briefing for the senior staff and department heads. I’ve already granted you access to everything Admiral T’Lara sent over, along with the details I shared earlier".
Mercer leaned back slightly, his eyes moving between the two officers
"Are there any further questions?" he asked
Ely nodded, compiling additional information into her mind. She replied, "Of course. A mission briefing will be prepared within the next hour. No further questions, sir. I have experience in Stellar Cartography if I may offer my assistance in that area. There isn't a whole lot of space explored, but it should be added to the database."
Mercer nodded. The Ithaca didn't have anyone on Stellar Cartography, so the extra hands would be helpful "Please help where you can, Commander Theron", he said, giving his approval to her request. Mercer glanced back at Sevek, "Commander Sevek, do you have anything more to add?"
“Not at this time, Captain.” The Vulcan replied in his emotionless tone. In his head, he was already going over the roster and deciding who would head each department.
Mercer gave a single nod and rose, signalling the meeting’s end. “Very well. I’ll call a staff meeting at 0700, which gives us a few hours to prepare. We all have work to do, so let’s begin. Dismissed.”
A warm smile touched his face, genuine excitement bright in his eyes.
Elysia nodded. Without saying anything, she left the room to prepare a briefing for the next hour.
Seven stood. Collecting his PADD, the Vulcan followed Elysia out of the ready room.
END
Mission Post By:
Commander Elias Mercer
Commanding Officer
USS Ithaca
Lieutenant Commander Sevek
Executive Officer & Acting Chief Science Officer
USS Ithaca
Lieutenant Commander Elysia Theron
Second Officer & Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Ithaca
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