Planning An Assault

Posted on Tue Mar 25th, 2025 @ 4:27pm by Captain Maho Takahashi & Commander Keisuke Takahashi 'K.T.' & Commander Ichika Misono

1,493 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Indivisible
Location: USS Myogi
Timeline: After 'While the Iron's Hot'

It was good to be back on the Myogi:

No offense to the Ermiana, of course, but nothing beat the feeling of returning to one's own ship. In a way, it was like returning to one's home after visiting someone else. Granted, the feeling was lessened with everything bathed in red light from the red alert, but the matter of being back aboard gave Maho a feeling that she was regaining control of the situation:

But no matter how strong the urge to hit up Five Forward, this was still a high alert situation, and as the Myogi's captain, she had work to do, and this was no time to get ice cream.

Upon rematerializing on the Myogi's transporter pad, Maho made her way back to the bridge, walking past the bridge crew straight to the ready room. On the desk was a pile of PADDs with each department's head count on them. Sitting down at the desk, Maho turned on the news for white noise before turning her attention to the stack of PADDs:

"And this just in; President Ameda- in his first hours in office, has signed an executive order temporarily suspending General Order 1 on all matters related to the Confederacy of Independent Planets..."

Maho had only gotten through Lieutenant Sinclair's headcount when the doors to the ready room swooshed open and Keisuke wandered in.

"Hey, babe." He greeted informally. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure;" Maho pushed the rest of the PADDs aside and motioned for Keisuke to have a seat. "What's up?"

Instead of responding, Keisuke's attention shifted to the screen, playing the coverage of the Federation's new Bolian president signing an executive order:

"I think I speak for the Federation People when I say we've had enough walking on eggshells with these traitors." The Bolian proudly proclaimed.

"So, he's actually doing it?" Keisuke questioned. "No doubt the Confederacy won't take too kindly to this."

"Proving they have the capacity to kidnap the President makes them a significant threat to our security." Maho responded. "I'm impressed that Ameda has the guts to go through with it. Though, I'm sure this is a carryover from the Pallis administration."

Keisuke looked like he was about to reply when the door chime sounded.

"Enter:" Maho called out.

The door snapped open and Ichika poked her head in.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I, Captain?" she inquired, keen to observe that Maho already appeared to be in the middle of a conversation with her husband.

"Not at all." Maho responded, noticing Keisuke glance back at Ichika. "I imagine what you both have to say is similar, so best to have this discussion once instead of twice."

Ichika nodded and stepped inside.

"I know it may be a bit soon to ask," she began once the doors had fully shut behind her. "But have you given any thought as to how we're going to proceed with the assault on Braxus? Based on the information I've managed to glean from Intel reports, it looks to be pretty well fortified, and even with two carriers at our disposal, I'm not sure if five ships is going to cut it."

"If we believe what Hartmann is telling us, you're right." Maho sighed. "We'd be outnumbered ten to one. If we're going to swiftly decapitate the Confederacy and force their capitulation, the simple fact of the matter is we're going to need more ships."

"And how do you reckon we do that?" Ichika asked.

"Well," Maho sighed. "Word is, The Big Bruise herself has taken an interest in this case, as the circumstances are similar to those her late mentor, Rutherford Hill, faced. The only problem is that The Sullivans is currently stationed on the Hebitian border, and Commander Chihc has warned that any kind of Starfleet withdrawal from the border, Gul Amara will likely see as an authorization for invasion."

"So, we can't count on them to help us out." Keisuke muttered. "Any other options?"

"The USS Sandusky is nearby." Maho noted. "They've recently undergone some crew rotations. But she's a Steamrunner, so make of that what you will..."

"Are those our only two options?" Ichika postulated. "What about this "Yokai" that Captain Kaga reported running into the other day?"

"Yokai?" Maho said. "Captain Kaga said something pertaining to an 'Inquiry class,' but it seems Starfleet has yet to declassify the project, despite the fact that the ship allegedly carried an NCC hull number, indicating the design has reached production."

"Even still." Keisuke spoke up. "Who knows if that ship is even anywhere near here?"

"Is there any way we could possibly get in contact with them?" Ichika suggested.

"I could certainly ask Captain Kaga." Maho responded. "From what it sounded like, she knows this Captain Shirakiin who was in command of it, but then again, it also sounds like they're not on good terms..."

"Then again, beggars can't afford to be choosers," Ichika was quick to point out. "If the Yokai gives us so much as a fighting chance against Confederate forces, then I believe Captains Kaga and Shirakiin would set aside their differences for the greater good."

"I've known Captain Kaga for a while, Commander:" Keisuke spoke up. "She's... Insecure about being placed in command of a ship that was new when she was in middle school, and feels that every contemporary ship that gets waved in front of her face is a reminder that she's not good enough to 'play with the big boys', as it were."

"But, if she's right, and that she and Captain Shirakiin really are friends despite what happened at Wituu, perhaps the Commander has a point." Maho said. "Every friendship at some point is tested, and even best friends can have spats. I'll speak to Captain Kaga and see if it's even a possibility."

Maho took a moment to calculate the number of ships they had gone over thus far:

"So, in the unlikely scenario we manage to get the Sandusky, Yokai, and The Sullivans on board, that still only brings us up to eight ships against what Hartmann estimates to be at least fifty Romulan, Confederate, and Elachi vessels, Eleven if we get the Zodiac, Haruna, and Akina on board." Maho said even though she knew it wouldn't be likely that Zh'gero would cooperate.

"Provided those last three are within reasonable distance to rendezvous with us?" Ichika replied.

"Task Force Jomo's operations have largely been relocated to the H'atoria sector following the attack on Starfleet Headquarters." Maho explained. "That being said, the Haruna and Akina are actually here in Sector 813 being fitted with Mark 9 warp cores at Algonquin. I imagine, given the current emergency, that the work will be completed quickly. The Zodiac, being a Sovereign class, won't take long to be on station from the H'atoria sector."

"So it would seem as though reinforcements aren't going to be an issue," Ichika surmised. "The big question is whether or not it'll be enough..."

"Unlikely..." Keisuke grumbled. "We'd need at least double, preferably triple the available ships if we want a fighting chance, and short of a grant from President Ameda himself, that's likely not going to happen..."

"Perhaps we need to look beyond Theta and 16th Fleets." Maho proposed. "Reach out to other fleets operating in the area to see if they have ships to spare?"

"I know one of the trade routes utilized by the Inuto Merchant Marines takes them straight through Sector 809," Ichika suggested. "Granted, their fleet of D7s aren't the most tactically viable ships out there, but they're still clamoring for vengeance against the Confederacy in light of Captain Felnoir's death; I can't imagine it'll be too difficult to get them behind our cause."

"I'm sure we can talk the Rheuysians into lending us a few ships." Keisuke pointed out. "Especially after what happened."

Maho pondered the suggestions: With both the Rheuysians and Inuto Merchant Marines behind them, they'd be able to match numbers at least initially. But it would be more than likely that they would serve as little more than cannon fodder.

"Okay." Maho said, turning to Ichika. "Commander; I'd suggest you get in touch with the Inuto Merchant Marines, and see what kind of ships they can scrape together."

"I'll see what I can do, Captain," Ichika nodded in the affirmative.

Maho then turned to Keisuke. "Keisuke, I'd suggest while we're still in Rheuys to get an audience with the Kaiser and see if she can spare us some ships. In the meanwhile, I'll see what other ships Starfleet can spare."

"Yes, Captain." Keisuke nodded.

As Keisuke and Ichika filed out, Maho turned off the news, as she would need the screen for what she was about to do next:

"Computer open a secure communications line to Captain Violet Bludegarden..."

Posting by

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer

Commander Ichika Misono
Executive Officer

Commander Keisuke Takahashi
Second Officer

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