War Room

Posted on Thu Dec 8th, 2022 @ 8:58am by Lieutenant Commander Aalis Rinne

Mission: Evacuation
Location: Security Training Deck

As the briefing let out Wagner moved straight to his office for a meeting with the Marines. He nodded do a young Ensign at the security desk, "Webber I'm expecting Col. Frost and Maj. Snyder in a few moments escort them to the training deck."

"Ye Yes Sir," Webber nodded.

Wagnor put a hand on the youngman's shoulder, "Relax Daniel we're putting on the best forward that's why I have you on the desk."

"Thank you, Sir." The blond-haired youngster smiled.

Wagnor walked into the training deck and ordered. "Computer. Wagnor War-room 4267."

= Additional clearance required= The computer reported.

Soran punched a 16 digit code into the archway. The yellow and black grid dissolved into a room with Gray walls and a large table in the center with a 3 dimensional map of the colony's capital city. Each wall had a large computer monitor with intel reports on it. There was a small table by the door with a carafe containing a dark beverage and four glasses.

Jack flanked by Sam headed to Security, another briefing to be had then he planned one of his own for mission tasking to his marines. "Once we are done here, assemble the senior command elements for a briefing and mission tasking."

"Understood sir." Sam spoke having already planned that in her mind.

The pair arrived. "Frost & Snyder. Here for a briefing with the ships Chief of Security." Jack spoke to the officer that appeared to be waiting for them.

"Of course Sir, the Commander is expecting you." the young man said he fidgeted nervously as he stood up from the desk

Aalis popped out of her office and smiled at the two marines that had entered Security. "I got it, Ensign." Daniel nodded and looked relieved. "Sirs, I can escort you. The Chief has set up the training holodeck as a war-room. This way."

Sam followed the Lieutenant flanking her Commanding Officer in the process as she was mentally making notes for later because there would be much to do.

Jack kept pace following, letting the Lieutenant lead the way.

Aalis lead the way. "Just down the hall here," she commented. It wasn't that long of a walk, and she figured that the Marine commanding officers didn't want trifle chit-chat.

Wagnor made few adjustments to the map and signed. He looked at the empty chair in the corner of the room with Angosian lettering carved into its back. The door chimed breaking his train of thought. Wagnor press the button on the panel to open the door.

"Come in," Wagnor said courteously. "I'd like to go over the need to know details."

Following the Lieutenant, Jack then stepped off to the side to stand aside the geographical data on display. Need to know was a broad statement, it could cover much or very little, the import of which would be determined. With the situation unfolding as it was he had to consider his options very carefully, his mission lay elsewhere and casualties prior could put that mission at risk.

Sam was never a fan of need to know, in her career need to know had cost the lives of many good and dedicated marines. Still however, the Colonel had offered to help, so any additional information could be useful. "What do you have?" Sam asked as she looked over the same information the Colonel was, already the mind taking data and planning in tow.

The Angosian nodded and moved to the small table, he picked up the corral and poured the glasses. "I've simulated one of my people's council rooms. When the commanders of two branches of the armed service meet it's customary to share a small consumable resource, as a gesture of trust and respect. This is just tea from the replicator but I thought it was appropriate."

Aalis took the proffered cup of tea and took a sip. While she was one that enjoyed coffee more than tea, she never turned down a cup of tea. As she was liason, she figured that she would let the commanding officers talk first, and she would chime in as necessary.

Jack did respect the gesture, but all his life he's been a marine, a man of doing, of combat, being sent to the bad places life had to offer, man of action and not one for the ceremony, he even skipped his own commendation ceremony because he was filing after action personnel commendation reports for his men of his own that earned him the commendation. Still, it wouldn't hurt to humour the Commander, so Jack sipped the offered beverage after handing Sam the remaining cup.

The Tea actually wasn't that bad, pleasant enough for the moment but that in a moment would surrender to why they were really here. A briefing of collaboration.

Wagnor placed one glass on the empty chair next to the table. "Orders and regulations be damned, I have not earned the right to order any of your personnel into harm's way. You don't know me and we don't have time to get to know one another, that is why I asked for liaison."

Jack was no stranger to working with other departments, assignments came and went that necessitated such. This was just another one of those moments. "You're now aware that my presence here is for another mission, however, I have offered to help. You tell me what you would like, I'll tell you what I can offer and how." Jack answered. He was confident his men would follow his orders and as yet he'd not briefed them on what that was so it was possible he could spin this 'aid' as part of a larger operation.

"Whatever aid your contingent can offer, though, is much appreciated. We are not as adept as yourselves in special operations as such," Aalis commented.

Wagnor gave her a grateful smile, she was better at relating to people than he was.

The image came up showing their landing evacuation area. "This is where we are going to be staging evacuations. Those that we can take and screen out items via transporter are going to be staged in this area. We're supplementing the transporters on the vessels and using shuttles as well. This will require manual screening, and that's where we have our concerns. Prime targets would be this landing pad. There is another site that the other ships will be in charge of their security. This one is the Resolution's staging area." Aalis handed out the extra PADD that she had to the marine commanding officers. "This is the information that we've put together, with our intelligence so far of the situation."

Sam listened to the information spoken and then read what was handed out. "What equipment, supplies, and man power will you have for this?" Sam asked, now that she knew the 'Where & What' she wanted to know the 'how' element of the operation.

"So far, we will have a couple of pilots from flight operations for the shuttles that we will be using. I plan on having about five security officers dressed in civilian clothing to blend in to keep more of a observational role. I figure a presence of about twelve security officers, three each at each evac point, as there will be two shuttles and two beam out points. To maintain ship security, operations has coordinated the aft lower cargo holds designated for the evacuees and their belongings. I would like to have four to six security officers at the main entrance to the evac point/landing zone," Aalis said as she started pointing to the places on the image that she had planned to stage officers. "Commander Wagnor is working ship side security with additional patrols on decks that have evacuees, and additional security check point throughout the areas. I'll leave ship side security discussion to him."

"The majority of the civilians coming on board will be brought into cargo Bay two where they will be assigned guest quarters and escorted to Security. Apparently my quarters have been volunteered to one of the colony governors and his family. I'll have to speak to commander Stoffels about that latter, I guess I'm expected to share her quarters till we finish their transport." Wagnor shrugged. "You and your personnel will probably be made to double up as well."

Jack listened to what the briefing was outlining. "Sharing the 4 decks we have been assigned is not an option. They were allocated by the Admiral and the nature of our mission and the security required demands strict access control measures." Jack initially spoke. "I have already briefed the Captain and First Officer of the particulars of the mission but even that is classified in terms of its contents."

"I'm not in charge of that part of our planning I'm sure the captain we'll take care of whatever security you need." Wagnor said honestly.

"I will be on the planet's surface for the majority of the evacuation, running the command center. I requested a shuttle for that purpose but was denied due to sparse resources. I was able to procure a shield generator as well as a full sensor array and an encrypted communications set up." He pressed the button and the commands center's schematics appeared on the wall screen.

"Major I would like you to study The map of the area surrounding the evacuation site and choose your sniper perches. You the Colonel and the snipers are the only ones who needs to know those locations." Wagnor explained. Once they're deployed we should have a decent way to put down a riot quickly and the potential Intel they will gather will be invaluable."

"I might have a different deployment plan but I need to know roughly how many evacuees are we expecting to be processed at the landing site allocated to the Resolution?" Jack asked.

"Our evacuation limit is fifteen thousand. The province we're evacuating is about ten to fifteen thousand. We're still waiting for the governor to give us an exact limit," Aalis stated, plainly. She didn't like the missing numbers that were still owed to them. "The other areas will evacuate the rest. Operations did give us a total number on the planet surface just shy of fifty thousand."

"Wait, wait." Sam spoke obviously taken aback slightly. "So you're saying, you will have approximately 20-30 officers, give or take to provide security at an evacuation site being approached by thousands seeking to evacuate?" Sam asked. "That's not enough, not even close. I respect that security is your job, but look at the details here. To the populace, that site is the only way off and to safety, in situations like that desperation is a dangerous thing and can turn hostile, quickly. Especially is the situation is inherently dangerous." Sam remembers the report about anti-federation elements. "If weapons fire goes off, you will have chaos on your hands, potentially taken hostage and used for barter off planet or killed outright."

"You need screening sites away from the evacuation zone, the more the better to keep progress flowing, you will need waiting zones for those to beam off or be ferried by shuttles. You take take most,, not all, of your security detail off the ship because once they are on board, they would have already been screened and can be locked in place by forcefields or sealed doors."

Aalis couldn't help but smile and sigh at the same time. "So about that yeah, we have one hundred forty-eight members to the security team. The Resolution is a science ship and family ship first, not a warship. The evac capability is seven hundred an hour to not overload the transporters. We're supplementing it with a couple of shuttles that we were granted to have. We're towing the line of not showing our hand while being on point to get the job done. Your concern with the numbers is right on point. We've been trying to do a staged evacuation to not overwhelm the evac site. This is a minimal three shift evacuation effort. The more chaotic it becomes, the longer it will take. That's per shift security numbers. We can put almost every security officer on the evacuation effort, and that would increase the numbers between the ship and ground to about forty per shift. We're not doing this at full capacity as to not overwhelm the evacuation site and while it's an emergent situation, it's not a crisis situation. I'd like to stagger half of the shifts though to allow for peak optimization and to have a better handoff between the shifts."

Wagnor laughed in relief, "I'm glad I'm not the only one that sees that. I've been recommended in the past for my… Unorthodox approach. This is a standard Fleet evacuation plan, a classic case of peacetime stupidity. I was planning to adjust it but wanted to wait for another tactical opinion."

148 Security Officers, an unorthodox approach, a stationary high-risk target, potentially thousands of civilians, and associated threats and Anti-Federation elements. There were smiles and laughter but Jack was very concerned about this. Jack did some mental calculations before speaking. "700 an hour, problems and breakdowns aside. Potentially 15,000 civilians. That's roughly 21-22 hours non stop." Jack rubbed his brow as he thought. He couldn't risk his men because of his own mission, at the same time however he offered to help.

"12 hours shifts, 2 of them." That would boost the security detail a little, though not by much. "I think you will agree that as Security Chief you lack the manpower to properly coordinate the site, so I propose this. Let my men guard the evacuation site. We are no strangers to long hours in the field we can position all 400 of us for the whole duration if required." Jack flipped the display to the map overview. "I respect the wish to keep people calm and orderly, not wanting to scare them, but with so few people providing security, that's just not an option. 74 security officers have no chance against a surge of civilians, 400 of mine, that's another matter entire."

"If I place small teams, 2 or 3 people around the site for reconnisance and tactical awareness detail at key points on the map, with the equipment we have we can tie into the ships sensors which can sensor tie suspect individuals which the Resolution can trace to security screening checkpoints. Which your security elements can man. This will help by suggesting extra time be taken to screen someone or search someone. These screening stations would be a little ways from the evac site, not far, but enough for some security consideration distance at least. We use the shield generator to provide protection from indirect weapons fire and, rain, if it happens."

Jack knew that this relegated the security detail to screening duties, but with so few officers on hand compared to the 400 that Jack had, it seemed the tactically logical and sound option.

Wagnor nodded, "I appreciate your assistance, I want to go over my worst case scenario plan for the civilians. If we end up with a riot, I've got five stun grenade launchers and personnel trained in their use. we could cover the plaza leading to the evacuation site in seconds. There would be risk of fatalities from stunshock and the possibility of hitting our own personnel, so this would be a last resort. I would oversee it myself, It's a tactic my people have used to great effect."

Sam was visibly shocked by the suggestion, clear as day on her face as she processed what she'd just heard. "Are you serious?" Sam spoke. "Grenading civilians, children all? Is this one of your unorthodox ideas?" There was genuine utter shock on Sam's face. "My god man."

Sam switched the map to the compound site. "You have a low-yield shield generator, in the event of a riot we conform the shield like a ship would to the perimeter fence, anyone outside that perimeter including marines would have a isoliniar tracking chip on their person secreted away in a boot, article of clothing, or injected. The Resolution can lock onto these and beam anyone away. Once evacuated, we can remote drop the shield and beam away gear and equipment, and the generator leaving a barren site. Even if we have to remote pilot the shuttles away."

"Evacuation in the case of a riot would be a sound strategy, I would still want to stop the rioters in as humane a manner as possible. Stun grenades are more effective and less lethal than phasers on the wide will stun, which is standard federation practice." Wagnor said unfazed by the Major's reaction. "Consider the casualty statistics of a rioting crowd as compared to the effects of a stun grenade set to low yield, You're looking at a decrease of seventy percent. We're not talking about gas or plasma, just a low amount of phaser energy. I hate the idea of attacking the civilians, I hate the idea of civilians killing each other in rage and panic even more."

Jack could see both sides of the coin but since earlier remarks made in the previous rang still, he had to consider the implications. "Civilians would not be the only casualty, however." Jack spoke having placed his hand on the Major's shoulder. "We can be fairly certain that we will be watched, which means its a good chance our actions, all of them, will be recorded in some style or measure. If we are seen using indiscriminate, wide area weapons against civilians then the Federation loses all credibility. Propaganda is a powerful tool in any conflict, believe me I know, I've used it in previous missions. It's effect can be devastating."

"We also have to consider that we are here to evacuate, we can help keep the peace but if they start a riot, start fighting amongst themselves, I say let them. It's not our place to pick a side, we ensure the safety of the evacuation zone, if they compromise it that, is on them and not us. If we leave then its because of what they have done, not us."

"I agree," Aalis commented. "As long as they keep the riot amongst themselves, we should not intervene. Now, if they do that on the ship, that's another story and I will intervene and make that stop. Planet side? That's their home and their territory. We are their guest on their planet, while it'll be roles reversed once they are ship bound. Abide by the rules of the locale and everything should be easier managed."

Aalis paused before continuing. "As for tactics, as much as everything will be recorded, the stun grenade is not a bad idea all intents and purposes. It's effective and gets the job done. I would say that would have to be reserved for riot control and as a last ditch method, only. Right now, we don't know exactly what we are going into. intelligence has been feeding us information as they can, but it's nothing that we can really substantiate until we can really get the lay of the land, which they aren't really giving us. We can work with engineering for some portable force field generators. We used them when I worked on Earth. While we don't have the ability to just straight up bury them for inconspicuously or the time to do so, we can have them staged around the evac zone. Any riot that breaks out will be containable. Our people for the most part will be inside the forcefield. If it gets hairy, which it can, we can erect the force fields separating those that are outside waiting and those that are in the evac zone. Emergency transporters can be set and auto programmed to isolate our people and immediately beam them out if the forcefield is activated.

"Going with your suggestion, Colonel, if we stage the marines down on the surface, I propose a compromise. Have us primarily leading the effort and working with the civilian population, since they will have to be dealing with us as their guides while they are aboard the ship. It'll help with the transition more. As the compromise, I suggest limiting that number and keeping the majority of our security force on the ship aiding with the offloading. Show the joint effort in the evac zone, have the contingency plans with snipers set to stun, forcefields for emergency purposes with the auto programming, advanced screening and using transporter technology to screen out weapons and not materialize them," she shifted and looked at Wagnor, "with stun grenades as the last ditch effort to contain the situation, I think that we will make it out of this. Thoughts?" She hoped that the compromise, especially with their expertise that they have brought to the table today and for this evacuation event. She had been hopeful with their ideas, her logistic plan which she already had adapted to the suggestions and changed in her mind, that they would get out of this relatively unscathed. Nothing was ever that easy but something that she would still hope for.

Jack inwardly sighed, it had reverted back to the very original plan, just reworded with a sprinkling of changes. Security running the show, undermanned for the situation it faced. It was plain for him to see that Security wanted to stay in the spotlight despite the shortcomings. This was why he disliked interdepartmental cooperation. Jack was no longer in any mood to debate this, Security wanted to do its thing so he was going to let them. "It's your show." Jack remarked giving Sam a look that anything more, was a wasted gesture.

"I'll prepare the squads." Sam spoke having seen the look that she'd known a few times when it was futile to do more. "Will be ready before we deploy." Adding more for Jack's planning processes.

"We appreciate your assistance," Wagnor said to the Marines. He turned to Aalis. "We're going with the Colonel's plan, if we're screening properly will only need a skeleton security crew on the resolution. I'll ask the civilians onboard to help get the colonists to their areas."

Wagnor swallowed hard, he didn't want to appear weak. But... "You have a point about the optics of my plan, I will speak to local law enforcement and see if they can provide any assistance. Chances are they have a better rapport with the people than we will, that reduces the chances of a riot."

Nodding, Aalis took some notes. "It's definitely a joint show," she commented to the Colonel, and then she continued reading her notes to the room. "I'll meet up with you Colonel to make sure that we have all the details ironed out for the teams. We'll have security doing separate security checkpoint away from the evacuation zone, Marines will be handling the evacuation zone, and overwatch. Skeleton crew aboard the Resolution to welcome the refugees aboard. Let me run the shifts and positions, and I can come to you for final approval. I would definitely appreciate a couple of Marines aboard to make sure that we don't inadvertently miss anything, if possible. Did I miss anything?"

"No. Ask the computer my location, I have 4 decks of marines to prepare, I could be on any of them." Jack replied, finally, progress. He understood the position, marines turn up, the unknown quantity but one that placed in the right position with the right amount of people, at the right time could make a proper difference. Jack tuned to Sam. "Prepare all of them."

"Understood, Colonel," Aalis nodded and finished taking her notes to prepare the massive evacuation of the possible unknown.

"Thank you, Colonel I'll leave you to your preparations I trust you can show yourselves out I need to speak with the Lieutenant." Soran said politely.

Jack looked to the Major and gave a head nod to the door. It was time to leave, preparations to be made, men to get ready.