Star Trek Hunter
Episode 26: Rain Over Rising Sun
Scene 15: Satellites
26.15
Satellites
A holographic model of the Potato Moon revolved slowly above the antique teak table in the executive conference room of the U.S.S. Hunter. The Potato Moon was the closest and smallest of the four moons of Rising Sun. To the naked eye from the planet it seemed like little more than a dim star - or a distant planet. Viewed through a telescope from the planet, it looked like a potato - hence the name. The moon was so small that a man of average mass wearing a full EVA suit could launch himself into orbit with a running high jump. A skilled pole vaulter might achieve escape velocity.
The Hunter's senior and executive staff were seated around the table, with the exception of Lt. Cmdr. Napoleon Boles (who was in command). The Ground Operations Department was also present, along with Chief Flight Specialist Thyssi zh'Qaoleq, Flight Specialist Jennifer Hopper, Midshipman Carlos Datsun and the assistant engineering director, 2nd Lt. Sun Ho Hui.
Hunter, the ship's holographic avatar, was also seated at the table. Captain Dolphin had encouraged the ship to participate fully as a member of the crew.
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"Captain, I never got a chance to apologize…" started Ensign Eykirros Jones.
"I'm done talking about that," Captain Kenneth Dolphin replied with a no-nonsense tone. "That was a wakeup call." He looked around the room, into the eyes of his crew. "I assume everyone is awake?"
Some crew members nodded. There was a smattering of responses - "Yes sir…"
Dolphin looked down and to his left swiftly - drew a breath between his clenched teeth with a hiss, instantly furious.
He looked back up. The collective blood pressure in the room had spiked. "What was that?" he snapped.
"Yes sir!" This time the response was in unison and very definitive.
"Then let's move on," said Dolphin, his demeanor immediately relaxed and amiable, if businesslike. There was almost a palpable breath as the tension in the room dissipated. "This mission will involve the entire crew, but the primary risk will fall on the away teams, which will consist of everyone in this room with the exception of me, Dr. Moon, Dr. Jazz and Hunter. Lieutenant Commander Gamor - this is your mission. Please continue."
The Hunter's 2nd Officer picked up the narrative. "We have intelligence on an operation that will be carried out by several Earth First cells working in tandem. They have constructed a mass accelerator on the Potato Moon and have dug up two large masses from the moon, weighing an estimated 10,000 tons each. Their plan is to capture the control satellite for the satellite defense grid, take the grid offline, and then launch these two 10,000 ton rocks from the Potato Moon to strike Soda Toer. It would destabilize the archipelago, making it uninhabitable for decades. Nearly 400 million people live there now and the Soda Toer Archipelago has the largest concentration of non-humans and human hybrids on the planet - making it a tempting target for Earth First. We estimate the casualties from this attack would number in the hundreds of millions. Many of the terrorists are from off planet and no doubt plan to go forward from this to create more mass murders. It would mean a lot if we can capture their leaders here before their plan comes to fruition."
"The klingons got involved in financing this operation and are, no doubt, far more interested in the planetary defense grid coming down. If their plan succeeds, a klingon strike force arriving ahead of Star Fleet could take over the colony under the guise of restoring order."
"One of the advantages of the terrorist cell structure for them is that it is difficult for one cell to give up another since their knowledge of each other is extremely limited," Gamor continued. "But as Rumi says, if you hide behind a shield, I can hide from you on the other side of it. We have captured several high level operatives, but the cells appear to be unaware of that and are, according to our sources on the ground and the telemetry we have been keeping on them from orbit, moving forward with their plans. We will take out the assault groups on the Potato Moon and the ASDRI Planetary Defense control satellite. The Soda Toer Port Authority will conduct raids on the command and control groups planetside. This gives us the opportunity to roll up a majority of the Earth First operation on Rising Sun..."
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26.15
Stay Tuned for Episode 26: Rain Over Rising Sun:
Scene 16: Potato Gun
Scene 17: Planetary Defense Grid
Scene 18: Prepare the Way
Scene 19: Stone Grip
Scene 20: The Atlas Class
Scene 21: The Borg King