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Star Trek Enterprise

Here We Stand

Chapter 02

Industry & infrastructure.

The young officer escorted Horatio down the corridor to the office of the head of Star Fleet Security. Some relics lined the walls including paintings depicting wars from Earth Ancient past and suits of armour from all over the world including a red and black set of Samurai armour with a Tokugawa crest. Suits of fluted gothic steel armour from Germany, ornate Italian suits of bespoke beauty, regal French suits plated in Gold and plain suits of articulating armour from England all resplendent in their paint, faithfully recreated by historians and artists.

As they walked, he noticed several styles of Roman Lorica Segmentata, all on historically accurate dummies. Uniforms from Every army and every war. Black SS uniforms were next to British Red Coats alongside the most controversial of them all a World War III uniform. Not from Colonel Green's militia though its malevolent Triangular Insignia would not be welcome anywhere on earth.

There were shashka swords from the Cossacks of the Don, Falcata swords Greece and Dacian falxes all attached to the wall the light gleaming from there shining metal blades. With the era-appropriate shields with spears, pikes along with all manner of polearms. These decorations were meant to show how far we had come from the warlike race we were to the more enlightened race we are now.

He noticed two enlisted security men standing outside the office. The man of Asian descent was broad and looked like he could at least hold his own in a combat situation. The female was taller, a red-headed Amazonian Valkyrie. They were both wearing standard-issue Star Fleet Body Armour and the EM-33 pistol. As he came to the bulkhead styled door, the female held out her left hand with her right up at her mouth before it went to her ear.

He noticed a small microphone at her cuff and a flesh-coloured earpiece. Horatio slowed but didn't stop and by the time he was in arms reach the door opened its hydraulics hissed in protest. He was waved through his escort nodding to him as he turned back to his post.

The office was large and sparse, much more austere than the ornate hunting lodge that the Star Fleet Security interiors were decorated with. There was a singular desk at the far end of the office; the floors were still wooden. There was a round red carpet. On the left looking out through a large window of reinforced transparent aluminium was a brown leather chesterfield and coffee table. Next to that was a tall bookshelf that had multiple massive tomes with subjects that were obscured from his view.

He headed for the mahogany executive style desk that monopolised the far side of the office. It was designed similarly to Admiral Forest's desk with the computer built into the tabletop. Two chairs sitting in front of the desk looked like they were taken from the Bridge of a Star Ship. Probably as part of the United Earths recycling ordinance that had seen broken up ship's parts sold off as alternate income for Star Fleet.

Sitting behind the desk was a dark-skinned middle-aged woman of Brazilian descent. She had her raven hair tamed and tightly bound in a plait that ran down almost to her shoulder blades. She was dressed in the duty uniform, unlike Admiral Forest.

She was typing something on a computer the likes of which he had never seen before when the door closed, she stopped. She pressed a button that caused the part of the table that housed the computer to flip. This, in turn, revealed a different computer that looked more like the one Admiral Forest had used.

He stopped in front of the desk but half a foot behind the chair.

"Did you call me your ex-wife again?" she asked her accent wasn't thick, but it was noticeable.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir," said Horatio. She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, giving him the stink eye. "maybe?"

"First, I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man in the universe." She said as she pointed at the seat in front of her to his left and her right. "Secondly, I am not comfortable having Vulcans on this assignment." Horatio smiled slightly but kept it hidden by looking out the window. "I'm surprised that they would even accept such an assignment."

"I believe that they think the Andorians may be involved." He said as he sat placing his swagger stick down on the desk horizontally, parallel to the end of the table.

"are they?" She asked, picking up the stick and turning it in her hand looking up at the silver Mako shark that it was embossed with.

"to soon to speculate, But I believe that someone is involved." She handed the stick back to him once he was finished talking. He put it back where she had snatched it from and continued. "the incidents are too numerous and to targeted for it to be anything other than sabotage."

"I have a few JAG officers along with a baker's dozen of Star Fleet Criminal Investigation Service Officers and two Security teams ready to go." She said as he pressed a button that popped a hidden drawer. She pulled out a single Padd and handed it to him. "the Engineering Corps is also sending a few men to see what's happening."

"The engineering teams can wait until we have secured the works." He said as he flipped through the pages on the Padd. "I want the CSI guys in there first." She nodded in understanding.

"Twelve shuttles are being prepped for launch."

"good we're going in fast and hard with stun grenades." He said, scratching his cheek "we don't want anybody getting away." He finished reading the Padd then handed it back she put it back in its compartment before she closed it. "we're going in at shift change in two teams, one for those clocking on and one for the ones that clocked off. A third team would be used to snatch up anyone off sick or on holiday."

"When will you be ready?"

"once the Vulcans arrive, we'll be ready to go."

"you have free use of the Armory I suggest you use it." He picked up his Swagger Stick again. "you'll need more than this to help you." She smiled as he stood up and tossed it back to him. "dismissed." She said, waving him off. She sat with her hands clasped together in front of her.

"I'll try not to atomise the Rhineland." He said as he turned and walked to the door.

"one last thing Horatio" he stopped and turned to her slightly. "make sure you duck."

"concerned for little old me."

"no for my evening, I hate filling out paperwork because someone was too stupid to duck." She said with a wry smile.

"Understood ma'am." He saluted her like a good Officer and given the occasion. He heaven clicked his heels like Prussian Officers from the long past. "I shall endeavour to keep your evening free." The door opened with a hiss again and he made his way out and to the armoury.

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The arsenal was located underneath the building in a secured vault. Inside was the latest man-portable weapons that the United Earth built currently including the new phaser rifles and pistols. All laid out in racks and crates without there corresponding power packs as a safety precaution.

There was also racks of helmets and torso armour designed for anti-CQC operations and limited anti-plasma protection. Useful for the EM-33 but the new phaser pistols would go rite through the armour plate like a drill through wood. The helmet had a similar function, but it's much older stahlhelm design was beginning to show its age. But then the Torso armour but functioned very well given its older design.

Knowing what he needed, he grabbed the armour. First, a Helmet with a Red Security Stripe and the painted on white Lieutenant Commander rank insignia on the front. The armour was a dark grey affair with red striping running down the chest over the hart.

The armour plates were octagonal but still allowed for moderate movement. The torso was split into two sections. The first was upper body covering the pecs diaphragm, the lower section covered from the diaphragm down to the groin. The shoulder guards were slightly larger but fit by securing it to the bicep.

There was a protective gorget that could protect the neck to nose but was considered a bit much for a policing action.

The whole thing could be put on like a jacket or alternatively with the groin plate in place the armour would be a step-through and pull up version. Greaves were optional, and so were vambraces, but he considered both to be unnecessary.

He went to the duty officer and signed out his preferred sidearm the new Phase Pistol, and a plasma rifle with two additional power packs one for the pistol and one for the rifle. He made his way to the locker room, which was not that far away as the vault was the adjacent room to the officer's gymnasium.

He made his way inside the bright red lockers were stark against the dull grey of the room. He made his way to a locker that had a computerised display with his name on it. The inside it was mostly empty except for workout clothes. But one item would be of immense use to him a Security spec hand scanner, he grabbed the relatively small device and zipped into his thigh pocket. Horatio then placed his swagger stick inside he felt strange leaving it, but it could potentially get in his way in a combat situation.

He then made his way back out to the main foyer. It was time to earn his pay.