Chapter 4 Jump Emergence: Marinagua

Chaala lays out her reasoning calmly. She does not yet speak with finality. There is openness for discussion.

"I'm not comfortable with sending two people into an unknown situation without good options for retrieval. If Jeem is right, we've got a friendly at the Cutter, but not the one I, or doctrine, would have left at the Cutter. So it makes sense to make contact with the Cutter and to prepare to retrieve it via Remote Operations if need be. We wait until a quiet time when there are no visitors, so we maintain the option of stealth and surprise if the report we receive warrants it," she looks to Bodhie on her screen, "And it may well."

"We do this early because we, I, have an important decision to make after that. Either we retrieve the cutter or we insert on Voyager, sneaky or not depends on information we do not yet have, but Voyager needs to refuel and maybe Niparoo has the capacity to do that at the ad hoc downport, but it doesn't look likely and certainly no one else does. So she has to refuel before any significant operations, just in case we missed something important and she has to run."

She takes a deep breath. "I see two options for wilderness refueling. Quiet insertion on the planet and gas giant. Planet is higher risk but gets us in the game faster for everything else. Gas Giant is safer but we're looking at days out and back. There's a small chance Halsson recovers when Voyager is far enough from the planet, but that's hope and not a factor for operational plans. I'm inclined to the planetary choice but I want perspectives. Unfortunately, I don't think we want to risk doing it close enough that we can insert for grave belt operations near the station. If we're doing that, I want Voyager fueled first."

"Timing matters. Once we make contact with the Cutter there's the possibility that the Scout there lets slip that we're here. If we recall the Cutter, the factions will know someone's here. Someone spots Voyager on the refueling run and, probably different, factions know we're here."

"All that said, here's my plan. As I said, I want perspectives. Harrier goes into stealth and positions to make contact with the Scout staying at the Cutter. Voyager then makes a night time quiet as possible landing at a secluded lake or sea where the satelites don't see any sign of Sophont activity for hundreds of kilometers, the more the better. Quick, efficient refuel, then, again using the shadow of the planet, repositions for support operations. Then we make contact with the Scout aboard and get a report. The branching from there depends very much on the content of that report, but landing Voyager, retrieving the Cutter and insertion of personnel are all in the table."

With some nods, JEEM follows the words of Chalaa.

"Would there be the possibility to get the fuel for the Azure Voyager openly? Perhaps as a diversion from a landing team?"

Virel listens to the discussion without interrupting, though a faint line forms between his brows.

"At the moment," he says evenly, "we know one thing with certainty. There is a human at the Cutter. We believe they are one of ours. But belief is not confirmation."

A short pause.

"The absence of the others is the anomaly. This human could be at the Cutter by choice or necessity. If they are compromised, direct contact could expose this person or the rest of the crew to danger."


His tone remains steady.

"We cannot assume normality simply because the pattern appears routine."

A beat.

"I agree with Chaala. Harrier is the better instrument for first contact. Voyager remains our unknown variable. The less we reveal prematurely, the more options we retain."

Bohdie listens to Chaala’s discourse and JEEM’s and Virel’s replies. He nods when they talk about having a landing team. When Virel finishes speaking, he nods more fully.

"I agree with Virel’s assessment. We can determine that the human at the cutter has the general same characteristics as one of the crew members from the Harrier. But we cannot confirm this from orbit with the resources currently deployed.". Bohdie’s features remain stoically neutral as he speaks.

"Because of this, any direct contact risks alerting factions that may not be friendly to us or the Harrier crew. Right now, we are fairly certain nobody on the planet’ Surface knows we are here. Once we communicate with that individual (he points to the man on the screen), that equation changes. And it changes for more than just us." He lets that sink in for an extended beat.

"I am not suggesting any kind of direct action. Direct observation, on the other hand… careful, quiet, multi-day observation by 2 of us would certainly be useful. It would provide a method to verify our orbital observations, extend our knowledge of the operations and activities going on and provide an advanced, pathfinder-style interface for follow-on activity. Some of us have extensive experience operating behind the lines and observing situations long term.". Bohdie pauses a beat then looks over to JEEM for a moment before his eyes return to Chaala.

"Myself and JEEM are the most logical choices for the ground team. My suggestion is that we insert after Voyager enters atmosphere before heading to wilderness refueling. We can then begin our observations while the ship takes on and refines fuel, reducing the overall mission time. We can set up a hide, perform the reconnaissance, being a two man team, it allows us to have security while observing. Then, once we can confirm the identity of the individual at the cutter, a more informed decision can be made on how to proceed. (A beat) That is my professional assessment and suggestion. It is, ultimately, your call as the Acting Mission Commander and I will abide by your decision. You have my recommendations and my reasoning behind them, Commander."

Chaala shakes her head. "Too many risks and negatives to landing Voyager at the port. We don't even know if they have fuel available and I don't want Niparoo hooking up to her again. We also put our best hole card on the table prematurely."

"Whatever we decide, we'll have more time to observe before we make contact. I'm more comfortable with the risks that someone on the ground has been playing at being a stranded Scout for half a year than I am with the insertion options, but you've got until Voyager is refueled to gather information to contradict that. Follow anyone you can out from the downport, intercept any communication, but in the absence of solid contradictory evidence, it's the lower risk, higher reward option. If it's not a scout, we'll be able to assess that before we give them any useful information."

After he has made his comment, and been answered, he is again listening. Nodding to Bhodies grouping for the ground mission, he stays silent, but works already on two different equipment lists for it.

A short deployment, not longer than a week, and a more extended mission in case of longer travels of the Azure Voyager without them. His notes are projected to a side monitor, visible to others, but negligible.

Wilbur takes a moment before speaking, his tone steady but edged with quiet resolve.
"We could try running facial recognition on the feed. If we can judge beard length, then the sensor resolution is good enough to match against a short crew list. With so few candidates, the odds of a false match are low.

If we’re sending a two‑person team down, we’ll need a second grav‑belt from the Azure. And… with respect, I’m not new to this kind of work. I led the assault on Formol against the Zhodani. I know how to handle a covert insertion, and how to get people out if things go wrong.

I’m ready to deploy if the Captain assigns me."

"Let's prep Voyager for ocean refuelling, prioritizing stealth over speed and security while down. Edrin, Amara, that's you. Doc will stay with Voyager as well for now, to keep an eye on Halsson and the autodoc. Bohdie, my first thought was to put you on Voyager with Wilbur to prepare for the grav belt insertion option, but if you want to stay on Harrier to focus on satellite ops, I value your intelligence experience. JEEM, you're with Voyager for security. Ruiha, Virel and I will take Harrier, maximizing her stealth capabilities, and combine with the satellite capabilities and focus on Bohdie's concern about the individual on the cutter as well as, the best of the satellite's capabilites, matintaining overwatch on Voyager. We won't be able to intervene, but we can give you warning with as much as possible. Any remaining bandwidth we have will focus on radio intercept and preparing to punch through to the cutter."

Wilbur studied the map for a long moment before speaking.
"Captain, to keep this operation covert, we’ll need to descend under moon cover and set down beyond the starport’s horizon. If we don’t, the Niparoo vessel may catch our signature, even on passive sensors. Drop‑off will have to be in that zone as well.

For facial recognition, we’d need to divert a satellite and burn enough fuel to hold it in a quasi‑geostationary position while it runs the scan.

One question, Captain: if the scan confirms the target is a crew member from the ISS Harrier, How will we contact him?"

Voyager is refueling, noting else, yet. Inserting at night far from any signs of Sophont activity, prioritizing stealth and security, not rushing. Your desciption is appropriate.

Wilbur and Bohdie, who have volunteered and indicated they are familiar with the general type of equipment are being given the option of flight time in the "safer" area where the refueling is taking place to check out on the specific equipment and practice coordinated flight for maximum stealth. They're not flying to the starport from there (If I recall, that's beyond the range of a full charge on the grav belts and would take a long time) and voyager is not flying closer to the starport at this time.

During the time that they are refueling, Harrier will be in Stealth mode and will attempt to get clearer confirmation that the man at the cutter is one of the two crewmembers current logic indicates most likely and to rule out that there is some kind of long operation to trap Harrier. Radio intercepts and mapping the jamming at the port to allow a tight beam contact with the cutter if determined that there is no clear evidence that the person at the cutter is not a Scout. Harrier will also be monitoring the existing satellites to make sure no one has spotted Voyager and is moving towards her.

After refueling is complete, Voyager will return to orbit (or the moon if we can't mate up for personel transfer) and we'll either recall the Cutter if that is determined to be viable or make alternate plan, probably involving covert insertion of the Grav Belt team, depending on what we learn from contacting the cutter.

The intent is that, while we're splitting the party, we're not planning on having any contact with other sophonts during the time we're split.

Virel inclines his head slightly. "The plan is sound."

His eyes remain on the surface feeds for a moment longer before he continues. "However… we should consider one additional variable."

He gestures lightly toward the Cutter. "That individual has been in sustained contact with visitors for nearly half a year. Even if he is one of ours, he is no longer operating in a controlled environment."

A brief pause. "We should assume that any communication we initiate may be overheard, observed, or interpreted by others nearby, even if unintentionally."

His tone remains calm. "When the time comes, we need to speak as if we are not alone."

"That is indeed the concern. It seems unlikely that he has gone native, but he certainly appears to have friendly interactions with the other non-Niparoo humans and might not even have noticed if he's getting careless with information. That's a big part of why we are waiting until we have everything else in place before making contact."

Chaala looks at the Captain's tablet, "The other, as Bohdie has pointed out, is that we need time to work out the details of how to do it. I am confident that with two ships and six satellites of higher tech than the jamming that we can punch a message through. The Cutter's ability to respond with much may be limited. Looking at the qualifications I've got here, it looks like Doc actually has the best certifications to figure out the frequencies and timings of messages from which source to get the message through."

With a small sigh, she addresses Dr. Shone directly, "My instinct is still to protect Halsson but the autodoc ought to keep her stable and I think if you're going to lead the radio operation, I need you on Harrier. You've got the qualifications to run the autodoc remotely if there's a problem."

Dr. Shone was listening to all the intense planning, and when his name was mentioned, he got startled. After assuming composure, he responded, "Captain Chaala, I do have understanding and expertise on remote operation and sensor analysis. If you think I can contribute to the radio operation, then I will do it. So, we will be doing this from the Harrier? As for the autodoc, the way things are progressing, a counteractive antimicrobial nanomed will be designed, and barring any deviation from the process, it will cure Halsson."

Bohdie turns to Chaala and says, "Commander, while I have a good eye for the resultant feeds, I don’t have any skill or training in the remote ops to get the satellites in the correct position. I would be better positioned on the Voyager. I can access the feeds from there and share my opinion if necessary. In the meantime, working with the Grav belts and providing ground security would be the best use of my abilities."



Edit: minor punctuation

Chaala nods, "That's the plan."