Assembling a Girls' Trip Briefing

Posted on Mon Jul 20th, 2026 @ 8:52pm by Lieutenant Darla Kennings & Ensign Emily Bowman & Lieutenant Alice Durant & Ensign Zoey Armstrong & Petty Officer 1st Class Celes Fara

1,335 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 2: Mine of Taurus
Location: Sickbay, Darla's Office

Emily sat down on the couch in Darla's office and crossed her legs. "So," she said, "what exactly is happening at this planet?"

"We don't know," Darla said, placing a plate of pastries down on the coffee table. She'd replicated a pitcher of tea and another of ice water already, along with glasses and plates, and now moved to lean against her desk. "That's one of the issues we're facing. Most of our information is from over a century ago."

"So we're going in blind," Emily said, getting to the core of it.

"Not entirely," Darla said. "I'll share more details once the others arrive."

Emily looked up at the sound of footsteps coming towards the doorway and lit up like a Christmas tree upon seeing her friend. "Hey, you!" she said, brightly. "This mission is starting to look a lot more fun." She scooted over to the side of the couch, patting the space next to her.

Zoey was a little nervous, but then she saw Emily and she immediately settled down. For the past hour she had been studying as much information she could from the data pad that the good doctor provided. She saw the lady sitting next to a plate of pastries. Zoey simply sat down near Emily. "Looks like I'm just in time."

Bianca came into sickbay at a trot, certain she was about to get yelled at for being late. The nurse that saw her walk in rolled their eyes and gestured to the office where Bianca finished the journey to, stepping around the corner of the door and her eyes opened wide. Three officers, yes, two were Ensigns, but if she were the only enlisted, maybe she'd just be a gofer for them. The pause in the doorway was all too evident.

"No need to stand on ceremony," Darla said, looking at Bianca. "Please make yourself comfortable." She gestured to the sofa and two empty chairs on either side of the coffee table.

"Yes, ma'am." Bianca flushed red, but she moved into the room and dropped the satchel by the door entry with an audible 'thunk' and moved to the point on the couch furthest from anyone, ignoring the refreshments on the table. Small fish in the fish tank of officers indeed.

"Are you all right?" Darla said, looking at her.

"I'm fine, ma'am, thank you."

Celes broke the awkward silence by stepping inside the office last. She nodded to the three on the couch and walked to one of the chairs. "I'm sorry I'm late. The shuttle is stocked per your requests and ready," she said simply before sitting down and crossing her legs.

Once they were all settled, Darla looked them over and took a breath. "The planet we are approaching is one the Federation has encountered before. A dozen or so women were found on the planet, survivors of a dead race. The USS Enterprise--the original, mind you--rescued them, after which they razed their former home to the ground. There should have been nothing left for the Federation to have interest in, however they have had it under observation ever since."

"Our away mission is going to be to determine if someone has tried to reclaim the surface and potentially access any technology the Federation missed, and, if possible, identify them so that the ship can stop them. For this, I needed a specific type of away team."

"Your 'type' seems to be all attractive, young women," Emily pointed out. "Has the planet been overrun by admirals?" She grinned at her joke, but her smile faltered a bit at Darla's stare.

"The one thing we know for sure," Darla said, "is that the planet experiences a bombardment of radiation from its sun that can have a withering effect on humanoids. However, according to the survivors that were rescued, this effect is far less severe in women, the younger the better. I already have a natural resistance to it, so the five of us are the best chance for this away mission to succeed."

She gestured to them. "Please, if you have questions, now is the time."

Bianca looked back and forth, already remembering some information regarding this planet from some report long ago. It had been a routine file review that had been placed on her desk, The Taurean System. Was the Lieutenant saying she was from there, or at least descended? But that's not something a PO3 from Engineering would know, "Not to sound vain or anything, ma'am, but how much of 'withering' effect are we expected to take from this? I really would prefer not to need a cane from this mission."

"It would take prolonged exposure to begin to feel the effects," Darla said. "However, I would rather not risk anyone's health, ergo this group. We'll also have other precautions."

"I assume a shuttle's shields are enough to protect us?" Celes said.

"Yes. That would be the precaution," Darla said. "Worse comes to worst, we can stay in the shuttle. It's provisioned for an extended trip just in case we need to use it as a lifeboat while the ship is engaged."

"You think we'll need a lifeboat?" Emily said.

"Rule seven," Darla said, "'Expect the worst, hope for the best, plan for both.'"

Emily nodded to herself.

"The radiation seems to be at its lowest level of concentration, although I wouldn't recommend more than a few hours at a time. If we reinforce our lifeboat, we should be okay," Zoey said that she remembered reviewing the data pad that Darla had sent her earlier. The planet was still radioactive, and even though the concentration levels were low they were still dangerously high, but this was the best opportunity they would have.

Emily held Zoey's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Most likely why they established a presence now," Darla said. "Easier to work in "winter". We'll still have to deal with monsoon rains, rough terrain and little shelter," Darla said. "So long as we have the shuttle, however, we can hide on the nightside of the planet when we need to. That should provide us more than enough cover from the radiation if we need to hide out."

She looked at them. "Anything else?"

Zoey remained silent, she was grateful for Emily's nurturing nature at this moment. She's also grateful that Darla didn't snap at her. She was really nervous and wanted to make a good impression. This was her first away mission.

“I’ll bring along a shelter kit if we have the room in the cargo hold.” Bianca stated, “It may get a bit cozy if we need to use it, but I’m sure we’ll all survive that.” She gave a tentative smile, “Other than that, I think I’m good to go.”

Celes gave a shrug and looked at Darla.

"So when do we leave for the planet?" Zoey said, wanting to get this mission over with and also wanting to get it started. Part of her was a little excited, and part of her was nervous. But mostly she wanted to get this first mission jitters out of the way.

Darla opened her mouth to answer, then saw a shadow in her doorway that quickly turned into Robert. "Report to the shuttlebay in ninety minutes," she said. "Hopefully nothing will be in our way. Thank you all for coming. Dismissed."

Celes stood up, hands behind her back, and nodded to Darla, then turned and walked out of the office. "Boss," she said in greeting as she passed Robert.

“But I thought-“ Bianca stood up as well, then exhaled sharply before grabbing the satchel she had brought with her, “I’ll double check everything, then. Ma’am.”

Emily stood up, still holding Zoey's hand and walked up to Robert. "Commander," she said with a flirty smile on her face, before letting out a surprised squeak as Zoey yanked her along and into Sickbay.

Darla shook her head and beckoned Robert in for her next discussion.

 

RSS Feed