09-03-2026, 01:41 AM
Alex looked over at Kalli and said, "Shame on you. You know my luggage is classified. It's also listed as Professional Gear. It isn't dangerous to others, at least not directly. Now, if the Chief of Security asks me about it, I'm going to have to hurt her feelings. No dessert for you." He gave her a wink. 'you didn't even bring up your idea of backing up all their toilets or having every replicator on the ship start making an endless supply of mud until their supplies ran out or until they drown, whichever came first. I thought the eel slime idea was particularly devious, but I digress."
Looking to the Captain, he clarified, "My suggested use of them is based on the desire to get the enemy talking and not shooting. It was what I considered a constructive way of using them. I personally have a strong distaste for violence. However, when violence is called for, then it should be swift and decisive, leaving little room for being countered. In truth, these devices can be used in many ways. They are capable of many things, but self-replication is currently not one of them. It is also best to keep instructions relatively simple, with clear instructions of what to do and how to do it."
He shifted in his seat, "If you want to disrupt and confuse, we can do that. Compromise communications, damage sensor pallets, cause weapons systems to malfunction or any number of other chosen targets that could have non-lethal impact. This can go all the way up to complete destruction. You lose containment and things go very bad, very fast. You don't have to attack a warp core, just a single anti-matter storage container in the hold, which will set off a chain reaction with the ship structure itself. It's very likely that if we release such an attack, their sensors won't even detect the threat because they're so small. A point defense system isn't even designed to detect and aim at such a target. If we swarm them with such an attack, even if they can detect them, they can't destroy them all and some will land on target. This is all academic though."
He gave a sigh and looked very serious. Beno recognized the shift in him and felt as if he was slipping into his old role as a First Officer as he said, "Sir, we're tossing lots of speculation and ideas at you about what we think, but ultimately, we have tried to show you some tools at your disposal and how we're prepared to use them. Hopefully we've given you some useful ideas, but we're not in charge of this. We need your direction. Once you decide how you would like to approach this, we can better focus on how to help you make that happen. I may not be a fan of violence, but it wouldn't be the first time I've had to follow such an order. There are certain lines I won't cross, but so far no such actions have been seriously considered. How can we help you accomplish what it is that you want to see happen on this mission?"
Beno and the crew had seen him talk science and speculate before. Kalli was one of the few that had spent a great deal of time with him and had seen him in leadership roles. His current tone has shifted to the more decisive one of leadership now. He was the person that had instilled in her the saying, "Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way." They were running out of time to prepare. There was a chain of command for a reason and you could advise all day, but it was the boss who made the actual decisions. In a team of sled dogs, one lead dog chose the direction, because they could see the whole picture, everyone else had a limited view and limited control. That was by design. Alex didn't say any of this out loud, because he didn't need to. He also didn't want to take his words too far, because he didn't want to cross too much into Beno's own territory. He was supporting her, not competing with her. There was lots of energy in the room, but it needed more direction.
== Tag CO and all... ==
Looking to the Captain, he clarified, "My suggested use of them is based on the desire to get the enemy talking and not shooting. It was what I considered a constructive way of using them. I personally have a strong distaste for violence. However, when violence is called for, then it should be swift and decisive, leaving little room for being countered. In truth, these devices can be used in many ways. They are capable of many things, but self-replication is currently not one of them. It is also best to keep instructions relatively simple, with clear instructions of what to do and how to do it."
He shifted in his seat, "If you want to disrupt and confuse, we can do that. Compromise communications, damage sensor pallets, cause weapons systems to malfunction or any number of other chosen targets that could have non-lethal impact. This can go all the way up to complete destruction. You lose containment and things go very bad, very fast. You don't have to attack a warp core, just a single anti-matter storage container in the hold, which will set off a chain reaction with the ship structure itself. It's very likely that if we release such an attack, their sensors won't even detect the threat because they're so small. A point defense system isn't even designed to detect and aim at such a target. If we swarm them with such an attack, even if they can detect them, they can't destroy them all and some will land on target. This is all academic though."
He gave a sigh and looked very serious. Beno recognized the shift in him and felt as if he was slipping into his old role as a First Officer as he said, "Sir, we're tossing lots of speculation and ideas at you about what we think, but ultimately, we have tried to show you some tools at your disposal and how we're prepared to use them. Hopefully we've given you some useful ideas, but we're not in charge of this. We need your direction. Once you decide how you would like to approach this, we can better focus on how to help you make that happen. I may not be a fan of violence, but it wouldn't be the first time I've had to follow such an order. There are certain lines I won't cross, but so far no such actions have been seriously considered. How can we help you accomplish what it is that you want to see happen on this mission?"
Beno and the crew had seen him talk science and speculate before. Kalli was one of the few that had spent a great deal of time with him and had seen him in leadership roles. His current tone has shifted to the more decisive one of leadership now. He was the person that had instilled in her the saying, "Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way." They were running out of time to prepare. There was a chain of command for a reason and you could advise all day, but it was the boss who made the actual decisions. In a team of sled dogs, one lead dog chose the direction, because they could see the whole picture, everyone else had a limited view and limited control. That was by design. Alex didn't say any of this out loud, because he didn't need to. He also didn't want to take his words too far, because he didn't want to cross too much into Beno's own territory. He was supporting her, not competing with her. There was lots of energy in the room, but it needed more direction.
== Tag CO and all... ==