Propaganda and facts oh my

Posted on Wed Jul 27th, 2022 @ 2:25pm by Ensign Kanan Mishra (Kosugi) & Captain David Hawkins & Lieutenant Josey Wales & Cadet Third Class Aarfa Barakzay & Lieutenant JG Aizem Korci (Ziyal) & Chief Petty Officer Logan Cale

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Security Forensic Room
3334 words - 6.7 OF Standard Post Measure

In the security forensic room there was the sound of some music playing in the background as Mishra was looking over the pieces of machinery that his superior officer had brought back from the investigation on the holo suite. "So this was part of an old machine that these people on the Gladiator had found previously?" he spoke to those who were in with him.

Josey nodded. " That's right Ensign Mishra. After some study we think it's most likely some kind of a transmitter part of a larger machine, That and their using some type of technology that I've never seen before. We'll take it to engineering to see what kind of insight we can get from them and maybe figure out how many more parts of the machine there may be. "

There was a crackling burst of static in the sub space broadcast and the presenter began to speak.

Soft music fades into the background. " Hello my brothers and sisters across the galaxy." This is Sister Tiger Lily bringing you soothing and peaceful music of the past. The last set was from a twentieth century composer songwriter Billy Joel. The songs were Uptown Girl, She's always a woman, Piano Man and Goodnight Saigon. " Her soft and melodic voice filtered through the speakers of the work station, while Josey and other security team members caught up on the daily report logs.

" And now a special message from our parent company Trinity sub space broadcast. Do you feel lost and alone in this wide galaxy? Have you ever felt that life is confusing and without meaning and guidance? If so then today shall be a blessed day for you! I speak of the light and joy of the Goddess. She loves all races equally and wants to gather all in her embrace of light and love, There are a few things that the Goddess finds to be an abomination. These things will be taught to you if you come and join us in our facility and learn of the Goddesses light and truth which brings all to truth, order and love. "

In fact we have been blessed with two ship crews that have come to us recently and joined our ranks. We wish for all to welcome the crews of the S.S. Nymphe and the USS Gladiator, who have come willingly into our fold." Her voice continued on just as smooth as silk. " Some aboard these ships were the choice favored of the Goddess and came to her in her rapture and were blessed with her glory and grace. The remainder of the crews came along with us and begged to be taught of the Goddesses mercy and love and are now being taught at their request, their minds will be set free from the worries and strife of the universe! How blessed and fortunate they are. "

Tiger Lily paused for a moment. " One moment please... Praise be to the Goddess! I have just received word from brethren preaching in the field that the crew of the Red Quaser has just agreed to join our ranks. If you wish to join us and be blessed by the Goddess and know of her love and light then contact us today! We now return you to your regular sub space stream with the next six selection by Mavchek, a late twenty first century singer. " Once again the music began to play....

Josey felt the blood in his veins turn to ice as he heard these words. They cut him to his core as he now felt a tinge of fear and evil touch upon his soul. He stood staring at the ceiling speakers for several moments before he turned and looked on the others present. " By all that is holy, Someone please tell me you just heard that. "

Ensign Mishra stared up at the ceiling, in shock at what had been piped into the room. "Okay I heard that, what about you?" Looking at Aarfa then at Korci and Cale.

Josey tapped his combadge. "Captain Hawkins, Could you please come to the security forensic room? This is rather urgent and I know you'll want to hear this for your self. Lieutenant Wales out. " He looked at the others present. " Opinions? " Josey asked. " I know that was creepy, Is everyone doing alright? "

Rolling up to the group in his chair, Logan looked over at Josey, "to be honest, not really. this sound like some really crazy cult stuff"

How Aarfa was reacting would be apparent to anyone with a knowledge of caninoid body language. Her ears were plastered back, lips tightly curled in, showing a hint of fang, and the hackles showing above her uniform collar were noticeably raised. It was creepy and horribly wrong on multiple levels, but on top of it all was the added insult of blatant lies about the crews they had taken. Especially her crew. "Those were filthy malicious lies," she said, voice on the edge of a growl. "That voice deserves to be removed from its throat."

Josey turned and faced Aarfa with a dark scowl on his face. " What did you just say cadet? Rip her throat out? Find her yes, we need to do that and yesterday. How do we find the information to find our people if you silence the voice cadet? and a question for you Cadet Aarfa. How many crimes does the federation have the death sentence for? The answer is two. Talos four and high treason. I know your upset with what happened, and you have every right to be, but you need your head to be screwed on right and be objective and focused on an away mission, Am I clear cadet!? "

Every fiber of her wanted to scream They Are Mass Murders! When they were killing her crew, she would have killed to stop them and felt not the slightest remorse. But she understood. This mission was about rescue; revenge could be dangerous a distraction. So straightened, eyes fixed on a middle distance. "Yes, sir. Clear, sir."

"So is this what I was called down here to see?" David asked as the doors sliding behind him he had been walking down the hall when he heard the call to report to the Forensic Room. Because if this is so..."

As soon as Ensign Mishra caught sight of Captain Hawkins his eyes widened and was standing at attention, "Captain in the room, sir!"

Everyone in the room snapped to attention as Captain Hawkins entered the room. Josey relaxed his stance and turned to Captain Hawkins and handed him a PaDD. " We picked up a broadcast Captain, And I promise you you're not going to like it. Open the file when your ready Sir. "

And now a special message from our parent company Trinity sub space broadcast. Do you feel lost and alone in this wide galaxy? Have you ever felt that life is confusing and without meaning and guidance? If so then today shall be a blest day for you! I speak of the light and joy of the Goddess. She loves all races equally and wants to gather all in her embrace of light and love, There are a few things that the Goddess finds to be an abomination. These things will be taught to you if you come and join us in our facility and learn of the Goddesses light and truth which brings all to truth, order and love. "

In fact we have been blest with two ship crews that have come to us recently and joined our ranks. We wish for all to welcome the crews of the S.S. Nymphe and the USS Gladiator, who have come willingly into our fold." Her voice continued on just as smooth as silk. " Some aboard these ships were the choice favored of the Goddess and came to her in her rapture and were blessed with her glory and grace. The remainder of the crews came along with us and begged to be taught of the Goddesses mercy and love and are now being taught at they're request, they're minds will be set free from the worries and strife of the universe! How blessed and fortunate they are. "

Tiger Lily paused for a moment. " One moment please... Praise be to the Goddess! I have just received word from brethren preaching in the field that the crew of the Red Quaser has just agreed to join our ranks. If you wish to join us and be blessed by the Goddess and know of her love and light then contact us today! We now return you to your regular sub space stream with the next six selection by Mavchek, a late twenty first century singer. " Once again the music began to play....

" As I said Captain, you wouldn't like it. We have tracked it's signal to a planet called Delvan Two. At warp seven we can be there in just under fourteen hours. I take it that you took notice that they claim to have survivors and are educating them as we speak. And here's something we didn't think of, They use these broadcast to reach out to new converts. So they either play like they need help and attack when they board, Or they send out missionary to talk to you at your request. Chilling isn't it Sir? " He asked as the broadcast recording ended.

"Chilling isn't even close to what I'd say," David remarked before looking over at the cadet. Her desire to have the 'voices removed from its throat' was more then understandable. He gave her a slight look, more of agreement but kept his professional stance

"Are you telling me that they are now spouting out their own propaganda? Who in their right mind would be even wanting to join them?" Ensign Mishra retorted. "What makes them think it would work out?"

Josey looked to Ensign Mishra. " Ensign Mishra, They are a religious cult and are seeking more members. In the message they sound like a group that is preaching love and peace to lure you in with a honey trap and then bring you under their sway. There was no mention of blood offerings or hijacking ship and kidnapping crews, That and there a many lonely people that travel between the stars and that may sound enticing to them. "

"Yeah but this wasn't how the one group did it when we dealt with them years ago. This is a new twist, or maybe the group we dealt with was a more extreme group, if that is possible," the captain remarked as he crossed his arms. "Not flying in guns a blazing just yet. They wouldn't be announcing themselves and openly offering willing new bodies like that without a way to protect themselves from a direct attack from any outside threats."

"What if they are luring some people in to be sleeper agents." Ensign Mishra offered up. "There was that report that, Petty Officer Tia Smithy had spoken about, people she worked with not being themselves anymore, either dopplegangers or mentally messed with."

"Seems a little far fetched to be broadcast themselves like this to recruit sleeper agents. Typically they capture people, brain wash, and send people back as sleeper agents. Either that or raise them up, then send them in years before before activating their agents," David explained as he thought out loud. "How did you find this broadcast?"

Mishra looked at Captain Hawkins, "Sir, how long ago did you meet up with these monsters and couldn't they have changed tactics in order to get better results? They are still cruel and blood thirsty, from what I have gathered." he mused. "As for the broadcast, it just came out of the blue as if someone was working on making certain the messages came out. Like a rogue radio program."

"It was over six years ago. The Gladiator found similar attacks on ships but there was no 'witnesses'. The draining of blood was aliens though and no humans. So all of this is similar but a different," David answered simply .

" As for how I found the station Captain, Sometimes I'll scan the sub space frequencies to se what kind of music I can find to listen to while i work. I know it's old fashion and random. After about an hour I liked what this station was playing until they're station break came on, and that's when we heard this. Their message made my skin crawl and chilled me to my core. I don't blame some of my people getting upset hearing this garbage, They've got every right to be upset after losing friends like that. But we've got to keep our heads cool and track them down to get our people back from these butchers."

He turned his attention to Ensign Mishra. " Have you ever heard the old saying you can catch more flies with honey then vinegar? Why send out ships to track down more prey or recruits when you can lure them in with a sweet voice? That's called a honey trap. That way you can send out your ships for more important task, like going after bigger targets and more sacrifices. Not to mention gaining more ships to send out even more cultist to do their dirty work. "

Ensign Mishra looked at Hawkins, "Now though there is a witness, and they are changing tactics. Proof now of their wrong doing." he then addressed what Wales had said. "And I agree the sweeter the offering the better. With that in mind, we can find out where this next batch of proselytes are at and we can get more information maybe where they are operating or even an idea on what or how they are doing this? And maybe stop this once and for all."

Josey spoke again. " As I Stated Captain, we have the coordinates locked in and we can be there in under fourteen hours just as soon as you give the word. I would suggest we send in a recon team to scout out they're location and get some close up scans so we know how to play it when we go in. If we can do the job with a three man team then we'll do it, But if we need to send in a strike team I reckon we can do that as well. Security will be ready either way Captain. And I'd like to bring along Cadet Aarfa as she is an excellent tracker. "

I would track them to hell itself she thought, but did not say it. Instead she straightened and nodded firmly. "They will regret leaving a 'witness' with strong olfactory senses, sir."

Josey looked to Aarfa. " Cadet, I know you'll do your best and we have a better chance of finding our people with your help, I'm glad we've got you working with us on this. " He turned to Mishra. " We know where the broadcast is coming from, we investigate there and find what intelligence we can to see if we can gather any clues to where our people are and go from there, we might even find out what ships they intend on attacking as well. And yes our goal is to make sure that they'll never to be able to do this again to anyone. " Said Josey with a grim determination in his voice.

"What will be on the team that will go after the that Trinity member? I want to go." Mishra was eager to go on the hunt, though as he thought about it, they may need some sort of crack team, people who were a bit more used to this sort of thing. "Then again... you may need some people with more specialized skills?"

He then looked over towards the silent person who seemed to have been listening in on the whole matter. Mishra only knew her as Lieutenant Korci. Mishra had an upraised eyebrow curious as to what the Bajoran Tactical officer might have to say.

Josey turned his attention to the shadows to where Lieutenant Korci stood. " So Lieutenant Korci, Everyone here has had something to say about this matter, so what are your thoughts and opinions on this? "

"They sound like they believe their own rhetoric that's for sure." Korci spoke. She was going to comment that her first name for Korci, but sometimes Bajoran names just confused people about the right way around. In time she might.

"I had thought of sending in a team to play the convert. Someone who wants to join, but is really information gathering and looking for the crew of the Gladiator, amongst others." Korci spoke. "If they are looking for new members then they would welcome us with open arms. I am certain the Prophets would aid us in catching their fake Goddess. Fourteen hours should give us plenty of time to come up with something."

Josey nodded. " We know where Trinity is coming from and have locked on to their location. We need to scout around see if we can identify other cult locations in the same city or region and then we can put together a recon mission or an assault team depending what type of information we find out while we're there. "

Mishra was rather impressed as to how things were shaping up. He looked over towards Captain Hawkins, "Sir, what will be next, a team to be put together? And go catch someone who can give us answers?" the ensign was rather eager to move forward on this one.

" I've got the making of a good recon team right here in this room. " Said Josey. " It would be a five man team, but very workable. Your thoughts Captain ? "

"Sounds like a working plan," the captain answered as he took a deep breath. He had many things on his mind but this was one thing that seemed to be almost unreal. How could they be so open and willing to broadcast themselves while murdering so many people? "Get at it, you have twelve hours. Let me know what your plan is and your team. The hours before, you can prep for the away team. I'll have the Gladiator drop out a little earlier and activate the cloak. Any further questions for me?"

Mishra shook his head, "I don't have anymore questions at this time, at least not for you, Captain. Looks like we've got our work cut out for us, right, Lieutenant Wales? Besides I think we could deal with a break to approach this with a fresh mind and full stomach." looking towards Wales. Mishra was ready to take a break.

"I'll get a working plan together and have it submitted to you as soon as it's done. And Captain, in my experience I've found evil normally cloaks itself with good intentions and peaceful overtures. And people fall for it just about every time sadly. " He shook his head and turned his attention to Mishra. "What you say has value. We could use a break and some chow before we get into our planning stages and get down to the nitty gritty of the plan. "

"Works with me," the commanding officer replied as he looked around the room. He knew that even though they weren't the original crew, this group was quite capable and willing to handle this challange before them. So the feeling of having to micromanage this group was not even a thought in his mind as he nodded in agreement with the lieutenant. "Get to it, and report back when your team is ready. Good work, all around."

With that, he turned on his heel and started for the exit as he tapped his ear comm. "Hawkins to the bridge, Raiden, you will be receiving a set of coordinates from Wales. Set course and inform engineering to prep the cloaking device. Looks like we are going to be using that thing after all."


"Aye Captain." came Raiden's answer.