Maquis version of the Lost City of Atlantis

Posted on Wed Oct 8th, 2025 @ 3:51am by Colonel Vedrum Hazuh & Warrant Officer Loren Baro

1,024 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A New Dawn
Location: Quarks

After leaving Ziveh, Vedrum headed for Quarks, sending a message to Baro to meet him there, as he wanted to continue their conversation. Walking in Vedrum smirked as he looked around Quarks, realizing it hadn't changed since the war. As he headed up to the second floor, he grabbed a table that faced the door, where he took a seat facing the stairs. Some things never changed, like his intelligence training.

Baro had been politely booted by the engineers who were working on revamping the Ada, with a promise to send the crew a complete report explaining the changes. Loren always thought Ada Lovelace was an unusual name, but after some research, she decided that having a ship named after a pioneering math genius was okay. She, for one, respected oddballs. She was thinking of letting her family know she was done early; they had plans to get together at some point while she was here, when she heard Vedrum's message come through. She sighed good naturedly, "No rest for the wicked." She muttered, acknowledging.

A few minutes later, she arrived. The station was familiar to her as she'd spent some years here, so she had no problem navigating her way. She headed up to an out-of-the-way table where Vedrum sat. "The barrowbug arrives at midnight." She joked, coming closer.

"Ah, Lieutenant Baro, please take a seat. I took the pleasure of ordering for us. I just wanted to continue our discussion and to fill you in on how specifically your department will be operating, as you and your deputies have unique backgrounds," he said as he was the one who selected them to serve on the Ada.

Loren sat with a nod of thanks at the drink already there. "Unique." She repeated. "Well, that's the way to put it." Resistance fighters often had to forget there was a box while getting by on a string and a prayer. Now, she had to adjust her expectations depending on the situation and what Vedrum was about to tell her. "Fine by me, Skipper in the loop or am I gonna need to fill her in later?" She asked, pulling out a small padd from a leg pocket for notes.

"Your captain is very aware of how the raider security is going to be set up, the one thing that you all have that no other fighting force out there does not have, and that is fighting at a disadvantage, and then learning how to fight within a structured unit," Vedrum added, he said with a smirk.

"Right, how structured are we talking?" She asked in a vaguely suspicious tone.

"How much do you know about Earth's non-Starfleet elements, and this is even before they were spacefaring," he added.

"Not much, my attention tends to focus on the current lineup." She admitted with a slight shake of her head.

"Fair enough, how about when the Earth had the MACOs or Military Assault Command Operations, when ship security was just not enough for a particular mission, think of them as special forces," Vedrum continued.

Her attitude, already one of paying attention, sharpened further. She thought of trying to dig up any information. There was a human security officer on board the Ada; she remembered he was a history buff and mentioned Macos during some group conversations. "Something about being all-purpose force multipliers is what I heard. From what a friend said, they were solid to have in tight spots."

"Close enough, and obviously adjust it to make it work for us, and lucky for you, we have a former operator, one of your deputies, 1st lieutenant Decker," Vedrum said with a smirk.

Baro nodded, "He's helped expand our toolbox over the past year." She agreed, "I expect a fair amount can be transferred as long as one isn't too hung up on the look-over function."

Vedrum nodded. "My next question is," he said, leaning in and lowering his voice to a hush, "have you heard of Alpha 441?" If the answer were no, he wouldn't be shocked. Not many have.

Loren looked thoughtful for a moment, considering, then shook her head, "Should I have?" She asked.

"Yes, and no, really no as it is a rumor, rumor is that it was Michael Eddington's last-stand, while others say it was just one of the last Maquis depots, along with a few other things, anyways the coordinates have been lost to time, though it has only been a year since the war, or shit really just nine-months, but either way, I believe I have located it," Vedrum said with a slight smile on his face.

She looked briefly incredulous at Vemdrum, rumor indeed. There had been many at the end as the Maquis fought their losing battle. Rumors of great weapons that would turn the tide, rumors that Eddington lived and was hiding, waiting for the right moment. So many it was hard to credit them all, but if Vendrum said he found it....

She took the small padd and put it back in a pocket. "Don't keep me in suspense, Shadow Man," She said, using an old nickname. A term of respect, much like how Captains were called Skipper or Old Man/Woman/Whatever.

"Simple, the depot has a cache of weapons, equipment, everything we need to help protect our colonies, and colonists, regardless of how the talks go, this cache is vital for our success, so while the talkers do what they do best, we are gonna to do what we do best," he said with a smile.

Lorens' answering smile and a spark in her eyes reflected a kindred soul. This she understood: "Let's talk details." She replied, leaning in.

"Later, your captain and the rest of your crew are gonna need to be read-in on this," Vedrum said as he finished his drink, before standing up, "have a good rest of your night," and with that, the El-Aurian turned and left Quarks.

Loren blinked; he'd gotten her again with the Maquis version of the lost city of Atlantis. She'd gotten caught up in it. Sighing, she picked up her drink, "tease," she muttered, taking a drink.

 

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