Fwd-ing from Omega-fleet ... --== Begin Log ==-- [Conference Room, SB Bragg] Captain Ripley arrived in the conference room, among the last of the senior staff officers of SSF Command to do so. She had been in a meeting with one of the Special Forces commanding officers to discuss some matters concerning the mission he and his crew were about to undertake. Notice of the staff meeting had come unexpectedly, and she had to cut her time with Captain Doi'l short. As she took her seat at the conference table, she glanced over at Jack, who she assumed had been here before everyone else, that was just how he was. She smiled at him, and then fixed her attention on the PADD in front of her, only to realize it was blank, displaying no information at the moment. She looked back up and saw that the other PADDs around the table were the same. "Computer, secure the conference room, authorization Cole, Jordan Two Echo," Cole said, and Ripley raised an eyebrow. It wasn't usually necessary to secure the conference room. After all, Bragg was probably the most secure instillation in the Federation, and everyone aboard had the proper clearance to be there. However, she assumed Colonel Cole did not want anyone outside the senior staff to hear what was going to be said, even the SSF support staff. "Conference room is secure," the computer reported a moment later. "I'll cut to the chase," Cole said, and as she did the PADD in front of Ripley lit up and began to display information. "We're all busy and about to get busier." The Colonel motioned to a display on the wall, which displayed a facility of some type. "This is Einhoften," the Colonel continued. "It's a patient research and re-education facility, and part of a project that until just recently was Top Secret Codeword. It has been downgraded to Top Secret so that SSF can be tasked with this mission. "Einhoften was responsible for the re-education of Jem'Hadar, with the aim of making them productive citizens of the Federation. Whether they were rounded up by force or volunteered for it isn't clear. Some of these re-educated Jem'Hadar were given reconstructive surgery, and have already blended with the general population. As a collective group, they are referred to as the Marduk." Ripley leaned forward in her chair. Re-education of the Jem'Hadar? Why the hell would the Federation re-educate them and make them into productive citizens? Or citizens at all for that matter. The Jem'Hadar were genetically engineered warriors for the Dominion, dependant on the Founders. They were fiercely loyal to the Dominion, and would lay down their life for it without a second thought. They were, afterall, designed to do just that. Ripley refrained from asking any of these questions just yet; there would be time for that after the Colonel had completed the briefing. She turned her attention back to what Cole was saying. "None of this would have caught anyone's radar, but Einhoften has fallen silent," Cole said. "No one has received any communication from the facility in over a week. The Special Forces have been assigned to re-secure and investigate Einhoften to find out what's going on. "The implications of this could be deadly. If it was raw Jem'Hadar that revolted, and found a way to capture the facility, this operation is relatively simple. However, if it was a re-educated group of Marduk that retook Einhoften, then we have a serious potential problem. There is no active record, outside of Einhoften, of where the Marduk scattered to, who they are, or any information about them. If the Marduk are responsible, we may have safety and security concerns all over the Federation, all from the inside." "I need each of you to hand in assessments on how this might affect your department, projections on what may happen to affect your department, and operational details and requirements you need. I'm hoping we find the best possible news on Einhoften, but I do not want to be caught with our pants around our ankles of this Marduk issue blows up in our face." "Colonel," Ripley said when she was finished, "I have a few questions before we get going." She paused a moment, and went ahead when the Colonel nodded. "I'm just wondering, do we have any information as to why the Federation was interested in re-educating Jem'Hadar warriors and releasing them into the Federation? Why undergo such a thing, with genetically engineered soldiers of the Dominion? I find it hard to believe that the people who crafted this idea had the best interests of the Jem'Hadar in mind. "The second thing I was wondering, you mentioned that there have already been re-educated Jem'Hadar released. Were the individuals on Einhoften able to overcome the Jem'Hadar's dependency on ketracel-white?" --== End Log ==-- Captain Dana Ripley Political Advisor, SSF chance@freesim.org