checking in with security

Posted on Wed Jul 29th, 2020 @ 4:04pm by Lieutenant Shri'Rao Sh'veqan

Mission: Discovery
Location: USS-Pennsylvania
Timeline: 239407.26

[On]

M'Relar was walking her post waiting for surprise unwanted guests she kept on walking on her feet, as she felt around the area with her caitian senses. She checked in with her Security Chief.

"Hey Lt Sh'veqan, This is Ensign K'relar. I'm just checking in to see what Security is up to," The young Caitian said to her
chief.

"I heard we might have some unwanted guests and I wanted to check in with you more chief." M'Relar said.

M'Relar continued walking till she heard from her Security chief Lieutenant Sh'veqan.

"Ensign, we are conducting security drills with alpha team, You are to do the same with bravo team in 30 minutes. Please meet me in the security office so we can go over the correct security procedures." Shri'Rao replied.

M'Relar heard her security chief." Ok Lieutenant Sh'veqan, I'm on my way to your office." M'Relar said as she headed her way.

When M'Relar got there Shri'Rao began to brief her.

Security Officers are part of Starfleet Security and are responsible for security aboard all Starfleet and some Federation outposts, vessels, and facilities. In this function, they act in ways analogous to local and regional police agencies, but Starfleet Security's mandate extends much farther than that. The agency is responsible for maintaining and enforcing Starfleet Security regulations, procedures and policies on all Starfleet and affiliated facilities, outposts, and vessels. In addition, this agency is responsible for security clearances of all Starfleet/UFP personnel.

Ensign, Starfleet uses a large number of security procedures and protocols to safeguard the lives of its personnel, and to prevent valuable Starfleet resources from falling into the wrong hands. Individuals aboard starships may be assigned to separate areas of the ship for Battle Stations, Vessel Evacuation Stations, Damage Control Stations, Intruder Alert Stations, Assembly and Inspection Stations, General Quarters or other degrees of vessel readiness.

There are different levels of General Quarters, a term describing the crew's readiness for combat aboard the ship. On Star Fleet vessels, the degree of readiness ranges from General Quarters One through Six, sometimes called Security One through Six. Each level has its own tactics to protect the ship and its personnel from capture or destruction.

As with other procedures, the preparation for General Quarters are modified occasionally to take new technology and security procedures into consideration.

General Quarters Levels:

General Quarters One - This level occurs when the starship is on Yellow Alert. There is no obvious change in ship's routine, though one Security Officer may be stationed on the bridge. All Security Officers are issued phasers from the ship's armory. Sidearms are locked on stun.

General Quarters Two - The level always occurs when the starship is on Red Alert. One or two Security Officers are stationed on the bridge, and one to four Security Officers take up stand-by positions on each non-engineering deck. Fully equipped detachments of four or more Security Officers each may be sent to the transporter rooms and hangar bays.

General Quarters Three - This level is most often used during an Intruder Alert. Pairs of armed Security Officers patrol every corridor on every deck. Two Security Officers are stationed on the bridge, and the Chief of Security routinely checks corridors via audio-visual and/or infrared sensor monitors. If the ship is so equipped, its Automatic Bridge Defense System is activated. Phaser sidearms are locked on heavy stun.

General Quarters Four - This level and above are reserved for major boarding attacks or hijackings. Pairs of armed Security Officers wearing Security armor patrol every corridor on every deck. Security Officers are dispatched to guard sensitive areas, including the bridge, auxiliary bridge, engineering, hangar bay, and life support. The hangar bay doors are usually locked shut, and some security bulkheads may be closed, isolating selected areas of the ship. Phaser sidearms may be set to kill.

General Quarters Five - All turbolifts are shut down, and all security bulkheads and hangar bay doors are closed. Security Officers are issued personal breathing apparatus, and some or all decks may be flooded with neural gas, a powerful, fast-acting tranquilizer.

General Quarters Six - Vents from the engineering fusion chambers are opened, releasing fatal quantities of radioactive gas throughout most decks of the ship. Total crew casualties may run as high as 70 percent.
General Quarters Seven - This regulation outlines some of the criteria used to determine when a starship's senior officers should implement the vessel's self-destruct sequence.

Any questions so far M'Relar?

Then Shri'Rao continued.

General Security Procedures

Security Clearance - Occasionally Security Officers will come across information that exceeds their Clearance. In those instances, they must secure the data without further examination and deliver it to their Senior Officer. If field agents are ever forced to reveal classified information, they should reveal as little as possible and express it in the vaguest terms.
Surrendering - Sometimes Officers are captured by enemy forces. If capture does not jeopardize the mission, an Officer may surrender. If the Officer has a particularly high-Security Clearance, they should consider a more permanent method of keeping those secrets.

Hostage Situations - Innocent bystanders will sometimes become involved in conflicts between Security Officers and their opposition. In hostage or extortion/demand situations, Security must work to safeguard the lives of hostages to whatever extent possible. However, one person or even a large number of people is not more important than the plans for a weapon that could kill millions or billions.

Taking Prisoners - In accordance with Starfleet ethics codes regarding the taking of life, Security Officers should always attempt to stun or otherwise non-permanently incapacitate hostile individuals irrespective of alleged crimes. Standard Starfleet phasers are equipped with sixteen beam settings to ensure that almost any life form can be safely stunned. The gratuitous taking of life, or taking perverse pleasure in the same, is unacceptable for any officer.

If working on a friendly or UFP member world, Starfleet personnel should turn any prisoners over to the local authorities and should not attempt to influence any trials or judgment of the accused. Starfleet officers are to be reminded that Federation law is not universal- much as the Federation expects visitors to its worlds to obey its laws, Starfleet Officers should respect the laws and customs of every world and society they visit. Possessing Romulan Ale may be illegal within the Federation, but a Romulan ambassador who possesses the same on Romulus has committed no crime and should not be punished.

As one would expect, the Senior Officer should take great care not to place her starship, crew, equipment or data to undue risk to transport enemies unless there is little reasonable chance that the enemy can take over the ship. However, compassion and dedication to the preservation of life is paramount- even for openly hostile species, the best of medical care and sheltering should always be provided if at all possible.

Any questions so far M'Relar

So what are your duties according to regulations?

Guarding Vital Areas:

One of the primary duties of the Security department on board a starship or starbase is safeguarding vital areas that may be vulnerable to theft or sabotage, or that might draw intruders. Such areas include the bridge, main engineering, the central computer core, cargo bays containing valuable goods, the shuttlebays, and the brig. When the ship or station is not on alert, guards are routinely posted at security stations on the decks located near these vital areas, able to monitor the security scanners and respond quickly if there is a need.

For a yellow alert, security personnel are placed on guard at vital points throughout the ship. They may be given special orders regarding access to those facilities (such as allowing no one but the Captain and First Officer access). The security guards allow access to authorized crewmembers unless ordered otherwise. The Captain, First Officer, or Security Chief can also give certain crewmembers access privileges, as needed.

Under red alert, security guards are posted on all decks, as well as vital areas of the ship. If an intruder alert is sounded, security personnel guard all turbolifts and airlocks, and begin sweeping the ship for signs of intruders. Information is relayed back to the main computer and the Security Chief.

Standard procedure calls for at least one security guard on duty in the transporter room when unknown or potentially dangerous individuals transport on board. The transporter chief can hold such individuals in stasis in the pattern buffer if necessary to await the arrival of security, and transporter scanners automatically detect any dangerous weapons or other devices, and can render them inoperative before the subject rematerializes, making security's job easier.

Guarding the Captain

One of the prime duties of Security is safeguarding the commanding officer of a starship or station. The captain is considered a vital element of the ship, and treated accordingly. The captain should have a security escort at all times in red alert situations, and when beaming down into any situation that might become dangerous. The Security Chief and/or Operations Officer helps to safeguard the captain while on the bridge, but additional security personnel should be present if trouble is expected.

Part of safeguarding the captain involves performing security sweeps of areas before the captain enters or beams into them. Security personnel check for any potential hazards and ensure they are within reasonable limits before the captain arrives. The captain can, of course, override standard security procedures in these matters, but it is not recommended.

Away Team Procedures

Security personnel form a vital part of Away Team Missions and every away team is well-advised to have at least one security officer, more if the Away Mission is expected to encounter trouble (particularly armed resistance). In some cases, away teams may be made up entirely of Security (and Command) personnel.

While on an Away Mission, the duties of the Security personnel include:

Remaining alert for any signs of danger to the crew or mission.
Safeguarding the lives of all away team members, particularly senior officers.
Gathering tactical and strategic information regarding any possible threats.
Taking necessary action to ensure the first three priorities, including the use of force, but only as a last resort.
While all Starfleet personnel on Away Missions are expected to remain alert, it is the security officer's duty to look out for potential threats to the Away Team. This includes the use of tricorder scans for hazards (both natural and artificial) and "reading" the reactions of any life-forms the crew may encounter. The security officer should make recommendations to the commanding officer of the Away Team with regards to appropriate security precautions.
It is important to note that Starfleet security officers are expected to take a defensive posture with regard to possible threats. Stunning (much less injuring) native life-forms "simply because they might pose a threat" is against Starfleet regulations. A strategic withdrawal is normally the most prudent response in a dangerous situation, followed by neutralizing the danger as quickly as possible, if a withdrawal is not an option.

Imprisonment

There are occasions when a Starfleet crew may find itself with prisoners: criminals they have apprehended, captured attackers, or even unknown aliens. In general, Starfleet crews are authorized to keep such individuals imprisoned until they can be turned over to the proper authorities, either of the planet or civilization that has jurisdiction, or to Federation authorities at a Starbase.

Each starship or station is generally equipped with a brig to hold prisoners. The brig consists of one or more cells equipped with force fields and a security station. On board larger ships and space stations brigs are capable of holding a number of prisoners. Smaller ships may only be able to hold a handful, while the smallest ships may not have a brig at all. Crews may resort to using guest or crew-quarters as makeshift cells by locking the door and posting guards (perhaps even reinforcing the door with a force field). Most brigs use force fields to prevent any chance of the prisoner escaping via transporter.

A starship crew is expected to turn any prisoners over to the proper authorities as soon as reasonably possible. The captain, of course, is the judge of what is "reasonable" in these situations. If the ship is already engaged in a mission, the prisoners may be held until that mission is complete and the ship has an opportunity to deal with them. More delicate political and diplomatic situations may require the crew to deal with their prisoners immediately.

Starfleet regulations require that prisoners be treated well, and that all of their life-support needs be met. In the case of non-Federation citizens, the crew should make every effort to contact the proper authorities of the prisoner's home world, although prisoners accused of crimes against Federation personnel or property should be held over while Federation authorities discuss matters of extradition with the prisoner's home civilization.

Chief of Security

The Chief of Security must carry out all of the above duties, but has further duties to perform. He/she must also co-ordinate the security teams on the vessel to deal with crises with maximum efficiency and to give the vessel maximum security coverage.' You Ensign are one of my team leaders and Assistant security Chief.

The Chief of Security is also responsible for providing the First Officer with regular departmental reports and updates, as well as ensuring that duty rosters are conformed to.

Any questions so far?

Shri'Rao continued.

The duty assignments of Security officers and Marine Corps officers are very similar in nature; however, there is a distinct difference between their operational authorities. Therefore, a very strict separation of power has arisen, and Security Officers and Marine Officers follow this separation strictly.

While Marines are stationed aboard starships, operational authority and control rests with the Chief of Security of that starship. The Marines are to supplement the Security force on a starship in the event of a boarding or other hostile action that takes place onboard that ship. Duties such as guarding sensitive areas or security patrols are general examples of this supplementation. Final authority for security on a Starfleet vessel rests in the hands of the Chief of Security who then reports to the First Officer and the Captain.

However, on away missions, as well as all boarding actions of an enemy vessel or structure, when there is a Marine presence, the Marine Commander will then take responsibility for the safety and well being of the crew assigned in addition to preparing and implementing boarding actions of enemy vessels or structures. Security will assist as necessary; however, the Marine Commander has the authority and jurisdiction. This situation also applies to Marine land units where Starfleet Security officers are assigned, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.

I have assigned 30 Starfleet marines to supplement team bravo, but you are in charge of them especially in repelling boarders do you understand?

M'Relar nodded."Understood Lt Sh'veqan, well make sure not to let anyone on the ship, I'd like to shove them out the nearest Airlock too" M'Relar said to her chief with an evil smile on her face and rubbing her furry paws together getting evil thoughts in her head.

"Excellent M'Relar, Dismissed."

[Off]

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A post by:

Lt. Shri'Rao Sh'veqan
Chief of Security
USS Pennsylvania

Ensign M'Relar K'Relar
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Pennsylvania