AWD #399: Missing Pilots
Missing Pilots
Summary: Epiphany brings some troubling news to Elias.
Date: 25/07/2016 (OOC Date)
Related Logs: None
Elias Epiphany 
Map Room
Dominating the room is the large bottom-lit map table in the very center. Ten feet across and eight feet the other way, the table can gather a large number of people around it while still accommodating enlisted and support personnel in the small riser seating behind the table. The risers are done in single-piece desk sections that run the width of the seating area and have small reporting displays built into them along with communications ports for headphones. At the head of the room are two very large LED displays that can have almost anything put on them, including projections of what is on the map table. A single computer at the support seating controls this and in the rear of the room is a large, locked case that holds maps and table models.
Thu Feb 09 2006 (AWD #399)

A mutually agreeable schedule slot was found for the meeting the CAG requested, though it turns out Tactical can only send the Fleet Intel Officer — the TACCO is hands-on with preparations for an combat ops. Scuttlebutt says it's something big, with the smart money on Aerilon. Some might even have claimed that Elias encouraged those rumors. Without confirming anything, of course. The young Major in question is waiting for the Epiphany when she arrives at the Map Room. Standing beside the table, he's scanning some papers on his clipboard and smoking a cigarette (of course.) There's a pair of Marine MPs stationed outside the compartment now, and they snap to attention as the CAG approaches.

There's just a brief nod for the MPs. Acknowledgement of their reaction to her arrival, but no more. No less. Arrington herself has a clipboard and a few files tucked under an arm as she steps through into the Map Room. The door is closed behind her. It's a solid sort of sound that fades into silence for the brief seconds it takes for her to approach the table proper. "Gray." A simple enough greeting. She's soon pulling a specific folder out of her pile and offering it over. It's a secure document - one hand-delivered and signed for (by the CAG herself) from Crandall.

"Commander Spree brought something troubling to my attention while I was on Picon," she notes, diving right into it. Pleasantries? What are those? The document lists names… for pilots. A lot of names, in fact.

Elias glances up as Epiphany enters the Map Room, lowers his clipboard, and then signals to the MPs to shut the hatch. Once the door has clanged shut he greets the CAG. "Major Arrington. Welcome back." He simply nods his understanding as she gets down to business, just as happy to skip the small talk himself. His lips compress as he sees the secure documents, and he makes only a noise of acknowledgement as he reads them over. "Mmm." Pilots? Interesting. "And the concern is…?"

"These are pilots and ECOs — fleet trained — that were found and called to report to duty. People assisting resistance cells, operating or their own, or in hiding. Found and told to report in…" Epiphany sets down the rest of her stack, moving to the clipboard to pull up some notes. "Told to report in, but they never showed. Disappeared between being found and their expected time to arrive. Some could be assumed to have been killed en route, but-" she points to the list she's given him. "297. From Picon alone. There are others, from other colonies, but pilots and ECOs found on Picon… aren't making it to Crandall. Almost 300 of them."

The Intel officer frowns, his expression skeptical. "Three hundred military personnel vanished en route? The odds of that seem rather … remote." Elias takes a drag on his cigarette. "I assume Commander Spree has concluded that they have a leak, and so she wants us to handle this?"

"It's not just from Picon. Apparently this is happening all over. Picon is the only place she had the names and numbers for. I think she's working on getting others, but… well, places like Aerilon are trickier at the moment, as I'm sure you understand." Epiphany drops the page on her clipboard she was looking over, folding her arms and leaning a hip against the table.

"We don't know if they're being killed or captured, but it is too high a number to be just happenstance. Certainly some are expected to disappear, but this many? And seemingly only those that are fleet-trained? We know Crandall takes in anyone with the ability to pilot right now, but it's only those who have served that seem to really be going missing." She looks to the list of names, jaw tightening briefly. "Guess it's a blessing none of those ECOs would have known P's coordinates. But yes, Spree is concerned, but she doesn't have the resources to look into it."

"Yes," Elias agrees that the number of disappearances is far too high for coincidence, whatever the cause. The Intel officer gives a weary sigh and takes another smoke as he considers. "If I were trying to catch that many people," he muses, "all with different starting points and different routes, I'd do it at the destination. Which may explain the high success rate as well." He shakes his head to himself. "We have a number of priority ops in the works at the moment, but I will look into this as soon as possible, Major."

"That… makes sense. As much as it pains me to think that way." He's paid to. She isn't. Or 'expected' since pay… really not so much a thing anymore. Epiphany glances to the paperwork and reaches for her clipboard and files. The one document is left with Elias for the moment. "If it's at the destination, it's before they report for duty. On Picon, that may mean an MP working at Crandall's gates. If it is, indeed, someone working on the inside. A new arrival would check in with the MPs before reporting to a commanding officer."

"Mmm," Elias makes a neutral sound for Epiphany's idea. "Possibly. My guess would be that it's not being done /on/ base at Crandall. Too many eyes. Likely they would have been caught by now." He waves off his increasingly vague suppositions. "But there are too many unknowns at this point."

There's a wry twist of Epiphany's lips and the woman gives a small nod. "It's happening Fleet-wide, so there's… no one point to look into yet, sadly. I can ask her if she can get numbers from other origin points, but I'm not sure if or how that would help." Clipboard is grabbed up and she holds it against her abdomen. "If there's anything needed of the wing to investigate this further, let me know."

Elias considers Epiphany's offer, then gives a soft clearing of his throat. "If you could question any of your air crew who have come aboard recently, that might be helpful. See if there was anything unusual when they were reporting in? Delays, missed flights, that sort of thing." He sets the new document aside on the map table for later. "Otherwise, no. Thank you, Major."

There's a slow nod at the suggestion. "I would hope they may have mentioned anything already, but I'll conduct some interviews and see what I can find." Epiphany shifts her clipboard and takes a step back. "Hopefully we can figure something out. Soon. Hundreds of missing pilots and ECOs is not something I like the idea of." And then she's turning her way for the hatch.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License