Shore Leave: The Security Office

"That's why spacefleet regulations enforce that every officer has to sleep for at least three hours every 36 hours, even in the most extreme circumstances", Helena responds. It doesn't sound like she's going anywhere with this, she's just saying what came to her mind.
Shortly after Zephyr, Max enters, wearing a blue uniform and markings of a Lieutenant. He orders an herbal tea from the replicator and sits down at the table.

Mars looks at the time display on the wall behind the Darcies. "I didn't expect an admiral to deal with this himself", he says after drinking his coffee. "This seems more like a job for a captain."

"Ensign Lloyd should come as well, as far as I know. I expect she will arrive any minute now", Mars says. "I did not invite the cadet since I thought we would keep her out of it. If you think she can be of help to this investigation, we can talk to Professor Vitan and get a special permission to keep her involved."
He checks his datapad and says: "I just received an update. Admiral Tanner will beam down in five minutes."

"We will, thank you for the recommendation", Mars replies. Before he can say anything else, the door opens and Julia enters. She walks stiffly, as if all her muscles are sore, and she looks exhausted. She's wearing her uniform and she quickly moves to the closest chair to sit down. Slightly out of breath, she says: "You never notice just how exhausting gravity is until you spend long amounts of time in Zero G."
She takes a datapad out of her bag and puts it on the table. After a few seconds of catching her breath, she says: "Theliak will be fine. Farredans are physically very vulnerable so even though the phaser was set to stun, he did not take it well. But he should be back on his feet by the evening."

"I will, once we find my mother", she replies. Her voice doesn't sound worried, more determined.

A short time later, three people materialize in the conference room. You immediately recognize Admiral Tanner by the red admiral's uniform. He looks to be around sixty years old, bald with a dark grey beard. The iris of his left eye betrays that it is artificial but other than that he seems to be in perfect physical condition. The woman next to him is Alex' age and has dark blonde hair. She's wearing a red spaceship style uniform and the markings of a captain. The third person with them is a man with long dark hair, around thirty years old in a gold uniform.
The admiral looks around the room, his eyes resting on each of you for a few seconds, before he speaks up: "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. My name is Samuel Tanner, this is Captain Lillian Hawthorne of the USS Orion and her chief of security, Lt. Cmd. Carter Ferris. We have not been briefed in detail about what has happened yet, only on the broad strokes. Who is in charge of this investigation?"

Mars introduces everyone present by name and rank and then gives the spotlight to Moira as she has taken lead of the investigation.

"Endra Learse", Tanner repeats. "Doesn't ring a bell but I will have someone look at the file again. Maybe something has been deleted. We will also start scanning the planet immediately. The Orion's sensors are much better than the ones from CC1 so we should have a better chance of finding where these people are hiding. Find the commanding officer of the Neptune and have them start scanning as well. The Orion will search the resort island, the Neptune should make sure they did not escape the island by boat. It's unlikely but not impossible."
Julia clears her throat to draw the admiral's attention and once she has it, she says: "Sir, Captain Theliak has been injured in the attack yesterday and will not be able to return to duty today. I can contact his first officer, Commander Allen."
Tanner nods in response, then turns back to Moira. "You seem to be having everything under control here. I will take lead in this investigation from the Orion, you will be my right hand here on planet, LC Bruce." His attention shifts to include everyone again. "Any questions?"

Should we conduct a ground search. Start at one end of the island and just work it in a grid. Check every building? It is tedious work, but better than just sitting here.

"We are going to scan from orbit. That should be enough to discover anyone hiding out on the island but a ground search couldn't hurt either. Lt. Mars, provide Lt. Vitan with a map that shows all buildings and facilities on the island. Lt. Vitan, you will form and lead a search party. I trust you have training on setting up a sweep of an area? Start on this side of the island and move northeast from here. Make sure to check every building, abandoned or not, thoroughly and inform me on anything unusual you find, immediately related to the search or not."

"Of course", Tanner replies. His expression is firm but he gives Alira a short look that she reads as approval. "We will provide phasers to every member of a search party. The targets are armed and dangerous after all. It would be foolish to send unarmed officers after them."

Mars looks at Tanner who just nods, then he follows Alira out of the room. Tanner addresses everyone who is still there: "Thank you for your help. Hopefully, this situation will be resolved quickly and we will get your crew members back soon. Helena, Cassandra, I would like to have a word in private with you for a moment. LC Bruce, could you wait outside? I will have to discuss something else with you in a moment. Everyone else, stay on call in case you will be needed. Thank you."
He breaks up the meeting and everyone leaves the conference room except for him and the two Darcies. Moira waits outside the conference room for two minutes, watching the three talk among each other through the glass door. Soon, Helena makes eye contact with Moira and waves at her to enter.