The Tip Of The Iceberg
Posted on Wed Sep 9th, 2026 @ 3:32am by Lieutenant JG Kurumi Hatanaka & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Takina Inoue & Lieutenant Mizuki Nakahara
1,623 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Kintsugi
Location: Daystrom Institute Okinawa Campus, Onna, Okinawa, Japan, Earth
Timeline: April 3, 2397
Situated just East of the city of Onna, looking out over the South China Sea, lay a sprawling complex comprising just shy of 180 acres. Originally the site of a long-abandoned golf course, the land was leased to a Swedish firm that was looking to build their new flagship campus. Barely 10 years after ground was first broken on the complex, the Daystrom Institute won its first contract with Starfleet, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Quickly rising to become one of Starfleet's premier contractors, the Daystrom Institute's Okinawa Campus was key to putting Onna on the map, helping to grow it from the 22nd most populated municipality in the entire Okinawa prefecture to the 10th, with the number of inhabitants exceeding 50,000 by 2360. By 2397, it was hands-down the largest employer in all of Onna and the surrounding municipalities, as well as being on close terms with local government officials who benefited from the institute using their communities as test beds for new and emerging technologies that helped to improve the quality of urban living.
And it was here that Commander Nishikigi and her troupe found themselves following a 4-day trek out from Starbase 43, bearing with them a storage crate containing a cache of partially-disassembled Herald Staff Weapons that had been recovered from their initial encounter with the Iconians.
Kurumi looked up at the fancy building of glass, steel and concrete. "This looks more like a luxury holiday resort than a research campus. You did get the right address didn't you Chisato? It is a big planet after all..."
"Pretty sure they wouldn't give me the wrong directions..." Chisato admitted uncertainly.
"So this is you admitting to the fact that you have next to no idea of where the hell we even landed?" Takina remarked with a rather unamused look.
"Well, they did say the campus was situated East of Onna, so it's not like I'm entirely clueless..."
She glanced over her shoulder. "...We are East of Onna, right?"
Takina buried her face in her hands. "Why did we let YOU fly the shuttle?"
It was at the moment that a few people came into sight, walking towards them. "Commander Nishikiji? I presume?" a tall man asked. He had short black messy hair and a slender build. Over a Starfleet Science uniform he wore a white labcoat. He stood over six foot tall and had a light stubble on his jaw.
"Ah, that would be me!" Chisato proclaimed as she hastily spun around to greet the newcomers. "And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
The taller man shifted slightly, the collar of his lab coat moving enough to spot four pips on his collar. "Captain Rintaro Okabe. Head of Iconian research here at the Daystrom Institute." he explained simply. He didn't seem like a captain at all, his uniform wasn't the maroon red one associated with the command. Instead it was still the science teal, and the shoulders were not white, but the same grey as the others. Anyone would be naturally confused, a man with the rank of Captain but a researcher and planet based scientist and not in command. "Welcome to Okinawa." he added to his introduction.
Chisato glanced back over at Takina and grinned. "See, Takina-Chan? I do know what I'm doing!"
"Sure you do," Takina grumbled with evident sarcasm.
"Are those the samples?" Okabe asked simply indicating to the crate with his hand.
"That it is," Chisato nodded, shifting her attention back towards Rintaro. "Everything in that crate was recovered from our initial encounter with the Heralds back in December; we've taken the liberty of cataloging them for easier analysis, but we do also have a full report on each item that can be provided upon request."
"And the working sample?" Okabe asked.
Chisato glanced back at Takina. "Takina-Chan, if you may?"
Nodding, Takina carefully unslung the Herald Staff Weapon and offered it up to Rintaro.
Okabe didn't take the weapon, instead he took a half step back from it. Then he looked at it from a distance. "I believe it would be best to get all the samples into the research institute." He explained. He reached into one of the pockets of the lab coat and pulled out four identification badges attached to lanyards.
"These are visitor passes. Although you will have to pass through a very thorough security check before you will be allowed into the building." He pointed towards the main entrance.
The group nodded before affixing their lanyards and following Rintaro inside.
After checking in with security and assuaging their concerns that Takina would not be firing Antiproton beams about the premises all willy-nilly, Rintaro led them towards an elevator. There was no call button, just a blank panel next to the door. He reached out and pressed his right thumb against the panel.
The doors opened to reveal an elevator. "Please step inside." He said indicating to them to enter by extending an arm out in the direction of the now open door.
As soon as they stepped in and the doors closed, the elevator began moving. However, it didn't feel like it was moving at all. "If you're wondering, the elevator is equipped with its own inertial dampeners. We are travelling at a fast speed straight down right now."
"How far down?" Kurumi asked simply.
"Three Kilometers." Okabe replied. “It gives the facility a reasonable chance of surviving an orbital strike. We can also use it as a shelter." He turned to look at the others. "The most important and dangerous technologies are developed and tested down here. You may see things down here you have never seen before. Anything you see beyond this point is highly classified. You will not discuss it with anyone outside this facility, nor amongst yourselves once you have left.” He told them sternly. "This area of Daystrom is not for the faint-hearted, and should not be taken lightly. Honestly, some of the stuff down here even scares me a little."
He paused for a moment. "I should warn you that this section of the Institute is not a conventional research facility. Some of the projects housed here are potentially catastrophic if mishandled.”
"You seem to forget who you're talking to, Captain," Chisato grinned, indicating towards the black stripe on her uniform. "We make a living out of secrecy."
"That I don't doubt. However, it's protocol to tell anyone who visits down here." Okabe said simply in response. "Then if you touch anything dangerous and get hurt, you were at least warned about the dangers in this area." The doors of the elevator swished open to reveal a long spacious corridor. Several other doors led off from this corridor, each with their own thumb controlled wall panels.
"Spooky..." Mizuki muttered to herself.
"We prefer the term Secure." Okabe said as he led them down the corridor and through the end door. As it opened they found themselves in a huge circular room. Around it reached high above them, with several walkways and balconies around the edge. In the very centre was a huge tree that sat in a large circular flower bed. The upper floors had doors and corridors leading off to various areas. The 'ground floor' had tables, chairs, sofas and even replicators. Banks of computer work stations stretched around its edge, where several officers were working. Also there were research and holographic projection tables dotted around.
"Welcome to the atrium. From here you can get anywhere in this section of the institute. It also serves as a common area where you can take breaks, relax or simply work with others if you need be." Okabe said. He pointed out the sofa's, the tables, replicators and the public work areas. "Each level has a variety of labs and workshops. We will be working in lab twelve, on level three. There are eight levels altogether."
He turned to the group. "Your access allows you access up to level three. The higher the level the further up it is on the atrium." he said pointing at the balconies and walkways. "The further up it is, the more classified or dangerous it is. So do not go above level three. Stick to your access and clearance."
"I dunno, still looks like a luxury resort to me..." Takina muttered as she gazed up at the artificial light source that was providing energy for the tree in lieu of natural sunlight.
"I mean, hey, if it helps them to relax, who are we to judge?" Chisato argued.
Okabe turned to face them. "We will be based in laboratory Six-Three-Delta" He explained. "Please follow me."
The group nodded and proceeded to follow Rintaro as he led them over one of the doors on the third level. He pressed his thumb to the panel by the door. Behind it was a large lab, with several workbenches, and computer consoles. Various pieces of equipment were around the room.
Many of the displays showed various known Iconian technology under study.
"Ah Captain, you're back!" a woman's voice called. A tall slender woman with blonde hair approached them. She didn't wear a teal uniform like Okabe. She instead wore an engineers uniform, and she had work overalls on. "Oh, you've brought the Iconian weapons. Fantastic." She said.
"Meet, Commander Winry Rockbell." Okabe introduced her. "Our specialist engineer on Iconian technology. She will be the one you'll be working with the most."
To be continued...
Posting by:
Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant JG Kurumi Hatanaka
Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Takina Inoue
Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Mizuki Nakahara
Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo
Captain Rintaro Okabe
Head of Iconian Research
Daystrom Institute
Commander Winry Rockbell
Inconian Technology Researcher
Daystrom Institute
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