Gin was sat in the centre seat on the bridge of the USS Auckland where she had been assigned as Executive Officer and in this moment Acting Commanding Officer. Her orders had simply stated to rendezvous at a specific set of coordinates to retrieve their new Commanding Officer and senior crew, but to initiate a crew exchange in order for the Corax to be returned to Starbase 93. The Captain would be updating them on their new orders once he was on board. In a way she was happy to vacate the centre seat, but also slightly disappointed her time as Commanding Officer had come to an end.

She had of course read over the personnel files and mission logs from their assignment in the Delta Quadrant and couldn't wait to meet her new colleagues. Seeing glowing recommendations and praise for each of the crew, she was slowly coming to realize that Captain Suin would most likely recognise her ambition and offer plenty of opportunities to learn and get practical experience under her belt

She wasn't going to lie to herself or the crew if asked but she was nervous. Parliament Class vessels normally stayed well within Federation space, but, if rumors were to be believed, Starfleet had them heading deep into the former territory of the now disbanded Romulan Star Empire, for what exactly never being confirmed, she knew better than to take stock in rumor but the mind does wander on occasion.

Looking around at the crew manning their stations, she knew they would soon be transported to the Corax before too long leaving her and Ensign Shan behind.

“Status report." she requested to the room at large.

“We are due to arrive at the rendezvous point at any moment, Captain.” the helm officer reported.

“Transfer orders have been confirmed to initiate crew exchange.” the security officer followed up with.

“All systems show green, Captain.” came the final report from Engineering.

“Thank you everyone.” Gin replied. “Drop us out of warp and bring us to a full stop.”

Gin felt the inertial dampners take hold slightly as the Auckland dropped out of warp and came to a complete stop.

Mere moments passed before she was alerted to an incoming warp signature. “It's the Corax, Captain.”

“Open a channel.” Gin looked directly at the viewscreen as the image of Captain Suin flickered into view. “Captain Suin, this is Lieutenant Fenway of the USS Auckland, its good to meet you.”

“And you, Lieutenant.” Aris replied. “We are ready to depart as soon as you have your people in position.”

“Roger that, Captain. Stand by.”

Aris turned to face his crew as they stood behind him. “Our new home awaits, shall we?”

“Right behind you, Captain.” Emma replied with a smile.

Aris turned back to face Lieutenant Fenway. “Ready to transport on your command.”

"Acknowledged, Captain. Gin replied.

“Transporter Room, commence transport immediately.” 

“Affirmative, Captain.” the transporter chief replied as Gin watched the majority of the bridge crew dematerialise around her. Getting to her feet she turned to face Taylor. 

“Ensign Shan.” she called out.

“Yes, Captain.” Taylor snapped to attention.

“Please report to the Transporter Room to meet the new arrivals and accompany Captain Suin to the Bridge, as the only other present with bridge officer training is yourself, we will need you to witness the transfer of command.” Gin requested. "I'll be in the conference room."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Taylor immediately headed to the nearest turbolift.

“Primary Transporter Room.” Taylor requested as the turbolift doors slid to a close behind him. After a brief wait, the doors slid open again in the main access corridor to the primary transporter room. Quickening his pace he entered the transporter room as the newly assigned senior crew began to remateralise.

The transporter room of the USS Auckland materialised in front of Aris' eyes. His first look at his new ship, Stepping of the pad he was greeted by a young officer. “Welcome to the Auckland, Captain.” Taylor introduced himself. “Ensign Taylor Shan, Tactical Officer.”

“Thank you, Ensign.” Aris replied with a smile and a brief handshake. “I believe the Captain is expecting me?”

Taylor took a step back again and relaxed a little. “Yes sir, I'm here to show you to the Bridge and witness the transfer of command to yourself, Sir.”

“That would be most welcome, Ensign.” Aris replied before turning to face his senior crew. “Please report to your quarters everyone and get yourself settled, I will be calling a meeting shortly.”

Aris waited with Taylor until the last of his crew had exited the transporter room. “Lead on, Ensign.” he motioned Taylor toward the door. 

As Aris and Taylor were making their way to Deck 2, Gin was pacing the bridge. She had just finished speaking with the Admiralty who had issued one final order. Two small boxes were beamed onto the bridge with strict orders that these were to be given to the Captain on his arrival.

“Come on Gin, deep breaths, settle down.” she murmured to herself, shaking some of the nervous energy from her arms and shoulders. "Its just a simple transfer of command, the crew exchange has been completed and everything ran as expected, she had no reason to be worried.

The distinctive hiss of the bridge door opening quickly caught Gin's attention as Ensign Shan escorted Commander Suin to the bridge. “Welcome to the USS Auckland.” she offered a hand to shake.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Aris smiled, shaking the offered hand with his own. “Shall we get this transfer confirmed and get down to business?”

“Of course, Commander.” Gin replied. “Computer, initiate transfer of command operations from Lieutenant Gin Fenway, Authorisation Fenway-3-1-2 Lambda Psi.”

The computer beeped once indicating it was now waiting for acknowledgement. “Computer, acknowledge transfer of command operations, Authorisation Suin, 7-2-2-6 Epsilon Sigma.”

Two more beeps sounded. “Command operations transfer witness acknowledgement, Authorisation Shan-6-6-4-2 Tango Kilo.”

“Command operations transferred.” The computer confirmed. "Log has been updated.” 

Once the confirmation had been received from the computer, Aris turned to face Gin. “Well, Lieutenant. Shall we adjourn to the ready room and bring each other up to speed?”

While Aris and Gin were getting acquainted, Emma, T'Keterk, Nora and Damien were heading to their assigned quarters. The group came to a pause outside the turbolift car as they each consulted their padds to reconfirm their living assignments and their locations relative to each other. All of them understanding this would be vastly different to the living arrangements on the Corax. 

They had grown accustomed to all being housed on the same level, but Parliament class vessels were different. As senior crew Lieutenant Junior Grade and above, T'Keterk and Nora would have individual quarters while Damien and Emma, although a part of the Senior Crew were assigned to a residential hallway located as near to the individual quarters as possible.

Damien and Emma both smiled at each other. Both thinking about how good it was that they wouldn't have to acclimate and get situated alone. As they parted, they each said their farewells for now, knowing that the Captain would be calling a briefing soon. 

Back on Deck Two, Aris led Gin to the ready room. “Can I get you anything?” he asked. “Tea? Water? Coffee”?

“Coffee, please, Captain.” Gin replied, taking her seat in front of the desk she turned to face Aris. “But only if you join me too.”

Aris turned and busied himself with the replicator. In a matter of moments a tray materialised holding 2 steaming cups of coffee with an assortments of milks, water and sugars. Placing the tray between them on the desk, Aris began to fix his coffee to his liking.

“How do you like it, Lieutenant?” Aris enquired as he hovered a spoon over the different options. 

“Just a splash of milk for me, Captain.” Gin confirmed as the mug was slid toward her. “Before we being, may I have a short moment of your time?”

“Of course, Lieutenant.” Aris replied with a smile. 

Getting the affirmative, Gin placed the two boxes received from the Admiralty on the desk. “These arrived shortly before your arrival on the bridge with strict instructions to hand these over once you had assumed command.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Aris pulled the boxes toward himself and unsealed them revealing a gold and a black rank pip respectively. Accompanying the pips were promotion authorisation, Aris being promoted to full Commander and Lieutenant Fenway being promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

“Congratulations, Commander.” Aris smiled. “I will update the ships log to reflect the change and update your classification once we are done here."

Settling back in his seat and getting comfortable, Aris retrieved his padd and transmitted some files to Commander Fenway. “I want to begin by saying thank you for the warm welcome and for doing an admirable job as Acting Commanding Officer. I completely understand we are new amongst the crew and I will come to rely on you to help bridge any divides as we become better acquainted.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Gin replied with a nod. “I'd be happy to assist.”

“Much appreciated, Commander.” Aris continued. “Now I have transferred some files relevant to our assignment to your padd to review in your own time. I will be calling a briefing within the hour to go over the particulars and to introduce everyone. Do you have any questions at this time?”

Casting a quick glance over the details, she was certain to review these at a later time. “Not at this time, Captain.”

“Perfect, you have the bridge, Commander.” Aris replied. “I have a few things to take care of before the briefing.”

“Yes sir.” Gin got to her feet and made for the bridge. “I will notify you if anything changes before the briefing.”

Aris had been working away in the ready room for well over an hour filing reports and reviewing mission data. All was quiet on the bridge. The Corax had returned to Starbase 93 a short while ago meaning it was time they resumed their course. Tapping the terminal in front of him, he activated the ship wide communication system.

“Attention all hands, this is Captain Suin. All department heads please report to the Deck 1 Conference Room in 30 minutes, repeat, all department heads please report to Desk 1 Conference Room in 30 minutes.”

Emma and Damien had spent their time since arriving getting situated in their assigned residential corridor and getting to know the other junior officers around them. They all seemed like a pleasant enough group with no one appearing too outwardly hostile to their coming aboard. They all had questions about the mission ahead, their previous postings and of course about their new captain. Some of the questions they could answer, but the only topic they couldn’t discuss was the current mission. With the transfer to the Auckland their proposed mission brief was no longer doable. They were both quietly hopeful they would hash out an adjusted mission directive that factored in the additional resources and power available to them now.

Surprisingly enough the other junior officers seemed oddly unaffected by a course deviation and crew transfer. It quickly dawned on the pair that this was probably business as usual. Different crew and researchers would be posted on a vessel like this as the variety of mission profiles would necessitate a flexible crew compliment. 

Hearing the announcement, Damien and Emma bade their crewmates farewell and headed for the nearest turbolift car, not wanting to be late for this.

Meanwhile, T’Keterk had unpacked his belongings and headed directly for Main Engineering to meet his new department. Entering the primary engineering lab, he was pleased with what he saw. The sight of the primary warp core, several decks tall was always something to behold. He wasn’t left to his own devices for very long when an officer noticed his arrival.

“Anything I can help you with, Lieutenant?” the young ensign asked as she approached.

“Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier.” T’Keterk replied. “Lieutenant T’Keterk. I have just been assigned as the Auckland’s new Chief Engineer.”

The ensign’s demeanour completely changed. “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. It’s good to have you with us.” she responded with a smile. “Let me quickly finish up here and i’ll show you around and get you up to speed.”

Before T’Keterk could respond, the Captain’s carried through Main Engineering. “We might have to postpone that tour, Ensign.”

“Of course, Lieutenant. I will see you up there.”

Nora had decided to instead head directly for the primary sickbay to see what she was working with. Deciding to unpack later when she was more comfortable. While she would have described the Corax’s sickbay as functional, this was quite a significant upgrade. Seven biobeds and a separate surgical biobed separated from the main ward. Her new office could be accessed directly across from the main entrance and directly from the small waiting area. There was a workstation conveniently placed in the main ward for when her duties required her to be present.

She was going to miss not being able to test out the capabilities of the Raven-class but was quite excited to see what this new ship was capable of. But that would have to wait until after the briefing being called. Smiling to herself she got ready to go to the Conference Room.

Aris was stood at the head of the table greeting everyone as they filed in. Many familiar faces and some unknown. Once everyone had settled he turned to face the table. “Can I get anyone anything before we start? Water? Juice? Hot Drink?”

Busying himself for a moment with the replicator, he turned to deposit a tray on the table carry everyone’s request. Once drinks were in hand, Aris took his seat and called attention to himself. “Thank you all for your attendance, for those who don’t know, I am Commander Aris Suin and I have been recently assigned here to serve as your Commanding Officer with the recently promoted Lieutenant Commander Gin Fenway serving as Executive Officer.”

Nods and greetings were directed toward the pair before Aris continued. “Lieutenant T’Keterk is joining us as Chief Engineer.” The Vulcan engineer bowed his head briefly to the rest of the crew. “Lieutnant Nora Yates joins us from Starfleet Medical and will be serving as Chief Medical Officer.”

Nora smiled and offered a quick hello to everyone as Aris continued. “Ensign Emma Swain will be manning navigation while Officer Damien Andrews is joining us as Provisional Chief Science Officer.”

Picking up where Aris left off, Gin continued going around the table. “Joining us today we have Ensign Malra who has been our Chief Operations Officer and Fabrication Specialist. She has been kind enough to supervise Engineering until your arrival. Ensign Taylor Shan is here representing Security and Tactical.”

Once all the introductions had been made, Aris activated the holo terminal in the centre of the table and set a small stack of padds on the table. Taking his seat he called attention back to himself.

“I want to thank all of you firstly for being so welcoming and accommodating since we came aboard, secondly I am sure there are many questions about your mission going forward?”

The three crew from the Auckland all nodded slightly at Aris’ questioning.

“Priority orders have been received from Starbase 93. An outbreak of Terrellian Plague has erupted amongst the former territories of the Romulan Star Empire and an official call for assistance has been received. Due to the nature of this assignment, we are ordered to report to the Proteus System and assist the mining colonies in preventative measures, treatments and infrastructure supports.”

Taking a sip of his drink, he tapped a few more commands into the terminal in front of him. “I have transmitted the latest updates to your padds for you to review in your own time. I would like Lieutenant T’Keterk and Ensign Malra to work together to identify any crucial infrastructure and power repairs that may be likely. I’d also like you to go over any supply chain issues we may be able to assist with.”

T’Keterk and Joci both nodded in acknowledgment.

“Lieutenant Yates and Officer Andrews, please continue with your mapping operations and research. I am authorising the use of the cargo bays to be used as a quarantine facility if the outbreak necessitates it.”

“You got it, Captain.” 

“Of course, Sir.”

Finally turning his attention to Taylor, Aris spoke up. “Ensign Shan, I need a tactical analysis of the Proteus System to identify any weak or blind spots in their defense grids. As we also have no idea of the situation on the ground outside of the official reports we are receiving, I would like you to also arrange some drills to ensure, in the unlikely event the Auckland is compromised, that we will be able regain control.”

“Yes, Sir.” Taylor answered, all business. “I will also being scheduling regular patrols and arranging security detail proposals for those on the ground. Are we are of any potential threats?”

“Thank you, Ensign.” Aris replied. “A call was also sent to the Fenris Rangers who may be operating in the region. I don’t anticipate any hostilities and contact is predicted to be minimum but I would rather we avoid antagonizing the Rangers if possible.”

“Nothing further, Captain.” Taylor replied as he sat back to process the orders he had received.

“Ensign Swain.” Aris spoke to Emma. “Continue our previous heading, Warp 8 and alert me on approach to the former Neutral Zone. Any minor course corrections and changes I will leave to your judgement.”

“Yes, Sir.” Emma quickly replied. Aside from their jaunt into the Delta Quadrant, Emma hadn’t flown outside of Federation Space and she was looking forward to seeing what was beyond the border.

“Are there any more questions?” Aris asked the room looking over his command crew. When no one spoke up, he continued. “Very well, dismissed everyone. Commander Fenway, I’ll meet you on the bridge shortly.”

Gin and Emma both got to their feet after the Captain had dismissed them and headed for the bridge each taking their station. Emma sat at the navigation console began reviewing current astrometric data and calculating the best way to reach Proto II. Gin took the seat directly to the captain’s right and began to read over the information Aris had transmitted to their padds. She must have been making a face as she read because Emma had spoken up.

“You look concerned, Commander.”

“Not at all, Ensign.” Gin looked up at the new navigator. “Just a bit anxious.”

“May I ask, why? Emma replied, giving her full attention to the Executive Officer. Emma had stayed updated on the evolving situation since the day they had all crowded into the Captain’s ready room on the ship that was now returning back to Starbase 93.

“It feels a bit silly.” Gin answered. “But ships like this aren’t often assigned postings outside of Federation space especially into former Romulan territory, unless there are exceptional circumstances.”

“Of course Commander, though I would agree these circumstances are definitely exceptional.” Emma continued. “The people of the Proteus System are hardly in a position to deal with a plague outbreak.”

“If official reports are to be believed, their medical facilities seem to be coping well, but for an outbreak of this size? of a preventable illness?” Gin was almost in disbelief, Terrellian Plague was a known very treatable illness. 

Knowing she hadn’t had a chance to go over all the information, Emma gave her the cliff notes. “Proto II and it’s surrounds were a former Reman mining colony, so we can guarantee the Romulan overseers would have been vaccinated against this illness, why would they give the Reman’s the same courtesy?” Emma’s face darkened slightly. “What consequence was it if a few Reman’s lost their lives.”

Knowing the relations between the Remans and Romulan Star Empire at the time, Gin nodded in acknowledgment. Up until today she had never known of the existence of the Proteus System, but with the dissolution of the Empire, more information was coming to light. Circumstances were exceptional indeed. The actions taken here today could have lasting results in future dealings with the independent worlds and systems. 

“Besides, apart from the Delta Quadrant, I haven’t had many opportunities to travel beyond the Federation border so we can face this together.” Emma replied with a smile. “And I doubt the Admiralty would put us intentionally in harms way. So lets take advantage of the low level of supervision and do what we can for these people”

“Fair point.” Gin conceded. “And thank you for your perspective.”

“Any time, Commander.” Emma replied before turning back to her calculations. “Oh and Commander, every second Friday at 1900 hours we all get together in the lounge to talk about our weeks, debrief, catch up on news and get out of duty mode. You’re more than welcome to join us so we can all get to know each other better.”

“Thank you again, Ensign.” Gin replied. “I will have to see if I can make the time.” This would take some time getting used to. The Auckland generally had a permanent command crew with specialists and researchers rotating through, but if this group of crew made up of a fresh graduate, a repatriated citizen and seasoned professionals could be this tight-knit after one assignment together, Gin felt this camaraderie could be an asset to the ship but would withhold her judgement until she got so see every one in action.

Turning her attention back to the padd in her hand she continued to read over the information and updates. The silence comfortable. It must have been less than ten minutes before Emma spoke up again. “Course corrections and modifications have been completed to compensate for the additional speed and power, Commander. Re-engaging warp drive.”

“Acknowledged, Ensign.” Gin replied setting her padd down and sitting up. The captain would no doubt be joining them shortly now that they were underway. “Lets see what’s waiting for us on the other side.” she said mostly to herself.

T’Keterk and Joci had entered Main Engineering after attending the crew meeting. “I believe I now have time for that tour.” T’Keterk raised an eyebrow at the Bajoran walking beside him. 

“Way ahead of your Lieutenant.” Joci replied. “Once the tour is complete we will meet the rest of the crew then get down to business. I imagine we will be working quite closely together for this assignment.”

“Agreed, Ensign.” T’Keterk replied. “I look forward to seeing what we can do.”

The pair spent the better part of two hours going over all the facilities and surprises the ship had to offer before they reached their final destination: Main Shuttlebay and the main cargo bays which also included the ship’s onboard fabrication units. “And welcome to my home when I’m not pottering about Main Engineering.” Joci smiled as she directed T’Keterk inside. 

“Cargo Bay 1 holds all our additional raw materials and components requires for the fabrication units, Cargo Bay 2 has been earmarked for Isolation and Quarantine protocols if the mission necessitates it.” Joci explained as they walked. “Cargo Bay 3 holds food and medical supplies while Cargo Bay 4 is not regularly used as it is configurable into emergency accommodations, however if there is cargo specific to the mission at hand, it will be stored here if we can’t secure it elsewhere.”

Taking it all in, T’Keterk had noticed they had reached the Fabrication Labs. By the looks of it, several programs were running. “What is currently being fabricated?” He asked as he looked toward Joci.

“Up until now they have been fabricating ship components such as EPS manifolds, plasma injectors and shuttle components.” Joci replied. “Im sure you noticed the small fleet of them as we passed main shuttlebay?”

T’Keterk had indeed noticed around sixteen shuttlecraft and just as many auxiliary craft to ensure the Auckland was prepared no matter the assignment.. “Bit hard to miss.” he replied in jest as Joci led the pair back toward Main Engineering. 

Back in Main Engineering and taking up positions near the warp core, Joci caught everyone’s attention. “Alright, listen up everyone, with me is Lieutenant T’Keterk. He joins us from the USS Corax and has been assigned as our new Chief Engineer.”

Joci waited a moment for the noise to reach an acceptable level again before continuing. “I will hand over to T’Keterk and he will fill you all in on our new assignment.”

“Thank you, Ensign.” T’Keterk replied with a nod before facing the rest of the engineering crew. “As Ensign Malra mentioned, I am Lieutenant T’Keterk, newly assigned Chief Engineer and it is a privilege to be here.” 

There was a general murmurs of greetings and welcomes before T’Keterk continued. “I’m sure you are all anxious to hear about our next assignment, so please if you can, hold all questions until the end.”

Murmurs of acknowledgment were returned as T’Keterk consulted his padd. “Let me preface this by saying now, this current assignment will have us operating outside of Federation space. Territories inside the former Romulan Star Empire have formally called for aid to quell an outbreak of Terrellian Plague.”

Taking a moment to let everyone absorb this, T’Keterk continued. “We are being urgently assigned to provide humanitarian aid to the Proteus System, a former mining colony that liberated itself after the collapse of the empire. We will be assisting with infrastructure and defensive upgrades, emergency shelters and fabrication and synthesis of supplies due to supply chain constraints.”

“This is a chance to make a difference to the lives of these colonists and improve relations between the Reman’s and the Federation. I have uploaded all relevant information into the ships computer and would ask if you are not up to date with your inoculations, please arrange a booster regimen with Doctor Yates.” Turning to face Ensign Malra he muttered. “Can you think of anything I have missed.?” With a slight shake of her head, T’Keterk refocused on the gathered crew.

“I now open up the floor to questions.”

The next half hour had T’Keterk adding additional information and filling in some blanks including the Fenris Rangers, possible conflicts and additional functions the Auckland may be required to undertake. T’Keterk was pleased with the questions and how they all fit into the wider scope of the mission. He had some good crew operating under him and Ensign Malra would be an invaluable asset to the department and assisting T’Keterk as needed.

He was going to miss not being present on the bridge the majority of the time, but on a ship this size, the Engine Room was where he was meant to be. Although he had the stoicism and logic of a Vulcan, he couldn’t help but smile a little. 

Refreshing his now cold coffee at the replicator, Aris left the conference room for the bridge now that they were underway. Hot coffee now in hand he headed directly to the turbolift to return to Deck 2. Entering the turbolift car he requested his destination.

“Deck 2, Main Bridge.” Aris requested as the turbolift hummed to life and sped him along. 

As the doors opened again, Aris muttered a thank you as he exited the car. The bridge was relatively quiet when Aris arrived and took his seat. Gin was absorbed in her padd reading over the mission details while Emma was monitoring their position and making adjustments as needed.

“Report.” he requested as he settled into the centre seat for the first time.

“Initial estimates indicate arrival in the Proteus System in approximately 3-4 hours, Captain.” Emma responded from the navigation console.

“Ensign Malra and Lieutenant T’Keterk are currently in engineering.” Gin added sitting upright. “Officer Andrews is reconfiguring one of the Labs for virology and gene sequencing, with Lieutenant Yates’ input when she is not in the Primary Sickbay.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Aris replied before turning to face Taylor. “Ensign Shan, have the away team’s and security detail been organised?”

“Yes, Sir.” Taylor responded. “Away Team Alpha is comprised of yourself, Lieutenant’s Yates and T’Keterk with Officer Andrews supporting. Away Team Bravo is comprised of Commander Fenway and Ensign Malra with additional support from medical staff and and engineering team. While team’s Charlie and Delta are made up of various configurations of Science, Medical and Engineering staff.”

Aris nodded, not finding any issue with the make up of the teams. “What’s your assessment of the planetary defenses and potential weaknesses?”

“From the data we have obtained and initial long range scans, I have reason to believe since the Romulan departure from the system, the planetary defense grid is nearly non existent and the sensor grid is not much better. Intel suggests the functioning satellites are designed to act as little more than a deterrent rather than a viable means of fighting back.”

“Thank you, Ensign.” Aris replied as he thought about the new information. “Can we do anything to improve what is already here and plug any critical vulnerabilities?”

“Yes, Sir.” Taylor continued. “I have submitted a requisition order to Operations for additional power cells, metal plating and targeting upgrades. I do however hope to have a more in-depth analysis once we have arrived.”

“Very good.” Aris smiled. “As you were.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Taylor replied diverting his attention back to the console in front of him.

With some time to kill, Aris settled back in his seat and began updating some notes on his padd based on the reports from the crew. He would make a personal call to the Engineering section upon arrival to get an update from T’Keterk and Joci. Getting comfortable for the last leg of their journey he began to review updated sensor logs and communications from the former neutral zone. 

They were here under invitation but Aris had no intention of drawing too much attention to themselves and antagonizing the locals. Too much was unknown, and too much was at stake if this assignment went wrong.

In what felt like no time, Emma spoke up from her console. “Approaching the Proteus System, Captain. Preparing to drop out of warp on your order.”

“Thank you, Ensign.” Aris replied as he put his padd to the side. “Engage Yellow Alert, drop us out and bring us to a full stop, I want a good look at what’s ahead before we go any further.”

“Aye, Sir.” Emma replied as she disengaged the warp drive, the lights dimming around the bridge as yellow alert was engaged. Swifly disengaging thrusters and impulse power, Emma bought the Auckland to a complete stop. “Full stop engaged, Captain.”

“Begin a long range scan, be on the lookout for anything.” Aris got to his feet and walked closer to the viewscreen. In this moment at the fringes of the Proteus System, it felt like they were balanced on the edge of a blade. So much could go right, but so much could go very very wrong. 

Every person encountered, every vaccination, every medical procedure and every project undertaken would be examined, analysed and scrutinised. They could very much be in the midst of a noticeable advancement in diplomatic relations, or amongst one of the many perceived failures of the Federation when it came to the Romulan’s and by extension the Reman’s.