The morning shift was well underway as Lieutenant Hazel Wallaker worked through the sensor reports from the night crew. She noted the report format had improved, and the requested details had finally been included. Hazel finished reviewing the details and filed them away for later cataloging. Without warning, a series of beeps and alarms erupted from her console, startling her and the bridge crew.

In the center chair, Commander Park turned to face her, “Lieutenant, report?”

Hazel scrambled to ascertain what was happening, her hands tapping at her console. “Computer picked up a signal on long-range sensors. Preliminary identification is…Shepherd.” Her heart rate quickened as she started cross-referencing the data with their information on the species.

Park stood, “Shepherd?” Her science background knowledge kicked in as she walked to Wallaker’s station, “They’re rarer than the Tholians.”

“Correct, sir.” Hazel worked the computer, “They’re about a day away from us in the R320 system. Long-range sensors have them slowly moving…I can’t tell what they’re up to. The system has two nebulas and three planets, with one barely habitable.” She pulled up the latest system reports, “The last time someone went through there was last year – one nebula is disruptive and stormy while the other is fairly calm. Nebula one is labeled ST332, and the other is labeled C233. 332’s motion has been consistent while 233’s was cataloged as slow.”

Park searched the station’s screens for clues. “And there are no known colonies or populations on the planets?” Wallaker shook her head. “Helm—set a course and engage – maximum warp. Lieutenant Wallaker, you have the CONN.” She walked to the ready room and stepped through the door, PADD in hand.

Captain Wren Walton looked up from her console at her desk and accepted the offered PADD. “Shephards? That’s new.”

The XO slid into the chair opposite her CO, “I did a lot of work in the academy studying them. There have been sightings every few years in various quadrants and even fewer communications. It’s common practice to keep our distance. They have superior firepower and are not open to negotiation. Why they’re here – that’s the mystery worth investigating.”

Wren finished reading the report and background, “They’re on a mission from God.” She chuckled at Park’s smile. They’d been working their way through early Earth entertainment recently, and “The Blues Brothers” was a recent watch.

“Well, they’ll shoot holes in us in pursuit of their mission. They’ve got a perfect record with every alien species they’ve met up with. Looking at the system, my guess is they’re there because of one of the nebulas.”

Walton returned the PADD to her, “Shepards don’t show up without a purpose. The good news is that nothing is alive in the sector. The bad news is that they’re doing…something in that sector. Put Wallaker and her team on it. Keep an eye. We’ve avoided upsetting the Tholians…I’d like to keep that record in place with the Shephards.” Park stood at attention and returned to the bridge.

Wallaker downed her second cup of coffee as a new day began. They were minutes from R320. They had spent the waking hours and some of the sleeping hours doing what work they could to understand what had brought the Shephards to the rimward spaces of the Federation. The two nebulas had been studied in depth, and she wasn’t sure it was the more violent of the two that they were after. They had attempted to hail the Shepherds and had been met with no response.

Helm reported, “Dropping from warp speed…now.”

Park stood from her chair, “Lieutenant Wallaker.”

“The Shephard ship is at the far end of the system, detecting that they’ve launched what reads as possible probes at each nebula. Working to see if we can get data from them.” After a few minutes, she worked the sensors and had to surrender, “They’re smart – whatever those probes are detecting and transmitting – they’re heavily encrypted. It will take the computer a day or two to unlock the data.”

Park stared at the Shepard ship, small as it was on the screen, as it moved lazily at the edge of the screen. “We now know they’re looking at the nebulas.” She tapped her fingers against her leg, “Both nebulas move…and the Shepherds operate to protect the Arbiters of Life as they travel the systems.”

Wallaker spoke from her station, “We need to see if we can locate the remaining Arbiters of Life and track their positions.”

The XO replied, “There’s a theory out there that we don’t have a complete recording of them. The possibility exists that whatever they’re preparing this system for…it could be one of the unknowns.” She kept her eyes on the view screen, “Or their reason for being here is entirely unrelated to them. We only know so much about them.”

Wallaker saw movement on her screens and quickly reported, “Captain, Shepard’s ship is leaving the sector!” She quickly tasked the sensors with tracking the ship as far as possible, “Engaging tracking program.”

The helm officer turned, a question on his face. Park shook her head, “No, we do not pursue, Lieutenant Maddy. Lieutenant Wallaker – assemble your team. We need the list of the Arbiters of Life, the last known positions, and the tracked and predicted movement of the nebula in this sector. They were here for a reason. Let’s see if we can find out why.”