Two security officers stepped through the door. An older man stood between them, his hands cuffed in the front. The admiral looked up from her desk and sighed. Starfleet Security had received the order hours ago. At this point, the cuffs served no purpose except to demean him.

“Uncuff the prisoner.” 

Admiral Reyes rose from her desk and approached. The security officers released the cuffs, and she handed the man a PADD.

“Dr. Thomas Duncan Brooks,” Admiral Reyes began. “Based on your heroic actions during humanity’s darkest hour, and by the consent of the magistrate, you are hereby granted early release from the New Zealand Penal Colony.”

Dr. Brooks opened his mouth to reply, but Admiral Reyes didn’t let him get a word in.

“Further, your actions demonstrated a commitment to duty, to your fellow officers, and to the Federation at large that all who wear the Starfleet delta should aspire to,” Admiral Reyes continued as plucked a box off her desk. “And as such, I hereby reinstate you to the rank of Commander with all the rights and privileges thereof.” She opened the box, within which rested the three solid pips that had been ripped from his collar four years prior.

“I… I…” Dr. Brooks fumbled for his words. “Thank you.”

“No Commander, thank you.”

The security officers that had just brought Dr. Brooks up here seemed more than a bit confused by the exchange. They had been briefed that Inmate C-621-224 would be released, but they knew little else about him besides that he was a convict serving a five year term. They certainly had not expected a commissioning ceremony.

“And you two,” Admiral Reyes said, looking at the pair. “You can go. Dr. Brooks and I have work to do.” She watched them leave with distaste. Not only did she disagree with the circumstances that had put Dr. Brooks behind bars in the first place, but she was furious with them for how they treated him after Frontier Day. The man was a hero, by every definition of the word, and yet their first priority after the battle was to slap the cuffs back on. Thankfully though, his freedom was not ultimately their decision, and the magistrate judge had been far more reasonable.

Once the security officers had departed, Dr. Brooks looked over at her. “Work to do?”

“A mutual acquaintance of ours assures me you’re one of the best science minds he’s ever known,” Admiral Reyes explained. “And we just happen to have one of the most advanced mobile laboratories in all of Starfleet aboard our ship.”

“Forgive me, but the Duderstadt class leaves a few things lacking,” Dr. Brooks replied as he looked around. The multirole light cruiser was quick, nimble and carried an impressive sensor suite, but it lacked the laboratories and equipment necessary for intense scientific research.

“Oh no, this ship is just a loaner,” Admiral Reyes chuckled. They might have blown up a Starfleet black site and fought their way through a Borg-facilitated coup together, but in the chaos, they’d missed some of the simple things. “Our actual command is the USS Polaris, an Odyssey-class vessel that hosts the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, a specialized, cross-functional mission unit intended to fuel Starfleet’s innovation engine through discovery, investigations and diplomacy on the frontier.”

She handed Dr. Brooks a PADD with the details and gave him a minute to skim it.

“Sounds like quite a gig you’ve got there,” Dr. Brooks offered with a smile. The reality, he knew, was that while he was free, it was unlikely he’d be getting a lot of job offers any time soon. This one seemed pretty damn good. “Count me in.”

Before anything further could be said, Admiral Reyes’ combadge chirped. 

“Ma’am,” reported the Lieutenant Commander Eidran over the link. “You have an incoming call from Rear Admiral Alex Grayson, Fourth Fleet Command.”

Admiral Reyes quirked an eyebrow. She was expecting a call from Fourth Fleet Command, but from Commodore Jori, the Task Force 93 Commander. “If you’ll excuse me, Dr. Brooks,” she apologized, to which Dr. Brooks nodded and promptly excused himself to go get settled below deck. “Put him through to my Ready Room.” 

Admiral Reyes took a seat at her desk, and after a moment, the seal of the United Federation of Planets was replaced by a middle aged Rear Admiral with an appearance equal parts rugged and professional. “Good morning Admiral. I gather you’re recovering well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Admiral Reyes smiled. “The miracles of modern medicine.”

“Miracles indeed,” Rear Admiral Grayson nodded, although his tone hardly sounded invested in her recovery. “It sounds like the Serenity is also space worthy again, even after you put her through the ringer in, oh, I don’t know… the Minara Nebula… the Ciatar Nebula… and Earth… just to name a few.” There was an odd bite to his words as he mentioned each location, and he did not look impressed.

“She did us good. The ship and her crew,” Admiral Reyes replied, wondering where the Rear Admiral was going with this. “We did what needed to be done.”

“Just like the Polaris? And the Diligent? And the Ingenuity?” Rear Admiral Grayson pressed. “And the other ships we sent with you to retake Nasera?” It wasn’t lost on him that those ships and their crew had not all made it home.

“Yes, them too…”

“I’m glad to hear, Admiral,” Rear Admiral Grayson replied as his eyes narrowed on her. “Because there’s an old expression that’s fitting here: you break it, you buy it.”

“Excuse me?”

“The USS Polaris is an impressive platform, essentially a starbase with a warp drive, but after recent events, it has become clear that the mission of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity could benefit from some support ships,” Rear Admiral Grayson explained. “As such, Fourth Fleet Command has elected to establish Polaris Squadron which, in addition to your flagship, will consist of the USS Diligent for tactical support, the USS Serenity for reconnaissance and rapid response, and the USS Ingenuity for mobile research.”

“That’s excellent,” Admiral Reyes replied with a big smile. Captain Vox, Commander Lee, and their ships had proven themselves during the Battle of Nasera, and she’d grown fond of the Serenity since wrangling it from Commodore Jori. “But why do I gather from your tone that there’s something else?”

“Because there is,” Rear Admiral Grayson confirmed sternly. “Effective immediately, the USS Polaris and her squadron report into Task Force 47. My task force.” That’s why he was calling rather than Jori. “And let me be very clear with you: your maverick attitude and your bloody tendencies, Imya might have let them slide, but I won’t. There is a sanctity in life that you’d best to remember.”

“There is indeed,” agreed Admiral Reyes. How could he think those 935 lives lost over Nasera didn’t haunt her every single day? Or that, when the numbers were finally in, that the same would not be true for the battle of Sol? “But there is also a responsibility we have to the free people of the Federation, and we rose to the call, again and aga…”

“Spare me, Admiral,” Rear Admiral Grayson interrupted. “It works well with your officers as you fly into battles of impossible odds, but what if you didn’t have to?” The rhetorical nature of his question did not warrant a response. “I’m acutely aware of your successes during the recent crises, and we owe you our gratitude for it, but I want you to think long and hard before you do it again. You strike me as an aging war hero working a bit too hard to martyr yourself. If it was just you, you pays your money, and you takes your chances, but it’s not. We trust you with the lives of thousands of officers and crew, and you’d best remember it.”

“Understood,” Admiral Reyes replied curtly. The Rear Admiral had come into this call intending to say his peace, and there was no point in arguing. At the end of the day, she had no regrets over the decisions she’d made, and she’d do it again if it were necessary. “Is there anything else?”

“In fact, there is,” Rear Admiral Grayson nodded, his mannerisms softening and becoming more friendly. “There are concerning developments occurring on the frontier. I’m sending the details on a secondary carrier wave. Link up with your squadron and see what you can find.”

“We’ll depart within the day,” Admiral Reyes assured him. She was ready to get back out there. They’d been over Earth nursing their wounds for far too long, and a good old mystery would be the perfect way to stretch the legs once more.

Rear Admiral Grayson adjusted in his chair as if he was about to close the link, but then he stopped, appearing to remember something else he needed to say. “Oh, and one last thing. It has been brought to my attention by the Judge Advocate General’s office that they feel you have been impeding their investigation into your Hazard Team for its actions over Nasera.”

“I assure you that my team behaved…”

“It is presumptive to assure me as such,” Rear Admiral Grayson stopped her firmly. “And it’s not your place to do so either. You are to ensure that the JAG has full access to Commander Lewis and his team – no shore leave, no extended away mission, and certainly no more month long soirees on commandeered ships – until that investigation is complete.” He had to agree with the JAG that it was more than a little convenient that Admiral Reyes had taken her whole Hazard Team, but practically no one else, with her when she left Nasera aboard the Serenity.

Admiral Reyes nodded but said nothing. Again, arguing would get them nowhere.

“Then with all that said,” Rear Admiral Grayson concluded with a smile. “Welcome to Task Force 47. I look forward to working alongside you and the outstanding sailors of Polaris Squadron in the times ahead.”