“The greeting area has been set for the arrival, and the diplomatic team is completing their final checks.”  Captain Karrik confirmed the stage was set.  He returned to speaking with his operations chief.

Captain Geronimo Fontana stood on the command bridge of the USS K’Ehleyr.  He was thankful to have Kerrik and his crew along for this mission.  While he had taken several crash courses in Diplomatic Operations when he landed in 72 as XO, he was still learning.  Kerrick’s attention to detail was legendary and a point of pride in the Task Force.  Diplomacy was a way of life, and the USS K’Ehleyr was often the opening act when it came to following up with the points and places in the operating theatre.

Captain O’Gallagher stepped through the doors and onto the bridge.  Geronimo turned and extended his hand to the new XO for Task Force 72, “Welcome aboard the USS K’Ehleyr.  Good to have you with us.”

O’Gallagher shook Captain Fontana’s hand and said, “I’m pleased to meet you, Captain.” The new TFXO continued, “Let’s get to business immediately, shall we?”  

Fontana agreed and was quietly impressed with the man, straight to the point.  He led him to a conference room off the hallway to the bridge. He handed O’Gallagher a PADD,   “A former colony has been pushed and pressured by The True Way.  The history is complicated – they were originally a Cardassian Colony, but they broke free and joined with the Federation.  After a few years, they fell by the wayside of our attention, went on their own, and started interfacing with The True Way.”

”It’s a delicate matter, something the diplomatic attaché team should tread carefully at,” said O’Gallagher. After spending a few more minutes discussing the matter, they both realised the severity of the matter.

“It’s a delicate dance.  As easy as it looks on PADD, it’s a carefully choreographed dance.”  He admitted, “I’m still learning those later steps.  We’ve got an incredible diplomatic attache team…been spending a lot of time getting to know them. You’ll love ‘em.  Even Larry. He has a dry sense of humor.  Bone dry.  It takes you a few days to pick up on it…but you’ll get there eventually.”

”I’m sure I’ll do, Captain. Diplomatic attaché teams are one of the more dangerous jobs on the side. I’ll spend time reviewing their files and getting to know them, especially this Larry, sir,” O’Gallagher said crisply. 

He offered a PADD to his new TFXO, “That’s the background on the colony, their relationship with everyone, and what has been locked in place and what’s still on the table.  The team will take the lead, but we’re there to show them we’re serious in our offer and intent.”

Browsing through the PADD given by the commanding officer, he started reading through it and commented halfway, “Interesting.” O’Gallagher had his eyebrows raised up.

Fontana replied in an amused and dry tone, “That word can be pretty loaded, depending on the situation.  We can potentially bring this colony back into the Federation field.  I’d like you to run interference with any Cardassian elements in the delegation.  You speak the language – keep an eye and an ear out.  One of the assistant negotiators has a love of Human food and drink, while their legal expert has been trying to learn to speak Vulcan.”

“Aye, Captain. Have several officers run surveillance and keep an eye out on the delegation. As much as this is a diplomatic matter, we still need security measures up to standard,” asked O’Gallagher. 

Fontana understood where his new XO was coming from.  They’d come out of Frontier Day only to face The Borg all over again.  As the saying went, ‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.’ Nobody in the Federation or Starfleet wanted to test the theory of what a third round of being fooled would look like.  He cautioned, “The softer touch, the better, Captain.  The people out here have had a hard time trusting the Federation and us after we’ve more or less abandoned them.  They’re wary of any offer we come to the table with, no matter the conversations we’ve had leading up to this.  If they suspect we’re spying on them or something untoward, the damage control will be next to impossible.  Diplomacy is life here today.”

His badge chirped, and Captain Karrik reported they had arrived.  The delegation was being transported abroad.  Geronimo gave his new XO one last look before he led them out the conference room door, “Let’s make this right.”