“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

Deep Space 12 receives an unexpected visitor when a Romulan transport vessel suffers a catastrophic engine failure and requests emergency assistance. Forced to house hundreds of so-called “Protective State Detainees” while repairs are completed, the crew find themselves caught between the Prime Directive and Romulan sovereignty.

Officially, the detainees are not prisoners; most have never been charged with a crime, and few truly understand why they were taken from their homes.

As the station struggles to balance diplomacy, security, and compassion, one of the detainees disappears. What appears to be an escape quickly becomes something far more serious. Someone isn’t trying to free the prisoners; someone is trying to silence one of them.