Just as they finished their survey mission along the Breen borders, the Saratoga had already begun to head to their next location when things would take a drastic turn. Azras had just gotten off the channel with Captain Jori about a new situation that had arisen within the Delta Quadrant that has her on her toes. Standing up from her chair she walked over to the replicator to grab a cup of coffee, as she knew she would be here for a while longer reviewing the information that was sent to her before she would share it with her staff.

Picking up the cup from the replicator, she walked back to her desk and sat down letting out a bit of a sigh. Taking a deep breath, taking in the sweet aroma of the coffee she took a sip of her coffee and would begin to read,

“Azras to the bridge set a course for Deep Space 47,” Azras ordered as she then felt the ship alter its course. A few minutes passed by in silence as she sat there, “Senior staff report to the observation lounge in fifteen minutes.” Azras said as she terminated the comm, she turned back to reading the information about the situation.

Once she finished reading everything she gathered the information together onto a padd. Standing up from her chair she walked out of her ready room heading towards the turbolift, that would lead her to the observation lounge. Standing in the turbolift she began to think, she knew that there would have to be a tough decision made which would upset some of her staff. It would be for their safety and that of the rest of the crew.

A few moments later the lift came to a stop with the doors sliding open in front of her, taking a deep breath she stood there for a brief moment before she exited the lift and began to head to the lounge where she was sure her staff was waiting. Upon entry, she nodded to her senior staff that was sitting at the table waiting on her.

Once again silence had begun to fill the room as everyone was curious as to what was going on with the sudden course change. “Why the sudden course change?” Deza spoke up breaking the long silence as she looked at the Captain.

“That is why I called you all here,” Azras began as she tapped a few buttons on the console in front of her pulling up the information on the screen. “I just received word from Command that there has been a situation that had taken place within the Delta Quadrant that we have been dispatched to assist with,” Azras said as the others raised their eyebrows at that statement.

Azras had spent the next few minutes explaining the current situation that had taken place, going over every detail that was given to her. The senior staff listen intently as everything was laid out in front of them. 

“That doesn’t explain why we are going to Deep Space 47,” Ritru spoke up with confusion in her voice.

Azras knew this question was going to be asked, she let out a huge sigh before she responded, “there is something within the Blood Dilithium that has a negative effect on telepaths, which are currently unknown. I have decided that for their safety and this crew’s safety, all telepaths will be staying behind.” Azras said as she looked at the few that were amongst her senior staff. “Not only that, we will likely be running into the Devore Imperium, which is known for its extreme hate of telepaths.” Azras also noted bringing up all known information about them as well.

“Is there a way we can counter the effects of the Blood Dilithium?” Jeesa asked as she looked at her.

“Currently there isn’t much information on how it affects telepaths to be able to come up with a counter,” Azras replied.

Jeesa just nodded, she was disappointed that she and a few others wouldn’t be going with though she understood why the captain was doing what she was doing. “Understood sir,” Jeesa replied as the others did so as well.

“Do we know if it has the same effect on Vulcans?” T’Prel asked looking at the Captain.

“As of right now, that is currently unknown whether or not it will have the same effect, though as a precaution you will be the only one to stay on board,” Azras replied looking at her first officer who just nodded in response.

“Any further questions?” Azras asked looking around the room.

Both Jeesa and Teila looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the Captain, “who will be our replacements while we are away?” Teila asked as she ran the largest medical team on the ship and Jeesa was the chief science officer.

“Sh’esirr will take over for medical and Damir will take over science during this mission,” Azras replied as they both nodded. They were confident that they would be in good hands with the two.

“Understood,” Jeesa replied.

“If there is nothing else you are all dismissed,” Azras said with a pause before looking at her first officer. “T’Prel please inform all those that will be staying behind during this mission,” Azras said as everyone nodded, getting up from their chairs they all headed out towards their stations.

Azras remained in the observation lounge for a little while longer as she stood near the window looking out lost in thought. They have been through a lot in the last few months as a crew, responding to a lot of crises that have taken place from the ion storms within the Paulson’s Nebula to the collapse of the Star Empire.

She began to think about what was ahead of them, she hated the fact that she would have to leave some crew behind. It was a tough decision though she knew it was for their safety that they stay behind. After a few more minutes of standing there lost in thought, her commbadge chirped.

“Sir, we have reached Deep Space 47,” T’Prel said.

Taking a deep breath she tapped her commbadge, “understood.” Azras replied before tapping it again, making her way out of the observation lounge. She made her way towards the bridge. Upon arrival onto the bridge, the ship had already docked and departures were already underway.

“Sir, the crew that is staying behind has begun to depart the ship,” T’Prel said as she stood up from the chair she was sitting in, moving over so the captain could sit in her seat.

“Understood,” Azras replied as she sat down.

A few minutes had passed by as those on the bridge remained silent, Odan had informed her that everyone who was remaining at Deep Space 47 had departed the ship. 

“Take us out,” Azras said looking at Deza who just nodded and the ship began to move away from the space station. Once the ship was clear she gave the order to head towards the Badlands. 

Looking at everyone, “remember to take things easy and keep an eye on key systems while we travel through the Badlands,” Azras replied as everyone nodded. A few minutes passed by, and everyone was at their stations working as they traveled. She didn’t need to be a telepath to see that everyone was stressed and on their toes for this upcoming mission into a territory they had never been to.

Though she kept a cool and collected demeanor, inside she was worried and very unsure of what was truly in store for them. They had reached the Badlands, the Saratoga had dropped out of warp and began to slowly make its way through. 

Silence once again filled the room, though it had been like that for the past few minutes as everyone was once again on the edge of their seats as Deza maneuvered through the treacherousness of the Badlands avoiding the storms that would randomly hit an area.

Several hours of this had passed by until they finally exited the Badlands, “status report?” Azras asked looking over at Jheria who had remained on the bridge during their travels.

“All systems are good, and no damages have been reported,” Jheria replied as she looked over at the Captain from her console.

Nodding she then turned back to Deza who was sitting at the helm, “set a course for the Barzan wormhole at maximum warp.” Azras ordered as she stood up from her chair to stretch her legs after sitting for too long.

“Aye sir,” Deza replied tapping a few commands in her console. “Course and speed laid in sir,” came her reply a short time later.

“Engage,” she replied and a short time later the ship jumped to warp heading for their destination. 

Looking at T’Prel, “I will be in my office.” Azras said as T’Prel just nodded in return getting up from her chair. Azras made her way to her ready room where she would grab a cup of coffee and take a seat near the window. This is where she would spend the next few hours before heading back to her quarters for the night.

It had been a few days since they had started their journey towards Starbase 38, the bridge was full of activity as the alpha shift came on to carry out the changeover. Soon they would be arriving at the Starbase, though upon arrival they would have an hour or so wait before the wormhole would open for thirty minutes for them to travel through. They would be in the Delta Quadrant for a good thirty days as the wormhole only opened once every thirty days.

Azras walked out of the turblift with a steaming mug of hot coffee in her hand, as she made her way toward the center of the bridge she nodded to her first officer who stood up from her chair. “Good morning Captain,” T’Prel said as Azras walked over to take the center seat.

“Good morning Commander,” Azras replied with a smile before she took a sip and sat down in the chair. “Status report?” Azras asked as she looked at her.

T’Prel nodded before taking her seat after the captain had sat down. “Nothing major to report, other than there was a slight fluctuation with the warp core overnight but it was something minor and easily fixed,” T’Prel said as she began to give the Azras a detailed report of what transpired overnight. “Other than that things have been pretty quiet, we will be arriving at Starbase 38 here shortly,” T’Prel added as she handed her the padd with all the information on it.

“Wonderful,” Azras replied as she took the padd from her.

Things began to settle down on the bridge once the night shift had finished with their reports. Silence had once again filled the room as the staff began to work, everyone seemed to be making sure they were prepared for what would await them within the Delta Quadrant.

A short time later the ship dropped out of warp as it transitioned to impulse engines to travel the rest of the way. There were a lot of ships waiting for the wormhole to open as well, and she wasn’t all that surprised to see that many ships. There were some ships that she didn’t quite recognize though there were a couple of them that she did. Still, she never personally met either of them.

She had noticed that the Endeavour was present under the command of Captain Rourke, maybe one day she would have the privilege to meet him in person. She shrugged at the thought, nothing was impossible though she doubt it would be anytime soon. She noticed a Klingon K’t’inga-class close by, she realized it was the Vondem Rose which was a merchant ship under the command of Captain Sadovu. She wondered why they were here, were they up to no good or just wanting a piece of the action?

“I see we are not the only ones here,” Ritru spoke up as she looked at the viewscreen.

“What is a Klingon ship doing here?” Odan wondered.

“That is the Vondem Rose,” Azras replied which he got the reference as everyone has heard about that ship. “I wondered that as well,” she added with a shrug.

“They are probably up to no good,” Ritru said with a simple shrug.

“It’s hard telling, but trouble always seems to follow them for sure or they follow trouble.” She said with a shrug, “whichever way you want to look at it,” Azras said as she looked over at Odan who seemed to be in awe of one ship in particular.

“Is that the new Endeavour?” Odan as he looked like he was drolling as he glanced out to see the Obena-class ship in all its beauty.

“It is,” Azras replied with a smile.

“The Obena-class is a real beauty,” Odan replied looking at Azras. “Not to say that the Odyssey-class isn’t or anything.” He said as he seemed to have placed his foot in his mouth.

Azras couldn’t help but chuckle, “they are.” She agreed with a smile and still chuckled to herself.

“That is a lot of ships heading to the Delta Quadrant, and to think once we are through the wormhole will not open again for thirty days,” Deza commented from her station as she just watched the view screen, ships were still arriving.

“It must be worse than we initially thought,” Dazra chimed in.

“It probably is, though we won’t know the full extent of the situation until we arrive on the other side,” Azra replied looking over at Loian who was standing at the tactical console, as she ran checks on their tactical systems. She wanted to make sure everything was up to par before they left.

Time seemed to drag as they sat there waiting, just staring out the viewscreen or looking at the current time. Others were talking amongst themselves while others were just doing their work.

“Three minutes before the wormhole opens, we are twelfth in line,” Ritru said from her station after getting confirmation from the starbase.

Azras nodded as the ship moved more into position than they were before, the bridge which was lively just a few moments ago went to pure silence as they all watched out the viewscreen. They were anxiously waiting for the wormhole to open, just as Lieutenant Commander Jahraus entered the bridge to take his Jeesa’s spot.

“Welcome to the bridge Commander,” Azras said with a smile.

“I didn’t want to miss seeing with my own eyes the beauty of the wormhole,” Damir replied with a grin on his face as if he was a kid in a candy store.

Azras smiled then looked back at the viewscreen just in time to see the wormhole open in front of them. The bridge let out a very loud wow as they viewed the blueish color of the mouth of the wormhole as it opened. Damir had planned on getting sensor readings before, during, and after they left the wormhole.

A short time later the Saratoga began to move in unison with the other ships in the area, keeping their place in line. The wormhole would only remain open for thirty minutes and there were a lot of ships waiting to enter that were in line behind them.

After a while they began to enter the wormhole, Damir seemed to be glued to the viewscreen in total awe of the sights. “Wow, that is even more beautiful than I’d ever imagined it to be,” Damir replied breaking the silence.

Everyone else on the bridge nodded in agreement, “that it is.” Azras said as she sat there, though that would be short-lived as they soon would exit the wormhole. They were now in the Delta Quadrant, which was vastly different than the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

“Report,” Azras asked looking around the bridge.

“All systems are clear,” Jheria replied from the engineering station.

“Sir, I have received information that it would seem the Devore Imperium is trying to expand its territory, taking by force. It seems their primary target are planets that could have the Blood Dilithium on it, recommended that we go investigate.” Chon’al said from his console as information began to flood in.

Azras nodded before turning to Deza “set a course towards the Devore, we are going to go investigate and assist those that need it.” Azras ordered looking at T’Prel for a brief moment before looking back at Deza.

“Aye sir,” she replied as she tapped a few buttons. “Course and speed laid in,” Deza replied looking back at the captain.

“Engage,” she said and soon the ship went to warp toward the Devore Imperium. She then looked back at Chon’al, “forward all the information you have to my ready room.” She ordered as she knew it was going to be a long journey there.

“Aye sir,” Chon’al replied.

“T’Prel you have the bridge,” she replied as she stood up from her chair T’Prel nodded in understanding. Azras walked off towards her ready room, upon entering she turned on her computer before heading towards the replicator to get her another cup of coffee. She tried to limit her cups per day, but she needed this extra cup while going through reports that had come in upon their arrival within the Delta Quadrant.

After grabbing her cup she walked over to her desk and sat down, taking a sip of her coffee as she pulled up the information that Chon’al forwarded to her. It would be a few days before they would reach their destination, so they would have time to prepare for anything that might arise. Or prepare as best as they possibly could, they were a large ship that would stand out like a sore thumb. She began to go through the information while new information would come in sporadically.

The Saratoga was now in a completely new area, far away from the security of Federation space. They very well were in the middle of nowhere, with species that they never encountered before out there. Deza was in The Ranch which happened to be a lounge specifically for the senior officers to come to, to be able to just get away from everyone for a while. 

There was a small area near the corner of the room near the window, which was seemingly away from every other table in the room. This was for anyone who still wanted to come and still have some privacy while still being able to see others. She sat there quietly drinking her hot chocolate while looking out the window, lost in thought. She couldn’t help but think of the current crisis that was happening within the Delta Quadrant, what might be ahead of them, and as well as leaving fellow crewmembers behind, especially her two closest friends Teila and Jeesa.

She usually came here during this time of day as it was pretty quiet with hardly anyone around, while everyone else was still working. This gave her the quiet that she sometimes needed in stressful situations that were not in her control. Taking another sip of her drink she let out a sigh, just before she heard the doors to the lounge open which caused Deza to turn towards the door to look to see who it was.

Chon’al walked in and began to walk towards the bar before noticing Deza off towards the corner of the room, grabbing a drink before he made his way over to where she was sitting. “May I?” Chon’al asked looking at her, to which she nodded. Sitting down he took a drink, “Pretty quiet in here,” he commented after breaking the silence that had filled the room for a few more minutes after he sat down.

Deza just nodded in agreement, “I prefer it that way sometimes,” Deza said as she raised her class before taking a drink. She went back to looking out the window, she wasn’t as talkative as usually was so she remained quiet.

Noticing a change in his friend and colleague he broke the silence, “is everything alright Deza?” Chon’al asked tilting his head to the side a bit as he could tell something was bothering her.

“I am fine,” Deza replied as she stared out the window. “I just came here to clear my head and relax for a while,” she added before he had the chance to respond to her first response.

“Same, plus my eyes needed a break from reading all the information that was coming in,” Chon’al replied taking a sip of his drink before continuing. “I had to move to strategic operations in the command and control center just to be able to view multiple things at once compared to what I can do on the bridge,” Chon’al replied.

Deza nodded as she looked back over to him, “it’s a nice thing to have on the ship.” She replied with a short smile before taking a drink and looking back outside again.

Chon’al nodded as silence filled the room again as it seemed Deza wasn’t all that interested in talking. Sitting there staring at his coffee for a few moments before letting out a sigh and getting up from his chair. “Well it was nice chatting with you,” he said with a smile before he headed towards the door as his break was over.

Deza just nodded as she turned to see him leave and just shrugged before getting up herself, she began to walk towards the exit after discarding her cup. She had been in a weird mood ever since they arrived in the Delta Quadrant, part of her just wanted to be home. She didn’t want to be somewhere strange and really without much support if we were to run into trouble.

Just as she was walking out of the lounge she ran into Jheria as she was about to enter, “sorry Commander.” Deza replied as she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going as her thoughts were elsewhere.

“That’s alright,” Jheria said with a smile before she entered the lounge.

Jheria could almost sense that something was bothering Deza, though she felt that she would just leave her alone for the time being. It seemed that everyone had been a bit off lately since they arrived in a new area of space, so she just figured it was because of that.

Jheria walked up to the bar to grab something to drink before walking over to a table, Ritru and Odan were due to arrive soon to join her for a little downtime they had. Just as she sat down the doors opened to reveal both Ritru and Odan, “over here.” She replied as she waved her hand while smiling.

They walked over after grabbing their drinks, “what is up with Deza?” Odan asked looking at Jheria.

“She looking kinda off today,” Ritru added as they sat down.

Jheria just shrugged, “I kinda wondered that myself after we nearly collided as she was leaving.” Jheria said as she took a sip of her drink, “though come to think of it, she isn’t the only one on board that I have come across today that seemed to be in an off mood.” She added with another shrug.

“What do you all think about the current crisis?” Jheria asked as she decided to change the subject.

“I think it’s crazy how something like a shockwave could have caused a bunch of dilithium to form on planets and places where there have never been before.” Odan said, “and not your average dilithium either.” He finished speaking while looking at Ritru taking a drink.

“Will see what happens though my real concern is the Devore,” Odan replied.

The two nodded in agreement, they were a cause for concern for sure. “Do you think we will come in conflict with them?” Jheria asked though she probably already knew the answer to that silly question, she had been running on a few hours of sleep these last couple of days.

“I am sure of it,” Ritru said as the others looked at her with raised eyebrows. She looked at them, “what we are headed towards their area of space, we are bound to run into them at some point.” Ritru said with a raise of her hand.

“True,” Odan replied.

The three of them continued to chat for a while longer before they realized they were due back on duty in five minutes. They all stood up and headed out of the lounge after discarding their drinks. They began to walk down the corridor towards the turbolift while they continued to chat along the way.

Azras had been sitting in her ready room for the last couple of hours, as she began to filter through the information that had come in overnight. A short time later the sound of her commbadge went off breaking the silence that had filled the room.

“Captain Dex to the bridge,” Ritru said over the channel.

Raising an eyebrow, “on my way.” Azras replied as she stood up from her chair and began to make her way out onto the bridge. After a few moments, she arrived looking at Ritru, “what is it, Commander?” Azras asked as she walked over to her.

“We have picked up a distress signal,” Ritru replied as she looked over at Azras. “They seem to be a distant Monean colony, they are requesting assistance as the Devore are trying to take their home,” Ritru said as that was all she could make out from the message.

“Does it give the location?” Azras asked.

“I am having a hard time pinpointing the exact location,” Ritru said before looking over at Dazra. “Do you think you can?” She asked.

Dazra began to work to see if she could trace where the signal was coming from, after a few moments of work she looked back up at the two. “It might not be the exact location though it seems to be close,” Dazra replied as she sent the location to flight control.

“Coordinates are laid in sir,” came Deza’s reply as she looked back at Azras who just gave a nod of her head and the ship began to change course, heading to where the distress call might have originated in hopes they would arrive in time.

Azras turned around and began to make her way toward her chair, “ETA?” Azras asked looking at Deza.

“We should arrive within a couple of hours at maximum warp,” Airje replied.

She sighed for a moment before taking a seat, she hoped they would get there in time. She had a feeling that there will be a battle with them protecting these people, “T’Prel I would like you to head down to strategic operations and get with Chon’al, I want all information you can find on these Moneans.” Azras said as she looked at her first officer.

“Understood sir,” T’Prel said as she stood up from her chair heading towards the turbolift that would take her down to where Chon’al was currently located.

She turned to Dazra, “keep an eye out for Devore ships.” Azras said looking over to where Dazra was.

“Aye sir,” Dazra replied.

Getting up from her chair she walked over to where the replicator was located, she ordered herself a stronger cup of coffee as she felt that she was going to need it. She had a feeling that things were about to go sideways within the next few hours. The only difference here is they did not have any backup if things went badly for them. Walking back over to her chair and sitting down, taking a sip of her coffee she thought here goes nothing.

The bridge was a usual hotspot of activity, recently it had become eerily quiet as the ship continued on its course toward the distress call. There had been tension with members of the crew both on the bridge and elsewhere, with being so close to Devore’s space, though they have yet to encounter them. They knew it would only be a matter of time before that changed, either when they traveled or when they arrived at their destination.

Since returning to the bridge, T’Prel had spent the next hour sitting in the command chair. Deciding to get up and stretch she decided to walk over to where Ritru was located, leaning against the console with her back turned to make sure not to hit anything.

“Have you found anything unusual out there?” T’Prel asked looking at her.

Ritru had been so focused on her work she didn’t see T’Prel walk up to her, looking up from the console she smiled at her partner, “no everything is eerily quiet out there, no signs of the Devore yet.” Ritru responded.

“That could be both good and bad,” T’Prel replied with a heavy sigh.

Ritru nodded at that statement, “are you worried?” Ritru asked.

T’Prel raised an eyebrow unsure of what she meant, “worried how?” T’Prel asked as she cocked her head to the side a bit.

“About being affected by the blood dilithium if we come across it?” Ritru asked as she looked at her with a bit of concern written all over her face. Though there was a possibility that she too would be affected, yes she was Romulan but they were descendants of Vulcans. 

“Worry is a logical emotion for some, though I can’t say I am worried.” T’Prel replied, “I am concerned though we will cross that bridge when we come to it.” She replied as she looked at her.

Ritru nodded, “I am a bit concerned that I could be affected in some capacity.” Ritru admitted as she adjusted in her chair as they chatted. “I am not sure what I could do to help if I am affected,” she added with a sigh.

“I could assist you with some techniques that might help,” T’Prel suggested.

Ritru looked at T’Prel for a moment thinking, “if you think it would work I think it is a great idea.” Ritru replied, “when do you think would be a good time to start?” She asked looking at her.

T’Prel thought for a moment as they would be arriving at their coordinates within half an hour, they probably wouldn’t have much time after they arrived. “We will have a short time though I am sure I can teach you what you need within that time. I say we head to the observation lounge and begin,” T’Prel replied.

“Sounds good to me,” Ritru said as she stood up from her station.

T’Prel nodded before looking over to where Airje was sitting at the helm station, “you have the bridge.” T’Prel said as Deza nodded before getting up from her chair and moving over to where the center chair was just as Rass moved to replace Deza at the helm. Things once again went silent on the bridge, no one had anything to say.

Thirty minutes had passed by before they both walked onto the bridge, a short time later Azras walked out of her ready room onto the bridge. Deza got up from the chair walking back to her station as Rass moved back to the auxiliary controls.

Moments later the Saratoga had dropped out of warp, “sir we have arrived at the coordinates.” Dazra spoke up from her console, “I am not detecting any ships in the area.” She added with a bit of confusion, as she wasn’t detecting any ships or planets for that matter.

“Could they have come here to send the distress call?” Azras asked no one in particular.

Odan looked up from his console, “I mean they very well could of, maybe it was an attempt to draw attention away from home in case any Devore would intercept?” Odan asked looking at her.

“That could be a possibility,” Ritru spoke up. “Even though they are being targeted by the Devore anyways, maybe they wanted to make it look like they weren’t requesting assistance,” Ritru added with a shrug of her shoulders, though their answers would probably have their answers soon enough.

Looking over to Ritru, she was about to speak up before being interrupted by the sound of Dazra’s voice. “Sir there is an incoming ship that seems to be of Monean design,” Dazra replied as she looked up from her console to see the ship come into view.

“Hail them,” Azras ordered before turning back around to face the viewscreen.

“Aye sir,” Ritru said and a few moments later the viewscreen was replaced by the face of a middle-aged man. The Moneans were a humanoid species with bluish and brown spots throughout their head and faces with flared-out nostrils.

“Greetings, I am Captain Azras Dex of the Federation starship Saratoga, we have received your distress call and are here to assist you,” Azras said as she introduced herself to the man on the viewscreen.

“I am Norkus, thank you for answering our distress call. We were worried that no one would come to our aid,” Norkus responded as he looked tired and stressed. “The Devore has been expanding their territory and have now set their sights on Miri, our distant colony world that is located near their space.” He added looking at her, “we need help with defending the planet long enough for our colony ships to evacuate so we can return to our homeworld.” He finished speaking.

Azras looked at T’Prel for a moment before returning her attention to Norkus, “Have you had any issues with them in the past?” Azras asked wondering why they were trying to force them from their home.

He shook his head “no, granted they dislike outsiders but they have left us alone and we have left them alone for years. I just don’t understand the sudden hostilities from them,” he said with confusion in his voice.

“Lead us to your colony and we will assist in any way we can, and hopefully we can get some answers along the way,” Azras replied.

He let out a huge sigh of relief as he looked at the captain, “thank you so much for your assistance.” He replied before the viewscreen changed back to the view of the Monean ship in front of them. A moment later the ship began to move towards Miri the Saratoga shortly behind them.

Azras sat down and raised an eyebrow before looking at T’Prel, “what do you think?” Azras asked as she was wondering about why all of a sudden the Devore have become hostile to the Moneans.

“It could have something to do with the blood dilithium,” T’Prel made an observation.

“I was thinking that as well though there is one thing I don’t understand, isn’t it a world consisting mostly of water?” Azras asked.

“Their homeworld is all water except they have underwater infrastructures and dwellings,” T’Prel said after reading the information that was provided by Chon’al, “I am uncertain if Miri is the same or different until we arrive.” She added looking at her.

She nodded as the ship made its way towards Miri, which was only twenty minutes away from where the distress call had originated from. Upon arrival, they could see that the planet was mostly water with a few small islands throughout the planet. Thought, things wouldn’t be quiet for long before Dazra spoke up, “Sir there are two Devore scout ships on an intercept course.” Came her reply.

“Red alert, battle stations.” Azras ordered as the ship went to red alert, “contact Norkus and have him and a couple of other ships on standby while another assists with evacuations.” Azras ordered.

“Aye sir,” Ritru replied as she sent the message.

“ETA until they arrive?” Azras asked looking back at Dazra.

“Ten minutes,” Dazra replied as all weapons systems were now online and ready.

The evacuation of Miri had begun while the Saratoga and two other Monean ships were on standby, ready to defend when the Devore arrived. These were just scout ships and not their warships, they should be a bit easier to handle. Everyone on the bridge was now on edge, even more so than they were when they first arrived within the Delta Quadrant.

The minutes seemed to drag on as they waited anxiously, a short time later the doors to the turblift opened to reveal Chon’al as he made his way back to his station. He began to pull up any information he could find on those scout ships. “Damir can you scan those ships and see if we can find any visible weak spots?” Chon’al asked looking over at the acting chief.

Damir looked at Chon’al for a moment before nodding, “I can do that.” Damir replied as he got to work. After he finished his scans he sent all the information to Chon’al for review.

“Sir, seems their shields are weaker near the aft of the ships. I suggest that if it comes down to a fight we target those areas, they will be forced to redistribute power essentially we will be able to disable them enough where they might retreat.” Chon’al said sharing the findings with the Captain.

Dazra listened to what Chon’al had said, “once we get them to redistribute power we can then target their weapons systems.” Dazra added as Chon’al nodded in agreement.

Azras nodded and soon after the Devore had arrived, “Sir they have locked weapons on us.” Dazra said from her console as she looked up.

“Hail them,” Azras said looking at Ritru.

“Nothing sir,” Ritru replied as they seemed to be ignoring their hails.

“That is unusual, I have heard they are usually the ones confronting those that they feel have ‘trespassed’ within their system,” Chon’al replied looking at the Captain.

“Open a channel,” Azras replied.

Ritru nodded but seconds later the ship rocked as the Devore opened fire on the Saratoga. “I guess they don’t want to talk,” said Ritru.

Azras sat there as the ship rocked from the impact of their weapons, “well I guess they want to do this the hard way right off the bat.” Azras said with a sigh as she looked at Dazra, “target their aft sections firing all phaser arrays, with two spread of quantum torpedoes.” Azras ordered as they began evasive maneuvers firing weapons at both ships.

Azras then turned to Ritru, “have the two Monean ships provide support fire,” Azras ordered as Ritru sent the message.

The ship rocked from another hit from the Devore, “shields are holding at ninety-five percent.” Odan replied from his station.

“It looks like our plan is working they have begun to redistribute their shields,” Chon’al commented.

While the Saratoga kept the Devore busy, as the colony ships continued with their evacuation of Miri. They were sad that they had to say goodbye to the home they have known for so long, at least they had their homeworld to return to.

“Sir, their shields are down to sixty percent,” Dazra said looking up from her station and Azras gave her a nod to begin targeting their weapons systems. The battle went on for a while longer, both ships getting in good hits.

Odan looked up from his console looking straight at the captain. “One of the Monean ships has been disabled the other is moving in to help protect it,” Odan spoke up from his console.

“Fire photon torpedoes target their weapons array and fire,” Azras ordered.

“Aye sir,” Dazra said as she pressed a few buttons on her console as the torpedoes impacted the Devore ships. “Sir, their weapons are offline and they are retreating,” Dazra said as they watched the two scout ships retreat. 

Azras let out a huge sigh of relief, though they knew they were not in the clear yet as there was always that chance that those ships would return with backup. A few engineers beamed over to the Monean ship to assist with repairs as the Saratoga kept watch. They would be needing to get underway soon before their favorite guests would return with their friends.

If tensions weren’t already high, there were now as Azras sat in her chair. Time had seemed to pass by rather slowly since their altercation with the Devore, while they were protecting the Monean colony. “Any signs of the Devore?” Azras asked probably for the umpteenth time, though in reality, it had only been a couple of times.

“No,” Dazra replied from her console.

“They probably saw we were helping with evacuations, so they will probably return once we leave,” Chon’al suggested looking at the captain as he shrugged.

“That would be a logical choice, though what I do not understand is what is so special about Miri that they could want?” T’Prel asked, looking over at the captain sitting next to her.

Azras thought for a moment then looked over at Damir, “run a scan of the planet below to see if you can detect blood dilithium.” Azras ordered, which caused her first officer to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

Azras went on to explain her thought, “if there is blood dilithium on this planet that could explain why the Devore are all of a sudden interested in this planet when it didn’t even cross their minds before,” Azras replied looking back at T’Prel.

“That would be a logical assumption,” T’Prel replied with a soft nod of her head in agreement with the captain’s thought process of the situation.

Damir began his scans of all the islands that were on the planet below, which would take a few minutes to complete. Silence filled the bridge once more as they waited for the results. A short time later the computer chirped, raising an eyebrow at the results he turned his attention back to Azras.

“Sir, there is blood dilithium on three of the five islands,” Damir said.

Azras nodded as she sat there for a few minutes thinking about how to stop the Devore from getting their hands on the dilithium. She looked at Jheria, “can we clear out one of the cargo bays and set up a containment field strong enough to contain the dilithium safely?” Azras asked which caused looks from everyone on the bridge wondering what she had in mind.

“It can be done,” Jheria replied, looking curiously at the captain. “Though I am curious as to why you want to do that?” Jheria asked as she was sure that was everyone else’s question by just the look they were giving Azras.

“Well, the way I see it is the Devore is now interested in a planet that was never an interest before which now has this red-colored dilithium on it. Though they are a xenophobic species, they have a real disdain for telepaths. ” Azras began to explain where she was going with this. “The blood dilithium affects telepaths, which they could use against them so if we beam all that dilithium onboard they won’t be able to get their hands on it.” Azras finished as she looked at Jheria as well as the others.

“That would make sense,” Chon’al spoke up from his station.

“Though wouldn’t they come after us once they realize that it’s no longer down there,” Ritru asked.

“I can guarantee they will,” Azras replied. “Though that is a risk I am willing to take if it keeps it out of their hands,” Azras added, looking at her. Ritru just nodded in understanding before Azras turned her attention back to Jheria. “How long would it take to make all this happen?” Azras asked.

“I’ll need help, I believe we can get it done in an hour.” Jheria replied as she looked at the Captain, “If I can get Chon’al and Odan to help clear cargo bay one then Damir and I can do the rest.” Jheria added.

“Understood, get it done,” Azras replied.

They moved from their stations and headed towards the turbolift, “cargo bay one.” Jheria said as the doors to the lift shut behind them began to move towards their destination.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Odan asked, looking at the other three as he was a bit concerned with carrying that much dilithium in their cargo bay.

“Yes and no,” Jheria replied, looking at Odan. “I mean I see why the captain wants us to and if we calibrate the containment field correctly it will be safe,” Jheria added. “I just don’t like the idea of carrying that much dilithium onboard,” she finished.

“Even though there will be a containment field things can still go wrong, so I suggest a group of engineers remains to make sure the field remains stable. As well as make sure the dilithium remains stable,” Damir replied. “I will also remain to help as well as study this mysterious type of dilithium.” He added looking at the two officers he was traveling with.

“That would be a given,” Jheria responded just as the turbolift came to a stop and the doors opened up in front of them. They exited and headed down the corridor toward where the cargo bay was located. After arriving, they entered the cargo bay and looked around to see what all needed to go to the other cargo bay.

“Good thing this isn’t full,” Odan said with a little chuckle as they gathered others that were there to assist with moving things out.

“Right,” Chon’al replied as they began to work.

They spent the next thirty minutes working until everything had been cleared out. “Well everything has been cleared out, were are ready for the next step,” Chon’al replied after walking back up to where Jheria and Damir were standing.

“Thank you for your assistance, you two can return to the bridge this part won’t take very long,” Jheria replied as both men nodded before leaving the cargo bay as did everyone else that had assisted. She had called down a few engineers that would remain to monitor the dilithium once it was on board.

After a few moments both Jheria and Damir finished setting up the containment field. When they were satisfied that this would be strong enough to hold she tapped her commbadge, “Jheria to Captain Dex.” Jheria said as she waited for the captain to respond.

“Go ahead,” Azras replied.

“We are all set down here to begin transporting the dilithium to the cargo bay,” Jheria replied.

“Understood,” Azras responded as the comm channel ended.

A short time later the dilithium began to arrive within the containment field, they were transported in sections to not overload the transporters. This was also to make sure the dilithium would remain stable. This would take a while as transporting dilithium from one place to another was time-consuming, and they didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

“That is all the dilithium from the planet,” came the voice of Azras over the comm channel just as Arzin arrived in the cargo bay.

“Understood,” Jheria replied as the comm channel closed.

“How can we help you Arzin?” Damir asked as the Trill joined them Arzin happened to be Azras’s husband and a civilian scientist onboard the ship.

“I was hoping to join you in studying dilithium,” Arzin replied.

“Sure why not, more eyes the merrier,” Damir replied.

“Thanks,” Arzin replied as they began to chat amongst themselves for a bit.

Jheria gave instructions to her engineers before she left the cargo bay to head back to the bridge. She would also monitor things from there as well, she headed down the corridor toward the turbolift.

Meanwhile back on the bridge, Azras had been sitting in her chair when Ritru turned around to face her. “Sir incoming hail from Norkus,” Ritru said from her console looking at the captain.

“On screen,” she replied.

A moment later the face of Norkus appeared on the viewscreen in front of them. “Our ship has finished its repairs, thanks to your engineers.” Norkus began with a smile, “we are now ready to depart when you are.” He added as he looked at Azras.

“Wonderful,” Azras replied.

“Again thank you for your assistance,” Norkus said before the viewscreen went back to its normal view.

“Sir our engineers have returned,” Odan replied from his station just as the doors to the turbolift opened to reveal Jheria walking out towards her station.

Azras nodded, “so there is going to be a slight change to our initial plans.” Azras replied which caused everyone to look at the captain with a confused look. “Deza, I need you to take a small team and command the Oneida. The Oneida will detach from the Saratoga and escort the colony ships back to their homeworld.” Azras explained.

“What about Saratoga?” Deza asked.

“We will be heading in the opposite direction away from their homeworld, if my assumptions are correct once the Devore realize that the blood dilithium is no longer on that planet they will come looking for us. I would rather them follow us than the colony ships,” Azras went on to explain. “We will return once it is safe to do so,” Azras added.

“Aye sir,” Deza replied as she got up heading off the bridge and Rass took her spot.

“Send a message to Norkus explaining our change of plans,” Azras ordered as she looked at Ritru.

“Understood,” Ritru replied as she sent the message.

“Once the Oneida has disembarked head towards these coordinates at maximum warp,” Azras ordered looking at Rass who nodded in response as she took her seat. 

Soon after, the Oneida disengaged from the ship and began to move to lead the colony ships back to their homeworld. The Saratoga began to move in the opposite direction at maximum warp, hopefully, they would get a huge head start before the Devore realizes and come chasing.

Their orders were clear to expand their borders, by force if necessary. Planets of interest were those that contained this mysterious blood dilithium, to use against the Brenari. Kelic was sitting in the office of his warship that was well within Devore territory, waiting on word from Nashka about their latest mission.

There had been reports that the Federation was within the quadrant that was also looking at the mysterious phenomenon. This was a cause for concern that they would also interfere with their plans.

A short time later the comm channel went off, “sir Nashka is requesting to see you. She says it’s urgent,” came the voice of an officer on the bridge.

Raising an eyebrow wondering why they were even here, they should be back at Miri dealing with the Moneans. Something must have gone wrong for her to request a meeting, “send her in.” Kelic replied as he sat straight in his chair as the doors opened to his office to reveal the female Devore commander.

“Please have a seat,” Kelic replied gesturing towards the chair that was located directly in front of his desk.

Nashka took a seat, one could see that she was a bit nervous and unsure of what would happen once she delivered the news she came here with. One could tell she was a young and inexperienced commander compared to the experience of the much older Kelic sitting in front of her.

“Report,” Kelic said as he could tell there was something wrong just by her body language.

Taking a deep breath letting the silence lingerie for a minute before she responded, though she was trying to think of how to tell him without him getting angry. “We ran into a slight problem,” Nashka said with nervousness in her voice.

“What do you mean a slight problem?” Kelic asked as he leaned forward a bit.

“Everything was going as planned until we arrived at Miri,” Nashka began explaining what had transpired. “There was a Federation ship there, from the looks of it they were assisting them.” She added before things went silent again.

“Interesting,” Kelic replied before leaning back in his chair. “Did you make them leave?” He asked looking at her.

“Um, no sir.” Nashka replied as she began to sweat, “we tried to but they were stronger than we were and had the help of the Monean ships. We had sustained heavy damage to both of our ships,” she finished as she handed him the padd with the damage report. If looks could kill she’d probably be dead right now with the way that Kelic looked at her before taking the padd out of her hands.

“How can you sustain this much damage from a Federation ship?” Kelic said with irritation in his voice.

“It was a large ship sir, and had stronger firepower than our scout ships,” Nashka replied.

Sitting there looking at the young women for a moment before asking the next question. “Who fired the first shot?” Kelic wondered which caused Nashka to become even more nervous.

“Um…I did sir,” she replied with an audible gulp.

“Did you at least attempt to contact them, to tell them to not meddle in affairs that don’t concern them?” Kelic asked as he took a deep breath while looking her in the eyes.

“No sir,” she responded as she looked down.

“Did they try to contact you?” Kelic interrogated her as he was getting a bit more irritated by the second.

“Yes sir,” she said.

“Let me guess you didn’t respond?” Kelic’s anger was now showing.

“No sir,” she replied still looking down.

Placing his head in the palms of his hands he shook his head, “have you learned anything? That was probably your dumbest move,” he yelled looking back up at her and waving his hands in dismissal at the stupid mistake that she had made.

“Never mind that,” he said as he stood up from his chair walking over to the window to look out. He began to think of what their next move would be since the officer under his command screwed up.

Nashka knew she messed up as she looked in the direction of Kelic, “should we proceed with the next step?” She asked looking at him.

“No,” he said waving his hand as to dismiss what she said. “We will stick with what we originally planned,” he began before turning to face her. “If they are there assisting with evacuations then we will let them, we will leave tomorrow morning towards Miri and claim our prize,” Kelic replied with a now calm demeanor as he looked at her.

“That will give us enough time to begin repairs,” she said.

“Oh you will begin repairs,” Kelic began. “Though you will not be coming with us, you will wait here for reassignment,” Kelic replied as she wasn’t going to get away with her mistake and there would be consequences for her actions.

Nashka was about to protest but decided against it as it would be in vain and probably cause more problems than she already was facing. “Aye sir,” she replied as she stood up from the chair she was sitting at.

“Dismissed,” Kelic replied as he turned around to face the window.

Nodding she walked out of the office and headed for the transporter room to head back to her ship. She was upset at herself for her stupid mistake, though she would just have to learn and not repeat it.

After Nashka left he walked back over to his chair to finish up his reports before turning in for the night. They would be leaving for Miri first thing in the morning, giving enough time for the Moneans to leave. Kelic also placed a reprimand on Nashka’s file for her poor decision, she was lucky that he didn’t demote her or remove her from command. Though that would be the next step if she messed up again. After finishing what he was working on he turned in for the night as tomorrow would be a busy day.

The morning had come quicker than expected, Kelic had arrived on the bridge a short time later. Everyone was at their stations preparing the ship to depart towards Miri in a short while. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at Kelic as he entered, nodding to the officers as he took his seat.

“Status report,” Kelic ordered.

“Everything is clear, we are ready to depart.” Came the reply from an officer at what would be the engineering station.

Kelic nodded as he turned to the helm, “set course for Miri.” Kelic ordered.

“Course set,” the helmsman replied.

“Engage,” he replied as the ship began to move towards its destination which would arrive within thirty minutes as they were deeper within their territory. Silence filled the bridge as they traveled, Kelic took a sip of his drink.

As time went on and they got within scanning range of the planet, “scan for any ships in the area.” Kelic ordered as he adjusted in his seat.

“I am not detecting any ships at Miri, it looks like they have all left.” An officer replied looking at the commander.

“Good,” he replied.

After a few more minutes had passed the ship came to a stop in orbit of Miri, Kelic stood up from his chair to look at the planet below before looking back over to his operations officer. “Begin scanning the planet below to find out which islands the dilithium is located on,” Kelic ordered as the officer nodded and began his scans.

The officer got quiet as he ran the scan three more times before he nervously looked at Kelic. Taking a huge gulp, “um sir there is a huge problem.” He said looking at him.

“What do you mean there is a huge problem?” Kelic asked.

“There is no dilithium down on the planet,” the officer replied with another gulp.

“How is that possible?” Kelic said raising his voice, “how can dilithium just disappear?” he asked getting a bit angry.

“Not sure, I am running a deeper scan to see.” The officer replied as he began to run a more in-depth scan of the areas that they were located in. A few minutes had passed by and the scans of the areas have completed, the officer raised an eyebrow double checking what he was seeing.

“Sir, it looks like the Federation ship might have beamed all of it up to their ship as they were assisting the Moneans.” He replied looking up at Kelic again.

Now he was getting angry, wondering why they would take what was theirs. “Can you track them?” Kelic asked as he planned on getting back what was stolen, it was one thing to assist the planet’s inhabitants in leaving now they were stealing what wasn’t theirs, to begin with.

Nodding the officer began to scan for the ship in question, “sir we picked up what could be their warp signature, they are about eight hours ahead of us.” The officer replied.

“Hunt them down, we will get back what is ours,” Kelic replied as the ship began to move in the direction of the Saratoga at maximum warp. “I’ll be in my office, don’t bother me until we get sight of that ship!” Kelic exclaimed as he walked off the bridge into his office.

“How dare they!” Kelic said to himself as now he had to send a report back with their current setback. Sitting down at his desk he slammed his fist onto the desk in anger, after a few minutes he calmed down enough to begin filing his report to send off back to his commander about the current situation.

It had been over eight hours since they separated from the Saratoga to escort the Monean colony ships back to their homeworld. Over eight hours since the Saratoga went in a separate direction in hopes of leading the Devore away from them. She had begun to wonder why she was selected to command the Oneida when T’Prel could have easily been given this assignment.

Nehi had been monitoring things from the operations station when something caught her attention. “Sir,” Nehi began to speak as she looked up at Deza. “It looks like the Devore is onto the Saratoga. From what I just picked up from sensors, they arrived at Miri looks to be thirty minutes ago, and have taken notice that the dilithium is gone. They are now heading in the direction of where the Saratoga went.” Nehi finished speaking.

“Have they taken notice of us?” Deza asked as she looked back at Nehi.

Shaking her head, “it doesn’t seem like it, it looks like they are more interested in the Saratoga,” Nehi replied.

Deza nodded before looking at Ensign Sato, “how long till we arrive at the Monean homeworld?” Deza asked looking at the young woman.

“We are still a couple of hours out,” Emily replied turning her head towards the Commander.

Deza nodded with a sigh before turning back to Nehi, “Nehi send a message to the Saratoga giving them a heads up that the Devore are onto them.” Deza replied as she stood up from her chair and began to pace in front of her chair. “Encrypt the message,” she added as she didn’t want to draw attention to them.

“Aye sir,” Nehi replied as she began to send the message.

Still pacing back and forth in front of her chair that was located in the middle of the small bridge of the Aquarius-class escort, “how are the colony ships holding up?” Deza replied as a few hours ago they had to stop as one ship was having some major problems. They were able to get the problem fixed but it put them behind schedule, though things worked out in the end.

“They are in the green, no one else has reported any more issues with their systems,” Toran replied from his station after being the one to assist the ship with their repairs.

Deza nodded, “keep an eye on the Devore as long as we can.” Deza replied as she stopped pacing looking over at the operations station.

“Will do,” Nehi replied.

Deza walked back to her chair and sat down, she couldn’t help but think about the mission at hand. She wished she was back on board the Saratoga. She had a lot on her mind which brought her back to how she was rather rude to Chon’al when they first arrived within the Delta Quadrant. How she still needed to apologize to him, he was just trying to be a friend and she just pushed him away. Letting out a huge sigh which caused others to look back at her for a brief moment before turning back to their work.

Kelic had been in his office pacing back and forth thinking about catching up to the Saratoga and getting back what was rightfully theirs. The Federation was mingling in affairs that didn’t concern them, which angered him even more. “They should have left well enough alone,” he said to himself as he continued to pace the room.

The Saratoga had gotten a good headstart on them though they were gaining ground. He regretted not listening to Nashka when she inquired about starting the next phase of the plan early. Maybe then they wouldn’t be where they are now, chasing.

After a few more minutes of pacing, he stopped and walked back to his desk. “Kelic to the bridge,” Kelic said over the comm channel.

“Noric here,” came the voice of his first officer.

“Status report,” Kelic asked.

“Still the same, nothing has changed.” Noric replied over the comm, “we are gaining ground but still are a few hours away from the ship in question.” He added as he sat in the command chair.

“Very well,” Kelic replied before ending the channel.

As Noric sat in the chair he sighed looking around the bridge, he was beginning to question the need to even chase after the ship. Was it even worth it when there were other places they could go to get this dilithium. “Is it just me or has Kelic lost his mind?” He finally asked out loud looking at anyone on the bridge.

“Yes and no?” came a voice from an officer at tactical.

Noric raised an eyebrow, “why do you say that?” Noric asked.

“I can understand why, I mean it could be the principle that the Federation ship took something that we had laid claim to. Though in the same sense, is it worth chasing a ship when we can just go somewhere else and get the same thing?” The officer replied looking at Noric.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Noric replied as everyone else on the bridge nodded.

“He is stubborn, when he wants something he will do anything to get it.” Noric then added as he had worked alongside Kelic for several years. Though they didn’t always agree on everything he still would follow his orders.

“You got that right,” an officer replied from the helm. They continued to chat amongst themselves while Kelic remained in his office which would probably be for most of this journey until they caught up to the ship in question.

“Looks like they took the bate,” Chon’al said from his station while looking at the Captain. “I got the Devore warship on sensors, they are gaining ground though still a few hours behind us.” He replied.

Azras nodded as they had just gotten word from the Oneida that they were still a couple of hours out from arriving at the Monean homeworld. The Devore haven’t even paid much mind to them as they were more focused on them. Which was what they were hoping for, “how are our defenses?” Azras asked knowing they would probably be in a fight once they caught up.

“Everything is in the green, we will be ready if it comes to that,” Dazra replied from the tactical station just as the doors opened to the turbolift revealing both T’Prel and Ritru. They had just returned from medical after agreeing to wear a cortical inhibitor to help try and block out the effects of the dilithium.

“Good,” Azras replied as she sat there as silence once again filled the bridge. Tensions were at an all-time high, with the Devore on their tails and a cargo bay filled with dilithium. Taking a deep breath as she stood up, “you have the bridge.” Azras replied looking at T’Prel.

“Aye sir,” T’Prel replied.

Azras turned and walked towards the turbolift, upon entering she gave it her destination as the doors closed shut behind her. She needed a bit of a break, she had already sent a message to Azrin to have him meet her in The Hillside Bar and Grill for some lunch. Since they had arrived within the Delta Quadrant she hasn’t been able to spend that much quality time with her husband other than when they were asleep.

As the lift came to a stop she exited as the doors opened in front of her and began to walk down the corridor towards where the restaurant was located. Upon entering she noticed that Arzin was already sitting at a table near the window waiting. Smiling at seeing her husband, she walked over to join him at the table.

“Thanks for joining me for lunch and a chance to get a bit of a break in the midst of the craziness of this mission,” Azras said as she kissed him before sitting down.

“Anything for you my dear,” he replied with a soft smile.

It was a bit strange not seeing Anai here running the place, she was left back at Deep Space 47 due to her being a telepath. Her head chef was now in charge until she was able to return once they returned from the Delta Quadrant. He came over and smiled at the two, “welcome what can I get you two?” He asked with a smile.

They both took their turn in ordering what they wanted, the chef nodded and walked away to prepare it. They spent this time talking about different things that were happening and how they were feeling during this whole situation while they waited. After a few minutes, the food arrived and they both began to eat.

“So how is the study of the dilithium going?” Azras asked.

“Slowly,” Azrin replied as he began to explain what command had sent them about being able to communicate with the ‘ghosts’ of the lost Brenari souls. “That has proven interesting though the only telepath we have on board is T’Prel so that would be a bit complicated.” He said, “I’d rather not put her through anything like that as there is so much onboard. It would be a bit different if it was maybe just a sample.” He finished talking before taking another bit of his food.

She had read the reports on this device and had sent them to both Damir and Arzin, “good thinking as that would be too much for one person to handle.” Azras commented before taking a bite of her food. They continued to talk amongst themselves as the ship continued on its journey.

Unbeknownst to the Saratoga that there was a Hirogen ship near the edge of Malon and the Void space that was sitting and waiting in stealth mode, waiting for the ship to get closer after picking it up on sensors. If it wasn’t the Devore tailing them, it was now the Hirogen who had begun hunting them, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The one thing the Hirogen were good at was being patient, waiting for that opportune moment to strike at their prey.

The lights in her quarters were dim as T’Prel sat in the middle of her meditation room, even with the cortical inhibitor she wasn’t feeling herself. She had asked to be relieved of duty for a while to meditate. There were soft sounds of Vulcan classical music playing in the background as it often helped her focus.

They are coming for us.

Help us or you will end up like us. 

T’Prel tried to focus on her meditation while trying to block out the voices from her mind.

Join us, let’s make them pay for what they have done to us.

“Please stop!” T’Prel yelled as she clenched her hands over her ears, as the pain started to set in. The voices from the many lost Brenari continued to get louder and louder.

Be our voice, set us free.

T’Prel collapsed unconscious with her eyes fixed on the ceiling, no one around to help as the voices continued to wreak havoc over her mind. It wasn’t until a few minutes later Ritru entered their quarters to check on her.

“T’Prel,” she called out but got no response which she began to worry. T’Prel usually responded even when she was meditating. She walked through the living room towards their spare room which was used as the meditation room, as the doors opened she saw T’Prel laying on the floor.

“T’Prel!” Ritru said frantically as she ran to her, noticing that she was unresponsive even when she nudged and called out to her. Tapping her commbadge, “Ritru to sickbay, we have a medical emergency in my quarters!” Ritru said.

“On my way Commander,” Sh’esirr replied before the communication channel ended.

Ritru stayed by T’Prel’s side as she waited for medical to arrive, “snap out of it.” Ritru said looking at the blank stare of T’Prel. “Help is on the way,” she reassured her even though she was unsure if she could even hear her.

A short time later Sh’esirr arrived and entered the shared quarters, walking into the room they were located in. “what happened?” Sh’esirr asked looking at Ritru.

“I am not sure,” Ritru began. “I know that she requested to come to our quarters to meditate saying she wasn’t feeling right. I decided to come and check on her to see if she was doing alright and found her like this.” Ritru finished looking at the doctor.

Sh’esirr nodded as he pulled out his tricorder and began to scan T’Prel, after a few moments “she seems to be in some sort of comatose state, likely from the effects of the blood dilithium.” He finally spoke looking at Ritru. “We need to get her to sickbay,” he added.

“Understood,” Ritru replied as she was worried about her.

“Computer two to transport directing to the main infirmary,” Sh’esirr said and a short time later the two disappeared from their quarters.

Ritru stood there for a few moments knowing that there wasn’t much she could do at this point. Ritru decided to return to the bridge to inform the captain of what had happened. She walked out of her quarters heading toward the turbolift. “Bridge,” she replied as she entered with the doors closing shut behind her.

A few moments had passed as the lift came to a stop, walking out she looked at Azras who could tell there was something wrong. “What is wrong Ritru?” Azras asked looking at her, she had worked with Ritru long enough to know that something was bothering her.

“T’Prel is currently in sickbay in a comatose state,” she began to explain. “The doctor thinks she is being affected by the blood dilithium. I went to check on her and found her unconscious.” Ritru explained, “Sh’esirr will keep us updated on her condition.”

Azras nodded with a sigh, looked like the cortical inhibitor just wasn’t strong enough to block the effects of having this much dilithium in their cargo bay. “How are you feeling?” Azras asked looking at her, she knew there would be a possibility that Romulans could also be affected though she didn’t know to what extent.

“I am fine, the inhibitor seems to be working for me,” Ritru replied as she knew Azras was concerned for her wellbeing as well. “I am just worried about T’Prel,” she admitted as she sat down at her station.

Azras nodded as she was about to speak when Dazra interrupted her from the tactical console, “looks like the Devore is catching up. They are still outside of firing range, they are still gaining ground.” Dazra replied looking at the Captain.

“Lovely,” Azras replied as she adjusted in her chair.

Ritru looked back at the captain, “sir we are getting an incoming hail from the Devore ship.” Ritru replied.

Taking a deep breath she looked at Ritru, “now they wish to talk?” Azras asked as they didn’t seem to want to on their last encounter with their scout ships. “Let them wait a bit,” she said as she sat in her chair waiting for a few more minutes.

“Aye sir,” Ritru said as she couldn’t help but smile.

After a few minutes had passed, letting them wait until she was ready she looked at Ritru. “Put it through,” Azras replied as the screen changed to show the face of an older Devore man staring at her through the screen. “Decided you wanted to talk this time?” Azras said bluntly before continuing, “I am Captain Azras Dex of the Federation starship Saratoga, what can I do for you?” She asked as she looked at him as she could tell he was a bit irritated.

“I am Kelic, commander of the Devore Imperium warship. I first want to apologize for my subordinate’s behavior back at Miri and she has been dealt with accordingly.” He started with a rather malicious smile that sent chills down Azras back.

“Though that is not why I am contacting you,” Kelic replied as he leaned forward in his chair.

“Oh, then why are you contacting me if it wasn’t to apologize?” Azras asked as she looked at him with a leg crossed over the other. She knew exactly why he was contacting them she just wanted to have a bit of fun.

Kelic let out a laugh, “you have to be joking right?” He asked looking at the Trill captain. “You have no idea why we are contacting you?” He repeated himself, “we have been chasing you for the last several hours if you haven’t noticed.” Kelic responded as he knew that Azras was mocking him.

She looked at him for a brief moment, “can’t say that that we noticed.” Azras stated even though she knew that they were. “Though I am kind of curious as to why?” Azras asked as she tilted her head to the side.

Slamming his hand on the console next to him, “don’t play dumb with me, you have what belongs to us!” Kelic spat as he was getting angry.

Azras looked around the bridge for a moment before looking back at Kelic, “last time I checked we had nothing that belonged to you,” Azras replied.

“Hand over the blood dilithium you have taken from Miri, a planet that we claimed as ours!” Kelic almost yelled losing his patience.

“More like conquered,” Chon’al spat as Azras just glared at him for a moment.

Azras stood up from her chair walking closer to the viewscreen, “why would we hand over something for you to use against the Brenari or any other telepaths?” Azras replied looking at him, “people who you describe to be untrustworthy or less superior than you.” Azras countered about ready to lose her patience. 

She walked closer as if to tell him a secret, “you will have to try and take it by force.” Azras said glaring at him which just made him even angrier.

“You can count on that,” Kelic responded before the viewscreen went back to its normal view of space as they traveled at warp.

“That went well,” Odan replied looking at the Captain.

“Extremely,” Azras replied as she sat back in her chair.

It had begun to settle down, silence once again filled the bridge before Odan broke the silence. “Um sir,” Odan said almost in a panicked voice looking at the captain. “I am detecting an Hirogen ship up ahead!” Odan added as they were almost on top of the ship as it came out of stealth mode.

Looking at the viewscreen she looked at the Hirogen ship that lay ahead of them. “Shit,” Azras cursed before looking at Lieutenant Rass. “Alter course and get us out of here!” She exclaimed looking at Rass as the ship went to red alert.

“Aye sir,” Rass replied as the ship quickly altered course heading in the opposite direction. The ship began to move quickly away from the Hirogen, and they knew that it would be a matter of time before there was a firefight between the two.

One could feel the tensions that continued to rise amongst the officers, to the point where it almost felt like they were holding their breath. “They are following, though it doesn’t look like they have locked weapons on us yet,” Dazra replied from her console breaking the silence.

“From what I have read they like to give chase before that happens,” Chon’al chimed in from his station after he pulled up the information about the Hirogen. “They stalk their prey, give chase then attack.” He added looking up from his console.

“Great,” Azras replied.

“Sir,” Dazra spoke up almost in a confused tone in her voice. “It looks like the Devore ship is backing off and are turning around. They’re heading back to their territory,” Dazra replied looking at the captain.

Azras nodded as it was bad enough with the Devore tailing them, now to add the Hirogen into the mix. They didn’t need both to worry about, “at least they will be the least of our worries now,” Azras said as the Hirogen continued to give chase.

“Sir the Devore ship is hailing us again,” Ritru spoke up from her station.

Azras let out a visible sigh before she responded, “on screen.” She ordered as the viewscreen came to life to show Kelic looking back at the captain.

“Captain, consider this your lucky day,” Kelic said looking at her.

Azras looked at Kelic, “how very kind of you.” She replied sarcastically as she looked at Kelic. “I am just satisfied that you won’t be getting your hands on this batch of blood dilithium,” Azras replied.

Kelic shrugged, “that might be the case, as I am sure you have more pressing matters to take care of with that Hirogen ship that is on your tail.” He replied with a grin. “I’d rather not get involved with the Hirogen, so count yourself lucky,” Kelic replied still showing his malicious smile.

Azras looked at him not impressed, “so very thoughtful of you.” Azras replied.

“Well, I won’t keep you from your new problem, Kelic out,” Kelic replied before the communications ended.

Azras sighed before turning her attention to Rass who was sitting at the helm station, “Lieutenant, can you take us to warp 9.96 in hopes of gaining a bit of ground away from them?” Azras asked looking at the young Andorian.

“I can but we can only use that for twelve hours straight before we have to slow down,” Rass replied.

“Do it,” Azras said looking at him.

“Aye sir,” Rass replied as he tapped a few controls on his console and the ship increased speed to 9.96.

The bridge went silent, tensions were even higher now that the Hirogen were hunting them. She wasn’t expecting to see them as they seemed to be far from their space which was several days’ journey in the opposite direction. She wondered why they were even here, though with the increase of activity within the Delta Quadrant they probably wanted part of the action and new prey to claim. The ship continued on its way, while the ship’s weapons systems were online and ready for when the time would come.

The Saratoga had continued on their current course and speed, though it looked like the Hirogen ship was well enough behind them. One would think that they were playing games with them and that it would only be a matter of time before they speed up to end the game. Everyone that was on the bridge was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Breaking the silence, “let’s play a little cat and mouse game. Lieutenant, alter course” Azras ordered looking at Rass.

“Aye sir,” came his reply as the ship suddenly altered course going in a bit of a different direction than they were previously.

“Do you think this will even work?” Chon’al spoke up from his station. “They will not give up their hunt even with us changing course,” Chon’al added as he looked at her.

“Probably not though it might buy us some time,” Azras said as she sulked in her chair.

Rubbing her hands over her face for a moment before she turned towards Dazra, “get security guards on all major decks.” Azras began to speak, “I’d rather not be caught off guard if we end up getting boarded.” Azras finished.

“Aye sir,” Dazra replied before sending a message to Lieutenant Holman to get teams in place.

It had been a while since they had been at emergency warp, “Jheria how are the engines holding up?” Azras asked looking over to where Jheria was located at the engineering console.

“Everything is in the green I have no current concerns,” Jheria replied looking at the captain.

Azras nodded at the statement before she turned to Rass, “alter course again and continue every fifteen minutes.” She replied as she wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to keep this up.

“Understood,” Rass replied before the ship altered course again.

“They are still following, though it seems they are a bit thrown off by our constant course changes,” Odan spoke up from his station as the captain just nodded. Silence once again filled the bridge as they continued, changing course every so often. This would continue for the next hour.

“Sir, security teams reporting ready at all major decks as well as the crew has weapons and are ready,” Dazra spoke up from her console.

“Great,” Azras replied.

Chon’al sat at his console wondering what they were up to, this cat-and-mouse game kept going on with them not doing anything. He wondered how much longer this would go on, “I wonder if they are trying to wear us out?” Chon’al spoke up not directed at anyone in particular.

“It’s hard telling,” Dazra replied with a shrug then her console beeped. “Um sir, they have increased speed and are arming weapons at us, sir!” Dazra exclaimed looking at the captain.

Looking at Rass, “take us out of warp, engage impulse engines.” Azras ordered before turning to Dazra, “lock weapons on the Hirogen and get me a targeting solution immediately!” Azras said looking over at the Trill woman at tactical.

The ship dropped out of warp as it moved around to face the Hirogen ship that had stopped just in front of them. “Targeting solution acquired and our weapons are ready,” Dazra spoke up from her station, “if we concentrate fire on their forward shields we should be able to disable their weapons array. It looks like they have more shielding protecting their engines than they do their main weapons array,” Dazra added as Azras nodded.

The Hirogen began to fire upon the Saratoga, the ship rocked upon impact. “Invasive maneuvers fire phasers and quantum torpedoes,” Azras ordered as the ship began to move and fire upon the Hirogen ship. 

The Hirogen continued their fire upon the ship, and the next volley of fire upon the ship caused some of the consoles on the bridge to erupt. Which sent Chon’al flying from his station. Ritru ran over to check on him, “sir we need medical up here.” Ritru replied looking at the captain.

“Bridge to Sh’esirr we have a medical emergency on the bridge,” Azras replied.

“On my way sir,” Sh’esirr replied.

Upon arrival, Sh’esirr examined Chon’al who was currently unconscious bleeding from the head. “Computer two to transport directly to the infirmary,” he ordered as moments later the two of them disappeared from the bridge.

The two ships continued their firefight between each other, “sir our shields are at sixty percent.” Dazra replied as the next volley of weapons fire hit causing hull breaches on several decks.

“Sir we have hull breaches on decks four through six, forcefields are in place and holding.” Odan replied from his console, “casualty reports are coming in as well as injuries.” Odan said with a solemn look on his face.

“Sir we are being boarded,” Dazra replied as she began listing off the decks. Just then two Hirogen hunters appeared on the bridge.

“You gave us a good hunt, now it’s over!” Exclaimed one of the hunters.

“That’s what you think,” Odan replied as all weapons were trained on the two hunters.

The hunters let out a laugh, “you think your weapons are a match for us?” he asked as he shot Rass, though it only seemed to stun him. Which caused the others to open fire on the two hunters.

Odan had aimed his just right and took one of the hunters down, the fight continued throughout the ship as officers began to take down the intruders. Things were tense for a good twenty or so minutes.

“Sir, the rest of the ship is reporting that the hunters have been neutralized,” Dazra replied from her station.

“Well looks like you lost, so I would take your wounded and leave my ship!” Azras replied looking at the hunter that looked to be the leader.

He didn’t say anything else and soon he and the wounded disappeared, a short time later the ship rocked again as the Hirogen ship fired on them again. “Fire full spread,” Azras ordered as the ship began to fire on the Hirogen ship taking out their weapons array.

“Sir they are leaving, they sustained heavy damage” Dazra replied as medical again walked onto the bridge to take care of Rass who was shot and was later transported to the infirmary from his injuries. The medics also took care of some minor wounds that Azras and a couple of other officers sustained.

“I want a full damage and casualty report,” Azras ordered as she sulked back in her chair.

Both Jheria and Odan nodded as they uploaded both reports onto a padd and handed it to the captain to read. Fifteen officers lost their lives while fifty others were injured, damage was minimal compared to what it could have been. “How soon can repairs be done?” Azras asked as they needed to take care of the hull breaches.

“It would take several hours,” Jheria replied.

“Very well, get repairs started with getting those hull breaches taken care of first,” Azras ordered.

“Aye sir,” Jheria replied as she walked off the bridge.

“Ritru send a coded message to the Oneida explaining our situation and that we will be late returning,” Azras ordered as she stood up from her chair. “Also, you have the bridge,” Azras replied which caused Ritru to raise her eyebrow but didn’t question the order.

“Understood sir,” Ritru replied sending the message to the Oneida before standing up from her station. She walked over to the captain’s chair looking at it for a few moments before she took the seat.

Azras had walked into her ready room as the doors closed she let out a very loud scream which could be heard from the bridge. Everyone looked at each other wondering what was wrong.

Odan knew, he knew when he got the casualty report. He looked down as everyone looked at him. “Her son was killed in the hull breach, he was on deck four in one of the classrooms,” Odan said as a tear ran down his face as everyone’s expression changed to sadness.

A few moments later after composing herself, Azras exited the ready room and headed towards the turbolift, she was heading to the cargo bay where Arzin was located. He was helping Damir make sure the dilithium remained stable during their altercation with the Hirogen and had no idea of what had happened to their son. 

Engineering teams began their work on repairing the hull breaches so they would be able to get underway while repairing the remaining damage that the Saratoga had sustained. This would take several hours for them to complete while watching out for enemy vessels.

A couple of days had passed since their altercation with the Hirogen ship, and repairs to the hull breaches were now complete. The ship had already begun its journey towards the Monean homeworld to rendezvous with the Oneida. Arzin had already been awake for a while and was in the kitchen making breakfast, as Azras had just woken up. Sitting on the edge of the bed she rubbed her face for a few moments before walking into the washroom. The last few days had seemed to be nothing but a nightmare, one that no parent should ever have to face.

Walking into the shower she let the warm water hit her, and wash over her as tears began to stream down her face again. She knew the risks, she knew that anything could happen at any moment. She wished she would have left her children back at Deep Space 47, where she knew they would be safe.

She blamed herself for her son being killed, blinded by wanting her family with her at all times and not seeing what dangers lay ahead of them. After what seemed like hours of just standing there wallowing in her sorrow, she turned off the shower got dried off, and dressed.

Walking out of the bedroom she found Arzin finishing setting the table with the food he had prepared. “Good morning my love,” Arzin replied walking over to her and kissing her softly. He too was heartbroken about the death of his son, he wanted to be strong for his wife.

“Morning,” Azras replied returning the kiss before they both walked over to the table. Taking a seat they both remained quiet as they ate their meal.

“So I hear the ships been repaired and were on our way towards the Monean homeworld,” Arzin commented after taking a bite of his food. He was just trying to make some small talk to break the silence.

Azras looked at him and nodded, “hopefully we can get out of this place soon enough!” Azras replied speaking about returning home. “I need to get to the bridge,” Azras replied after she took the last bite of her food. She was about to head towards the door before she stopped, turning back towards her husband and kissing him before she exited.

Arzin began to clean up the plates from breakfast, thoughts ran through his mind including what they would need to tell Linha when she returned to the ship. She was currently on the Oneida, that only devastated him more as the two had a special sibling bond that would now be broken.

A little while later Azras arrived on the bridge, Ritru had stood up from the center seat. “We should be arriving at the Monean homeworld in a couple of hours,” Ritru said as Azras took her seat.

“Thank you,” Azras replied. “How are repairs coming?” Azras asked as Jheria just walked onto the bridge.

“Hull damage has been repaired, we are still working on a few minor repairs. Though overall things are looking good.” Jheria replied as she walked over to her station to send the report that she had made to Azras.

Damir moved from his station to where the captain was sitting, handing her a padd with the information on it. “We just got this from the USS Discovery.” Damir began as Azras took the padd from him and began to look at it. “They believe they found a way to get rid of the blood dilithium, it looks like we need to modify a class-v probe and shoot it into an anomaly. This will in turn act as a magnet of sorts to draw the dilithium back into subspace where it came from.” Damir finished speaking as Azras continued reading the information.

“How difficult would it be for the Oneida to fabricate?” Azras asked looking up at Damir.

“Not complicated,” Damir replied. “Once we rendezvous with them I can beam over and duplicate one,” Damir added looking at her.

“Very well,” Azras replied as Damir walked back to his station.

“There is a good-sized anomaly near Miri,” Damir commented remembering he detected one when they were last at that location.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Azras replied as she sat there for a moment. “I’ll be in my office,” Azras replied as she got up from her chair and headed towards her ready room. Upon entering she grabbed a coffee from the replicator and walked over to her chair.

Rubbing a hand over her eyes, this mission had taken its toll on her, the crew as well as the ship. T’Prel remained unconscious in their infirmary while they had a whole cargo bay full of blood dilithium. Now they had a way for them to get rid of it, without it falling into the wrong hands. 

She knew that if she returned to Miri to deal with the anomaly there would be Devore attempting to stop them from doing so. She then thought of a plan that she would share with the others once they arrived at the Monean homeworld. She began to work on reports and other items she had neglected over the last couple of days. A couple of hours had passed by and she could feel the ship drop out of warp. Getting up from her seat she headed out onto the bridge before Ritru even had a chance to contact her.

“Send a message to Deza, have her come to the conference room.” Azras replied as Ritru nodded, “I’d also like to see senior staff that is on the bridge in the conference room as well.” Azras added as everyone else seemed to raise an eyebrow but nodded in acceptance.

She looked at Damir, “I would like you to attend as well since you are acting chief at the moment.” Azras said.

“Understood sir,” Damir replied.

Everyone had walked into the conference room, sitting down at the table where Azras had taken a seat. They all wondered what was going on and why only a handful of senior staff was attending this meeting. 

After everyone had arrived and were seated, “recently the Discovery found a way to eliminate the blood dilithium and free the souls of the lost Brenari.” Azras began as she pulled up the information on the screen.

“The plan will be that we will head towards Miri where there is a good-sized anomaly,” Azras began. “Damir will be on the Oneida to modify a class-v probe that will be fired into the anomaly which will then act as a magnet and cause the blood dilithium to disappear back into subspace where it originated.” She continued before taking a breath and looking at everyone’s expressions.

“Now the Devore will be on heavy resistance as this will foul their plans, so our plan is going to be simple.” Azras said as she stood up from her chair, “once we reach Miri Ritru will contact Kelic and let him know that ‘we’ would like to hand over the blood dilithium that we took.” Azras began as others were about to protest she raised her hand to stop them. “I know what your thinking, if we do that then they win and get what they want,” Azras said as most of them nodded to that statement.

“We will transport the dilithium to their ship, once it’s on board before they have a chance to even raise shields. Deza on board the Oneida will fire on the Devore warship disabling both their engines and weapons arrays while also firing the class-v probe into the anomaly at the same time.” Azras said as she looked at them. “This will cause the blood dilithium to disappear and any that are in the general area as well,” Azras finished.

“Any questions?” Azras asked looking at them as they just shook their heads, “alright dismissed.” Azras said as everyone walked out of the conference room, heading back to their stations and the two back over to the Oneida. A short time later both ships went to warp heading towards Miri.

After a few hours had passed, the two ships dropped out of warp. “Scan the area for any Devore ships,” Azras ordered as she walked out onto the bridge. The Oneida had gotten into place making it appear they were docked with the ship.

“I am not detecting any on sensors,” Dazra replied from her station.

Azras nodded then gave Ritru the go to send Kelic the transmission, now they waited for either a response from Kelic or his ship showing up at the coordinates that Ritru provided in the transmission.

“Damir reports that they have finished with the modified class-v probe and are ready when it’s time,” Ritru replied from her station as Azras just nodded. So far they hadn’t gotten any response from Kelic, so they sat there and waited.

“Sir a Devore warship just dropped out of warp and is hailing us,” Ritru replied from her station. “It is Kelic,” she added as Azras nodded to put it on the viewscreen.

The look on Kelic’s face was priceless though that quickly changed, “I was a bit taken back when we got a communication from you captain.” Kelic replied as he looked at her, “though I am surprised that you survived that Hirogen ship back there.” He added as he adjusted in his seat.

“You think that they could take us down?” Azras asked with a smirk on her face, “nevermind that.” She said waving a hand dismissively, “that is not why I am here and that is not why I have contacted you.” Azras replied looking at the Devore commander.

“And why would that be?” Kelic asked as he was curious himself.

“I decided that I wanted to return what we took,” Azras replied keeping a poker face even though internally she was smirking at the expression on the man’s face.

He for once in his life was speechless, “come again? You want to return what you took?” He asked trying to figure out if he heard her correctly. “What is the catch?” Kelic asked as he looked over at his first officer for a brief moment who just shrugged at him before returning his attention to Azras.

“No catch,” Azras said.

Kelic couldn’t help but think that this was a setup, though on his better judgment “very well.” Kelic replied as both ships lowered their shields and the transport had begun. 

Azras by this time was standing with her hands behind her back as she would use this to signal Ritru to covertly make contact with the Oneida to give them the signal. After a few tense moments, “sir transport has been completed.” Dazra replied from her console.

“Understood,” Azras replied as she gave the signal. “There you have your precious blood dilithium,” Azras said to Kelic. Though before Kelic had a chance to respond the Oneida fired upon the Devore ship before it had a chance to raise shields. It also fired the class-v probe into the anomaly that was close by.

“What have you done,” Kelic replied in anger as his ship was now disabled.

“Do you think that I would let you have it without a catch?” Azras asked with a bit of a smirk on her face.

“You will pay for this,” Kelic replied.

Pressing her lips together for a brief moment, “I mean you can try but we will be long gone before you have a chance to repair your ship,” Azras replied before she walked up closer to the viewscreen. “Enjoy that dilithium while it lasts,” Azras replied with a smile.

“What do you mean?” Kelic asked with a bit of confusion in his voice.

Before Azras had a chance to respond Noric spoke up from his seat, “sir the dilithium is disappearing from our cargo hold.” Noric replied looking at Kelic who growled.

Raising her hands in the air, “oh we don’t have it as you are free to scan our ship if you like,” Azras replied looking at him.

Kelic looked at Noric and shook his head, “then why is it disappearing?” He questioned looking even angrier than the last time she ran into him.

“I am pretty sure your team can figure that out,” Azras began with a smile. “I got to say it has been nice catching up with you Kelic. I don’t mean to be so rude but we have places to be!” Azras replied as she looked towards Ritru giving her the signal to end the communications channel.

“Once the Oneida has docked get us out of here,” Azras ordered.

“Aye sir,” Rass replied.

Azras sat back in her chair and let out a huge sigh, she knew she shouldn’t have taken pleasure in what just transpired but in the same sense, it gave her a bit of a relief that the blood dilithium would be out of their hands for good. Once the Oneida had docked the ship went to warp heading toward its next destination.