“All hands, attention to orders  From Starfleet Headquarters, Office of the Admiralty, to Captain Cambil Bexa. As of this date, you are requested and required to take command of U-S-S Themis. Signed, Vice Admiral Zack A.J. Marshall-Bennet, Stardate seven-seven-nine-seven-seven point seven.” Bennet smiled as he passed the PADD with said orders to the Themis’s new commander. “Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Cambil, authorisation Bennet-One-Seven-Bravo-Foxtrot.”

“Command codes transferred. U-S-S Themis now under the command of Captain Cambil.”

Cambil grinned from ear to ear at the admiral before speaking. “I relieve you, sir.” 

“I stand relieved,” The admiral replied.

Cambil looked around the bridge at the crowd gathered around as they started to clap after the ceremony ended. Most of them were her crew, along with a few members from the starbase including Admiral Vallis. The Vulcan woman who commanded the base and the Delta Exploration Initiative remained as quiet and calm as a statue. 

“Dismissed,” Cambil ordered everyone around her as Bennet closed the distance between them. He had been standing in front of her new chair. 

A former captain himself of a handful of ships, Bennet had risen through the chain of command rapidly recently within the Fourth Fleet. “She’s a fine ship, Bexa. Look after her!”

“I will, sir,” She replied to the director of fleet operations.

Bennet gestured for them to head towards her ready room for them to have some privacy. Once they were in, Cambil offered Bennet a mug of tea. She knew he was an avid fan of the hot beverage, so she wasn’t surprised when he accepted her offer. Going to the replicator, she order two mugs of Bajoran Deka tea and took them over to him. “Here you go, sir.”

“Thank you, Bexa,” Bennet said with an appreciative smile. He had settled onto the long corned sofa that ran in the opposite corner to the door. 

Joining him on the comfortable sofa, its new smell still apparent, Cambil took a sip from her tea. “It’s not quite as good as the real stuff,” She muttered.

“Nothing replicated ever is,” Bennet responded after a sip of his tea before setting it down on the small circular coffee table by their feet. “I have to say Bexa, I am intrigued what made you reconsider a starship assignment, let alone your own command?”

Smirking at that, Cambil had wondered how long it would be before the admiral asked her why she placed herself back on the active starship assignment roster. “Well with the Starfleet Academy campus on Olbari Two falling through, my life on the colony was becoming a bit…” She paused as she considered the phrasing. “It was too consistent.”

Now the admiral chuckled. “Too consistent? Otherwise, nothing exciting was happening.”

“Indeed,” She laughed back. “My husband, my sons and I loved being home. Olbari is where I grew up during the occupation. I was fortunate enough to be far away from the horrors so many of my people endured. Olbari is a peaceful planet, almost like a second Bajor, but besides the arrival of an orb at a local monastery, nothing else was happening. The Starfleet Academy Campus project that I was leading was almost ready to go, but when the Star Empire collapsed and the Federation still recovering from the Century Storm, resources were relocated. With the entire project left on hold, sitting at home and waiting made me feel useless.”

“I get that,” Bennet said. “It’s something about wearing the uniform that you need to be doing something all of the time.”

“Exactly, sir,” She said with a nod. “My husband noticed how restless I was becoming and he suggested that I look at finding either an assignment nearby or somewhere we could move to which would allow families. My sons were also bored to death on being a planet. I suppose they were used to be raised on a starship.”

“So I suppose my offer of joining the Odyssey was something you couldn’t resist?” Bennet asked before picking up his tea and sipping on it again.

Cambil answered with a simple, “Yep,” 

“Well, I won’t lie Bexa, I never thought we would see you back out in the field. You’re a fine officer, and I hope you enjoy the centre seat on the Themis worth your time,” Bennet mentioned. 

“I hope so too, admiral,” She replied. “I take it from the message I received earlier that my old commanding officer is eager to chat with me?”

“Eager? I think James may have an aneurysm if you don’t talk sooner,” Bennet stated with another chuckle. “I know the news of his promotion and the squadron came out of the blue, especially the fact that your request to fill most of the senior officer positions with Odyssey crew.”

“Yeah, I feel he may demand something back for that one, but I’m sure if I cook him his favourite hasperat, then I may be back in his good books,” Cambil shared. 

“I would,” Bennet insisted with a wry smile. “However, I think having his former first officer as his deputy out there would be a welcome change, especially with where you’ll be heading.”

“Deeper into the Delta Quadrant, I see from the briefing package I got from Admiral Vallis’ office this morning,” Cambil stated, picking up a PADD on the small side cabinet behind her. “A course that almost follows the same one that Voyager took, beyond the Gradin Belt and towards the Swallow Nebula region.”

“There’s still so much we don’t know about what has happened in that area, having a presence like your expeditionary force out there will greatly assist.” Bennet shared. “We know the Malon, Hirogen and most recently the Devore, are still active, but knowing the status of other powers in the region would be helpful.”

“I kind of feel that perhaps you should be sending a fleet of Cali-classes to do this, sir!” Cambil joked.

“Don’t suggest things like that, otherwise I think Fleet Admiral Ramar may propose it at the next meeting I have with him!” Bennet replied. “Back to one of my earlier points, are you sure you want to wait until you rendezvous with the rest of your new senior staff in the Delta Quadrant? Are you sure you have enough experienced hands in the meantime?”

Cambil nodded with confidence. “Absolutely, I suppose having a blank canvas in building up the crew of the Themis has given me an opportunity to ensure that everyone who is on board knows their stuff.”

“I suppose with the Themis’ earlier refit did force her former captain and crew to take up positions elsewhere,” Bennet commented.  “Captain Kamzo sends his regards. However, I think he is enjoying the command of a brand new Vesta-class to be an easy distraction in getting over being reassigned from the Themis.”

Hearing that the former Saurian captain was happier in his new assignment made Cambil feel assured she was no longer a stranger on someone else’s ship. The Themis had been dry-docked at Starbase 38 for some time now, receiving an early refit so she could join the efforts in the Delta Quadrant. When the Star Empire collapsed, Starfleet quickly moved Captain Kamzo and his entire crew from the Themis to a brand new ship that was just about to be launched from Devron Fleet Yards to assist with Starfleet’s response in aiding their Romulan neighbours. “Please pass on my thanks, if you hear from him again, sir,” Cambil said.

Bennet nodded and finished the contents of his mug. Standing up, he pushed his uniform down, “I best be going, but good luck Bexa.”

“Thank you, sir.” Cambil, standing up and shaking the admiral’s hand. “I feel blessed by the Prophets.”

“Then may you walk the path they have laid for you,” Bennet said.

Appreciating that blessing, even though she knew he was a non-believer, Cambil took every piece of good luck she could get in taking command of her first ship. She had some big boots to fill but was looking forward to it.

Once her entire senior staff had finally arrived. 

She walked the admiral out of her office before turning back around and heading straight to her desk to prepare her message back to her new/old commanding officer.  

With a mug of hot Deka tea in one hand and a PADD in the other, Captain Cambil Bexa rolled her shoulders backwards as she read the latest departmental reports. She was sitting in her ready room, behind her desk catching up on the administrative work she was trying to keep ahead of. So far, the Themis was operating as expected, and everyone appeared to be settling into their new roles. She had to admit that this new ship was certainly a welcome change. Though it was large, it wasn’t as massive as the Odyssey, but on the other hand, it wasn’t too small to feel cramped. It reminded her of the famous children’s tale from Earth’s past about a young girl who had stumbled into a house and struggled to find the almost perfect chair, bed and food to eat.  

In the background of the room, she was playing a soothing musical composition played by a tivara. It was light and calming. While she was the first officer of the Odyssey, she had walked in on James McCallister listening to similar music. She had caught him humming songs and knew that he shared a similar passion for music with his son, Theo. At that point, the chime went off, and she instantly answered it by telling her guest to enter. Placing the PADD down, the golden brunette Bajoran captain turned in her chair to see the doors parted open allowing her first officer to enter.

“Tremt,” She greeted. “Are you okay?”

The Betazoid man nodded as he approached her desk. “We’re almost approaching System V-D-Q-five-oh-five, captain.”

Finishing her tea quickly, Cambil sat up straight and placed her mug down. “Thanks for the heads up. Are we all good to go?” She asked as she stood up, pulling her uniform jacket off from the back of her chair and putting it on. 

Hunsen nodded. “We are and T’Rani wanted me to tell you that our new Valkyrie fighter wing is ready to be deployed.”

Zipping up her jacket, Cambil nodded. “That’s good to hear, I know James is eager to see them show off their stuff while we’re here.”

“Indeed,” Hunsen said in a nonchalant tone. 

Noticing the way he said that, Cambil paused before she clipped her jacket together. “Something wrong with our squadron commander, Number One?” She hadn’t used that phrase for him yet, but it felt like a good enough time to use it to establish a boundary between her and her first officer. One she had hoped she didn’t need. “I’m not detecting an issue with your former commanding officer that I need to be aware of?”

Hunsen shook his head and sensed the change in Cambil’s emotions, this caused him to change too. “No, ma’am, sorry.”

Feeling an ounce of sympathy for him, Cambil got it. “I understand it must be hard for you, Tremt, I do get it. When I left the Odyssey, I wondered if I had made the right choice. Was I making too much of a sacrifice? And I know you’ve given up a lot, especially with Louwanna, however, I need to know if you’re able to do your duties or not?”

Hunsen stood up straight in front of her. “I can, captain. I’m sorry.”

Fastening her uniform jacket, and flicking her long straight hair behind her, Cambil appreciated the response. “Thank you, Tremt, but I want you to hear it from me. Whatever happened between you and the others during the last mission, you must find a way to discuss it. If not, then it will consume you and you won’t be the first officer, I want.”

Hunsen paused before he said anything. “Then I need to be honest and upfront.”

“It’s about time,” Cambil indicated for him to take a seat on the sofa opposite her desk as she moved around to join him. “I read Fleet Captain McCallister’s after-action report. You can’t be blaming yourself for what happened, Tremt?”

“I do and I don’t,” He replied as he sat on the edge and rubbed his hands together. “I hurt not only Louwanna, but the captain, and his sons, plus I put Max and Tobias’ youngest son in danger.”

“You were under the influence of an infant bioplasmic lifeform who was high on blood dilithium,” Cambil reminded him, but soon realised those words would never be enough for him to forgive himself. “Listen, Tremt, however hard it is to understand what happened and why you couldn’t control yourselves will only become more difficult if you continue to beat yourself over this. Yes, it happened, but you need to come to terms with it. You and Max are best friends, you were James’ first officer for a brief stint while he commanded the Avenger, you are Imzadi to Louwanna. These people are important to you as much as they are to you.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” He asked in a louder tone and stood up in frustration. Pushing his fingers through his hair he walked over to the window and gazed out of it. “I’m sorry, captain. I didn’t mean to blurt that out.”

Cambil smirked. “When it’s just us, is this sort of situation, then I’ll allow it a few times,” she stood up herself. “But Tremt, I’ll say it again, you need to come to terms with this. You’ve got to live with it.”

He turned to her. “The thing that scares me the most is that if I’m capable of doing what I did under the influence of an alien lifeform, what else am I capable of?” 

“Not any of what you and the others went through,” Cambil assured him. “Remember, you weren’t alone and others, like T’Rani, and Samris, were all affected by it.”

He sighed. “You’re right.”

“I’m the captain, I’m always right!” She returned with the same grin as she crossed her arms. “Now, is my first officer able to join me for our first mission or am I going to have to relieve him?”

Hunsen shook his head. “You won’t need to do that, ma’am. I’m ready.”

“Good,” she said as she motioned for them to leave her ready room. “As I’m still giddy at the huge ship that Starfleet has given us!”

Reading the latest crew medical evaluations, Remi Forbes was walking towards his office when he stopped by the replicator and ordered an Earl Grey tea. After picking up the drink, he continued his journey but stopped when the door to sickbay opened, and Lieutenant Decter Jines entered. 

“Decter, please state the nature of the medical emergency,” Forbes said as he carried on into his office.

Chuckling somewhat at Forbes’ lame attempt at humour, the Rutian operations manager followed Forbes and presented him with a PADD of his own. “I just wanted to let you know the last of the medical supplies we picked up at the Markonian Outpost have been stored away for you. Here’s your inventory.”

After putting his mug down and the other PADD he had been reading, Forbes took the device from Jines. “Thanks, Dects,” He offered Jines the armchair on the other side of the desk before he sat down. “How are you finding your new job?”

“Exhilarating and exhausting,” Jines said as he sat down. Rubbing his left lobe, he looked at Forbes, “And you?”

“Same,” Forbes replied. “Though the crew is pretty new to the Themis, there’s not many who have not served in at least one assignment before coming here.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. Captain Cambil has assembled a reasonably experienced crew. No fresh green graduates from the academy.”

“So far,” Forbes stated as he took a sip from his tea. “Once the crew has established itself, then I reckon we’ll have our fair share of cadets and freshly squeezed ensigns.” 

“The only good thing about joining the Themis that I’ve enjoyed so far is the larger quarters.” Jines shared. 

“Really? I don’t see the difference between what I’ve now compared to what I had on the Odyssey.” Forbes said in between sips. “In fact, I kind of miss the larger medical complex on the Odyssey.”

“You were spoilt with the Odyssey’s huge sickbay,” Jines stated.

“That I was,” Forbes admitted. “Though, at least here, I get to make the shots.”

“Another positive?” Jines checked. “That said, I am finding it weird not checking things over with Lukiz.”

Forbes nodded. “I know what you mean, I’m expecting to hear Doctor Slyvexs call out for something or to tell me I’ve made the wrong choice.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Jines asked. “I mean to be working without a net after all these?”

“It is, but it is exciting,” Forbes revealed. “Have you met our new chief engineer, yet?”

“Brash?” Jines checked. “Yeah, he seems quite impressive. I’m certain he and Commander Hunsen will get on like a house on fire.”

 “Has he said anything about everyone else on the senior staff being from the Odyssey?” Forbes checked. 

“Nope,” Jines answered. “Well, not that I’ve heard, but I’m sure it might be in the forefront of his thoughts.” 

“We should bring him in the fold sooner rather than later,” Forbes suggested.

“What do you have in mind?” Jines asked.

Forbes took another sip before replying. “Samris and I were going to organise a weekly senior staff poker game.”

“Poker?” Jines repeated, sounding confused.

“Yeah, it’s a game with cards and chips. A bit like tongo but without a spinning wheel and latinum strips.” Forbes said. “It may break the ice and bring us all together a bit better. T’Rani and Abbej are in. I’ve got to work on Cline, so if you work on our Tellarite chief engineer, I’d appreciate it.”

“Consider it done,” Jines agreed. “What about the captain and commander?”

Forbes paused before sipping again. “You know what, I never thought about it.”

“You can’t leave them out,” Jines said. “Can you?”

The doors to stellar cartography opened up and instantly, Abbej looked over her left shoulder and was surprised to see T’Rani entering. “T’Rani, are you here to surrender now before our poker game tonight?”

Raising one eyebrow, the Vulcan pilot looked at the Boslic scientist with a blank expression. “That is quite an illogical statement, commander.”

“I’m just teasing you, T’Rani,” Abbej said with a chuckle before resuming her work. “What can I do for you?”

T’Rani had paced across the long catwalk to where Abbej was working on the central podium. “We are about to enter System V-D-Q-five-oh-five and I wanted to confirm that the lateral sensor array will be allocated to support the monitoring of our fighter squadron as they undertake their first field tests.”

Picking up a PADD and focussing on her work, the chief science officer nodded. “The allocations for the lateral sensor array have already been handed out, T’Rani. The fighter wing will be well monitored.”

“Thank you, but I would like to request sole use during the tests,” T’Rani stated with her hands now clasped behind her back.

Abbej laughed at that before looking up from her PADDs towards the pilot. “Oh, you’re serious.”

“Quite.”

“T’Rani, I cannot allow sole custody for the most advanced sensor array on the Themis especially when the rest of our mission is a mapping exercise. I’ve already got planetary science asking for as much use while astrometrics and stellar cartography are fighting for a large amount too. Everyone has access to the same amount, that’s final.” Abbej insisted.

Appearing dissatisfied with that response, T’Rani stiffened her neck before replying. “Then I will need to take this matter up with Lieutenant Commander Jen then.”

“Jen?” Abbej questioned. “Don’t you mean Jines?”

Realising the faux pas she made, T’Rani was frustrated with herself but kept her posture. “Indeed,” she admitted as turned on her heel to leave the lab.

“T’Rani,” Abbej called out for her. “If the captain agrees to us using probes, then I can give you more access to the array.”

Hearing the suggestion, T’Rani nodded before the doors closed behind her. In her thoughts, she automatically decided she would need to meditate for longer tonight, she found herself slipping up with things like names ever since she became pregnant. Her focus was not as sharp as it once was. Doctor Forbes had called it her ‘baby brain’ which she knew she did not have, but it was just a human term of affection for why mothers forget certain facts. 

She definitely needed more meditation. Her mind wasn’t the only thing requesting a break from work. Her back and feet were feeling discomfort too. 

“We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile!”

“Incoming message from the Odyssey,” Commander Tremt Hunsen announced. “They want the wing of fighters launched at once.”

“Launch the Justice Expeditionary Wing, T’Rani,” Cambil ordered her chief flight control officer. 

The Vulcan pilot nodded as she sent the message to shuttle bay one for every fighter to launch. “All fighters launched, ma’am,” she said after a second.

“Good, tell them to standby for further orders,” Cambil ordered as she stood up from her chair. “Cline, are the Borg doing anything else?” She asked her tactical officer behind her.

Lenjir shook his head. “No, I’m not seeing anything that would indicate they’re preparing to attack us, captain. I’m trying to see if they have any other smaller craft but I’m not seeing anything that assembles a space-worthy craft.”

“With that amount of damage sustained to their ship when it crashed onto that planet, I’m surprised any of them survived,” Hunsen said as he looked at the reading from his own console. “I’d say that vessel was definitely a tactical cube, which begs why would they establish a shielding system and not attempt to build at least one weapon?”

“They’re tapping into the planet’s core to generate power,” announced Lieutenant Jines at operations.

“Elaborate, Decter. What do you mean?” Cambil asked as she walked over to peer over his shoulder.

Pointing to the scans of the planet he was taking, he showed her the tunnels the Borg had made and how they had somehow been using geothermal energy to power their shields. “Now that’s the collective we’ve all read about, being efficient and resourceful but Cline’s question still remains valid. Any other clues?” 

  Abbej then shared what she was seeing at the science station. “Though the planet is M-class, the atmosphere is barely there. I think the shield is acting in more than just one capacity. I think it is also keeping the atmosphere they’ve established.”

“But Borg can survive out in the coldness of space, their exoskeletons, personal force fields and link to the Hive Mind allow it,” Hunsen stated.

“What if they don’t have one or two of those things?” Abbej questioned. 

Cambil then looked back at the viewscreen, “Then they would need a powerful shield to protect themselves from the vacuum of space if there is barely an atmosphere present.”

Entering her shared quarters, Lieutenant Commander T’Rani looked around the dark room and instructed the computer to activate the lights. Though it was a large room, it wasn’t as big as what she had become accustomed to on the Odyssey. Nevertheless, it was acceptable. 

Gracefully she glided across the room towards her room and undid her uniform jacket. Then, inclined to meditate before meeting Samris for dinner, she disrobed herself and wore her appropriate comfortable attire. Returning to the main living area, she lit several candles and knelt on a cushion she had used since she had joined Starfleet. Closing her eyes and concentrating on her breathing, T’Rani started to feel her head feel less loaded with thoughts distracting from her time to rejuvenate. Feeling a slight twinge in her abdomen, she took a deeper breath to suppress it. However, she was unsuccessful when it reappeared several more times. 

It was the baby. She conceived the baby with Samris after she thought she would never carry a child for so long. Their last mission with the Odyssey, the enormous space-dwelling telepathic bioplasmic organism that had taken control of her and many other telepathic crewmembers, had somehow made it possible for her to have a child. Doctor Slyvexs had called it a miracle. T’Rani was unable to comprehend it all. It was scientifically impossible. Regardless, the data proved otherwise. 

Adjusting her posture, she sat straighter and changed her tactic. Instead, she focussed on the stars she could see glaring in through the windows of her quarters. Each one she considered a thought. 

The computer then interrupted her with an announcement. “You have an incoming datastream message.” 

Standing up, she walked over to the desk in the corner and asked who the message was from. When the computer announced it was from her mother, T’Giter, who resided on Vulcan, she was intrigued to view the message.

“Greetings, daughter. I hope this communique finds you well. I understand that Starfleet allows compressed data streams to your ship while exploring the Delta Quadrant. Therefore, I thought it was necessary to reply to your last message.” Her mother paused. T’Rani had determined that her mother had recorded the message while sitting in the garden of her home on Vulcan. “I bring salutations from your father. He and I are both well. We were astonished to hear the news that you are pregnant. Congratulations. We understand that your relationship with Counsellor Samris continues to advance. We both agree that we desire this new relationship to be successful and bring satisfaction to your life. We are pleased to become grandparents. Upon your return to Federation territory, unless you make other arrangements, we are prepared to organise for you and Samris to make your relationship formal among your family. We hope your mission in the Delta Quadrant does not keep you away for too long. Regardless, we hope your new assignment brings you contentment in the difference you are marking. Live long and prosper, my daughter.” 

Satisfied with the message from her parents, T’Rani was intrigued by her mother’s comments about her and Samris formalising their relationship. She knew what she meant. Marriage. Since S’Tefe’s death, her mother had shared some concern over T’Rani being alone. Now that she was with Samris, especially with them having a child, she knew her mother would strongly encourage her to marry. 

The doors to the room emptied, and Samris walked in. He was wearing his usual workout gear and was covered in sweat. His typical high-flicked styled hair was now flat, and the odour from his armpits was potent. 

“Hey,” He said as he kicked off his sports shoes and started to pull his vest off. “You, okay?”

“I am well, thank you,” T’Rani asked. “Yourself?”

 His vest was stuck to his chest, so he nodded as he tried to pull his top off. “Yeah, I just spent the last couple of hours playing doubles velocity with Remi, Abbej and Decter on the holodeck.” After getting his vest off, he looked at her. “Remi needed some cooldown time after spending almost the entire day on the surgery on those ex-Bs. I must admit, I’m feeling a bit cautious about starting their counselling.”

“That is understandable,” T’Rani replied. “Are we still having dinner with Cline?”

“Yes,” Samris replied as he sniffed his armpit and realised how bad he stunk. “Let me hit the sonic shower. Anything of interest happen to you today?”

“No, I ran a level three diagnostic on the helm controls, assisted Lieutenant Commander Brashlen in increasing impulse efficiency and worked with Commander Hunsen to create a search pattern for tomorrow’s next phase of mapping this star system,” T’Rani answered. “Oh, and my mother sent me a message.”

Samris was halfway to their bedroom and paused after hearing that. He turned around to look at her. “Your mother?” He repeated. “Is she and your father well?”

“They are,” T’Rani answered.

Feeling that was it, Samris smiled and turned around on his bare heel but couldn’t step forward as T’Rani shared what else her mother had expressed.

“She suggests we get married.”

Hearing that, Samris looked over his shoulder at T’Rani. “Marriage?”

“Yes,” T’Rani acknowledged. 

“Oh, okay.” He wiped his face and pushed his damp hair back as he stepped back towards her. “And what do you think?

“Of her suggestion?” 

“Yeah.”

T’Rani considered her answer carefully. “It intrigues me.” She paused again. “I can perceive us being together, especially with us having a child. We would make a stable family unit.”

Samris smirked. “T’Rani, are you proposing to me?”

T’Rani was a bit startled by that question. She reflected on it and then nodded. “I believe I am.” Her eyebrow rose. “Do you accept?”

Rushing across the rest of the gap between them, Samris’ smile grew as he pulled her into his arms. “A hundred per cent, yes!”

The two kissed for a moment before T’Rani lightly pushed him off.

“If we are to be married, then I believe it would be appropriate for you to take that sonic shower sooner rather than later. However much I enjoy your closeness, I would prefer it without-”

“Me smelling so bad?” He finished.

“Indeed.”

“I’ll go get cleaned up, and then we can go and celebrate,” Samris stated.

T’Rani hesitated and then pulled on his hand. “I did not state I wanted our closeness to end.” She then led him to the sonic shower.

Samris had the biggest surprised expression across his face with how T’Rani wanted to celebrate their engagement. However, he wasn’t complaining.

Lying against her husband’s chest as they relaxed across the long sofa in their quarters, Captain Cambil was reading the latest novel in the Vulcan Love Slave series. She had become obsessed with them after joining the Odyssey, thanks to Karyn Reyas (McCallister’s former wife). Naprem was preparing his lessons for the next day. Both were content in their surroundings, with gentle soft music playing in the background. 

“I miss our old quarters,” Naprem stated, still focused on his work.

“On the Odyssey?” Bexa asked, still engrossed with her text.

He nodded with an acknowledging hum.

“Me too; however, I can’t see Max allowing us to take them and putting them here on the Themis,” Bexa replied. 

Naprem sighed. A minute later, he spoke up, breaking the silence again. “I know these are the largest quarters on the ship; they just seem smaller without it being on two levels.”

Bexa chuckled under her breath. “Naprem, are you really complaining after I had the engineers extend our quarters to take over two others on either side so we could host both our sons and have space to ourselves as well?”

“I just liked having an upstairs.” 

“Well, if you want to home-share with T’Rani and Samris, then go ahead and request a staircase to be put in,” Bexa replied. 

Naprem shook his head and declined the idea. “I still find it bizarre the Ross-class ships come with their own promenade of shops and restaurants.”

“Your sons think it’s awesome,” She countered back.

“We said it was cool, Mom,” Edon stated from across the living room, where he sat in one of the armchairs with his legs up on the footrest. Their eldest son was sitting revising for an exam. “Anyway, Dad, I don’t see why you think it’s bizarre. The Odyssey has one and is probably five times bigger. So what’s the difference?” 

Naprem was about to answer when the intercom went off, and Commander Hunsen’s voice filled the room, silencing the music.

 “All hands red alert. Captain Cambil to the bridge.”

Jumping to her feet, Cambil said her goodbyes as her first officer called her to her job. She picked up her jacket on her way out and pulled it across her shoulders before zipping it up. Rushing down the corridor, she could see the ship already going to their actions stations; as she made her way down the corridor of deck nine, several stood to one side to allow her to get past. Appreciating the respect and consideration for her, she smiled at each one and thanked them before entering the nearest turbolift and calling for it to take her straight to the bridge.

“Report, Number One,” Cambil said the moment she stepped out into the bridge nearest to her ready room door. 

Hunsen, who was rising from her chair in the centre, responded immediately. “Triton has just declared that one of the former Borg drones has stolen one of their shuttles and is heading to the moon, which holds the excavation site that the Bellerophon crew has been investigating. Captain Canção has requested for the Justice Wing to intercept as the shuttle is closer to us. Also, the shuttle fired at their nacelle. They’re leaking plasma, and Odyssey is responding to assist them.”

Taking her seat, Cambil acknowledged the report as the rest of the senior bridge crew all arrived. “Tremt, inform the wing commander to approach and surround the shuttle. Let’s see if we can try and reason first.”

Hunsen nodded as he sent the message. 

“T’Rani,” Cambil said, noticing that her pilot was not wearing her usual uniform and was wearing her civilian attire. “Get us within weapon’s range.”

The Vulcan nodded.

“Scan the shuttle, Cline,” Cambil ordered. “Let’s see if we can better understand what we’re dealing with.”

“Yes, ma’am. The Triton told us that the ex-B is a Sikarian, and their pilot has also been captured.” Lenjir shared as he started the scan. 

T’Rani turned around in her chair and looked at Cambil. “Captain, I met Ensign Andar during the reception on the Odyssey. He is Phylosian and quite a capable officer.”

“Then we certainly want to save the shuttle,” Cambil assured her pilot. 

“I am detecting both Sikarian and Phloyisan life signs,” Lenjir announced.

“The Justice Wing is surrounding the shuttle now, and it looks like the Bellerophon is moving to assist in intercepting them, too,” Hunsen reported.

Deciding to use her authority as squadron deputy commander, Cambil ordered Lieutenant Jines to hail the Bellerophon.

“Channel open, ma’am,” The operations officer shared. 

After exchanging pleasantries with James’ younger brother (Cambil couldn’t get over how unalike the two men were in appearance, but how alike they were with their expressions and sayings). “Captain McCallister, what could Captain Canção’s guest want at your artic dig site?” She asked.

“We’ve just discovered the remains of the Queen’s cell,” McCallister replied. “And I find it interesting that the only Sikarian we’ve saved is coming down when my team have dug out a spatial trajector.” 

“By the Prophets’ will,” Cambil muttered under her breath before looking back at the Bellerophon’s commander. “I suspect he is coming down for it. Can you evacuate your teams out in time?”

Horatio nodded. “I believe so, but James wanted us to preserve it.”

“Hopefully, we will, but let’s air on the side of caution,” Cambil suggested. “Get your people out of harm’s way and target the structure with a tricobalt device. If we fail in disabling the shuttle and the ex-drone takes action to restore the trajector, then we should be ready with a last resort.” Cambil stated. She wondered if he would challenge her authority over this. Would he expect her to confirm this with his brother?

“Understood; we’ll start evacuation procedures at once and ready a tricobalt warhead as a last-ditch measure.” 

Pleased he was following her orders, Cambil smiled, thanked him and said she would keep him in the loop.

“We’re approaching the shuttle,” T’Rani announced after McCallister disappeared from the main screen.

“It’s not responding to our hails,” Jines added. 

“Captain, the shuttle has undergone a bit of transformation from what I can detect,” Lenjir stated. “I think the drone has somehow partially assimilated it. I’m detecting improvements to its shields and engines.”

“Ideas on how we disable it?” Cambil asked aloud.

“Shoot it down,” Lenjir suggested. “If its shields are significantly improved, then it reasonable to suggest that it is planning to make a quick entrance into the moon’s atmosphere and hopes to survive the entry.”

“Several tachyon bursts should force it to lower its shields while it resets; we could beam the missing ensign away,” Hunsen offered. 

“Then, while its shields are down, the Justice Wing could damage its engines. We grab it with a tractor beam afterwards.” Cambil said, looking at her first officer and then up to her tactical officer. 

Both men agreed with a nod.

“Let’s do it,” Cambil ordered, and her team went about giving out the orders and preparing for their action. She stared at the screen and wondered just at that moment if the ex-drone genuinely thought they could get past them all or if it was up to something else. Were they missing something else here?

Seconds later, the tachyon bursts fired, and for a brief moment, the shuttle’s shields came down, and they could beam Ensign Andar away.

“Sickbay to bridge, we have the ensign. He is okay. No assimilation has taken place.” reported Forbes. 

The Justice Wing was now firing on the shuttle, but the ex-Borg had quickly raised the shields. Nothing the Valkryie fighters did was making a dent. 

“Tell them to concentrate their fire on a single spot,” Cambil advised after watching the scene unfold in front of her on the main viewer.

Once again, the impressive fighter crafts took turns to take runs, targeting the port shields. 

Nothing. 

“The shuttle is approaching the moon’s atmosphere,” T’Rani shared. 

“Fire a photon torpedo in front of it and then destroy it with a phaser blast,” Cambil ordered. “Tell our fighters to fall back behind us and extend our shields.”

Again her crew did as they were told. Hunsen sent her orders to the fighters to move themselves behind their mothership; Jines extended the shields while Lenjir loaded the torpedo and charged the phasers. 

“Fire!” Cambil commanded.

 Rolling out of the forward tube, the single golden torpedo flew across space into the planet’s atmosphere before a lance of phaser energy destroyed it. The photonic shockwave expanded straight away in all directions and hit the shuttle.

“Report?” Cambil asked. She was hoping for good news.

“No change,” Jines answered. “The shuttle’s shields are still intact, and it’s heading at high speeds.”

Tapping her armchair’s panel, she opened a channel to the Bellerophon. “Horatio, fire!”